The First Volume of Qinghe County

  Ximen Qing had just stepped into Purple Stone Street when he suddenly came to his senses and wondered how he had ended up there, following in the footsteps of who-knows-who.

  The tea house of Wang Po's wife is already clearly visible ahead, Ximen Qing suddenly stopped in his tracks and pulled back An Daquan who was about to proceed: "Brother, wrong way! Wrong way!"

  "Huh? Isn't brother a local? How can you still get lost?" An Daoquan's face was full of confusion, pointing to the faintly visible Baifang Building in front: "Isn't that place Baifang Building?"

  "This is indeed the Xifang Building." Ximen Qing coughed: "But this street in front of us is a dead end, we can't get through. I made a wrong turn just now, sorry about that."

  "Oh." An Daquan furrowed his brow in half-belief and half-doubt as he followed Ximen Qing out of Purple Stone Street, starting to circle around...

  When Ximen Qing and An Daquan saw the gate of Baifeng Tower, Yu Ge was still guarding the stairs downstairs, listening to Wu Dalang's loud scolding upstairs, as well as the sound of a wooden board being smashed against the bed.

  "Why can't I hear Ximen Qing and Liu Niang's voices? Is it just Wu Da scolding?" Yu Ge felt more and more uneasy: "Could it be that one blow of the carrying pole went down and directly killed him?"

  Thinking that Pan Jinlian might have died, Yu Ge couldn't bear it anymore and was just about to go upstairs when a voice came from behind: "Yu Ge, what are you doing in my house?"

  Yue Ge's whole body shook, and he slowly turned around to see Pan Jinlian with a surprised face in front of him, while Wang Po was still frowning and listening for any noise.

  "Yuan Ge, I'm asking what's going on upstairs? Has Wu Da come back?" Wang Po pointed to the upper floor: "This commotion, it can't be that they want to dismantle the house, right?"

  "Isn't Ximen Qing upstairs?" Yu Ge blurted out in a flurry, and immediately came to his senses, realizing he had misspoken. Pan Jinlian was standing right in front of him, so naturally there was no Ximen Qing upstairs.

  So who is Wu Dalang fighting now?

  "The scolding voice upstairs, isn't it Wu Da?" Pan Jinlian also asked: "I and my mother-in-law heard it in the tea house next door, we thought someone had broken into our home."

  Yue Ge scratched his hair, not knowing how to start. He couldn't just say that he and Wu Dalang had rushed in to catch an adulterer, now Ximen Qing was not upstairs, Pan Jinlian was sitting idle at Wang Po's place, also not upstairs, where did this catching adultery come from?

  "Big Brother Da Lang was selling pancakes on the street, and his chest seemed to be a bit stuffy." Yu Ge thought for a moment and could only say: "I helped him back, but the front door was locked, so we had to come in through the backyard. Unexpectedly, Big Brother Da Lang rushed upstairs like crazy as soon as he came in..."

  Yu Ge said, at this point, the three of them couldn't help but look up at the ceiling. Wu Dalang seemed to be getting tired, his swinging of the shovel was slowing down, but he still kept cursing nonstop.

  "Scoundrel! Whore! I'll beat you both to death!"

  "I'll hit! Hit again!"

  Wang Po listened and worriedly said: "This Wu Da, won't he have gotten a case of lovesickness?"

  Pan Jinlian frowned as she listened to Wu Dalang's constant insults, her heart filled with disgust. When would this kind of life come to an end? Since the last time at the Jade Emperor Temple, where she was accidentally hugged by Ximen Qing and created a predestined relationship, Pan Jinlian's tender heart had secretly been tied to Ximen Qing.

  So these days, Pan Jinlian's mood is very sunny, seeing the sky going to Wang Po's teahouse sitting, chatting and drinking tea, doing some needlework, just waiting for the sound of Ximen Qing's footsteps at the door.

  Unexpectedly, just a few days after not seeing Ximen Qing, Wu Dalang got into this kind of trouble again.

  Pan Jinlian and Wu Song were at a loss, while Wang Po suddenly produced a rolling pin used for making pancakes from who-knows-where and grasped it in her hand: "This lunatic is also not to be delayed, the longer we take, the more people will go mad and won't be able to be saved. I'll go first, you two follow behind me, wait for an opportunity to knock Wu Song unconscious, only then can he be rescued."

  After finishing speaking, Wang Po didn't wait for Pan Jinlian and Yu Ge to respond, she pushed Yu Ge aside, picked up the rolling pin and went upstairs.

  Yu Ge's mind was dizzy and he didn't know what to do, but Pan Jinlian gritted her teeth, lifted her skirt and closely followed Wang Po. Yu Ge then came back to his senses and also followed them.

  Like this, Wang Po led the way, Pan Jinlian was in the middle, and Xue Gongcao brought up the rear. The three of them slowly climbed the stairs. Xue Gongcao raised his head to take a peek upstairs, but what caught his eye were Pan Jinlian's two sturdy little legs, white as snow, which made him lose his concentration all at once.

  "These two long legs can last for three years of play."

  Yu Ge couldn't help but swallow his saliva repeatedly, and because of the beauty in front of him, he climbed even slower. The Wang Po in front had already poked out half her body, looking at Wu Dalang with a broken head and scattered hair, facing away from herself, weakly holding up a carrying pole to knock on the bed board.

  But on the bed there was no one, only a quilt that was usually covered every day, which had been beaten by Wu Dalang to be dirty.

  "I hit... I hit..." Wu Dalang's throat made a gurgling sound, his hands moving in mechanical motions.

  The old woman stood up straight and beckoned with her hand for them to come quickly.

  Pan Jinlian saw Wang Po's hand gesture and quietly climbed up to stand beside her, while Xue Pinggui was momentarily blinded by the sight of a pair of slender legs that suddenly disappeared from view, muttering a curse under his breath as he slowly followed suit.

  When he came up, Yuan Ge saw Wu Dalang's crazy appearance and was frightened. His foot slipped and his body fell down the stairs, making a loud cry. Fortunately, Pan Jinlian was quick-witted and grabbed Yuan Ge's hand in time. The two of them pulled with all their might and managed to pull Yuan Ge back up.

  Yu Ge was still in a state of shock, but he wasn't too scared that he almost rolled down the stairs, instead, he took advantage of the opportunity to feel the softness of Pan Jinlian's palm and almost lost his soul.

  Wu Dalang's shoulder jerked up, and he was about to turn around when Wang Po, in a state of panic, swung the rolling pin in her hand and struck Wu Dalang on the back of his head.

  This rolling pin was made of a slightly thicker bamboo tube, polished smooth, and not heavy in itself. Moreover, Wang Po was quite bold, but when she saw Wu Dalang's crazy appearance, her hands softened, so this time, although it hit a dull sound, it was actually not serious.

  Only to see Wu Dalang being knocked and frightened, he immediately turned around, the three of them saw that Wu Dalang's face was completely covered with hair, even his eyes were half-covered, unable to see his expression, but his whole face was full of sweat, his hair was stuck to his face, as if he was wearing a mask full of hair, very frightening!

  "You dare to hit me, you rascal!" Wu Dalang cursed loudly, his intimidating appearance matching his words perfectly. Suddenly, he recognized Wang Po and raised the flatbread shovel in his hand, ready to strike her.

  If this hit the vital spot, Wang Po would have at least suffered a concussion. Seeing that she hadn't knocked Wu Dalang unconscious with one blow, and seeing Wu Dalang in such a state, her legs even went soft, wanting to use the rolling pin in her hand to block it, but surprisingly couldn't lift it up.

  Pan Jinlian, seeing the situation was critical, didn't care about anything else, snatched the rolling pin from Wang Po and jumped up to heavily strike Wu Dalang's forehead!

  Pan Jinlian was originally not very strong, but she had gotten used to using the rolling pin every day, it felt very natural in her hands. Plus, with her being anxious and flustered, she didn't have time to think, and without realizing it, she had exerted all her strength!

  This jumping action is also Pan Jinlian's usual noodle-pulling move when she doesn't have enough strength, often jumping up to add her own weight!

  With a loud "thud!", Wu Dalang directly dropped his carrying pole and fell backwards, Pan Jinlian's blow was ruthless, even the rolling pin was slapped out of her hand with a crack, at the same time Pan Jinlian was also shaken back and couldn't hold on to it, the rolling pin didn't know where it flew to.

  Wu Dalang's forehead quickly turned from green to red, and then to purple, with a big lump coming out. Even Wang Po and Yuan Ge were shocked, taking in a breath of cold air, thinking Wu Dalang was done for.

  "This is going to get me killed! I'm doomed!" Yu Ge wiped the sweat from his forehead, deeply regretting sneaking a peek at Pan Jinlian's under-skirt scenery earlier. If Pan Jinlian had noticed, he'd probably be dead by now.

  Pan Jinlian, although she had knocked down Wu Dalang, herself was also weak and paralyzed on the floor, it took her a long time to say: "Mother-in-law, what should we do next? I'm completely out of energy."

  "Sixth lady, it seems like you used a bit too much strength that time." Wang Po smiled wryly: "Let's first see if the person is still alive or not."

  "Yuan Ge, come and help me out, lift Wu Da onto the bed first."

  Wu Song's hands and feet had also gone soft, and with a great effort he and Wang Po managed to lift Wu Dalang onto the bed board. After half a day of exertion, they finally dragged him onto the bed. Wang Po grabbed Wu Dalang's hand and felt his pulse, then pressed her ear against his chest to listen.

  "Mother-in-law, what's going on?" Pan Jinlian asked weakly as she sat on the kang.

  "The man is still alive, nothing's wrong!" Wang Po raised her head and ordered Yu'erge to go downstairs to fetch a basin of water. She found a towel, wet it, and applied it to the large lump on Wu Dalang's forehead, only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

  "Sixth lady, fortunately you didn't have enough strength, if someone had died, how would we explain it to Wu Er when he comes back?" Wang Po sat on the edge of the bed, full of worry.

  Pan Jinlian struggled to get up and sat on a chair: "I was also in a hurry just now, if I didn't hit this stick, you might be in trouble..."

  Wan Gong stood in the middle, looked at Wang Po and then at Pan Jinlian: "Later when Da Lang wakes up, what to do?"

  "In my experience, those who have lost their minds and then regained consciousness will forget what happened before." Old Lady Wang thought for a moment and said:

  "If Wu Da wakes up and asks about the big bump on his forehead, just say he accidentally rolled down the stairs and bumped it himself."

  "But there's one thing, when Wu Da asks, you must all be consistent in your words, can't contradict each other. If not, Wu Da will become suspicious and might even fall ill."

  "I naturally know." Pan Jinlian sighed and said, "In a moment I'll go to the pharmacy to get him a prescription for calming his nerves, let's see if it works."

  Yu Ge didn't expect that a single misjudgment would lead to such a big deal, so he had to make up an excuse and leave first.

  Wu Dalang, with a big package on his forehead, was still lying in bed, unconscious...