The two did not walk fast up the mountain. It was not surprising that Wang Juaner, who was familiar with the small paths of Dongxu Village, was able to overtake them. Li Ting was not surprised to see her, but the moment he spotted the pills in her hand, he flicked a small stone with his backhand. It struck the back of Wang Juaner’s hand with perfect precision, knocking the pills flying while leaving her skin uninjured.
Wang Juaner had not expected anyone else to be in this desolate wilderness. She clutched the back of her hand and turned to face the newcomers, her face still flushed red from coughing. “Why did you stop me? I paid a high price for those! Ow!”
“If you die here, others will only blame me,” Li Ting said. He felt a small hand groping for and then grabbing his wrist. Xu Yanqiu had recognized Wang Juaner’s voice. Li Ting gently lifted his hand to circle Xu Yanqiu’s fingers into his own, his gaze fixed on Wang Juaner. “So I must stop you. I do not want to cause trouble for myself.”
Wang Juaner had taken a different route, and perhaps no one had noticed her ascent. However, many people had seen Li Ting and Xu Yanqiu walk through the fields and up the mountain path. If something happened to Wang Juaner here, Li Ting’s suspicion was entirely grounded. Rumors could easily become facts, and it would be impossible to clear his name since only the three of them knew what had happened. Among the three, one was blind, which meant the only suspect would be Li Ting.
Wang Juaner was emotional, but her mind worked surprisingly fast. “Could you not just pretend you saw nothing? How I die is my own business.”
“Is it because of Xu Wu?” Li Ting raised an eyebrow, watching Wang Juaner kneel to pick up the pills and carefully wipe them on her relatively clean skirt. It was only then that Li Ting noticed she was dressed exceptionally neatly, meaning she was serious about her death.
Wang Juaner ignored him, muttering to herself. Li Ting frowned and was about to speak when Xu Yanqiu’s fingers moved in his hand. For some reason, Li Ting sensed that this movement meant trouble. The little blind boy was about to get stubborn.
Sure enough, Xu Yanqiu whispered, “Brother Li, can I go over and say a few words to her?”
“No.” This time, Li Ting gave no room for compromise and rejected the request outright. “She is not in her right mind. Are you not afraid she will hurt you?”
“But Brother Li is here, is he not?”
“Flattery will not help. I must ensure you are safe.” Li Ting did not back down. Xu Yanqiu hesitated and finally nudged Li Ting’s hand. “Then can Brother Li pass these words to her for me?”
Li Ting looked down at him. The little blind boy’s face was expressionless, showing a distance that Li Ting found quite new. Knowing he was right there to protect him, he asked, “What do you want me to tell her?”
Xu Yanqiu leaned forward and climbed onto Li Ting’s shoulder, whispering a few gentle words into his ear. After listening, the little fox suspiciously touched Xu Yanqiu’s cheek. “Is this still the Xiao Qiu I know?”
Xu Yanqiu did not speak but simply smiled and rubbed his face against Li Ting’s palm. Li Ting’s heart skipped a beat. He knew Xu Yanqiu was used to doing this, but recently, every time he did, Li Ting felt a certain thought in his heart beginning to stir. This was not a good sign.
“Will Brother Li promise me?” Xu Yanqiu lowered his heels, his face full of hope. After receiving Li Ting’s confirmation, he sighed in relief. Li Ting pinched his cheek playfully and handed him the nectar he had collected. “Keep this safe for me.”
Xu Yanqiu immediately pulled his hand back upon touching the bottle. This was something Brother Li had specifically come out to collect; it must be important and needed protection.
Li Ting released Xu Yanqiu’s hand and told him not to move. He then walked toward Wang Juaner, who was busy trying to stuff the pills into her mouth. A pair of black boots covered in grass appeared before her, startling her. She had been so immersed in her own world that she had not realized the two had not left. Looking up, she met Li Ting’s downward gaze. Fearing he would save her, she tried to swallow the pills quickly but ended up choking. She had to cough them all back out.
“Do not worry, I will not save you,” Li Ting said, moving his feet to avoid the mess, yet he did not hesitate to squat in front of her. “I am only here to deliver a message for Xiao Qiu.”
Wang Juaner looked back in panic and suspicion at the blind boy standing obediently in place. Before she could turn back, she heard Li Ting say, “He is grateful that you took him in for those few days, but that is all. You should also be grateful that my Xiao Qiu is someone who clearly distinguishes between love and hate. The rest of the words are from me: death is nothing but a mound of yellow earth. Since you have decided to die, why not take someone with you?”
“What?” Wang Juaner had not expected him to say such things. She was startled, yet his words moved her. Her unborn child, who had been framed before even coming into the world, should not have suffered like that. If Xu Wu had not done those things, she would not be seeking death in the middle of nowhere.
“If I were you, I would make that person live a life worse than death, ensuring they always remember what happened.”
Li Ting said no more. He had already heard from Gao Ke about Xu Wu’s fate. Despite the evidence, Xu Wu had given the magistrate some bribe money to settle things. In the end, he had only received a beating and was released, after which he immediately hurried to divorce Wang Juaner. Li Ting knew this much, and as the person involved, Wang Juaner likely knew even more. If his guess was correct, Xu Wu had a hand in Wang Juaner’s decision to seek death here.
Li Ting turned and walked back to Xu Yanqiu, taking his hand and leading him down the mountain. Listening to the rustling behind him, the little fox curled his lips into a smile. He was not a saint; he was a fox, and he was more calculating than anyone. Whatever Wang Juaner did next had nothing to do with him, but he did not expect that a woman who had lost her child could do something so shocking.
By the time the two reached the bottom of the mountain, it was nearly noon. Half of the villagers working in the fields had gone home for lunch. The rest, who had brought their own food, were gathered by the ridges to eat. Seeing Li Ting and Xu Yanqiu return, no one spoke. After Li Ting had chased away those young men earlier, everyone realized he was not to be trifled with.
However, after the two left, the villagers saw Wang Juaner stumbling down the mountain. Her skirt was stained with mud and grass, making her look quite disheveled.
“Hey, Wang Juaner, what happened to you?” several women asked, putting down their corn cakes to help the staggering woman, but she waved them away. Wang Juaner spotted a sickle used for cutting weeds resting on the ridge behind one of the women. She grabbed it. The woman was startled. “Wang Juaner, what are you doing? That thing was sharpened this morning and is very sharp. Be careful not to cut your hand.”
“It is none of your business. I will return it to you later,” Wang Juaner said in a raspy voice. She took the sickle and headed back to Dongxu Village via another path. The women looked at each other and then at their husbands. The men shook their heads. “Leave it be. We still have a lot of work to do.”
“What if she uses it for something?”
“She does not have the courage,” an old man said, signaling everyone to continue working. “What could a woman possibly do?”
“By the way, Brother Li.”
On the way back to Dongxu Village, the two were still holding hands. The passing villagers moved aside and thought nothing of it; it was normal to lead a blind person by the hand. Xu Yanqiu held Li Ting’s small white jade bottle as he walked behind him. “I have a piece of land.”
Li Ting remembered they had indeed been discussing this earlier. He slowed his pace and asked softly, “Where did you get land?”
“The village assigned it to my father. It should be under my name now, provided it has not been taken away,” Xu Yanqiu said, his cheerful tone suddenly dropping. He had just realized what might happen if Xu Wu and Wang Juaner had taken his land. His brow furrowed deeply, but Li Ting’s finger soon smoothed it over. “It is fine. I will take you to the yamen this afternoon and have Gao Cheng look into it.”
Xu Yanqiu nodded, as that was the only option. If he had thought of this possibility sooner, he would not have mentioned it to Brother Li. Now that he had, he worried Brother Li would be disappointed if the land truly was not his. He took a deep breath, pushed those thoughts aside, and followed Li Ting home.
In the courtyard, the chicks had grown quite a bit. Li Ting maneuvered around the scurrying birds and brought a broom to Xu Yanqiu. “Drive the chicks back.”
In recent days, he had started letting Xu Yanqiu do manageable household chores. Peeling garlic, sweeping, watering, and moving flowers; the boy did them all well. Although he was blind, he had a strong sense of pride and always wanted to help Li Ting to prove he was useful. Xu Yanqiu did not know that even if he did nothing and stayed home like a little pampered pet, Li Ting would be happy to support him.
Xu Yanqiu took the broom and, listening to the chirping, slowly drove the chicks back. He was slow, and Li Ting discovered they were out of soy sauce once he entered the kitchen. He told the boy and prepared to go out and buy some. Just as he reached the street, he saw Xu Wu rushing out of the crowd in a panic, followed by Wang Juaner with her hair disheveled and a sickle in her hand.
The woman shouted that Xu Wu deserved to die. She pounced on him, sliced open the trousers he was clutching, and with a few swift strokes, cut off Xu Wu’s manhood. The onlookers did not dare step forward. Li Ting was also startled by the scene. A bold and gossipy neighbor beside him whispered tremulously, “I heard that Wang Juaner’s ancestors were pig castrators. Her technique is indeed masterful.”
Li Ting remained silent.