At this critical moment, a nimble figure leapt into action, delivering a flying kick that sent Chen Liu’s knife flying away, followed by a spinning kick that made him stagger backward.
Sisi and Zhu Yunxiu also rushed up, picking up wooden sticks and fiercely striking Ma Laos and Jin San. Sisi took on Jin San while Zhu Yunxiu handled Ma Laos, who appeared easier to deal with than Chen Liu.
Caught off guard, Jin San and Ma Laos were hit by several blows and, in fury, put away their knives to focus on fighting these two girls. However, the difference in physical strength between men and women was too great, and how could Sisi and Zhu Yunxiu be their match? Shangguan was about to come to their aid, but then Mo Liu charged in with a wooden stick.
At this moment, the other male students were stunned by the bravery of Sisi and her friends, feeling ashamed, and a few of them picked up sticks from the ground and joined the fray.
With the number of people on their side increasing, Jin San and the others were again defeated, leaving with snarls of "You’ll see!", grumbling as they left.
"Hmph, that’s all there is to them!" a male student said proudly as he tossed away the stick in his hand.
"We should leave this place quickly; these guys are likely not going to let things slide!"
Teacher Xu was full of anxiety, with a bad feeling in her heart, eager to leave as soon as possible.
Professor Ma also felt it was not wise to stay here for long and agreed with Teacher Xu’s point of view, telling the students to go get their luggage so they could head back to Beijing immediately.
"Professor Ma, it’s already getting dark, and there’s no transportation. Even if we have to leave, it will have to wait until tomorrow," Chang Yunhuan said with furrowed brows. He also wanted to leave, but they were stuck.
Professor Ma looked up at the sky, which was indeed growing dark, and the moon had already come out.
"Let’s just walk out then, trek to the town and catch a ride," Liu Xuelian suggested in fear, wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible.
"How do we walk? It took us three hours just on a tractor to enter the village, and we also need to cross two big mountains. Can we really walk out on our legs? Moreover, there are wild beasts in the mountains at night. Do you want to become their midnight snack?" Sisi retorted sarcastically.
"What should we do then? Stay here and wait for them to rob us? Waa, I want to go home!" Liu Xuelian couldn’t hold back her tears and started to cry.
Song Mengshi and Li Anqi also looked as if they were about to cry. They were very scared, and they had seen how the male students hesitated at the sight of the knife. If it really came to a life-or-death situation, would these male students actually abandon them?
"Why are you afraid? Aren’t there many of us? As long as we stick together, what’s there to be afraid of? Can you only cry? Don’t you know how to pick up a weapon and protect yourself?"
Sisi gave Liu Xuelian a disdainful glance, thinking little of someone who was only tough with their words and not in action.
Professor Ma too knew it would be impossible to leave tonight and had to lead the students back to Chen Zhuzi’s house. But as soon as they entered Chen Zhuzi’s courtyard, Sister-in-law Chen came out with their luggage, and the other three households did the same.
"Sister-in-law Chen, why is this?" Sisi asked with a forced smile.
"You’ve offended Jin San and his group. We don’t dare to keep you here. You should leave quickly. This is the remaining money for the next few days’ lodging. I’m returning it to you."
Sister-in-law Chen took out several dollars from her pocket, stuffed them into Sisi’s hand, and waved them off, eager for them to leave lest they bring trouble upon her own family.
"Sister-in-law Chen, look, it’s dark already. Where can we spend the night? Would it be alright to let us stay one more night? Rest assured, we will leave first thing in the morning," Sisi pleaded with a smile.
Sister-in-law Chen looked at her with pity and said, "Will you even be able to leave tomorrow? Don’t worry, you girls won’t have nowhere to stay tonight, Jin San and his lot will definitely come to pick you up."
"If Sister-in-law Chen isn’t willing to take us in, that’s fine. There’s no need to say things to disgust us. Feifei, Yun Xiu, let’s go." Sisi’s face turned cold as she grabbed her luggage and walked away.
Shangguan and Zhu Yunxiu also picked up their luggage without hesitation and followed her, while Li Anqi, Song Mengshi, and Liu Xuelian stayed behind, still trying to speak kindly to Sister-in-law Chen and even taking out several tens of yuan, intending to just stay for one night.
But Jin San’s crew had too much influence in this village; although Sister-in-law Chen was tempted by the money, she firmly drove them out of the yard.
Chen Zhuzi came out from the inner room, his face showing some reluctance. He said to Sister-in-law Chen, "Are we going too far doing this? Could these city folks get in trouble?"
Sister-in-law Chen gave him a glance and curled her lips, "Too far? Would you rather see our daughter in trouble, or them?"
Chen Zhuzi decisively shut his mouth, and in his heart, he silently apologized to Sisi and the others outside, thinking that one must look out for oneself, or else face destruction.
Outside, the sky had already turned completely dark, and the group of them shivered in the autumn breeze as they carried their luggage.
"Professor Ma, what should we do?" Liu Xuelian asked while crying to Professor Ma.
Poor Professor Ma, at his age, had been beaten up and now driven out. Throughout his life, he was praised for his intelligence since he was a child, respected when he returned from studying abroad, and during the ten years of chaos, he only went to the Five-seven Dry School for a few years. There, although labor was required, everyone was a civilized person doing civilized work, which did not involve any humiliation or beating.
But the incidents of today had dealt a strong blow to both the body and the spirit of this simple and obstinate artist. At this moment, he only felt darkness before his eyes, staggering and unable to answer Liu Xuelian’s question. Even in his own heart, he was feeling helpless, not knowing where to turn.
"Why don’t we go ask other villagers for shelter? We can offer more money, and I think someone will take us in," Chang Yunhuan suggested.
"It’s no use, we already offered quite a bit of money to Sister-in-law Chen earlier, but she wouldn’t take it," Li Anqi shook her head.
Teacher Xu glanced at Professor Ma, whose spirit was visibly distressed, knowing he couldn’t be relied upon. He had to step up to take charge.
"Let me go talk to the village head and see what can be done. After all, we have letters of introduction, and if the village head is willing to intervene, maybe we’ll find a place to stay."
"Yes, we’re not nobodies, as long as we present the letters of introduction from our school, the village head surely won’t ignore us."
Chang Yunhuan slapped his forehead, feeling that this was a good idea and regretting that he hadn’t thought of it earlier, letting Teacher Xu steal the limelight.
Teacher Xu, Chang Yunhuan, and another male classmate went to find the village head, while the rest of the students waited on the spot, each with a look of hope, wishing that Teacher Xu and the others would bring back good news.
But after less than half an hour, Teacher Xu and the two others returned with dejected faces. Seeing their expressions, everyone’s hearts sank, knowing things had not gone well.
Li Anqi, not wanting to give up, asked, "Teacher Xu, what did the village head say?"
"The village head refused to help and even asked us to take the initiative..." The male classmate couldn’t continue.
"Take the initiative to do what?" Li Anqi’s heart sank as she pressed for an answer.
The male classmate was too embarrassed to say, and after stammering for a while, the girls already understood what his unfinished words were, their hearts turning ice-cold.