ARC 2: Stepmother in the Seventies ✦ c71~116 (46)
✦ 27
Translator: InkyDragon (https://inkydragontranslation.wordpress.com)
A nip of baijiu stung Second Dog Li’s throat, chasing away the biting winter chill for a fleeting moment. He and Fatty Cui huddled on a moon-drenched road, shadows stretching long and thin. It was a fool’s hour, well past midnight, the perfect time for their little errand to Gu Shi Chu’s.
They’d fortified their nerves with more than a few swigs of the potent liquor, each gulp adding a layer of false bravado. Neither of them had bothered with those fancy knockout drugs – who knew where to find such things? Besides, a couple of strong lads like themselves, armed with nothing more than their trusty sickles, were more than a match for some slip of a girl.
Gu Shi Chu might have a reputation for unusual strength, but surely even she wouldn’t stand a chance against two grown men. Fear, they figured, would be their greatest weapon. The sight of them, bursting in at this hour, would paralyse her with terror, leaving her helpless and compliant. Victory, sweet and profitable, seemed assured.
Blinded by their own arrogance, they hadn’t even thought to scout the place beforehand. Now, staring up at the imposing wall surrounding Gu Shi Chu’s house, a wall that seemed to scrape the moon itself, a wave of doubt washed over them.
“Mother of mercy,” Fatty Cui muttered, his voice tight with unease. “This wall’s taller than a giraffe!”
Second Dog Li squinted at the imposing barrier. “There’s gotta be a weak spot. Help me find a place to dig.”
- (Mud bricks are not as hard as burnt bricks.)
Fatty Cui grunted, his toes straining against the frozen earth. He stretched until his muscles screamed, fingertips scraping against the rough stone.
A sour taste filled his mouth, a potent mix of baijiu and frustration. “Damn it!” he spat, giving up on reaching the top. The wall, solid and unyielding, mocked their arrogance.
“This wasn’t here before,” Second Dog Li muttered, eyes narrowed at the wall. “Remember how it used to crumble if you so much as looked at it?”
It was true. When Gu Shi Chu first stumbled into this world, the first thing she did was fortify her defences. The courtyard walls, once a crumbling testament to the family’s misfortune, had been painstakingly rebuilt, rising higher and more imposing than ever before. She’d even taken to embedding shards of broken glass and thorny brambles along the top, a nasty surprise for any would-be intruder.
After a fruitless ten minutes of searching for a weakness, Second Dog Li and Fatty Cui met back at the starting point, faces etched with disappointment.
“The Gu family’s practically swimming in debt,” Fatty Cui scoffed. “Where’d she find the coin for this?”
“Well,” Second Dog Li mumbled, “She’s not exactly hurting for money these days, is she?”
The words hung in the frigid air, a stark reminder of their purpose. They were here for Gu Shi Chu’s newfound wealth, for the bounty she earned too easily.
Fatty Cui glared at his companion. “You got any lock-picking skills tucked away, then?”
Climbing was clearly out of the question.
Second Dog Li, master thief of chickens and stray dogs, shuffled his feet awkwardly. His usual targets weren’t exactly known for their security measures. Village doors were rarely locked during the day, and a quick in-and-out while everyone was working in the fields did the trick.
“I… uh… Not really,” he admitted, his face a picture of sheepish defeat.
“Useless,” Fatty Cui spat, already moving towards the courtyard door. He examined the lock, a deceptively simple-looking thing.
What he didn’t know was that it was a relic from another world, a marvel of intricate design. Without the proper key, it might as well have been welded shut. Perhaps an explosive device could work, but then again, anything powerful enough to shatter the lock would likely blow the door clean off its hinges. In that case, why not just blast the door itself?
He rattled the handle, a futile effort. They were well and truly stuck.
“What in the devil’s playground is this thing?” Fatty Cui swore, jabbing at the lock with a twig. It snapped under the pressure, sending a splinter into his thumb.
He yelped, sucking on the wound, his frustration reaching boiling point. He rattled the handle again, earning nothing but a metallic clang that echoed in the stillness.
Second Dog Li hissed, “Shhh! Quiet, you fool! We’ll wake the whole village!” He glanced nervously at the imposing wall. “Climbing it is our only option.”
Fatty Cui’s eyes bulged. “You gone mad? We’ll be lucky to reach the halfway mark!”
“Not ‘we’,” Second Dog Li corrected, a mischievous glint in his eye. “You, my friend, will provide a much-needed boost.”
He laid out his plan: Fatty Cui, sturdy as an ox, would act as a human stepping stool. Second Dog Li, nimble as a monkey despite his slight frame, would then scramble up to the top and haul his companion up after him.
Fatty Cui, never one to be outdone, puffed up his chest. “Why should I be the one on the bottom? I call first dibs on the climbing!”
Second Dog Li bit back a retort about the potential for crushed bones. Fatty Cui’s weight rivalled a small ox. But arguing was pointless. He yearned for the warmth and riches that supposedly lay within, so with a resigned sigh, he agreed to be the human ladder. Time was of the essence. “Fine, fine, have it your way.”
Fatty Cui, puffing out his chest.
Second Dog Li approached cautiously, bracing himself for the weight. Two hundred catties of solid bulk settled onto his shoulders, forcing a groan from his lips.
He hadn’t even begun to push upwards when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the night. Fatty Cui, a flailing, cursing mass, toppled backwards, landing with a bone-jarring thud.
Second Dog Li, heart hammering in his chest, scrambled over and clamped a hand over his companion’s mouth. “Shh! Shh! Don’t shout! People will hear!”
Fatty Cui mumbled something about thorns and the devil’s own handiwork. Second Dog Li, fear lending him a surprising burst of strength, kept his hand firmly in place until Fatty Cui finally registered the danger.
“We gotta go,” Second Dog Li urged, already backing away. “They must’ve heard…”
But it was too late. The scream, brief as it was, had reached its intended target. Inside the house, Gu Shi Chu’s eyes snapped open. She pushed aside her sleeping bed warmer, and began to dress.
“What is it?” Ji Ming Tao mumbled, still lost in the hazy world of sleep.
─── ❖ ── ☆ ── ❖ ───
( )………( )
(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)
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