Chapter 115
115 Catching Thieves
Li Yu turned around and went to the slope where the cows were. She looked around and saw that the fence was also intact.
Li Yu returned to the chicken shed and said to Jin Jiu, “Brother Jin, it hasn’t been peaceful these days. You have to be more vigilant when you guard the pigpen at night. If you encounter thieves, shout loudly. Don’t fight head-on. Safety is more important.”
When Jin Jiu heard Li Yu tell him not to fight head-on, his eyes couldn’t help but turn red. His previous bosses had all said, “You can’t afford to pay with your lives if something is stolen,” But Miss said that safety is more important. He felt he really met a benevolent master this time.
Jin Jiu bowed excitedly to Li Yu. “Miss, thank you for buying my family. Ever since we arrived, our family feels that we still have some hope.”
When Li Yu heard this, her heart ached. She said gently, “When you come to my house, you’re members of the Li family and the Zhou family. As long as you don’t do anything to let us down, I won’t treat you badly.”
Jin Jiu swore, “Miss, believe me, my family will never do anything to let the Li and Zhou families down.”
“I believe you.” After saying that, Li Yu strode down the slope. When she arrived at the cowshed, she saw that the cows were already tied to it. The door of the cowshed was already locked. Li Yu guessed that Uncle Zhao had gone to the farm to eat.
Li Yu went to the pigpen before the sky turned dark. She walked around the pigpen and didn’t find anything unusual before turning around and going home.
When darkness enveloped the land, the people in the village who had been busy for the entire day rested. Li Yu changed into a black shirt and tied the dagger under her short skirt. She walked out with the crossbow. Just as she opened the courtyard door, she saw Ruyi holding a bow and a rope hanging from his shoulder. When he saw Li Yu, he smiled and asked, “Miss, are you going to the cowshed now?”
Li Yu nodded. “Yes! Let’s split up.”
“Yes,” Ruyi replied and strode toward the village entrance.
Li Yu had just walked to the cowshed when he heard Uncle Zhao call out and light the oil lamp.
Li Yu walked to his window and said to Uncle Zhao, “Uncle Zhao, it’s me. Stay inside tonight and don’t make a sound if you hear anything. Don’t come out either.”
Uncle Zhao walked to the window. “Got it, Miss. You have to be careful.”
“Okay.” Li Yu turned around and hid behind a big tree beside the house.
Around midnight, six people came from outside the village. There were four burly men and two thin men that Li Yu had seen during the day. Several of them had ropes hanging on their shoulders and were holding sharp knives.
When they reached the entrance of the village, the burly man stopped. The two thin men beside him walked lightly towards the village. After entering the village, they looked in the direction of the village and did not see a trace of light. The row of houses was shrouded in darkness. They could only hear the sound of insects in the paddy field.
A thin man ran quickly to the entrance of the village and whispered to the people hiding in the darkness, “Second Brother Hu, the village is dead asleep.”
“Let’s go. When we reach the cowshed, let’s move quickly,” Second Brother Hu said.
“Got it.” They quickly walked towards the cowshed. Ruyi flashed out of the bamboo forest and silently followed them.
The big men were moving fast ahead. The two short, thin men kept shuffling their feet behind them, panting as they followed.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the cowshed. They looked around and deliberately stepped on a branch to break it. Seeing that there was still no sound in Uncle Zhao’s house, the tall man said, “He’s sleeping like a log. Go and put some knockout incense on him so that he won’t wake up later.”
One of the thieves clipped the knife to the belt of his waistband. He took out the knockout incense and lit it. He picked a hole in the window paper and stuck the incense through the window.
The others split up and walked towards the cowshed. Li Yu came out from the corner and gently walked behind the thief holding the incense. She slapped the thief at the back of his neck to knock him out. Li Yu gently placed him on the ground and walked toward the other thieves.
Ruyi walked over and stood beside a thief who was poking at the lock. The thief asked without looking back, “Fifth, is the knockout powder ready?”
“Yes!” Ruyi grabbed the rope on his shoulder. The thief asked in a low voice, “Fifth Brother, why did you snatch my rope?”
Ruyi slapped the thief and he fell silent. One of them turned around and shouted, “Brother, let’s go. Someone is coming.”
Li Yu pulled the crossbow and shot at him. The arrow hit his leg and he squatted down in pain, hugging his leg and screaming.
The others fled in all directions. Li Yu moved quickly with the crossbow. After a few sounds, they all fell to the ground and hugged their legs, screaming.
Ruyi walked over and kicked each of them before tying them up. Li Yu knocked on Uncle Zhao’s door. “Uncle Zhao, bring out a torch.”
“Sigh!” Uncle Zhao lit the oil lamp, opened the door, and walked out with a torch. After lighting it, he handed it to Li Yu.
Li Yu held a torch and looked at the thieves tied up in a row by Ruyi. The thieves raised their heads and glared at Li Yu.
Li Yu sneered. “Tsk, tsk. You’re quite bold! Don’t you know how the law deals with cattle thieves?”
Second Brother Hu defended himself. “You’re slandering us. We passed by here. We were going up the mountain to hunt.”
Li Yu shook the incense in her hand at him and kicked the thin sharp knife on the ground. “Oh, are you planning to use such a sharp knife to hunt? You’ve also brought an incense for drugging the beast, right?”
“Why do you care what we use to hunt? If you know what’s good for you, let us go and pull out the arrows for us. Otherwise, you’ll know that the people of Hu Village are not to be trifled with.”
“Alright! I like to provoke people who are not to be trifled with. Then I’ll see how difficult it is to provoke your Hu Village.”
Li Yu said to Ruyi, “Block their mouths and tie them up before throwing them into the house. Drag them out and hang them on the cowshed before dawn.”
“Got it.” Ruyi dragged a thief towards Uncle Zhao’s house. The two of them locked the thief in Uncle Zhao’s house and tied them up with ropes.
Ruyi said to Uncle Zhao, “Uncle Zhao, I’ll send Miss back and come over to deal with the rest for the night.”
Li Yu waved her hand. “No need. I’ll go back myself after you rest.”
“Then be careful on the way.”
“Yes!” Li Yu walked home in a rage. Just as she reached the door, Uncle Zhou and Liu Changmin opened the courtyard and asked in unison, “Xiaoyu, did you catch the thief?”
Li Yu smiled. “I caught them. One of themsaid that they were from Hu Village. From the looks of it, their Hu Village is not to be trifled with.”
Liu Changmin nodded. “I know that Hu Village is more than four hours away from us. I heard that the harvest from their slope is not good. Most of the villagers steal for a living. The villagers are very shameless.”
When Li Yu heard this, she felt that there was probably going to be a tough battle tomorrow. She said to the two of them, “Uncle, Uncle Zhou, I understand. Go and rest first. We’ll talk about it at dawn.”
“Alright, I’ll go tell Yaohui after dawn. You should rest early too.” Liu Changmin nodded and said.
The two of them came out and went back. When Li Yu returned home, Old Madam Liu had already gotten hot water and brought it to Li Yu. “Miss, wash up first. Do you want to eat something?”
“No, I’ll rest after I wash. Go rest too!”
Li Yu woke up early in the morning. After washing up and eating, she was about to leave when Chen Yaohui arrived.