Chapter 21: Burn, Let It Burn, Burn to Your Heart's Content
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The villagers gathered in the courtyard soon left.
The less fuel the fire had, the more fiercely it burned.
Scorching tongues of flame lit up Miao Qin and Su Cuilan’s faces, twisting them into savage masks.
“Crazy fool. Without a house, let’s see where they’ll live.”
“Hmph.” Miao Qin gave a cold snort as well.
She shouted at Su Yanwen, “Go ahead and lose your mind! Let’s see where you’ll live after burning down your house!”
“I’m telling you now: even if you want to sleep in my cowshed, it won’t be as easy as it used to be.”
“Get lost!”
Su Yanwen roared.
Obvious fear flashed through the two women’s eyes. After being shouted at like that, they hurriedly shrank back into their homes.
Holding a knife, Su Yanwen turned around and cut through the hemp ropes binding Zhao Yue’e and Cao’er.
“Father!”
Cao’er knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Su Yanwen. “Father, I’m sorry. I didn’t protect Mother.”
“Father, please don’t be angry.”
She wiped away her tears haphazardly, picked up a wooden stick from the ground, and held it out to Su Yanwen with both hands.
Her voice trembling, she said, “Father, hit me if you want. Just don’t be angry, all right?”
“You silly girl.”
Su Yanwen snatched the stick from her hands and tossed it into the blazing thatched hut.
Then he reached out and gently rubbed the top of Cao’er’s head.
Looking at Zhao Yue’e, whose arms and ankles were bruised where the ropes had cut into them, he asked softly, “When I wasn’t here, did they bully you like this all the time?”
Zhao Yue’e lowered her head and dared not speak.
Cao’er said quietly, “Auntie Zhang helped us a lot of the time.”
“Thank you.” Su Yanwen suddenly turned his head toward Auntie Zhang and said those words.
Auntie Zhang froze.
Her eyes filled with suspicion, as though she wanted to see through the man before her and determine whether he was really Su Yanwen.
Could he have been possessed by something again?
She waved her hands and said, “Why are you thanking me? I wasn’t helping you.”
“You’re nothing but a dog that bites people through a crack in the door. You don’t dare make a sound outside.”
“Don’t even mention how the adults bully Yue’e. That group of children beats Cao’er too.”
Su Yanwen’s eyes grew as dark and deep as a bottomless pool.
He asked Cao’er again, “Those children still beat you?”
“Big Brother… A few of my brothers help me.”
Cao’er’s gaze darted away.
Even so, she was still bullied every day.
“Husband.”
Every time Zhao Yue’e addressed Su Yanwen that way, she did so through clenched teeth, her voice filled with hatred.
This time was no different.
She stared at the fire that could no longer be put out, her eyes dull with despair. “We have no home now. What are we going to do?”
Then she looked toward the cowshed next door.
Were they really going to live in a cowshed?
“That’s Mother’s territory. How much would we have to do before she allowed us even a place to sleep?”
Zhao Yue’e’s voice trembled violently.
“It’s all right.” Su Yanwen’s tone was relaxed.
Indifferently, he said, “It was only a drafty, broken shack. If it’s gone, it’s gone.”
“Besides, you weren’t happy living here anyway.”
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“There are too many jealous people here. I can’t stay home all the time either, can I?”
Su Yanwen looked at the house and had already made up his mind.
This was only the beginning. The things he had brought back amounted to nothing, yet a whole pack of envious people had already wanted to rob and kill them.
What would happen in the future?
He couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to return in time to save them every single time.
“We’re leaving!”
Su Yanwen’s voice was firm. “We’re leaving this place and going to live in the mountains.”
“What?”
At those words, Auntie Zhang was so frightened that she dropped heavily onto the ground.
Dalong tried desperately to dissuade him. “You can’t go! Those mountains aren’t fit for people to live in. Even the most experienced old hunters wouldn’t dare settle deep in the mountains.”
“Brother Su, don’t act rashly.”
“If there’s really no other way, you can all squeeze into my house for now,” Auntie Zhang added.
Zhao Yue’e looked at Su Yanwen, strangely calm.
After a long while, as though she had finally made up her mind, she took Cao’er’s hand and said, “Wherever my husband goes, we’ll go.”
“That’s more like it.”
Su Yanwen nodded firmly. Looking at Zhao Yue’e and Cao’er, though he was also speaking to himself, he said, “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you live good lives.”
“If this wretched place has no room for us, then we’ll carve out a place of our own.”
Cao’er drew in her neck as she gazed at the snow-covered mountains in the distance.
Ever since she was little, she had heard legends connected with the snowy peaks, and they had instilled a fear of that place deep in her bones.
Even so, she held Zhao Yue’e’s hand with one hand and reached for Su Yanwen’s fingers with the other. Halfway there, she timidly withdrew it. In the end, she mustered her courage and grasped the hem of Su Yanwen’s clothes instead.
In her childish voice, she said, “As long as I have Father and Mother, Cao’er isn’t afraid of snow ghosts.”
This little darling…
Su Yanwen adored her more than ever.
“Ai!” Auntie Zhang let out a long sigh.
“I know you haven’t been happy living in the village, but you can’t go throw your lives away!”
As she spoke, she looked toward the fire and shook her head. “What a pity about all that salt!”
“Ai!”
That salt could save a life.
“Why pity it?” Su Yanwen said. Ignoring the burning thatched hut, he immediately stamped out the flames.
He cleared away the ashes. Beneath them lay a hardened layer of salt.
Auntie Zhang excitedly covered her mouth.
Cao’er jumped up in excitement as well.
Dalong suddenly understood. “Brother Su, I never knew you had such wisdom.”
“That’s right. Salt won’t melt in a fire. But if I didn’t destroy it, those lunatics wouldn’t leave.”
“You!” Auntie Zhang suddenly laughed through her tears.
Looking at the pile of salt, she carefully broke off a small piece. “Huzi can be saved.”
“We can’t eat it directly. We’ll go to your house first, then head into the mountains.” Su Yanwen had made up his mind.
The salt brought back from the alkaline flats could not be eaten directly, even after being burned in a raging fire. There were still too many harmful substances in it.
It still needed to be distilled and purified.
“Good! Good!”
At the thought of saving Huzi, Auntie Zhang nodded repeatedly.
For the first time, she spoke politely to Su Yanwen. “Then… then I’ll trouble you.”
As she watched the thatched hut burn more and more fiercely, Cao’er’s eyes reddened terribly.
Her little fists remained tightly clenched as she stared straight at the flames without crying or making a fuss.
Knowing how much the child was hurting inside, Zhao Yue’e lifted her into her arms and comforted her softly. “It’s all right. At least from now on, you won’t have to worry about your grandmother bullying you anymore.”
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As she spoke, she glanced at the snowy mountains. Even if there was a good chance they would not survive until tomorrow, what choice did they have? If they stayed behind without Su Yanwen, they might not even survive today.
One more day was still one more day. At least the whole family would remain together.
Cao’er sniffed and nodded. “Mm. Cao’er still has Mother and Father.”
“Cao’er.”
Dalong called out to her and pulled open a gap in his tattered padded coat. “Look.”
Five little white rabbits lay obediently curled up against his chest.
“Ah! My bunnies!” Cao’er burst into laughter through her tears.
She turned to Dalong and exclaimed, “Uncle is the best!”
Then she leaned forward, wrapped her arms around Dalong’s neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Dalong grinned from ear to ear.
Su Yanwen had been in an excellent mood.
Now he was suddenly depressed.
He walked almost all the way over to Cao’er and deliberately leaned his face toward her. “What about me?”
He was both angry and anxious.
Even a rough fellow like that could enjoy the soft, fragrant kiss of his daughter. Why couldn’t he?
Cao’er was clearly frightened by Su Yanwen’s sudden anger.
In a tiny voice, she said, “Father, Cao’er was wrong.”
But she had no idea what she had done wrong.
Huh?
That wasn’t the reaction he had expected!
Su Yanwen grew frantic and patted his own cheek.
Zhao Yue’e’s face turned terrifyingly pale in an instant.
She pulled Cao’er down to kneel beside her and said repeatedly, “Husband, it’s my fault. I failed to teach Cao’er properly. If you want to hit someone, hit me.”
“Cao’er, remember this: men and women must keep their distance. From now on, you mustn’t kiss any man, understand?”
Su Yanwen wanted desperately to say that kissing Father was allowed too.
But when he saw that both of them had been frightened into tears, his heart felt even more stifled.
What was going on?
Furious, he kicked the fire.
When he saw Old Ou and that woman, Su Cuilan, still peeking from beside the window, an inexplicable fury flared inside him.
It was all their fault. They had constantly goaded the original Su Yanwen into beating his wife and daughter, until even Dalong could receive his daughter’s sweet kisses while he could not.
It was so unfair!
Burn, then. Burn as fiercely as you can.
He rushed over and began throwing dry firewood onto the flames as though venting his anger.
The fire blazed higher and higher.
Su Yanwen walked away without looking back.
Let the fierce wind blow. Let the raging flames burn!
Once Su Yanwen had left, the others naturally hurried after him.
Before long, cries of alarm rose from the courtyard again.
“Oh no! Fire! The fire’s spreading!”
Miao Qin screamed at the top of her lungs, “The fire’s reached my house! Hurry, put it out!”
“Quick!” Su Cuilan shouted as well.
“The wind’s picked up! Don’t all hide in your houses! The flames could blow onto someone’s roof!”
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