Chapter 118 Deliberate Smear
Lin Baozhu's words were like a cold whip lashing at Bi Yuntao's face. His eyes widened in fury, and he let out a beast-like roar as he struggled violently to charge at Lin Baozhu! However, the two soldiers who held his arms like iron clamps remained motionless, and no matter how frantically he twisted and turned, they could not budge him an inch.
"Human traffickers? Bandits?" The accountant's wife, standing nearby, was dumbfounded, her voice rising several octaves. "How...how did this get involved with bandits?!"
Qin Haifeng stepped forward at the opportune moment, his steady voice carrying an undeniable authority: "At first, we only thought they were human traffickers, but it wasn't until we infiltrated their hideout that we were shocked to discover they were ruthless bandits who had been entrenched there for years! Their methods were extremely cruel." His gaze swept over the dozen or so rescued women, his tone carrying a barely perceptible weight of heaviness and relief. "If it weren't for our close cooperation and a bit of luck, I'm afraid..." He stopped short, drawing everyone's attention to the women.
Upon hearing this, the aunties and grandmothers who were digging for wild vegetables immediately focused their attention on the rescued women. Apart from Zhao Xiaoyu, You Yongsheng, and Bi Mamin, whose eyes were vacant and lifeless like puppets, the other dozen or so women, though ragged and haggard, still had a spark of life in their eyes. They didn't seem to have completely broken down, and... didn't appear to have suffered such humiliation. The group breathed a sigh of relief and silently chanted Buddhist prayers.
"Amitabha, God bless us!" A kind-hearted old woman spoke first, her eyes filled with gratitude and pity as she looked at Lin Baozhu and Qin Haifeng. "Baozhu, Haifeng, you are both wonderful! But these girls..." She looked worriedly at the rescued women, "Going to town covered in wounds like this, they'll be drowned in gossip! The other women in the village are all here, why don't we let them come to our village first to tidy up, change into clean clothes, catch their breath, and then go report to the authorities?"
Lin Baozhu nodded immediately, her voice gentle yet firm: "Auntie is right! That's what I meant too." She understood all too well how heavy the burden of "reputation" was on women in this era.
This simple kindness, like a warm current, instantly shattered the defenses the rescued women had built. Their previously tense bodies trembled slightly, their eyes quickly reddened, and suppressed sobs rose softly. The torment and endless fear they had endured during their abduction finally found an outlet in this moment of rescue. Their gazes, filled with complex emotions, turned to Lin Baozhu, the girl who had pulled them back from the abyss of despair, their eyes brimming with profound gratitude.
Qin Haifeng observed all of this, exchanged a knowing glance with Lin Baozhu, and said in a deep voice, "This arrangement is excellent. Baozhu, take them back to the village and settle them in. Later, some female comrades will come to take them to the police station to give statements." His voice was steady, carrying a reassuring quality.
“Go ahead, girl, don’t be afraid!” the aunties chimed in.
Just as people's hearts were beginning to settle down, a sudden change occurred!
A fierce glint flashed in Bi Yuntao's eyes. Taking advantage of the moment when the two soldiers relaxed their guard due to the approaching villagers, he somehow managed to loosen his ropes! He sprang up like a trapped beast, bent down, grabbed a sharp-edged stone, and with a frenzied suicidal rage, roared as he lunged at Lin Baozhu in the crowd!
"Die! You bitch—!"
The target was aimed directly at her temple!
"Watch out—!" Exclamations rang out! Several quick-reacting villagers tried to rush to the rescue, but it was too late!
Even the soldiers escorting the prisoner's pupils constricted, and they felt a chill rise from the soles of their feet!
The deadly rock was about to fall!
"Bang!"
A dull thud resounded!
At the critical moment, a foot clad in military boots shot out with lightning speed, delivering a precise and powerful kick to Bi Yuntao's side! The force was so great that it sent him flying several meters into the air, crashing heavily to the ground like a broken sack, the stone in his hand flying far away!
"Ugh—!" Bi Yuntao curled up, letting out a painful howl, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were still fixed on Lin Baozhu, as venomous as a poisonous snake.
"Bi Yuntao!" Qin Haifeng stopped abruptly, his tall figure blocking Lin Baozhu's path like an insurmountable mountain. His voice was icy cold, filled with righteous indignation, "You dare to commit murder in front of the People's Liberation Army?! This is adding insult to injury!"
"Pah!" Bi Yuntao spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with madness. "Lin Baozhu! You bitch, you've ruined me! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!!"
His demonic appearance and vicious curse terrified the accountant's wife, who pounded her chest in fear: "My God! That look... it's like a vengeful ghost!"
"Pah! What a piece of trash!" another old woman immediately spat out. "He's a beast who would send even his own mother and sister to the bandits' den just to curry favor with them! Baozhu wiped out the bandits, which was doing justice for Heaven! And he turns around and bites back? Where is justice?!"
"Kill these damned bandits! They're the ones who killed my father!"
"My sister was kidnapped by them, and we haven't seen her alive or dead since!"
Years of pent-up hatred were instantly ignited! The angry villagers could no longer contain themselves, and stones, clods of earth, and even freshly dug wild vegetable roots rained down on the bandit group being escorted by soldiers! The scene descended into chaos, and even the escorting soldiers were caught in the crossfire, covered in dust and dirt.
"Comrade Lin! Make them stop!" A young soldier, his shoulder hit by a clod of dirt (his eyes were probably covered in vegetable leaves), called out urgently and angrily. He was even more resentful: This woman surnamed Lin, just because she knows how to prepare medicine and is a bit pretty, why did she take so much credit from their captain? And the captain, how could he be so blinded by greed?
Seeing the soldiers' disheveled state, Lin Baozhu felt a pang of embarrassment. She immediately raised her voice, shouting, "Aunties, ladies! Folks! Stop smashing! Listen to me!" Her clear, powerful voice instantly drowned out the noise. "We understand your concerns! These bandits have committed countless atrocities; the law and bullets await them! We don't need to dirty our hands and delay our PLA comrades from carrying out their mission! Trust the government; they will punish them severely and give everyone an explanation!!"
"Yes! Baozhu is right!"
"Listen to Baozhu, don't delay the People's Liberation Army!"
"The government will execute them!"
Lin Baozhu's words were like a stabilizing force; the angry villagers stopped what they were doing, dropping the stones and clods of earth they were holding. They looked at the soldiers, their faces showing a few embarrassed, simple smiles: "Brothers, we're so sorry! We were just thinking about the suffering we endured over the years, and we couldn't control our tempers..."
Faced with these "simple and innocent" villagers, the soldiers could only swallow their grievances, helplessly shaking off the dust from their bodies and tightening the rope around Bi Yuntao's body even more, like binding a rice dumpling.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com