A Thief With No Return

T/N: Chapter (4/8) sponsored by Madam Daim! Thank you for sponsoring!

“Bang….”

The black shadow directly came to Du Xiao Li’s room and tripped on the stool placed by the door. The stool got knocked over, and the sound startled him. Sensing no movements from the person on the bed, he finally let out a long breath.

“Where did this girl place the money?” The person circled around the room, running into a few furnitures, to the point where his leg started to hurt from the impact. While grimacing in pain, he said, “Why is there so many things in this room!”

Du Xiao Li laid on the bed, watching that person’s every move in this room. This was a thief?! And was even the village’s Er laizi* who liked to steal.

(*T/N: Laizi is just slang for hoodlum or delinquent; I felt just calling him hoodlum Er sounded weird so left it in pinyin since they all call him that like a nickname. There’s a line about him back in chapter 47 that I mistranslated but have fixed now.)

Er laizi was called Du Quan, a thirty some year old bachelor, and also can be considered Du Fu* and the others relative separated by several twists and turns. This person normally likes doing things like stealing. Whenever he sees that a certain family’s gourd has matured, or a certain family’s corn can be eaten, he would go pick some when no one was looking. Occasionally, he would also go to the other villages and steal some chicken, duck, and whatnot. But unexpectedly, this time, he actually came to rob her house!

(*T/N: MC’s eldest uncle; Cui-shi’s husband; so technically this thief is kinda Du Xiao Li’s distantly related relative somehow.)

Perhaps because even after getting so many bruises, he still didn’t find the place where Du Xiao Li put the money, Er laizi couldn’t help taking out the match. In the instant it was lit, Du Xiao Li immediately shut her eyes. This was a perfect time to train her other senses.

Ever since she started training her inner energy, not only did her vision improve, her hearing and senses all elevated quite a bit. She’d asked Luo Qi before, and Luo Qi said this was a normal phenomenon.

Du Quan searched around the room once, but still didn’t find the money Du Xiao Li had gotten today from selling the tangerines. He looked again at the bed Du Xiao Li was sleeping on. When his gaze landed on the small satchel placed at the bedhead, his two eyes lit up. In the afternoon, he’d seen her put the money precisely inside this bag!

It was definitely in there! Du Quan carefully came to the bedside, preparing to reach into the bed to grab that bag, when Du Xiao Li suddenly opened her eyes, startling him. But before he could even react, he just felt his body go numb, and his entire person collapsed onto the bed.

Du Xiao Li, in the moment before Du Quan collapse, had the match in his hand s.n.a.t.c.hed over, and afterwards had him kicked off the bed. Then, she got down from the bed and lit up the lantern Leng Er brought over last time.

“Are you alright?” Luo Qi appeared at her doorway. Seeing the person on the ground, his handsome brows slightly frowned.

“I’m fine.” Du Xiao Li said. She knew that after Du Quan entered her room, Luo Qi had been standing guard outside the whole time. She lightly smiled, then came to Du Quan’s side and gave him a few kicks.

He actually even dared to steal her money!

If she really was just a child, encountering this kind of thing would definitely have scared her to death. Moreover, the money she’d gone to great lengths to earn would also have been stolen too.

“Actually dared to steal a child’s money!” Du Xiao Li felt that as long as he didn’t steal from her, she can pretend to not see. But unexpectedly, this time, he had his sights set on her.

“What do you plan to do?” Luo Qi asked.

“Hmph, this type of person, if he comes the first time, then he’ll come a second time. Even if he doesn’t steal from me, he will still steal from others. In the past, everyone already suspected him for stealing, but no one had proof. This time, to have ended up in my hands, I’ll just treat it as ‘ridding the evil for the people’. Go to the village chief’s house. Just say someone came to my house to steal, and let the village chief come over. Along the way, also shout for someone to catch the thief.” Du Xiao Li said.

She didn’t want to let Du Quan free and didn’t want to have him killed or anything either. Letting the village chief handle this was the best solution.

“Okay.” Luo Qi nodded and headed down the mountain, while also shouting a few times for someone to catch the thief with a panicked voice. The lights below the mountain very quickly lit up in several places.

Just then, Silver ran in from outside the courtyard. Arriving at Du Xiao Li’s side, he called out twice.

Du Xiao Li stroked his head, and upon seeing the gra.s.s clippings on his leg, she said, “Went into the mountains again? Good thing I didn’t plan on letting you watch the house. A thief has come and you don’t even know.”

“Awooo–” Silver called out, seemingly feeling ashamed.

“Alright, I’m not blaming you.” Du Xiao Li said with as laugh as she ma.s.saged Silver’s neck.

After a while, Luo Qi brought the village chief and several villagers up the mountain. Before they arrived, Du Xiao Li had already let Silver go outside, afterwards taking out the silver needle on Du Quan’s body. Very quickly, he woke up.

Du Quan shook his head, not knowing why he’d fallen on the ground. Seeing Du Xiao Li standing to the side, he knew that the matter had fallen through. He stood up and stared down Du Xiao Li with a vicious look, saying: “Hand over the money from this afternoon, else I’m gonna hack you to death!”

“No, that’s my money, I can’t give it to you!” Du Xiao Li already had her little satchel slung over her back. Hearing Du Quan’s threat, she quickly reached up and covered the bag.

“Are you gonna give or not?” Seeing Du Xiao Li’s reaction, Du Quan was further certain that she had the money hidden inside.

“Not giving!” Du Xiao Li said, then turned around and ran out.

“Stop right there, give me the money!” Du Quan chased after her.

“Not giving, this is my money!” Du Xiao Li shouted loudly, “Du Quan, you couldn’t steal my money, so you’re just gonna use force, aren’t you scared of getting caught?”

“Catch me? I’ve been stealing for this many years and have never been caught before.” Du Quan arrogantly said, “Since I got discovered by you today, either obediently give me the money, and then have your mouth sealed tight, or I will help you seal your mouth. That way, you’ll never be able to talk again!”

“You want to kill me?” Du Xiao Li appeared as if she was scared, motionlessly standing there at the courtyard entrance.

“Hmph, don’t wanna die, then hand over the money!” Du Quan’s patience seemed to have already reached its limits as he immediately pounced towards Du Xiao Li. But before he could even come near her, he was suddenly struck in the head with a rock. He loudly cried out and retreated two steps.

“Who?!” Du Quan held his head and bellowed.

“Xiao Li, are you alright?” Luo Qi came into the courtyard first and hugged the ‘scared’ and trembling Du Xiao Li.

At this time, Li Ming Fu and several others also entered the courtyard. Although the incident just now, they didn’t see all of it, but they’d heard it all on the mountain path. Shi Da and Shi Er ran to Du Quan’s side and had him pressed onto the ground. Another villager then found a rope and had his two hands tied behind his back. Afterwards, they had him sit on the ground.

Luo Qi carried over a stool for Li Ming Fu, and Li Ming Fu sat down, angrily saying: “What a good Du Quan, normally stealing this and that. And today you actually dared to set your sights on Du Xiao Li, unbelievable. She still a small child. The money she painstakingly earned, you even have the nerve to steal? Then getting discovered and even wanting to kill and loot? You sure are brilliant!”

“I…..” Du Quan wanted to refute, but seeing that they’d all heard what he’d said just now, he couldn’t explain even if he wanted to. Then, thinking of his ending, he couldn’t help trembling all over in fear.

Normally whenever a thief is caught in the village, they are all directly hung on a tree and beaten. Beat you for a whole night, and if you survive, count yourself lucky. The villagers will then release you. And if you’re unlucky and get beaten to death, it wouldn’t be counted as homicide either.

“Village chief, I’m wrong. I’m begging you, don’t beat me!” Du Quan said as he kowtowed. His body wasn’t well, so if he gets beaten for a whole night, he’ll definitely get beaten to death!

“Hmph! Now you know to be scared?” Li Ming Fu shot him a glare, saying: “Weren’t you very impressive just now, wanting to kill and steal the money?”

“Village chief, village chief, I know I’m wrong. In the future, I’ll never do those kinds of things ever again. Please, forgive me just this one time!” Du Quan seemingly was really frightened, endlessly kowtowing at Li Ming Fu with streaming tears.

T/N: We’re actually only a few chapters away from the end of the first arc, which is the childhood arc, last chapter of the arc is 57. There’s going to be a time-skip and we’ll be seeing grown up Du Xiao Li soon. Gonna try to power through as many sponsored chapters as I can by Sunday.

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