Chapter 5: Preying on the Vulnerable
Baishui County, Kaoshan Village.
At the Li Family's doorstep.
"Uncle Li, we're not trying to bully you!"
"Can you even use such a large well all by yourself?"
"And your family's land and house, you won't be using them anyway, so why not sell them to me, Sun Youcai..."
A large group of strong men blocked Li Xuan's doorway, shouting.
There was a well in the Li Family's courtyard, which Li Xuan, feeling sorry for his elderly mother who had to fetch water from the river daily, had dug with his elder brother over a month.
Normally, it would have been just a simple well.
But with the continuous drought and the river drying up, without water, the villagers could only go to the mountains to find springs. However, the mountains were full of wolves, tigers, leopards, snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and many who went never returned.
Over time, the villagers set their sights on the Li Xuan Family's well, the only one in the entire village.
Now that his eldest son, Li Ye, had died, these scoundrels were rushing to prey on the vulnerable!
In the main hall behind Li Ping.
"Those sons of bitches, I'm going to kill them!"
The youngest, Li Ling, gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at the people outside, his voice filled with chilling hatred.
The older Li Xi said nothing, calm unlike a nine-year-old child, only silently memorizing the face of every person outside.
"Sun Youcai from the east end of the village, his family has two sons and one daughter. It seemed like Sun Youtian was also there, and the eldest son of the Wang Family... his family has many people..."
Li Liangyu gasped for breath, quickly pulling his two younger brothers by the hand and walking towards the back.
"Hurry! Mother and Grandmother are already waiting for us in the back! Let's go quickly!"
Li Liangyu no longer had time to scold his third brother for his outrageous words; escaping was paramount now!
"Hurry, as long as there's life, there's hope!"
Li Liangyu tugged at Li Xi and Li Ling's clothes. He had been careless earlier, allowing them to run back.
"I'm not going! You go if you want, you coward!"
Li Ling snatched his hand away from Li Liangyu, then ran into the room and pulled out an iron rod, an arm's length and index finger thick.
One end of the iron rod was wrapped in a tattered rag, and the other was sharpened to a deadly point.
Li Ling grabbed the iron spike and was about to rush out.
Li Liangyu tried to hold him back, but he had been frail since childhood, so how could he possibly hold him.
"Smack!" Li Xi slapped Li Ling across the face.
"Idiot! As a child, even if you ambushed, you might not be able to kill a strong man!"
"The book Second Uncle left said, do what you can with the strength you have! Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals."
"We are children, so if we're going to kill, of course, we kill children..."
Li Xi pinched the back of Li Ling's neck, "Come on, follow Second Brother!"
"Big Brother, take good care of Mother and Grandmother!"
Li Ling's eyes lit up; Second Brother was smart after all!
Li Liangyu got up from the ground and ran to the back door, only to see Mother and Grandmother waiting, but no sign of his two younger brothers...
The standoff in the courtyard continued, and a fight was about to break out!
Preying on the vulnerable was not a glorious thing!
Normally, people wouldn't be too obvious about it, but with the drought year, only the Li Family had a well!
An innocent man is guilty because of his treasure!
Everyone would rather the Li Family perish!
Just then, a sturdy, childlike figure appeared behind the crowd.
"Father! Father!"
"What are you shouting for! Your father isn't dead yet!"
Sun Youtian squeezed through the crowd and picked up his silly son.
The child wanted to speak loudly, but his eyes darted around, and he held it back.
He whispered into Sun Youtian's ear: "Father, I was playing at the village entrance just now, and someone came. He looked a lot like Li Ye. He looked really fierce, and he had a knife and a longbow in his hand!"
"Father, can we steal his bow too? I want it..."
Sun Youtian was startled; he looked like Li Ye!
Wait! Li Xuan!
Li Ping had two sons, one Li Ye and one Li Xuan.
"Could it be that fierce man, Li Xuan, has returned?"
Sun Youtian wanted to call his brother, Sun Youcai, but his eyes darted around, and he left alone.
"Damn it! Good thing I came back early! I haven't even made a move yet!"
Sun Youtian kissed his silly son, "You truly are my family's lucky star! When your Uncle Youcai dies, his land and house will be mine!"
No one noticed Sun Youtian's departure because there were too many strong men present, a full dozen or more blocking the doorway.
Without exception, they all wanted the Li Family's well and farmland.
Li Ping sat in the courtyard, clutching a firewood knife, with several other men holding manure forks standing beside him.
They had helpers, and the Li Family did too.
The Li Family had only been in this village for a few years. To fully integrate into the village and avoid being bullied by the locals, Li Ping had allied with three or four other families who had fled famine at the same time.
The families had agreed that if one family was in trouble, the others would lend a hand.
...
The sun was too strong, and Sun Youcai couldn't stand it anymore. They had been blocking the door since the day Li Ping found Li Ye's body, and it had been three days already!
A ruthless glint flashed in Sun Youcai's eyes, and he pulled out a long spear from outside the door.
The few foreign men in the Li Family's courtyard, seeing this, dared not make a move!
They were only three or four people, but there were over a dozen on the other side!
Moreover, Sun Youcai had grown up with Li Xuan and had learned a few spear techniques from him. It was no problem for him to fight two or three of them alone.
"Old man! How about..."
A man named Song shouted.
They could help create a commotion, but it was impossible for them to actually fight Sun Youcai with manure forks!
"Give it to them? Even if we give it to them, will they truly let my Li Family go?"
"If they truly would, my son wouldn't have..."
Li Xuan swiftly moved towards his home.
But he stopped not far away, seeing the white cloth hanging at the distant doorway...
Farmers were poor and couldn't afford mourning clothes or white headscarves. Whenever a loved one passed away, they would hang a white cloth at the door to signify mourning.
Li Xuan's eyes were bloodshot, but seeing the group of men surrounding the doorway, he forcibly stopped his raised leg.
He carried his longbow and leaped onto the thatched roof from a side path.
The men outside were focused on Li Ping and did not notice Li Xuan...
Sun Youcai held the spear in one hand and took out a few taels of silver in the other, pressing again:
"Old man Li Family! I'm asking you one last time! Are you selling or not?"
His neighbors were watching, and he didn't want to lose face.
Li Ping, with his graying hair, cracked a smile.
"Sun Family boy, I'll sell... I'll sell, alright!"
"Come here, give me the silver. I, Li Ping, am old, once I sit down, I can't get up..."
"Come here..."