Chapter 13

As soon as Guo Chuanbin’s voice fell, he hurriedly glanced at Yang Xiaomei, who shot him a glare in anger.

In fact, Guo Chuanbin wasn’t the only one who found Guan Yue attractive. Many voices of agreement rose from the crowd around them.

Wang Lu and the others had heard Guan Yue’s name so often that it had practically become a familiar sound to their ears. Many of the people here, including Wang Lu, were seeing Guan Yue in person for the first time.

Not to mention seeking medical help from Guan Yue, most of the women who had gone up the mountain to see him for treatment were already married. These unmarried young women had no need for his kind of services, so they had never made the trip.

Fang Jie clicked his tongue: “No wonder Gu Sui runs up the mountain every day.”

Wang Lu’s face remained expressionless as she looked at Guan Yue, her gaze as cold as ice.

Seeing so many people gathering around her, Guan Yue furrowed her brows.

Li Tao jogged over: “Guan Yue, our village is slaughtering pigs tomorrow. Why don’t you come down the mountain and have a taste of the pig slaughter dish?”

Some of the people who were fond of Guan Yue quickly added, “Yes, yes! My mother took the medicine you gave her, and she’s feeling much better. You should come over to our house, she’d definitely be happy to see you.”

Guan Yue, who had initially been attracted by the food, felt her enthusiasm instantly cool when she saw so many people gathered around her.

Forget it, she didn’t want to eat anymore. When her own pigs were fattened, she’d have Gu Sui prepare a special table of pig slaughter dishes just for her.

Li Tao had known Guan Yue for a long time and had grown bolder. At this moment, she was in a cheerful mood and, following her own desires, boldly reached out to pull at Guan Yue’s sleeve: “Come on, come on! There’s a mountain god temple at the foot of our mountain, it’s very effective. You should go and pray there too.”

Li Tao’s partner, He Wen, cleared his throat, reminding her that there were so many people around. What was the point of praying? If it got out, people would say they were engaging in feudal superstition. What if they reported them?

Guan Yue glanced at her sleeve, and Li Tao awkwardly released her grip: “Okay, okay, don’t go.”

“No, I won’t go. You all can go ahead with your business, I have something to do.”

Wu Min’s sharp and harsh voice rang out: “Oh, you still have something to do? Are you waiting for Gu Sui to find you? No need to wait, Gu Sui has gone to the Qingsong Brigade to help people with medical treatment.”

Guan Yue gave Wu Min a faint glance: “If you can’t speak properly, just shut up.”

Wu Min sneered, “You really have some skill. You don’t even need to speak, and all the men here are staring at you. You’re quite good at seducing, huh?”

Her words were a bit too much! Many people frowned. Did Wu Min ever think before speaking?

Guo Chuanbin was about to say something, but he was pinched by Yang Xiaomei, who gritted her teeth and whispered, “If you dare speak up for that woman, we’re done.”

Hearing Yang Xiaomei’s words, Wu Min snorted, “Look, in just a short time, you’ve already captivated Guo Chuanbin’s soul.”

Before Guan Yue could respond, Li Tao immediately fired back, “Wu Min, what’s wrong with your mouth? Did you eat shit for breakfast?”

It had to be said, this crude exchange was the first time Guan Yue had heard such insults. She felt disgusted and even had an image flash in her mind, which made her feel nauseous.

“Wu Min, you’re really shameless. Just the day before yesterday, your mother’s coughing was so loud the neighbors could hear it. Wasn’t it Guan Yue’s medicine that helped her get better? Now just a few days later, you come to her door to curse at her. Tch! Shameless!” Li Tao’s words made everyone look at Wu Min differently.

Yang Xiaomei spoke up for Wu Min, “Don’t act all righteous. The medicine we took was exchanged with our own grain. Our Qingxi Village doesn’t owe her anything.”

Guan Yue sneered, “You’re right, you don’t owe me anything. But from now on, I won’t treat arrogant people like you. Now you can leave.”

“Why should we leave? Daqing Mountain isn’t your property.”

“Yeah, you’re just an outsider bullying us locals. Haha, what a big ego!”

“Isn’t it just because of that pretty face of yours, that’s why you’re causing trouble?”

Guan Yue couldn’t be bothered to waste words with them and called out, “Dog Sheng!”

With a single command, Dog Sheng sprang forward, biting with speed, accuracy, and strength. Wu Min, who was standing at the front, was caught directly, and a chunk of flesh was torn from her arm.

Wu Min screamed in fright, and the people around her scattered in panic. Yang Xiaomei, holding a stick, swung it fiercely at Dog Sheng, but as she did, her foot got caught in a vine, and she fell hard to the ground.

It had rained the entire night, and the ground was still wet. The slippery surface caused several people to tumble.

Standing at the back, Wang Lu, Fang Jie, and the others, one by one, were all tripped and fell.

Yang Xiaomei had just gotten up when someone pushed her, and she tumbled down the mountain. Luckily, a tree blocked her midway, stopping her fall.

Before she could catch her breath, her partner, Guo Chuanbin, rolled down after her and gave her a push, sending her sliding further. Yang Xiaomei hit the tree with her thigh, and the pain was so intense it felt like her leg was broken.

“Ah, it hurts so much!”

Guo Chuanbin quickly scrambled to his feet and turned to grab her: “Are you alright?”

Yang Xiaomei, drenched in cold sweat from the pain, replied, “Don’t touch me, I think my leg is broken.”

Guo Chuanbin panicked and immediately let go of her, frantically searching for help: “Wait here, I’ll find someone to carry you down.”

Guan Yue stood there, unmoving, coldly watching as a group of people was knocked down, slipping and falling by a knee-high dog.

Many people had bruises on their faces, and the unluckiest, like Yang Xiaomei, felt like their legs were broken.

Fang Jie didn’t have it any better either. He fell face-first, blood pouring from his nose.

Wu Min screamed, “Ah, you stepped on my hand!”

Her hand, already bitten by Dog Sheng, was then stepped on by someone else.

The only person who didn’t suffer any mishap was Li Tao, who stood beside Guan Yue.

A few others, quick to react, managed to scramble up a tree and avoid the chaos.

“Dog Sheng, come here!”

Guan Yue called, and Dog Sheng trotted back, happily circling around her and wagging its tail, brushing against her leg.

Without sparing the fallen people another glance, Guan Yue turned and walked back to the house, the gate of the yard closing behind her.

Li Tao turned to look at the gate, then at her fallen friends, unsure of what to do next.

He Wen jumped down from the tree. “Let’s go down the mountain first.”

The dog, which had been watching them closely earlier, was still there, but now no one dared to provoke Guan Yue. The uninjured helped carry the injured as they made their way down the mountain in a disheveled state.

It was the busy farming season, and they had only managed to get a day off. They had planned to go up the mountain and pick mushrooms, but now things had turned out like this.

When Zhang Cuihua heard that the children had rolled down the mountain, she threw her apron aside and rushed out. “What happened?”

The outsiders didn’t say anything, and the people from Qingxi Village looked at each other. Those who were sensible understood the seriousness of the situation.

Yang Guozhu saw his daughter being carried down the mountain and grew anxious. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Li Tao was the first to speak. “I invited Guan Yue down the mountain to play tomorrow, but Wu Min immediately started insulting Guan Yue, calling her a seductress, and said some really awful things. Yang Xiaomei even sided with Wu Min. They started arguing, and then Dog Sheng came rushing over to bite us. It had rained earlier, so the ground was slippery. Everyone panicked and fell down. Yang Xiaomei fell on her own.”

Yang Xiaomei protested, “That’s a lie! It was Guan Yue’s fault!”

Yang Guozhu roared, “Shut up!”

He turned to Li Tao. “Continue, what else did Guan Yue say?”

“Guan Yue said that from now on, she won’t treat any of us.”

“What? Not treating us? What does that mean?”

“What else could it mean? They offended Guan Yue, so from now on, don’t expect to go to her for treatment.”

The adults around them became agitated. “You little troublemakers, why did you go and provoke Guan Yue? What harm has she ever done to you, living up in the mountains, gathering herbs?”

“I was planning to go to Guan Yue after the harvest and get some treatment for my health. Now it’s ruined!”

Zhang Cuihua sneered, “The Wu family sure knows how to raise daughters. Now, what are we going to do? Who are we going to see for treatment in Qingxi Village? Can your family take responsibility for this?”

Wu Min sneered, “Why are you all blaming me? Didn’t Yang Xiaomei think Guan Yue seduced Guo Chuanbin? Yang Xiaomei hasn’t spared any insults for Guan Yue, so why is everyone blaming me now? Her father’s the village chief, and you’re all afraid to provoke him, right?”

“Enough!!!”

Yang Guozhu glared at them, his voice filled with fury. “A wild boar can’t eat fine rice. You’ve lived comfortably long enough! Without Guan Yue, when you get sick in the future, just suffer on your own.”

Yang Xiaomei retorted, “But we still have Doctor Gu.”

Yang Guozhu, without a word, slapped her hard. “You ungrateful daughter, shut your mouth!”

Yang Xiaomei was in disbelief, unable to process the fact that her father had slapped her in front of so many people.

Guo Chuanbin lowered his head, afraid to anger Yang Guozhu further.

Yang Guozhu, unable to wait any longer, turned and led several people from the village up the mountain to apologize to Guan Yue.

Li Da watched them head up the mountain and murmured, “Remember that city person who came by earlier? I think he’s Guan Yue’s uncle and wanted her to move to the city. Do you think, after all this trouble, Guan Yue will leave?”

“If it were me, I’d leave for sure!” someone else replied.

The villagers had always thought that Guan Yue was an orphan, but now it seemed she had an uncle living in the city. That meant Guan Yue might even have an urban household registration.

If Guan Yue left, the women from the ten-mile radius of villages would be in trouble. What would they do if they needed treatment in the future?

He Wen didn’t stay long. After briefly speaking with his mother-in-law, he left with Guo Chuanbin and the others.

Qingxi Village traded their medicinal pills with Guan Yue, while the larger village exchange took place outside of Qingxi. Given the massive conflict that had just erupted, He Wen needed to go back and report to the village leader immediately.

—

Gu Sui was at Qingsong Brigade, tending to a child who had been injured by a cow. When he heard the news from He Wen and the others, his brows furrowed in concern. “Did Guan Yue get hurt?”

“No, she wasn’t hurt. She just stood there, motionless. But her dog is really fierce,” He Wen replied.

Gu Sui packed up his medical kit and turned to leave. “That’s not a dog,” he said, “That’s a wolf that Guan Yue raised.”

“A wolf?” Guo Chuanbin was startled.

Now that he thought about it, that “dog” had a long snout, ears always standing up, and slanted eyes… Guo Chuanbin shivered. Damn, it was a good thing that the wolf was still small; otherwise, they would’ve been in real trouble today.

Zhou Baohe stomped his foot. This was bad!

It was the busy farming season, and many of the villagers were sick. After the autumn harvest, he had planned to trade some of his remaining pills with Guan Yue, but now that plan was ruined.

Zhou Baohe quickly ran toward Qingxi Village.

Back in Qingxi Village, Gu Sui went straight to the Educated Youth point to drop off his medical kit.

—

Wang Lu and the others were sitting under the tree in the courtyard, feeling uneasy.

Fang Jie, especially, felt guilty. She had provoked the situation earlier, not realizing things would escalate like this. She avoided making eye contact with Gu Sui, afraid to speak.

Gu Sui didn’t acknowledge them and quickly turned to head up the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, he ran into Zhou Baohe, who had hurried after him.

Panting, Zhou Baohe said, “I heard you and Guan Yue are close. You have to help talk to her.”

Gu Sui didn’t respond. “Guan Yue doesn’t listen to me.”

The two of them climbed the mountain together. At the top, Yang Guozhu and a few others were confronting Dog Sheng, who stood guard at the gate.

Guan Yue was inside the house, not coming out.