That Day at the Village Entrance, the Bodyguard Kicked Open the Ancestral Hall Door - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When I was pinned against the old locust tree, my back hit the bark first.

It was incredibly rough, as if someone had taken sandpaper to it, and it dug into my shoulder blades with a sharp, stinging pain.

The villagers had formed two circles around me. The front row consisted entirely of men, clutching shovel handles, sickles, and carrying poles.

Behind them were the elderly and women, holding children in their arms. At their feet lay medical records, IOUs, and hospital bills; they were so exhausted they didn’t even have the strength to cry.

Someone spat at my feet.

“The Zhou Family changes their cars every day, while our wages have been delayed for five months.”

“My husband broke his leg at Jiahe Medicine Valley, and the construction site claimed he just slipped.”

“Miss Zhou, your father is hiding and won’t come out. You tell us-who do we settle this debt with?”

An eggshell smashed against my skirt, the slimy contents oozing down.

I was wearing a white haute couture dress today. Before leaving the house, I had been busy picking out earrings for tonight’s charity gala. Now, the hem of my skirt was covered in mud and rotten eggs, making me look like a pathetic joke.

What was even more of a joke was that my father had forced me to come to Jiahe Village in the first place.

Last night at the dinner table, he pushed a document toward me, saying there was some unrest regarding the demolition and compensation for Jiahe Medicine Valley. He wanted me, the project spokesperson, to go down to the countryside to appease them and take a few photos for the media to salvage the group’s image.

When he said this, his spoon clinked softly against the rim of his bowl.

“You’re not young anymore. You need to learn to take some of the burden off the family.”

I didn’t agree, but I didn’t refuse either.

In the Zhou Family, not agreeing was considered talking back, but agreeing didn’t necessarily mean there was a way out.

So, I came anyway.

As a result, the moment my car reached the village entrance, it was blocked by a tractor parked sideways. The driver ran off first, followed by the assistant, who vanished next. I didn’t even have time to dial a number on my phone before I was dragged out of the car and tied up here.

And the bodyguard who was supposed to stay by my side at all times was nowhere to be found.

Before I was dragged from the car, I had actually caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye.

He hadn’t rushed toward me. Instead, he had vaulted over the side wall of the Ancestral Hall as if he were chasing something.

Liang Xubai.

I called him my Poor Bodyguard, and I never did it behind his back.

The day he first arrived, he wore a faded white shirt with a tiny tear at the cuff. Carrying a forest-green duffel bag, he stood outside my apartment door with his head bowed submissively. He said his monthly salary was eight thousand yuan, and for that, he would handle the driving, the drinking, and the scolding-his only requirement was that we go everywhere together.

I sat on the sofa and looked at him without even raising my head.

“Eight thousand?”

“That price is only enough to hire a dog to guard my door.”

He wasn’t angry then. He simply placed his duffel bag at his feet and replied flatly, “If Miss Zhou’s home is short a dog, I can learn to be one.”

After that day, I really did treat him like a dog.

He would wait three hours at the entrance of a club, go downstairs in the middle of the night to buy hangover medicine, block unwanted hands reaching for me, and pick up the high heels I kicked away.

Whenever I found him an eyesore, I would lose my temper at him. From beginning to end, he would only ever reply with one phrase: “Understood.”

Understood, I’ll do it right away.

Understood, please don’t be angry.

Understood, I’ll wait outside.

I had never seen someone so capable of endurance.

So, at this moment, tied to the tree, my first reaction wasn’t fear-it was fury.

I couldn’t believe I had fallen because of a man like him.

“Miss Zhou, what are you dazing off for?”

The man leading the group pressed a homemade shotgun against my chin, a twitch in his eyelid as he smirked. “Doesn’t your father dote on you the most? Call him and tell him to bring the money.”

The muzzle was so cold it made my teeth ache.

I stared at him for a few seconds, and suddenly, I realized something was wrong.

People truly seeking unpaid wages wouldn’t bring guns, and they certainly wouldn’t point a muzzle at a woman’s face first.

They wanted money.

But the men in front of me wanted my life.

A cold sweat broke out across my back.

The leader seemed to see that I understood, and his grin widened. “Figured it out?”

“Too late.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a loud *thud* echoed from the Ancestral Hall.

The iron gate, rusted nearly to the point of rotting, was kicked open from the inside. The bolt flew out, bouncing twice as it hit the ground.

My heart leaped. I looked up to see Liang Xubai standing behind the door.

He was still in that same white shirt, the hem stained with dust and the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. In his right hand, he gripped a black iron rod.

He looked no different than usual, yet his gaze was terrifyingly cold.

Like a handful of snow falling onto a wasteland.

The people around me instinctively took half a step back.

His gaze first fell on the ropes around my wrists, then swept over the mud on my skirt and the abrasions on my face, before finally landing on the gun.

“Put the gun down.”

The leader let out a sneer. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Liang Xubai didn’t waste words.

He lunged forward almost instantly. The iron rod smashed into a wrist first, then slammed into a throat. The sound of the gun hitting the ground and the dull thud of a dislocated bone exploded simultaneously. I didn’t even have time to scream.

Two men from behind pounced on him. Liang Xubai kicked one over and spun around, driving his elbow into the other’s temple.

By the time the men collapsed, the area in front of the Ancestral Hall was silent, save for the sound of heavy breathing.

He stepped over the shotgun, walked up to me, and cut the ropes with a knife.

My arms fell slack, numb with pain, and my entire body lurched forward uncontrollably.

Liang Xubai reached out to steady my shoulders. His palms were very steady.

He was close enough that I could smell the faint scent of rust and cigarettes on him.

“Stand straight.”

I gritted my teeth to support myself, but my first words were: “Where were you just now?”

He looked down at me, his expression indifferent.

“There were two homemade explosives buried behind the back wall of the Ancestral Hall.”

I froze.

As if knowing I wouldn’t believe him, he tossed a black plastic bag at my feet.

Inside were two coils of wire, half a detonator, and an electronic igniter that had just been extinguished.

“They didn’t just want to scare you with a gun.”

“They were actually planning to wait until the crowd gathered, then blow up the Ancestral Hall.”

A wave of numbness washed over my back.

Yet, as if afraid I still didn’t understand, he reached out and brushed the mud off my skirt. His tone was remarkably casual.

“Zhou Ruoqi, I’ve snatched your life back for you.”

“Are you going to pay my wages or not?”