The more Yang Hui spoke, the harder she struggled to hold down her anger. She wiped her palms twice on her apron, sweat filling the gaps between her fingers.
She glanced toward Jiang Yuexin's little room and lowered her voice, but could not suppress its urgency.
"Uncle Yi, this can't wait."
"A rotten bastard like Sun Mazi dared to corner Yuexin today. Tomorrow, he'll dare to creep up to your courtyard wall. Don't be fooled by his usual clowning and shameless grins. When he turns vicious, he's a snake slipping into a nest of grass-no one can guard against him."
The battered fan in Yi Yang's hand stopped before his chest. Stifling heat filled the courtyard, the old locust tree's leaves curled at the edges, and the cicadas shrilled until his head throbbed.
"And that rotten bastard Yang Er is very likely behind him."
She gritted her teeth, beads of sweat running down her chin and dripping onto the front of her clothes.
"That Yang Er-who in the village doesn't curse him? But what good does cursing do? He's got an older brother working for the county authorities, so he can stand tall and swagger. He's always either stealing someone's chickens or seizing someone's firewood. If he spots anything valuable in a house, he comes prowling around every few days."
By this point, Yang Hui's eyes had reddened.
She was a widow herself. Over the years, idle men had scraped their leering eyes over her more times than she could count. She knew better than anyone.
That kind of filth was not mud you could wash off your hands and be done with.
Yang Hui raised a hand to smooth the stray hair beside her ear and said quietly, "Uncle Yi, why don't... you go into town and find your younger brother?"
A hot breeze swept through the courtyard, making the straw curtain beneath the eaves rustle and sway.
Yi Yang did not answer her question, as though he had fallen asleep beneath the midday sun.
When Yi Yang showed no response, Yang Hui grew anxious. She treated Jiang Yuexin as her own daughter.
"I know this isn't pleasant to hear, but a life is at stake."
"Your brother's family has been doing better and better all these years. I hear his son practices martial arts too, and his grandson has good natural aptitude. The little martial arts schools in town aren't good enough for him anymore. He wants to study in the county seat."
"The Yi family is no minor household in Cloud Pattern Town these days. No matter how overbearing Yang Er is, he'd have to weigh the consequences. By family seniority, Yuexin is one of the Yi family too. If you went and asked, surely they couldn't disregard every last shred of family feeling?"
By the last sentence, even Yang Hui lacked conviction. She knew about Yi Yang's relationship with his younger brother too.
But Yang Hui truly had no other way. Looking at Yi Yang's white hair, she felt a tightness in her chest.
An old woodcutter nearing sixty, with only a lovely young girl beside him. Faced with scum like Sun Mazi and Yang Er, what else could he do?
Having a powerful younger brother was a rare blessing; at least it offered a way out in a crisis like this.
"Uncle Yi, don't resent me for speaking harshly."
Yang Hui's voice grew a little hoarse. "What's pride worth? Can you wield it like a blade? Can it scare Sun Mazi away? If anything happens to Yuexin, we won't even have anywhere to turn and weep."
Yi Yang rubbed his fingers over the fan's handle. It was already old, and years in his grip had worn its edges to a shine.
"Yi Xun."
There was little inflection in Yi Yang's voice as he spoke the name.
Yet to Yang Hui, something about the way he said it sounded wrong.
She was about to urge him again when the door suddenly opened.
Jiang Yuexin rushed out.
The girl's eyes were red, strands of hair clung to her forehead, and her old pale-green dress still bore wet mud from the edge of the ditch. She clutched her skirt with both hands, the fabric digging marks into her slender white fingers.
"No!"
The shout startled Yang Hui so badly that her shoulders jerked.
Jiang Yuexin stood in the doorway, her chest heaving. Tears swam in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back.
"Auntie Yang, there's no need to go to the Yi family in town."
"This is my problem. I'll find a way myself."
Yang Hui froze.
Her lips moved, but it took a long while before she managed to force out any words.
"You silly girl, what way could you possibly find? Bite Sun Mazi? You kicked him today, but when he comes back with more men, can you kick Yang Er into the ditch too?"
Jiang Yuexin bit her lip.
"Even then, we don't have to beg them."
"You child..."
Angry and aching for her, Yang Hui raised her hand to poke the girl's forehead, but halfway there, she could not bear to do it. She could only slap her own thigh.
"I'm doing this for your sake! Do you think I want your grandfather to bow his head? But bowing his head is better than being bullied!"
At last, Jiang Yuexin's tears fell, though she made no sound.
She looked at Yi Yang, her eyes full of panic and stubbornness.
"Grandpa, don't go, all right?"
"Don't go begging them."
Those few words were very soft, yet they made Yang Hui's face burn.
She had meant no harm, but her words had touched an old wound-and pressed down hard on it.
Yi Yang set the battered fan aside and slowly rose to his feet.
The old man's back was already slightly stooped, and his knees cracked several times as he stood. Yet something held within those clouded eyes seemed to drive even the summer heat back a little.
"Yang Hui."
"Yes?"
Yang Hui answered instinctively.
Yi Yang said, "Go home for now."
Yang Hui said anxiously, "Uncle Yi, I..."
"Go home."
Yi Yang's voice was not loud, but it left no room for interruption.
Yang Hui looked at Jiang Yuexin, then at Yi Yang, and finally stamped her foot hard.
"Fine. I'll go home."
At the courtyard gate, she turned back and scolded, "Yuexin, you listen to me! Don't shoulder everything yourself. How old are you? You're not even fifteen, so why act like some seasoned veteran? Do you really think you're a heroine from a storybook?"
Jiang Yuexin lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.
Yang Hui then called to Yi Yang, "Uncle Yi, I'll come check on you tonight. Bolt the door tight and keep your woodcutting knife beside the bed. Those rotten wretches in the village really aren't human."
With that, the woman hurried away like a gust of wind.
She pulled the courtyard gate shut behind her, and the wooden gate creaked and swayed for a long while.
Only Yi Yang and Jiang Yuexin remained in the courtyard.
Jiang Yuexin stood where she was, tears falling onto her skirt and spreading into small damp patches.
Yi Yang did not scold her, nor did he ask why she had been eavesdropping.
The old man simply bent down, picked up a coarse porcelain bowl, poured half a bowl of lukewarm water, and handed it to her.
"Drink. You ran so hard earlier. You must be thirsty."
Jiang Yuexin took the bowl and drank the water.
"Tell me. What happened?"
Before you continue