"No, no, I'm going home." Sister Chunhua's face was flushed, her eyes darting away as she grabbed Xiao Qingqing and tried to leave.
Watching Sister Chunhua scurry away in a panic, Li Xiu hooked the corner of his mouth into a mischievous smile, while secretly wondering how he could keep her longer next time.
"Husband, you're picking on Sister Chunhua again," Yang Ruixue pouted, looking utterly adorable.
"How am I..." Before Li Xiu could argue, a wave of intense sleepiness surged into his head, making it impossible for him to keep his eyelids open.
"I—I'm going to sleep." Yang Ruixue was also heavily drunk, swaying as she walked into the room and leaned against the wall.
Li Xiu also felt a bout of dizziness, barely able to stand.
"Ruiling, give me a hand," Li Xiu stammered, extending a hand toward Yang Ruiling.
Yang Ruiling hurried over to support him, but Li Xiu pulled her straight into his arms and walked into the house.
Sister Chunhua, who hadn't walked far, heard the sounds coming from the room, and her cheeks burned. Her heart pounded furiously as if a little white rabbit had been trapped inside her chest.
She thought to herself, isn't this Li Xiu just a bit too eager?
***
The next day, Li Xiu woke up in a haze, feeling as if someone had drilled heavily into his head with an electric drill.
"This..." Li Xiu pinched the bridge of his nose as scene after scene from the previous night flashed through his mind.
He remembered now—he had gotten drunk last night, so...
"Husband... you're finally awake..." Yang Ruiling also woke up slowly, her voice slightly hoarse and laden with fatigue.
Sister Chunhua arrived very early today. Just as Yang Ruiling tried to get out of bed, she suddenly felt a soreness in her lower body.
Sister Chunhua told Yang Ruiling to rest properly today and complained that Li Xiu had no idea how to cherish a delicate flower.
Li Xiu just smiled and said nothing.
***
Li Xiu went to the west side of the village and was very pleased to see that his new house was almost finished, with only the final finishing touches remaining.
"Brother Xiu!" Li Fengwu was busy crafting furniture and greeted him with a beaming smile the moment he saw Li Xiu.
"Fengwu, you're doing great work. Your craftsmanship is truly excellent," Li Xiu said with a smile.
"Don't mention it, Brother Xiu. This house of yours is grand enough, so the furniture inside has to match. I guarantee it'll satisfy you!" Li Fengwu said cheerfully.
"Keep up the good work, I won't shortchange you," Li Xiu said.
Then Li Xiu took a large stroll around the village, finally ending up by the small river at the entrance.
A group of village women were washing clothes, chatting and laughing lively.
Li Fengwu's wife, Zhang Wenqin, was the most striking among them.
Zhang Wenqin had her back turned to Li Xiu, leaning over slightly, her long, fair legs catching the sunlight in a remarkably striking way.
Her figure was slender and curvaceous; even wearing coarse, simple clothes, she couldn't hide her vibrant energy, turning heads wherever she went.
"Hey Li Xiu, what are you looking at? What are you daydreaming about?"
"Did you take a fancy to Wenqin's long legs? Those legs are so long, they're practically bamboo poles."
"Li Xiu, don't you already have that pair of sister concubines? Could it be you have a thing for women with long, beautiful legs like Wenqin? You really have quite an appetite, don't you?"
"..."
Seeing Li Xiu, the group of village women immediately started bantering, raising their voices as if afraid someone might not hear them.
"Go on, go on, what are you lot talking nonsense about? Can't I just be admiring the scenery?" Li Xiu wore a smile, but felt a bit awkward inside.
"Speaking of which, Wenqin's figure—thanks to those long legs of hers—is simply beyond perfection," another village girl chimed in, winking at Zhang Wenqin.
"You—you stop talking nonsense!" Hearing this, Zhang Wenqin's face instantly turned beet red. She lowered her head in silence, wringing the garment in her hands so hard it was almost torn.
"Hehe, Wenqin is shy!"
"Li Xiu, if you really want to take Wenqin in, you can just have a word with Fengwu and make him hand Wenqin over to you. After all, with his physique, he can't possibly make Wenqin happy anyway."
Not wanting to stay and chat, Li Xiu turned and walked away. These women were truly gossips who dared to say anything.
Just as Li Xiu was thinking this, Li Mingda hurried over, stopping breathless in front of him: "Xiu—Brother Xiu, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?" Seeing his panicked expression, Li Xiu felt a pang of worry.
Panting heavily, Li Mingda said, "Lately, women have been going missing from nearby villages. Someone found strange footprints; they look basically like human tracks, just several times larger. People are saying it's a Mountain Ghost..."
Mountain Goblins were tall in stature, mostly male, and fond of women, especially beauties.
Legend had it that in the past, Mountain Ghosts would drag village women into the mountains and father wild children with them...
Even worse, Mountain Ghosts were elusive; they could fly through the mountain forests and even craft bows and arrows to use against humans...
"What?!" Li Xiu was startled. "Are you sure you're not joking?"
"I'd say there's an eighty percent chance..." Li Mingda's face turned green. "I—I need to go call the clan elder quickly..."
Dropping those words, Li Mingda hurried off.
Li Xiu frowned. This was no joke; he couldn't afford to take it lightly.
He quickly headed back home.
"Husband, why the long face the moment you get back?" Sensing Li Xiu's unusual demeanor, Yang Ruiling asked with concern.
"Earlier, huge footprints were found in the mountains, and a woman went missing in a neighboring village. Nine times out of ten, it's the work of a Mountain Ghost," Li Xiu said in a low voice. "Everyone needs to be careful these days. Don't leave the village, and make sure the doors and windows are securely locked at night."
"A Mountain Ghost?!" Yang Ruixue turned pale with fright and stammered, "What—what should we do?"
"Don't be afraid," Li Xiu comforted her. "I'll handle this. You stay safely at home and don't run around."
As he spoke, Li Xiu took off his dart vest.
Li Xiu knew that against a massive creature like a Mountain Ghost, ordinary flying darts would be completely useless.
These were the ones Li Mingda had given him last time, but they were just very ordinary flying darts. However, since Li Xiu was a martial arts grandmaster, he naturally wouldn't sit idly by while a Mountain Ghost snatched women away.
The woman who went missing today was someone else's; tomorrow it could be his own.
Li Xiu's physical conditioning had improved six or sevenfold now, and his strength was frighteningly formidable. Paired with Grandmaster-level Darts, he was fully capable of killing a Mountain Ghost.
He just needed flying darts with much greater destructive power to push his strength to the absolute limit.
After putting away his dart vest, Li Xiu instructed the two women, "Stay right here at home and don't go out. I'm going to see the hunter Li Mingda to see if I can get some higher-grade flying darts."
"Husband, you must be careful," Yang Ruixue grabbed Li Xiu's hand tightly, her face filled with worry.
"Don't worry, it's just a mere Mountain Ghost," Li Xiu smiled.
***
Li Xiu stepped into Li Mingda's house. At that moment, Li Mingda had just returned from the clan elder's place, wearing a deeply preoccupied expression.
Li Xiu asked, "Brother Mingda, what did the clan elder say about the Mountain Ghost?"
"The clan elder has already sent someone to the county seat to report it to the authorities. But distant water can't put out a nearby fire," Li Mingda sighed. "If a Mountain Ghost shows up in our Xiaoshan Village, the women in our village are done for."
"Brother Mingda, do you have any higher-grade flying darts here? The ones you gave me before are too small and feel awkward to use," Li Xiu asked directly.
"Higher-grade ones?" Li Mingda was slightly taken aback. "The flying darts I have here are just for ordinary hunting. However, the clan elder has some ancestral flying darts that are said to unleash a force of a thousand catties!"