Chapter 32: Discovered?
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Xiao Lian’s cheeks flushed as she could not help glancing at Chen Dabao, her heart pounding wildly.
“How could that be possible? No, no way!”
Chen Dabao hurriedly shook his head in refusal.
“If not, then you must have been lying to us. Xiao Lian, go take a bath. We have to finish this tonight!” Liu Tianjie, emboldened by the alcohol, was determined to go through with it.
Otherwise, he might regret it tomorrow.
Once he crossed that line, there would be no turning back, and he would have no chance to regret it.
“Big Brother Dabao, please, I really did have it cut!”
Chen Dabao panicked and quickly tried to stop him.
“Dabao, please help me!”
Xiao Lian let out a plaintive murmur. Biting her lip, she turned and headed toward the bathroom.
“Ow!”
“Who’s there?”
Just as Xiao Lian was about to slip into the bathroom, a sudden cry rang out from the courtyard beyond the door. It struck like a muffled thunderclap, and the three people inside instantly broke into a cold sweat.
If word got out about what had happened that night, Xiao Lian and Liu Tianjie would never be able to show their faces in the village again.
“Brother Liu, let go of me!”
Chen Dabao shoved Liu Tianjie aside and rushed out. He glanced around the courtyard but saw no one, so he chased outside. Darkness lay all around, and the silence was absolute. There was not a person in sight.
Only some bloodstains remained beside the shards of glass on top of the wall.
“Dabao, did you see anyone? Who was it?”
The alcohol vanished from Liu Tianjie’s head at once. He hurried after him, his face filled with anxiety.
If this matter spread, they would be utterly humiliated.
Neither he nor Xiao Lian would likely be able to remain in Peach Blossom Village.
“I didn’t see anyone. There’s blood over there. They probably climbed over the wall and accidentally cut their hand on the glass shards.”
Chen Dabao’s expression was grave. He knew that if this became known, Xiao Lian and Liu Tianjie would become the laughingstock of Peach Blossom Village.
“What are we going to do? What are we going to do?”
Liu Tianjie paced frantically in circles, his face filled with despair.
Xiao Lian hurried out as well, her legs gone weak with fright. How had someone discovered them?
“Brother Liu, don’t panic. Maybe that person didn’t hear anything at all. They may have been cut the moment they climbed over the wall.”
Chen Dabao quickly tried to reassure him.
“Really?”
A glimmer of hope appeared in Liu Tianjie’s eyes. It was possible—but who could guarantee that the person had heard nothing?
“Really. I put glass shards all over the wall around my yard. They must have cut their hand the instant they climbed up.”
Chen Dabao could only comfort Liu Tianjie and Xiao Lian this way.
“I hope so.”
Liu Tianjie sighed helplessly, his heart heavy with worry. He had finally made up his mind, so how had something like this happened again?
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“Brother Liu, Sister Xiao Lian, you should go home first. The longer you stay, the more suspicious it will look. As for what happened tonight, we’ll talk about it in a few days.”
Chen Dabao seized the opportunity to speak.
“That’s the only choice we have.”
Liu Tianjie and Xiao Lian did not dare remain any longer. They hurriedly left.
When they returned to the villa, they found that Liu Fugui was still awake.
“Dad, has my younger brother come back?”
Liu Tianjie noticed the car parked in the courtyard and suddenly asked.
“He left as soon as he parked it. He still hasn’t come back.”
Liu Fugui took a sip of wine, his gaze somewhat gloomy.
“Where did he go?”
Liu Tianjie’s heart jolted, but he pretended to ask casually. Xiao Lian pricked up her ears as well, secretly worried. Could the person who had been spying on them just now have been Liu Xiaowu?
Liu Xiaowu was no good. The way he looked at her before had always seemed wrong. Xiao Lian had simply ignored him, and since then, he had only watched her from a distance, never daring to take things any further.
“He went drinking with those good-for-nothing friends of his. Why do you care?” Liu Fugui said impatiently.
“Dad, we’ll go to bed first.”
“Sleep, sleep, sleep—that’s all you ever think about. Don’t forget your duty. Give me a grandson!”
Meanwhile…
Li Youcai had just returned home. The house was dark and empty; Ma Jinlian had gone out to attend a religious gathering again.
Ma Jinlian went out almost every night to worship. Sometimes she returned as early as eight or nine, and sometimes not until eleven or twelve. Li Youcai did not care whether she was attending religious services or sneaking around with another man.
After all, he had a son. As long as Ma Jinlian did not bring anyone into the house, he could pretend not to know anything.
“Bang!”
Li Youcai was lost in thought when a club suddenly slammed into the back of his head. He cried out in pain and fell face-first to the floor. A moment later, a vicious storm of blows rained down upon him.
“Ah! Stop hitting me! Stop!”
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“I’ll give you money! I’ll give you money!”
Before long, Li Youcai was covered in injuries. He desperately shielded his head and wailed, unable to understand whom he had offended.
Peach Blossom Village was so remote—why would anyone come all the way here just to beat him?
“Search!”
After the three men had beaten Li Youcai for a while, one of them, his face concealed by a mask, deliberately lowered his voice and issued the order. The other two immediately began rummaging through everything in the house.
They even shoved to the floor the flat-screen television Li Youcai had bought for several thousand yuan.
Many of the household appliances and pieces of furniture were smashed to pieces.
“Stop breaking things! Stop! There’s still several thousand yuan in the house. I’ll give it all to you!”
Li Youcai watched in anguish as his furniture and appliances were destroyed and hurriedly shouted.
But the instant he finished speaking, a heavy kick slammed into his stomach.
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“Shut up!”
The masked man kicked Li Youcai viciously and barked the command.
The other two men searched through the house for a while longer, but apparently could not find what they were looking for.
“Brother, it’s not here!”
“Where is it?”
The masked man seized Li Youcai by the hair and glared down at him, roaring, “Where is it?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Li Youcai’s face twisted in pain as he hurriedly asked.
“The ledger!” the masked man shouted furiously. “Where is the ledger?”
A chill ran through Li Youcai’s heart, and he immediately understood. These men had to be working for Li Fugui. That bastard Li Fugui had come for the ledger.
Li Youcai had kept accounts of Li Fugui’s dealings. Li Fugui had sent people to retrieve the ledger and give him a beating in the process.
“What ledger? I don’t have any ledger!”
Li Youcai understood everything in an instant, but he put on a terrified expression and cried out as though he knew nothing.
“Hold him down!”
“If you don’t talk, I’ll break your legs!”
The masked man ordered the other two men to pin Li Youcai firmly to the floor. Then he raised the wooden club in his hand and brought it down with all his strength on Li Youcai’s shin.
Crack!
“Ah!”
“My leg!”
Li Youcai let out a bloodcurdling scream and clutched his leg as he writhed across the floor. The masked man had broken it clean through.
“Are you going to talk? Where is the ledger?”
The masked man planted one foot on Li Youcai’s body and demanded the answer harshly.
“Under the stove! It’s under the stove!”
Li Youcai did not dare conceal the truth any longer and hurriedly revealed where the ledger was.
One of the men immediately turned and ran to the woodshed in the courtyard. He found the ledger beneath the earthen stove.
“Found it. Let’s go!”
“Li Youcai, keep your eyes open next time. If you dare keep false accounts again, you’ll pay with your life!”
The masked man issued the threat viciously before leading the other two men away in haste.
After they had gone, Li Youcai slowly raised his contorted face, his eyes filled with vicious, icy hatred.
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