Chapter 18.2

The sun was setting, and a breeze suddenly picked up.

Ruan Mingfu’s sweat-soaked clothes clung to her uncomfortably. Seeing Zhou Peng’s sullen face made her shiver.

“Mingfu, this is the fifth time you’ve disobeyed me,” Zhou Peng said as he slowly walked toward her. “Think about your parents on the farm. Don’t you want them to live well?”

This bastard!

Threatening her with her parents again!

Ruan Mingfu’s beautiful brows furrowed tightly. “Zhou Peng, I truly loathe you! I’d rather die than marry you.”

Lin Yujiao looked up eagerly.

She hoped Ruan Mingfu would curse Zhou Peng even more, hoping to stir up more trouble.

The more chaos they created, the better her chances.

Sure enough, Zhou Peng’s face darkened further at her words.

His gaze no longer held any warmth, replaced by an intense coldness.

“Loathe me? Then who do you like? That Comrade Xie?” Zhou Peng took a few steps forward and grabbed her by the neck. “Did you go see that Comrade Xie again yesterday? Ruan Mingfu, how can you be so cheap!”

Even though Ruan Mingfu had been prepared, she still found it difficult to escape.

Zhou Peng, like a husband who had just discovered his wife’s infidelity, was consumed by anger and humiliation, his grip tightening.

Ruan Mingfu felt she was almost unable to breathe.

“Bastard, let me go!” She struggled desperately, hitting Zhou Peng. “… Let me go, you maniac!”

Zhou Peng, enraged, laughed maniacally, his grip on Ruan Mingfu tightening. “Good, very good,” he said with a twisted expression of satisfaction.

Seeing that it might come to death, Lin Yujiao hurried over.

“Brother Xiaopeng, calm down. Let’s talk things through…”

While she wanted Ruan Mingfu dead to eliminate any competition, she knew that killing her would bring consequences for Zhou Peng as well. If he were gone, how would she ever live the life of a wealthy wife?

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Peng disdainfully brushed her aside, almost throwing her into a ditch.

The tighter he squeezed, the more Ruan Mingfu’s survival instincts kicked in, making her try to pry his hand off her neck. But with Zhou Peng’s deadly grip, her efforts were futile.

Zhou Peng was intent on strangling her to death.

Realizing this, Ruan Mingfu struggled even harder. Her nails scratched his hand, drawing blood, but it only seemed to fuel Zhou Peng’s anger.

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes bulged from suffocation, tears of pain streaming down her face. She glared at the mad Zhou Peng, her red lips moving in silent desperation.

Zhou Peng’s eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction, his expression twisted with excitement.

Hate him!

If you don’t love him, then hate him!

Just as Ruan Mingfu was about to lose consciousness from suffocation, a fist suddenly appeared and struck Zhou Peng’s face with a heavy blow.

The force was so great that Zhou Peng’s glasses flew off.

Ruan Mingfu, now limp, fell into a familiar embrace. Life surged back into her as she started to cough violently.

“How are you?”

The person gently patted her back, his voice soothing.

Ruan Mingfu shook her head.

Her mind, previously clouded by suffocation, cleared up. Seeing who had come to her aid, the mix of fear and grievance she had been holding back broke free. She buried her face in Xie Yanzhao’s chest, gripping his clothes tightly as she cried.

“Why… Why did you come so late? I almost… almost died…”

She had known Zhou Peng was dangerous, but she didn’t realize he was capable of murder!

Ruan Mingfu was overwhelmed with fear, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Xie Yanzhao comforted her by gently patting her back.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Thinking about what had just happened, even Xie Yanzhao, usually so strong, felt a chill. His gaze turned icy as he looked at Zhou Peng, the anger in his eyes almost palpable.

Zhou Peng, watching the embrace between Xie Yanzhao and Ruan Mingfu, sneered softly.

He touched the blood on the corner of his mouth with his finger, then showed a provocative smile at Xie Yanzhao.

“Soldiers, that’s all.”

After Ruan Mingfu had finished crying, Xie Yanzhao turned to Xu Zhu. “Help her.”

“Where are you going?”

Ruan Mingfu looked up, her face still beautiful but marred by red marks on her pale neck. Her tearful eyes made her look particularly pitiful.

“Taking revenge for you,” Xie Yanzhao said, patting her head before standing up.

Standing together, Xie Yanzhao was a head taller than Zhou Peng. To the tall and strong Xie Yanzhao, Zhou Peng seemed like a plucked chicken.

Xie Yanzhao’s face was dark as he approached Zhou Peng, exuding an intimidating aura. He rolled up his sleeves and threw a punch.

“You shouldn’t have touched her.”

Zhou Peng barely managed to dodge the first punch, but the next one hit him squarely in the face.

He took the blow, his nose instantly bleeding profusely.

“That’s the price!”

“Come on,” Zhou Peng wiped the blood off his face, glaring at Xie Yanzhao with a sinister look. “If you want to fight, then fight. Why so much talk—”

Before he could finish, Xie Yanzhao’s left hook landed on his face.

Zhou Peng spat out a mouthful of blood.

The blood was mixed with something white. On closer inspection, it turned out to be teeth.

Lin Yujiao screamed in terror!

She had seen Xie Yanzhao before. Before she had that dream, Lin Yujiao’s target had been him. However, his fierce aura had scared her off, and the dream had pushed her to cling to Zhou Peng.

Seeing Xie Yanzhao’s relentless attacks, his intense killing intent made him seem like a fearsome demon.

Lin Yujiao was relieved she hadn’t chosen him.

Xie Yanzhao’s skills were among the top in the military, and Zhou Peng was being thoroughly beaten.

Xu Zhu quietly looked away.

It was a brutal sight!

Zhou Peng had been hit so badly that several of his teeth had been knocked out, and his hand, which had strangled Ruan Mingfu, was twisted in a way that made it look grotesque.

Yet Zhou Peng, despite the severe beating, remained silent.

“Stop, stop already!”

Lin Yujiao panicked.

If Zhou Peng was killed, who would she marry?

But the two men, blinded by anger, ignored her completely.

Lin Yujiao stamped her feet anxiously, shouting at Ruan Mingfu, “Educated Youth Ruan, make them stop! Someone could get killed!”

Ruan Mingfu pretended not to hear.

What was this compared to?

Today, she wouldn’t stop until Zhou Peng was half-dead.

“Educated Youth Ruan, say something!”

Lin Yujiao, desperate, cried, “If the army finds out about Comrade Xie’s actions, he’ll be punished. Ruan Mingfu, no matter how angry you are, you need to think about Comrade Xie.”

Ruan Mingfu ignored her completely.

Xie Yanzhao was indeed a soldier, and it was against the rules to lay hands on ordinary people. However, since Zhou Peng was about to strangle her to death, even if Xie Yanzhao beat him to death, the army would probably only award him a medal for bravery.

Hadn’t he seen his comrades, who were still calmly watching?

If Xie Yanzhao were truly affected, Xu Zhu would have gone over to persuade him long ago.

Seeing that no one was paying her any attention, Lin Yujiao was anxious and stamped her feet before turning and running away.

Ruan Mingfu touched her throat with her pale hand, feeling a burning pain. She coughed a few times to ease the discomfort in her throat.

The sunset cast a golden glow on her, softening her previously fierce and aggressive expression.

Xu Zhu even started envying Xie Yanzhao.

Such a beautiful woman wanted to be with him and he was still rejecting her.

He was furious!

He wished he could pry open Xie Yanzhao’s head to see what was inside.

At that moment, a large crowd came bustling over.

Lin Yujiao had gone back to the village to call for help when no one paid her any attention.

Mother Zhou also ran over.

Her short legs moved quickly. When she saw Xie Yanzhao’s men, her eyes almost bulged out. She was about to rush over to scream and scold them, but when she saw their fierce and terrifying faces, the curses she wanted to spit out were caught in her throat.

Xie Yanzhao had a few drops of splattered blood on his face, which, combined with his scars, made his demeanor even more menacing.

Seeing Zhou Peng lying on the ground like a broken puppet, Mother Zhou screamed and rushed over.

“Damn it! You’ve beaten him so badly, I’ll—”

When Mother Zhou met his indifferent gaze, she trembled with fear, her fat shaking all over. She no longer dared to curse.

Zhou Peng was beaten beyond recognition.

He had no ability to retaliate against Xie Yanzhao and was beaten throughout the entire ordeal. If Xie Yanzhao had not retained some restraint, Zhou Peng could have been killed.

“Report to the police!”

At this moment, Mother Zhou was genuinely crying.

Her son was injured so severely, and Mother Zhou dared not touch him. If it weren’t for the slight rise and fall of his chest, she would have thought he was dead.

“We must report this to the police! I want you all to go to jail!!!”

Mother Zhou dared not provoke Xie Yanzhao and could only target the easier prey, glaring at Ruan Mingfu. “It must be you… you little hussy, seducing my son…”

Before she could finish, a snapping sound suddenly came from beside her.

Xie Yanzhao had snapped a thick stick in half and was staring directly at Mother Zhou.

The meaning was clear.

Mother Zhou, trembling with rage, did not dare to approach her son. Instead, she could only cry out in anguish, “Damn it, you’ve beaten my son like this… Team Leader, hurry and report to the police! I want them jailed, shot…”

“Damn little hussy, just watching my son being beaten…”

Mother Zhou’s high-pitched wail was like the sound of pigs being slaughtered, piercing the ears.

Seeing Xie Yanzhao approaching, Ruan Mingfu grabbed his hand to inspect him. His left hand seemed fine, but his right hand had blood on the knuckles, looking quite terrifying.

Ruan Mingfu took a closer look and sighed in relief.

His hand was slightly reddened, but otherwise, there were no visible injuries.

“Your hand must be hurting.”

As soon as she spoke, Mother Zhou’s cries halted briefly, then became even louder.

While crying, she sang, “My son, who did he provoke to be beaten so badly? Look at us, a mother and son, so easy to bully… Son~”

The old Team Leader was very troubled, but there were more important matters at hand.

“Zhou’s family, stop crying! Zhou Peng is severely injured and needs to be taken to the county immediately. If you delay any longer, even if your son isn’t in a critical condition now, he might become so.”

“Right! Send him to the doctor!”

Mother Zhou seemed to just realize this. She quickly wiped her tears and got up.

The Team Leader ordered two strong men to go to the clinic to fetch a stretcher and doctor. Given Zhou Peng’s severe injuries, they didn’t dare to move him hastily without experienced guidance.

“Comrade Xie, what exactly happened? Why did you use such force?”