Luoluo hugged the little turtle with all her might and refused to let go. But she was still so young—how could she possibly compete with Tiedan, who was several years older than her?
Seeing that the little turtle was about to be snatched away, Luoluo anxiously leaned forward and bit down hard on Tiedan’s hand.
“AAAH! You damn brat actually dared bite me? See if I don’t beat you to death!”
Enraged by the pain, Tiedan immediately pulled back the hand that had been grabbing the turtle and kicked fiercely toward Luoluo instead.
“Waaah!” Hit in the shoulder, Luoluo fell backward into the mud with a thud, still clutching the little turtle tightly in her arms as she burst into loud sobs.
Taking advantage of the moment when Luoluo had fallen and couldn’t get up, Tiedan reached over again to snatch the turtle away.
“Luoluo! Luoluo!” Seeing Luoluo get kicked down while protecting it, the little turtle became both furious and frantic.
Suddenly, it stretched its head out from its shell, opened its mouth wide, and bit down hard on Tiedan’s index finger.
“AAAAH!” Tiedan jerked his hand back instantly, shrieking in pain. His bitten finger swung wildly through the air, but no matter how hard he shook it, he couldn’t fling the turtle off.
The bite hurt so badly that Tiedan screamed while smashing the little turtle toward a nearby rock.
“Waaah, Little Wu Dui!” Seeing this, Luoluo scrambled desperately across the ground and threw herself forward to hug Tiedan’s leg.
Desperate to get rid of the turtle, Tiedan kicked wildly and sent Luoluo flying away again.
This kick landed squarely on her little stomach.
Luoluo collapsed onto the muddy ground, crying so hard it sounded heart-wrenching.
Even while kicking Luoluo away, Tiedan’s hand never stopped moving as he continued trying to smash the little turtle against the nearby stone.
Fortunately, the little turtle was clever. Just before its body hit the rock, it released Tiedan’s finger and dropped onto the ground with a plop, lying upside down with all four feet in the air.
Seeing the blood on his bitten finger, Tiedan angrily lifted a foot to stomp on the little turtle.
But instead, he stepped on Luoluo, who had rushed over again to shield the turtle with her body.
Even after stepping on her once, he still wasn’t satisfied and raised his foot to stomp down harder again.
At that moment, Xiao Lu had just returned from the mountains after checking the traps.
The instant he saw this scene, his eyes nearly split with rage.
Throwing down everything in his hands, he swept Tiedan flying with one kick before hurrying over to pick up Luoluo, who looked like a tiny mud-covered doll and was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
“Waaahhh—Daddy!”
The moment Luoluo saw Xiao Lu, all her fear and grievance exploded out at once. She cried loudly through sobs:
“Big brother… tried to steal Little Wu Dui… hit… hit Luoluo… kicked Luoluo… bottom hurts… shoulder hurts… tummy hurts…”
Looking at the miserable, pitiful little child in his arms and hearing her tearful complaints, a blaze of fury shot straight to Xiao Lu’s head.
Normally, though he had a bad temper, at most he only scared children a little.
But now, seeing Luoluo’s frightened and wronged little face—so different from her usual lively, adorable self—his anger completely consumed him.
“Tiedan, you little bastard!”
He carried Luoluo over and sat her carefully on the doorstep.
Then he strode toward Tiedan, grabbed the back of the boy’s collar with one hand, and lifted him up like a chicken.
When Tiedan saw Xiao Lu’s usually roguish face now dark enough to drip water, with eyes sharp as knives glaring at him, his legs went weak with terror.
“Un… Uncle Xiao…”
Xiao Lu yanked him closer until their faces were nearly touching. His fierce expression looked ready to devour someone whole.
“Who gave you the guts to hit her? Today I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents.”
Before he even finished speaking, he raised his free hand.
SMACK! SMACK!
Two heavy slaps landed hard on Tiedan’s backside.
Xiao Lu hadn’t held back at all. Tiedan’s pig-slaughtering screams echoed through half the village.
“AAAH! Let me go! Let me go! Waaah! Grandma! Grandma! Help!”
Tiedan cried so hard that tears and snot covered his entire face.
But Xiao Lu acted as if he heard nothing. Burning with rage, he raised his hand again and delivered two more loud smacks.
“You still dare scream? That’s for bullying people!”
“Xiao Lu, you damned thug! How dare you hit my grandson?!”
A shrill screech suddenly came from the neighboring courtyard.
Auntie Li charged out like a cannonball, followed closely by Tiedan’s mother, Liu Guifen.
The moment Auntie Li saw her precious grandson suspended in the air getting spanked by Xiao Lu, her eyes turned red with fury and distress. Flailing her arms wildly, she lunged at Xiao Lu.
“Put Tiedan down right now, you bastard! Picking on a child—what kind of ability is that? I’ll fight you!”
Holding the bawling Tiedan with one hand, Xiao Lu coldly sidestepped her clawing hands. His icy gaze swept across the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law rushing toward him.
At this moment, the fierce protectiveness he had toward his own family was revealed completely.
“Picking on a child?” Xiao Lu’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a chilling coldness.
He pointed toward Luoluo, who sat on the doorstep hugging the little turtle while crying.
“My daughter isn’t a child? Your grandson tried to steal my daughter’s turtle, then kicked her, hit her, and stomped on her. Why don’t you talk about that? He’s several years older than her! Bullying a three-year-old little girl, and you still have the nerve to defend him?!”
He stepped forward once, his tall figure radiating an overwhelming pressure that made Auntie Li and Liu Guifen instinctively retreat half a step.
“So what if I’m bullying him today? If his parents won’t discipline him, then I will! If he dares touch even one finger of my daughter again, I’ll break his legs!”
His eyes were sharp as blades as he glared at Tiedan.
“Did you hear me, you little brat?!”
Completely terrified by Xiao Lu’s ferocious appearance, Tiedan’s crying turned into hiccupping sobs as he nodded frantically like a pecking chicken.
“I… I heard… Uncle… I won’t dare again… wuuu…”
“Xiao Lu! You… you’ve gone too far!” Auntie Li trembled with anger as she pointed at his nose.
“For the sake of some wild girl you picked up, you actually dared hit my grandson! Bah! Your daughter? She’s nothing but some unwanted little burden someone else threw away!”
She spat viciously on the ground before continuing to curse.
“And for her? You’re willing to throw away years of neighborly relations between our families just for this? Bah! I’m going to the village secretary for justice! You beat a village child—there’s no law anymore!”
“Who allowed you to talk about my daughter like that?!”
Hearing her continue insulting Luoluo, Xiao Lu became so furious that he shoved Tiedan into Auntie Li’s arms as if tossing away trash.
Then he pointed at her and roared:
“Go on then! Let’s go right now! I’m waiting for the village secretary to judge whether it’s you—with your filthy mouth and shrewish behavior—who’s in the right, or whether your grandson bullying my daughter because he couldn’t steal her things is in the right! Go! Right now! And if you don’t, I’ll chop down your Li family’s door myself!”
Staggering from the shove, Auntie Li clutched her grandson while staring at Xiao Lu’s reckless, fearless demeanor—as though he was ready to go all out against anyone.
Then she noticed the neighbors who had already gathered nearby, pointing and whispering among themselves.
Her face alternated between green and white with embarrassment and fury.