Qian Liâer looked at Qian Chenggui expressionlessly; he was not her brother but her sworn enemy.
Liangzi continued to approach, and seeing that Qian Liâer had no intention of calling him off, Qian Chenggui frantically knelt and begged for mercy: "Liâer, your big brother knows he was wrong, spare me!"
Qian Liâer watched Qian Chenggui kneel on the ground like a dog, begging for mercy, and felt a wave of satisfaction in her heart. Her eyes shimmered with anticipation, waiting for the moment Qian Chenggui would be crippled.
Liangzi moved quickly. After kicking Qian Chenggui over, he swiftly castrated him with his knife.
Qian Chenggui screamed miserably, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Liangzi wiped the blood from his dagger onto his clothes, kicked Qian Chenggui, who lay there like a dead dog and smiled at Brother Jin: "Brother Jin, itâs done."
Brother Jin nodded, picked up Qian Liâer with a smirk and said, "Pretty little thing, come have some fun with your lord."
Qian Liâer felt a wave of nausea and stared at Brother Jinâs neck, thinking about something, then looked at Qian Chenggui lying on the ground and directed: "Take him with us."
She wanted to keep Qian Chenggui by her side and torment him for a lifetime.
"Brother Liangzi, take that trash with us." At Brother Jinâs command, Liangzi had Feng Mazi and Limp Zhang lift Qian Chenggui and led the other thirty or so brothers to follow Brother Jin.
...
Qian Guangzong was escaping for his life with Gu Dagu and Qian Chengcai when suddenly he heard Gu Dagu whisper: "Master, I seem to hear Brother Guiâs voice, do you hear it?"
"Shut up, those evil men havenât gone far. If you bring them here, I wonât spare you." Fear was eating at Qian Guangzongâs heart. He had also heard Brother Guiâs screams, but he was too scared to go to the rescue.
After all, they still had Brother Cai; the Old Qian family wouldnât end with them.
Hearing Qian Guangzongâs words, Qian Chengcai also spoke in fear: "Mother, you must have misheard, how could it be my brotherâs voice? Donât talk, lest those evil men are drawn here."
"Hurry up, hurry up." Qian Guangzong pushed Gu Dagu towards the darkness where there was no firelight.
After running for a quarter of an hour, they saw a patch of dry thatch grass nearby and immediately rushed into it.
The blades of the thatch grass were sharp, and it wasnât long after they entered that they were cut all over by the leaves.
Qian Guangzong stomped on the dry thatch several times and cursed in a low voice: "Damn shitty grass, you dare mess with your lord."
Soon after the curses fell, Gu Youluâs voice suddenly came from the grass nearby: "Brother-in-law, is that you? Itâs Youlu."
"Youlu, itâs Youlu! Youlu itâs your big sister!" Gu Dagu cried with joy. After escaping for most of the night, she finally saw her natal family members.
Hearing Gu Daguâs voice and confirming it was Qian Guangzongâs family, Gu Youlu poked half his body out of the grass and waved at them: "Come here quick, mother and Second Brotherâs family are all here."
Hearing this, the three hurried over and pushed through the waist-high thatch grass to see Gu Youlu, Granny Gu, Mrs. Gu holding Gu Chengzhi, and the family of four of Gu Youwen, all lying inside.
Granny Gu was pale with fright, shivering, and it took her a while to speak. She asked, "Just the three of you? Where are Brother Gui and Sister Li? Have you seen your little sister?"
Without inquiring about Elder Gu and Gu Youfuâs family, for Granny Gu, as long as her second son was safe, the sky couldnât fall. Even asking about Little Sister Gu was considered good enough.
Qian Guangzong shook his head, squeezing into the bushes to hide: "Those people suddenly rushed out to kill, we were all scattered, didnât see Little Sister and her husband, Brother Gui and Sister Li also disappeared."
Qian Guangzong quietly nudged Gu Dagu, who hurriedly scanned over Granny Gu and Gu Youwenâs family in the moonlight. After not seeing any food, she anxiously asked: "Mother, where is our food? Where did you hide it?"
As soon as food was mentioned, Granny Guâs heart ached; she pounded the ground and cursed: "Those beasts came too quickly, we couldnât even manage to flee, let alone take food with us."
When fleeing the disaster, Granny Gu had secretly stashed a large bag of food, but now, except for the small pack of food they had tied to their bodies early on, all other food was gone.
"And the Silver Coin, we lost a bag during the escape, now weâre left with less than twenty taels of silver. Even if we manage to evade this catastrophe, settling down somewhere else would be difficult." Granny Gu wailed, her lifeâs savings gone just like that.
Hearing Granny Guâs words, Qian Guangzong clutched the money bag at his waist tighter and quietly pinched Gu Dagu, signaling her to keep quiet.
The Old Gu Family having no food or money was the Old Gu Familyâs business, it had nothing to do with the Qian Family. Their Qian Familyâs food and money would definitely not be given to the Old Gu Family.
Gu Dagu, being selfish, heard Granny Guâs words, and with a twirl of her eyes, wept in a low voice: "Oh Mother, youâre still better off, we had even the food tied to our bodies taken by those Evil Men, now we have neither a grain of food nor a large money on us."
Gu Dagu fabricated a lie that they had encountered several Evil Men who robbed them of their food and Silver Coin.
Ms. Gu knew the nature of Gu Daguâs family and didnât believe her words, too lazy to listen to her woeful cries, hence she said, "Gu Dagu, keep your voice down. If you attract those Evil Men, weâll all be doomed."
Gu Dagu took the cue to shut up, and the whole family silently hid in the thatch.
Those Evil Men were worn out from attacking and killing the disaster victims all night, not continuing with their killings, but instead began sorting through their lootâdividing food, water, money, and women.
Granny Gu and her group managed to escape calamity.
The next day at noon, survivors started to emerge from their hiding spots, searching for their separated family members.
But Granny Gu and her group, afraid of death, didnât dare venture far to look for people, only daring to roam near the thatch.
Elder Gu, worried about them, took Gu Youfu to look for people, dodging and searching for half a day, finally finding Granny Gu and her group.
Seeing them, Elder Gu was extremely emotional, continuously wiping away his tears: "Good, good, good, as long as everyone is alive, thatâs what matters."
Seeing Elder Gu and Gu Youfu, Granny Gu didnât seem very happy, only asking Elder Gu: "What about Little Sister? How are the married couple?"
Elder Gu choked up, saying: "Little Sister is fine, but Qingwen, that kid, is gone."
Ma Qingwen was Little Sister Guâs husband, who fell during last nightâs escape and was killed by the Evildoers with a hoe.
"What? Qingwen is dead!" Granny Gu slapped her thighs and burst into tears: "Oh no, why is Little Sister Guâs fate so bitter, how did she become a widow?"
After crying for a while, Granny Gu started to curse Gu Dashanâs family: "Itâs all because of that calamity star Gu Dashan, if not for him, our family wouldnât have encountered this disaster."
Granny Gu detested Gu Dashan, the legitimate eldest son left by his predecessor; when Gu Dashan was young, she once found an old nun to fortune-tell for Gu Dashan. That old nun took Granny Guâs money and declared that Gu Dashan was the reincarnation of a disaster star, which would bring misfortune to the Old Gu Family.
Such false statements, repeated often enough, had come to be believed by Granny Gu herself. Upon learning of Ma Qingwenâs death, she blamed its cause on Gu Dashan, cursing his family: "Heaven has eyes, itâd be best to let those white-eyed wolves perish by the hands of those Evil Men!"