Wang Ergou’s scream was so sharp it sounded like he had seen a ghost in the middle of the night.
Outside the door, Zhang Guihua and Wang Dajun were still dreaming about holding a grandson when that scream startled them so badly they jolted, even the cigarette in Wang Dajun’s hand falling to the ground.
“What happened? What happened?!”
Zhang Guihua’s expression changed instantly. She didn’t care about anything else and hurriedly fumbled for the key to unlock the door.
“Ergou? Ergou!”
The heavy iron lock clicked open, and the door was suddenly pushed wide.
The two of them rushed inside—and were instantly stunned by the scene.
The room was a mess. Broken porcelain pieces and water were scattered all over the floor. Su Wan was curled up in the corner of the kang bed, hair disheveled, holding a pair of scissors tightly against her own neck. Her eyes were cold as ice.
Meanwhile, Wang Ergou was rolling on the ground, clutching his forehead. Blood was pouring through his fingers, staining his already filthy face even more horrifying.
“Oh my heavens! What happened?!”
Seeing her nephew’s head covered in blood, Zhang Guihua slapped her thigh in distress and rushed over to hold him.
“Ergou, who hit you? Was it this little bitch?!”
She suddenly turned around, her triangular eyes glaring fiercely at Su Wan. She raised her hand to strike.
“You jinxed thing! We told you to serve him, and you dared to hurt him? Do you want the Wang family to die out?!”
Su Wan flinched and dodged the slap.
Although she was still afraid, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief inside.
“It wasn’t me!” Su Wan shouted loudly, her voice sharp from panic.
“A rock! Someone threw a rock through the window! It came from outside!”
She pointed at the broken window.
Cold wind mixed with dry leaves poured in through the dark hole, making the kerosene lamp flicker.
Only then did Wang Dajun react. Following her finger, he looked over.
Indeed, there was a sharp-edged blue stone on the ground, still stained with Wang Ergou’s blood.
“Someone?”
Wang Dajun’s heart tightened.
Who would be wandering around the back yard in the middle of the night? And throwing stones into a room?
He gathered his courage, grabbed a wooden pole behind the door, and cautiously walked to the window, leaning out to look.
Outside was pitch black. Only the rustling of wind through leaves could be heard.
“Who is it? Who’s there?” he shouted twice, trying to sound brave.
No one responded.
Feeling uneasy, Wang Dajun was about to pull back when the flashlight beam accidentally swept across the muddy ground beneath the window.
There was a footprint.
It was deep—sunk nearly two inches into the mud—clearly made by an adult man. The shoe print was also unusually large, bigger than Wang Dajun’s own foot, with a sole pattern resembling old military-style rubber shoes.
Wang Dajun’s pupils suddenly contracted.
In Lei Family Village, anyone with such big feet, daring enough to throw stones into someone’s house in the dead of night…
Who else could it be besides that living devil—Lei Deshui?
The image of Lei Deshui standing at the melon shed door last night instantly flashed through Wang Dajun’s mind—along with that dripping hunting knife, and that cold “Get lost.”
Could it be… Lei Deshui was really targeting their family?
Wang Dajun felt a chill run down his spine, his legs going weak.
He didn’t know exactly what had happened between Su Wan and Lei Deshui, but his guilty instinct told him—this was not simple.
“Dajun! What are you standing there for?! Come help!”
Zhang Guihua’s shouting pulled him back to reality.
“Ergou is bleeding so much! We need to take him to the clinic right now! If his mother finds out, she’ll tear our roof off!”
Wang Dajun snapped back to his senses, wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, and quickly dropped the wooden pole, not daring to mention the footprint at all. He rushed over to help.
“Mom, stop the bleeding first! Stop the bleeding!”
The mother and son hurriedly lifted Wang Ergou from the ground.
Wang Ergou was still screaming and crying, snot and tears mixed with blood smearing all over Wang Dajun’s body.
“Go! Go! Hurry up!”
Zhang Guihua glared viciously at Su Wan as they left. Her eyes were full of resentment—but also panic.
Tonight’s situation had escalated. If people found out they were forcing a fool to “mate,” the Wang family would be completely disgraced.
“You little bitch, just wait! I’ll deal with you when I get back!”
Cursing angrily, Zhang Guihua dragged Wang Ergou out of the room.
Only when the chaotic footsteps disappeared into the front yard did Su Wan finally lose all strength and slide down along the wall onto the ground.
The scissors in her hand clattered to the floor.
She gasped for air, her heart still pounding violently.
She was saved.
She was truly saved.
Su Wan lifted her head and looked at the broken window.
The wind outside was still cold, but now it felt strangely clear.
She slowly crawled over and picked up the blood-stained stone from the ground.
It was cold, sharp-edged.
She clutched it tightly and pressed it against her chest.
Even though no one saw it, even though Wang Dajun said nothing, Su Wan understood perfectly in her heart.
It was him.
It had to be Lei Deshui.
That man who looked fierce and foul-mouthed was really watching over her. He had said that as long as she was in the courtyard, he would keep an eye on her.
He hadn’t broken his word.
At that moment, the feeling of helpless despair in Su Wan’s heart seemed to be shattered by that stone, letting in a sliver of light.
In this family that devoured people alive, she was no longer fighting alone.
In the second half of the night, the Wang household was quiet.
Zhang Guihua and Wang Dajun had taken Wang Ergou to a barefoot doctor in the neighboring village and didn’t return after a chaotic night.
Su Wan did not sleep peacefully that night, but it was still the most stable sleep she had had in three years.
Because she knew that in the pitch-black mountains behind the village, there was a pair of eyes—like a wolf—guarding this broken door for her.