You're My Superhero

Shen Dalu's wife's eyes were full of disdain. "You think that little piece of junk can stop me? Today, I'll make you pay with your life!"

The machete was about to strike Zhou Wanwan's head. Zhou Qingyan and his brothers tried to rush over and help, but Zhou Wanwan pressed the trigger on her crossbow!

With a whoosh, the bolt struck Shen Dalu's wife directly in the left shoulder.

She let out a scream of "Aagh!" Her body jolted violently, and she staggered back several steps. Blood spurted out at once, staining half her clothes red.

The bolt had pierced straight through her shoulder blade. She convulsed with pain, and the machete in her hand fell to the ground with a clang. She could no longer muster a shred of strength.

Everyone was dumbstruck. Zhou Wanwan calmly put away the crossbow, while the little ginseng in the bag cried, "Wow, wow, wow!

"Wanwan, you're amazing! You're practically an immortal descended to the mortal world! You're the idol I admire most in the whole world!

"You're my superhero, the most formidable person under heaven! I'll follow you for the rest of my life and never change masters again!"

Zhou Wanwan said coldly, "Brother, go get the village chief."

Lin Fugui hurried over with more than a dozen villagers, only to see two members of the Shen Clan lying in pools of blood.

Old Madam Shen burst into tears with a wail.

"Village chief... village chief! Please save us! These outsiders have gone mad!

"Look what they did to my son and daughter-in-law! Hurry up and drive them out!

"These gods of slaughter are far too dangerous to provoke, especially that little girl. She has something incredibly powerful in her hand..."

Lin Fugui roared:

"Shut your mouth! Am I the village chief or are you? Don't you know what your family has done?

"What did you come to their house for in the middle of the night when everything was fine?

"Do you really think none of us knows what sort of people your family are?

"You know perfectly well how your family got those ten mu of fields. Don't go too far, and don't force me to drive you out of Lin Family Village.

"Carry the three of them back and let them pay their own medical bills. If anyone dares to steal or sneak around again, send them to the authorities."

Old Madam Shen's face and neck turned red with anger. Old Man Shen, who had hurried over, looked at them coldly and said, "You're really something, village chief. These people are clearly all from Zhou Family Village. What reason do you have to keep taking their side?"

Lin Fugui sneered. "Whether I'm taking their side or your family has gone too far, you know perfectly well in your hearts. Let's leave it at that for today!"

Old Man Shen snorted coldly.

"Fine! When my son at the academy comes back,

"I'll tell him how you've been throwing your weight around and bullying people. We'll take you to the authorities."

"And my youngest son is a shopkeeper for a wealthy family in the city. Just you wait and see." Old Man Shen helped Shen Dalu back home.

Old Madam Shen helped Shen Dalu's wife away. Lin Fugui sighed and said:

"You should get some rest too. But none of the Shen sons are easy to deal with. Don't be fooled by how the eldest steals and sneaks around every day.

"Their other sons are capable. The second son married a woman from the city.

"He actually married into her family. His wife doesn't like coming here and looks down on his family.

"Your youngest son is also a shopkeeper in the city. He's very clever and likes to play dirty, so you should be a little careful.

"The third Shen son is quite decent, though. He's honest and down-to-earth, and the wife he married is honest too. He does all the work at home and in the fields."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "Grandpa Lin, we understand. You should go home and rest early too!"

Lin Fugui coughed. "Wanwan, I know your family is capable, and that was for self-defense, but that crossbow is far too powerful. Don't take it out lightly."

Zhou Wanwan answered, "Mm. If she hadn't nearly hacked me to death with that machete, I wouldn't have taken it out."

Lin Fugui sighed. "That family really has lard covering their hearts. All right, I'm going home."

After he left, Zhou Wanwan sighed. "Let's go to sleep!"

Liu Su'e paced in circles anxiously. "How can we sleep? I'm afraid the Shen Clan will retaliate. And Shen Dalu's wife—is she dead? She lost so much blood!"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled.

"Mother, don't worry! She won't die. Let's get some sleep.

"They were in the wrong to begin with. What does it have to do with our family?"

Zhou Wanwan soon fell asleep, and the little ginseng took the chance to slip out. It turned somersaults all the way next door.

There was quite a commotion next door. Old Man Shen was cursing. "Why did you have to go next door when you had nothing better to do? Look what's happened now. Your leg will take months to heal, and you can't do anything."

Shen Dalu said angrily, "Father, get Second Brother and Fourth Brother to come back. I refuse to believe we can't deal with them."

Old Man Shen sneered.

"Second Son hasn't come back in years. You know what his wife is like. Even when he gives us silver, he has to do it on the sly.

"I'll speak to your fourth brother tomorrow and send you to the city to have your leg treated. Sooner or later, we'll deal with them."

Shen Dalu nodded. "I'll tear them to pieces."

Old Man Shen frowned. "Enough. Get some sleep. I'll go outside for a walk and think of a way."

Old Man Shen paced around the courtyard for a long time, then fumbled beneath a stone in the backyard for quite a while before pulling out a small bundle.

He opened it, revealing a small wooden box inside. He sighed. "I scrimped and saved six taels of silver, and I'm afraid I'll have to spend it all tomorrow. Sigh! Just you wait, Zhou family."

After Old Man Shen went into the house, the little ginseng opened the wooden box and made off with the six taels of silver.

Zhou Wanwan woke up and rubbed her eyes hard. Six taels of silver lay beside her bed.

Was she dreaming?

She pinched herself lightly. "Whoa, where did this come from?"

She hid the silver, then heard angry cursing from next door. "What damned thief stole my silver? Six taels of it! That was the money for my son's treatment!"

"What? Old man, you actually hid six taels of silver?"

"I scrimped and saved my whole life to put that nest egg away. Hurry and report it to the authorities."

Soon, men from the authorities arrived. After searching the courtyard for a long time, one of them said:

"There are no traces at all. By rights, this whole area is dirt. Anyone who walked over here would have left footprints.

"But there isn't a single footprint. That defies common sense!"

Old Man Shen's face turned pale with fright.

"Officers, I'm absolutely certain I put the six taels of silver in the box and tucked it away right here.

"How could there be no traces at all?"

The officer sneered. "In any case, we've already examined the place. No one came to your house at all. As for whether someone in your own family took it, that's hard to say."