The door shook violently, completely unable to withstand Erhu's burly, heavy-set ramming.
"What should I do? Xiaolong, hurry up and hide. If he sees you, he'll beat you to death." Xiangxiu shoved Lin Xiaolong away in a frantic panic.
Even in a situation like this, she was still concerned for Lin Xiaolong's safety.
Lin Xiaolong was an idiot; if Erhu saw him inside her bedroom, he would definitely go crazy and beat him to death.
Lin Xiaolong's face turned cold, but he didn't say anything.
He was shoved directly by Xiangxiu into the wardrobe beside the bed.
"Who are you talking to? Well, well! You shameless stinking widow, actually sneaking a man into your house! Open the door! I want to see who dares to fight me for a woman!"
Erhu rammed the door even harder.
Xiangxiu grabbed a rolling pin, stood timidly by the door, and trembled all over.
With a loud bang, the door was suddenly smashed open.
Erhu staggered and lunged inward.
Startled, Xiangxiu ducked backward, swinging the rolling pin straight at Erhu's head.
Unfortunately, she missed his head and hit him on the arm.
To the sturdy Erhu, this had no destructive power whatsoever.
Erhu chuckled evilly, snatched the rolling pin away, and pounced on Xiangxiu.
Xiangxiu let out a scream, backed away, and was instantly tripped and knocked onto the bed.
"Babe, let's see how I handle you."
Erhu lunged onto the bed like a starving tiger.
Xiangxiu tried to dodge, but Erhu was too fast, pinning her down beneath him in an instant.
Immediately, Erhu began tearing at Xiangxiu's clothes.
Lin Xiaolong kicked open the wardrobe door and jumped out.
"You beast!"
Cursing, Lin Xiaolong grabbed Erhu's clothes and yanked him straight up.
"Damn it, who is that?" Erhu was just about to get what he wanted when someone suddenly ruined his fun, and he immediately started swearing.
"Your Grandpa Long."
Erhu must have weighed well over a hundred and eighty pounds, yet Lin Xiaolong hoisted him up with a single pull.
Even Lin Xiaolong hadn't expected to have this much strength.
Erhu turned around and saw that it was actually Lin Xiaolong. He instantly flew into a rage: "Well, well, so it's you, you big idiot! Xiangxiu, who the hell couldn't you find, you had to pick an idiot? Are you that desperate and thirsty?"
"Erhu, get the hell out of here!" Xiangxiu curled up at the head of the bed, tears streaming down her face.
"Make me get out so you can keep messing around with this idiot? Not a chance! I'm going to deal with this idiot first, and then I'll deal with you, you stinking woman."
Erhu raised his fist and punched straight at Lin Xiaolong.
Lin Xiaolong pulled his body back, lashed out with a flying kick, and caught Erhu squarely in the stomach.
With a swoosh, Erhu was kicked flying over two meters away, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Fuck, how dare you kick me! I'm going to kill you."
Enduring the excruciating pain in his abdomen, Erhu struggled to his feet, wanting to continue fighting Lin Xiaolong.
Unfortunately, the moment he got up, Lin Xiaolong landed another kick that almost made Erhu vomit his gallbladder.
Then, Lin Xiaolong delivered a punch right to Erhu's face.
Instantly, Erhu was beaten almost half to death by Lin Xiaolong, his head ringing, unable to even crawl up.
"Get lost, or I'll beat you to death." Lin Xiaolong moved to hit him again.
"Xiaolong, stop! If you beat him to death, we'll be in big trouble." Xiangxiu had originally been terrified that Lin Xiaolong would get hurt, but seeing how fierce he was now, a surge of joy washed over her as she hurried forward and threw her arms tightly around Lin Xiaolong.
"You little punk, you wait for me! Sooner or later, I'll kill you."
Erhu felt that it was just because he had been drinking and his hands and feet were clumsy, otherwise there was no way he couldn't beat an idiot like Lin Xiaolong. After all, he hadn't beaten Lin Xiaolong up fewer times in the past, and every time he made Lin Xiaolong cry to his parents for mercy.
But now, beaten into such a state by Lin Xiaolong, if he kept going, he would get beaten even worse and lose even more face.
Therefore, he struggled to his feet, ran out into the courtyard, scaled the courtyard wall to the outside, and then bolted away in a flash.
"Xiaolong, are you okay?" Xiangxiu grabbed Lin Xiaolong's hands anxiously, checking to see if he was hurt.
"I'm fine, Sister." Lin Xiaolong said, "It looks like you need to put some broken glass on your wall. If this beast comes back, we'll skewer the son of a bitch."
"Xiaolong, thank goodness you were here, or Sister would have..." Xiangxiu burst into muffled sobs.
"Sister, it's over now. You should get some rest; my family must be getting worried." Lin Xiaolong said.
"Xiaolong, how come I feel like you're not acting like an idiot tonight? You're speaking so logically." Xiangxiu suddenly noticed this and asked Lin Xiaolong.
"Sister, my illness is cured. From now on, I will never let anyone bully me again. I'm going to carve out a world of my own." Lin Xiaolong said with absolute determination.
"Really? That's wonderful! Sister is so happy for you." Xiangxiu suddenly thought of her own actions just now, and could not help blushing fiercely.
She had thought Lin Xiaolong was an idiot, and that even if she truly gave herself to him, he would be too muddle-headed to understand.
But now that Lin Xiaolong's mind was clear, would her behavior from moments ago make her look like a bad woman in his eyes?
Chapter 4: The Jade Bottle
"Sister Xiangxiu, it's getting too late. I'll come see you another time."
Lin Xiaolong said goodbye to Xiangxiu and hurried back toward his home.
Xiangxiu watched with lingering grievance as Lin Xiaolong ran off, her heart feeling completely empty.
Even though he didn't seem foolish anymore, he was still an idiot at heart.
How could he let such a great opportunity slip right past him?
While still a good distance from home, Lin Xiaolong saw his mother and younger sister leaning against the shabby front gate, waiting anxiously.
A pang hit the bridge of Lin Xiaolong's nose, and tears almost fell.
As a proud man, not only had he failed to provide his family with a happy life, but because of him, they had been reduced to utter poverty.
If not for him, his father wouldn't have had his legs broken by thugs, his mother wouldn't have been stricken with a cerebral thrombosis from worry, and his sister wouldn't have had to drop out of high school.
He clenched his fists tightly.
My family, starting today, I, Lin Xiaolong, will never let you suffer any more bullying. I am going to give you the best life possible.
"Mom, Sister!" Lin Xiaolong ran up to the two of them.
"Brother, you're finally back! You had us worried to death." His younger sister, Lin Xiaoxue, finally let out a sigh of relief.
Lin Xiaolong's mother, Wang Ju, leaned against the gate, her voice weak: "You child, don't go picking herbs in the mountains anymore. You never know the time. If anything else happened to you, our family would be finished."
"Mom, Sister, I could have made it back before dark, but I ran into an old man with a white beard in the mountains who said he could cure my illness. He treated me right there, which is why I got back late." Lin Xiaolong casually made up an excuse.
"Hehe, Brother, you've even learned how to lie?" Lin Xiaoxue said with a smile.
But as soon as she finished speaking, she looked at Lin Xiaolong in astonishment: "Brother, what you just said doesn't sound like something an idiot would say. Are you really better?"
"Xiaolong, you're not an idiot anymore?" Wang Ju's voice trembled even more with excitement.
"My illness is completely cured. Mom, Sister, from now on I will never let you suffer again." Lin Xiaolong said with finality.
Wang Ju and Lin Xiaoxue both wept tears of joy.
From the very things Lin Xiaolong had said, they could already conclude that he was truly well, and no longer the fool who could be bullied and mocked by anyone.
"Is that Xiaolong back?" At that moment, Lin Qiusheng's anxious voice came from inside the house.
"Quick, go tell Dad the good news!" Lin Xiaoxue pulled Lin Xiaolong and made to run inside.
"No rush."
Lin Xiaolong steadied his mother, and the three of them walked into the house together to share the good news with his father, Lin Qiusheng.
Once Lin Qiusheng heard the news and verified it for himself, seeing that his son had indeed recovered completely, he too burst into tears of old age, wild with joy.
Although their family life was unimaginably difficult, now that their son had recovered, there was finally some hope for the future.
The hour was too late.
After chatting for a little while, Lin Xiaolong went back to his own room to rest.
Because he had gone to sleep so late, Lin Xiaolong didn't wake up the next morning until the sun was already high in the sky.
Upon getting up, he found that his sister had already made breakfast, and it had even gone a bit cold.
Both parents were waiting in the main room for Lin Xiaolong to get up.
The two of them had been so excited upon learning that Lin Xiaolong's foolishness was cured that they had hardly slept all night.
"Where's my sister?" Lin Xiaolong asked as he ate his noodles. Hidden inside his bowl of noodles was actually an egg—and he knew very well that normally, his sister couldn't even bring herself to eat an egg.
Sigh! It was all his fault for dragging his sister down, for dragging this whole family down.
"Your sister went to the orchard bright and early after making breakfast. The cherries are filling out right now, and if they get a thorough watering this time, they'll grow bigger and better. Your sister is the only one working her fingers to the bone over there; it's so hard on her." Wang Ju said, a look of heartache crossing her face.
Lin Xiaolong cursed himself inwardly. It was bad enough that he used to be a fool and couldn't help his sister with anything, but now that he was better, he had still slept in this late and was sitting here eating the noodles his sister had gotten up at the crack of dawn to prepare. What kind of brother was he?
He slurped down the rest of the noodles in a few bites and stood up to walk outside.
"Xiaolong, where are you going?" Wang Ju asked hurriedly.
"I'm going up the mountain. I left the medicinal herbs I gathered yesterday up there." Lin Xiaolong said as he already stepped out the door.
Lin Qiusheng and Wang Ju exchanged glances, both filled with doubt. Was their son really cured?
In truth, Lin Xiaolong really could cure his parents' injuries and ailments now.
After all, the Divine Farmer Arts were now deeply imprinted in his mind, capable of eliminating all kinds of stubborn and difficult diseases.
However, treating his parents' conditions required the Ghost Gate Eighteen Needles from the Divine Farmer Arts, and the acupuncture technique required a rather precious medicinal herb. Among the herbs Lin Xiaolong had gathered yesterday was precisely this rare ingredient.
Lin Xiaolong clearly remembered that his back basket had caught on a spot not far from the mouth of the cave on the cliff. It had been too late yesterday, and fearing danger, he hadn't gone to retrieve it.
Today, no matter what, he had to find that medicinal herb and quickly cure his parents' illnesses.
Lin Xiaolong moved at great speed. Reaching the peak of the mountain and checking that no one was around, he found the iron chain hidden behind a large rock on the cliff's edge and descended along it to the cave entrance.
Sure enough, the bamboo basket was still hanging from the vines not far away, and fortunately, the herb inside was still there.
Swinging his body, Lin Xiaolong snatched the basket back.
Then, he entered the cave once more.
After all, going in at night was nothing like having the visibility of daylight.
Once inside, he wandered around the cave again and indeed made a new discovery.
In the spot where the jade statue had vanished, there was a jade bottle about two centimeters long, from which a faint green glow emanated.
Lin Xiaolong picked up the jade bottle and examined it. There seemed to be some liquid inside, though he had no idea what it was.
He casually slipped it into his pocket, took another walk around the interior, and found nothing else whatsoever.
"Master, may your spirit rest in peace. I will definitely carry on your legacy and, as you instructed, punish evil and promote good to benefit the world."
With that, Lin Xiaolong kowtowed heavily a few times toward the spot where the statue had previously stood, and then exited the cave.
He had originally thought his lips wouldn't reduce in swelling until tomorrow, but perhaps due to practicing the Longyang Formula, the swelling had actually gone down by noon.
When he reached the entrance of the village and passed the front gate of the widow Xiangxiu, Xiangxiu happened to be coming out.
"Xiaolong, I was just about to look for you." Seeing Lin Xiaolong, Xiangxiu was overjoyed and stepped forward to stop him.
"Sister Xiangxiu, what do you need me for?" Lin Xiaolong thought to himself: Surely she doesn't want me to scratch her itch again at a time like this, right?
"After you left last night, I got really scared. I think I really ought to put some broken glass all over the wall so Liu Erhu doesn't jump over it again tonight." Xiangxiu patted her chest, still shaken with lingering fear.
Lin Xiaolong felt his throat go a little dry: "Sister Xiangxiu, you mean you want me to help you put it up?"
"Yeah! Aside from you, there's no one else I trust. Aren't you afraid they'd take the chance to bully me?" Xiangxiu asked with a very aggrieved expression.
"Alright, once I finish what I'm doing, I'll help you put it up this afternoon." Lin Xiaolong agreed.
His most important task right now was to quickly cure his parents' injuries and illnesses; everything else had to take a backseat.
Chapter 5: Dunning at the Door
"Then it's a deal. I'll buy some good food this afternoon and you can have dinner at my place tonight to show my thanks." Xiangxiu swayed her willow-like waist happily as she went back inside.
Lin Xiaolong smiled helplessly and immediately walked toward home.
As he got close to his house, Lin Xiaolong heard loud shouting, and then saw a large crowd gathered outside his front door.
Oh no, could something have happened at home?
Lin Xiaolong broke into a fast run.
Outside Lin Xiaolong's house.
Liu Erhu was leading a few tattooed young thugs, making a tremendous racket.
"A debt must be repaid—it's only right and proper! Just because your family is poor doesn't mean you don't have to pay back the money, does it? Are you out of your minds?"
"Hehe, not paying back the money is fine too. Just let this little sister of yours come work as a hostess at my place, drinking a little wine to make money. In a single year, she can pay off all your family's debts!"
"That's right, the job isn't even tiring. Who knows, if she serves well, she might even find a wealthy sugar daddy husband, and won't your family's fortunes turn around then?"
"I'm looking out for your whole family, but look at your pathetic expressions, acting like I'm forcing a good girl into prostitution."
"If you've got such high principles, then fucking pay back the money!"
Tears filled Lin Xiaoxue's eyes right now, but she was biting her lower lip tightly as she clutched the arm of her father, who had crawled out from the house.
Hearing that these people were going to take Xiaoxue away, Lin Qiusheng had dragged himself right off the bed inside.
As for Wang Ju, she was leaning against the gate, tears streaming down her face in droves.
"Can you give us a few more days of grace? Our family really doesn't have any money." Wang Ju cried.
"That won't do. Not paying back the principal is one thing, but you won't even give us the interest? Are you expecting us to live on thin air?" Liu Erhu waved his hand impatiently. "Take Lin Xiaoxue away for me! I found her such a great job, and instead of thanking me, she's standing here sniffling. Truly a dog biting Lü Dongbin—failing to recognize a good heart."
The few ruffians stepped forward, reaching out to grab Lin Xiaoxue.
With a terrified scream from Lin Xiaoxue, Lin Qiusheng suddenly pulled a kitchen knife from his tunic: "Whoever dares touch my daughter, I'll fight him to the death!"
Seeing Lin Qiusheng pull out a kitchen knife, Liu Erhu chuckled evilly: "Lin Qiusheng, you're playing this game with me? If you've got the guts, chop me! Let's see if you can even reach my head if I let you hack away."
Liu Erhu stepped forward and kicked the knife right out of Lin Qiusheng's hand, sending it flying.
Then, Liu Erhu delivered a couple of heavy kicks to Lin Qiusheng, almost making him pass out.
"Don't touch my dad, you beasts!" Desperate, Lin Xiaoxue lunged forward, grabbed Liu Erhu's hand, and bit down hard.
"Ah!" Liu Erhu let out a yell of pain, raising his palm to slap Lin Xiaoxue.
Thwack!
Before his hand could strike, it was suddenly seized. A killing pain flared at his wrist, as if it had been clamped in a pair of pliers.
"Damn it, who grabbed my hand?" Liu Erhu turned his head and saw Lin Xiaolong's angry face.
"Trash."
Lin Xiaolong snorted coldly and launched a flying kick.
With a swoosh, Liu Erhu's bulky body flew several meters through the air, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The surrounding neighbors were all startled. When did this idiot get so fierce?
"Dad, are you alright?" Lin Xiaolong stepped forward and supported his father's arm.
"Xiaolong, they were going to take your sister away to work as a hostess in a karaoke lounge!" Lin Qiusheng said angrily.
"Don't worry, Dad. With me here, they aren't taking Xiaoxue anywhere."
"Damn it, has the world turned upside down?! A fucking idiot dares to hit me? I haven't even settled accounts with you about last night! All of you, rush him together! Beat him just like his deadbeat old man! If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."
Liu Erhu was a loan shark in the village with a massive circle of drinking buddies and cronies, and he cared about face more than anything else.
Having been beaten by Lin Xiaolong last night, and now kicked flying by him in front of so many people, of course he was losing his mind.
Hearing this, the ruffians immediately pounced on Lin Xiaolong.
"Xiaolong, be careful!" Wang Ju cried out anxiously.
"Hmph, a bunch of trash—still trash."
Lin Xiaolong didn't even take this bunch of garbage seriously. Without throwing a single punch with his hands, with a rapid succession of thuds, before the street thugs could even reach him, they were already sent flying backward by his kicks.
The onlookers were once again dumbfounded, and Liu Erhu wore a look of utter bewilderment.
Is this just the blind strength of a fool?
"Lin Xiaolong, do you have any shame or not?! You don't pay back your debts and you hit people? Fine! I refuse to believe there's no place to reason this out! Anyway, your family mortgaged this rundown courtyard house, so either you pack up and clear out today, or I'm taking you to court tomorrow!"
Although Liu Erhu wanted nothing more than to murder Lin Xiaolong, he hadn't brought any weapons today, and these fellows were simply no match for Lin Xiaolong. Thus, he could only resort to using the homestead housing plot as leverage.
At the same time, he had already decided to teach Lin Xiaolong's family a memorable lesson tonight.
"Dad, how much money does our family owe Liu Erhu?" Lin Xiaolong asked his father, Lin Qiusheng.
"To pay for the medical treatments for the three of us, I used our homestead plot as collateral and borrowed fifty thousand yuan. It hasn't even been a full year, and it's already ballooned to a hundred and fifty thousand! Such a black heart!"
Hearing this, the people around them all gasped inwardly. Fifty thousand turning into a hundred and fifty thousand in less than a year—it was heartless to the extreme.
Yet none of them dared to utter a word of justice, all terrified of offending Liu Erhu, the local hoodlum.
"Hmph, I'm not running a charity! Your family couldn't even pay the interest, so with this compound interest making it a hundred and fifty thousand, I'm already giving you a discount out of neighborly kindness!" Liu Erhu grew smug. Not acting all tough anymore? Let's see what you, a fool, can do now.
"I'll pay you back within a week." Lin Xiaolong said calmly.
What?!
Everyone wore a look of utter incomprehension.
The kid really was a fool—he actually dared to say he'd pay back a hundred and fifty thousand in a week.
Do you even know what a hundred and fifty thousand represents?
Let alone you, an idiot.
Even the folks in Longyang Village who were doing quite well wouldn't dare claim they could make a hundred and fifty thousand in a year. If you're paying back a hundred and fifty thousand in a week, that means making over twenty thousand a day!
You big idiot, you can't even make two yuan a day anywhere!
"Haha, hahaha! Are you trying to crack me up, you big idiot?"
Liu Erhu burst into laughter, and the thugs laughed along with him, as if they had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
"I said I'll pay you back within a week." Lin Xiaolong reiterated calmly.
"Xiaolong!" Lin Qiusheng and Wang Ju hurriedly cried out to stop him.