Dashan clenched his back teeth. He knew they couldn’t stay here any longer.
He was in unfamiliar territory, while this woman clearly looked like a difficult person to deal with. If she really brought the police, and they ended up at the station, that wretched Shi Xiaoli would definitely spout all kinds of nonsense. By then, they would be the ones at a disadvantage.
If he ran back to the village…
His uncle was the Brigade Leader. The village was their turf, and if anything happened, his uncle would have a way to cover for him.
“Damn it!”
He suddenly grabbed Shi Xiaoli and dragged her toward the edge of the crowd.
“Come on! You’re coming back with me.”
Shi Xiaoli struggled like a madwoman, kicking and hitting him.
“Let go of me! I’m not going! Help!”
Bowen rushed forward to protect his sister, but two of Dashan’s relatives immediately pinned him down. They twisted his arms behind his back and shoved him forward.
“Behave yourself! We’ll beat you to death if you don’t.”
Bowen couldn’t break free. Staggering as they forced him along, he continued to shout, “Xiaoli, run! Let go of my sister!”
Crying, Xiaoli looked back. “Brother! Run!”
She desperately wanted her brother to escape. As long as he got away, she didn’t care if they dragged her back. But if her brother fell into their hands, he would surely be tortured.
The broad-faced man with the thick, fleshy cheeks punched Bowen in the stomach.
“Shi Xiaoli, if you dare make another sound, I’ll kill him.”
Xiaoli instantly fell silent. Tears blurred her entire face, but she didn’t dare cry out again. If she did, those people would beat her brother again.
She could only bite her lip hard and let Dashan drag her forward. Why was fate so unfair to her? She had finally managed to flee that hell with her brother, believing they could escape for good. Yet now, they were being dragged back.
At the thought of what would happen after they returned—of her brother being beaten—she wished she could kill Wang Dashan on the spot.
Xiao Mandong stepped forward to stop them, but the old woman and several other relatives surrounded her.
The old woman’s face was vicious. “You little slut, you’d better stop meddling in other people’s business. You even had the nerve to extort money from me. Five hundred yuan? Even if I sold you, you wouldn’t be worth five hundred!”
If there hadn’t been so many people around, she would have clawed that seductive face to pieces. Even if they left today, she would settle the score with this little tramp sooner or later.
Xiao Mandong ignored her and stared at Dashan’s back as she shouted, “Stop right there! You haven’t paid for my medical expenses. You’re not allowed to leave!”
It had been so long. Why hadn’t the police arrived yet? That auntie had ridden off on her bicycle, so logically, she should have been back by now. Sweat beaded on Xiao Mandong’s forehead from anxiety.
Hearing Xiao Mandong’s voice, Dashan paused. He turned around with a cruel smile.
“Compensation? Fine. If you’ve got the guts, have the military come to our village and demand the money. I’ll be waiting for you there!”
Damn it, he had almost fallen for her trick. How could he have believed that woman? Why would the military listen to a woman and go to the village to demand money?
Dashan turned around to leave again, only to find someone blocking his path. His face twisted with anger.
“Who the hell are you? Get the hell out of my—”
Before Dashan could finish, a foot slammed into his chest.
His entire body flew more than two meters before crashing heavily to the ground. Although the person who had intervened pulled Xiaoli back, she was thrown to the ground as well.
Xiaoli scrambled to her feet. Her knees and palms were scraped raw, but she ignored the pain and hurried to check on her brother, who was crouched on the ground clutching his stomach.
Xiao Mandong took a close look and realized that the person who had stepped in was the same man she had bumped into at the hospital that day—Gu Jianghan. Standing beside him was another man who looked remarkably similar to him.
Seeing Dashan get beaten, the men who had been restraining Bowen froze for a moment. Then they released Bowen, clenched their fists, and charged at Gu Jianghan. Xiao Mandong’s heart leaped into her throat.
The first man rushed forward and swung his fist at Gu Jianghan’s face. Gu Jianghan dodged to the side, then drove his elbow into the man’s face. The man let out a muffled groan and sprawled face-first on the ground.
The broad-faced man’s fist was already in front of Gu Jianghan. Gu Jianghan casually caught him by the wrist. His strength was astonishing. With a single fling, he sent the man crashing into the other man, who had just fallen and was trying to get back up. Both men hit the ground again.
Gu Jianghan walked over and tied each man’s wrists to his own waistband. Their trousers couldn’t fall down, but they were bound so tightly that they couldn’t move either.
In less than two minutes, all three men were sprawled on the ground. The remaining relative stopped in his tracks and didn’t dare come any closer.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Gu Jianghan raised his head and met Xiao Mandong’s eyes. Then he dusted off his hands, despite there being no dust on them, and slightly curved the corners of his lips.
Xiao Mandong…
Good heavens, Xiao Mandong thought this man was unbelievably handsome!
Just then, shouting came from outside the crowd.
“Make way! Make way!”
The auntie who had first suspected that they were human traffickers pushed her bicycle through the crowd, followed by two police officers in blue uniforms.
The officers strode forward. They glanced at the men lying scattered across the ground, then looked at Gu Jianghan.
Dashan reacted quickly. He glanced at one of his uninjured relatives, and the two exchanged a look. Dashan immediately shouted, “Shi Xiaoli is my wife! Everyone in our village can testify to that. We held a wedding banquet, and I’m taking my wife home. These people attacked us, Officer! I want to press charges!”
As he spoke, he gave that man a meaningful look, signaling for him to leave quickly.
His uncle had been the Brigade Leader for twenty years. Their family practically ruled the village. Getting the villagers to give false testimony and coordinate their stories would be as easy as saying the word.
The man understood Dashan’s signal. He slowly backed into the crowd, then turned around and hurried away.
The police made a preliminary assessment of the situation. Those who were seriously injured were sent to the hospital, while everyone else was handcuffed and taken to the police station.
No one knew where Dashan’s mother got her confidence, but she even brought up her brother-in-law, the Brigade Leader, hoping the police would show them some leniency.
Unfortunately, how could the police here possibly give face to a rural Brigade Leader? With so many bystanders watching, even the provincial governor’s son would have to be taken in for questioning under these circumstances.
The onlookers were also asked to accompany the officers to the police station and provide statements.
They had never expected that watching the commotion would land them a trip to the police station. One after another, they sighed and regretted getting involved.
The case involved a public brawl, threats to dig up someone’s ancestral graves, feudal superstition in the form of a ghost marriage, and, most importantly, attempting to abduct someone in broad daylight. Not one of these matters was minor, and the consequences were extremely serious. The police immediately launched a full investigation.
Once they arrived at the police station, Gu Jianghan presented his work identification. The two officers immediately became respectful, and they handled the case with even greater seriousness.
The auntie who had helped report the incident apologized to Xiao Mandong awkwardly.
“Miss, I’m truly sorry. My bicycle’s chain kept slipping every few steps, so I had to push it here. I ended up delaying the report.”
The young woman had given her ten yuan to report the incident, but in her panic, the auntie had only become more flustered and wasted quite a bit of time. She felt terribly guilty.
“It’s all right, Auntie. Thanks to you, you got there in time. I’ll have to trouble you to give a statement later, too…”
The auntie waved her hand and followed the police to provide her testimony.
