Chapter 10: Ning Yu was presumed dead, and the villagers returned fully loaded

“Ah! You’re a ghost! You’re a ghost! You’re not that little brat Ning Buwan!” Ning Yuwei still didn’t know that Su Wan had already taken on the surname Su.

Su Wan’s fierce little voice rang out: “Ghost or human, didn’t you see for yourself? I was just thinking of finding an opportunity to go into the mountains, and you brought me the chance. As a thank-you, I’ll offer you to the little wolf.”

Su Wan dragged the heavily bleeding Ning Yuwei into the mountains. Along the way, several curious wild animals appeared, but Su Wan easily dealt with them with just a wave of her sleeve.

This scene terrified Ning Yuwei so much that he trembled all over and began to plead, “Heroine, young hero, Ning Buwan, please spare me, please! I’m your uncle! For the sake of our shared Ning family name, spare your uncle just this once. I’ll even kneel to you!”

“Sorry, I don’t have the surname Ning anymore. I’m Su now. You probably don’t know that my mother and I have already severed ties with the Ning family. If you hadn’t come to provoke me, I might’ve let you off. But now…”

“Oh right, you probably don’t know either—your dear younger brother will soon collude with bandits and massacre the entire village, including everyone from your main Ning household.”

The voice was that of a child, but the words made Ning Yuwei feel like he had entered the gates of the underworld.

“No, impossible. Ning Yumou wouldn’t dare. He wouldn’t dare!” Ning Yuwei’s face went pale, his body trembling violently.

“Nothing is impossible. He’s latched onto the county magistrate of Pingle. To climb the ranks, of course he’ll find a way to hide the fact that he’s married. Everyone in the village knows the truth—so tell me, which weighs more: power or your pathetic lives?”

Su Wan’s words were logical and well-reasoned—it was hard not to believe them. Blood continued to pour from Ning Yuwei’s shoulder, the pain overwhelming him. Coupled with his terror, he felt dizzy and disoriented.

“I beg you, let me go! I won’t do it again! I’ll never do it again!” Just as he finished speaking, Ning Yuwei suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air.

“Bang…”
 A loud thud sounded as his body crashed into a massive creature charging toward them.

It was a very aggressive wild boar.

Ning Yuwei’s body landed right on the boar’s tusks, and as he hit the ground, a chunk of flesh was torn from him. He immediately passed out from the pain.

Su Wan didn’t care whether he had fainted or not. She continued dragging him along, slaying every beast that came her way.

Axes and iron shovels were being carried up the towering mountain.

“Hurry, everyone keep up! This time, we must hand that brat over to the authorities.” Petty theft was one thing, but now he had the audacity to commit murder.

Ning Yuwei was jolted awake by pain. When he regained consciousness, he found a massive gray wolf gnawing at him.
 “Ah! Get off! Get off! Help! Somebody help me!”

His cries were heard by villagers, who immediately rushed toward the sound. But when they arrived, they were horrified.

They saw two enormous gray wolves clamping down on Ning Yuwei’s legs, gnawing and dragging him backward.

“Help me! Please—help…”

Seeing people approach, one of the wolves bared its fangs menacingly at them, then suddenly sank its teeth into Ning Yuwei’s neck, dragging him deep into the forest.

“Big brother! Big brother, someone save my brother!”
 Ning Yusheng, who had just caught up, turned pale with fright and screamed for the villagers to save his brother—but no one moved.

Village head Zhu shouted coldly, “It bit his neck! Even if we save him, he’s already dead. Forget him—go find the child!”

Before Zhu could give more orders, the furious Su Mingshan had already gone off searching.

Along the way, they encountered several wild animal corpses. Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.
 “What happened here? Could a master have come to help?”

Hearing the word “master,” Su Mingshan suddenly thought of the one who saved him from the tiger that night. Judging by the carnage, it had to be that same person. Had they saved Wanwan?

Su Mingshan’s eyes turned red with emotion, and he silently prayed again and again that this master had saved his precious Wanwan.

“Wanwan, don’t scare your uncle like this. You must have been rescued by that powerful person, right?”
 Su Mingshan wept—this grown man cried out loud.

He had been terrified ever since he learned that Su Wan had been taken. If something happened to her, he would live the rest of his life in agony.

Just then, Su Mingshan vaguely heard Wanwan’s voice calling for help.

“Uncle! Uncle! Help Wanwan…”

“Wanwan is so scared…”

“It’s the child—it’s Wanwan!” Zhu also heard her voice.
 They quickly ran in the direction of the sound. Su Mingshan was faster than the others, calling out as he ran, “Don’t be scared, Uncle’s here! Wanwan, don’t be afraid!”

When everyone arrived, they saw Su Wan clinging to a tree, her tiny arms wrapped tightly around the trunk, crying pitifully.

Her clothes were torn in several places, and both her face and body were smeared with blood, making her look like a little dirty cat.

“Wuwu… Uncle, save Wanwan. Wanwan’s scared…”

Seeing that Su Wan was alive, Su Mingshan finally let out the breath he’d been holding. Overcome with relief and joy, he cried tears of happiness.

“Thank goodness the child is safe. Someone powerful must have helped her,” one villager exclaimed excitedly.

Su Mingshan climbed up and, with the help of the villagers, brought her down safely. Zhu quickly asked,
 “Little girl, did a really powerful person save you? Were they the one who killed all those wild beasts?”

Su Wan nodded. “Yes, there was a very powerful man in black. He saved me. He even killed lots and lots of monsters that wanted to eat me. But… that big brother in black couldn’t save Uncle Ning. He was dragged away by a wolf monster.”

After speaking, Su Wan hugged Su Mingshan’s neck fearfully, her small body trembling intensely.

She wouldn’t say anything more, no matter what else was asked.

“Girl, don’t blame yourself. Your Uncle Ning was a bad man. He deserved it,” Zhu Lizheng said happily. He quickly turned to the villagers and said, “This is great! As expected, we encountered a master. Everyone, go pick them up—carry the dead beasts home. Take as many as you can. That master probably doesn’t need them.”

The villagers were overjoyed. Not only had someone been rescued, but they had also found a lot of game—such luck was impossible to find even with a lantern in hand.

So, the villagers worked together, carrying the dead beasts out of the forest again and again, determined to haul them all out.

In the end, they couldn’t finish. There were just too many—not only outside, but also deep in the dense forest. Thinking of those two terrifying grey wolves, no one dared to go in. They only picked up part of the spoils before heading down the mountain.

Even that small portion was enough to feed the villagers for the entire year.

“Hahaha, this is great! I haven’t tasted meat in half a year!”

“Who hasn’t? The last time I ate meat was last year. Now we can finally have our fill.”

The villagers descended the mountain cheerfully, all returning with full loads. Only Su Mingshan was holding a pale-faced, terrified Su Wan as he walked down.

Ning Yusheng also wanted to carry a wild boar, but one of the villagers kicked him down the mountain. “Get lost, none for you.” In the past, people tolerated his family because of Ning Yumou and the Su family. Now? To hell with that.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.