76 Incident
◎The man in the ruined temple was arrested◎
She was horrified and struggled to get down, but the man's arms were like iron hoops and she couldn't break free.
Shu Yao stretched out her hands and pressed them against his hard chest. She could feel the bulging muscles in the arms that were holding her.
She trembled: "Put me down."
Hearing this, the man loosened his grip. Shu Yao quickly jumped off him and immediately stood away from him, becoming alert.
The man's face was dirty, but his eyes were as sharp as the wolf king on the grassland. He glanced at Shu Yao, said nothing, turned around and left.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him leave.
But suddenly, the man stopped, turned around, and strode towards her again. He was tall and had long legs, and in just two steps, he was in front of Shu Yao.
Shu Yao leaned against the tree behind her, unable to retreat: "What...what do you want to do?"
The man bent down and took the bayberries from her skirt bag. His big hands were rough and thick, and the big, plump bayberries became miniature versions in his hands.
Shu Yao now just wanted to send this big Buddha away: "Brother, they are all yours." As she said that, she handed him the few that were left in her hand.
The man glanced at her, straightened up, brushed past her, and went into the woods.
Just at this moment, Jiang He's voice came from not far away. Shu Yao quickly waved: "Xiao He, I'm here."
Jiang He ran over breathlessly and raised the harvest in her hand: "The bayberries on that tree are big and sweet. I picked a lot."
Shu Yao looked at her empty skirt pockets and said, "I haven't started picking them yet..."
Shu Yao turned around and saw that the man had disappeared without a trace. She was a little surprised. How could this man run so fast?
"Has there been a strange person coming to our village recently?" she asked Jiang He.
Jiang He shook her head: "No." There were no outsiders in the village. "Sister, why are you asking this?" She gave her some bayberries.
Shu Yao: "Nothing, just asking." She glanced at the setting sun and said, "Let's go back."
When they arrived at the village chief's house, they found the village chief's wife sitting by the gate with her face covered and crying, and the guests were standing aside with unhappy faces.
The village chief kept pounding the table and sighing.
The groom paced anxiously with a grim expression on his face.
The originally lively wedding banquet now had a solemn atmosphere.
Something big must have happened.
Shu Yao grabbed a villager and asked, "What happened?"
The villagers sighed, "The bride is missing."
She was shocked: "What's going on?"
The villagers were filled with regret: "We were just about to pick up the bride, but there was no one in the house and a crabapple blossom was placed on the bed. It was this crabapple blossom that caused harm..."
"What do you mean?"
Villager: "Some time ago, a flower thief appeared in the village. Every time he kidnapped a woman, he would place a crabapple blossom on her bed. This girl Yue must have been kidnapped by the flower thief. I'm afraid such a good marriage with the village chief can't be completed."
Shu Yao bit her lower lip. How could this happen? Seeing the village chief's family, the groom, and the villagers all gathered here, she couldn't help but feel anxious. The bride had just disappeared, which meant the murderer hadn't gone far away. If she went to find her now, there might still be a chance. So she walked over to the village chief and said, "Village chief, sitting here and waiting for death is not a solution. The most urgent thing is to find the bride first."
A word of advice woke the village chief up. He was completely immersed in sorrow and had forgotten about the important matter of finding someone. He immediately stood up and ordered the villagers to go find his daughter.
The villagers were united, and some even took up sickles and hoes. They would show no mercy if they caught the flower thieves.
The groom also took off his wedding clothes and followed the villagers out to look for someone.
After Shu Yao returned home, she saw Ji Shijing hanging clothes. She put bayberries in the basket and reminded him: "I just picked the bayberries. Wash them several times before you eat them. By the way, I have something to do outside now and may be back late. Don't read too late at home." After saying that, she was about to go out, but after thinking about it, she turned back and took another thorny stick.
As a weak woman, she always needs something to protect herself.
Ji Shijing took two quick steps to pull her up, and asked softly, "Where are you going?"
Shu Yao told him about the village chief's family. Ji Shijing said slowly, "I'll go with you."
She did not refuse. After locking the gate, the two of them joined other villagers in searching.
The villagers searched for three hours, almost turning the whole village upside down, and even searched every corner of the back mountain, but there was no sign of Yang Yue.
It was almost late at night and everyone was a little discouraged. The village chief looked at the vast night with a blank look in his eyes. Where was his daughter?
The villagers went home, Shu Yao and Ji Shijing also went back. In the second half of the night, the village returned to silence, and only the village chief's house was brightly lit all night.
Shu Yao tossed and turned in bed. If this flower thief was not caught, the girls in the village would never have peace.
Ji Shijing watched her tossing and turning, sighed slightly, and covered her with the quilt: "Go to sleep first, and think about other things tomorrow."
How could Shu Yao sleep?
She had a vague guess in her mind, but she wasn't sure.
She didn't sleep much that night. She stared at the top of her head with her eyes open. The breathing of the person next to her was getting closer and closer. She turned her head in confusion and found that Ji Shijing had somehow fallen asleep on her pillow.
Shu Yao carefully put his head back, then closed her eyes and prepared to rest for a while.
Ji Shijing's eyelashes trembled slightly and his brows were tightly furrowed.
…
The next day, she rushed to the village chief's house early in the morning to see if there was any new progress.
A large group of people had already gathered at the village chief's house. Just as they were about to go look for someone, they saw a child stumbling over and gasping for breath, saying, "Village chief, I saw Sister Yue."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at the child.
The village chief held the child's shoulders and asked excitedly, "Where is it?"
"At the entrance of the village."
As soon as he finished speaking, the groom rushed out, followed by the others running towards the village entrance, with Shu Yao following behind breathlessly.
As expected, Yang Yue was at the entrance of the village. She was lying alone on the dirt road. Her wedding dress had been torn to pieces and she looked shabby. She had her eyes closed and it was unknown whether she was dead or alive.
When the groom saw her like this, he immediately took off his outer robe and covered her with it, with a look of sadness and anger in his eyes.
When the village chief saw his daughter like this, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. He muttered, "How could this happen? How could this happen?"
The village chief's wife fainted.
Yang Yue was carried back home and changed into clean clothes, but she showed no signs of waking up.
The village chief urgently called all the villagers together and said to them, "Even if you have to dig three feet deep, you must find the murderer for me."
The groom came out of the house, his face gloomy and murderous: "If anyone finds the murderer, I will give him one hundred taels of silver."
When they heard the number of one hundred taels of silver, the crowd sighed. One hundred taels of silver! These farmers would never see so much money in their entire lives.
So everyone worked harder to find the flower thief.
Shu Yao did not follow them. She went into the room and took a look at the injured Yang Yue. The person on the bed was pale and it was obvious that she was too frightened. Her eyes were slightly moist. An innocent woman should not suffer such an unexpected disaster.
When they got home, Ji Shijing hadn't returned yet. Yang Xiuhe, who was lying on the low wall next to her, spoke to her, "Sister Yao, how is Yue girl now?"
Shu Yao was feeling a little down. She shook her head and said, "The situation is not very good."
Yang Xiuhe spit on the ground, put her hands on her hips and started cursing, "Damn flower thief, don't let me touch you, or I'll skin him alive. Pah, you conscienceless thing."
Shu Yao went to the kitchen and gave Yang Xiuhe a basket of strawberries she picked yesterday.
"Sister Yang, do you think the flower thief is from our village?" she asked.
Yang Xiuhe picked up a bayberry, wiped it with the hem of her clothes, and put it directly into her mouth: "I don't think so."
Shu Yao perked up: "What do you mean?"
Yang Xiuhe thought for a moment and said, "I've lived in this village for over thirty years. I can tell the real people from the real people. I can tell the real people from the real people. The people in our village are all honest people. There are a few playboys occasionally, but they wouldn't do anything that would harm the world or morality."
Shu Yao didn't comment. Just as she was about to tell Yang Xiuhe what she was thinking, she saw villagers outside running towards a place with hoes and sickles in their hands.
Some villagers even shouted: "Everyone hurry to the dilapidated temple at the east end of the village. We have found the flower thief."
Yang Xiuhe almost lost her grip on the bayberry. She and Shu Yao exchanged a glance and asked uncertainly, "What did he just say?"
Shu Yao swallowed and said, "They said the flower thief was found."
Both of them were stunned for a few seconds, digesting what the man had just said, and then they joined the villagers outside and ran to the ruined temple together.
Shu Yao wanted to see who the flower thief was and whether it was the person she had imagined.
As soon as they arrived at the dilapidated temple, they found that it was already surrounded by people. Yang Xiuhe pulled her up and rushed all the way to the front.
I saw several tall and strong young men in the village holding sickles and ropes in their hands, staring nervously at the man surrounded by them.
Shu Yao stretched her head but couldn't see what the flower thief looked like, so she asked the villagers nearby: "Who is the flower thief?"
The villagers said, "I don't know him. He must be from another village. He's very big and burly. Even the strongest young men in the village couldn't subdue him."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the young man holding a sickle and a rope say, "This man is injured. If we all go together, I don't believe we can't catch him."
Several others responded.
The villagers who were watching the excitement nearby all took a few steps back tactfully.
The scene before them was a mess. Several young men were hacking at the man in the middle. Some women present were afraid of seeing a bloody scene, so they quickly covered their children's eyes.
However, these young men had been chopping with their sickles for such a long time without making any progress, as if they were chopping at the air. After a few sounds of fists hitting flesh, the two young men were knocked away.
Immediately afterwards, a roar was heard, and everyone present was shocked. The remaining young men also took two steps back unconsciously, looking at the man with some fear.
The two young men who had just been knocked away happened to be standing in front of Shu Yao. Now they were lying limply on the ground. Shu Yao finally saw clearly the man surrounded by them.
It's him.
Obviously, the man also saw her. His face was covered with dust, and his appearance was still unclear. One could only see that the contours of his facial features were deep and sharp. At this moment, his pair of light blue eyes were looking at Shu Yao quietly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
