Chapter 101: Ruthless Methods To Harm Others
Next came a chaotic melee. Mo Ziyuan, Gao Yong, and Chu Yu didn’t use their full strength, but the many young and strong villagers who joined later fought with deadly force. At the cost of over ten people being scratched and two having chunks of flesh bitten from their legs, they left behind the corpses of over a dozen wolves.
The remaining wolves fled back up the mountain under the wolf king’s lead.
“This is bad. Wolves hold grudges the most. Who knows when they’ll come back for revenge.” An old hunter who had come with the three clan leaders looked at the pile of wolf corpses, slapped his thigh, and said regretfully. The village hunters’ faces also didn’t look good.
“Ah! My pigs, my pigs! You damned wolf pack, why did you have to go into my home! My pigs were almost ready for slaughter, and now they’ve been ruined like this! Heavens! Why won’t you open your eyes! How are we supposed to live now!” The female homeowner’s wailing cry came from the backyard.
“Sigh!” Everyone in the courtyard sighed inwardly. Encountering such a disaster was indeed quite pitiful.
“Since the wolf pack has fled, we’ll head back first.” Mo Ziyuan politely cupped his hands to the three clan leaders and proposed taking his leave. They were outsiders to begin with and didn’t want to get too involved in village affairs.
“Thank you all for your help tonight. Otherwise, who knows what the consequences would have been! We’ll visit tomorrow to express our thanks.” The newly appointed Lin Clan Leader Lin Feng returned the gesture to Mo Ziyuan and them, saying politely as well.
“No need for thanks. We’re all living in the same village; this is only natural. It’s just that we couldn’t help much. Mo feels ashamed.”
“Young man Mo is too modest, too modest.”
The two exchanged a few polite barbs, and only then were Mo Ziyuan and the others allowed to leave.
“You two head back first. I’ll go check on Miss Lin.” At the entrance to Lin Xin’s home, Mo Ziyuan said to Gao Yong and Chu Yu.
“Got it, got it. Miss Lin’s safety is in your hands. We won’t go with you to be an eyesore. We’ll go back and protect Nan Nan!” Gao Yong winked at him lewdly, his expression utterly sleazy.
“Get lost!” Mo Ziyuan laughed and cursed, pretending to raise his foot to kick him.
Gao Yong let out a strange “ow” yelp and jumped away, laughing ha-ha as he ran off, not forgetting to drag Chu Yu along.
Once they were far away, Mo Ziyuan flipped over the courtyard wall of Lin Xin’s home and walked to the main hall, gently knocking on the door.
Lin Xin hadn’t been asleep to begin with. Hearing the sound, she hurried over and opened the room door.
“You’re back! How’s it over there? What about the wolves?” She pulled him to sit in the main hall and poured him a cup of hot water from the pot on the stove before asking.
“Over a dozen wolves were killed, the rest fled. That family is fine, but the pigs in the backyard seem to all have been bitten to death. Several of those who fought the wolves were injured.” Mo Ziyuan took a sip of hot water and answered.
“That’s really unlucky. Winter slaughter time is coming up, and now this will break their hearts. Those injured ones should get some compensation too!”
“Yeah! When we came back, that family’s woman was still crying over her pigs in the backyard!”
Lin Xin was amused. “Speaking of which, it’s strange. The wolf pack didn’t come to our two homes but specifically went to theirs. Is it because we don’t raise pigs?”
“How could that be? I paid attention and saw that someone had dumped a lot of chicken blood at the corner of that family’s backyard wall. The bloody smell probably attracted the wolf pack.” Mo Ziyuan said with a cold laugh.
“Ah? That’s too vicious. Is there some irreconcilable grudge?” Lin Xin asked in surprise.
“Hmph, not everyone in this village is pure and kind. Some are rotten! Just watch; this matter isn’t over.” Mo Ziyuan gave another cold laugh.
“Hm?” Lin Xin scooted suspiciously closer to him, glancing at him with her eyes and asking, “Do you know something? Tell me!”
“You’ve lived here for over a decade and know nothing. I’ve only been here a few days; what could I know?” Mo Ziyuan pushed her arm away and drank his water seriously.
“Whatever, say or not, I’m not curious anyway. Just don’t get me involved.” Lin Xin shrugged indifferently.
Mo Ziyuan choked and didn’t continue. Thus, Lin Xin understood that this matter wasn’t simple—it was far more than just someone luring the wolf pack to the village to bite two pigs to death. So she quickly backed off.
“Be careful these next couple days. Wolves hold grudges. They took a big loss this time, so who knows when they’ll come back for revenge. Or maybe you…” Mo Ziyuan hesitated, his ears turning bright red. “Or maybe you could move over and stay with us for a few days? Move back once the wolf pack is fully dealt with.”
Lin Xin shook her head like a rattle. “I’m not going. If I really did, with the villagers’ foul mouths, who knows what they’d say! I can’t be bothered to listen. And have you forgotten? I can protect myself!”
Mo Ziyuan thought about it and agreed. When it came to real skill, Lin Xin’s was stronger than his, not weaker. In the end, it might be unclear who was protecting whom!
So he cheerfully withdrew his suggestion but made one last struggle: “Alright then, be extra careful on your own. I’ll head back first. Don’t worry about Lin Nan. If he wants to come back, I’ll make sure to send him. If not, let him stay with us for now!”
“Okay, got it. But don’t spoil him too much. Discipline him when needed!” Though she knew Lin Nan was reliable on his own, Lin Xin couldn’t help but remind him. Probably that gene ingrained in the bones of the Chinese people!
“Don’t worry. I’ll treat him like my own younger brother. When discipline is needed, I definitely won’t hold back. Just don’t feel heartbroken and come settle scores with me later.”
“Of course not. Am I such a unreasonable parent?”
“I was just saying. Why take it seriously?” Mo Ziyuan drained the hot water in his cup, stood up, and said, “Then I’ll go. Be extra careful on your own, okay? Shout if anything happens; it’s so close I can hear.”
“Got it. Why are you nagging like an old man! Go on!” Lin Xin directly pushed Mo Ziyuan out the door and slammed the courtyard gate shut in his face with a “bang.”
Mo Ziyuan stared at the gate that had nearly smacked his nose, stewed for a moment, then suddenly laughed. This was good; at least it showed she was quite close to him. Hadn’t she even “personally” laid hands on him to boot him out?
Having figured this out, Mo Ziyuan was happy and walked home with light steps.
People on both their sides slept well, but few villagers could sleep, because that pool of chicken blood was ultimately discovered.
“It’s too late now. Everyone go back and rest! We’ll investigate this properly tomorrow and see who came up with such a vicious method to harm people.” The three family clan leaders all advised their clansmen.
“No way. What if the culprit flees tonight! We must investigate now. I want to see—we’re an honest family that neither steals nor robs. How could we offend anyone so badly that they’d harm us like this! They didn’t leave us a single way to live!” The female owner of the wolf-attacked home stood with hands on hips, face streaked with tears, blocking everyone from leaving.
