Chapter 60: Beating Up My Brother

  With the indication of that finger, my master quickly took me to a wall seam and found my lower front tooth. After finding my lower front tooth, my master immediately took me back to Zhushan Temple.

  I originally thought that finding my teeth back would be complicated and I would encounter many dangers. But what I didn't expect was that my master simply used a move called "Dripping Blood to Find Bones" and easily helped me find the front tooth that had been taken away by the exterminating grandma.

  After retrieving the door teeth, my danger was temporarily lifted, and my master sent me back to Shimavillage.

  Time flew by and several months passed, during which nothing strange happened in Shimawan Village. As for me, I went to school obediently from Monday to Friday and went to Zhushan Temple to learn from my master on weekends.

  Just when everyone thought Shimayuan Village had finally returned to calm, another strange thing happened.

  It was early February 1989, and the Lunar New Year's Eve should have been on February 5th that year. On the fifth night of the first lunar month, Liu Daqiang accidentally discovered that his younger brother Liu Nangzi had slipped out of the house at midnight with a bare back.

  To know that during the first month, the weather in our place was still very cold. At that time, there were no down jackets, but everyone wore sweaters and overcoats during that season.

  Originally, Liu Quezi running out in the middle of the night would have already raised suspicions, let alone him running out with his upper body exposed.

  Liu Daqiang thought Liu Quezi was possessed by an evil spirit, so when Liu Quezi slipped away, he shouted at him a few times. However, unfortunately, the few shouts from Liu Daqiang seemed to have gone unheard by Liu Quezi.

  To say, Liu Dajiang's roar at that time was very loud, and the villagers living near Liu Dajiang's home also heard it. Therefore, if Liu Zhang didn't go mad, he must have been able to hear it. Therefore, if Liu Zhang wasn't going mad, then he must be pretending on purpose.

  No matter whether that Liu guy was possessed or not, no matter if he heard it or not. Liu Daqiang, as the big brother, had to follow along and see what's going on.

  It's just that after Liu Daqiang chased him out, that Liu Qiu had already run away without a trace. You should know that Liu Qiu was a cripple, so he couldn't have run that fast.

  Also, last night was just after the rain, and the road outside Liu Dajiang's house is a dirt road. Liu Daizui had just run away from that muddy road, so he must have left footprints behind. Liu Dajiang can follow those footprints to chase after Liu Daizui.

  But what made Liu Daqiang strange was that he searched for half a day with torches on the muddy road, and found many footprints, but none of his brother Liu Quezi's.

  Liu Dajiang dared to make such a determination because Liu Zuozi was lame, and the footprints he left on the ground must have been deep and shallow. Also, Liu Dajiang was after all Liu Zuozi's elder brother, so he still knew the size of Liu Zuozi's shoes.

  Liu Dajiang had never had blurred vision before, so he didn't believe that his eyes were playing tricks on him just now.

  Liu Quezi and Liu Dajiang lived in the same yard, their houses were separated by only one wall. Therefore, if Liu Dajiang wanted to confirm whether he had just been dazzled or not, all he needed to do was go knock on Liu Quezi's door and see if he was at home, then he would be able to determine it.

  Thinking of this, Liu Dajiang went to the door of Liu Dazui's house and knocked on his door. Liu Dajiang shouted outside the door for half a day, but there was no movement inside. From this, Liu Dajiang confirmed that he had not been mistaken earlier, and his brother Liu Dazui had indeed run out.

  But if Liu is really gone, shouldn't this gate be locked from the inside? Could it be that Liu left through the back door.

  Thinking of this, Liu Dajiang immediately went to the back door of Liu Zuozi's house with a torch. After seeing the back door of Liu Zuozi's house, Liu Dajiang became even more suspicious, because the back door of Liu Zuozi's house was also locked from the inside.

  Both front and back doors were closed from the inside, which means Liu Daizhi must not have gone out. Now, Liu Dajiang had to admit that he was seeing flowers in his eyes just now.

  Liu Daqiang is a person who will not rest until he gets to the bottom of things. As long as he hasn't seen his brother Liu Zuizi, he won't be at peace. Therefore, Liu Daqiang immediately went home and found a small knife, preparing to use it to pry open the door hinge of Liu Zuizi's house and go inside to take a look, to see if his brother Liu Zuizi was really at home or not.

  When Liu Dajiang went home to fetch a knife, his wife Zhu Fen tried to dissuade him. Zhu Fen told Liu Dajiang that since the door of Liu Qiu's house was bolted from the inside, Liu Qiu must still be at home.

  Although Liu Daqiang is his elder brother, it's still not quite right to open the door of Liu Zuo's home with a knife without permission. If Liu Zuo was really not at home, that would be fine. But if he was at home, Liu Daqiang's actions might affect their fraternal feelings.

  As for these principles, Liu Daqiang's heart is still quite clear. However, at this moment, Liu Daqiang is more worried about the safety of his brother Liu Zuozong. Therefore, these trivial matters cannot stop his actions.

  Zhu Fen saw that Liu Daqiang was not moving, so she didn't bother him anymore. Zhu Fen, this woman, has a lot of heart in such things. Zhu Fen is very clear that this matter can only be between Liu Daqiang and his brother Liu Tanzi, and she cannot intervene. Therefore, she did not follow Liu Daqiang to open the door of Liu Tanzi's house, but went to sleep directly, pretending to know nothing.

  Liu Dajiang took a small knife and went to Liu Zhi's house again. Unlocking the door was something that ordinary thieves were good at, but for Liu Dajiang, an honest farmer, it was indeed very difficult.

  Liu Dajiang inserted the small knife into the door gap and poked it for half a day, but the door bolt didn't show any signs of loosening. Just as Liu Dajiang's hand was getting numb from poking, his head was hit by a blunt object.

  With a loud "thud", Liu Daqiang fell to the ground, unconscious.

  The one who beat Liu Daqiang was his younger brother, Liu Qiangzi. However, at this time, Liu Qiangzi was not bare-chested, but dressed in clothes. After seeing Liu Daqiang faint, Liu Qiangzi immediately shouted loudly.

  "Come on! Catch the thief! Come on!" Liu Lamei yelled with his hoarse voice.

  Liu Quezi let out a loud roar and the villagers nearby all came out.

  At first, everyone only saw a person lying in front of the gate of Liu's house and didn't notice that it was Liu Dazhuang. Before everyone knew it was Liu Dazhuang, Liu Zuozi vividly told the whole story.

  Liu Quezi said that he was sleeping in bed, and suddenly heard a noise outside the door. He got out of bed and came to the main room. As soon as he entered the main room, he found someone using a knife to pry open the lock on his front door.

  It's midnight, and someone is knocking on other people's doors. If it's not a thief, what else could it be? So Liu Zhuang readily picked up a wooden stick, went out through the back door, walked to the back of that thief, and struck him down with one blow.

  After being hit, that person fell down. Seeing the person fall down, Liu Cripple shouted out and the villagers also rushed over upon hearing the news.

  Just as Liu was vividly describing his fight with the bandits, Zhu Fen suddenly rushed over in a flurry.

  "Great! Great!" Zhu Fen rushed onto Liu Daqiang's body, which was lying on the ground, crying and shouting at the same time.

  It was only then that the villagers discovered that the thief who had been knocked unconscious by Liu Daizui was actually Liu Dajiang. At this time, not only were the villagers puzzled, but Liu Daizui also looked puzzled.

  "Brother! Brother!" Liu Quezi exclaimed, shaking Liu Dajiang while shouting: "Brother, what's the point of using a small knife to pry open my door? If you want something from our house, just say it directly, why sneak in at midnight?"

  As soon as Liu Zei said this, the villagers seemed to have understood something. It turns out that these Liu brothers are only superficially close, but in reality, they each have their own calculations.

  It's not hard to hear from Liu Quezi's words that Liu Dajiang must have taken a fancy to something in Liu Quezi's family, so he came to steal in the middle of the night. And as for Liu Quezi, he must have known that it was his brother who opened the door, and the way he knocked on the door with a stick and the play he put on afterwards were all intentional.

  The official found it difficult to mediate the family affair, and after confirming that the person lying on the ground was indeed Liu Dajiang, the villagers dispersed. It's a big festival, no one wants to get involved in such troubles.