The Bully General's Spiritual Husband

In the still-dark early morning, a figure stealthily made its way towards the end of the village.

Looking at the waist-high fence in front of him, Tian Xiaoqiang grinned and moved a large stone from the roadside to stand on, then climbed over the wall of Yin Baicai's yard.

He jumped down with all his might, fell hard on the ground, and his fat body jerked.

"Ouch, that hurts so much! Why did that scoundrel build such a high wall around his yard?"

His original intention was to steal money. Recently, Yin Baicai's buying of land and hiring of workers in the village has caused quite a stir, especially in such a small place as Peach Blossom Village.

If someone's dog has a litter of puppies, the whole village will know as soon as they take a stroll around.

Tian Xiaoqiang figured that Yin Baicai's money must have come from Li the bully. He didn't dare go to Li the bully's house, but Yin Baicai's house was at the end of the village, next to an old woman who was half-dead. He figured he could steal her money and run off to town to have some fun for a few days.

Who could possibly know!

Afraid of making too much noise and waking Yin Baicai, Tian Xiaoqiang tiptoed quietly towards the kitchen where Yin Baicai was sleeping.

Hearing the sound of snoring coming from inside the house, Tian Xiaoqiang gently moved the door open with a bamboo stick.

Yin Baicai's door lock is the kind with a wooden bolt, which is the easiest to open.

With a "click," Tian Xiaoqiang watched as the latch was removed, a smug smile spreading across his face. "This is no challenge for me, Tian Xiaoqiang."

He pushed open the door, cautiously peeked inside, and quietly approached Yin Baicai's bedside, searching under the bed.

He saw it at the village chief's house that day when it was raining heavily. Yin Baicai was holding a wooden box in her arms, which must have contained money.

As he handed the box to Old Lady Wu and rushed off to the Li family, the box made a sound.

It couldn't fool my ears, Tian Xiaoqiang; that was the sound of copper coins.

Unable to find it under the bed, he searched elsewhere. By the dim light of dawn outside the window, Tian Xiaoqiang spotted the box inside Yin Baicai's pillow.

He crept over quietly and reached for the box on the bed. Suddenly, Yin Baicai's broken wooden bed creaked as Tian Xiaoqiang bumped into it.

Yin Baicai opened her eyes a crack, still half asleep, and met Tian Xiaoqiang's gaze as he stole something.

The light of dawn shone on Tian Xiaoqiang's face, making the blue birthmark on his face look even more frightening.

Yin Baicai kicked out and shouted, "A ghost—"

Yin Baicai's kick landed squarely on Tian Xiaoqiang's sensitive spot.

Tian Xiaoqiang clutched his wound, collapsed to the ground, and cried out, "Ouch—it hurts so much!"

Yin Baicai was startled awake. This wasn't a ghost at all; it was clearly a thief! Yin Baicai jumped off the bed, plopped down on Tian Xiaoqiang, and started hitting Tian Xiaoqiang's head hard with the cloth shoes from under the bed.

"Ah—Jian Ge'er, stop hitting me! It hurts so much! Help! I'm going to be beaten to death by this jinx!" Tian Xiaoqiang roared and screamed, his body still trying to crawl towards the door.

Yin Baicai recognized the voice of the bloodsucker from the village when Tian Xiaoqiang shouted. She was already exhausted and had a sore back yesterday, and yet he dared to come to her house to steal things and disturb her sleep. Enraged, Yin Baicai became even more ruthless.

Hearing the noise coming from Yin Baicai's house, Wu A-na and her son, who lived next door, urged, "Xiaoshan, hurry up and go to Cai-ge'er's house. That shouting must mean something's happened. My legs aren't very strong, so hurry up!"

Wu Maoshan grabbed the hoe from behind the door and rushed towards Yin Baicai's yard. He kicked open the dilapidated gate and shouted, "Brother Cai, what happened? Uncle's here. Don't be afraid!"

Hearing shouts coming from the kitchen, Wu Maoshan, thinking that Yin Baicai was injured, hurriedly kicked open the door that Tian Xiaoqiang had not closed properly. In the morning light, he saw Yin Baicai fiercely straddling a man, hitting the man on the ground begging for mercy with the sole of her shoe.

Yin Baicai then came to her senses and shouted at Wu Maoshan who came in, "Uncle, quickly go to the yard and get the rope. I've caught this thief."

Wu Maoshan was also stunned by what he saw. Cai Ge'er actually had such strength that he caught the thief.

They quickly found a rope, and the two of them worked together to tie Tian Xiaoqiang up on the ground. Tian Xiaoqiang's tears and snot were mixed together, and it took Wu Maoshan a while to recognize him. This was Tian Xiaoqiang, the hoodlum from their village!

"Tian Xiaoqiang, how dare you come to Cai Ge'er's house to steal things?"

Tian Xiaoqiang kept his head down, his whole body aching. He grimaced and shouted, "You bastard, I'll never forgive you! You hit me, I'm going to report you to the village!"

Grandma Wu, who rushed over, pulled Yin Baicai around to look him over: "Brother Cai, are you hurt anywhere? Good heavens, how could this thief have broken into our village!"

Yin Baicai comforted Grandma Wu, "Grandma, I'm fine, don't worry."

"Mother, this isn't a thief who came to our village. Take a good look and see who's been caught."

Grandma Wu leaned closer and looked: "Tian Xiaoqiang, it's you! Well, you actually dared to steal from Cai Ge'er's house. We'll take you to the village chief's house to settle things as soon as it's light. You actually dared to break in and steal things. You've got some nerve."

"Go ahead, you old hag. This bastard beat me up so badly, I won't let him off the hook until he pays some medical bills."

After saying that, Tian Xiaoqiang spat a mouthful of bloody saliva on the ground.

Seeing that Tian Xiaoqiang dared to insult Grandma Wu, Yin Baicai slapped him across the face with lightning speed: "Have you eaten shit? How dare you insult my Grandma Wu? I'll beat you to death!"

Wu Maoshan and his mother pulled Yin Baicai back. Tian Xiaoqiang was covered in injuries. If the fight continued, he would probably be beaten unconscious by the time they reached the village chief.

"Alright, alright, Brother Cai, put your shoes on quickly. We'll go to the village chief's house as soon as it's light."

Yin Baicai finally stopped. "That scoundrel! He kept me up all night. If Uncle Maoshan hadn't come over, I would have beaten the shit out of you. How dare you steal money from my house? You're asking for it!"

Yin Baicai put on his shoes and clothes, poured a glass of water for Wu A'nai and Wu A'nai respectively, and said with a smile, "A'nai, Uncle, have some water. I'll make some breakfast and we'll go over after we eat. Anyway, this scoundrel can't escape."

The two were still in shock looking at the smiling Yin Baicai. This hot-tempered young man who had just hit someone was actually the well-behaved person in front of them.

The mother and son were stunned as they took the water from Yin Baicai's hands. Yin Baicai lit a candle, started a fire in the stove, cooked a pot of porridge, and baked a few pancakes.

While cooking porridge, I washed my face and rubbed my sore shoulders.

After finishing their meal, the three of them dragged Tian Xiaoqiang, who was tied up, toward the village chief's house. They even stuffed his smelly socks from yesterday into Tian Xiaoqiang's mouth because he was too noisy.

Tian Xiaoqiang stammered and couldn't utter a sound the whole way.

Yin Baicai knocked on the village chief's courtyard door: "Grandpa Village Chief, you have to help me! My house has been robbed."

The shouts startled the village chief and his wife so much that they dropped their chopsticks. "Old man, go and see what's going on at Cai Ge'er's house."

As soon as the door opened, they saw Yin Baicai holding Tian Xiaoqiang, who was tied up, with Wu's mother and son standing behind them.

"What's going on here? Come in and tell me."