“Alright!” Zhang Hu and Zhang Bao responded simultaneously.
These brothers were the strongest young men in the village, making their living as hunters. But times were tough, with little game left in the mountains, forcing the brothers to survive by gathering wild vegetables and taking odd jobs.
“Be extremely careful! The elders say there are poisonous insects and Magical Creatures below this cliff. If you encounter danger, prioritize escaping!” Bai Dafu warned uneasily.
Zhang Hu adjusted the bow and arrows on his back, declaring firmly, “No matter how fierce the Magical Creature, it can’t outrun our arrows. Don’t worry!”
“Go!”
As soon as Bai Dafu finished speaking, the two brothers each led twenty men rushing off in opposite directions.
Bai Dafu glanced at those remaining. “You few, find a large rock. The rest of you, get ropes. Tie the ropes to the rock so we can lower someone down to search!”
The rock and ropes were quickly brought. Several strong laborers securely tied thick hemp ropes, as thick as a child’s wrist, to the rock. For extra safety, Bai Dafu assigned several young men to hold the ropes tightly.
“Who’s willing to go down and search?”
Before Bai Dafu finished speaking, Liu Tiezhu stepped forward voluntarily: “Uncle, I’ll go!”
Someone in the crowd loudly objected: “Liu Tiezhu, it was your daughter who pushed Hu Niu down! How can you be so kind-hearted as to search for her? You probably want to kill Hu Niu!”
“Right, I don’t trust Liu Tiezhu!”
“I don’t trust him either! Let me go down instead!”
Though questioned, Liu Tiezhu didn’t defend himself—after all, it was Liu Yun who had pushed Hu Niu down.
He looked at Bai Dafu: “Uncle, I genuinely want to search for Hu Niu. The elders all say the cliff bottom is exceptionally dangerous, where a moment’s carelessness could cost your life. Since my daughter Liu Yun pushed the Bai family’s girl down, I, as her father, should take responsibility. If I encounter danger down there and don’t make it back, consider it my life given in compensation to the Bai family. Uncle, please let me go down!”
Seeing his sincerity and the urgency of the situation, Bai Dafu nodded: “None of this talk about compensating with your life! I want you to rescue both Hu Niu and Da Keng and return safely yourself!”
“I’ll follow your orders, Uncle!”
As he spoke, Liu Tiezhu took the other end of the hemp rope and tied it around himself.
Seeing that Village Head Bai had approved Liu Tiezhu’s descent, the crowd could say nothing more. They helped Liu Tiezhu secure the rope, wrapping it around him repeatedly until completely safe, then slowly lowered him down.
However, the search party encountered difficulties on the very first day. They searched until midnight without finding anyone. Operating under the cliff at night was too dangerous, so Bai Dafu reluctantly ordered everyone to temporarily halt the search, return home to rest overnight, and resume early the next morning.
When Cui Shi heard they hadn’t been found, she nearly fainted, her vision going black. Bai Renyi’s eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed.
Tian E had cried until her voice was hoarse. Her sister-in-law was the family’s darling, and Da Keng was her own heart’s treasure—losing either child was unbearable!
Li Zhenzhu had been holding onto hope, but upon hearing they hadn’t been found, she exploded!
Without another word, she dashed toward Zhang Cuihua’s house. She was going to capture Liu Yun to pay with her life and avenge her sister-in-law!
Meanwhile, Zhang Cuihua was at home scolding Liu Yun: “You fool! How could you handle things so poorly? I just wanted you to teach that Little fairy from the Bai family a lesson! I never expected you to push her off! Now you’ve created a huge disaster!”Liu Yun’s broken arm was slung in a ragged cloth sling as she tearfully defended herself, “Mother, I really didn’t push that little fairy! She fell down by herself!”
“But now the whole village says you pushed her down! Even with a hundred mouths, you couldn’t clear your name! You troublemaker—today I’m going to beat you to death!”
As Zhang Cuihua spoke, she swung her palm to strike again.
“Stop!”
Before Zhang Cuihua’s hand could reach Liu Yun, an angry roar came from the doorway, followed by Liu Tiezhu entering.
His clothes were torn to shreds by thorns, and his face bore several injuries, making him look utterly disheveled.
Liu Tiezhu glared coldly at Zhang Cuihua and said, “You never discipline her properly normally. Now that something has happened, what good would beating her to death do?”
“Don’t act all high and mighty! Tell me, did you find that little fairy or not?” Zhang Cuihua rolled her eyes at the sight of her husband’s tattered clothes.
“Who are you calling a little fairy?” Another furious voice sounded from the doorway.
Zhang Cuihua looked over and saw that it was the Bai family’s third daughter-in-law who had come to confront her. This daughter-in-law was notorious for being loud-mouthed and hot-tempered. Not daring to clash with her directly, Zhang Cuihua immediately put on a smiling face: “Oh, it’s Sister Zhenzhu! Please, come in!”
“Who the hell is your sister?”
Li Zhenzhu stormed over to Liu Yun, grabbed her, and started dragging her away.
Liu Yun wailed like a stuck pig: “Father! Mother! Save me!”
Zhang Cuihua panicked. Although Liu Yun wasn’t her biological daughter, she was still a member of the Liu family. She could bully the girl herself, but how could she let an outsider do the same?
She looked at Liu Tiezhu: “Her father, they’re trampling all over us! Aren’t you going to do something?”
“She brought this on herself! She deliberately harmed Hu Niu—the Bai family would be justified in cutting her to pieces!”
“I think you’re just afraid of the Bai family! All you know how to do is yell at me at home, but outside you’re more timid than a mouse!”
Seeing they couldn’t see eye to eye, Liu Tiezhu didn’t want to argue with Zhang Cuihua and turned to leave again.
Zhang Cuihua hurried after him.
Li Zhenzhu hauled Liu Yun back to the Bai residence and threw her harshly before Cui Shi: “Mother, I’ve brought Liu Yun to you. Do whatever you want with her—kill her or cut her to pieces. I’ll take responsibility even if the sky falls!”
The crowd gathered in the courtyard buzzed with discussion: “This girl looks so kind-faced, who would have thought she could be so vicious? How could she do such a thing to such a small child!”
“Appearances can be deceiving. From now on, everyone should be careful around her!”
“What good daughter could a woman like Zhang Cuihua possibly raise?”
“Exactly! The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I think she learned it all from her mother!”
Zhang Cuihhu arrived panting and, before she could even catch her breath, heard everyone cursing her, nearly dying of anger.
Liu Yun threw herself to her knees before Cui Shi, kowtowing heavily with loud thuds: “I didn’t push Hu Niu down! She fell by herself! Please let me go!”
Cui Shi looked at Liu Yun kneeling on the ground and thought of poor Little Tiger Girl, her heart aching as if shattered. “Hu Niu never did you any wrong. Why did you want her dead? She was just a one-year-old baby—how could you bear to hurt her?”
Liu Yun stammered incoherently in her defense, “Auntie, I really didn’t push Hu Niu! She bit me, so I let go, and that’s when she fell! Look at the bite marks on my arm—she bit me first!”
Cui Shi closed her eyes, forcing back her tears. “No matter what, you harbored malicious intent toward her first. I want you to pay with your life for what you did to her!”