Chapter 58 : Battle against wild boars

“Isn’t that woman Wang Haixia, the educated youth? I didn’t expect her to have such a nice figure. Look at those breasts must be pretty comfortable to touch, right?” one sleazy man leered, his eyes glued to Wang Haixia’s chest, licking his lips suggestively.

“Hahaha! You should ask Jiang Datuo about that!” another man laughed.

“Wang Haixia’s standards are that low? Then maybe we still have a shot. I wouldn’t mind getting a taste of her too,” said a third, as several vulgar men continued ogling Wang Haixia.

“Tsk tsk tsk, isn’t that the same Wang Haixia who always acts so high and mighty? She kept stringing my son along without giving him an answer, turns out she likes this sort of thing,” a village aunt mocked with clear disdain.

She then twisted her son’s ear and scolded him. “You little fool, did you see that? That’s your precious Wang Haixia for you. She’d rather go for Jiang Datuo than someone like you.”

“Mom, Haixia must’ve been forced! She wouldn’t do this willingly, Jiang Datuo must have made her!” the son replied, his face full of heartache and bitterness.

“You idiot! If she was forced, would she just lie there without resisting, like she was enjoying it?!” the woman snapped, clearly exasperated. She wished she could crack open his skull to see what was inside and if she could, she’d raise him all over again.

“But Mom, Haixia did cry out that Jiang Datuo was harassing her.”

The other educated youths witnessing the scene were filled with disbelief. They all knew Wang Haixia was infatuated with Nangong Ruochen and didn’t care for anyone else among them. How could she possibly be involved with a village bachelor like Jiang Datuo? But then they remembered what Yun Siying had said before that she’d seen Wang Haixia sneaking off into the woods with a man. Suddenly, they weren’t so sure anymore.

Still, they felt a chill. The educated youths already weren’t well-liked in the village, and now this scandal would only worsen their reputation especially among the female villagers.

Just then, the team leader came running over, panting from exertion. After listening to the crowd and seeing the disheveled state of the two, he quickly pieced things together.

“Speak up. Were you two fooling around?” he demanded.

“Team leader, it’s not like that. Haixia and I are in a relationship. We just lost control today,” Jiang Datuo quickly explained, then looked nervously at Wang Haixia, afraid she’d accuse him of assault.

Wang Haixia noticed his look and assumed he was threatening her, maybe he knew she was the one who had set him up. Terrified, she didn’t dare deny it and forced herself to say, “Captain… we are indeed in a relationship.”

“In that case, watch your behavior going forward. You’re a high school graduate, after all. Since you’ve already had physical contact, this could ruin your lives. Come with me to the brigade office and get a letter of introduction you two can register your marriage today.”

The team leader wasn’t sure why Wang Haixia would admit to it, but judging from her guilty, regretful expression, something more had to be going on.

Jiang Datuo’s eyes lit up with joy when he heard the captain’s words. He, Jiang Datuo, was finally getting a wife! Meanwhile, Wang Haixia was filled with despair. She followed the captain lifelessly, humiliated and hopeless. The villagers kept gossiping, but as the excitement faded, they began to disperse.

At that moment, Wang Haixia deeply regretted everything. If she hadn’t shouted so loudly while being attacked, the crowd wouldn’t have gathered, and the whole mess might’ve stayed hidden. She wouldn’t have been forced to marry Jiang Datuo the old, ugly, poor bachelor and wouldn’t be enduring all this scorn from the villagers.

Yun Siying, watching from the side, felt quite satisfied with how things had turned out. In her mind, she thought, ‘Aren’t I such a kind person? I helped Wang Haixia marry the man she chose.’

Acting as if nothing had happened, Yun Siying carried the two fish back to the educated youth housing and put them in a basin. Remembering what Nangong Ruochen had said earlier, she picked up her backpack and headed briskly into the mountains.

She was lucky and soon found a small patch of mushrooms. She began picking them, they were delicious. If she gathered too many, she could dry and preserve them for winter meals.

Half an hour later, she had finished collecting all the mushrooms in that patch. She placed the full basket into her storage space and continued searching for more. The more, the better.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble it had to be a large beast. Instantly, a military dagger appeared in her hand.

She quickly hid behind a tree trunk. Soon, she saw a wild boar charging after two people. They were running in a panic, clearly struggling. Yun Siying recognized them, it was Jiang Aimin and Li Dazhuang.

She had a good impression of the two, so she stepped out and shouted, “Get out of the way!”

Dropping her backpack, she rushed straight at the wild boar. With agile movements, sharp instincts, and deadly precision, she slit its throat cleanly. Not a single drop of blood stained her clothes.

The two men stood there in shock. Jiang Aimin quickly snapped out of it and pleaded, “Comrade Yun, please help save the two other educated youths. They stayed behind to fight the wild boars so we could escape. I don’t know what’s happened to them.”

“Lead the way,” Yun Siying replied, expressionless. She’d already stepped in, might as well follow through.

“Okay!” Jiang Aimin replied, immediately turning and running ahead. After about ten minutes, they reached the scene Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua were surrounded by a group of wild boars, likely over ten. Each held a chopping knife. Several dead boars lay nearby, clearly killed by the two. Both men were injured and clearly at a disadvantage.

The situation was dire.

Yun Siying pulled out another dagger and leapt into the fray. She moved with terrifying speed, targeting the boars’ vital points with ruthless efficiency. Like a ghost or a flash of lightning, she tore through them. With Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua backing her up, the battle ended in just over ten minutes. All the wild boars lay dead, blood gushing from their necks and soaking the ground.

Li Dazhuang and Jiang Aimin stood frozen, legs weak, staring at the scene in stunned silence they would never forget it.

Yun Siying wiped the blood off her face, cleaned her dagger, and frowned at the blood on her clothes. She glanced at the others and asked, “Did you stumble into a wild boar den?”

“It wasn’t us, it was two villagers. We just stepped in to help. Why are you here?” Han Yuecheng asked, wiping his own face and sitting heavily on a patch of clean grass, exhausted.

“I came up the mountain to pick mushrooms. I happened to see two people being chased by wild boars and saved them. Then they asked me to come help you,” Yun Siying replied, nodding toward Li Dazhuang and Jiang Aimin.

“Thank goodness you came,” Chen Banghua said with lingering fear. “We’d be dead out here without you.”

“Are you hurt?” the two men finally came to their senses and rushed over, eyes filled with concern as they looked at the blood-stained group.

“A little scratched,” Han Yuecheng said, brushing it off.

“I’m not injured. The blood’s from the wild boars,” Yun Siying clarified.

“Come on, I’ll carry you down to the hospital,” Li Dazhuang said, reaching out to support Han Yuecheng. His eyes were full of worry. If it hadn’t been for the three of them, he knew they would’ve lost their lives today.