Chapter 4: Subduing the Golden Horse (I)

Hiss!

Lin Baoju was startled by the sudden sound of a horse neighing, taking two steps back, and in that instant, he clearly saw a flash of golden light flicker in that person's palm

Listening to the voice, it turned out to be the village chief, Li Baoquan

Suddenly, a loud neighing of a horse erupted among the crowd, causing a painful ringing in people's ears. The sound was filled with anger and wildness, like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, letting out a mournful and furious cry. Although it was just a single call, it echoed continuously through the mountains, lingering for a long time.

At this moment, Lin Baoju could no longer care about anything else. He rushed to the front of the water tank, blocking everyone, and said: "Stop it right now! Otherwise... otherwise I will report you to the police!"

"So what if we are the ones causing trouble!" Wu Cuilan scolded, "You ungrateful people, if it weren't for your wrongdoings against the Lin family, how could there be such retribution? Now that you can't even get water, you deserve it!"

Saying this, Li Baoquan solemnly bowed to Lin Shisan.

The long-suppressed anger and resentment have finally erupted

In fact, it was not just Lin Baoju; everyone, including those few angry strong men, was momentarily stunned.

"On what basis do they get to choose!" Wu Cuilan sneered, "Third Brother, this time you must not be a fool for nothing. The drying up of the Baima Well this time is a sign from our ancestors, meant to make the Li family suffer retribution. Are you not afraid that our ancestors will blame you for being a meddlesome good Samaritan here!"

I said, "This thing is a bit sinister!" The person, filled with rage, did not think much and quickly tore the white cloth clean off.

Li Baoquan and more than a dozen elderly villagers earnestly advised these impulsive young people not to act recklessly, but how could they possibly stop them

Cough ... ...

"Tomorrow is the seventh day, what is the matter?" Wu Cuilan responded. She felt that her son's words made sense; since their ancestors could manifest their presence, ensuring that the Lin family's water tank was always full, they would naturally also bless the Lin family to turn misfortune into good fortune.

The remaining young members of the Li family remained silent, all wearing grim expressions, clearly harboring deep resentment within.

Lin Shisan sighed, saying: "Without water, it is still a minor issue. Those people just now have disturbed the feng shui of Baima Village; I fear the ancestors will hold them accountable. That earlier horse neigh was certainly the Golden Horse from Baima Mountain running away; now, Baima Village is truly finished."

As she watched more than a dozen men wielding sledgehammers rush into her home, Wu Cuilan finally realized the gravity of the situation. She hurriedly stepped forward to intervene, but as a mere woman, she lacked the strength to contend with so many robust men and was quickly pushed aside. Lin Shisan was even less able to stop these individuals.

At this point, neither law nor morality could restrain this group of violent villagers

Li Baoquan and several elderly individuals bowed a few times towards White Horse Mountain, then silently walked towards the Li Family Ancestral Hall, preparing to confess before the ancestral spirit tablets.

The burly man shouted, joining forces with others to snatch the pouch from Lin Baoju's waist, "Let me see what the hell is in here! Huh—"

A brocade pouch embroidered with a golden Bagua.

Suddenly, someone in the courtyard cried out: "Heavens! If the spiritual vein is scattered, we will surely beg for food. You unfilial ones, just now you destroyed the spiritual vein of Baima Village and drove away the golden horse that protects the mountain. Now, no one can save our Li family; the good days have come to an end"

Uncle, let me be honest with you. The water tank at our home was filled by the manifestation of our ancestors' spirits. If I, Lin Shisan, truly had that kind of ability, I wouldn't need to beg everywhere for the tuition fees for my precious steed; I could simply use some magic. Lin Shisan looked at the people from the Li family, each with a furrowed brow, and couldn't help but sigh, feeling that they were quite pitiful as well. How about this: if you need to fetch water, you can come to our house to get it.

Wu Cuilan's words clearly provoked the anger of the Li family

"Little rabbit! Get lost!" A strong man grabbed the frail Lin Baoju, intending to push him aside, and sneered, "Go ahead and report it! It's just a trivial matter like smashing your family's water tank; who the hell cares about that!"

"Yes, I am certain that your family is up to no good!" "Isn't that a bit too cruel?" "... ..."

One after another, several elderly individuals began to weep and cry out. The earlier sounds of the horses seemed like a death knell, completely shattering their beliefs. How could they not be heartbroken at the thought that the century-old legacy left by their ancestors was about to be destroyed in an instant

The person let out a startled cry and pulled out a palm-sized peculiar object from the pouch, which was wrapped in white cloth strips. The cloth strips were adorned with some strange crimson symbols, resembling ancient talismans.

Damn it! That person cursed and continued to reach out towards Lin Baoju. However, when his hand was halfway in the air, it suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed intently on Lin Baoju's waist

Lin Shisan hurriedly helped Li Baoquan up and said, "Uncle, at your age, aren't you killing me with this? I, Lin Shisan, am merely a mortal; how could I possess the abilities of my ancestors to fill the White Horse Well once again"

Lin Baoju saw the desperate expressions on his parents' faces and could only comfort them with superstitious thoughts, saying: "Since our ancestors have not allowed the Lin family to suffer from a lack of water, they will surely bless us to turn misfortune into good fortune. You can rest assured, perhaps there will be a turning point tomorrow—by the way, what day of the month is it tomorrow?"

"You two, as a couple, should refrain from your back-and-forth here!" A woman stepped forward and exclaimed, "I always wondered how the White Horse Well could run dry; it turns out it was your doing, wasn't it?"

Just now, during the struggle, Lin Baoju's red silk pouch at his waist was just exposed.

"There is no water to drink, and no one has anything to eat! I smashed your family's water tank!" "Right! Why should your family enjoy comfort!" "Why say so much? Just take the hammer and smash it for me!"

A commotion arose among the crowd, and Li Baoquan gestured for everyone to remain silent. He continued speaking to Lin Shisan, saying: "Old Three, you shouldn't deceive the uncle. Everyone knows that over the past ten days, no one in your family has fetched a single load of water, yet the water tank is always full. If it weren't for you, Old Three, having learned the ancestral spells, how could your family's water tank fill itself?"

Lin Baoju cautiously reached for the pouch at his waist, worried that these people might tear it apart

Li Baoquan cleared his throat and said to Lin Shisan: "Old Three, I will speak frankly. For the past half month, our family, the Li family, has been suffering greatly. Just take a look around; how many people here have clean clothes? Alas, not to mention anything else, I haven't taken a shower in half a month, and I smell as bad as a latrine. The White Horse Well has run dry, and perhaps it is because our Li family has wronged your family. Therefore, on behalf of all the Li family members in the village, I sincerely apologize to you. I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold it against us, and let the water in the White Horse Well fill up again!"

Sigh, Third Brother, if it really doesn't work out, I can only move back to my parents' home," Wu Cuilan sighed, "It's just... I wonder if my brothers will gossip about me with the neighbors.

Lin Baoju picked up the already dirty pouch from the ground, then helped his parents to their feet, comforting them by saying: "Father, Mother, don't worry, it's no big deal if the water tank is broken. At worst, we can just go over the mountain to fetch water. We cannot let the Li family look down on us!"

At this moment, Lin Shisan and Wu Cuilan, the couple, were so enraged that they could not utter a word

Lin Baoju was taken aback; Grandpa Chu had clearly stated that there were precious medicinal materials inside, yet it looked nothing like that. At this moment, he even forgot to compete with these people for it

With a loud neigh from the horse, the dozen or so strong men lost their vigor. However, they still struck the Lin family's water tank a few times, creating several large holes, before swinging their respective heavy hammers and retreating back to their homes

Bring it here

On the seventh day of the new year, Lin Baoju murmured to himself, recalling the time agreed upon with Grandpa Chu, and thought to himself: "Could it be that there will truly be a turning point tomorrow"

This was originally just an unconscious action, but in the eyes of the nearly insane Li family, it was not so simple. They believed that there must be something wrong with the bag of trigrams hanging at Lin Baoju's waist, speculating that this little fellow had obtained the spells of their ancestors, causing the village's well to run dry. No wonder this little guy is so clever, able to get into a key university; it seems he has indeed learned some ancestral tricks of dubious nature.

However, this time Lin Baoju firmly held onto the water tank, and that person was unable to pull Lin Baoju away at all.