Chapter 59: Liu Tiuniu's Madness!

Wu Yueying thought for a moment, then nodded heavily, "Alright, I'll listen to Uncle Zhao in everything."

A glimmer of hope ignited within her at that moment, and she said to Zhao Zheng with sincere gratitude, "Uncle Zhao, no matter how this turns out, I owe you one."

Zhao Zheng waved his hand dismissively, "Bah, talk about that after it's done."

Immediately afterward, she called the two young women back in from outside.

That night, the four of them slept together on the heated brick bed, chatting desultorily.

Meanwhile, at the Wang household.

Wang Dazhi wailed in agony, "Mother, please, be gentle, it hurts like hell!"

The elderly Mrs. Wang brought out a jar of aged tea oil treasured by the family, applied it to the wounds on her son's face, and cursed through her teeth, "That stinking bitch, striking so viciously! She's completely ruined his looks!"

"She can't even bear a son and yet she has such a fiery temper! Tomorrow we'll drag her back and hang her up to beat her!"

The old man of the Wang family said with a sinister gaze, "She ran off to Third Uncle Zhao's place. If it weren't for Third Uncle Zhao, would our family have sold our daughters?"

"That stinking bitch, she's probably fooling around behind closed doors with Third Uncle Zhao!"

Old Mrs. Wang hesitated, "No, impossible, isn't Third Uncle Zhao impotent?"

"You slept with him, how would you know he's impotent?" the old man of the Wang family asked coldly.

"Watch your mouth! I've only ever had you as a man my whole life, how could I have ever slept with anyone else?" Old Mrs. Wang scolded, though her heart suddenly felt a little guilty.

Wang Dazhi chimed in, "Father, isn't that what everyone in the village says? If he were capable, wouldn't he have found a wife long ago? Why would he still be a bachelor?"

The old man of the Wang family wore a dark expression as he said, "That was because his mother favored the others and wouldn't let him get engaged, and he always listened to Eldest Zhao, which ruined everything!"

"Besides, he, he..."

"He what?"

"We grew up together since we were kids, how could I not know him?" The old man gritted his teeth. "When he was little, he loved to show off. Whenever he competed with the villagers to see who could piss further, his stream went a whole section further than anyone else in the village, and besides, he, he..."

That particular word stuck in his throat and he simply could not bring himself to say it.

It was mostly a matter of wounded pride.

"So you're saying Third Uncle Zhao is actually capable?" Wang Dazhi's fury soared instantly. "That stinking bitch cuckolded me behind my back, and with an old man at that?"

"Why are you bellowing, scared the neighbors won't hear?" The old man glared at his son. "Even if it's true, you'd better swallow it and keep it to yourself. Those two money-losing goods have already been sold anyway, won't you just make another son with that stinking bitch later?"

"Father, that's so disgusting!"

"Disgusting my ass! In other villages, there are plenty of examples where several brothers share the same wife, and nobody thinks it's disgusting!"

"I'd say you've been living too comfortably. If your older brothers hadn't had bad luck and passed away when they were kids, you'd be sharing a wife with them too!"

Wang Dazhi was left speechless. Such things were indeed quite common; there was a family in the nearby mountain village like that, and although outwardly she was the eldest brother's wife, in reality...

"Tomorrow we'll drag her back, don't let her out anymore, and she's not stepping foot outside until her belly swells up!" said old Mrs. Wang.

Wang Dazhi nodded heavily. "This time, if she doesn't give me a son, I won't stop!"

...

At the Liu household.

Liu Tieniu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Several days had passed since the damaged part was removed, and while the wound no longer hurt as intensely as it once did, it still ached dully from time to time.

Moreover, the truly tragic part was that the other one seemed to be failing as well.

The township physician had said that the kick was far too vicious and had damaged his very foundation.

Resting for two years might yield some improvement.

But right now, it was as dead as a stone, completely devoid of any reaction.

He was even peeing blood.

He had to shuffle around slowly on his own two feet just like an old man.

The most terrifying thing was that he noticed his facial hair had barely grown over the past few days, his face had become smooth, and even his voice sounded a bit higher and sharper.

This filled him with profound terror.

At the same time, boundless fury raged within his heart—this was entirely Wang Dazhi's fault, and he wished he could strangle him to death.

Yet after collecting three taels of silver from the Wang family, his mother stopped bringing the matter up entirely, choosing instead to comfort him and tell him to rest properly.

Even his father looked at him with a strange expression, sometimes revealing a trace of disgust.

This left him utterly heartbroken.

Tonight, his mother even pulled the third son aside in secret and gave him all the delicious food.

Yet he was the wounded patient, still lying in bed with a starving stomach.

He realized that his parents were probably planning to focus all their resources on the third son, placing every hope of continuing the family line on that sickly weakling of a third brother.

His father had even joked tonight about finding a wife for the third son next year. The boy was only fourteen, what talk of wives was there?

He himself was eighteen and still hadn't found a wife.

In the past, whenever he begged them to find him a wife, they always made endless excuses and put it off.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have targeted Third Uncle Zhao out of desperation.

It wasn't that he couldn't bear to remain a bachelor; there were plenty of old bachelors in the village.

But he couldn't bear to be a bachelor because of mutilation like Third Uncle Zhao; he might as well just become a woman!

Liu Tieniu was in agonizing pain.

He knew he was ruined and would never recover for the rest of his life.

Therefore, he wanted revenge!

He had to have revenge!

He would make Wang Dazhi suffer the exact same fate as him.

He would make him taste his exact pain!

As for Third Uncle Zhao, the man was already a good-for-nothing cripple, there was no need to waste extra effort on him!

Dwelling on these thoughts, he endured until the late hours of the night.

When his parents' snores shook the room like thunder, he stealthily crawled out of bed, spreading his legs wide like a crab as he moved forward, looking utterly ridiculous.

He tucked the household firewood chopper into his waistband, stepped lightly, and slipped out the door.

The moonlight was blindingly bright, and the ground shimmered with frost crystals, crunching crisp underfoot with every step.

In the past, full of hot youthful blood, he could walk around in a single layer of clothing as if nothing were wrong, but at this moment he felt a chill piercing straight to his bones.

The village dogs noticed him and erupted into frantic barking, their overlapping echoes conveniently masking the sound of him scaling the wall into the Wang family courtyard.

Huu! Huu!

Thunderous snoring echoed from behind the door.

He carefully lifted the corner of the window and peered into the pitch-black room.

His entry went smoothly, and he could vaguely make out three dark figures lying on the bed.

Liu Tieniu gripped the knife tightly in his hand, his heart leaping into his throat.

He desperately wanted to hack these three wretches to pieces with a single blade, but upon second thought, murder demanded a life for a life, and he didn't want to die yet.

However, if he merely crippled Wang Dazhi, the family would at most have to pay compensation.

That way, his father wouldn't have any money left to find a wife for the third son.

Since he himself would never have one, the third son shouldn't dream of having one either!

He produced the flint lighter he carried with him, located Wang Dazhi's position, and quickly blew it back out.

His hand groped around in the darkness until he quickly found his target. "Let you experience this pain too!"

He unleashed his fury with a savage burst of strength, pouring every ounce of his remaining vigor into the strike.

Wang Dazhi, fast asleep and lost in a pleasant dream, was jolted awake by a sudden, agonizing jolt.

The intense agony made him shriek in terror, and the next second, the pain nearly caused him to faint dead away.

In the pitch black, he grabbed wildly at the person who had harmed him, screaming, "It hurts! It hurts me to death!"

The cry shattered the silence of the night, startling his sleeping parents awake.

The elderly couple of the Wang family snapped their eyes wide open and cried out in unison, "Dazhi, what's wrong with you?!"