Chapter 029 - Entering Town

Before the shadowy figure could scream in agony, Li Yuan delivered another swift kick to his neck, sending him flying. He soared several meters through the air before crashing to the ground, unconscious.

Li Yuan moved his shoulder and twisted his neck, feeling his strength rapidly returning.

Suddenly, he bent down sharply, gripping the shadowy figure with one hand like a wild beast carrying a gust of malevolent wind. With a powerful thrust, he charged forward and threw the man out the door.

He acted with precision, ensuring he didn’t kill him. After all, without the kitchen knife, the threat was minimal—0~1, a situation he could handle.

Killing the intruder outright would have only caused unnecessary trouble.

Yan Yu finally stood up, quickly tucking the lime bag into her waist, grabbed her club, slipped on her embroidered shoes, and followed her husband.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Much better.”

“Hmm...” Yan Yu felt a mix of inexplicable joy and worry.

The expensive medicine was justified; it worked much more effectively. But she felt bad knowing there were still three doses left to take.

Li Yuan pulled on his padded coat, wrapped it around himself, and stepped out the door with Yan Yu.

Under the dim moonlight, they saw that the unconscious figure was actually an old man.

“That's Uncle Ma from the village,” Yan Yu immediately recognized him. “Why did he come here in the middle of the night with a knife and sedatives?”

Li Yuan snorted coldly. “Seeing that our family has money, he grew greedy. He took advantage of my injury and you being a vulnerable woman at home.”

Yan Yu understood. She looked down, stammering, “Li Yuan, I'm sorry. Today, I...I had no choice but to expose the family's money to get the medicine.”

Li Yuan spoke gently, “What are you saying? You helped me get home, took care of me wholeheartedly, and gave me the best medicine. How could I blame you?”

“Mhmm,” Yan Yu softly murmured. She gazed at the ground, her face showing a hint of sweetness.

The two remained silent for a moment.

“Old Ma's cries must have been heard by several families nearby. They didn't come out because they were scared by the tiger attack from a few days ago.” Yan Yu said after looking around. “That makes things a bit difficult for us. If they had come out, the situation here would have been clear at a glance, and everything could have been explained directly. If they don't come out, what are we going to do?”

Li Yuan frowned. The reason he hadn't directly knocked the man unconscious earlier was to make him call for help, hoping to attract the neighbors. But he hadn't anticipated that because of the tiger attack, no one dared to come out.

He thought for a moment before saying, “First, tie him up. Tomorrow, I'll take him to see the authorities, and in the meantime, I'll go into town to buy a bow.”

“Mhmm... I'll follow your lead,” Yan Yu replied.

Li Yuan suddenly asked, “How much money do we still have?”

Yan Yu responded, “Uncle Wang sold the three pheasants, three hares, and four roe deer you hunted to the Ginger Tavern for 200 large coins. Outside of daily living expenses, we haven't spent much of it.

Li Yuan interrupted her, “No need to talk about expenses. Just tell me how much money we have left.”

“We have 140 large coins left,” Yan Yu said.

Li Yuan was stunned. “That much left? Have you been spending money at all?”

Yan Yu replied, “It's not easy for you to earn money outside. How could I be frivolous...”

Li Yuan said, “Then give me 100 large coins first. I need to buy a new bow and bring back some millet, salt, sugar, incense, soapberries, and the like.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Soon, Li Yuan had Uncle Ma tied up and locked in the storage room. He threw a worn blanket over Uncle Ma to prevent him from freezing to death, and then returned to bed with Yan Yu.

Yan Yu, like a delicate bird clinging to Li Yuan's strong frame, remained quiet for a long time before she couldn't help but ask, “Li Yuan, about the mountains...”

Just the mention of the mountains made Li Yuan's breathing quicken instantly. In the silent night, it felt as if a rotting, cold hand was clutching his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.

After a long time, he finally calmed down, pulled up the quilt, and whispered, “Have you heard of any strange occurrences?”

“Strange occurrences?”

“Like tales of ghosts and strange creatures.”

“There are some stories about man-eating demons in the mountains, evil ghosts that make people lose their way, but no one has seen them. I thought it might just be to scare children... But some people have gone missing in the mountains, though such things aren't exactly strange.” Yan Yu replied. Then she looked at Li Yan and asked, “Li Yuan, did you...did you witness something?”

Li Yuan nodded gravely. He didn't say more, and Yan Yu didn't press further. Both could feel the chill emanating from each other.

The young couple held each other tightly, listening to each other's breathing and heartbeat in the dark night, drawing warmth and the courage to face their fears from one another.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next morning, a crowd had gathered in the village center.

“Isn’t that Uncle Ma? Why is he at Li Yuan’s house? Looks like he’s still injured.”

“Li Yuan seems to have recovered quite a bit... Hey, money really does make things better. You get what you pay for. The town doctors are amazing. Medicine works wonders.”

“What money?”

“Don’t you know? Yesterday, Yan Yu handed over 60 large coins all at once to get her husband treated and medicine. Got it?”

“60 large coins?!”

The speaker’s eyes gleamed with a strange light. After taking another look at Uncle Ma, they immediately understood the situation, but then felt a bit uneasy. Why was this family so wealthy?

In the courtyard, Li Yuan shook Uncle Ma.

Uncle Ma groggily woke up and started wailing, “Ouch, ouch!”

Li Yuan pointed at him and addressed the crowd, “He broke into my yard last night, tampered with the door latch, and tried to enter with a kitchen knife and knockout powder. Luckily, I caught him. Today, everyone, bear witness. I’m taking him to the county office and turning him in.”

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

At this moment, Uncle Ma fully regained consciousness. He looked around frantically and cried out, “I’m innocent, innocent! I was just walking near here yesterday when a dark figure suddenly knocked me out... Ouch, it hurts, my arm, hey, my arm!”

Li Yuan didn’t hesitate. He pulled out the knockout powder and kitchen knife, asking, “Are these yours?”

“No!” Uncle Ma replied slyly. After a moment’s thought, he continued crying, “Li Yuan, why are you attacking me? I’m old enough to be your father... I was just taking a night walk near your house. Is this really necessary?”

Someone from the crowd said, “Uncle Ma, admit it. You’ve been caught, what more is there to say?”

Uncle Ma stubbornly insisted, “I didn’t do anything.”

Inside the house, Yan Yu became furious and shouted, “You came into our home last night. There’s a hole in our window that you made. Everyone, come take a look. He tried to blow the knockout powder through here last night.”

Many followed Yan Yu inside, and after inspecting the area, they understood the situation.

But Uncle Ma remained obstinate, insisting, “I didn’t do it. I didn’t make that hole.”

Yan Yu crossed her arms, glaring with watery eyes, and scolded, “Not you? Let’s compare fingerprints!”

Uncle Ma refused.

Yan Yu pressed on, “Besides, if it wasn’t you, why did we catch you? Is that kitchen knife yours? Your neighbors would know, right?”

As she spoke, Yan Yu looked around the crowd but couldn’t spot Uncle Ma’s neighbors. She then called Auntie Wang, asking her to take two people with the knife to find Uncle Ma’s neighbors for identification.

Sure enough, before long, Uncle Ma's neighbors, still confused, came forward to identify him and then ran over with Auntie Wang to testify.

Yan Yu glanced around, clearly noting that Uncle Ma didn’t have good relations with the neighbors.

Uncle Ma immediately lost his confidence.

Li Yuan didn’t waste any time. He picked him up and said, “Come, let’s go see the authorities.”

“I’m not going,” Uncle Ma continued to resist.

Li Yuan reached out and, like an eagle grabbing a chick, clamped his hand around Uncle Ma’s neck and lifted him up, his voice cold, “Think it over.”

Uncle Ma whimpered and kicked his legs in the air, finally nodding and rasping, “Alright...alright...”

Li Yuan threw him to the ground and then clasped his fists towards the surrounding crowd, saying, “Everyone has seen it. This man has committed grievous wrongdoing and should be handed over to the authorities.

“If anyone is willing to accompany me to town to provide testimony, I'll offer a ten small copper coin fee for your trouble.”

Immediately, voices erupted from the crowd.

“I’ll go.”

“I’ll help you testify.”

“I’ll go too...”

In no time, Li Yuan had gathered a group of people.

Yan Yu took out some long-unused writing materials from a drawer, quickly drafted a formal complaint, and handed it to Li Yuan.

Then, Li Yuan escorted Uncle Ma, accompanied by more than a dozen villagers, and headed towards the county office