The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 23

A few days later, Ma Dan dragged a lame leg back to the village. He had lost all his money and had his leg broken before the gambling house threw him out. There was no food at home. Ma Dan drank cold water but was still hungry, so he went up the mountain to find something to eat.

The mountain was barren in winter, and the fruits had all fallen. Ma Dan was starving to the point of dizziness when he suddenly spotted a foolish rabbit. He lay in ambush and pounced forward. The rabbit hopped a few steps, and Ma Dan continued chasing it, unknowingly chasing it deep into the mountains.

In the deep mountains, tree shadows layered upon each other, and the grass and trees rustled in the wind. Ma Dan came to his senses and no longer knew where he was. He shivered all over, and regret arose.

Liang Yu carried a knife and walked out from the woods with a cold face. The light was dim, flickering on that scarred face, sinister and eerie, not looking like a human. Ma Dan was so frightened his legs went soft. He ran a few steps and fell, unable to crawl up.

Liang Yu’s face was dark. He stepped on Ma Dan’s back with one foot, the force so great Ma Dan couldn’t turn over, wailing incessantly. He leaned down and patted Ma Dan’s face with the back of the knife, sneering, “Weren’t you quite fierce when bullying ge’ers on ordinary days? Why are you soft now?”

The sound of the knife back patting the face was dull. Ma Dan’s face was slapped to the side, the corner of his mouth hitting the ground and breaking the skin, blood seeping out.

“Liang… Liang Yu?!” Only now did Ma Dan recognize it was Liang Yu, his voice changing pitch, his body shaking like a sieve, even forgetting to struggle. He only lay in the pile of fallen leaves, not daring to breathe.

“Liang Yu, tsk… your guts have grown, daring to call me by my full name.”

Liang Yu’s tone was sinister. He stepped on Ma Dan’s injured leg and used the knife to break Ma Dan’s other leg. Ma Dan howled like a pig being slaughtered, startling half the mountain’s birds into flight.

Ma Dan begged for mercy continuously, but Liang Yu still firmly stepped on him. The knife in his hand fell between Ma Dan’s legs. Looking at Ma Dan’s cowering appearance, the smile at his lips deepened. “Your guts have grown, not knowing Su Qingyu is my person? Digging earth over my head.”

The knife tip, gleaming with cold light, tapped lightly twice between Ma Dan’s legs. Through the fabric of his pants, that icy metallic sensation made Ma Dan’s whole body stiffen, not even daring to breathe. Bean sized beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead, hitting the dry leaves with faint pattering sounds.

“Master Liang, Master Liang spare my life!” Ma Dan’s voice shook beyond recognition. Both hands dug into the dirt, his fingernails turning over, yet he didn’t dare move.

“I’ll never dare again, never dare again! You are a great man with great magnanimity, spare this lowly dog’s life!”

Ma Dan was so frightened that tears and snot covered his face, crying as if his own mother had died. But Liang Yu didn’t even lift his eyelids. The back of the knife slowly traced back and forth on the inside of Ma Dan’s thigh. Each stroke made Ma Dan shake even more. A dark wet stain spread at his crotch, and he had actually been so frightened he pissed his pants.

“Tch…” Liang Yu frowned. He quickly withdrew the knife, kicked Ma Dan in disgust, and used the back of the knife to knock Ma Dan unconscious. He waved toward the woods.

Shuanzi was keeping watch on the mountain path. He had been secretly watching the scene on Liang Yu’s side. Seeing Liang Yu place the knife between Ma Dan’s legs with that sinister look, Shuanzi shivered. He seriously watched the mountain path and didn’t dare look toward Liang Yu anymore.

Shuanzi didn’t see Liang Yu’s gesture. Only when he heard Liang Yu’s impatient tsk did he hurriedly come over, smiling with a silly, honest look. Liang Yu pointed at Ma Dan with the knife. Shuanzi understood and found a clean spot on Ma Dan to grab, dragging him out of the woods.

It was winter now, and some animals on the mountain hadn’t stored enough food, so they were fiercely hungry. Shuanzi found a place with wild boar traces and threw the man there, then nimbly returned to the woods.

Liang Yu leaned against a tree waiting for Shuanzi. He threw the knife on the ground. Although it hadn’t touched any filth, Liang Yu was still disgusted beyond measure. When he saw Shuanzi return, he said, “You take the knife. Wash it clean when you get back and bring it back. Also… keep your mouth tight. There’s no need for Qingyu to know about these dirty matters.”

Shuanzi agreed. When he went to throw Ma Dan away, Shuanzi also noticed Ma Dan had pissed himself. Knowing his master’s foul temper, Shuanzi tore a strip of cloth from his clothes to wrap around the knife handle before picking it up. He held it straight armed and far away in disgust, walking ahead to clear the path for Liang Yu.

Shuanzi remembered something and mentioned it, “Master, watch your mouth at home. Uncle Liang and the eldest master are most impatient with you swearing. Don’t end up getting beaten again.”

Liang Yu recalled some unpleasant memories and pursed his lips.

When he had just returned from the military camp, influenced by those old soldiers, Liang Yu’s mouth had also become unrestrained. After the initial few months of novelty upon returning, whenever Big Brother and Father Liang heard Liang Yu swearing, at first they endured and didn’t lay hands on him, only lecturing him a few times. Later, seeing Liang Yu repeatedly failing to reform, they directly started beating him. Liang Yu took quite a few beatings for this and had only slowly corrected himself now.

Coming down the mountain path onto the village’s level road, Liang Yu grew angry just thinking about the days he was beaten. Looking at Shuanzi ahead of him, he made up for the kicks he had owed on the mountain, then went straight back to his own courtyard.

Shuanzi wasn’t angry about being kicked. After all, his master was afraid of kicking him on the mountain and making him fall. Waiting until the village road to kick him was already quite good. He carried the knife and cheerfully went to wash it.

A few more days passed, and the Zhou family’s rumors spread like wildfire in the village. Zhou Dalang had been imprisoned for strangling his own ge’er.

The village head gathered the villagers to speak. The Zhou family’s deed was too hateful. If the village sheltered this matter, what girl or ge’er would dare marry into the village in the future? After much discussion, they finally decided to drive the Zhou family out of the village.

Su Qingyu and Auntie Wang were doing needlework in the courtyard. He heard Auntie Wang cursing the Zhou family matter, “Truly creating karma. These days life is good, it’s not like the hard years of the past when people sold sons and daughters…”

She said this and took Su Qingyu’s hand, patting it, “What’s bad about ge’ers? Look at our Qingyu, so good looking, and such good skill. He will surely marry a satisfactory husband.” Su Qingyu’s face grew hot from Auntie Wang’s words, and he pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

Su Qingyu finished his needlework and returned home. While cooking, he thought, those people who had bullied him all seemed to have met bad ends… was it that much of a coincidence?

After thinking in a muddle for a while, Su Qingyu shook his head and stopped thinking. Smelling the steaming hot stewed meat, the aroma made Su Qingyu unable to resist licking his lips. He filled a large bowl and sent it over to Liang Yu’s side, knocked on the door and left. Returning home, he and his mother happily ate their fill of the stewed meat.

And Ma Dan died in the mountains. One day he was discovered. Ma Dan had committed too many evil deeds in his life, and no one would investigate his true cause of death. The village head had several men dig a grave in the mountains and bury him, and that was that.