The courtyard gate was wide open, Wufu sprinted into the house, tossing the basket from her back into the yard, and shouted loudly several times.
There was no response; the house was eerily quiet, as if devoid of any sign of life.
Panic rose in Wufu’s heart as she saw the main house door ajar. She hurried over and stood in the doorway, her eyes widening in fury, her hands clenching tightly.
The room was a complete mess, with pieces of teapots scattered on the ground. Her mother, Madam Zhou, was unnaturally pale, half-leaning against the kang bed, half-collapsed on the floor, with disheveled hair and her top torn open to reveal the light blue undershirt beneath. Blood was oozing from a wound on her head.
"Mom!" Wufu ran over, her cry heart-wrenching.
Madam Zhou’s breathing was weak, with no sign of response, her face as pale as a corpse.
"Mom?" Wufu’s fingers trembled as she brought them to her mother’s nose, and sighed in relief.
She was still breathing, still alive.
"Miss Wufu?" Ah Jiu’s voice rang out in the yard.
"Don’t come in," Wufu shouted hastily.
She lifted Madam Zhou onto the kang bed and pulled out the handkerchief Ah Jiu had given her to press against the wound on her forehead. She then readjusted her mother’s top. Carefully lifting her skirt, all the while ensuring the undergarments remained neatly in place, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She pulled the blanket over her mother and saw that the blood quickly stained the handkerchief red. Wufu hurried out and asked Ah Jiu, "Where’s Bai Xiaobai?"
Ah Jiu, seeing the grim and cold severity on her face, even more ferocious and detached than when facing the hunter, was shocked and quickly called, "Bai Xiaobai."
Bai Xiaobai came from behind, pulled by Wufu back into the house: "Quick, save her."
Bai Xiaobai looked towards Ah Jiu, and seeing him nod, followed her in.
Liu Jin dropped his basket and also ran into the room. Seeing Madam Zhou’s pale face lying on the bed, with a pool of blood on her forehead, he exclaimed in horror, "Madam!"
Without turning, Wufu said, "Liu Jin, go outside first."
Liu Jin, sensing the icy tone in the young lady’s voice, withdrew. On his way out, he saw Hongyu coming in with a basket on her arm and ran up to her, grabbing her hand and demanding, "Where have you been? Where did you go?"
With the madam in that state, and the scene on the floor, it couldn’t have been self-inflicted. He had also caught a glimpse of a shadow running out of the door. It seemed likely the madam had been...
Liu Jin didn’t dare to finish the thought, his eyes red as he stared at Hongyu.
Hongyu looked innocent, lifting the basket in her hand: "I went to the village to buy fish." She glanced at the people in the yard, frowning and asking, "What happened? Who are all these people?"
Liu Jin bit his gum, pulling her aside and whispering, "Madam has had an accident."
"What!" Hongyu shrieked, her basket dropping to the ground as she dashed into the house without a second thought.
Liu Jin held her back: "Don’t go, the young lady is there, and there’s a doctor treating Madam."
Hongyu’s knees buckled, and she turned to grasp his hand: "How could this happen? How? I was only gone for a moment, could it have been..."
Liu Jin shook his head, silent, his eyes fixed on the movement inside the house.
Though their voices were low, Ah Jiu’s ears were sharp, and he overheard everything, his brows furrowing tightly.
Was it Wufu’s mother who had been in trouble?
He too had come down from the mountains and vaguely seen someone running out of their house. Could it have been a robber?
Looking at the location, he pursed his lips; the house was too remote. With so few people in the household, any petty thief could strike without fear of heaven or earth.
But what exactly had happened to Madam Zhou?
Seeing the murderous look on Wufu’s face, what on earth had the intruder done?