Set a trap, Catch the Vicious
Li Yu rolled out some rice and placed it in the rice tank. She returned to the house and carried the coarse cloth out to hang on the bamboo pole. She used a brush to brush the tung oil on to the coarse cloth.
After the can of tung oil was used up, she finished brushing the coarse cloth. Li Yu dried the cloth on the bamboo pole and cut it four feet long and one and a half feet wide. She went back to the house and cut the same length and width of dark green thin cloth. According to the appearance of the backpack in her memory, she cut and folded the sides before cross-stitching the bag. After sewing the bag cover, she made two one-inch-wide shoulder straps and sewed them on the top of the bag. At the bottom, she sewed two thin cloth straps to make it easier to adjust the length. After the bag was done, Li Yu cut a cloth shell for shoes and wrapped it in tung oil cloth before sewing it and placing it at the bottom of the bag. A double-shoulder bag was made. Li Yu looked at her masterpiece with some pride.
Li Yu stretched lazily and looked up at the sky. She estimated in her heart and realized that she had used more than an hour.
Li Yu took her bag and placed it in her room. She picked up the wicker basket and went to the forest to see Xiao An carefully carrying the fertile soil into his back.
Li Yu went over to help lift the backpack. “Xiao An, I’ll carry it for a while.”
“I’m not tired! Sister Li, why don’t you rest for a while?”
“I’m not tired.” Li Yu poured the fertile soil back into the manure pit and went back to pick up another load of fertile soil to continue pouring into the pit.
The two of them were so busy that Li Yu asked Xiao An to go back and herd the cows while he continued to pour fertile soil into the manure pit. By the time Xiao An returned, Li Yu had already filled the pit.
After picking the fertilizer, Li Yu walked around the wasteland and found a few low-lying places to dig marks. She planned to dig a few cisterns and wait for the rainwater to fill up.
When the sun set, Xiao An went home. Li Yu cooked dinner and locked the chicken in the chicken coop. She went out to school and watched from afar as Li Qing returned to West Mountain Village before taking the path home.
Li Yu felt that the sky was getting darker and darker. She was busy every day. After dinner, she fed the pigs and cleaned the pigsty. After packing everything up, Li Yu handed her bag to Li Qing.
“Sister, what is this?” Li Qing held the school bag for some reason. Li Yu smiled and placed Li Qing’s book and booklet into the school bag. She placed the school bag on his shoulder. Li Qing touched the school bag and smiled in surprise. “Sister, is this for studying?”
Li Yu smiled and said, “Yes, this is a school bag. I’ve packed a layer of oilcloth inside. Even if it rains, you don’t have to worry about the books getting wet.”
“Sister.” Li Qing looked at Li Yu with red eyes.
Li Yu smiled and patted him. “Silly child, you’re a man. How can you cry so easily? Go and rest. Get up early tomorrow.”
Li Qing carried his bag back to their room. He sat on the edge of the bed and kissed his bag. He smiled foolishly and fell asleep shortly after.
Li Yu also lay on the bed with her clothes on. She thought to herself, If the Zhang family really found someone to take revenge, they might only come in the dead of the night. She should sleep early and recuperate. Li Yu adjusted her breathing and slowly fell asleep.
It was early in the evening. The night was dark and it was drizzling. The village slowly fell silent. Occasionally, from somewhere in the distance, a child would cry. In a moment, it would be coaxed into silence.
The rain stopped after more than two hours. It was so dark that one could not see their fingers. At dawn, Li Yu woke up and lay on the bed, breathing slowly. She pricked up her ears to listen to the commotion outside.
At midnight, two tall men in black walked out of Zhang Decai’s house. The two of them lightened their footsteps and walked quickly towards the end of the village. When they reached the end of the village, they turned and walked towards Li Yu’s house.
Soon, the two of them stopped in front of Li Yu’s house. They looked around and walked towards the backyard sneakily.
Li Yu turned over and got out of bed. She used the water beside the bed to wet the cloth to cover her mouth and nose. She took out a bow and arrow from her space and quietly opened the bedroom door. She went to the central room and gently locked Li Qing’s door. She turned around and jumped onto the roof beam on a high stool.
At this moment, the slight commotion of the piglets and chickens came from the backyard. Li Yu listened attentively and heard two people jump into the yard. The footsteps were getting closer and Li Yu heard that the two of them had already reached the eaves porch and went to the bedroom window.
The Xu brothers arrived at Li Yu’s window and poked at the window paper with one finger. Unexpectedly, it didn’t break. Eldest Xu touched it and realized that it was the window gauze.
Eldest Xu took out a dagger and gently poked a hole in the window curtain. He took out a bamboo tube and lit it before placing it in the window curtain.
After a while, both of them felt that it was about time. They turned around and walked towards the central room. Li Yu nocked an arrow and aimed it at the door.
Slowly, Li Yu watched as the door bolt was pried open by a thin blade that shone with a cold light. A hand reached in and supported the door bolt. The door bolt was gently placed on the ground. Then, the door was gently pushed open from both sides. A pair of legs stepped in. Li Yu fired both arrows at the same time. The arrows tore through the air and two muffled sounds were heard as they shot into their calves.
Eldest Xu and Xu Er gritted their teeth and tried to escape while supporting each other.
Li Yu immediately shot two more arrows which hit their targets. The two of them fell in the courtyard.
Li Yu jumped down and took two steps into the courtyard with the knife. She pointed the knife at the two of them and shouted in a low voice, “Tell me, who asked you to come?”
The Xu brothers thought that the Li family had hired someone from the martial world and kept begging for mercy. “Spare us, heroine. We won’t do it again.”
Li Yu kicked one of them, who fell to the ground and happened to touch the arrowhead. The arrowhead pierced straight into the bone.
Li Yu shouted, “Shut up. If you scare my brother, I’ll take your wretched life.”
“Who? Who’s outside?” Li Qing woke up and lit the oil lamp. He walked to the window and lifted the curtains. When he saw Li Yu in the courtyard, he asked worriedly, “Sister, what happened?”
“It’s fine. Two thieves came. You don’t have to come out of the house.” Li Yu took out the rope and threw it on the ground. She pointed at Eldest Xu and shouted at Xu Er, “Go and tie him up.”
When Li Qing heard that there was a thief, he hurriedly ran to open the door and realized that the door was locked from the outside. Li Qing was so anxious that he knocked on the door desperately. “Sister, open the door. Sister, how are you? Sister!”
“I’m fine. Wait for me for a while.” Li Yu shouted. Li Qing hurriedly went back to the window and saw Li Yu in the courtyard.
Under Li Yu’s coercion, Xu Er crawled over and tied Eldest Xu up. Li Yu waited for him to finish tying up before kicking him over. She took out a rope and tied Xu Er up as well. Then, she dragged the two of them to the woodshed.