Chapter 625: 625: Striking Someone

On what grounds do they take her away?

Tong Sanlang curled his lips, a cold smile forming on his handsome face, “On the grounds that trafficking in persons is illegal, if you don’t believe it, try stopping me.”

They hadn’t seen how he had brutally dealt with Zhan Jin earlier.

At his arrogant words, two strong, young men who seemed to be in their twenties, tall and gangly, stepped out of the onlooking crowd.

“If you want to take her, you’ll have to get past us first!” one of them boldly declared.

Seeing this, Tong Sanlang’s cold smile deepened, “It seems necessary to report this to the County Town authorities, let the County Magistrate investigate your village.”

Zhuang Luhe was bought, and human trafficking is a crime, yet they were trying to stop him even after his declarations.

They were covering up for Zhan Jin’s previous act of murder as well.

Birds of a feather, indeed.

The customs of these villagers are truly vile.

Upon hearing Tong Sanlang bring up the County Magistrate, their faces showed clear fear and they retreated a few steps, yet they still circled the ox cart, refusing to disperse.

At that moment, a loud cursing voice echoed from afar, “Which blind scoundrel dares to cause trouble in my home!”

Tong Sanlang looked in the direction of the voice to see a haggard woman in her fifties rushing over, cursing as she ran, brandishing a thick wooden stick in her hand.

Zhuang Luhe stilled as she recognized her voice.

Seeing this, Tong Sanlang’s eyes narrowed, he let go of Zhuang Luhe, disappearing like a ghost, then suddenly appearing before the old woman, his leg kicking her over, just like he had done with Zhan Jin.

Without losing a beat, he returned to the entrance of Zhan Jin’s home, swept his leg across the crowd surrounding the ox-cart, kicking them all away, including the two young men who were about to stop him.

These people posed no threat to him.

He had no patience to waste time on them, and after quickly resolving the situation, he moved to assist Zhuang Luhe onto the ox-cart, saying, “Let’s go, mother.”

Zhuang Luhe seemed dazed for a moment, but with his prompting, she stiffly climbed onto the cart.

Qiao Changshun followed closely behind them and quickly got onto the cart as well.

Tong Sanlang sat in front, preparing to turn the cart around and return by the same path.

“Wait, go forward, there’s a stream ahead, where I can wash my face.” Zhuang Luhe spoke.

She looked so hideous at the moment…

Tong Sanlang thought for a moment and drove the ox-cart forward.

“Mother, Xiaomai brought a new set of clothes for you, I’ll fetch them for you in a bit.”

Upon hearing this, Qiao Changshun looked surprised, “When did she bring the clothes, and why didn’t I notice?”

“She hid them under the cushion; you were preoccupied during the journey and didn’t notice,” replied Tong Sanlang.

“Oh…I see.” Qiao Changshun nodded, accepting this explanation.

The cushion on the ox-cart was made of hemp and stuffed with wheat stalks for shock absorption. If a set of clothes was pressed under the cushion, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

The whole journey his mind was filled with concerns about Zhuang Luhe, he had no attention to spare for anything else.

The village was small, so they soon arrived at the stream.

Just as she said, it was a narrow stream, only a meter wide. Zhuang Luhe jumped down from the cart and crouched by the water to wash her face, as Qiao Changshun stood nearby, watching her.

Using his martial arts skill, Tong Sanlang quickly returned to the edge of the village.

“Huh? How come you’ve come back alone?” Qiao Xiaomai was surprised.

“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later. Where are the clothes you brought for our mother? Give them to me. She’s washing her face by a stream near the village.” Tong Sanlang reached out his hand towards Qiao Xiaomai.