novelhk Chapter 296: Ah Niu Has Gone Mad
Chapter 296: Ah Niu Has Gone Mad
She lifted her skirt, disregarding her appearance, and stumbled towards Liu Erbao, tears streaming down her face.
"Erbao, you can't leave me behind. Please, take me back to Liujia Village with you."
Ahua's voice trembled, filled with desperate pleading.
Liu Erbao remained unmoved, quickening his pace as if Ahua were just an insignificant stranger.
Ahua chased after him desperately, her breathing becoming rapid and her steps heavier and heavier, but she still refused to give up.
"Erbao, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said those things. Don't leave me."
Ahua's voice had become hoarse, and her eyes were filled with fear and helplessness.
However, Liu Erbao's figure grew farther and farther away, and soon disappeared from Ahua's sight.
Ahua finally couldn't run anymore. She collapsed to the ground, pounding the ground weakly with her hands, and burst into tears.
"Why? Why is this happening?"
Ahua's cries echoed on the empty road, sounding so desolate and lonely.
At this moment, the wind seemed to grow even colder, blowing Ahua's messy hair and making her look even more disheveled.
Looking at Ahua, who was lying on the ground crying her heart out, Aniu felt a pang of pain from her previous actions, but the deep-seated concern and reluctance in his heart still prevailed.
He slowly walked forward, squatted down, and spoke in a soft voice with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.
"Ahua, stop crying here. Come back to Niujia Village with me. It's windy outside, don't hurt yourself."
Unexpectedly, Ahua suddenly raised her head, her originally beautiful face now twisted and ferocious with resentment and anger.
Her eyes widened, seemingly spitting fire, as she hysterically roared at Ah Niu.
"Go back to Niujia Village? You wish!"
You good-for-nothing coward, why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? What right do you have to ask me to go back with you?
Even if I, Ahua, freeze or starve to death in this desolate wilderness, I will never have anything to do with a poor wretch like you!
Her voice was sharp as a blade slicing through silk, each word like a poisonous thorn piercing Ah Niu's heart.
The villagers of Niujia Village nearby were all shocked and angry when they heard these words.
Ah Niu's face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled.
His eyes were filled with disbelief and deep pain, as if he couldn't believe that the hideous woman in front of him was actually Ah Hua, whom he had once longed for.
Ahua showed no sign of restraint and instead began to curse even more recklessly.
"Hmph, look at your pathetic state!"
All they do is fawn over me all day long, like a lapdog.
You think I'll like you just because of this? Dream on!
You people from Niujia Village are a bunch of country bumpkins who have never seen the world. You can only make a living in this poor and remote place all your lives. What future can you have?
"If I, Ahua, am going to marry, I'll marry into a powerful and wealthy family. Why would I suffer in this wretched village with you!"
As she cursed, she pointed at Ah Niu and the surrounding villagers. Her arrogant and domineering manner made everyone present clench their fists in anger.
At this point, an elderly villager, unable to bear it any longer, shouted angrily.
"Ahua, you've gone too far! We've all seen how good Aniu has been to you. Aren't you afraid of getting retribution for being so ungrateful?"
Ahua spat dismissively, put her hands on her hips, and replied fiercely.
"Retribution? I, Ahua, am not afraid! What can you do to me? Come and hit me if you dare!"
Ah Niu stared at Ah Hua's face, twisted beyond recognition by anger and arrogance. Every harsh word she uttered felt like a sharp blade, mercilessly cutting into his heart.
Ah Niu's eyes, which were originally full of expectation and warmth, were now filled with deep despair and endless coldness.
He slowly straightened up, and the wind around him seemed to become particularly cold at that moment, making the hem of his clothes flutter.
Ah Niu's lips trembled slightly, his voice sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth, low and resolute.
"Ahua, my sincerity towards you has been misplaced. From now on, we are strangers and have no connection whatsoever."
After saying that, Ah Niu resolutely turned around, his heavy steps seeming to carry a thousand pounds of weight.
He walked away from Ahua step by step, his figure appearing lonely and desolate in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Ah Hua, however, continued her tireless cursing from the same spot, her sharp voice piercing the silent dusk.
However, her voice gradually became weak and feeble, just like her fading confidence.
Night quietly fell, and the moonlight shone like water on the earth.
On this quiet night, shocking news spread like a thunderclap throughout the village—Ahua was dead.
Her body was found in the small river that usually flows slowly by the village.
The river shimmered with a cool light under the moonlight, and Ahua's body floated quietly on the surface, swaying gently with the ripples.
The weeping willows along the riverbank swayed gently in the breeze, as if mourning Ah Hua's departure.
The river flowed gently, but the sound it made seemed particularly desolate at that moment.
When the devastating news reached Niujia Village, the entire village fell into a state of sighs and silence.
People were whispering in the streets and alleys, saying that this might be Ah Hua's retribution, since she was so mean and vicious and hurt Ah Niu's heart.
Some people couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh, feeling sorry for the loss of this young life.
When Ah Niu heard the news, he was sitting alone under the oil lamp at home.
His body trembled slightly, and a complex expression flashed across his face, a mixture of shock, sorrow, and perhaps a hint of indescribable relief.
In the end, he simply let out a deep sigh, which echoed in the silent room, and then fell silent again. Yet the sorrow in his eyes seemed impossible to dispel.
When Ah Niu saw Ah Hua's cold and lifeless body floating on the river, he was struck dumb. He stood there on the riverbank, his legs feeling as if they were weighed down by lead, unable to move an inch.
His eyes were wide open, and the bloodshot veins on his eyeballs made them look like burning fireballs, with a raging fire about to burst forth.
His teeth were clenched so hard they were making a "crunching" sound, and the muscles in his cheeks were twitching uncontrollably from extreme anger.
Night fell like a giant black curtain, pressing heavily on the earth.
Ah Niu staggered back home, but the familiar house now seemed incredibly strange and cold.
His gaze was drawn to the long knife he usually used for chopping wood in the corner, as if drawn by a magnet.
The cool moonlight shone through the cracks in the dilapidated window, quietly falling on the blade of the long sword, reflecting a chilling light.