When Widow Niu saw Yu Huan’s mother accept the money, she knew the matter was settled. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, although her daughter was already married, she and her son still lived in the village. Yu Huan’s father was usually a very fair and impartial person, but this matter involved his most beloved daughter. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t let his personal feelings influence his decisions.
Niu Lanhua also relaxed when she saw this.
However, Yu Huan gave her a meaningful glance, making Niu Lanhua’s heart jump with fright all over again.
Seeing that the matter seemed to have come to an end, everyone around them was preparing to head home.
Suddenly, Er Lengzi shouted loudly, “Uncle Village Chief, what are we going to do with this wild boar?”
Everyone immediately came back to their senses.
That’s right! There was still that enormous wild boar!
Instantly, everyone’s eyes lit up as they looked toward Yu Huan’s father.
Seeing their expressions, Yu Huan’s father immediately glanced at his daughter.
Yu Huan smiled. “Dad, I don’t have any objections. You can decide.”
Seeing that his daughter understood what he had in mind, Yu Huan’s father felt rather pleased.
A wild boar this enormous was impossible to sell. Even if they divided it among the entire village, there wouldn’t be enough to go around.
It would be better to use it as a gesture of goodwill. After all, everyone had come out to help search for his daughter.
“We’ve been delayed for so long that it’s already dark. A wild boar this big would also take too much time to process tonight. How about this? The entire village will have a day off tomorrow. We’ll stew this wild boar at the old communal dining hall tomorrow at noon so everyone can enjoy a good meal.”
The moment Yu Huan’s father finished speaking, everyone became excited.
Not only would they get another day off, but they would also get to eat meat!
Er Lengzi was especially enthusiastic.
“Come on, a few of you! Let’s carry this wild boar to the village chief’s house first!”
A group of young men immediately crowded around the animal and began lifting together.
It’s really heavy!
That was the same thought that simultaneously crossed the young men’s minds.
Gritting their teeth, several of them managed to lift the boar and hoist it onto their shoulders.
But after taking only a few steps, Er Lengzi suddenly slipped and fell.
The remaining men were already struggling to carry the enormous animal. His sudden fall threw the others off balance, and they began swaying dangerously.
If that wild boar fell on someone, they could easily end up seriously injured—or even dead.
Seeing this, Yu Huan instantly flashed forward.
In the blink of an eye, she was already standing in front of them. With one swift lift and a toss, she hoisted the wild boar onto her own shoulders.
“Let me carry it instead!”
As she spoke, she had already started walking quickly toward home.
Everyone was once again stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Song Yujie had arrived with Yu Huan’s mother and hadn’t witnessed the earlier events.
At that moment, his pupils practically shook with shock, and his mouth opened wide enough to fit a goose egg.
Good heavens!
Was this some kind of female Hercules?!
Ling Yuan and Zhao Liye had been standing behind the crowd ever since Yu Huan appeared. Even they were greatly shocked by the scene.
Ling Yuan had already noticed that Yu Huan was unusually strong, but he had never imagined she could be this powerful.
Zhao Liye recalled Yu Huan telling him the previous day that she was very strong. He had thought she was joking at the time.
Today, however, he had finally witnessed the truth.
Her strength wasn’t merely impressive. She could practically lift mountains and carry enormous cauldrons!
The young men left behind stood frozen in astonishment.
Many of them secretly admired Yu Huan, but after witnessing this scene, the little flames of their secret crushes were immediately extinguished with a poof.
Yu Huan’s parents knew their daughter was strong, but nothing could have prepared them for the impact of seeing this with their own eyes.
Fortunately, they quickly recovered.
Yu Huan’s mother hurried after her daughter.
Once everyone came back to their senses, another round of amazed exclamations broke out.
After everyone had left, Yu Huan’s father invited Ling Yuan and the others to his house for dinner.
After all, they had been running around helping him search for his daughter and had been delayed until now without even having dinner.
“Village Chief, there’s no need to trouble yourself. Since Comrade Yu is safe, we’ll head back now,” Ling Yuan said in his usual calm, indifferent voice.
“That’s right, Village Chief. You should hurry home too. The other educated youths have probably saved us some food,” Zhao Liye added.
Yu Huan’s father had initially wanted to persuade them a little more. But thinking about the chaos still waiting for him at home, and considering how late it had become, he could only let them go.
However, he promised to invite the three of them over for a meal in a couple of days.
Only after Yu Huan’s father had left did Song Yujie finally snap out of his shock.
He hurriedly caught up with the two men who were already heading back to the educated youths’ residence.
Late at night.
The entire village had fallen into a deep sleep.
Yu Huan arrived at Widow Niu’s house as silently as a ghost.
Niu Lanhua was tossing and turning in bed when she suddenly noticed a dark figure standing beside her.
Terrified, she opened her mouth to scream.
Yu Huan immediately struck her with a swift chop to the neck, knocking her unconscious.
She then hoisted Niu Lanhua over her shoulder and carried her toward the mountains.
When she reached a cave, she tossed Niu Lanhua onto the ground and took out a luminous pearl from her space.
Instantly, the entire cave became brightly illuminated.
She dragged a man lying in the corner out and threw him down beside Niu Lanhua.
Then she nudged him with her foot until he woke up.
The moment Niu Da opened his eyes, he saw Niu Lanhua lying in front of him.
He immediately sat up and pulled her into his arms, completely forgetting that someone else was standing nearby.
“Lanhua! Lanhua! What’s wrong?”
After quite some time, Niu Lanhua finally began to regain consciousness.
When she recognized Niu Da, she immediately threw herself into his arms.
“Brother! Brother… You’re finally back! I was so scared!”
Thinking she was still at home, Niu Lanhua hugged Niu Da and burst into tears.
Yu Huan looked at the siblings embracing each other. No matter how she looked at them, something about the scene seemed rather strange.
After a while, Niu Lanhua was still crying, and Niu Da continued holding her tightly, his heart aching for her.
“Ahem.”
Yu Huan cleared her throat to remind them that someone else was still present.
Only after hearing her did Niu Da pull Niu Lanhua away from his chest.
He turned toward Yu Huan.
“Did you kidnap Lanhua?”
“This matter has nothing to do with her. If you want to do anything, come after me instead. Let her go!”
Niu Da stood firmly in front of Niu Lanhua, shielding her with his body.
“Your sister was the one who falsely accused me of eloping with a man,” Yu Huan replied indifferently.
Niu Da turned around in shock and stared at Niu Lanhua.
Only then did Niu Lanhua take in her surroundings and remember being knocked unconscious.
When she saw Yu Huan, she immediately became frightened and hid behind Niu Da.
After all, this was the woman who could kill a wild boar with a single punch!
Tears still shimmered in Niu Lanhua’s eyes.
“Brother, that man threatened me. He said that if I didn’t do what he wanted, he would report us to the authorities.”
Hearing this, Niu Da already had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
After thinking it over, he realized that both he and his sister had been used.
Since Lanhua had already been dragged into this matter, there was no point hiding anything anymore.
“What do you want to ask? Go ahead.”
“Were you also the person who attacked me last time?”
“Yes.”
“Was Lin Zhiyu the one who ordered you to do it?”
“…Yes.”
Niu Da hadn’t expected Yu Huan to figure it out so quickly.
Yu Huan could only think of Lin Zhiyu.
After all, Lin Zhiyu was the only person she currently had any sort of conflict with. Every time they met, Lin Zhiyu looked as though she wished Yu Huan would simply disappear.
“What did she want you to do after drugging me unconscious? Where were you supposed to take me?”
Yu Huan had indeed been knocked unconscious by the drug, but she had regained consciousness very quickly.
When she realized someone was carrying her through the mountains, she also sensed the aura of one of her talismans on the man’s body.
After discovering this, she decided not to rush into confronting him. Instead, she wanted to see what he intended to do.
Unfortunately for Niu Da, his luck was terrible. He happened to run into a herd of wild boars.
Yu Huan had detected them in advance. To prevent anyone from getting killed, she first knocked Niu Da unconscious before dealing with the wild boars.
To catch the leader, one must first capture the ringleader.
She spent some effort knocking down the largest wild boar. Only then did the remaining boars become frightened and flee.
By the time she had carried the wild boar and dragged Niu Da back toward the mountain forest near the village, it was already getting dark.
There hadn’t been enough time to interrogate him, so she had no choice but to leave him in a cave for the time being.
She stuck a talisman at the cave entrance. This prevented anyone else from entering, and Niu Da himself couldn’t get out.
When she descended from that side of the mountain, she happened to spot a crowd gathered around Niu Da’s house in the distance.
Her instincts told her the situation might have something to do with her, so she immediately carried the wild boar over.
And that was how she happened to arrive just in time for the events that evening.
Hearing Yu Huan’s question, Niu Da hesitated for quite a while before finally answering cautiously.
“She… She told me… to take you deep into the mountains.”
“To kill me deep in the mountains? Or leave me there to be eaten alive by wild beasts?”
Yu Huan looked at Niu Da with a chilling expression.