Chapter 8

“That’s because you have a filthy mouth and spread rumors. You deserved to be beaten.” Lin Pao looked at Li Yanli on the ground with contempt, his eyes full of disgust.

“I didn’t spread rumors! I really saw them—those two rolling around in the grass! If they weren’t doing that, then what were they doing? If you don’t believe me, ask Chunmei!”

Everyone turned to look at Zhang Chunmei.

Her heart clenched under their probing gazes. Gritting her teeth, she stiffly said, “I saw it too.”

A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd.

The men looked at An Lan with even more lewdness, and the women with even greater disdain.

“To think Comrade An looks so clean and pure—turns out she’s so shameless in private.”

“I was even thinking of asking my mother to propose marriage on my behalf. Thank goodness I didn’t. Otherwise, I’d have become a father to someone else’s child!”

“Women like that should be drowned in a pig cage—they’re ruining the village’s reputation.”

“Brigade Leader, this kind of shameless behavior deserves public shaming!”

“Exactly! We must stamp out this kind of immoral conduct, Brigade Leader!”

“……”

The brigade leader’s eyes turned sharp as he barked coldly, “Silence, everyone! The truth hasn’t been confirmed—don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Comrade Li, Comrade Zhang, are you certain about what you said?”

Both Li Yanli and Zhang Chunmei nodded.

The brigade leader narrowed his eyes and said sternly, “Remember what you just said. If I find out it’s false, I will not show any mercy!”

Li Yanli’s eyes flickered, saying nothing. Zhang Chunmei lowered her head in silence.

Seeing their reactions, the brigade leader immediately understood.

He had interacted with Huo Linyuan before. Although he was a quiet man, whenever the village needed help, he would step in without hesitation—unlike some of the other young men who always made excuses. Huo was dependable.

Would a man like that really do such a thing?

In the brigade leader’s heart, before the investigation even began, he was already siding with An Lan and Huo Linyuan.

Still, he had to follow procedures. He turned to An Lan and asked gently, “Comrade An, is what they said true?”

“No, Brigade Leader,” An Lan replied firmly. “Comrade Li and Comrade Zhang tried to kill me. When I exposed them, they feared I’d report them to the police, so they turned around and smeared me and Comrade Huo.”

An Lan stood tall, her tone calm and composed—earning trust from those who saw her.

“What happened exactly?” The brigade leader’s face turned grave, his eyes sharp as blades directed at Li Yanli and Zhang Chunmei.

The two women shrank back under his piercing gaze.

An Lan ignored them and clearly recounted everything that happened on the mountain.

When she mentioned the banyan tree and falling into a trap, gasps erupted from the crowd.

Everyone knew wild boars often appeared near the banyan tree. Even experienced hunters risked serious injury going there. And An Lan was just a delicate girl—falling into a trap there could’ve meant becoming a boar’s meal!

Clearly, Comrades Li and Zhang had taken advantage of An Lan being new and unaware of the dangers, deliberately luring her there.

Such malice!

If Huo Linyuan hadn’t shown up, An Lan might’ve been dead by now—or worse, nothing left of her at all.

The villagers standing closer to Li Yanli and Zhang Chunmei began to edge away.

Seeing this, Li Yanli panicked.

“Brigade Leader, don’t listen to An Lan! She’s lying! She never even went near the banyan tree, let alone fell into a trap! She was with Comrade Huo! They had all their clothes off and were holding each other—”

“Yes! They were committing indecent acts in broad daylight and now they’re turning it around on us, saying we framed her—Brigade Leader, this is so unfair… boohoo…”

Li Yanli dropped to the ground like an old village woman, wailing dramatically with snot and tears running down her swollen cheeks, painting a pitiful picture.

Some villagers began to waver, looking at An Lan with doubtful eyes.

The brigade leader frowned, turning to An Lan.
“Comrade An, Comrade Li says you never went near the banyan tree, but you say you did. Do you have any proof?”

He knew it was unfair to ask—An Lan had barely escaped with her life. Who would think to bring evidence? But Huo Linyuan hadn’t arrived yet, and he didn’t know what else to do.

“Yes, Brigade Leader,” An Lan said. “My sickle for cutting firewood is still in that abandoned hunting trap. I was terrified after falling in. I shouted for a long time but no one came. Thankfully, Comrade Huo passed by. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here—I’d be a ghost…”

“I don’t even know why Comrades Li and Zhang hate me so much. They wanted me dead. Now I’m finally safe, and they’re trying to ruin my name with false accusations… sob sob…”

Tears glistened and rolled down her clear, smooth cheeks—a heart-wrenching sight that softened the crowd.

“Don’t believe her, Brigade Leader! Everyone owns sickles—what proof is there that the one in the trap is hers? I think Comrade An just wants to frame me and Zhang Chunmei. She did something shameful and now wants to shift the blame onto us. Is there no justice?”
She tugged Zhang Chunmei’s sleeve.

Zhang Chunmei caught the cue and stammered,
“C-Comrade An, what Yanli said is true. It was you who did something shameful. How could you turn around and accuse us?”

“Who said I don’t have proof?” Comrade An wiped her tears and smiled coldly at Zhang Chunmei—a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Zhang Chunmei’s heart skipped a beat. She gripped her clothes tightly, not daring to meet An Lan’s eyes.

“Brigade Leader, when I fell into the trap, a tree branch tore my sleeve. There should still be a piece of my sleeve fabric caught on the branch.” An Lan lifted her arm to show the torn sleeve—a large hole clearly visible.

“Go. Send a few people to look for it,” the Brigade Leader ordered, pointing at some strong villagers.

Suddenly, a deep and pleasant voice rang out.

“No need.”

Everyone turned toward the voice—it was Huo Linyuan, with several people behind him. One of them was a tall, strong man like Huo himself.

An Lan recognized him. In her past life, she’d heard villagers talk about him. His name was Lin Muyuan, the mountain watchman.

Yongan Village was unlike other villages. In addition to field work, they had orchards in the mountains. To prevent theft from other villages, Lin Muyuan had been appointed to guard the mountain.

It was an easy job—just patrolling the orchards daily—and it paid ten work points. But not just anyone could do it.

Even though the orchards weren’t right next to the banyan tree, wild boars sometimes roamed that way. Without real skill, you couldn’t manage this kind of job.