Chapter 330: Climbing the Wall at Midnight

Chapter 330: Chapter 330: Climbing the Wall at Midnight

Ji Huan went to the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and tiptoed to the backyard.

From the sounds, it seemed Dahuang had subdued the person, but she couldn’t be sure yet.

There was no moon tonight, and everything looked shadowy and indistinct.

Ji Huan hugged the wall as she rounded the corner into the backyard. She could vaguely make out Dahuang circling a dark lump, biting and tearing at it.

The dark lump was undoubtedly the intruder.

The man seemed to have injured his leg in a fall. He tried to stand up several times but failed, so all he could do was curl up on the ground, protecting his head and face as he rolled around trying to evade Dahuang’s attacks.

Cunning as ever, Dahuang was a master of hit-and-run tactics. Every bite found its mark, and for a moment, the entire yard was filled with horrific screams.

Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding bounced excitedly on the side, eager to join in.

Ji Huan stood at the corner of the main house, unsure whether she should call the dog off.

’If I stop him and the intruder still has some fight left in him, won’t I be in danger?’

’But if I don’t stop him and just watch, and Dahuang kills the man, I’ll probably end up in court.’

As Ji Huan hesitated, another person suddenly vaulted over the wall. They seemed to lose their footing on landing and staggered for a moment.

’He has an accomplice???’

The shock was so great that Ji Huan’s heart nearly stopped.

’Based on the situation, the smart thing to do is run.’

’But if he chases me to the front yard, Dabao is there...’

Ji Huan gritted her teeth, gripping the cleaver with both hands and holding it in front of her chest—if that person dared to come this way, she would strike and catch him by surprise.

’But maybe I don’t need to be so pessimistic. Dahuang is handling one intruder, and Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding are no pushovers. Working together, they should have no problem dealing with the other one.’

Just as she had this thought, she saw one of the puppies—Jia, Yi, Bing, or Ding—lunge fiercely at the standing figure.

Ji Huan clenched her fists, screaming internally, ’Get him! Bite him! Bi—’

Before she could finish her thought, Ji Huan was dumbfounded.

Was this intruder a Beast Tamer? Why else wouldn’t Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding bite him? Even the one that had lunged at him suddenly slammed on the brakes.

’Are these little idiots part husky? How could they reach a consensus with the enemy so easily? I’ve raised them for nothing!’

Ji Huan was so internally furious she could have spat blood, and a sense of panic began to set in.

’I might be a little clever, but my combat ability is basically zero. Could I chant scriptures at the crook and persuade him to turn over a new leaf? The problem is, I don’t know how to chant.’

’It’s over. I’m done for!’

’Bride found dead in a pool of blood on the eve of her wedding. That’d make headlines even in the modern world. I just hope Guan Shan doesn’t end up with psychological trauma.’

’And Dabao, what will happen to Dabao...’

As her mind raced with wild thoughts, she suddenly saw the man wave at her.

Ji Huan: "..." ’His eyesight is that good? I was hidden so well.’

’Besides, a thief is a thief. Why is he waving hello? Is he trying to show how famous he is? That there’s honor among thieves?’

’The puppies are a lost cause.’

’I don’t know how skilled this man is, but with nerves of steel like that, he’s clearly no ordinary character.’

’And now he’s found my hiding spot...’

Ji Huan sized up the situation and concluded she was no match for him at all.

’If I scream for help, there are no neighbors nearby; no one would hear me even if I shouted my lungs out. And I probably can’t even get away.’

’In that case, it’s better for mother and son to be together. If we bolt the door to the main house, maybe we can make a last stand.’

’Otherwise, if I die, Dabao probably won’t escape a gruesome fate either.’

In a split second, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind.

Ji Huan turned to run, but the shadowy figure spoke.

"Come back. It’s me."

’Huh?’ Ji Huan stopped dead in her tracks.

’That voice sounds a little familiar!’

"Guan Shan???"

The figure paused, then repeated, "It’s me."

Ji Huan hesitantly walked over, cleaver in hand. The closer she got, the calmer she felt.

By the time she was near, even though it was too pitch-black to see his face clearly, she was almost certain it was Guan Shan.

No wonder Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding didn’t bite him. Although Ding was the most frequent visitor to the mud hut, his brothers and sisters had been there often enough too. They were naturally familiar with Guan Shan’s scent.

The tension that had stretched Ji Huan to her breaking point suddenly snapped. "Why is it you? You... wait, then he is..."

Ji Huan pointed at the man on the ground.

She saw Dahuang toying with him like a cat with a mouse—biting and releasing, then releasing and biting again. The man, whose screams had been so full-throated just moments ago, was now reduced to mere whimpers.

Then Dahuang suddenly stopped, let out a low growl at Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, and the puppies, as if on command, swarmed forward and began prodding the man with their paws.

Ji Huan was exasperated. ’Is this a live demonstration?’

"Dahuang!" Any more of this "playing," and the man would be dead.

Dahuang reluctantly retracted its paws. Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding all turned to look at Ji Huan.

Ji Huan ignored them and asked Guan Shan, "What’s going on?"

Guan Shan’s explanation was quite concise: "I saw someone climbing your wall."

"You saw someone climbing the wall, so you decided to climb it too?"

Guan Shan fell silent for a moment.

The truth was, when he’d spotted the man, he was just reaching the top of the wall.

He had thrown a stone, intending to knock the man off, but his strength was off, and he ended up knocking the man *into* the yard instead.

Guan Shan looked down at his right hand. Ji Huan was right. His current grip strength was weaker than even an ordinary person’s.

Seeing him silent and seemingly dejected, Ji Huan assumed he knew he was in the wrong.

"It’s good that you know you were wrong. How long has it been since you recovered, and you’re already climbing walls? Why don’t you just try flying while you’re at it? Dahuang is in the yard. The thief didn’t scare me, but you certainly scared me half to death."

Ji Huan was still annoyed just thinking about it. The moment he vaulted over the wall, her legs had gone weak.

But then again, he was trying to be a hero, so she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsher.

"Is your leg okay? How did you even get over a wall this high?"

"There’s a tree outside the wall..." Guan Shan seemed unwilling to elaborate, pointing to the ground. "See who he is."

’Oh, right. There’s still an intruder to deal with.’

Ji Huan went back to the front yard to get an oil lamp. When she returned, she saw Guan Shan picking something up near Dahuang’s "villa" and breaking it open to sniff it.

"What’s that?"

"A meat bun. It’s been drugged."

Ji Huan’s eyes widened. ’He sure has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.’

If Dahuang had actually eaten this bun, and if Guan Shan hadn’t happened to see the intruder, her chances of surviving the night would have been slim.

A fire of rage simmering inside her, she walked over to the man and squatted down. As she brought the oil lamp closer, the man’s face was fully illuminated.

Ji Huan was taken aback for a second, then she smiled. ’Well, look who it is. An old acquaintance.’

"I was wondering who it could be. So it was you, Cousin Juncai. Why climb walls when there’s a perfectly good front gate? Now look at this mess. My dog doesn’t know you. It must have thought it saw one of its own kind and got a little carried away in its excitement..."

Those drooping eyes, that sullen glare—who else could it be but Huang Juncai.

Ji Huan shook her head and tutted as she spoke.

’Tragic. Truly tragic.’

His clothes were torn to shreds, revealing bloody flesh underneath. It was obvious at a glance that his injuries were not light.

Luckily, Dahuang was giving the pups a practical lesson today. Otherwise, it was hard to say if he would have even kept his life.

Ji Huan had no intention of scolding Dahuang in the slightest.

If it had been anyone else who got bitten today, she might have felt a shred of pity.

But since the one bitten was Huang Juncai, all Ji Huan wanted was to give Dahuang an extra chicken leg.

At this moment, Huang Juncai had regained a bit of his strength.

He stared daggers at Ji Huan, squeezing two words through his gritted teeth: "You... bitch!"

Guan Shan’s eyes darkened, but Ji Huan stopped him. "I’ll handle this."

She placed the oil lamp on the ground, stood up, and crossed her arms, looking down at Huang Juncai with an incredibly infuriating posture.

Then she suddenly lifted her foot and kicked him hard in the arm.

Hearing his sudden, high-pitched shriek, Ji Huan’s smile grew even brighter.

"Ever heard the saying, ’The one who starts it is the real scumbag’? You didn’t know?"