Zhu Mingyue peeked out from behind the door and widened his eyes when he saw the crowd.
He looked at the villagers, and the villagers looked back at him. Some of the younger men were seeing Zhu Mingyue for the first time. After seeing his face, they found it difficult to say anything cruel.
Wang Dezi secretly felt it was a pity. If it were not for the money, burning such a beautiful person alive would be a waste.
He raised a torch and shouted,
“Capture him!”
Zhu Mingyue was confused.
“I have no grudge against any of you. Why do you want to capture me?”
Wang Dezi stepped forward.
“You are a disaster star. If we allow you to stay in the village, everyone will suffer because of you.”
“Why do you say I’m a disaster star? What proof do you have?” Zhu Mingyue asked with a frown.
“You caused Xie Hong’s death. That’s proof enough. Stop arguing.”
Zhu Mingyue fell silent.
Xie Pei really had planned everything well. He killed someone, yet nobody suspected him, and Zhu Mingyue had to carry the blame instead.
Perhaps noticing Zhu Mingyue’s resentful stare, Xie Pei walked over.
“Good, you’re here,” Wang Dezi said. “We’re informing you in advance. If you don’t want to die, move out now. We’re going to burn this house too.”
Burn the house too?
What did that mean?
Who was going to be burned together with the house?
Wait—
Oh no!
“Since you insist that I’m the problem, I’ll leave today,” Zhu Mingyue said. He had already planned to leave the village, but these villagers moved faster than he did and now wanted to burn him alive.
Wang Dezi shook his head.
“You can’t leave today. A disaster star brings trouble wherever he goes. It’s better for Gouhe Village to eliminate the source of the problem.”
Zhu Mingyue knew arguing was useless.
He grabbed Xie Pei’s sleeve and hid behind him.
“This is all your fault,” he whispered so only Xie Pei could hear. “You have to save me.”
Xie Pei remained silent.
He looked coldly at the villagers, unable to hide his disgust.
Without saying a word, he picked up his axe and slowly walked toward Wang Dezi.
Wang Dezi swallowed nervously.
“What… what are you doing?”
Xie Pei replied,
“Whatever you’re planning to do, I’m planning to do the same.”
“What do you mean?” Wang Dezi demanded. “I’m protecting the people, and you’re treating my kindness like an insult.”
Xie Pei said calmly,
“If you want to kill my sister-in-law today, then I’ll kill you today. If you burn my house, I’ll burn yours.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me.”
Although thin, Xie Pei was tall. At seventeen years old, he stood half a head taller than Wang Dezi.
Looking down at him, he was extremely intimidating.
Wang Dezi’s eyes shifted nervously.
He wasn’t afraid of most people.
But Xie Pei was different.
A person with nothing to lose was the most dangerous kind.
Xie Pei lived alone and had little to fear. If pushed too far, there was no telling what he might do.
Wang Dezi wanted to keep both his life and the money he had collected.
After thinking for a moment, he compromised.
“I don’t want trouble with you. But look at all these people waiting for results. I have to give them an answer.”
He forced a smile.
“How about this? Hand your sister-in-law over to us, and we’ll leave the house alone.”
Wang Dezi thought he had already made a generous concession.
Unexpectedly, Xie Pei pressed the axe against his neck.
“Wait! Wait!”
Wang Dezi had never experienced anything like this before.
He closed his eyes tightly and dared not move.
A foul smell suddenly spread through the air.
The villagers stood around them in a circle but were too afraid to help.
Looking down, they could clearly see a puddle on the ground.
Wang Dezi had been frightened so badly that he wet himself.
“You decide! Whatever you say! We can discuss everything!”
“Take these people and leave.”
The shining axe blade scared Wang Dezi so much that he did not dare open his eyes.
“Let’s go!” he shouted.
Then he turned and ran faster than anyone else.
When the villagers saw their leader flee, they stood there in confusion for a moment with their torches raised.
Eventually, they scattered and left.
After everyone was gone, Zhu Mingyue let out a long sigh of relief.
He hurried to Xie Pei’s side and awkwardly muttered,
“Thank you.”
Xie Pei still did not respond.
Zhu Mingyue was already used to that and did not mind.
The danger was gone.
Now he could finally leave.
“Well… I…”
“You can stay.”
Before he could finish saying goodbye, Xie Pei interrupted him.
Zhu Mingyue looked at him in confusion.
Xie Hong was dead.
He had no relation to Xie Pei anymore.
Why would Xie Pei let him stay?
Guessing his thoughts, Xie Pei explained,
“Think of it as compensation.”
After a pause, he added,
“After that, we owe each other nothing.”
Hearing this, Zhu Mingyue actually felt embarrassed.
It was true that Xie Pei had indirectly caused his situation.
But it was also bad luck.
Xie Pei had only intended to kill Xie Hong. Zhu Mingyue had simply been caught in the middle and ended up carrying the reputation of a disaster star.
Wait.
Why was he defending a murderer?
Sure, Xie Pei had helped him, but he was still a killer.
In a modern society, he would be sent to prison.
But after only three seconds of determination, Zhu Mingyue gave up.
The truth was that he had nowhere else to go.
The abandoned temple was freezing cold.
The Xie family home was shabby, but at least it blocked the wind and had a bed.
Besides, now that Xie Hong was dead, the villagers were temporarily afraid to touch him.
As long as he stayed out of trouble, he could probably survive the winter safely.
After weighing the options, his desire for shelter defeated his fear of Xie Pei.
One of Zhu Mingyue’s greatest strengths was his thick skin.
To live comfortably, he was willing to put aside a little pride.
So only moments after hearing the offer, he agreed immediately, afraid that Xie Pei might change his mind.
In the end, Zhu Mingyue remained in the Xie family as Xie Pei’s widowed sister-in-law.
…
After the incident, Wang Dezi returned home and developed a high fever.
His father was called back from town. After hearing what had happened, he became furious and slapped his only son.
All the money Wang Dezi had collected was returned to the villagers.
The villagers did not understand the true reason.
Instead, they guessed that Zhu Mingyue’s situation had become so serious that even the Wang family could not handle it, so they returned the money to avoid getting involved.
Those who had followed Wang Dezi to the Xie family that day became terrified.
Yet they were still too afraid to interact with Zhu Mingyue.
From then on, many villagers deliberately avoided walking near the Xie family home.
Zhu Mingyue knew nothing about their thoughts and did not care enough to find out.
…
The previous night, heavy snow had fallen again.
Outside, cold winds mixed with snowflakes rattled the paper-covered windows.
Wrapped in blankets, Zhu Mingyue held a hand warmer and yawned lazily.
The hand warmer belonged to Xie Hong.
It once held charcoal, but Xie Hong used so much that the family supply was nearly exhausted.
Now it was filled with warm stove ash that Zhu Mingyue had gotten from Xie Pei.
It was not as effective as charcoal, but it still provided a little warmth.
Listening to the sounds of wood splitting outside, he knew Xie Pei was chopping firewood again.
As he grew sleepy, Zhu Mingyue reflected on the days they had spent living together.
By now, he felt he understood Xie Pei’s personality.
Xie Pei was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
He often spoke harshly or ignored Zhu Mingyue entirely, yet none of his actions carried any malice.
Once, Zhu Mingyue had accidentally seen Xie Pei’s bedding.
His quilt was much thinner than the one Zhu Mingyue used.
Even so, Xie Pei had not kept the better blanket for himself despite being the owner of the house.
The same was true for the hand warmer.
Whenever Zhu Mingyue left it in the kitchen after using it, Xie Pei would quietly refill it with fresh warm stove ash after cooking.
Xie Pei wasn’t a bad person.
At least, he wasn’t bad to him.
One day, when the weather improved and he found a way to earn money, Zhu Mingyue promised himself he would repay this kindness.
…
Outside in the courtyard, Xie Pei brushed melting snow from his face.
Looking at the snowfall that showed no signs of stopping, he frowned deeply.
The family’s grain was long gone.
Every meal now consisted of boiled taro and water.
Zhu Mingyue was considerate and ate very little.
To conserve energy, he often ate only half a taro before crawling back into bed.
He even joked that if he fell asleep quickly enough, he would not feel hungry.
Even with such careful rationing, only enough taro remained for two more days.
Xie Pei still had a little money saved from selling animal hides in the past.
Buying grain could keep them alive for a while longer.
But the snow had become too deep to travel to town.
After stacking the firewood, he sighed.
When would the snow finally stop?
Perhaps their prayers were answered.
The day before they completely ran out of food, the snow finally ended.
The sun shone brightly, slowly melting the thick white snow.
As soon as Zhu Mingyue stepped outside, icy meltwater soaked the tips of his shoes, causing him to quickly retreat.
After searching the house and failing to find Xie Pei, he noticed many villagers leaving their homes and heading toward town.
He immediately understood.
Xie Pei must have left early while the snow was melting.
By noon, Xie Pei still had not returned.
Zhu Mingyue stopped waiting and boiled two taros in the kitchen.
He ate half of one while warming himself by the stove and left the remaining one and a half for Xie Pei.
He waited.
And waited.
By mid-afternoon, villagers gradually returned from town carrying supplies.
Zhu Mingyue started to worry.
Buying food should not take this long.
Has something happened?
Just then, he spotted a gray figure.
His eyes lit up instantly.
Xie Pei was carrying a large sack on his shoulder.
It did not look like grain.
Still, as long as it was edible, Zhu Mingyue would be happy.
As soon as Xie Pei entered the house, Zhu Mingyue shut the door and crouched beside the sack, eagerly waiting for it to be opened.
After drinking some hot tea, Xie Pei slowly untied the bag.
Inside was a dark lump.
Unable to resist, Zhu Mingyue poked it.
“It’s meat!”
Xie Pei nodded.
Then he pulled out an entire wild piglet and laid it on the floor.
A long wound nearly a foot long ran along its side.
It was obvious that Xie Pei had killed it with his axe while it was trying to escape.
For once, Zhu Mingyue did not mind the smell of blood.
Instead, he playfully poked the pig’s backside.
“You hunted this in the mountains? That’s amazing!”
“Mm,” Xie Pei replied.
“This pig must weigh thirty or forty pounds! You could sell it for a lot of money in town!”
A pound of pork could sell for more than ten copper coins.
That would buy plenty of grain.
“Not selling it.”
Xie Pei glanced at him and added,
“We’ll keep it for ourselves.”