Yan Yonghe of the Yan family returned, passing through the village entrance in a horse-drawn carriage.

At dusk, the village entrance bustled with people. Many villagers gathered with their children under the old locust tree by the village chief’s house, chatting away. Yan Yonghe deliberately stopped, exchanged greetings with the village chief, and introduced the young master traveling with him.

This grand procession through the village meant that news of his return with an honored guest spread throughout Xiling Village in no time.

Hearing that the young master escorting Yan Yonghe home was the son of the county magistrate, the villagers murmured in admiration.

“It’s been quite a while since he came back, hasn’t it? And now he returns with such a grand display. No wonder his father has his nose in the air!”

“After that incident at his second brother’s place a few days ago, Old Yan hadn’t shown his face for ages. After today, he’ll probably be strutting around again.“

”I’d heard Old Yan boast that his eldest grandson only associates with the sons of wealthy families at the county school. I thought he was exaggerating, but it turns out it’s true!”

“Scholar Yan truly stands apart. Could it be that a golden phoenix is about to soar from our mountain hollow?”

“The magistrate’s son is strikingly handsome. Scholar Yan is quite handsome by our village standards, but compared to him, he pales in comparison.”

“In our village, only the Yan brothers might hold a candle to this young master.”

“Come to think of it, Xuan also studied at the county school. I wonder if he knows the magistrate’s son?”

“…”

As everyone expected, upon learning that the young master Ji Wenyan from the magistrate’s household had returned with their son, Yan Xingsheng and Old Master Yan were flattered and delighted, practically walking on air.

Tao Cuiqing was also overjoyed. She hurriedly invited her close female friends to help prepare a lavish feast, treating Ji Wenyan with the utmost hospitality.

With such an honored guest present, the Yans paid little mind to Yan Xiaobao’s absence at dinner. Though Old Master Yan missed his grandson, he dared not mention it for fear of giving Ji Wenyan a bad impression.

After the meal, the Yans warmly urged Ji Wenyan to stay the night. Overwhelmed by their hospitality, he hesitated briefly before accepting.

After dinner, he suggested taking a walk outside. The Yans readily complied, immediately sending Yan Yonghe to accompany him.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The village buzzed with excitement over the distinguished guest, the atmosphere both lively and peaceful.

That is, until Yan Xiaoyue rushed to the village chief’s house. She explained her younger brother had gone missing while gathering firewood in the mountains and pleaded for the chief to lead a few men up to help search.

“My brother went up the mountain this afternoon, promising to return before supper. But he hasn’t shown up yet. My mother and I went up to look for him, but we couldn’t find him.”

Yan Xiaoyue finished her frantic explanation, and He Qiuhua arrived, sobbing.

Both mother and daughter were drenched in sweat, clearly having searched for quite some time before finally coming to the village chief for help.

Niu Fugui glanced at the sky, his brow furrowed. His wife, Yu Chunying, acted decisively: “Brother, go prepare torches. Dalang, gather tools for self-defense. You, Erlang, and Sanyang—round up all the able-bodied men in the village! Hurry and prepare to go search the mountain!”

After issuing orders to her family, Yu Chunying addressed the villagers gathered in the courtyard: “Xiao Yu from the Yan family is missing. Everyone, hurry home and gather your menfolk! Have them bring weapons for protection and follow the village chief up the mountain! This is a matter of life and death—no time to waste. And don’t think you can ignore this just because he’s not family. There will come a time when you need others’ help too. If you don’t lend a hand today, don’t expect anyone to help you tomorrow!”

After delivering this stern warning, Yu Chunying softened her tone: “The sun is about to set. The more people we send up the mountain, and the sooner they arrive, the safer everyone will be. We’re all villagers of Xiling Village—it’s our duty to support one another. Yan Er is a capable man. If we help his son today, he’ll remember our kindness.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Yu family began bustling about in an orderly fashion, and the villagers started responding. 

Auntie He supported He Qiuhua as she looked at her son: “Tiao’er, you run fast. Hurry to your eldest uncle’s house and call your father, your eldest uncle, your second uncle, and your cousin!”

Tiao’er nodded and dashed off.

The Yu villagers also returned home to gather people and prepare tools for the mountain. Soon, only a few women with children remained in the Yu courtyard to keep He Qiuhua and her daughter company.

The two sisters-in-law brought chairs outside, but He Qiuhua and her daughter were restless, both looking terrified and on the verge of tears.

When Yu Chunying inquired about Yan Xingmao, He Qiuhua couldn’t form a coherent sentence. It was Yan Xiaoyue who explained.

“My father went with the Yan brothers to the clinic for a follow-up this afternoon. He should be back soon.”

The marinade for the stinky tofu would be ready in a few days. Yan Shaoxuan accompanied Yan Shaocheng to town to look for a stall. Yan Xiaoyu, thinking it was also time for his father’s leg to be re-examined, asked the Yan brothers to bring Yan Xingmao along too.

He Qiuhua and her daughter spent the afternoon slicing vegetables and drying them. With nothing else to do, Yan Xiaoyu went up the mountain to chop firewood. For some unknown reason, even after He Qiuhua had finished preparing dinner, he still hadn’t come down.

Yu Chunying had also heard about the incident at the back pass.

She comforted He Qiuhua: “Don’t worry. He was probably just cutting wood near the outer perimeter. He wouldn’t have ventured deep into the pass. It’s not dangerous.”

How could He Qiuhua not be anxious? She was kicking herself now, cursing her own carelessness for letting Yan Xiaoyu, just a young ger, go up the mountain alone.

If anything happened to her son, she and Yan Xingmao wouldn’t want to live anymore!

Aunt He and several other women and Fulang tried to comfort her nearby, but He Qiuhua was so frantic she couldn’t hear a word. Her mind was a complete jumble.

Just as she was silently fretting, she suddenly heard someone shout, “Yan Er and the Yan brothers are back!”

Hearing this, Yan Xiaoyue immediately dashed out.

Her eyes red, she ran all the way to Yan Xingmao before finally crying out, “Father, Xiao Yu is lost!!”

Before Yan Xingmao could react, Yan Shaoxuan leaped down from the carriage first: “How was he lost? Where was he lost?!” “

His gaze was sharp, his tone icy. As he leaned down to look at Yan Xiaoyue, he noticed how terrifying his own expression appeared.

Yan Xiaoyue was already afraid of him. His ‘shout’ made her flinch in fright.

“Why are you shouting like that?” Yan Shaocheng pushed his younger brother aside, softening his tone as he addressed Yan Xiaoyue. “What happened to Xiao Yu? Tell us slowly.”

Yan Xiaoyue looked at him pitifully, tears streaming down his face. “Xiao Yu went to the mountain to chop wood this afternoon and never came back. I went to the mountain with Mother to look for him, and we found him.”

As soon as Yan Xiaoyue finished, Yan Shaoxuan ignored his brother’s calls, left everyone behind, and sprinted home. He didn’t even acknowledge Ji Wenyan, who greeted him at the mountain’s base.

He grabbed his bow and arrows at home and raced back up the mountain without pause. His heart pounded like a drum along the way, his mind a blank.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Meanwhile, after Yan Shaoxuan left, Yan Xingmao grew so frantic he nearly tumbled from the oxcart, only to be caught by someone.

Niu Fugui and Yu Chunying had gathered the village’s young men, ready to search the mountain, when Old Master Yan and the couple Yan Xingsheng and his wife arrived.

Tao Cuiqing looked uneasy: “My little Bao is missing too. I don’t know if he’s also on the mountain. Please, everyone, go up and help look for him!”

Old Master Yan pointed at Yan Xingmao with a face twisted in fury: “Xiaobao must have been snatched by Yan Xiaoyu! That boy harbors resentment toward his uncle. He once threatened to make us pay dearly, and just days ago, he had another heated argument with his uncle. It must be him who took Xiaobao, plotting revenge against us!”

“That boy is so vicious, he wouldn’t even spare his much younger cousin! If anything happens to Xiao Bao, I won’t let him off!”

“And now that Master Ji is staying at my house, I’ll have him settle this today. Yan Xiaoyu will pay dearly for this!!”

His son was missing, and Yan Xingmao was already frantic with fear and panic. Completely distraught, he was about to follow the village chief up the mountain to search when he remembered Old Master Yan had meddled and even turned the tables, accusing Yan Xiaoyu of kidnapping Yan Xiaobao.

Even the most tempered man would have seen red at this, “Yan Xiaobao is your grandson, but isn’t Yan Xiaoyu your grandson as well?! You can bully me all you want, but my son owes you nothing! If you keep this up, I’ll gladly give you my life!”

His voice cracked with fury, and both He Qiuhua and Yan Xiaoyue stared at Old Master Yan with grief-stricken faces.

Everyone knew Yan Xiaobao was a troublemaker. Though Yan Xiaoyu wasn’t the same downtrodden figure of before, he’d never gone out of his way to provoke anyone. The idea that Yan Xiaoyu would kidnap Yan Xiaobao to take revenge on the Yan family didn’t sit right with most.

Many villagers were deeply troubled by the situation, but intimidated by the Yan family’s formidable presence today, they dared not openly criticize Old Master Yan or the eldest branch. Instead, they offered gentle, indirect advice. 

“Both children are missing. Shouldn’t we focus on finding them first?”

“Yes, we mustn’t delay. If we wait much longer, the sun will set…”

After Niu Fugui spoke a few more words, Old Master Yan finally calmed down and stopped causing trouble.

Nearly every young man in the village who was at home had gathered, including those who had previously gossiped about Yan Xiaoyue.

Alongside the men, several women and Fulang joined the procession. Armed with sickles, woodcutting knives, axes, and various other farming tools, they brandished torches as they marched in a large group toward the mountain’s base.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

One hour earlier.

Yan Xiaoyu had just finished chopping firewood and was preparing to head down the mountain when Yan Xiaobao and Wang Ergou suddenly appeared.

Yan Xiaobao glared at him with utter contempt, spitting venom as he berated him.

“You think your dad’s tofu shop makes him special? What right do you have to insult my parents, steal my sister’s tofu business, and turn my home upside down?! If your dad hadn’t taken my dad’s place doing hard labor, he’d never have gotten that tofu-making job! You ungrateful brats! My mom was trying to set you up with a match, but you just took advantage of her kindness…”

Yan Xiaobao ranted and raved, while Wang Ergou eyed Yan Xiaoyu up and down with malicious intent.

This man had originally intended to rent his house to Yan Xiaoyu and his crew. When that fell through, he recently brought a sack of moldy beans to trade for tofu, only to be caught and berated by Yan Xiaoyu.

Yan Xiaoyu knew these men meant trouble and couldn’t be bothered to engage them: “If you want to fight, bring it on. Don’t waste my meal time!”

Today was the perfect chance to beat them into submission, sparing him the constant annoyance of these two loitering around him.

His flippant attitude showed he didn’t take the two men across from him seriously.

Yan Xiaobao and Wang Ergou’s pent-up rage flared up at his words. Exchanging a glance, they charged toward Yan Xiaoyu together.

In moments, they were both beaten to the ground by Yan Xiaoyu.

Yan Xiaoyu smacked Yan Xiaobao several times on the backside with his carrying pole, then kicked him aside before turning his attention to Wang Ergou.

Just as Wang Ergou was wailing like a baby, he noticed Yan Xiaobao, who had been lying on the ground, grimacing and struggling to his feet. Taking advantage of the moment, Yan Xiaobao pulled out a damp cloth and pressed it over Yan Xiaoyu’s face.

Yan Xiaoyu stiffened. No! They were trying to knock him out—was that cloth laced with the legendary knockout drug?!

Yan Xiaoyu strained with all his might, but Yan Xiaobao wouldn’t let go even after being beaten until blood trickled from his nose. Meanwhile, Wang Ergou was desperately trying to pry Yan Xiaoyu’s other hand free.

Though their faces were beaten to a pulp, their expressions were ecstatic and utterly absorbed. They waited eagerly, anticipating Yan Xiaoyu’s loss of consciousness.

Yet Yan Xiaoyu’s punches grew fiercer with each strike. Only after kicking Yan Xiaobao far away and stomping Wang Ergou’s face into the mud did he show the slightest sign of fainting.

After beating them until they had barely any strength left to resist, Yan Xiaoyu picked up the handkerchief and sniffed it.

Why isn’t he passing out? Did these two buy fake drugs?

Frowning, he pressed the handkerchief over Yan Xiaobao’s face. After several attempts, Yan Xiaobao finally passed out—but he was nearly choked to death in the process.

“Yan Xiaoyu, if you’ve got the guts, just kill me!!”

“Why kill you? I never kill people.” Yan Xiaoyu said, kicking Yan Xiaobao’s backside again. He sent him flying like a soccer ball, slamming him into Wang Ergou.

Yan Shaoxuan rushed over in a panic, only to witness this scene.