Chapter 57

The young girl pushed forward by the woman shyly looked at Old Gu Six, showing no sign of unwillingness.

Chang'an thought: Another day of "what the dog?!"

Big sister, is something wrong with your brain? Why are you acting shy towards an old man? Even if he is good-looking, he's still an old man.

"Are you sure you want to sell your daughter to my father?" Chang'an rolled her eyes dramatically.

Old Gu Six's gaze remained fixed on his daughter. Seeing her roll her eyes, he found it adorably endearing.

The woman nodded firmly. One look at this family and she could tell they were well-off. If they could establish a connection through marriage, her son could benefit greatly.

Chang'an took a sip of water and said, "My father is simply inhuman. He likes to beat women. My mother was beaten to death by him. He's always unreasonable. After killing his wife, he even takes it out on her family. My grandparents and uncles were all buried alive by him.

If you think you can handle his temper, you can sell your daughter to be his eighth wife. I'll even acknowledge her as my stepmother.

Yes, you heard right, the eighth. He kills one every year. The deaths of the in-laws weren't all from being buried alive. Some were beaten to death, some were burned alive, and others were thrown to the wolves in the mountains."

The woman stared in disbelief, her eyes wide. "The... the eighth?"

"That's right. If she marries my father, she'll be my eighth mother. So, do you want to make the trade or not?"

The people around them fearfully backed away, keeping a distance of ten zhang. What kind of monster was this?

Old Gu Six's mouth twitched. His daughter was earnestly ruining his reputation, but he didn't stop her. If this 'good' reputation spread, they might have some peace on the road.

They had been truly annoyed lately, with people frequently approaching to bother them.

He even played along by kicking the woman's son and slapping her husband twice, portraying the image of a short-tempered man with violent tendencies.

The young girl and her mother turned pale with fright. They quickly helped the son (brother) up and left without a word. This man looked decent, but who knew he was capable of such atrocities.

They'd better find a normal person to trade meat for their son. Having meat is useless if you're not alive to eat it.

The Lin family of three looked at Chang'an and Old Gu Six as if they had learned something new. They didn't believe what Chang'an said, treating it as if she was speaking nonsense with a straight face.

This series of wild actions had a good effect; no one dared to approach and bother them anymore.

Luckily, her clothes were thick, otherwise, she would have been bruised. They all worked together to close the main hall door.

"Father, let's set up a tent inside the main hall using our rain covers."

They had two pieces of rainproof cloth. To be safe, they made a three-layered canopy, with the four supporting points on the roof beams. They had plenty of hemp rope, and Old Six Father's lightness skill made it easy for him to climb up to the beams.

As Chang'an had predicted, even the hail was abnormal in this year of disasters. The roof was smashed by dense hailstones the size of a grown man's fist, and broken tiles came clattering down.

They took shelter in the tent, temporarily safe.

Of course, the Lin family had set up their own tent on the other side of the main hall, keeping to themselves.

The doors and windows of the main hall were in danger of being blown open by the strong wind. Old Gu Six and Lin Fucheng together lifted the heavy incense table and propped it up against the main door. They also moved large bodhisattva statues to block the windows on both sides.

Lin Fucheng clasped his hands and said, "Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha speaks of universal salvation. Please help us overcome this difficulty first. Don't take offense."

By the time he finished his muttering, Old Gu Six had already blocked two windows.

Outside, the sky was pitch black. Once all the windows were blocked, the main hall was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Chang'an took out two prayer candles and lit them. Not hearing any commotion from Lin Fucheng's side, she assumed they also had some form of lighting, so she didn't ask Old Six Father to do a good deed and send them candles.

Not knowing what time it was, Chang'an felt a bit hungry. It must be around dinnertime.

Her space was stocked with firewood, but it wouldn't be wise to use it without reason, especially with strangers present.

Old Gu Six understood immediately. He grabbed a candle and strolled through the main hall, dismantling two small incense tables to use as firewood.

He gave some to Lin Fucheng as well. Their family knelt and bowed before the Buddha statue, murmuring, "Please forgive us, Bodhisattva."

Chang'an entered her space to cook, while Old Gu Six started a fire with the wood he'd brought back. It certainly wouldn't be enough to last the night, so Chang'an tossed out some more from her space.

In the space's freezer, there were wild chickens and rabbits that Old Gu Six had hunted before. Chang'an prepared a stewed wild chicken with mushrooms, a pot of rice, and a dish of stir-fried green peppers with shredded pork.

Old Gu Six pulled down the curtains of the shelter to prevent the aroma from wafting out.

They had just finished dinner, with dishes and utensils still on the table, when the main hall's door was pounded with a loud 'bang bang'. Faint shouts could be heard from outside.

Old Gu Six calmly moved the incense table aside and opened the hall doors. Outside stood seven or eight black-clad men, battered by the large hailstones and looking like wet dogs.