The corner of Xiao Fu’s mouth twitched. Had Madam seen through his disguise, or had she simply expected too much of him?
He was just an old man. How could he possibly kill a wild boar…?
He could. He absolutely had to be able to!
When Cheng Yao actually dared to spread her arms and block the wild boars, Xiao Fu broke out in a cold sweat. Even if it cost him his life, he had to take down those beasts!
He snatched up a handful of stones from the ground. With several swift flicks of his wrist, he sent the stones shooting into the wild boars’ eyes.
“Ugh!”
In an instant, the eyes of both wild boars burst, blood spraying everywhere. They collapsed and rolled on the ground in agony, then scrambled up and fled blindly.
Cheng Yao shot Xiao Fu a sidelong glance. This old fellow really had been hiding his abilities!
With that skill of turning stones into hidden weapons alone, she would never believe he wasn’t a former elite shadow guard.
There—one little provocation, and he had exposed himself.
Cheng Yao gathered herself and let out a loud “Ha!”
The wild boars, already terrified, grew even more frantic. One of them slammed headfirst into a tree trunk with a heavy thud, spun around several times on the spot, and collapsed.
Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up. An opportunity like this would not come again!
“Quick, Xiao Fu! Move that boulder and smash its head!”
Xiao Fu: “…”
Madam, doesn’t your conscience hurt, ordering an old man around like this…?
Cheng Yao went to move the stone herself.
Xiao Fu was nearly in tears. No, Madam was ordering him around because she thought highly of him. He absolutely loved being ordered around by her!
His legs moved so fast they blurred. He hoisted up the boulder and, as if venting his frustration, smashed the wild boar’s head to pieces. Then he tore down some vines and tightly bound the other wild boar, which had become entangled in a nest of vines.
Only then did he put on a mournful expression and say, “Madam, wild boars are extremely dangerous. You must stay away from them in the future. Don’t rush toward them.”
He had barely finished speaking when Cheng Yao dashed forward excitedly.
“More wild boars are coming!”
…
The wild boars eventually fled, leaving the temple in complete disarray. Bloodstains and tattered clothes were scattered everywhere.
This small space was filled with desperate moans and sobs.
Under the protection of several shadow guards, the exiled group withdrew from the ruined temple.
Those who had survived the disaster sat or lay on the open ground, their eyes vacant and dull. They had been so terrified and grief-stricken that they could no longer even cry.
Not far away, the shadow guards were carrying out several bodies that had been torn apart beyond recognition by the wild boars.
Every one of the shadow guards had suffered fresh wounds on top of their old injuries. Shadow One, in particular, had lost so much blood that his face was as pale as paper, yet he still forced himself to remain standing and arrange the sentries.
Zhan Haoting was carried in by Zhan Haochen. He made a hand signal, instructing them to withdraw.
“Please, wait,” Cheng Yao called hurriedly as she entered. Pretending not to know the shadow guards, she bowed deeply to them. “Our family has suffered such a calamity today. It is only thanks to your willingness to risk your lives that we avoided even greater casualties. I will certainly repay this great kindness one day. Your injuries are severe. Would you allow me to dress your wounds and apply medicine?”
The three shadow guards exchanged glances, looking somewhat at a loss. Their eyes involuntarily drifted toward Zhan Haoting.
Zhan Haoting’s eyes were dark and unreadable, and he did not respond for a long while.
She felt sorry for the shadow guards. How could he not?
Her medicines were excellent as well, but he was also afraid that the person hiding in the shadows would set his sights on her…
As if she had seen through his concerns, Cheng Yao softened her voice and said, “Husband, this medicine was given to me by Young Master Wei. Why not use it on these brave men?”
Zhan Haoting gave her a helpless look, then nodded almost imperceptibly.
If she claimed the medicine had come from Wei Qing, outsiders might not believe her.
But she was determined to save them. If he continued to stop her, it would only chill the hearts of the warriors who had fought for him.
“Come on. I’ll dress your wounds.”
Cheng Yao beckoned to the three shadow guards, only to see Shao Yutong approach.
Her eyes were wet with tears, and her voice trembled with sobs. “Thank you, brave men, for saving me. I, Yutong, will never forget your kindness…”
Cheng Yao’s gaze suddenly turned cold.
“Shao Yutong.” Her voice was not loud, yet it brought the entire temple to silence.
Shao Yutong instinctively took a step back. “Elder Cousin-in-Law…”
A sharp slap cut off whatever she was about to say.
Cheng Yao had put all her strength into it, leaving her fingers numb.
Shao Yutong’s head was knocked to the side, and she staggered, nearly falling. A vivid handprint quickly appeared on her fair cheek.
Cheng Yao grabbed her by the hair and slapped her several more times, first on one side and then the other, before finally letting go. Her voice was as cold as ice.
“Death weighs too heavily. I have no right to seek justice for everyone here. These few slaps are merely for my own disgust at your ignorance and arrogance.”
The temple fell silent for a moment.
Shao Yutong collapsed to the floor. Clutching her face, which was swollen like a pig’s, she wept uncontrollably and spoke through her swollen lips. “Elder Cousin-in-Law, I only wanted everyone to have meat to eat. I didn’t know this would happen…”
“You didn’t know?” Cheng Yao stepped closer, fury blazing in her eyes. “I warned you! Fifth Grandfather warned you too! But for the sake of winning people over, you disregarded everyone’s lives!”
She swept her gaze across the room, taking in the face of every survivor.
“Look carefully. This is the so-called ‘blessed star’ you all worship! It was your constant praise that fed her arrogance and led to the deaths of so many of our clansmen!”
Her words ignited the anger in the room.
Zhan Yunpeng abruptly rose to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Shao Yutong, his voice filled with rage.
“It was you! You killed my mother! I’m going to kill you!”
He charged toward Shao Yutong, intending to strike her. The people around them also rose to their feet, furious.
“Right! Kill her!”
“She’s the one who got everyone killed!”
“Don’t let her off!”
The crowd surged forward and began punching and kicking Shao Yutong.
Shao Yutong screamed and tried to shield herself, but no one felt any sympathy for her.
Only Zhan Yurong threw herself over her daughter, using her frail body to protect her with all her strength.
As he looked at the miserable mother and daughter, Zhan Haochen felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it were being carved apart by a knife.
He wanted to stop them. But when he saw the bloodshot eyes of Zhan Yunpeng and Fifth Aunt sobbing her heart out while clutching Fifth Uncle’s body, he could not bring himself to say a word.
Zhan Haoting frowned.
Seeing Shao Yutong beaten, he felt inexplicably troubled as well, which only strengthened his suspicion that there was something strange about her. Therefore, even if she were beaten to death, he would not step forward to help.
Zhan Jinmo, however, could not bear to watch any longer. He stood up and shouted, “Stop!”
But his voice was swallowed by the uproar.
He strode over in fury, pulling away each person who had been beating Shao Yutong.
“Yutong was the one who suggested eating the wild boar piglet, but you all have minds of your own. Why did you agree without thinking it through? Who can you blame but yourselves?”
One of the women timidly argued, “But if she hadn’t egged us on, we wouldn’t have dared.”
“When you’re starving and suddenly see a wild boar, everyone would want to catch it. Are you really saying none of you would have dared?”
Zhan Haochen’s gaze was sharp. “Yutong is young and ignorant. All of you are older than she is and should have thought things through more carefully. Now that something has happened, you can’t pin all the blame on her.”
His words left everyone speechless.
He looked at Shao Yutong, whose face was swollen and bruised like a pig’s head, and felt as though his heart were being cut by a knife.
Yet he knew she deserved what she had suffered. Deliberately ignoring the ache in his heart, he cast her a cold glance and turned to leave.
Behind him came Shao Yutong’s anguished sobs. “Ninth Cousin, I didn’t mean to… I just wanted everyone to have something to eat…”
