Chapter 26

The small figure, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, was extremely frightened when he saw the two large wolf dogs, but he was filled with resentment. He scrambled to his feet, refusing to leave, and shouted loudly, "You... you forced my big brother to his death, you... you must go with me to see the county magistrate...!"

The thirty-something Mr. Feng, with a cold smile on his face, sneered, "See the county magistrate? Brat, you don't even know which way the county office's main gate opens, and you want to take me to see the magistrate." He smiled faintly and said, "I really want to know, if we really go to the county office, will the magistrate help you or me? You say I forced Hu Daxuan to his death, but I want to ask you, he insisted on going up the mountain to hunt and was killed by a bear. What does that have to do with me? When I offered him a chance to work on my land, he didn't listen. If he had been obedient, this wouldn't have happened. He brought it upon himself, and he deserves it!"

The small figure was filled with hatred and shouted, "Feng Ergou, you heartless scoundrel, I'll fight you to the death today...!" He was about to charge forward, but the two wolf dogs, seeing his movement, immediately started barking fiercely, their leashes taut. If Feng Ergou hadn't been holding them back, the two large wolf dogs would have already pounced.

Feng Ergou's eyes glinted with a fierce light, and he sneered, "In front of the Feng family's gate, no one dares to cause trouble. I haven't come after you, but you've come to me. I can't be blamed for that!" He was about to loosen the leashes.

Chuhan gripped his axe tightly, a cold light flashing in his eyes. He knew that if Feng Ergou let the dogs loose, the small figure would be no match for the two large wolf dogs. Looking at the ferocious appearance of the two dogs, if they pounced, the small figure would either die or be seriously injured.

In his mind, when he heard "Feng Ergou," he suddenly remembered Su Niang's scolding from the night before. He vaguely recalled that Su Niang had suspected he was sent by Feng Ergou.

In his mind, he quickly recalled from his deep memories the identity of Feng Ergou. He vaguely remembered that Feng Ergou was also from this village. When Chuhan left his hometown, Feng Ergou was just over twenty, but he was idle and lazy. His father was also a lazy and gluttonous person, and the two of them had a very bad reputation in the village.

Originally, the Feng family had some assets, but the two of them indulged in drinking, gambling, and womanizing, and their assets were long gone. Later, they resorted to fraud and deceit, and the villagers regarded them as venomous snakes and scorpions, almost no one willing to associate with them. Chuhan remembered that when he left the village, the Feng family had only two dilapidated huts. He never imagined that after eight years, the Feng family not only hadn't fallen apart but had built a large house with blue bricks and white tiles.

Seeing Feng Ergou about to release the dogs, Chuhan was about to step forward, but he heard a voice call out, "Hu Xiaoshuan, I've been looking for you everywhere. What are you doing here? Aren't you going to handle your big brother's funeral? Come back with us!" A man in his fifties, leading three or four villagers, hurried over to Hu Xiaoshuan. The villagers stepped forward, blocking the path between the wolf dogs and Hu Xiaoshuan, clearly worried that Feng Ergou would really let the dogs attack.

Feng Ergou, who was about to release the leashes, suddenly saw several people and tightened his grip on the leashes again, shouting, "Mr. Liu, Hu Xiaoshuan came to my door and started cursing without any reason. You are the most respected elder in this village and the head of our village. You should manage this mad dog-like behavior."

The villagers all showed anger in their eyes, but their anger was mixed with fear, and they dared not speak out.

Mr. Liu took two steps forward and said with a smile, "This child is young and doesn't know any better. Don't take it to heart. His big brother was killed by a bear, and this child is suffering. Oh, be magnanimous and don't take it to heart!"

The man with the black hat and small eyes said in a shrill voice, "Mr. Liu, this time, our master will let him off for your sake. But let me warn you, if he causes trouble again, don't blame our master for being ruthless."

Feng Ergou snorted and said to the man with the small eyes, "Zhao Bao, let's go... what bad luck!" He turned and led the two dogs into the house, followed by the man with the small eyes and the muscular man in a tight-fitting shirt. The door then slammed shut.

Mr. Liu slapped Hu Xiaoshuan on the head and whispered, "You brat, running here on your own, aren't you asking for trouble? Do you know what kind of background the Feng family has...!" He turned to the other villagers and said, "Take him back!"

The villagers then pulled Hu Xiaoshuan away. Hu Xiaoshuan, unwilling, still shouted, "Feng Ergou, you've done so many evil deeds, you have no conscience, you won't have a good end... the eyes of heaven are watching you, and the book of the underworld is waiting for you, you...!" His words were cut off as someone covered his mouth.

Mr. Liu, seeing the villagers drag Hu Xiaoshuan away, sighed in relief, glanced at the red door, sighed, shook his head, and was about to leave.

Chuhan recognized Mr. Liu and knew his name was Liu Tianfu, a kind and generous person. He stepped forward and respectfully called, "Uncle Liu!"

Liu Tianfu was about to leave when he suddenly saw a young man in front of him, startled. He looked up and saw a stranger, frowned, and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Chu Er!" Chuhan smiled. "Do you remember me, Uncle Liu?"

Liu Tianfu showed surprise, looked Chuhan up and down, and asked, "You... you are the second son of the Chu family? How... how is that possible? Didn't they say the second son of the Chu family...!" He didn't finish his sentence.

Chuhan smiled and said, "I'm Chu Er, I'm back!"

Liu Tianfu could vaguely see that Chuhan's features were somewhat similar to how he looked eight years ago. He patted Chuhan's shoulder and sighed, "It's good to be back, it's good to be back. Your mother and your sister-in-law have had a hard time, and I couldn't do much to help. Now that you're back, your family has a man to support it... that's good...!"

Chuhan said, "Thank you, Uncle Liu, for all your help over the years. I'm very grateful!"

"No, no," Liu Tianfu waved his hand. "It's not much help, just neighbors helping each other... oh, Er, I still need to help with Daxuan's funeral. We'll talk more later..." He forced a smile, but the heavy look in his eyes was hard to hide, and he hurried away.

Chuhan saw everything that happened in front of the Feng family's gate. He not only saw Feng Ergou's arrogance but also noticed that even the village head, Liu Tianfu, spoke to Feng Ergou in a low and submissive tone. He knew that Feng Ergou must be a bully in this village.

Looking at the house with blue bricks and white tiles, Chuhan knew clearly that the Feng family's current status was likely due to their oppression of the villagers.

He glanced at the red door and coldly smiled, then left and went to the woods on the east side. The woods were full of dead trees, and many areas had already been cut down by the villagers for firewood to last through the winter.

Chuhan went deep into the woods, rolled up his sleeves, found a dead tree, and started chopping with his axe. He was quick and efficient, and in less than an hour, he had cut down a lot of firewood and chopped the dead trees into manageable pieces for burning.

He tied up two large bundles of firewood, and by then, he was sweating. He put down his axe and sat down in the woods, covered with fallen leaves, to rest before heading home. Suddenly, he remembered something and reached into his chest, pulling out an object he had taken from Lin Daier.

It was a smooth, egg-shaped stone, slightly smaller than an egg, oval in shape, but strangely, it was entirely a deep red color. Chuhan, who had seen many things, had never seen such a red stone before.

He knew that the world was full of strange stones, and just because he hadn't seen one didn't mean it didn't exist.

The stone was smooth and warm, with black veins running through it. Chuhan initially thought someone had painted them, but after examining it for a while, he realized that the black veins were not painted on but were naturally part of the stone. At first glance, the black lines seemed random, but Chuhan felt that there was some pattern to them, though he couldn't figure out what it meant.

He remembered how anxious Lin Daier had been when she discovered the red stone was missing and how restless she had been. He knew that this object must be very important to her.

Although it might be a token of affection given by someone she loved, Chuhan felt that the matter was not so simple. Even if it were a token of affection, it wouldn't be such a strange stone.

He had a vague feeling that the red stone must contain some secret, but no matter how many times he examined it, he couldn't figure out what it was.

Chuhan could only put the red stone away, stop thinking about it, and tuck his axe into his belt. He picked up the two bundles of firewood and headed home, thinking that these two bundles were not enough and that he would have to come back and cut more.

When he reached his home, he saw the door half-open, and the old hen that Su Niang raised was basking in the sun in front of the door. Before he entered, he heard a sharp yet somewhat flirtatious voice from inside, "Aunt Chu, I'm doing this for your family. You've seen what happened to Hu Daxuan for opposing Feng Ergou. He didn't even have half a head left... it's terrifying. If you keep this up, Feng Ergou, who has no conscience, might play tricks on you. Why make things difficult for yourself? Now he's offering you fifty taels of silver. If you put your fingerprint on this document, you'll get fifty taels of silver, and you won't have to worry about the rest of your life... isn't this a good thing from heaven? Why can't you see it, Aunt?"

Chuhan frowned.

He heard his mother, Chu Lishi, say, "You know Feng Ergou is a heartless beast. How can I push Su Niang into the fire... even if I break my old bones, I won't put my fingerprint on it...!"