Chapter 171: Too Unorthodox
The clothes she wore were not a deliberate choice to feign misery. The girl’s hair was dull and yellow, and although her face was clean, one could still see the rough and dull skin resulting from years of labor and malnutrition.
Bai Ruozhu surreptitiously glanced at her hands. They seemed coarse from heavy manual labor from an early age, the skin not only rough but the joints had also become thick as well.
The young girl was probably not as old as Bai Ruozhu, yet she already looked like that, which made Ruozhu feel a little heavy-hearted.
"Oh, Xi Ya, quickly call Ruozhu, sister," the old woman named Wang nudged the girl she referred to as Xi Ya.
However, it seemed the girl had rarely left her home and was full of trepidation, too shy to even speak. Wang Po was furious, stomping her feet in frustration. She thought the girl was a lost cause, but she had to smile at Bai Ruozhu apologetically, "Please don’t mind her, Ruozhu. This girl’s just a little too timid."
"It’s not a problem. Let’s go to the yard to chat." Bai Ruozhu thanked the coachman who brought her home before leading Wang Po and the others into the yard.
Bai Ruozhu caught Wang Po staring at her with evident jealousy. Luckily, she had tipped the coachman beforehand, or else Wang Po would have gossiped about it to the entire village. Surely then, her grandmother would’ve caused a scene.
When Lin Ping’er saw that Bai Ruozhu had returned with guests, she quickly ushered them to sit in the main hall and poured tea for them. Wang Po, being an adult, didn’t hesitate to accept, yet Xi Ya was noticeably nervous. She felt awkward standing and sitting, and she was too scared to even drink the tea. The girl was so afraid of dirtying something in the Bai household that she wouldn’t sit until Wang Po scolded her. Even then, she didn’t dare to take a sip of tea.
Bai Ruozhu felt sympathy for this honest and diligent girl, but she also couldn’t help but sigh. Even if Mrs. Xie was genuinely looking for a maid, she would probably not choose Xi Ya because she was too timid.
While Wang Po was busy talking about how capable Xi Ya was, she was interrupted by a knock at the door – it was Fang Guizhi’s mother.
Bai Ruozhu got up to open the door, only to almost drop a tear when she saw not only Guizhi’s mother but Guizhi herself.
Guizhi had lost weight in the few days they hadn’t seen each other; she looked pallid and her hair had become dry and yellow. While not as severe as Xi Ya, it was still heart-wrenching.
Such a lovely young lady, tortured into such a state by her own mother!
Bai Ruozhu tried not to give in to her anger. Red-eyed, she took Guizhi’s hand and asked, "Didn’t you just have a cold? Why do you look like you’ve been seriously ill... look at how thin you’ve become?"
Guizhi’s mother gave her a little push from behind, probably reminding her not to speak out of line. Bai Ruozhu pretended not to see it.
"It’s nothing serious, just a slight relapse. I’m sorry for making you worry." Guizhi forced a bitter smile. "Besides, my father’s health isn’t well lately, the worry has left me feeling off."
"As long as you’re okay," Bai Ruozhu replied. "Let’s not stand in the doorway. Let’s go inside. We can all chat. Grandmother Wang brought her grandniece over. It’ll be quite vivacious."
Upon hearing that Wang Po brought her grandniece over, a cold light flickered in Guizhi’s mother’s eyes. She quickly hid it and whispered to Bai Ruozhu in an appeasing tone, "Ruozhu, you’ll have to help our Guizhi."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, hinting for her to not say anything further.
Seeing that Guizhi’s mother and Guizhi had arrived, Wang Po was surprised and asked, "Guizhi’s Mother, is your family terribly distressed?"
Unwilling to answer, Guizhi’s mother simply replied, "Everyone has problems of their own to deal with."
Feeling displeased, Wang Po acted as if Guizhi’s mother was undermining her business. In Bai Ruozhu’s estimation, Wang Po might earn a commission by selling Xi Ya and, given that Xi Ya’s family lived quite far from Mountain Village, she could potentially embezzle a significant share of the selling price.
With this in mind, Bai Ruozhu developed an even stronger distaste for Wang Po.
"Are you really poorer than my distant relatives? You didn’t have to sell your daughter, did you?" Wang Po muttered under her breath as if talking to herself, but clearly meant for Guizhi’s mother to hear.
However, her comment fell flat as she had underestimated Guizhi’s mother’s thick skin – she behaved as if she hadn’t heard anything.
Bai Ruozhu had little interest in dealing with the pair. Though she was reluctant to let Guizhi leave with her mother, she bode her time until they decided to leave. Meanwhile, she noticed Xi Ya grew more uncomfortable, remaining rigid like she was sitting on a bed of needles. After stealing a glance at Guizhi, she hung her head shamefully.
"Mrs. Xie mentioned that she’ll come by tomorrow to have a look at you two. At that time, you all can speak with her. As the messenger, I’m not in a position to say anything." Bai Ruozhu smiled faintly. Having noticed Xiaosi had walked into the yard, she thought it was time to send the two families on their way. No matter how hard it was to let Guizhi leave, there would be plenty of opportunities to gather in the future, particularly after they save her.
When everyone had left, Bai Ruozhu went to the kitchen to prepare some food for Xiaosi. As she tenderly reminded him to, "Eat slowly, have some soup, and be careful not to choke,"...
...Jiang Yichun was a man of his word. He had already arrived at Back Mountain Village. Being a skilled martial artist and adept at concealing himself, nobody noticed his arrival or presence in the Village. He quickly found Bai Ruozhu’s target - Bai Zehong, the third son of the Bai family.
Zehong was hanging around with a few good-for-nothings from the village. They somehow managed to get their hands on a chicken and were roasting it in Back Mountain. The chicken was almost cooked.
Soon, they started fighting over the chicken, the banter escalating to a fight. None noticed someone watching them in secret from the shadows.
Jiang Yichun picked up a small stone - the type so small, you wouldn’t notice unless you looked carefully. He held it in his hand and, after some thought, picked another one. With both stones in his hand, he swiftly launched them at Zehong’s leg.
If Bai Ruozhu had seen this, she would have marveled at how it resembled a modern double-barrelled gun.
Zehong, who was play-fighting with his friends, suddenly fell to the ground with a thump. He screamed in pain, clutching his leg. His screams echoed through the mountains.
Zehong’s friends initially thought he was joking. But hearing his horrid screams, they were scared. A closer look revealed Zehong’s leg was badly deformed, clearly a broken bone!
"How is this injury so severe?" The friends tried to help Zehong, who was screaming in pain. However, a quick survey of the surroundings revealed nothing unusual. Was it possible that Zehong had tripped and severely injured his leg?
In the olden days, people feared ghosts and gods, so someone quickly suggested the presence of a mountain god, while others said a demon was there to eat people. The young men scattered in fear, leaving Zehong lying on the ground, crying and howling in pain.
Jiang Yichun looked at Zehong with disdain, disappeared in a flash, leaving the Back Mountain behind.