Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Still, those men really were too despicable.

If he hadn’t shown up when he did, Li Qiong and Wang Yuan would have likely been violated again. And even though Yang Guanghui was a man, his life might have been in danger just from being in close contact with them.

Miao Dahai walked over to Zhao Nuanyue and praised them, ”Ms. Zhao, Mr. Hua, we were lucky you were so vigilant this time. Otherwise, not only would we have failed to catch these criminals, but those three young people would have met a terrible fate.”

”It was the right thing to do,” Hua Yusen said in a low voice. ”Uncle Miao, what’s the situation now?”

”Those four have been locked up, and you’ve already given your statements at the police station. There’s nothing more for us to do now. It’s just that Li Qiong and Wang Yuan are terrified; it’ll probably take them a while to recover. And Yang Guanghui has been hospitalized for observation,” Miao Dahai said with a wry smile. ”I didn’t do my job well. I’m sorry you had to go through this.”

”As long as the criminals are caught, that’s what matters.” Zhao Nuanyue didn’t blame Miao Dahai. After all, he had his own position to consider. They had concealed the previous incident, likely because they felt they lacked solid evidence and making a fuss would only alert the culprits.

”Thank you for understanding. Regarding the last incident, it wasn’t that we didn’t want to investigate. We just didn’t have any evidence. If we had made a scene, it would have come to nothing and only made those people more brazen. This time, we have proof. We’ll definitely make them suffer the consequences of their actions,” Miao Dahai explained, hoping Zhao Nuanyue wouldn’t misunderstand.

Miao Dahai had figured it out. The ones who had run into trouble these past few times were the three older youths. Meanwhile, the younger Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang—even with Zhao Nuan Yang being slow-witted—had remained safe. It was a testament to Zhao Nuanyue’s caution.

She was someone to befriend, not to antagonize.

Perhaps the two of them seemed unassuming, but if pushed to their limits, the repercussions of their resistance would be far beyond what an ordinary person like him could control.

Plus, there was Mr. Hua, a man who could fight several people at once without losing ground. He was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

’I hope Big Pillar and his men can catch that scoundrel so we can bring them all to justice and prevent future trouble.’

”Let’s go see Yang Guanghui, Li Qiong, and Wang Yuan,” Zhao Nuanyue suggested. The events of last night had been so perilous that Li Qiong and Wang Yuan were nearly scared out of their minds.

”Alright, let’s go check on them. We can grab a bite to eat while we’re at it,” Miao Dahai said, leading everyone out of the public security office.

Yang Guanghui had been hit on the head with a club and had a concussion.

Li Qiong and Wang Yuan, terrified, had been given a sedative shot and were now in a deep sleep. By the time Zhao Nuanyue, Miao Dahai, and the others arrived, the medication had worn off and they were slowly beginning to wake.

”Help! Help!” Wang Yuan clutched the blanket, unwilling to let go. ”No, don’t... don’t hit me!”

She cried and shouted at the same time.

Li Qiong wasn’t any better, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Li Guihua and Zhao Nuanyue went in and soothed them. ”Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. The criminals have been caught. You’re not in danger anymore.”

”R-Really?” Li Qiong stammered. ”Those men tied us up as soon as they came in, and they said they were going to torture us to death...”

Just then, someone from the public security office arrived. Captain Wu came in and said, ”Don’t be afraid. Tell us everything you know, tell us what you went through. We will definitely bring those criminals to justice.”

Seeing that someone from the public security office was there, Li Qiong and Wang Yuan began to relax.

They recounted the previous night’s ordeal in detail. The act of remembering forced them to relive the panic, fear, helplessness, and despair.

After taking their statements, they went to see Yang Guanghui.

Yang Guanghui positively identified Liu Lanhua, recognizing her voice at the time. He testified that she was in league with the other men, a statement that aligned perfectly with Zhao Nuanyue’s own thoughts. As for the one who ran away, because it was dark, all he knew was that the person was heavyset and wearing a mask, so he couldn’t see their face clearly.

The only way forward was to interrogate the four who had been captured. Besides Liu Lanhua, two of the other three were from different villages, and one was surprisingly from the county seat itself.

With such a vicious incident occurring in the county, the county leadership took it very seriously and dared not be negligent in the slightest.

Captain Wu assured Miao Dahai, the other villagers, and the volunteers like Zhao Nuanyue, ”Everyone, please rest assured. We will not wrong an innocent person, nor will we let a single criminal go free. You should all go home for now. We will investigate this thoroughly and give you all a proper resolution.”

”We trust that justice will prevail, and we trust you to handle this incident properly,” Miao Dahai said grimly. ”I will formally report Wang Dadan from our village for dereliction of duty. He failed to do his job, which is why things like this have happened in our village time and again.”

”Yes, we will investigate this seriously. If what you say is true, we will certainly remove Wang Dadan from his post,” Wu Minghai immediately promised. There were only a few staff members in the county office. The county absolutely could not take the blame for this, so the responsibility had to be found within Nianqiao Village.

Miao Dahai was a hero for catching the criminals, so he couldn’t be held responsible. That left Wang Dadan. Public safety was his job. If he couldn’t do it, then someone else would.

Meanwhile, Big Pillar and his men gave chase, but because they had to circle around to the bridge, they lost time. By the time they crossed the river, the man had vanished without a trace.

Even with the moonlight, it was still nighttime, and the woods on both sides were dense, making a search impossible.

As for Wang Dadan, he ran for his life, desperate to escape. If he got away, he still had a sliver of a chance. If he didn’t, not even his cousin-in-law in the county seat could save him. Even if he wasn’t executed by firing squad, he would be thrown into a major prison.

Since so many people had gone to watch the movie, the village was mostly empty. Wang Dadan had originally planned to go to Widow Qian’s place, but then he thought that if those men confessed and named him, he’d have a hard time finding an alibi. After all, his relationship with Widow Qian couldn’t be made public, so he rushed home instead.

No matter how ugly his wife was, she was still his wife. She wouldn’t frame him.

So, Wang Dadan ran straight home, quickly tore off his ice-caked clothes, and, without bothering to wash up, dove right under the covers.

Wang Dadan’s wife, Wang Cuihua, jumped in fright and hurriedly asked, ”What trouble have you gotten into outside?”

”Shut up!” Wang Dadan bellowed, slapping Wang Cuihua across the face. ”If... if you don’t want me to go to jail, if you don’t want to starve in the future, if you don’t want to be without a husband, if you don’t want your children to be without a father, then go ahead and keep shouting!”

Wang Cuihua clutched her face, her eyes welling with tears. ’That bastard. He must have done something shameful outside, and now he comes home to take it out on me.’ She did want to run out and expose Wang Dadan right then and there. But if he went to jail, she might feel a moment of satisfaction, but what would happen to her and their two children?