“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
The heavy drumbeats sounded one after another. Thinking the matter had finally settled down, Luo Wangshu sat by the doorway and looked toward the direction the sound came from.
“Old man, what’s going on?”
Mo Fang glanced at him, tossed the herbs in his hands into a bamboo tray, and said, “They’ve opened the ancestral hall.”
“Ancestral hall?” What was that? Luo Wangshu had never even heard of it.
“Obviously the ancestral hall of Li Family Village. Once the drum is sounded and the hall doors are opened, everyone in the village with the surname Li has to go.”
People surnamed Li, huh…
“Old man, your surname is Mo, right?” Then it shouldn’t matter whether they went or not.
Luo Wangshu rested his chin on his hand and continued staring toward the village entrance. Waiting for someone was a technical skill.
Mo Fang slowly walked over and knocked Luo Wangshu on the head with his pipe. “Get up.”
“We have to go too?” His waist was still sore. Luo Wangshu dragged himself up reluctantly, clearly unwilling to move.
“At the very least, we should go see the verdict, shouldn’t we?” Mo Fang muttered to himself, his eyes full of melancholy.
“Hm?” …
Inside the Li family ancestral hall, the frail child was tightly bound with thick leather ropes and forced to kneel on the ground. A circle of people surrounded him, while outside, the drum continued to be beaten again and again. More villagers arrived in twos and threes, frowning when they saw the scene before them.
Li Guang stared blankly at the ancestral tablets of the Li family ancestors not far away. His face was covered in bruises of varying sizes.
Mrs. Li and Li Chunhua stood nearby sobbing softly, telling the surrounding people how this “monster” had brought disaster upon their family.
Li Dakang felt pity seeing the situation, yet he was powerless to do anything. Li Guang had only survived this long because their family had secretly helped him. If he’d known things would come to this, he would rather have steeled his heart back then and let them drown the child. At least then he wouldn’t have to watch such a grown child be burned alive now…
Once Li Niu saw that most of the villagers had arrived, he stopped beating the drum and walked over to Mrs. Li and Li Chunhua.
“Mother, it’s time.”
Mrs. Li took a deep breath before wailing loudly, “I’ve let down all the villagers! I gave birth to such a monster. Today he nearly cursed his own father to death, and who knows what kind of disaster he’ll bring in the future. What sins did I commit in my past life?! My heart hurts worse than being roasted over a fire, boohoo…”
Li Chunhua cried softly beside her. “Mother, this isn’t your fault. After carrying him for ten months, who would’ve known you’d give birth to a monster? Let’s send him away today!”
The mother and daughter played off each other perfectly. Li Guang tilted his head slightly to look at them, and for the first time, a trace of emotion appeared in his eyes—
Hatred.
Deep, intense hatred.
The two women were startled by his gaze. Mrs. Li stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.
“You damned monster! How dare you glare at me! I’ll burn you to death today if it kills me!”
Li Dakang wanted to stop her. His mouth opened, but not a single word came out.
It sounded nice when they called it “opening the ancestral hall to execute a monster,” saying everyone would vote together. But in reality, it all depended on the family’s attitude. If the family itself didn’t want to keep raising the child, then anyone voting against it would basically be volunteering to take the child home themselves.
This kind of thing only happened during famine years. Families unable to bear the burden would claim the child was a reincarnated monster and kill them, giving outsiders an excuse they could accept.
Li Guang’s head jerked to the side from the slap, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Yet he smiled.
“Mother, this is the last time I’ll call you that. I know you never cared to hear it. You gave birth to me, so if you want to kill me, I have nothing to say. But I want to tell you this—while you regret giving birth to me, I also regret being born by you! If I had known things would turn out like this, I’d rather have been born a pig or a dog than your child!”
“You…” Mrs. Li froze, shaken by his resolute tone. It was the first time she had ever heard Li Guang say so many words at once.
At the foot of the mountain, near the ancestral hall entrance, Luo Wangshu looked at the run-down building in disgust.
If they were going to worship their ancestors, couldn’t they at least pick a better place and repair the ancestral hall a bit? No wonder the ancestors didn’t bless them.
Before Luo Wangshu and Mo Fang could enter, a huge crowd suddenly came pouring out.
“Brother Hu, what happened?” Luo Wangshu spotted someone familiar and quickly asked while no one was paying attention.
Li Hu held Li Miaomiao, whose eyes were red from crying, and didn’t know where to begin. In the end, Li Miaomiao spoke first.
“Auntie, they said Brother Xiao Guang is a monster and want to burn him to death. Brother Xiao Guang isn’t a monster. Auntie, tell them Brother Xiao Guang isn’t a monster, wuwu…”
“Burn him to death?” Luo Wangshu’s eyes widened. The shock in his heart couldn’t possibly be described in a few words.
Because of an accident, they were going to burn their own child alive?
What the hell?!
“Wangshu! Get back here!” Mo Fang tried to grab him, wanting to stop him from acting impulsively, but he couldn’t even catch a corner of Luo Wangshu’s clothes before the man rushed inside.
Li Niu was stacking firewood beside the bronze pillar when, before he knew it, Luo Wangshu had already jumped onto the platform.
“Hey! What are you doing?!” Li Niu wanted to pull him down, but after seeing it was Luo Wangshu, he withdrew his hand halfway.
A jade person’s status was equivalent to that of a woman, meaning the same rules of propriety between men and women applied. With so many people watching, he really couldn’t just grab Luo Wangshu openly.
“Xiao Guang, don’t be afraid. I’ll get you down.”
Luo Wangshu tugged forcefully at the knot in the leather rope. If he stood by and did nothing today, his conscience would torment him for the rest of his life. He might as well act impulsively for once.
Li Guang lifted his eyes to look at Luo Wangshu and smiled weakly.
“Auntie, I learned how to write the characters you taught me.”
“When you come home with me, I’ll teach you even more characters.” Luo Wangshu answered casually.
Damn it! Did this rope really have to be this sturdy?!
“Hey! A slave-like thing like you dares interfere? I think you’re tired of living!”
Mrs. Li randomly grabbed a wooden stick and swung it at Luo Wangshu.
Hiss—
Caught off guard, Luo Wangshu took the hit directly. His back burned painfully.
“Auntie, just leave. I’m a monster.”
Cold tears slid down Li Guang’s pale face. The helplessness and desolation in his voice made Luo Wangshu’s heart tighten painfully.
“Listen to me! You’re a human being, not a monster. You have the right to live. No one—including your own birth mother—has the right to take that away from you!”
Luo Wangshu’s unwavering gaze pierced deeply into Li Guang’s heart, stirring ripples in what had once been stagnant dead water.
Enraged, Mrs. Li swung another stick at him, only for Xu Shi to block it midway.
“That’s enough! He’s not your family’s wife. If you injure him, can you even afford the compensation?!”
“But he’s trying to take away my child!”
Hearing that, Luo Wangshu gritted his teeth and stared coldly at Mrs. Li.
“Even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs. You still remember he’s your child?”
“My child? If I want him to live, he lives. If I want him dead, he dies. What’s it got to do with you? He’s not your child!”
Deep breath.
Another deep breath.
Luo Wangshu forcefully suppressed the urge to kill someone and said coldly, “Ten taels. He belongs to me.”
Mrs. Li was stunned by his words. “What?”
“Since you hate him so much and think he’s a monster, then give him to me. Twenty taels. That’s my limit. You’re right—I’m an outsider. So as an outsider, I’m simply pitying him. If you refuse—”
“That’s what you said!” Mrs. Li hurriedly cut him off. “Money first, then the person. Give me the silver first.”
Luo Wangshu said, “Twenty taels isn’t a small amount. Wait until this time tomorrow, and I’ll bring you the money.”
Mrs. Li was just about to speak again when Luo Wangshu continued, “We’ll write a contract as proof. Xiao Guang is your child, yet you’re so eager to burn him alive?”
As soon as Luo Wangshu said those final words, the villagers watching outside all looked at Mrs. Li’s family strangely.
Mrs. Li stiffened and said, “Fine! That’s what you said!”
“After we sign the contract, I’m taking him with me first. He’s already badly burned. If I buy him and he dies before then, I’d be losing money. You don’t object to that, right?”
After weighing the pros and cons, Mrs. Li agreed.
Li Dakang wrote up the contract, and both parties pressed their fingerprints onto it. With the entire village as witnesses, Li Guang was brought back home with Li Hu’s help.
After closing the door, Mo Fang silently went to brew medicine while Li Hu held Li Miaomiao, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Luo Wangshu waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I just need to go into town tomorrow. Brother Hu, please make sure they don’t take him away early. I’ll definitely return before the agreed time.”
Li Hu gave a quiet grunt in acknowledgment and said nothing more.
Luo Wangshu looked at the child lying on the bed with a pained expression. The boy was so skinny he was nothing but skin and bones.
It wasn’t that he had some saintly compassion. He just couldn’t tolerate such a thing happening right in front of his eyes.
After a long while, Mo Fang finished brewing the medicine. Once Li Guang drank it, he asked Luo Wangshu, “How much are all of A’Li’s savings combined?”
“Seventeen taels.”
After answering, Luo Wangshu suddenly realized something. “I’m not using his money. I’ll think of another way.”
“Think of a way? What way do you have?” Mo Fang rolled his eyes at him. “I’ll see if I can borrow some.”
“I have this.”
Luo Wangshu took out the triple-grown lingzhi mushroom from his space and showed it to Mo Fang.
“This should sell for quite a bit, right?”
The moment Mo Fang saw the lingzhi, his eyes nearly popped out.
“This… where did you get it?”
“I picked it in the mountains a few days ago.” Luo Wangshu lied with a perfectly straight face. Well, a month ago still counted as “a few days,” right?
“This could sell for at least ten thousand taels! Where exactly did you find such a huge lingzhi?”
Luo Wangshu quickly hid it behind his back.
“Dad, this is for saving lives. Stop staring at it.”
Mo Fang silently withdrew his hand.
“Go with A’Li tomorrow and sell it to the Mu family. They’re the only ones in town who can afford it, and their old master needs this too.”
“Mm.”
Luo Wangshu stroked the lingzhi, feeling reluctant to part with it.
Sigh, forget it. In a few days they’d have to collect rent and pay taxes anyway. Sooner or later, it had to be sold…
Eh? Wait.
“Dad, you said sell it to the Mu family?”
“That’s right.” Thinking Luo Wangshu didn’t know the way, Mo Fang added, “Once you get there, just have A’Li ask around.”
The Mu family…
Luo Wangshu only wanted to laugh bitterly.
This story was getting a little too melodramatic. He just hoped his guess was correct and that Mu Bai wasn’t a bad person. Otherwise, they’d truly be doomed.
Meanwhile, over at the Mu residence, Mu Bai suddenly sneezed out of nowhere, startling the servant into immediately bringing him a cloak.
“Young Master, you must take care of your health. This family still depends on you to hold everything together.”
The bookboy promptly handed over a bowl of ginger soup.
Mu Bai set down the account book and pinched the bridge of his nose irritably.
“That old man really knows how to create trouble. Why’s he making me review account books? Didn’t Elder Brother manage things just fine? Seriously, making problems out of nothing.”
The servant listened silently without saying a word, his eyes dark and unreadable.