Chapter 471 - 396: Gulp
The sound of a woman crying, accompanied by an owl’s hoot from the nearby woods, was rather eerie in the darkness.
Zhao Youcai stopped in his tracks. But this time, Li Dayong wasn’t there to stand in front of him. Zhao Jun ducked behind his father and poked the flashlight over Zhao Youcai’s shoulder, shining it ahead.
All they saw were corn leaves swaying and rustling in the gentle breeze, making the atmosphere feel even more sinister and creepy.
’Little bastard!’ Zhao Youcai cursed inwardly, taking small, slow steps forward.
Just then, they faintly heard someone speak. "Where’s your brother?"
"Up ahead."
"Sounds like Zhang Wangba!" Hearing the familiar voice, Zhao Youcai felt a wave of relief. He reached over his shoulder, snatched the flashlight from Zhao Jun, and strode toward the voices.
Twenty meters ahead of the father and son, the family of three—Zhang Zhanshan, Xu Meihua, and Zhang Laifa—were making their way through the cornfield.
The earlier gunshot and Zhang Laibao’s bloodcurdling scream had scared Zhang Laifa half to death.
After all, stealing was a nerve-wracking business, let alone stealing from a mortal enemy. Zhang Laifa was still young. When they had first started picking the corn, he had to call out to Zhang Laibao after every single cob he picked, only daring to pick another after confirming his brother was nearby.
But when he heard the gunshot and Zhang Laibao’s scream, Zhang Laifa was petrified. He assumed his brother had been shot and killed. Terrified that he would be shot next, he turned and bolted without a second thought.
He ran all the way back to the village and didn’t stop until he reached his front door. The moment he did, the tension inside him snapped, and he collapsed, wailing his heart out.
When Zhang Zhanshan and Xu Meihua rushed out, they frantically asked what was wrong. The moment Zhang Laifa said that Zhang Laibao had been shot, Xu Meihua’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted dead away.
Zhang Zhanshan hurriedly pinched her philtrum and slapped her cheeks to wake her up. Then, the tearful family of three headed for the South Land.
"Let’s go! Time to head back!" Zhao Youcai said, swinging the flashlight around and turning to Zhao Jun.
As the flashlight beam swept across his face, Zhao Jun instinctively shielded his eyes. ’He knew Er Gudong did it on purpose,’ he thought. Still, he asked his father in confusion, "Dad, aren’t we going to go see them?"
"See them, my ass!" Zhao Youcai said with a wicked grin as he started walking back. "Let them search the field, HA HA..."
At this, Zhao Youcai laughed heartily. "No sign of him alive, no corpse if he’s dead. They’ll be searching all night long!"
Zhao Jun couldn’t help but laugh. He gave his father a thumbs-up. "Dad, you’re so wicked!"
"Get outta here!" Zhao Youcai grumbled at him. "You little bastard, can’t you say anything decent?"
Zhao Jun just chuckled and hurried after his father toward home. The sound of crying behind them grew fainter and fainter.
As the father and son neared their house, they ran into Zhao Guofeng and Wang Dalong. Zhao Guofeng was walking toward them, mouth wide open in a huge yawn.
Seeing Zhao Youcai approach from the south, Zhao Guofeng went up to him. "Youcai, what’s going on? Why’d you call me out here in the middle of the night?"
A little earlier, Wang Dalong had been pounding on his door, but when Zhao Guofeng finally came out, he wouldn’t say what was going on—only that Zhao Youcai needed to see him about something incredibly urgent.
In response to his question, Zhao Youcai just waved a hand. "Come with me and you’ll find out." With that, he led the way with the flashlight.
The four of them arrived at Zhao Youcai’s home. In the Zhao Family Courtyard, torches were already burning, attracting swarms of moths and other small insects.
At the sight of strangers, the Zhao Family’s five dogs began to bark in unison. The dogs from the neighboring Li Family immediately joined in.
Zhao Youcai shooed them away with his hands, driving the dogs back into their houses. Big Fatty, San Pang, Little Bear, and White Dragon all retreated, but kept their muzzles poking out, lips curled back in a constant snarl, poised to attack.
Hearing the barking in the courtyard, Li Dayong came out of his house and quieted Da Huang and his other dogs.
But the barking didn’t subside. The moment Zhao Youcai turned his back, Black Tiger shot out of his doghouse and began to leap about, barking and snapping as if he’d been let off his leash to play.
’Finally, my chance to shine!’
Zhao Youcai shot a helpless glance toward the front of the house. He never hit his dogs, but right now, ’he wished he could grab a big iron shovel and beat Black Tiger to death!’
"What in the world is going on?!" By the light of the torches, Zhao Guofeng spotted Zhang Laibao, tied up like a piglet. He took a couple of steps forward for a closer look and saw that Zhang Laibao’s mouth was gagged with a filthy rag, his eyes brimming with tears.
Zhao Guofeng’s heart dropped. He spun around and yelled at Zhao Youcai, "What are you doing tying someone up? Untie him right now!"
The moment Zhao Guofeng yelled at Zhao Youcai, Big Fatty, San Pang, Little Bear, and White Dragon charged out of their doghouses, letting out furious roars at him.
The courtyard became unbearable, a chaotic mess of barking. Since it was the middle of the night, Zhao Youcai didn’t want to invite Zhao Guofeng and Wang Dalong inside, so he shouted, "Guofeng, come on, let’s talk outside." He reached for Zhao Guofeng’s arm.
Zhao Guofeng shook his arm free and turned to walk out of the courtyard.
By this point, Zhao Guofeng had calmed down a bit. He and Zhao Youcai were childhood friends—what Northeasterners call "bare-bottomed babies"—who had grown up together since they were toddlers.
That’s why Zhao Guofeng knew Zhao Youcai all too well. He knew that when his friend wanted to get back at someone, he would resort to all kinds of dirty tricks behind the scenes, but he would never go as far as kidnapping.
The four of them walked out of the courtyard. The dogs were still barking incessantly, but at least they could hear one another speak now. Zhao Youcai gestured to Zhao Jun, telling him to explain to Zhao Guofeng what had happened that night.