RYEY – Chapter 249 Chai Jianmin Courts His Own Death

Niqiu nodded aggrievedly, but with Li Huan’s assurance, his mood lightened a great deal. What he needed to think about now was whether to stay at the old house or go back to the place near the village entrance. After some thought, he decided it would be better to stay at the old house.

Early the next morning, when comrades from the Public Security Bureau arrived at the Sunflower Village educated-youth compound with a summons to look for Chai Jianmin, not a single person was there.

They were probably out working in the fields. Li Huan rang the bronze gong again, and villagers came in small groups to the threshing ground, asking everywhere whether the murderer had been caught.

“Xiangyang, gather all the educated youths—especially Chai Jianmin. Call him over.”

“Chai Jianmin didn’t go to work today. I thought he’d asked you for leave,” someone said.

Li Huan’s expression changed. Could it be that this fellow really was the culprit who drowned the child—knowing he couldn’t escape, so he ran?

But Chai Jianmin was an educated youth. Without a letter of introduction issued by Li Huan, he couldn’t go anywhere—he couldn’t even get on a long-distance bus or stay at a guesthouse.

“Xiangyang, take a few people to guard the village entrance. Take a few more to check the county. I’ll go take a look in the mountains. Everyone else, keep a close eye on your children.”

Hearing this, the villagers’ hearts clenched. Chen Dazhu’s son had died too tragically. They had to watch their own children carefully—if that Chai Jianmin went mad and grabbed one of their kids and killed them, even hacking him a hundred times wouldn’t make it right.

Li Huan rushed home to fetch the homemade shotgun. Seeing this, the comrades from the Public Security Bureau also tensed up and followed Li Huan into the mountains.

What they didn’t know was that something had already happened there.

Ye Jun had taken little Cheng Li up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. Cheng Li was only two years old, and his walking was still unsteady, so on the way up he didn’t know how many times he had fallen.

But the child was stubborn. The harder he fell, the more cheerfully he climbed back up. Even when his palms were bleeding, he happily held out his little hands for Ye Jun to apply medicine.

Ye Jun was deliberately nurturing him. He opened the medicine box and let the boy choose for himself. Cheng Li blinked a few times and accurately picked out the hydrogen peroxide and the red antiseptic.

A gleam lit up Ye Jun’s eyes. As expected of Cheng Qiao’s child—exceptionally clever. He took the hydrogen peroxide and began cleaning Cheng Li’s wounds. It hurt so much that the boy hissed and sucked in cold breaths, but he didn’t cry.

Then Ye Jun applied the red antiseptic. After it dried, he wrapped a thick layer of gauze around the hand to prevent infection if the boy fell again while climbing.

Grandfather and grandson laughed and chatted along the way, gathering herbs and eating wild fruits. When Ye Jun saw that Cheng Li really couldn’t walk anymore, he found a large tree, spread out a small mat, and let the boy sit down.

Then he took out a water flask. It was well water that Cheng Qiao had taken from her space. Ye Jun already knew how beneficial this water was, so every day he had Cheng Qiao fill a flask for him.

Cheng Li took a sip of water and ate a piece of egg cake. Looking at the lush green mountains all around, he felt indescribably content—just before he could speak, he was suddenly picked up.

“Ah—!”

Startled, Cheng Li cried out. Ye Jun was rummaging through his backpack, looking for some insect-repellent herbs. Hearing Cheng Li’s cry, he immediately looked up.

“Chai Jianmin? Why are you up the mountain? Aren’t you working today?”

Ye Jun had already begun circulating his inner strength. Of course he knew about Chen Dazhu’s son being drowned. Now Chai Jianmin wasn’t working properly but had appeared here—it had to mean something shady.

“I’ve run out of food, so I came up the mountain to look for something to eat.”

“If you’re looking for food, why are you holding my grandson? Put Cheng Li down at once!”

“Old fool, are you senile? His surname is Cheng, not yours—and you call him your grandson? How stupid. I’ll give you one hour. Have Cheng Qiao bring me money, ration coupons, and a letter of introduction.”

“Why? If you’re short on food, you can borrow from the village. If you don’t have money, you can buy on credit from Chen Weidang. There’s no need to use a child who’s only two years old.”

“Old bastard, do what I tell you. Say one more word and I’ll smash this brat to death.”

Chai Jianmin’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Ye Jun. Qian Longkun had always looked at him strangely—he knew then that what he’d done, drowning that little brat, couldn’t stay hidden.

That night at midnight, he had stolen Xu Laidi’s son out and thrown him into the river. Watching the child flail a few times before sinking, he’d returned to the educated-youth compound in a blissful state.

Unfortunately, Qian Longkun happened to be going to the latrine. The two met face to face at the dormitory door. In that instant, all his joy vanished. He grew so nervous that he could barely speak.

Fortunately, Qian Longkun didn’t say anything—he just nodded and went off to the latrine. But when the little brat’s body later floated to the surface, a simple investigation would be enough to leave him unable to explain where he’d gone that night.

So this morning, when all the educated youths went to work, he stole everyone’s food and fled into the mountains, planning to cross over and hide somewhere else.

Who would have thought he’d run into Ye Jun and little Cheng Li—and that Ye Jun had even left the child alone under a tree to eat. A thought instantly flashed through his mind: kidnap Cheng Li.

Seeing that Chai Jianmin was determined, Ye Jun grew anxious. He had more than enough ability to knock Chai Jianmin to the ground—but with Cheng Li in his hands, he had to worry about harming the hostage.

Just then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a streak of bright red slowly slithering down the tree. His heart leapt with joy. Little Red Head—every time they came up the mountain, Cheng Qiao would release Little Red Head to secretly protect the grandfather and grandson.

“Don’t get excited. You must promise me first that you won’t hurt Cheng Li. Only then will I go find Cheng Qiao.”

“I promise.”

Chai Jianmin sneered inwardly. He hated Cheng Qiao and Li Huan to the bone. He couldn’t handle those two—but a tiny child? Once the money and coupons were in hand, he’d throw Cheng Li off the mountain.

Ye Jun slowly retreated. Seeing that Little Red Head was less than half a meter away from Chai Jianmin, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Chai Jianmin wasn’t stupid either—seeing Ye Jun’s expression, he sensed trouble.

Just as he was about to lift Cheng Li and smash him hard onto the ground, a sudden sharp pain stabbed the back of his neck. When he turned his head and saw a huge red snake’s head and those cold, sinister eyes, his legs went weak and he collapsed.

Ye Jun lunged forward, trying to catch Cheng Li—but Little Red Head was faster. Its massive body swiftly coiled around Cheng Li, leaving the child suspended in midair.

In the split second before he closed his eyes, Chai Jianmin saw Cheng Li wrapped by the giant snake. A satisfied smile appeared on his face—finally, Cheng Qiao’s son was about to die too. Wonderful.

When Li Huan arrived with the Public Security Bureau officers, everyone saw this horrifying scene. Apart from Li Huan and Ye Jun, all the others were already preparing to rescue the child.

Seeing Li Huan, Little Red Head twisted its body, gently placed Cheng Li on the ground, then slipped into the grass. Everyone watched as a red shadow wriggled a few times and vanished in an instant.