Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Night of Separation

If he had known that Gu Dacai’s daughter was this fierce, he wouldn’t have followed them here in the first place! He had planned to wait at the foot of the mountain for Gu Dacai to bring the person out, then split the money—simple as that. It was foolish of him, bored out of his mind, to insist on coming along.

“Miss Gu, this has nothing to do with me. I was just tricked here by your father—I don’t know what he intended to do up the mountain.”

“Really, you have to believe me. I had no idea he would do something like this. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen!”

At the thought of getting beaten, Lao Si quickly switched sides without a moment’s hesitation. He had no qualms about turning; after all, taking a beating alone was better than both of them getting hurt.

Besides, all the violence came from Gu Dacai himself. Lao Si had only stood by, doing nothing to help.

“You went up the mountain with him, and you say it’s got nothing to do with you? Do you think the word ‘fool’ is written all over my face?”

No sooner had Gu Xiaoyao spoken than she punched Lao Si hard. Seeing him grimace in pain and crouch down, she kicked him as well.

Gu Dacai lay on the ground, unable to get up, but upon seeing Lao Si also being beaten, he grinned—feeling somewhat relieved.

Hearing Lao Si try to wash his hands of it just now had unsettled Gu Dacai deeply.

“You’re shameless! Trying to ditch me and go down the mountain alone? Dream on! I suffer, and you won’t escape either.”

With his hope of bringing Li Shi down the mountain shattered, Gu Dacai no longer cared about Lao Si’s fate. His only thought was that Gu Xiaoyao, that ungrateful wretch, had found out, so there was no way he could take Li Shi away.

Not only could he not take Li Shi, but he’d probably get beaten up too.

“This is your family affair. Why should I be the one getting beaten here? What, you actually want me to stay here?”

Lao Si retorted boldly, though the pain in his stomach made his voice weak and breathless.

Gu Xiaoyao watched them bicker and didn’t even spare them a glance.

“Mother, where did he hit you?”

Li Shi saw two grown men brought down by her daughter and felt her sense of security crumble completely.

“No real injuries, just a couple of slaps. Xiaoyao, your father is a beast—he actually tried to drag me down the mountain to sell me.”

At the thought, tears welled up in Li Shi’s eyes. No matter how much she loathed this husband, seeing him make such a decision made years of feelings feel utterly betrayed.

“What? He actually wanted to sell you? That bastard! I swear I’ll beat him to death.”

Hearing this, Gu Xiaoshu could no longer hold back. He tore his hand away from Li Shi’s and rushed over, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks on Gu Dacai.

“You never cared for us. In the end, you still want to profit off your wife. You’re a demon.”

Gu Dacai rolled on the ground, wanting to fight back, but his frail body was no match for the strong and growing Gu Xiaoshu.

One was growing stronger; the other was growing weaker with age.

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