Chapter 32: Bai An’s Family Protects Their Own

“Bro, why did it take you so long to buy the medicine?” Bai An pointed to the bandage on his head and said, “Mom already bandaged me up, and you’re just getting back now.”

Wanqing took the ointment from Lu Jin’an’s hand and immediately smelled a mix of urea and a faint, unpleasant odor on him.

“Jin’an,” Wanqing frowned and urged, “Why do you smell so bad after just going out? Hurry up and take a bath.”

Bai An also curiously sniffed Lu Jin’an. “Eh, you really do stink, big brother.”

Lu Jin’an looked at Bai An, whose face was scrunched up like a little kitten, and couldn’t help but laugh. He gently tapped her nose and said, “I’ll take a bath first. You should let Mom use the ointment on those little cuts on your face.”

Bai An rolled her eyes, muttering, “No need for the ointment, these are the marks of a warrior.”

“What are you saying?” Lu Jin’an warned Bai An, who was being a little too mischievous. “I want to see your cuts treated by the time I get out, or you’ll end up with scars.”

Wanqing, concerned, made Bai An sit on a chair and applied the ointment to her cuts. When she saw Lu Jin’an still standing nearby, she urged, “Go take a bath.”

Lu Jin’an gave one last look at Bai An, who was obediently having the ointment applied, and then went to the bathroom to bathe.

Before Wanqing could finish applying the ointment, hurried footsteps approached from outside the door.

Bai An closed her eyes, listening to the frequency of the footsteps, and guessed it was her father.

Sure enough, with a loud “bang,” the door swung open, and Lu Demin rushed in, calling out, “I heard Bai An got into a fight. Is she hurt?”

Wanqing shot him a reproachful look and subtly gestured at Bai An’s current state.

“Bai An!” Lu Demin looked at his precious daughter with concern, not knowing what to do with his hands, as he nervously paced around her.

Wanqing pulled his hand to stop his pointless pacing, her anger apparent as she said, “What’s the point of pacing? Bai An’s been beaten like this, and we can’t just let it go.”

At first, Lu Demin didn’t quite react, seeing his usually gentle wife acting so differently.

Only when Wanqing squeezed his side did he snap to attention. “Fine, we’ll go find them. Let’s go now.”

“What happens after we find them?” Wanqing looked at her husband seriously and said, “We can’t keep acting like we don’t care about anything. Look at Bai An’s face—do you know how she was bullied?”

As she spoke, her voice began to choke with emotion. “Not only did they steal our things, but when they beat Bai An, they called her a capitalist.”

“These are the consequences of what we’ve done before. If we had been firmer back then, would they have dared to bully Bai An like this?”

Bai An, seeing her mother defend her like this, felt her emotions stir. Her eyes reddened, filled with tears as she looked directly at her father.

Lu Demin felt a pang in his heart. He had always thought that if he kept the peace and avoided conflict, life would pass by smoothly.

But now, this situation sharply contradicted everything he believed.

If he kept backing down, everyone would take advantage.

“Let’s go.” Lu Demin picked Bai An up in his arms, grabbed Wanqing’s hand, and headed for the door. “We’ll go find them.”

“Wait for me!” came Lu Jin’an’s slightly anxious voice from a distance. “I’ll be ready in a moment.”

Lu Demin looked at Bai An in his arms, then turned to Wanqing.

In his rush, he had completely forgotten about Jin’an.

“Village head.” Lu Demin looked at the now elderly village head, saying, “When you and your group stole from our home, didn’t we say anything to you?”

The village head shook his head.

“Why did that Dogdan call my daughter a capitalist and beat her like this?” Lu Demin said indignantly, “If the village head can’t give me a satisfactory answer, I’ll handle this my way.”

The village head looked at Bai An’s wounds, hesitating before saying, “This is just a little kid’s… roughhousing.”

But when he met Bai An’s clear, untainted gaze, the words caught in his throat.

Lu Demin quickly grasped the underlying meaning of the village head’s words and angrily said, “Roughhousing, you say?”

“Village head, you better take a good look,” he added.

Hearing the strong tone in Lu Demin’s voice, the village head slowly shook his head and said, “I’ve already called Dogdan’s family over. We’ll talk about it then.”

Lu Jin’an glanced at the village head, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon, Dogdan’s family arrived—not just them, but they brought a whole group of people along.

Lu Demin narrowed his eyes and asked the village head, “What’s the meaning of this?”

The village head hadn’t expected Dogdan’s family to bring so many people with them. He hurriedly walked up to Dogdan’s mother, saying, “Why did you bring all these people?”

“What for?” Dogdan’s mother pulled Dogdan out from behind her and mocked, “What do you think?”

“Hiss.” Bai An couldn’t help but take a sharp breath when she saw Dogdan’s face. She didn’t remember being so harsh when she hit him.

Dogdan’s mother looked at Bai An’s family and yelled, “At first, I didn’t know who hit Dogdan. Now look, you’ve brought him right here.”

Lu Demin and Wanqing stared at Dogdan in shock, seeing his face swollen to the point of resembling a pig’s head. They exchanged a surprised glance before turning to Bai An, their eyes filled with admiration.

Dogdan’s mother tugged at him again and demanded, “Tell me, who hit you?”

Dogdan looked at Bai An’s family and, lowering his head, muttered, “I… I don’t know.”

“Don’t know?” Dogdan’s mother hit him hard on the back, scolding, “You blind fool, you don’t know who hit you?”

Lu Demin didn’t want to get involved in this family dispute. He grabbed Bai An and, addressing Dogdan’s mother, said, “I don’t know who hit your son, but Bai An was beaten by your son. You should speak up.”

“My son hit her?” Dogdan’s mother shot a look at Bai An and said, “You say my son hit her, but where’s your proof?”

At this point, Dogdan seemed to have found some support. He stuck out his neck and said, “She tripped and fell, it’s all her fault.”

Hearing this, Dogdan’s mother became even more arrogant.

Lu Demin held back his anger, his hand trembling as he pointed at the unreasonable woman, “You… you…”

“You what?” Dogdan’s mother sneered.

Bai An saw how unfamiliar her father was with this kind of situation and, stepping up, spoke out.

“It was Dogdan who hit me, and a lot of people saw it,” she paused and continued, “And not only did he hit me, when he couldn’t beat me, he threw stones at my head and had a few people hold me down while he came to hit me.”

Bai An stood in front of Lu Demin, her youthful, clear voice ringing through the room.