Someone had actually followed Li Benfu and his sons up the mountain to the cave!
Xia Qingyue focused her gaze.
The few figures had first hidden in the nearby grass, whispering to each other for a while, and then, as if reaching some agreement, stepped out openly and walked toward the cave.
“Well, Li Benfu, you and your family found a good place up the mountain, secretly moved without telling anyone, and are living the good life in hiding!”
The speaker was a middle-aged man, accompanied by a young man and woman—his children.
Xia Qingyue recognized them: the man was Zhu Sanbao, thirty-six years old; his son Zhu Manfu, sixteen; and his daughter Zhu Manzhen, fifteen.
The Zhu family were also from Xiushui Village and were relatives of the original family.
Zhu Sanbao was the younger brother of the original Li family matriarch, Zhu Erniang.
When the original family moved to the mountain, they only informed their close neighbor, the Li family, and kept it secret from everyone else, including the Zhu family.
The Zhu family were far from decent people.
Years ago, Zhu Sanbao had lost money gambling, and debt collectors came to his home, threatening that if he couldn’t pay, his hands and feet would be destroyed.
In desperation, the Zhu family offered all their belongings—three taels of silver—but it wasn’t enough; they were short by eight taels.
In panic, Zhu’s parents thought of Zhu Erniang, of marriageable age, and asked if the debt collector would accept her in place of the money.
Seeing that she was fair and delicate, the collector immediately agreed.
For Zhu Erniang, this was devastating.
No matter how she begged, her parents would not relent. Her temper flared, and she even tried to dash her head against a pillar. Fortunately, she was rescued by Xia Dasong passing by.
Xia Dasong understood the situation and offered the eight taels needed to pay off Zhu Sanbao, on the condition that Zhu Erniang would no longer be forced into marriage.
Zhu Erniang was deeply moved and declared she would marry Xia Dasong to repay the favor.
Eventually, under the Zhu family’s urging, Xia Dasong handed over the eight taels and brought Zhu Erniang to his home, and they became husband and wife.
Xia Dasong had grown up accompanying his father, the famous hunter of the village, into the forest. He was the only son; his mother had died young, and his father became ill after hunting injuries, passing away three years ago.
Hunters had slightly better living conditions than ordinary farming households. Ever since Zhu Erniang married Xia Dasong, the Zhu family frequently came to cause trouble, making life in the Xia household uncomfortable.
This was one of the main reasons the original family moved to live in the mountains.
Thinking of all this, Xia Qingyue couldn’t help but sigh for the original family. Their lives were truly unlucky: good people went unrewarded, and misfortune lingered for generations.
The Chen family was shocked to see the Zhu family suddenly appear. Despite being careful and secretive, they had been discovered.
Li Benfu, knowing his son well, gave a stern look to his youngest, Li Weisheng.
Li Weisheng looked at his father and then at the Zhu family, anxious and aggrieved. “Father, I didn’t tell them. I only told Gousheng that we were moving up the mountain, and… I didn’t give the exact location.”
The Li family exchanged uneasy glances.
Hidden, Xia Qingyue held her forehead.
This foolish boy… everything is already a mess, and he still can’t keep things to himself. Words spoken without thought can be seized by those with intent, and walls have ears.
Indeed, secrecy brings safety, and speech can ruin it.
“No need to say more, Li Benfu. This cave belongs to our Zhu family as well. Otherwise, I’ll tell the whole village that you secretly found a good place to live in peace. Let’s see if they’ll let you off, and how you plan to stand in the village!”
Zhu Sanbao puffed out his chest, clearly enjoying himself.
“Father, the cave looks big from outside, but I don’t know about inside. Too steep, narrow, dark, damp… not suitable for our family to live. I’ll go in and pick a good spot first.”
Zhu Manfu, just over 1.6 meters tall, plump and round-faced, stuck out his tongue at the Li family, then entered the cave with his sister Zhu Manzhen.
Li Weikang and Li Weisheng, worried, followed closely behind the siblings.
The Li family was anxious. The current situation was unfavorable to them.
They moved to another spot and whispered to each other.
“Those Zhu people are no good. Look what they did to Erniang’s family before… some habits never change!” Chen Yuzhen fumed.
Her parents and older brother’s family had just arrived from the neighboring village. They knew the Zhu family meant trouble and were deeply worried.
“Don’t panic. We all know what the Zhu family is like. Zhu Sanbao’s threats are serious. Right now, we have only three options:
First, obey him and let them move in with us…”
Li Benfu hesitated. His wife and Chen Yuzhen exchanged looks, unwilling to choose this option.
“Second, disobey, and we move elsewhere on the mountain, far from them!”
“How can we? We found this cave ourselves! Where else can we go? Caves aren’t just lying around on the mountain!” Li Benfu’s father snapped.
“Third, pretend to comply, live with the Zhu family temporarily, and search for a new place to stay.”
Li Benfu looked at his family for their opinion.
They were a few meters away from the grass where Xia Qingyue hid, so she could hear their discussion.
Xia Qingyue felt relieved that they had a plan. Their situation was indeed grim, but she knew well that crossing the Zhu family meant no good days ahead.
As the Li family deliberated, Zhu Sanbao impatiently prodded, “Have you decided yet? What’s your choice?”
Left with no other option, the Li family chose the third path.
“Hahaha, not bad! As they say, a wise man adapts to the times!” Zhu Sanbao laughed heartily.
Zhu Manfu and his sister emerged from the cave.
“Father, I picked a spot for our family to live,” Zhu Manfu said with pride.
The Li brothers, Li Weikang and Li Weisheng, had dark expressions as they followed.
Zhu Manzhen crossed her arms, raised her chin, and looked down at the Li family with contempt. “Now, move your things out of the cave. Once our family moves in, then you can move in.”
Li Benfu’s gaze turned sharp. “Half the cave belongs to us. You won’t take all the best spots. If you don’t agree, fine—I’ll go down and tell the villagers. If they wish, they can live here together.”
This made the Zhu family anxious.
Zhu Sanbao said, “Brother Benfu, don’t rush. Manzhen is just a child; she doesn’t understand. Let’s do as you say.”
Hidden, Xia Qingyue gave Li Benfu a thumbs-up. That’s how you stand up to such people.
After hearing all this, Xia Qingyue roughly understood the situation and was about to leave—but what Zhu Sanbao said next to the Li family made her shiver, her face suddenly darkening.