Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 477: Rat Hole

Chapter 477: Chapter 477: Rat Hole

Wang Jingzhi had just spotted a herb on the slope, but unexpectedly, he fell off the slope while gathering it.

Fearing he might be in trouble, Shen Wenchen and his group hurriedly followed down the slope to look for him, only to encounter the scene before them.

The soil in the mountain hollow had been turned over, revealing the soil beneath the accumulated snow. The dark soil was piled aside, emitting waves of foul smell.

"Brother Shen, there’s a hole over there."

Aze was standing in front, and with just one glance he could see what was inside clearly.

Although the pile of soil blocked some of their vision, the holes, averagely half a foot wide, were impossible to ignore.

The rest of the group looked grave, also leaning forward to have a look.

No piece of the land in front of them was flat; it was riddled with marks of animals digging and burrowing.

Shen Wenchen didn’t go forward directly, but let the experienced old hunter do so.

There were many wild animals in the mountains, and they didn’t know what kind of animals these holes belonged to. It was best not to startle them by rushing in.

The old hunter examined the cave in front of him. The more carefully he looked, the quieter he became.

This wasn’t just any hole; it was the old mouse hole they had been searching for days.

However, there were footprints on the mud around the hole, indicating that they had probably left the mountain.

"General, this is a mouse hole. And there are fresh mouse paw prints on the mud around the hole. I’m afraid they descended the mountain just about one hour ago," the old hunter said gravely.

The mice would only burrow holes according to their body size. However, the holes in front of them were more than half a foot wide, indicating that these mice were likely to be even more formidable.

"Quick, back down the mountain."

At the command, everyone grabbed their tools and hurried back, afraid that there could be major trouble if they returned too late.

Wang Jingzhi had already taken a fall, and his calf hurt. Seeing him unable to move, Shen Wenchen simply lifted him onto his shoulder and ran back to the village quickly.

All households in the village have scattered rat-proof powders again and closed their doors and windows, leaving only a group of men searching around the village for any trace of rats.

Xiaoqi wanted to join them, but as soon as he took a step, he felt a piercing pain in his ankle and cried out instinctively.

"Yuanbao, take Xiaoqi back to the house. You are not allowed to go out until your father is back home," ordered Chi Sheng, noticing that Xiaoqi was injured.

"Okay," Yuanbao nodded and started dragging Xiaoqi by the corner of his clothing towards their home.

"Big boss, I can help you exterminate the rats."

Xiaoqi hurriedly spoke up.

"You’re injured, just stay still and don’t act tough!" the second-in-command admonished him in a low voice, knowing that his injury was severe.

Given the cold weather and the brittleness of human bones, plus the height of the courtyard wall and the frost-covered ground, it seemed strange that he could be okay after falling.

Xiaoqi didn’t dare to speak again, and could only sulk along a side.

Yuanbao hesitated a bit, torn between taking Xiaoqi to the second-in-command’s courtyard or to their own home.

She’d definitely go to her uncle if it had been before, because Yueyue was still over there. But now that her mother was back, she was also worried about her mother being scared.

Seeing Yuanbao in a dilemma, Xiaoqi spoke softly, "Yuanbao, you can go back to the house. I’ll go find Yueyue."

"But you can’t even walk."

"You wait for me for a moment, I’ll be right back."

Apparently recalling something, the little girl only furrowed her brows and then ran off after dropping a sentence.

After Xiaoqi repeatedly refused his suggestion to be escorted to Yueyue’s place, Chi Sheng led his men to start searching in three different directions in the village.

Before leaving, the second-in-command didn’t allow the rat corpse lying there continue inhabiting the spot, so he kicked it aside and then poured some wine onto it from a gourd hanging around his waist, then lit it on fire to let it burn down completely.

Xiaoqi obediently stood there, waiting for Yuanbao to come out.

Without wasting any time, Yuanbao ran into the courtyard and then sternly told Ming Qin, mimicking Chi Sheng’s instructive tone, "Mother, there are rats in the village again. You just hide in the house and don’t be scared. Brother Xiaoqi and I are going over to Yueyue’s place. Yueyue is still sick, and Brother Xiaoqi is injured, so I need to go protect them."

Ming Qin had been focused on drawing something and was suddenly startled by her daughter’s unexpected words.

"Aren’t you scared, Yuanbao?"

"I am not scared, mother. You need to take care of yourself."

As her words dropped, the little girl run off after scattering more rat-proof powder around the room, as if rushing to stay away from a potential danger at home.

Hearing her footsteps getting further and further away, Ming Qin couldn’t help being astonished.

Her little daughter was not even six years old, yet so brave?

Outside the courtyard, Xiaoqi lowered his head, his mind filled with past memories.

When he realized his hand was being held, Yuanbao had already gripped his hand tightly.

"Let’s go. We will go over to Yueyue’s."

She had spent these few days at home with her mother and hadn’t accompanied Yueyue for a long time.

"Okay."

The small hand in his own was soft, but the warmth it transmitted flowed directly to his chest.

"I’m sorry."

The young boy’s voice was very faint, but full of sincerity.

He shouldn’t have always given a cold face or been so indifferent toward Yuanbao.

He also shouldn’t have continually tried to isolate himself and Yueyue from Qing Fenghan.

Yuanbao pouted, but didn’t say anything, instead only tightened her hold on Xiaoqi’s hand.

Then she would, she would just forgive him generously.

Chi Sheng and the second-in-command each led a group of people to search, and it was the second-in-command’s group that found traces of the mouse first.

The mouse, looking red-eyed and fat, stood upright. Seeing humans, it wasn’t scared, but stared straight at them.

"How did this rat get so big!" a man blurted out, his voice shaking.

In his twenty-some years, he’d never seen such a big rat!

Seeing the dead rat that Xiaoqi had thrown out earlier had only made them feel disgusted.

But now, seeing a live one, they felt chill to the bone.

Especially those eyes, they couldn’t be more dreadful.

Could it be the rat had really developed some intelligence?

"Squeak -"

Showing no fear of humans, the rat only lifted its head, squeaked a few times, causing the black hair on its back to shake along, looking even more disgusting.

"Kill it!"

Someone turned pale hearing its squeak, and hurriedly said.

"It’s alerting others! Quickly kill it!"

Another person spoke up. Only then did the crowd come to their senses, readying their weapons to throw at it.

"Squeak!"

As if it had guessed what they were up to, the rat squeaked at them and tried to flee.

The second-in-command simply took out three seeds from his pocket and threw them at the rat.

Following a pained scream, dark red blood flowed from its eyes.

It locked eyes on him resentfully, trying to run again, but was cut in half by another person wielding a hoe.

With the rat dead, the stench was even stronger, driving everyone back a couple of steps.