Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

At the door stood Wang Laosi, who lived next door to Li Jianjun. He was panting and looked terrified: "Inspector Liu, come quick! Li Kaixuan was stabbed by his wife with scissors! There's blood everywhere! Accountant Li is trying to beat his wife to death!"

"What exactly happened?" Liu Xiangyang hurriedly stepped forward to help him up.

"I don't know! I just heard a loud commotion, and then Li Kaixuan screamed like a pig being slaughtered. We ran over to see what was happening and found Li Kaixuan lying on the ground, his crotch area all red. Gu Xiaoyu was standing next to him with scissors, her face swollen from being hit. Accountant Li was looking for a rope to tie him up!"

"Go to the clinic and call Dr. Han over right away! Tell him I sent him, hurry up!" Liu Xiangyang said quickly.

Wang Laosi responded and turned to run towards the clinic.

Liu Xiangyang turned around and quickly instructed the people inside: "Bingbing, you all go back to your own yards and don't stay here. Lock the door. I'm going to check on Accountant Li."

He pushed his bicycle and walked out, then turned back to Leqi, who had followed him, and said, "Go and call Secretary Zhang and Captain Wang, and go directly to Accountant Li's house."

There were many people outside Li Jianjun's yard, buzzing with discussion, but no one dared to go in.

Liu Xiangyang pushed through the crowd: "Disperse! Don't crowd around!"

He pushed the cart into the courtyard. The door to the main room was open, and the light shone through, illuminating the chaotic scene inside.

Li Kaixuan lay curled up on a makeshift stretcher made of door panels, clutching his lower body, his face pale, groaning softly, a large dark red stain on his pants still seeping blood.

Gu Xiaoyu was kneeling in the corner of the yard with her hands tied behind her back. Her hair was disheveled, half of her face was swollen, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth. She stared blankly at the ground without saying a word.

Li Jianjun clutched a carrying pole in his hand, his chest heaving violently, while his wife sat on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing.

"Accountant Li! Put down the carrying pole!" Liu Xiangyang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable force.

When Li Jianjun saw him, his eyes turned even redder: "Inspector Liu, you've come at the perfect time! This vicious woman! She tried to kill my son! I'm sending her to the police station to be executed!"

"The matter is not yet clear, so no one can make any moves!" Liu Xiangyang squatted down first to check Li Kaixuan's injuries.

The wound is located on the lower abdomen, not in a vital area, but it is quite large and the bleeding is significant.

He tore off the hem of his shirt and pressed it hard above the wound. "Press it here!" he shouted to a dazed neighbor standing nearby.

The neighbor quickly came over to help press on Li Kaixuan's wound.

At this moment, Dr. Han rushed over with his medicine kit, followed by Zhang Tiejun and Wang Lixin, who were panting heavily.

"Dr. Han, come take a look!" Liu Xiangyang made way for him.

Dr. Han quickly examined the wound, cleaned it, applied medication, and bandaged it. "The bleeding has stopped temporarily, but the injury is quite serious. We need to get him to the county hospital immediately! Otherwise, infection or internal bleeding could cause serious problems!"

"Send them away! Send them away now!" Li Jianjun roared, then pointed at Gu Xiaoyu, "And this murderer too! Arrest them both!"

"Li Jianjun! Calm down!" Zhang Tiejun shouted. "Getting him to the hospital to save his life is the most important thing! Wang Lixin, go and hitch up the car!"

Wang Lixin responded and ran off.

Liu Xiangyang walked up to Gu Xiaoyu and untied the ropes binding her hands. "Can you speak? What happened?"

Gu Xiaoyu looked up at him, her eyes vacant yet filled with a fierce intensity. "He was drunk and wanted to beat me, beat me to death. I ran away, and he chased me into the house, pinned me to the kang (a heated brick bed), and tried to take off my pants... I found a pair of scissors under the kang mat and stabbed him." Her voice was hoarse, but her words were clear.

"You're talking nonsense! How could my son..." Li Jianjun's wife screamed.

"Don't you, as his mother, know whether he's capable or not?" Gu Xiaoyu suddenly turned to look at her, her eyes frightening. "He's impotent, so he takes it out on me. This isn't the first time! If it weren't for these scissors today, I..."

"Shut up, all of you!" Zhang Tiejun interrupted, exasperated. "This isn't the time to argue! Lixin, is the car ready yet?"

"alright!"

"Get Li Kaixuan into the car first. Accountant Li, you come with him! Saving lives is the priority!" Zhang Tiejun directed.

Li Jianjun watched his son being lifted into the car, then glared fiercely at Gu Xiaoyu before gritting his teeth and following the car away.

The courtyard suddenly became much quieter.

Zhang Tiejun waved to the neighbors who were still there: "Everyone, disperse! Go do what you were doing! Nobody is allowed to spread rumors about what happened tonight!"

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Zhang Tiejun, Wang Lixin, Liu Xiangyang, and Gu Xiaoyu, who had been untied but was still kneeling on the ground, remained in the messy courtyard.

"This matter..." Zhang Tiejun took out cigarettes and handed them to Liu Xiangyang and Wang Lixin, "It's troublesome."

"Gu Xiaoyu acted in self-defense." Liu Xiangyang lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said, "Li Kaixuan committed domestic violence and attempted rape. She resisted, but even if she goes to the police station, she may not be found guilty."

"That's true," Wang Lixin frowned, "but Li Jianjun only has this one son, and now that he's injured like this, do you think he'll let it go? If he makes a scene, Gu Xiaoyu will suffer a lot, and our village's reputation will be ruined, making it difficult for future generations to find spouses."

"So we can't let him cause trouble." Liu Xiangyang flicked his cigarette ash. "Li Kaixuan's injury is to his stomach, not that life-threatening area."

"He's recovered and is fine. What Li Jianjun fears most is two things: first, that his son is really gone; and second, that if word gets out, his son's and his family's reputations will be completely ruined."

Zhang Tiejun looked at Gu Xiaoyu, who had remained silent, and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Gu Xiaoyu raised her head, her face expressionless: "I have no opinion. Either he beats me to death, or... I'll just stay like this."

Liu Xiangyang said, "When Li Jianjun comes back, he'll definitely cause trouble. As an inspector, I'll step in to mediate. Gu Xiaoyu can't be handed over to him, or someone will die."

"Let her stay in the empty house behind the brigade headquarters for now, as a form of supervision and protection. We'll talk to Li Jianjun again when he returns from the hospital."

Zhang Tiejun thought for a moment and nodded: "That's all we can do for now. The house is a bit dilapidated, but it can be tidied up and made habitable. Lixin, find two reliable people to help tidy it up, and send someone to keep an eye on it."

"Okay," Wang Lixin agreed.

"Gu Xiaoyu, come with us first," Liu Xiangyang said to her.

Gu Xiaoyu silently got up, patted the dirt off her body, and followed behind Liu Xiangyang.

The empty building behind the brigade headquarters used to be used for storing miscellaneous items. It was indeed dilapidated, but it could still provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Wang Lixin had someone clean up a bit, brought in an old wooden bed and a broken table, and also brought in a pot of hot water and two steamed buns.

Liu Xiangyang said to Gu Xiaoyu, "You can stay here tonight. There are people outside, so you're safe. We can talk about the rest tomorrow."

Gu Xiaoyu stood in the dimly lit room and nodded.

Before leaving, Liu Xiangyang took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table: "This is medicine given by Dr. Han. Apply some to the wounds on your face."

Gu Xiaoyu looked at the porcelain bottle but didn't move.

Liu Xiangyang didn't say anything more, closed the door, and left. Outside the door, Wang Lixin's nephew, whom he had arranged, squatted under the eaves to keep watch.

On the way back, Zhang Tiejun sighed, "What kind of mess is this?"

Wang Lixin angrily retorted, "Li Kaixuan brought this upon himself!"

Liu Xiangyang remained silent. He knew this wasn't over yet; the real confrontation would begin when Li Jianjun returned from the county hospital.

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What do you all think of Gu Xiaoyu? Should you accept her or not? Let me know in the comments.