Chapter Twenty-Four: The Lone Pill Warrior!

Wu Yueying wiped her tears, offering no excuses, as her father-in-law and his kin were the ones who had ganged up on Liu Tieniu. The kick that rendered him heirless had been delivered by her own husband. With so many witnesses watching, even if taken to the village elders, her family would be in the wrong. She glanced at her tightly closed gate and said, "Let's go to Doctor Sun."

Doctor Sun was a local healer in the small mountain village. She could treat minor ailments and kept a fox spirit in her home; if anyone suffered from a "phantom illness," she was the one tasked with performing shamanic rituals.

Old Man Liu nodded and shouted toward the courtyard, "Zhao Laosan, my son was injured sticking up for you, and you don’t have a word to say?"

Zhao Zheng finally opened the gate, spread his hands, and said, "I am indeed grateful that Tieniu came out to speak for me, but honestly, I never asked him to step in. Who knew he would start cursing the moment he got involved? It was completely unexpected." He paused, then added, "Tell you what, I’ll go with you to Doctor Sun’s, but I wasn't the one who struck him. If you want to go to the village elders or report this to the authorities, I can serve as a witness!"

Old Man Liu was furious, but with Liu Tieniu groaning in constant pain and fearing for his son’s condition, he hurriedly hoisted him onto his back and headed toward Doctor Sun’s house.

"You two stay here," Zhao Zheng said, stopping Yang Zhaodi and the other woman from following.

Before long, the group arrived at the healer’s. After an examination, Doctor Sun reached a grim conclusion: Liu Tieniu had "shattered one." In other words, he had become a "single-testicle warrior."

Old Man Liu felt his world collapsing. "Grandma Sun, will my Tieniu still be able to father children in the future?"

"He still has one, so it’s possible," the healer replied, "but the damaged one needs proper care. I can’t handle it here; you’ll have to go to the township to find a real physician!"

Zhao Zheng sneered inwardly. This was perfect. Wang Dazhi’s kick had left Liu Tieniu half-crippled, meaning he would no longer be able to covet Zhaodi. Furthermore, given the level of medical care in the Mingzhou countryside, successfully saving the remaining one would be purely a matter of luck.

Wu Yueying’s world had collapsed as well. If Liu Tieniu were truly ruined, this feud would be insurmountable. How could she possibly compensate them? Wouldn't Old Man Liu fight the Wang family to the death?

Liu’s mother arrived upon hearing the news. When she learned her son was now a "single-testicle warrior," she wailed and pounded on the ground, pinning Wu Yueying down and beating her. Wu Yueying didn't dare fight back, and no one nearby dared to intervene. The Liu family’s eldest son had already died in the wars, leaving only Liu Tieniu and a seven-year-old younger brother, but the boy was sickly—in these times, adults were barely surviving, let alone children. The hills behind the village were filled with the graves of children who hadn't made it.

For all intents and purposes, Liu Tieniu was the Liu family's only hope.

Zhao Zheng sighed and said, "If you beat her to death, will Tieniu recover? Knowing the Wang family, if you kill her, not only will no one take responsibility for Tieniu, but they’ll turn around and bite you back."

"Zhao Laosan, it’s all your fault! If not for you, my Tieniu wouldn't be like this!" the Liu woman spat, full of hatred.

"Sister-in-law Liu, don't say I have no heart." Zhao Zheng’s expression chilled. "I never begged your Tieniu to help me; he pushed himself into the fray. I could have handled this myself, but his interference only made things complicated." He looked at her coldly. "Doesn't this count as a disaster dropped on my head from the sky?"

The Liu woman was rendered speechless, her face turning the color of liver. She began to throw a tantrum, shrieking, "I don't care! You have to take responsibility, or I’ll die right at your doorstep!"

"Whether you go to the village elders or the authorities, I’m ready anytime. Try to extort me? You’ll have to be able to pull it off first!" Zhao Zheng said coldly. "Our families never had a good relationship to begin with. Do you think I don't know that you two have been gossiping about me behind my back to outsiders all this time?"

"Originally, out of respect for Tieniu’s 'righteous act,' I intended to scrape together some money to send him to the township doctor. Now? Don't even think about it!" He turned to Liu Tieniu. "Tieniu, it’s not that your Uncle Zhao won't help you; it’s that your mother’s words are too excessive. If I pay this money, it’s like getting mud in my pants—even if it isn't excrement, it looks like it."

"If you want to blame someone, blame your mother. Of course, if she is willing to change her attitude and clear things up with everyone, I’m still willing to chip in some money to get you to the township." Having said his piece, he walked away.

"That godforsaken Zhao Laosan, he’s not even human!" the woman wailed. "My poor Tieniu, helping such a black-hearted wretch!"

Zhao Zheng wanted to laugh. Being cursed meant nothing; it wouldn't cost him a piece of flesh. To live well in this small mountain village, one had to be thick-skinned and cold-hearted. Otherwise, everyone would try to walk all over you.

Liu Tieniu, his face twisted in pain, looked at his weeping mother and cried out, "Mother! Do you want me to live or die? If you don't take me to the township doctor, I’m going to die of pain! Who will look after you in your old age if I'm gone?"

Hearing this, Old Man Liu kicked his wife lightly. "Stop howling! Go after Zhao Laosan, tell him clearly that this has nothing to do with him, and get him to contribute some money!"

The woman was stunned. "I have to go?"

"You’re the one who drove him off. If you don't go, should I?" Old Man Liu roared. With no other choice, the woman angrily chased after him.

"And you, Wang woman, hurry home and get money! Come with me to take Tieniu to the township. If you dare to run, I’ll take a blade to your family," Old Man Liu hissed through gritted teeth. Wu Yueying nodded; knowing there was no escape, she trudged home, utterly dejected.

Soon, the farce between the Wang and Liu families spread throughout the village. Everyone mocked Liu Tieniu for meddling in business that wasn't his and bringing disaster upon himself. After the Liu woman cleared Zhao Zheng of responsibility, he "painfully" produced his money. "This is everything my family has left, a total of fifteen coins. Sister-in-law Liu, please don't think it’s too little."

The Liu woman’s face turned green. What could fifteen coins buy? At this time, it wouldn't even buy a pound of rice. But no matter how she pleaded, Zhao Zheng insisted that all his money had been swindled away by his brothers. Knowing that was true, she had to take the money with a sour face, not even offering a word of thanks.

Wu Yueying had it even worse; she only managed to squeeze ten coins out of the Wang family. The old woman of the Wang family had seized the opportunity to push all the blame onto her, even threatening to sell Huahua and Xiaocao to cover the costs. In the end, it took Old Man Liu brandishing a firewood chopper at the Wang house, and Xu Youde—fearing a bloodbath—to reluctantly step in. Under the witness of three village elders, the Wang family finally coughed up their last hundred coins.

With the money in hand, Old Man Liu didn't delay, taking his son toward the township. It was said that the old woman of the Wang family rolled on the ground, howling so loudly that half the village could hear her.

Zhao Zheng felt incredibly satisfied. To him, fifteen coins were nothing—hardly enough for a single meal these days—yet it had resolved two major headaches. If not for the sake of appearances, he wouldn't have given even that.

Yang Zhaodi sighed, "Fifteen coins... that could have bought two eggs!"

Zhang Xiaoe worried, "When Sister-in-law Yueying gets back, I’m afraid the Wang family will beat her to death."

Zhao Zheng replied, "Respect the fate of others. If it’s not our business, don't meddle. Lending her grain was already doing more than my share." He added, "After a whole day of chaos, I’m hungry." He took a pound of meat out of his bamboo basket. "Tonight, we’re having stewed meat!"