Zhang Yunyan felt grieved and angry when thinking of her family hatred and hoped to cut Yan Xiaopeng into pieces. She remembered the tragic death of her parents clearly. It happened more than a decade ago. Her sister Yunxia was lost at that time. She had no news of her so far.
This was the crime of Yan Xiaopeng and made her family be destroyed. She had no news of her brother Yuntian and sister Yunxia. Perhaps, she was the only person of family Zhang living lives in the world.
Yunyan vowed to slaughter Living Yama to avenge her parents. This was a life-long vow and must be completed.
In the midst of pain and despair, the disaster of more than a decade ago came to her mind again. She felt grieved and angry to the extreme.
Zhang Yunyan"s hometown was in Shuanghe county, Linjiang province. There was a Lianhu Village on the east side of the county. Her family lived in the village.
Here, the mountains in the distance were continuous. Then, it was plain.
There was a Jade Dragon Lake in the east of the village and it was the origin of the name of the village.
The water of Jade Dragon Lake was coming from the mountains. The lake was wide and one could not see its edge. It was a picturesque place with beautiful scenery.
In the legend, there was a white dragon in the Jade Dragon Lake, which was shining and powerful. This white dragon cared about people"s livelihood and exerted its skills to manage the land in peace. People there lived in happy lives.
The white dragon hated the bad guys deeply. Sometimes, it would use the magical fire to burn them out or drown them with stirring the water.
Since ancient time, no one had ever met the white dragon. People suffered a lot but the bad guys lived very comfortably. The legend was very good, but just a beautiful hope in people"s hearts, the embodiment of their pray, and the spiritual sustenance. However, poverty and suffering had not been changed.
Although there was no white dragon in Jade Dragon Lake, fish and shrimps were abundant, bringing livelihood for the people around to make livings.
People in Lianhu Village made livings by farming and fishing. They have one more way to make livings than others without a lake.
However, it did not improve people"s living in Jade Dragon Lake. People were still poor and could not see any hope.
They were busy all year round. They had to plant crops and catch fish, but still could not fill their stomachs. In addition to the harsh taxes of the government, they would be bullied by the bad guys. They lived in a bad life.
Zhang Yunyan"s father named Zhang Erlin and her mother was Mrs. Zhou. They relied on farming and fishing.
In that year, Mrs. Zhou was 25 years old. She was young and beautiful. Although she had got married for many years, she looked younger than her age and looked like a girl at 20 years old. She was kind and warm. Villagers there like to get along with her. They were harmonious.
The couple had a boy and two girls. The boy was Zhang Yuntian, the elder daughter was Zhang Yunyan, while the younger daughter was Zhang Yunxia.
That year, Zhang Yuntian was seven years old, Zhang Yunyan was at five, while little Yunxia was less than four. Their names were good and had some knowledge, which was given by the teacher in the village.
Their names contained their parents" wishes, hoping that they could have good careers when they grew up and bringing some blessings for their kids and family.
Yan Xiaopeng found that Jade Dragon Lake was a cornucopia and gathered some bullies to conquer this place.
He set his own rules over there that one must pay for it if he wanted to get into the lake. Otherwise, he would not be allowed to fish. If someone disobeyed his order and sneaked into the lake, he would break his boat and beat him badly.
People were suffering and the days were even more miserable.
The government knew it and people would accuse Yan Xiaopeng of his crimes sometimes, but the officers had accepted his bribe and ignored people"s reports, allowing him to do what he wanted.
In this regard, Zhang Erlin was angry and hateful, but could do nothing. Poor people could not fight against the government and bullies. They could only endure all the sufferings.
However, being tolerant did not give family Zhang a chance to avoid the disaster. A great catastrophe was coming for them...
In the past few days, Zhang Erlin caught a cold and could not work. He had a few medicines to get better. The government forced him to hand over the tax and the bullies asked him for debt. Their family had no money to feed themselves. Zhang Erlin had to go into the lake to catch fish in his weak body condition.
When he arrived at the lake, he was stopped by Yan Xiaopeng"s vicious servants. One named Li Tietou, while the other named Chen Dahu. They asked him for payment to get into the lake.
Zhang Erlin was penniless and had to plead them. He hoped to get into the lake to catch some fish first and sent them big ones as the payment to get into the lake.
Li Tietou and his fellow would not care about Zhang"s life. They stared at him and did not agree.
Zhang Erlin was penniless and felt both anxious and helpless. He had to plead, "Masters, please give me a chance. There is no food in my home, while the government comes for debts. I have nothing to give them. Please allow me to go fishing."
Li Tietou stared at him. "No! The government should ask you for the debt. We will do this, too. If you can"t hand over the payment to get into the lake, you can"t go fishing here!"
Zhang Erlin was worried. He kowtowed and made a bow. He continued to plead, "Masters, please. My family is starving. Please..."
Chen Dahu snorted and said, "Save your words. We need money for meat and drinks, too. Hand over the money."
It was useless for Zhang Erlin to plead, but he could not allow his family to starve. He insisted to get into the lake for fishing at this vital moment, but was tied up by the bullies and beaten.
Mrs. Zhou got this news and felt worried. She hurriedly went to save her husband. She went all the way to the lake and saw Zhang Erlin tied on the tree. She rushed to hug her husband and cried.
Zhang Erlin sighed and advised, "My love, leave me alone and go back to look after our kids. I can not live any longer. I will follow my fate!"
Mrs. Zhou stopped crying and untied her husband.
Zhang Erlin stopped her at once. He was afraid that those bullies would rush to their home and burned their house. If so, how could they continue their future life? Where should they live?
Mrs. Zhou was painful and burst into tears. Her husband was not in good condition and he did not get better from illness. How could he bear this suffering? She had to beg the vicious bullies.
She wiped her tear and hurried to the bullies" place.
This was a two-story small building by Jade Dragon Lake. Servents lived downstairs while Yan Xiaopeng lived upstairs. Living Yama would live there when he traveled there.
In front of the small building, Li Tietou and Chen Dahu were sitting in front of the door and enjoying the cool weather.
Mrs. Zhou took a few steps and squatted on the ground, pleading and kowtowing, "Masters, my husband is sick. Please let him go!"
Chen Dahu did not know Mrs. Zhou and asked, "Who are you? Are you talking about Zhang Erlin?"
"Masters, Zhang Erlin is my husband. Please let him go."
"Oh, you are Zhang Erlin"s wife. I meet you for the first time." Li Tietou giggled, looking at Mrs. Zhou while saying, "Hey, this little lady is beautiful and pitiful. She really needs our help."
Chen Dahu looked through Mrs. Zhou and praised her, "Well, she is beautiful indeed. It"s worth dying if I can hold her in my arms for a night. I have not expected that such a poor guy has such a beautiful wife. He is so lucky."
Mrs. Zhou blushed for their teasing, but could not avoid them or blame them. She had to beg them for her husband.
Li Tietou said with a smile, "Little lady, I also want to release your husband, but I can"t decide this for you. You should ask my master for advice."
Mrs. Zhou said, "Since the Lord is not here, you two can make the final decision. My husband had no choice. Please let him go. My whole family will appreciate your great grace!"
Chen Dahu smiled and said, "The little lady is really pitiful. It is not easy for her to ask for help. I can release your husband."
Mrs. Zhou was happy to hear this and thanked him for a few times.
Chen Dahu was full of l.u.s.t on his face and continue to say, "Little lady, you can"t just thank for us by your words. We have taken a big risk to help you. If our master knows about it, we will lose our job and may be punished. Since we will take such a heavy risk, we should gain something in return. It will be fair. How about serving me and my brother with your body? If we are happy, you can go back home with your husband."
Mrs. Zhou was ashamed and afraid. She was blush and her heartbeat was fast. She lowered her head and immediately responded, "Masters, don"t make fun of me. I can never do this shameless thing."
Li Tietou snorted, "We promised your requirement, but you failed us. Since we have nothing to get, why should we take the risk? If you don"t agree to serve us, we will not let go of your husband."
Mrs. Zhou was anxious and didn"t know what to do when finding that it was useless to ask them for help.
Chen Dahu advised, "Little lady, why are you so stubborn? No one would know what you did. Why are you so afraid? You should be open to save your husband. Besides, it is not a big deal. You don"t have to be so serious. After that, you can serve us from time to time and your husband can go fishing here at any time. It is not easy for you to meet this good thing."
Mrs. Zhou felt shameless and turned flush. She said angrily, "You can"t force me to do this. I will not do such a shameless thing."
Li Tietou yelled, "B*tch, you are quite stubborn. Keep your chast.i.ty. Let me see how you can save him."
Mrs. Zhou found that there was no hope to save her husband and felt very sad. She had no choice but to leave.
At this time, several people came over. Li Tietou and Chen Dahu hurriedly greeted them and made a bow to the well-dressed tall man.
The two smiled and said, "My Lord, welcome here. Why not tell us you will come here? We could have had more preparation."
The man did not look at them and said, "You don"t have to prepare. I just walk by and have a rest." He glanced at Mrs. Zhou and asked, "Who is this woman? Why does she come over here? Oh, are you guys asking her to come?"
Li Tietou hurriedly explained, "How dare we ask a woman to come here? She is a villager of Lianhu Village. Her husband did not pay for the fee to get into the lake and has been tied by us. She came here to plead for him." He said to Mrs. Zhou, "This is master Yan. Come and greet him!"
Mrs. Zhou hurriedly squatted and kowtowed when hearing his words. She continued to plead, "Master, please let go of my husband. He is too helpless to get into the lake for fishing. We have no food in my family. Please give us mercy!"
Yan Xiaopeng kept looking at Mrs. Zhou and nodded, "It is not easy for you, a woman, to come here for your husband. Your family is too poor. I can release your husband."
Mrs. Zhou was happy to hear this and thanked him again and again. "Thank you so much, my Lord! Thank you!"
Yan Xiaopeng smiled and said, "You don"t have to thank me. I can"t see the hardships of the villagers, especially women. However, I have difficulty with this issue. It will break the rules if I let go of your husband; if I don"t let him go, I will feel sorry for your family. What should I do? Let me rethink about it."
Mrs. Zhou was nervous again and pleaded him hurriedly, "My Lord, you"re magnanimous and let go of my husband, please. We will repay your kindness no matter what it costs!"
"Don"t say so. I will not ask you to do everything for me." Yan Xiaopeng thought and said, "Well, you can come to my mansion to do some sh.o.r.es for half of a month, which can be the payment for your husband to get into the lake. Your husband can go fishing here at any time. How do you think?"
Mrs. Zhou was overjoyed and hurriedly answered, "Good, good, you"re really our savor!"
"Let"s get in the room to talk about it."
Mrs. Zhou pleaded, "My Lord, my husband is sick. Please let him go now."
Yan Xiaopeng smiled and said, "Don"t worry, I will let him go. It needs to be done step by step. It has a process. Come in and I have something to make clear."
Mrs. Zhou was very happy and had not expected that Yan Xiaopeng could agree so easily. She felt relaxed and pleasant because it went smoothly."
She could not help glancing at Li Chen Tietou and Dahu. She felt emotional. It was said that Yama was easy to meet, but ghosts were difficult to deal with. It was really true.