Chapter 7 The Dog-Slaying Boy
Early the next morning.
Jiang Nuanzhi was woken up by the cold. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself and opened her eyes, facing a window that was only slightly ajar. Her forehead felt icy cold from the wind.
Subconsciously, I turned over. The rough mat beneath me scratched my skin painfully, and there was a lot of dry dirt in the gaps, which covered my arms and legs in dust.
The heated kang bed had long since cooled down, and she felt a dull ache in her stomach.
Jiang Nuanzhi stared blankly at the window paper with several holes for a long while before her belated memory returned. She really was still in this godforsaken place. Thank goodness, no strong winds or heavy rains had hit, and the dilapidated house hadn't collapsed.
She scrambled out of bed, only to find her children nowhere to be seen. She got up to look for them.
Stepping outside, she subconsciously took a deep breath. The cool, fresh air, carrying a faint scent of earth, soothed her and invigorated her.
Just as the sun rose, smoke rose from the chimneys all around the village. The sun, like a salted egg yolk, had just emerged from the clouds, and it looked so tempting that you wanted to pop it into your mouth.
Jiang Nuanzhi smacked her lips: "I'm hungry."
"I haven't had time to cook anything today, so please don't be angry!"
Suddenly, she heard a faint voice. Jiang Nuan subconsciously looked down and met a pair of terrified eyes.
Jiang Nuanzhi peered through the crack in the dilapidated door and saw a shivering little girl curled up, hugging herself tightly. Tears welled in her large eyes. Her chapped lips were pressed together, and she stared at Jiang Nuanzhi without blinking.
It's hard to imagine that this pitiful little thing in front of me is the future villainous female supporting character who would go crazy for love.
Jiang Nuanzhi squatted down: "Little baby, don't be afraid, I'm not angry."
The little girl seemed a bit dazed, as if she hadn't understood what she was saying. Jiang Nuanzhi carefully closed the door that was blocking her way. Seeing that the little girl was barefoot, she picked her up.
As soon as the hand was reached out, the little girl suddenly shrank back, covering her head and dodging, saying, "Don't hit me! I'll never do it again, I'll never do it again."
Jiang Nuanzhi sighed and picked the person up in her arms.
The little girl was still very young, and her lips trembled as tears streamed down her face. She clearly didn't dare to make a sound, her little neck stiffening as if afraid that leaning against Jiang Nuanzhi would upset her.
"Don't cry, I'll take you to find some food."
The little girl seemed to have thought of something, and sobbed, "Please, let Dahei go. Baozhu won't eat, Baozhu will never eat again."
Jiang Nuanzhi frowned: "Hmm?"
The next second, the sound of sobbing and wailing came from outside the door.
Jiang Nuanzhi could clearly distinguish that the voice was not human, but belonged to a dog.
I instinctively turned around and went out.
Upon seeing the scene before her, Jiang Nuanzhi's pupils contracted, and her heart trembled violently.
As the sun rose, a young boy, holding a boning knife, slashed at a large black dog lying on the ground with bloodshot eyes.
The young boy holding the boning knife is Li Junping!
The villainous big boss, Li Junping!
In the original book, it was Li Junping who killed himself!
The big black dog that the boy had slashed was lying on the ground with its belly exposed. Its legs were being held down by Li Xiaoer, and its neck was stained with a lot of blood.
It seemed unaware of what its owner was about to do. It whimpered in pain, then, as if forgetting its injury, happily wagged its tail and licked Li Xiao'er's hand. It seemed very curious about its owner's new game.
Li Junping glanced indifferently at Jiang Nuanzhi, pursed his lips, and brought the cleaver down heavily again.
"No! Big Black! Waaaaah!"
The little girl in Jiang Nuanzhi's arms suddenly broke free and ran over to hug Dahei.
"Brother, don't kill Dahei, brother, Baozhu begs you. Please don't."
Big Black clearly preferred its little master, and when the little girl Li Baozhu came to hug it, it shook its head even more.
Li Junping frowned and sheathed his cleaver. He turned around and stared at Jiang Nuanzhi.
Li Xiaoer felt a pang of pity and patted his sister's head: "Little sister, be good and stay away. Big Black is sick. Even if your brother doesn't kill it, it won't live much longer."
After saying that, he pushed his sister away and reached out to grab Big Black.
Big Black licked Li Xiao Er's hand, letting him press it down to lie down, wagging its tail and staring expectantly at Li Xiao Er. Li Xiao Er, who had just been full of energy, suddenly felt a lump in his throat: "Brother, how about we wait two more days?"
Li Junping withdrew his gaze and said coldly, "Waiter! You're confused!"
Li Xiaoer wiped away his tears, rubbed Dahei's head, and said, "Dahei, I'm sorry. If I don't kill you today, you'll probably end up in Wang Mazi's mouth anyway."
At dawn, the older brother managed to rescue Dahei from Wang Mazi.
Wang Mazi was a notorious rascal in their village. When his brother was saving Dahei, he accidentally injured Wang Mazi. Wang Mazi was no good person, and this matter was probably not over yet.
Li Junping glanced at his younger brother, pursed his lips, and said, "Xiao Er, I'll be quick. Da Hei won't be in pain."
Having said that, he raised the boning knife again.
Jiang Nuanzhi was stunned by Li Junping's appearance for a long time before she came to her senses.
He rushed forward in two strides and blocked the little boy's arm.
Li Junping frowned and looked up at Jiang Nuanzhi.
When she met his eyes, Jiang Nuanzhi felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Perhaps because her own body had died under his sword in the story, she felt a sense of fear towards this child.
This was, in fact, the first time Jiang Nuanzhi had ever seen this adopted son.
So, this is the villainous mastermind behind the book, Li Junping, who will one day serve in the cabinet three times, become prime minister four times, and rise to the rank of one of the Three Dukes?
Looking closely at him, if it weren't for his indifferent eyes, Jiang Nuanzhi would probably think he was no different from an ordinary young man.
Disheveled hair, ripped clothes, and hands and feet covered in chilblains.
It's hard to imagine that fragility and resilience coexist in the same child.
Li Junping seemed a little uncomfortable being stared at by Jiang Nuanzhi, and subconsciously wanted to withdraw his hands, which were covered in frostbite.
Jiang Nuanzhi still didn't let go, and Li Junping's small brows furrowed tightly: "Let go."
"You bad woman, let go of my brother."
Li Xiaoer stood in front of her brother.
This woman kept a watchful eye on Dahei every day. He even overheard this wicked woman and her lackey Afu discussing killing Dahei to nourish his second young master.
How could anyone be kind these days?
"Waiter." Li Junping pulled his younger brother behind him, his indifferent eyes looking at Jiang Nuanzhi: "I'll only keep enough dog meat for my younger brother and sister for one day. The rest you can give to your second young master. If you don't agree, I won't let this go."
It would be a lie to say Jiang Nuanzhi wasn't flustered facing such a child. This villainous big boss was someone she couldn't afford to offend; if possible, it would be best to befriend him.
But now, glancing at Li Xiaoer and Xiao Baozhu with their red eyes, and Da Hei, who had rolled over belly-up without knowing what was happening, she finally couldn't bear it and said:
"Why give it to the second young master? Even if there is meat, it will be kept for our own family."
Seeing that the others didn't seem to understand what she meant, Jiang Nuanzhi tentatively tried to take the machete from Li Junping's hand. Fortunately, Li Junping gave it back to her. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
She threw the knife far away before saying, "What I mean is, our family hasn't reached the point where we need to kill a dog to survive. You don't have to kill it."
As she spoke, she looked at Big Black and beckoned, "Come here, let me see you."
She didn't really have much contact with children; in her past life, she dealt with small animals every day. Big Black, on the other hand, made her feel much closer to him.
Li Baozhu peeked out from behind Li Xiaoer to look at Jiang Nuanzhi, her big, dark eyes full of confusion.
Li Xiaoer was not entirely wrong, but there was a hint of expectation in his eyes.
The bad woman doesn't seem so bad anymore; maybe she's willing to help them, and they really won't have to kill Big Black.
"Woo"
As Dahei faced Jiang Nuanzhi's outstretched hand, it began to whimper softly, its sharp white teeth bared as if it could bite Jiang Nuanzhi's hand off at any moment.
The little girl Baozhu was startled. Even though she was scared, she still ran to hug Dahei and covered its mouth.
"Big Blackie, don't bite." After saying that, the little girl secretly went to look at Jiang Nuanzhi's expression.
Big Black used to protect her and even bit this wicked woman. The wicked woman would spit at Big Black whenever she saw him, and she even thought about killing and eating him after a while.
(End of this chapter)
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