Chapter 10, Hero, Are We Friends Now?
The days of rain had stopped, the willows were swaying in the breeze, the weather was warming up, and bright sunlight slanted into Tie Niu's low and messy thatched house.
With a creak as the door opened, the unconscious Tie Niu was awakened by the blinding light from outside.
He was inexplicably holding a wine bottle in his hand, feeling dizzy and unable to remember anything.
Has Liu Jiao's deal been finalized?
Tie Niu hurriedly pulled the covers up to the bed and saw a bulge under the blankets, clearly indicating that a person was hiding inside. There were also bloodstains and pale yellow-white stains on the blankets.
It's done?
Why can't you remember what happened last night?
Tie Niu smelled the strong odor of alcohol on himself and saw bottles and jars scattered all over the ground—
Could it be that he drank himself into oblivion?
Just as Tie Niu was about to lift the covers to see if Liu Jiao was still inside, a clear female voice sternly rebuked him from around the bed:
"stop!"
"If you take one more step, I'll kill myself! Let's talk here, or I'll die, sob sob sob."
It was Liu Jiao's voice.
When Tie Niu heard that she was going to die, and knowing Liu Jiao's straightforward and extreme nature, he figured that if she said she was going to die, she would most likely actually do it.
"No, no, no, I'm not going!"
It seems Liu Jiao is in bed; she hasn't run away.
Tie Niu inwardly scoffed, thinking how thin-skinned and difficult to please women were, but outwardly he feigned generosity and kindness, saying:
“Miss Liu, let’s talk this out. Don’t make a scene. Think of your parents.”
Liu Jiao, sullen, questioned loudly, "The villagers rushed into the house in a swarm and saw you and..."
"Now the whole village is gathered at the entrance of the courtyard. You called them here, didn't you? Why are you doing this!"
Did everyone in the village see him and Liu Jiao?
Tie Niu breathed a sigh of relief.
He summoned the villagers to force Liu Jiao to submit.
He abandoned his amiable demeanor and reprimanded in a gruff tone, "It's no use trying to call off the engagement now. The villagers have already seen us sharing a bed, so you have no choice but to get married."
Liu Jiao didn't reply to that question, but instead asked in a mournful voice:
"What about Widow Qian?!"
"If she finds out, she'll definitely cut ties with someone as morally flawed as you."
Unexpectedly, Tie Niu remained completely unfazed upon hearing this, nonchalantly replying, "If you don't tell, no one will know."
"You can't read, so I'll give you a drug to make you mute, and say that you drugged me and forced me to marry you—"
"So what if you never tell the truth your whole life? Ah-Xi won't be angry, she'll never know."
"Axi" is Tie Niu's affectionate nickname for Widow Qian.
As he spoke, he took out a package of fresh Pinellia ternata wrapped in yellow paper that he had prepared in advance from the table. The yellow paper also had the four big characters "Tongren Pharmacy", the most famous pharmacy in Yangzhou.
"Jiaojiao, face reality."
He spoke cruel words out of sheer boredom.
This stupid country girl is so foolish it's suffocating.
Easy to handle.
Just as Tie Niu thought victory was assured and was ruthlessly stirring the medicinal powder—
But then Liu Jiao suddenly said:
"Brother Tie Niu, what are you talking about? What does this have to do with Jiao Jiao?"
Her voice was innocent and naive.
"What do you mean? We've already slept together, don't try to renege on your promise!"
"Iron Bull roared."
But I always had a bad feeling about it.
"The one who 'slept with' you and was seen by the villagers wasn't me~"
Liu Jiao reminded her with a smile.
Tie Niu sensed something was wrong, his heart sank, and he abruptly yanked back the bulging blanket covering the bed—
As a result, he was met with his own father's furious, wide-eyed glare.
After many years, the dignified man who only existed in Tie Niu's heart was now bound hand and foot, his mouth gagged, lying on the bed in a weak and vulnerable posture.
There were yellow, white, and red stains under his pants, and he was sobbing angrily.
tractor:"……"
He quickly untied his father.
He asked in shock, "Dad, what are you doing here? Didn't you go off to earn some extra money and die?"
Since Tie Niu's father left the village a few years ago to supplement the family income, he has never been seen again.
From then on, his father's towering figure remained in Tie Niu's heart.
Father's eyes darted around.
Liu Jiao can answer this question:
Tie Niu's father didn't go to other places to earn extra money to supplement the family income. Instead, he went to a neighboring village to fish for a living, abandoning his wife and children and living a very comfortable life.
When she was a child, she ran into Tie Niu's father while running all over the mountains, and that's how she found out.
As Tie Niu untied his father's ropes, he wondered:
Where is Liu Jiao?
How did she manage to speak to him just now?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when the wardrobe next to the bed was opened from the inside:
Liu Jiao, dressed neatly, came out and bumped right into Tie Niu, who looked completely bewildered.
Liu Jiao glanced at him and Tie Niu's father on the bed, then exaggeratedly covered her mouth with both hands, exclaiming in surprise and apologizing:
"Sorry, did I interrupt your good time?"
tractor:"……"
Before Tie Niu could get angry, the door to Tie Niu's bedroom was pushed open with Liu Jiao's "Come in."
First, a large swathe of sunlight rushed in, then a huge crowd of villagers, who had come to watch the spectacle, blocked the entrance, casting a dark, oppressive shadow.
Tie Niu and his father were seen sharing a bed by villagers that Tie Niu himself had called over.
There were yellow, white and red stains on the bed.
The villagers were shocked and began to discuss the matter.
"With men! That's quite a taste..."
"Is he his biological father? No wonder he knows how to play the game."
tractor:"……"
Ahhhhh, country bumpkin!!! Country bumpkin! Barbarian!
Vulgar! Extreme!
There are three people at the very top:
Liu Jiao's father, snorting and glaring, and Widow Qian, her face full of disappointment.
And then there was Sang Ji, who silently approached Liu Jiao's side, carrying a sword.
Liu Jiao's father stepped forward in a few strides and slapped Tie Niu across the face, sending his face flying two miles away.
My father is quite useful in critical moments. After all, although he is usually kind, he is extremely burly and fierce.
He cursed:
"The widow's embrace is as warm as a mother's? You perverted freak, you Oedipus complex!"
"No wonder you don't care about looks! Bah! You want to give my girl a mute drug?"
"*****"
My father's foul language was incessant.
The three people who broke into the house listened to the whole thing from outside.
Sang Ji relayed what Tie Niu had said last night to Widow Qian and Liu Jiao's father verbatim.
Widow Qian was also angry, but she wasn't as outgoing as her father.
She genuinely liked Tie Niu. Her initial hostility towards Liu Jiao stemmed from her belief that Liu Jiao's family had coerced her and that Tie Niu was the one suffering.
Now that Tie Niu has committed such a heinous act of rape, Widow Qian is extremely disappointed.
她忍住没管被刘姣爹揍得鼻青脸肿的铁牛，只默默把和铁牛的定情信物手炉放在桌上。
This token of love was given to her by Tie Niu when they were still unfamiliar with each other. He was worried that she would be taking care of the child alone and would often get cold hands when she got up in the middle of the night to change diapers, so he gave her a hand warmer.
Finally, when Tie Niu was punched in the head and hit the corner of the table, Widow Qian still helped him up.
Tie Niu was supported by her, his lips moved as if he wanted to stay and explain.
But Widow Qian didn't look at him again. She wiped away her tears and left the messy house without looking back.
"We've broken up."
While Tie Niu was being beaten, Liu Jiao chatted with Sang Ji, whispering, "How did you manage to save me so quickly last night, sir!"
She was so close...
Sang Ji, with a sword in his arms, showed no emotion in his eyes. His gaze remained fixed on Tie Niu being beaten, not even sparing Liu Jiao a glance. His tone was indifferent, as if he didn't care at all:
"It's just a coincidence."
He lowered his eyes, his long, dark eyelashes fluttering like small feather fans.
last night.
The truth is that Sang Ji knew that this girl was dull-witted and had offended someone, so he deliberately kept an eye on Liu Jiao every day, afraid that something might happen to her.
Last night, as usual, I glanced out the window to check, but Liu Jiao was nowhere to be seen.
This is how they were able to discover Liu Jiao's disappearance immediately and save her at the crucial moment.
...
Iron Bull's mother was right next door. Hearing something was wrong, she came quickly.
She weaved through the cacophony of villagers, listened for a moment, and discovered:
The discussion wasn't about Liu Jiao being shameless and a slut who drugged Tie Niu to be with him, as she imagined; rather...
Then, Tie Niu's mother saw her son being beaten.
The person lying on the bed wasn't Liu Jiao, but Tie Niu's father, who had been running around for ten years!
The old woman's face turned green, then blue, and then black.
But for the sake of his own child, he still shielded Tie Niu with his own body.
Liu Jiao's father couldn't beat her anymore.
If Tie Niu Niang gets hurt, things could get out of hand and become too complicated.
After all, the attempt to force him didn't succeed.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Jiao's father saw that Tie Niu was covered in bruises and then stopped.
He loosened Tie Niu's collar, his face showing disgust, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed, and he sneered:
"I thought you, a live-in son-in-law, would behave yourself, but I never expected... Get out!"
Father turned and left.
But after Liu Jiao's father left, Tie Niu...
The humiliation of being beaten, the ambiguous relationship with his own father in front of the whole village, and the shame and anger of failing to achieve his goal made Tie Niu's eyes gloomy.
Liu Jiao also plans to leave.
Unexpectedly, as he turned around, taking advantage of Liu Jiao's inattention, he suddenly pounced on her from behind—
Trying to make a last-ditch effort.
But as soon as he lifted his foot, a sword was placed in front of him and struck his leg bone squarely.
Tie Niu was in pain and failed, lying on the ground barely clinging to life.
It was completely unable to struggle.
He knew he had failed, but he was not convinced. He glanced at Liu Jiao with a sneer, his gaze contemptuous, and said mockingly:
"You? You dare to break off the engagement?"
"You're ugly and unsophisticated. I don't think anyone but me would marry a country bumpkin like you!"
His hand was still pointing at Liu Jiao.
That phrase again?
Liu Jiao's ears are practically calloused.
Before she could react, Sang Ji, who had been acting as if it were none of her business, became anxious. His calm and collected gaze suddenly turned cold as he looked at the incessantly chattering Tie Niu.
A gust of wind gently swept past Liu Jiao.
Then, to Liu Jiao's astonishment,
With a "crack," the bone dislocated, and Sang Ji effortlessly broke Tie Niu's hand that was pointing at Liu Jiao.
Not satisfied, he casually tossed the sword, sharpened its edge, and plunged it straight into Tie Niu's leg.
Even after penetrating deep into flesh and blood, it would roll and turn from side to side, its eyes cold and indifferent.
"You're wrong. She's good at heart, and you're just ignorant."
Tie Niu grimaced in pain, but it was clear he was in agony but stubborn. He lay on the ground, exhausted and covered in cold sweat, yet he still managed a sneer.
"I did nothing wrong! ...If I don't marry her, who will?"
"You're in such a hurry, are you going to marry her?"
Liu Jiao's clear eyes looked over subconsciously, and they met Sang Ji's eyes.
He ignored it, his expression remaining completely unchanged.
He simply increased his strength even more.
No one can withstand such a tricky interrogation method.
It seems that Tie Niu's hands are beyond saving.
Tie Niu completely lost interest in mocking Liu Jiao.
"idiot."
Sang Ji, dressed in brocade and black robes, with an impeccable face, looked down at him from above, and then kicked Tie Niu, who was lying on the ground in tattered hemp clothes and covered in blood.
Seeing Tie Niu in pain, whimpering and groaning, he pleaded with Sang Ji for mercy.
He wiped away the bloodstains on his face with his thumb, expressionless: "This is it?"
Sang Ji is adept at solving problems with precision and ruthlessness.
He quickly forced Tie Niu's family to bleed heavily and then forced them to apologize before he finally released Tie Niu and returned to Liu Jiao's side.
The place was gruesome, and considering Liu Jiao's discretion, it wasn't appropriate for her to linger. Before the two left, Liu Jiao was suddenly stopped by Tie Niu's mother.
After hesitating for a long time, Tie Niu's mother still carefully asked:
"Tie Niu, did he sleep with his own father or not?!"
"No," Sang Ji answered for Liu Jiao.
He hated people who hindered his decisions. After answering for Liu Jiao, he grabbed her forearm, which was covered by her clothing, and pulled her away.
"Those yellow, white, and red stains under Tie Niu's father's body..."
Liu Jiao replied from afar, "This is because the fertilized egg was broken."
Tie Niu's mother breathed a sigh of relief and quickly helped her son up, untying the man who had been running around for ten years.
Sang Ji and Liu Jiao went out.
As they passed through the crowd of villagers blocking their way, Liu Jiao whispered, "Great hero, you're amazing!"
Sang Ji gave a soft "hmm".
Liu Jiao: "You're such a nice person."
Sang Ji gave a soft "hmm".
Liu Jiao moved closer, and Grape looked at Sang Ji with pleading eyes, stammering, "Great hero, then, are we friends now?"
...
He finally gave a soft "hmm".
Overjoyed, Liu Jiao reached out and patted Sang Ji's shoulder—
But as soon as he put it down, Sang Jiliang glanced at him with a sharp look, and he silently withdrew his hand from its original position.
But she was still happy!
I could only secretly give myself a thumbs-up.
Xiulian, who had come to watch the spectacle, witnessed the entire scene.
She was taken aback, then her face darkened.
Why are the two of them so intimate?!
That Liu Jiao is really something! This ugly, slutty woman has these men completely bewitched.
Chen Chi protected her, and now that she has her eye on Sang Ji, she also protects her!
Why should I?!
Why is it that the men she sets her sights on are always snatched away by Liu Jiao?
Xiulian gave her a cold, sinister look.
Liu Jiao happened to witness it.
She was startled, lost in memories of her past with Xiulian.
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