As soon as Jiang Yuanyuan left the house, Granny Yu, who had been watching nearby, immediately went to inform Zhang the Lame, “That girl has gone out alone. Hurry and find an opportunity to take care of her!”
Seeing her even more anxious than himself, Zhang the Lame sneered mercilessly, “I’ve never seen an old woman so eager to sell her own granddaughter.”
Granny Yu’s face instantly darkened. “What do you mean? Last night, my Jiang Da injured his hand on a nail while opening the door for you. He won’t be able to do heavy work for at least two months. I haven’t even asked you for compensation, and today I’m still keeping watch for you. How dare you mutter about me?”
“You damn woman!” Zhang the Lame retorted, unwilling to back down. “If it weren’t for you, this greedy hag, taking the money and refusing to give it back, I would’ve already married a wife. Your Jiang Da deserved to be pierced through by that nail—who’s ever heard of an uncle sneaking over his niece’s wall in the middle of the night? If word gets out, you might as well lose that wrinkled face of yours.”
With that, ignoring Granny Yu’s shrill protests, Zhang the Lame took a shortcut to chase after Jiang Yuanyuan. The thought of soon bedding such a beauty made his lame leg feel almost normal, and he walked swiftly.
Granny Yu spat at his retreating back and walked away, cursing under her breath.
·
Not long after Jiang Yuanyuan left, Chu Jing got up and followed her. He remembered the way from the last time he had accompanied her into the village.
Villagers watched him curiously as he walked out alone.
Chu Jing paid them no mind, his gaze fixed ahead, but when he reached the usual spot where villagers waited for the donkey cart, there was no sign of Jiang Yuanyuan.
He wanted to ask if anyone had seen her, but the villagers avoided him. Unable to get any answers, he wasted a considerable amount of time.
After a while, Chu Jing surveyed the surrounding terrain and turned his gaze toward the woods behind the village.
Jiang Yuanyuan was jolted awake by discomfort. She had been placed on a large rock, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Zhang the Lame tugging at the ties of her clothing.
She tried to scream but found her mouth gagged and her hands bound. Only her legs were free, so she mustered all her strength and kicked Zhang the Lame squarely in the chest.
Caught off guard by her sudden awakening, Zhang the Lame was sent sprawling to the ground, unable to get up. Seeing Jiang Yuanyuan trying to escape, he yanked her back. “Still hoping that pretty boy will save you? Just submit to me quietly. As long as I have food, you won’t go hungry!”
He then tried to kiss her face, but Jiang Yuanyuan, disgusted, headbutted him while making muffled “mmph” sounds through the gag.
However, her strength was too feeble. She was easily pinned down, unable to move.
As she felt Zhang the Lame’s hand slip inside her short jacket, Jiang Yuanyuan gritted her teeth, overwhelmed by a wave of humiliation. If she could move, she would definitely ask Chu Jing to help her kill this damned cripple!
The moment this thought crossed her mind, Zhang the Lame, who was pinning her down, suddenly flew backward. When Jiang Yuanyuan opened her eyes again, she saw Chu Jing, as if he had heard her plea and descended from the heavens, beating Zhang the Lame until he was defenseless. With just a couple of punches, Zhang the Lame’s face visibly swelled.
Only then did Jiang Yuanyuan’s tears begin to fall freely. The fear in her heart seemed to have found an outlet, pouring out uncontrollably.
Zhang the Lame couldn’t withstand the beating and collapsed unconscious after just two strikes. Chu Jing came over and tore the cloth from Jiang Yuanyuan’s mouth. Seeing her burrow into his chest as if terrified, her face streaked with tears, he gently patted her shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
Jiang Yuanyuan sobbed, “Chu Jing, my hands hurt, my back hurts too. Thank goodness you came, otherwise… otherwise…”
The rest of her words dissolved into weeping.
Chu Jing let her shrink into his embrace, taking her bound wrists to examine them—they were already stained with blood.
A flicker of coldness passed through his eyes as he tore the cloth strips apart. Freed, Jiang Yuanyuan immediately clung to his waist, her tears seemingly endless, soon soaking a large patch of his robe.
After letting her cry a while longer, Chu Jing asked, “Are you injured anywhere?”
Jiang Yuanyuan lifted her tear-filled eyes from his chest and shook her head.
Only then did Chu Jing notice her clothes were disheveled, revealing a large expanse of pale neck and half a shoulder.
He hadn’t noticed earlier—likely her violent sobbing in his arms had mussed her garments.
Yet Jiang Yuanyuan remained unaware, still looking at him with deer-like eyes that stirred involuntary pity.
Chu Jing turned his head away uncomfortably, diverting her attention. “Weren’t you going to town? How did you end up in the back hills?”
Jiang Yuanyuan whimpered, “I don’t know either. I hadn’t walked far from home when I fainted. When I woke up, I was here…”
She clutched Chu Jing’s robe tightly, glancing at Zhang the Lame who lay motionless, her voice tinged with fear. “Is he… dead?”
Chu Jing shook his head. “No.”
He had held back his strength—only knocking the man unconscious, not killing him.
Jiang Yuanyuan lowered her head, thinking. “Let’s report this to the authorities!”
Chu Jing naturally agreed. Moreover, according to the law, someone who assaulted a woman should receive twenty lashes and be exiled five hundred li away.
He hoisted Zhang the Lame onto his shoulder, and the two strode openly out of the back hills.
Since Chu Jing was carrying someone, they immediately drew the villagers’ attention. Ironically, no one had noticed when Jiang Yuanyuan was carried into the hills earlier, but now with Zhang the Lame, someone promptly stepped forward.
The person who stepped forward was Zhang Dazhu, the son of Zhang the Lame’s cousin.
Zhang Dazhu shouted, “Where are you taking my uncle?”
Not wanting Jiang Yuanyuan’s near-assault to become public knowledge, Chu Jing replied coldly, “None of your business.”
This stirred up a hornet’s nest. Villagers surnamed Zhang gathered, demanding an explanation.
Jiang Yuanyuan bit her lip. Though the matter was embarrassing to speak of, she wasn’t one to cling to extreme chastity. Softly, she said to Chu Jing, “Let Zhang the Lame explain himself.”
Chu Jing looked at her, then nodded, tossing Zhang the Lame to the ground.
Zhang the Lame’s face was covered in blood, looking as frightening as if he were dead.
In truth, he had already woken but dared not make a sound, fearing another beating.
Seeing him feign unconsciousness, Chu Jing kicked him. Zhang the Lame howled, feeling as if a bone had been broken.
He now understood that if he lied, he would likely be beaten to death by this wild man, whose strength was so immense that a single punch felt like it could shatter his internal organs.
Zhang the Lame immediately rolled over and kowtowed to Chu Jing, pleading, “I was wrong, I was truly wrong! I will never dare to lay a hand on Jiang Yuanyuan again! It was all Granny Yu who gave me that terrible idea! She is her own grandmother—otherwise, even with a hundred times the courage, I would never have dared to do such a thing in broad daylight!”