When Yang Guanghui returned that evening, he had been running around all over the place because of what happened to the two girls, trying to secure the best outcome for them. He then told Li Qiong and Wang Yuan about what had transpired at noon.
It was only then that Wang Yuan and Li Qiong understood how much they owed Zhao Nuanyue, and they thanked her again.
"You two need to be more careful from now on. Don't go to any more remote places," Yang Guanghui said. "You've suffered a loss this time. The village is making a big show of investigating, but I don't think they'll find anything. At most, they'll give you two some sort of compensation. You should just look out for yourselves."
"So... we're just supposed to let it go like that?" Li Qiong fumed. "The village chief and the other cadres swore they would find them..."
Yang Guanghui gave a bitter, helpless smile. "What else can be done? First, the culprits weren't caught in the act. Second, anyone who could plan something this meticulous is no ordinary person. There are no clues at all. The most likely outcome is that this whole thing will just be dropped."
After hearing what Yang Guanghui said, everyone fell silent.
Sure enough, a few days later, Miao Cunzheng, Li Guihua, and a few other villagers came over. They apologized for not finding the culprits and gave each of the girls five pounds of flour and five pounds of rice, telling them to take care of themselves and recover.
Even though Li Qiong and Wang Yuan were furious, they knew they had to bow their heads to the powers that be. Faced with the village cadres' mix of threats and incentives, they were forced to swallow this bitter pill in silence.
This incident left the few people living in the Dragon King Temple lost in thought.
No matter how hard they tried, they were destined to be outsiders. Miao Cunzheng and the other villagers would always protect the interests of Nianqiao Village first, not theirs. The village was now offering them promises and incentives; if they didn't accept, they would lose out on even these small benefits.
After this matter, the young people were no longer as lively and cheerful as before. The incident had forced them to grow up.
Li Qiong and Wang Yuan also became more cautious than usual. They stayed home at night, going nowhere, and stuck together when they worked during the day.
The village had organized literacy classes, with Wang Yuan and Li Qiong as the teachers. They taught every evening, so during the day, they didn't have to go out fishing. They just had to help watch over the salted fish that were drying in the village.
Wang Yuan was depressed, but because she no longer had to do heavy labor, had Li Qiong by her side to comfort her, and the villagers didn't dare gossip in front of them, she slowly began to come to terms with it.
Even when they ran into Liu Lanhua on the road, they remained outwardly friendly and warm, though they were wary of her in their hearts.
This is life. At different stages, one learns to wear different masks.
The point of wearing a mask isn't to deceive others, but simply to better protect oneself.
All was calm in Nianqiao Village—at least on the surface.
Wang Dadan was growing impatient. He frequently went to Liu Lanhua, hoping she would come up with a plan. But Liu Lanhua had invited Wang Yuan and Li Qiong to hang out several times, and they always refused. They were probably scared.
"I arranged it for you that time, but that clever Zhao Nuanyue realized they were missing and raised a ruckus at the village office. Miao Dahai had no choice but to send people to look for them," Liu Lanhua said angrily. 'If it weren't for Zhao Nuanyue, my task would have been completed, and Wang Dadan would have naturally taken care of my son's matter.'
Wang Dadan was a man whose brain was ruled by his dick. He narrowed his eyes and said viciously, "Watch how I'll deal with her!"
Zhao Nuanyue's consciousness, which had taken a human form in the water, was drifting around and naturally overheard the conversation between Liu Lanhua and Wang Dadan.
'Even if you don't come looking for me, I'll be coming for you!'
Zhao Nuanyue used the Dragon Scale to focus her conscious abilities, then suddenly stirred up a wave. It crashed directly into Liu Lanhua's backyard, which was near the water. The various tools and the vegetable garden in the yard were battered by wave after wave. As the water receded, it conveniently dragged the farming tools and other items back into the water with it before flipping over a small boat. Liu Lanhua was probably in for a lot of trouble tomorrow morning.
For now, Zhao Nuanyue's power was mainly limited to causing a bit of destruction.
She didn't just wreak havoc in Liu Lanhua's backyard; she also paid a visit to Wang Dadan's house and made a mess of his yard too.
As for Widow Qian's house, Zhao Nuanyue hesitated when she passed it. Other than having an affair with Wang Dadan, the woman hadn't done anything truly wrong and wasn't a bad person. So, Zhao Nuanyue didn't linger.
Having let off some steam, Zhao Nuanyue swam freely in the water. But just as her consciousness was roaming, she suddenly caught the scent of blood, which made her stop short in alarm.
At first, she thought it was from some aquatic creatures fighting, but after taking a closer look, she saw a man with the lower half of his body in the water. His blood was already attracting leeches and the like.
A life was on the line. Zhao Nuanyue didn't dare be careless. She manipulated the river water and, with a powerful surge, pushed the man all the way onto the bank.
Although Zhao Nuanyue's conscious projection couldn't go ashore, she could sense that the man was still breathing. He wasn't dead. But it was dark, and she couldn't see his face. She could only hope for the sun to rise quickly so she could come and save him.
She didn't dare come out here alone in the middle of the night.
Never mind that she had already offended Wang Dadan and Liu Lanhua—even a wolf coming down from the back mountain could eat her.
Zhao Nuanyue stayed with the man, guarding him in case any wild beasts came down from the back mountain and killed him.
In her physical body, Zhao Nuanyue didn't sleep well either. As soon as the sky brightened, she grabbed a basket and took Zhao Nuan Yang out to dig for wild vegetables. After symbolically digging up a few, she made her way to where the severely injured man was.
It was actually Zhao Nuan Yang who spotted the injured person first, pulling on his sister's arm and pointing.
Zhao Nuanyue and her brother walked over. It was light now, and this time she got a clear look at the man's face.
'We really are fated to meet!'
She had seen the untamable Hua Yusen once on the train, and now she was encountering a severely wounded Hua Yusen.
If it had been anyone else, Zhao Nuanyue would have had to consider who they were before helping them. But Hua Yusen was a good person. At the very least, saving him wouldn't bring her any trouble.
Besides, she owed him a great deal.
'In this life, I will do everything in my power to repay him.'
"Nuanyang, you take that side, and I'll take this one. Let's get him back to the village," Zhao Nuanyue instructed. 'Since we're saving a good person, this shouldn't be my responsibility alone, but the entire village's.'
Zhao Nuan Yang nodded and helped his sister support the well-built Hua Yusen.
Although Hua Yusen was still breathing, he had lost too much blood and was unconscious.
They finally managed to get back to the village, just as someone was running off to inform Miao Cunzheng.
"Ms. Nuan Yue, do you know this person?" Miao Cunzheng asked. He wanted to help, but he was afraid of saving the wrong person and bringing misfortune upon himself and Nianqiao Village. The situation outside the village was just too frightening; he didn't dare make a rash decision.