Chapter 47: Breaking Two Limbs
Before Hu Changlin had a chance to speak, the middle-aged man beside him quickly answered, "It was Bai Dazhu. They tried to drag Zhao Lan back, but she said she wanted to wait for Zhi to return. They wouldn’t listen and just grabbed her to leave. When Old Hu tried to stop them, they used their numbers to beat him. Those butchers! They’ve got some nerve."
Bai Zhi asked urgently, "Where’s my mother?"
"They dragged her back."
The words were barely out of his mouth when Bai Zhi spun around and ran toward the Bai family’s home.
When Hu Feng saw what was happening, he dropped the farming tools and cloth sack he was holding. "Dad, just wait here. I’m going to check on things."
’He was burning with a rage that had to be unleashed.’
’He and Hu Changlin might not have appeared particularly close, but he knew exactly how well the man treated him. For the past three years, Hu Changlin had treated him like his own son, and he’d long since come to see him as his true father. And now, the Bai family had dared to show up at their door and break the man’s arm. There was no way he could swallow this insult.’
Hu Feng was a fast runner. He had intended to catch up with Bai Zhi to prevent a young girl like her from falling into the hands of those thugs and getting seriously hurt. But for all his speed, he was still a step too late.
The Bai family’s courtyard was bustling, with a crowd of villagers gathered outside to watch the commotion. He couldn’t see clearly what was happening inside, but he could hear agonized screams. Without stopping to think, he hurriedly pushed through the onlookers and squeezed his way to the front.
He had assumed the agonized screams must be coming from Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan. But to his surprise, the one being chased and beaten around the courtyard was a full-grown man.
Bai Erzhu never expected Bai Zhi would dare to hit him, nor that her movements would be so swift. Caught off guard, he took several blows before he could react. He tried to fight back, but Bai Zhi gave him no opening. He was soon reduced to scurrying away with his head in his hands, screaming for Bai Dazhu to hurry out and help.
Bai Erzhu was short and thin. Having done little manual labor growing up, his strength was no match for the tall and sturdy Bai Dazhu.
Bai Dazhu had just locked Zhao Lan in the small woodshed out back when he heard his younger brother howling in the front courtyard. He quickly grabbed a weapon and rushed out, with Old Mrs. Bai, Liu, and Ms. Zhang following him.
Although Bai Dazhu and Bai Erzhu usually bickered, they were blood brothers. Seeing his brother in such a state, of course he was going to get angry and help.
When Old Mrs. Bai saw her son being chased and beaten like a dog by that little bitch, Bai Zhi, while a crowd of people outside watched for entertainment, she trembled with rage. She snatched a wooden stick from the courtyard and rushed forward to help.
The tables had turned. What was once a one-on-one fight was now three against one.
The only reason Bai Zhi had been able to beat Bai Erzhu senseless was by catching him off guard with a flurry of preemptive attacks.
But now, her strength was fading. With two new opponents, each more vicious than the last, she knew she was in serious trouble.
Bai Zhi’s mind raced, desperately searching for a way out. She wished a hero would suddenly appear to right this wrong and lend a hand.
Just as Bai Dazhu’s club was about to strike her, she dodged a blow from Old Mrs. Bai but couldn’t evade Bai Dazhu’s attack in time.
Just then, she didn’t hear a hero’s roar, but she saw a hero’s hand shoot out in front of her. A broad, powerful palm clamped down on Bai Dazhu’s club. With a slight twist, it wrenched the weapon from Bai Dazhu’s grasp.