The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 117

A soldier in armor stared viciously at the scene in front of him. He was responsible for escorting that Lord Li back to his home.

As soon as Li Yiran stepped down from the carriage, he saw a scuffle near the village entrance. In the crowd, he spotted Li Wenxuan, Father Li, and Tian Xiaoman.

“Stop at once! If you don’t, we’ll shoot!” the soldier ordered, commanding his men to form up and ready their bows.

The people of Willow Tree Slope hesitated, clearly wanting to stop. But the refugees assumed the soldiers wouldn’t dare kill anyone and continued fighting recklessly. What they didn’t know was that during food deliveries, many bandits had been killed on the spot as a warning to others.

The soldier pulled an arrow from his quiver, took aim at the most aggressive man, and let it fly. 

The arrow shot through the man’s pants and nailed him to the ground. The fighting stopped immediately.

“Separate!”

With that order, the refugees and the villagers of Willow Tree Slope split into two clear sides.

At that moment, Li Yiran stepped forward and called out, “Father.”

Father Li’s face lit up with joy as he hurried over. “Yiran, you’re back!” 

Li Wenxuan and Tian Xiaoman also gathered around him. 

The villagers relaxed, knowing their reinforcements had arrived. The refugees, on the other hand, were visibly panicked, exchanging uneasy glances. 

Wei Wu lay unconscious on the ground, unaware he was about to be imprisoned.

“What’s going on?” Li Yiran asked, puzzled. He didn’t recognize many of the people present—they clearly weren’t from the village. Why were they here causing trouble?

Father Li quickly explained everything, from the arrival of the refugees to the fight that had just broken out. 

Li Yiran frowned after hearing it. He had encountered several similar groups recently—people emboldened by the chaos of the disaster, assuming the government was too busy with relief efforts to deal with lawbreakers.

But they were wrong. If the law and order of a nation aren’t upheld first, then what good is disaster relief? Any aid provided would just end up in the hands of these parasites.

“Arrest them all and send them to the Anyang County Government!”

“Yes, sir!” the soldiers responded, stepping forward to carry out the order. 

Li Yiran and Li Wenxuan turned and headed home.

—

When Tian Xiaoman had rushed out earlier with a kitchen knife, all the children had been stunned. Once they processed what happened, Le Ge’er burst into tears, and Liu Xilin tried to run after him with a small wooden sword. Little Tuanzi, on the other hand, laughed out loud—he thought his Amu looked incredibly majestic.

Li Amu and Grandamu Liu quickly held Liu Xilin back and comforted Le Ge’er. They looked nervously toward the gate, unsure of what would happen next.

Meanwhile, Little Tuanzi had quietly made his way to the courtyard gate. Smiling at the open door, he lifted his leg and climbed onto the threshold, trembling slightly.

He clutched the doorframe and carefully stretched his foot down. Realizing he could reach the ground, he brought the other foot down as well. The momentum carried him forward a few steps. Arms outstretched, he wobbled but managed to steady himself, taking a deep breath as if exhausted.

He looked around with curiosity, seeing a world very different from the one inside the house. With growing interest, he began to explore. But he was still small, and his legs were weak. After walking a few steps, he had to stop and rest. When he spotted strange pebbles, bugs, or anything else along the way, he would carefully pick them up and store them in the pocket on his apron.

That apron had been made by his grand-amu to keep his clothes clean, though it hardly helped—he still needed a fresh outfit every day.

Completely engrossed in his little adventure, Little Tuanzi forgot all about how his Amu might react if he caught him. When he couldn’t walk anymore, he didn’t give up. He got down and crawled instead. Realizing crawling made it easier to collect treasures, he continued with even more enthusiasm.

Then, suddenly, his vision darkened. A pair of large black shoes appeared in front of him. Looking up, he saw his Amu standing there, arms crossed, glaring down at him.

Little Tuanzi froze. Then he trembled… and peed himself—a perfect example of what it means to be “scared stiff.”

Tian Xiaoman was fuming. This little rascal had sneaked out without his noticing. When they got home, he was going to find a rope and tie him up!

Just as he finished peeing, a pair of large hands lifted him up and held him in the air for inspection. His soft features vaguely resembled his uncle’s. 

Little Tuanzi curiously stared at the man holding him. He looked just like his father!

Li Wenxuan, seeing Little Tuanzi’s drooling, wide-eyed face, chuckled and introduced him to Li Yiran. “Brother, this is my son. His nickname is Tuanzi. Tuanzi, call him uncle.”

Little Tuanzi obediently opened his mouth and said, “Uncle~”

Li Yiran grinned and nodded, then carried him without any hesitation.

—

While playing, Le Ge’er suddenly paused and started counting with his fingers. One, two, three… four. Only four people?

He ran up to Li Amu, who was talking to Grandamu Liu, and tugged at his clothes. “Grandamu, my little brother is missing!”

The words made Li Amu’s heart leap. He looked around and saw that Tuanzi was indeed gone. 

Panic rising, he immediately rushed out to search, with Le Ge’er and the others following behind.

Luckily, just a few steps out, he saw Li Yiran returning, holding the little one in his arms.

“Eldest, why are you back? And Tuanzi—Grandmu was worried to death!” Li Amu quickly took Tuanzi from Li Yiran and showered him in kisses.

Le Ge’er ran over too. Staring up at the tall man, he suddenly pursed his lips and began to cry. 

“Father, wuuuu!” He rushed into Li Yiran’s arms, sobbing.

He had been holding in a lot. Some of the neighborhood kids would say cruel things, like how they didn’t have a Amu or father, and how their Amu was a bad person. Le Ge’er didn’t really understand those words, nor did he remember much about his Amu, but he instinctively knew those kids were being mean.

Sometimes, Liu Xilin would defend him and fight back. After learning martial arts with Li Wenxuan, not many dared bully them. But Le Ge’er never told anyone—he didn’t want to upset his grand-amu.

Li Yiran gently picked up Le Ge’er and patted him on the back.

“Brother, waaah!” Little Tuanzi suddenly burst into tears too. He struggled in Li Amu’s arms, reaching out for Le Ge’er.

Seeing how distressed he was, Li Yiran took him and held one child in each arm. 

Once in his cousin’s arms, Little Tuanzi hugged Le Ge’er’s head, kissed his cheek, and sweetly called, “Brother.”

Le Ge’er stopped crying. The two smiled and kissed each other.

In the distance, Liu Xilin lowered his head. 

Le Ge’er was so lucky. Even if he didn’t have an Amu, he had a father who loved him very much. Liu Xilin only had an Amu—and even then, his amu had tried to sell him.

Grandma Liu saw this and quietly led Liu Xilin back inside.