Biting the hand that feeds you

"": 200,

"": "",

"": "Zhang Li nodded and said hoarsely, "Understood."

"Follow me." Zhong Zhicheng stepped off the concrete road and headed in another direction. Few villagers followed.

Luo Bin fell farther back, but continued following them.

Eventually, Zhong Zhicheng reached the foot of the mountain, where a small courtyard stood beside a bamboo grove.

Luo Bin watched Zhang Li and the others enter the courtyard. Then, to his surprise, Zhang Li came out again and followed Zhong Zhicheng in another direction. Before long, the two disappeared from view.

Luo Bin took a deep breath and walked toward the courtyard.

Stopping outside, he immediately spotted the open door to the main room. Gu Yiren was walking slowly around inside, studying her surroundings. Zhu Qianqian sat beside the table with her arms drawn in, the terror still lingering on her face.

"Zhu Qianqian! It's me!" Luo Bin called.

Zhu Qianqian immediately looked up. She froze for a moment, then a trace of fear and resentment surfaced in her eyes.

"About last night..." Luo Bin began to explain.

With a clatter, Zhu Qianqian stood up, knocking her stool over. Then she slammed the door shut.

Luo Bin had the door shut firmly in his face.

Still, he wasn't angry.

After what had happened last night, there was no way she wouldn't resent him.

"The village has rules. There was nothing I could do. But thankfully, you're all right. You're villagers now, too. If you need anything, I'll do my best to help."

Luo Bin entered the courtyard and knocked on the door.

"When it was nearly dark, I opened the door and came out to call you. Zhang Li and I had trouble communicating. That absolutely doesn't mean I intended to leave you to die. There were over a dozen people in that room. Even if I wanted to open the door, I couldn't. You've experienced the horrors of this village, so you know I'm not lying. The others agreed to open the door once, but there was no way they'd agree a second time! Having a friend in an unfamiliar place like this will make your first few days easier." Luo Bin tried earnestly to reason with them.

With a soft creak, the door opened a crack.

Luo Bin had just met Zhu Qianqian's timid gaze.

A rush of wind came from behind him. Before Luo Bin could react, a heavy blow struck his back, sending him crashing into the door!

Zhu Qianqian screamed and scrambled aside.

Luo Bin hit the ground with a thud, completely dazed. His spine felt as though the kick had snapped it.

"What are you trying to do? You're no good either!"

"The first few days? How many days? We've already survived three."

An icy voice came from behind him.

Luo Bin pushed himself up. Zhang Li stood on the threshold, looking down at him. A sickly gloom clouded his entire face. The timid, trembling scholar of the past few days was gone. His personality had changed completely.

He held an oil lamp and a bulging bundle.

"Zhu Qianqian, don't let his appearance fool you. If he could be brothers with that Zhang Jun, how good a person could he possibly be? He says one thing and does another. Who knows what he's plotting inside?"

"Last night, we nearly died. He watched and did nothing to save us," Zhang Li said coldly.

Luo Bin frowned deeply and met Zhang Li's eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zhu Qianqian retreating farther to stand with Gu Yiren, even shifting slightly to shield her.

"Please leave. Otherwise, I'll tell the Village Chief you broke the village's second rule and intended to harm us," Zhang Li said darkly.

Luo Bin said nothing. Frustration lodged in his chest, refusing to budge.

Wanting it both ways?

That didn't seem quite accurate, but Luo Bin had gained a rough understanding of Zhang Li's character.

Becoming friends was probably impossible.

So Luo Bin turned his head and gave Gu Yiren a long, meaningful look.

"What are you looking at?!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Zhang Li shouted shrilly, "I have to tell the Village Chief! You're no different from that Zhang Jun!"

"You're biting the hand that feeds you. You don't recognize kindness when you see it. You act like I never saved you. Have you had it so easy that you think everyone has to do whatever you say? When you don't want to leave the bus, you stay on it, and when you want to get off, someone has to open the door for you? Wake up, buddy." Luo Bin brushed the dust off his clothes, shot Zhang Li a sidelong glance, and walked straight toward the exit.

"You lunatic..."

Zhang Li never finished the insult.

Luo Bin spun around and delivered a vicious kick to Zhang Li's back, just as Zhang Li had done to him.

Zhu Qianqian screamed again. Zhang Li slammed into the table and fell to the ground with a groan of pain.

After another long look at Gu Yiren, Luo Bin turned and left the courtyard.

Walking along the village road, Luo Bin pressed his fingers to his brow, still feeling irritated.

Zhang Li was a petty bastard, through and through.

Getting Gu Yiren alone was practically impossible.

Gu Yiren was strange, too. She had mouthed a warning to him, yet now that he had come, she showed no reaction.

Of course, their secret couldn't be exposed, so he hadn't said anything outright. That look had been a reminder to Gu Yiren that they needed to talk.

Besides, even if he gave her every possible benefit of the doubt, if Gu Yiren also thought yesterday's problem was his fault...

Then forget it.

There was no way I'd wag my tail like a dog and shamelessly "beg" for "forgiveness."

As he walked, Luo Bin suddenly sensed something wrong. It felt as though someone was following him.

He abruptly looked back, but the road behind him was empty.

In the next instant, a shadow descended over his head-a sack had been pulled over him.

Then fists and feet rained down on him.

Before Luo Bin could fight back, he was knocked to the ground. In the end, all he could do was hurriedly protect his vital spots.

Several kicks struck his head. Curses poured into his ears: he deserved to die, he was an ungrateful bastard with no loyalty, he had better watch his step from now on. The insults tumbled out in a jumble.

Luo Bin didn't know how many people were beating him. Eventually, they finished and left. Struggling, he pulled the sack off his head. His clothes were covered in footprints, the corners of his mouth were split, and blood was dripping from them.

His head buzzed, and his ears burned with pain.

"Fuck... what the..." Before he could finish cursing about the inexplicable attack, Luo Bin realized it hadn't been inexplicable at all.

Zhang Jun was dead.

But Zhang Jun hadn't been alone. He had his pack of disreputable friends, and the body's previous owner had once been one of them...

"Are you all right?" a soft voice asked.

Luo Bin shuddered, instinctively startled.

Only then did he notice that a nearby door had opened. A girl stood in the doorway. She wasn't particularly tall, but she was pretty, with bright eyes, white teeth, and long hair reaching her waist.

"I'm... I'm fine... thanks..." Luo Bin was about to leave, then clutched his aching lower back.

"Why don't you come inside? I can put some medicine on that. Have you dislocated something? Should I take you to the shaman's place to have it checked?" the girl asked softly again, her brows drawing together slightly.

"No need... thank you..."

Luo Bin took a deep breath and straightened his back. It hurt, but he could bear it. He hurried away.

The girl remained where she was, her head tilted slightly, as though watching Luo Bin-or listening to something.

Her furrowed brows tightened further, showing a hint of puzzlement and surprise.

Then she closed the door.

"Sis, what are you talking about?" The soft voice and the footsteps

faded together and vanished.

"Xiao Shan, what happened to you?"

When Luo Bin entered, Gu Ya had just come out of the kitchen. She hurriedly put down the bowls and chopsticks she was holding and rushed over to Luo Shan.

"Nothing, Mom. I fell," Luo Bin said evasively.

"Don't lie to me. How did you get hurt all over?" Gu Ya was both anxious and distressed.

"Zhang Jun's gone. Those 'friends' of his beat me up. It's fine. Consider it a clean break." Luo Bin smiled bitterly.

"This..." Gu Ya's eyes reddened, tears gathering in them. "I'll have your father go to the Village-"

"Forget it, Mom. They're just a bunch of troublemaking thugs. After what just happened with that parade through the village, they won't dare do anything else." Luo Bin hurriedly caught Gu Ya's arm.

Luo Feng hadn't returned yet. The blood and filth covering the village weren't easy to clean up.

"Auntie Gu, where's your first-aid kit? Let's treat Xiao Shan's injuries first." Zhang Yunling came out of the main room, her brows furrowed as well.

Gu Ya brought out the first-aid kit. At first, both women helped treat him, but Zhang Yunling urged her to watch the stove so the food wouldn't burn. Only then did Gu Ya return to the kitchen with a sigh, leaving Zhang Yunling to tend to Luo Bin.

She carefully wiped a wound on Luo Bin's cheek, blew gently on it, and asked in a quiet voice, "Does it hurt?"

Luo Bin swallowed.

Zhang Yunling was so close to him that their faces were barely a hand's breadth apart. Her delicate brows were slightly knitted, her eyes full of concern, her movements painstakingly gentle.

In his previous life, Luo Bin had dated several times, but those girlfriends had all felt like fair-weather partners.

It was always either "Baby, my tummy's rumbling" or a broken phone, an empty lipstick tube, or a new clothing collection.

Had any of them ever been as tender and caring as Zhang Yunling?

"Xiao Shan, why aren't you saying anything? Does it hurt that much?" Zhang Yunling blinked and blew softly on the wound again.