Chapter 153: Bad News

Without Xiao Hei's disturbance, the cattle in Lower New Village slowly regained their appetite. When the villagers saw this, they didn't know whether to feel glad or regretful.

Had they not slaughtered that ox, even if the people from Niuluo Village came looking for it, they wouldn't have been able to claim it as theirs.

In the end, the villagers of Lower New Village could only self-indoctrinate their minds, convincing themselves that sacrificing the severely sick ox was a blessing in disguise because it prevented the other three cattle from being affected.

Feeding that diseased beef to the people of Niuluo Village was for the best; it would be ideal if it made them sick and caused them trouble.

However, this was destined to disappoint them.

A gentle breeze blew as the month of October slipped away.

"Great-Aunt, bad news, bad news! Great-Aunt, this is terrible..."

Accompanied by Little Shunzi's shrill, panicked voice and the hurried, thumping sound of approaching footsteps, Bai Xi sat up from her couch. She frowned slightly; at this intensity, she figured the stairs of her treehouse wouldn't last another two years.

"Great-Aunt, something's wrong..."

Xiao Hei didn't even raise its head; it merely lifted its eyelids to glance at the threshold of the treehouse. It would bet that Little Shunzi was about to trip over that threshold.

One, two, three, four... Well, there was no need to count to four. Just as Xiao Hei silently counted to three, Little Shunzi forgot to lift his foot in his haste. His shin collided with the threshold, and he sprawled forward, landing with a loud thud.

"Ouch!"

As soon as Little Shunzi crashed to the floor, Xiao Hei disdainfully shifted its head to rest on another paw, completely unfazed by such occurrences.

Bai Xi speechlessly twitched the corner of her mouth and helplessly asked, "What is it this time? Making such a fuss day in and day out!"

Rubbing his bruised head while groaning in pain, Little Shunzi finally snapped back to reality upon hearing Bai Xi's question. He scrambled up in a hurry, forgetting to brush the dust off his body, and blurted out anxiously, "Great-Aunt, it's Little Stone and Little Mountain! The two of them got stung by bees."

Stung by bees?

Hearing this, Bai Xi found it rather strange. The mountains were devoid of wild blossoms at this time of year, and fruit trees had long since finished blooming. How could they possibly get stung by bees?

"Is it serious?"

Little Shunzi nodded. "Serious, their heads are covered in bumps."

As Little Shunzi gestured with his hands, Bai Xi's sharp eyes caught the traces of stings on the back of his hands as well, prompting her to ask curiously, "At this time of year, where on earth did you go flirting with bees and butterflies?"

"No. Great-Aunt, there are no butterflies, just bees. They got stung by bees," Little Shunzi explained frantically, waving his hands.

Bai Xi twitched the corner of her mouth; she had been mistaken to think all children were as clever as she was.

"Where are the others? Were the backs of your hands stung by bees too?!"

"Mm-hmm," Little Shunzi answered awkwardly. "They're at home." Expecting a beating upon returning home, the boys had conferred upon being stung and sent Little Shunzi—who had only been stung a couple of times and wasn't badly hurt—to the treehouse for help.

"Great-Aunt, aren't you going to go take a look? Their faces are swollen bigger than large steamed buns."

It would be a wonder if Bai Xi didn't know what was going on by now.

"Did you guys go messing with a beehive?"

"Yes, yes!" Little Shunzi nodded repeatedly, a look of adoration and awe dawning on his face. "Great-Aunt, you're amazing! You guessed it even before I said anything."

"Of course. Otherwise, how could I be your Great-Aunt?"

Though she said that, Bai Xi curled her lips inwardly. Anyone could guess that! To be stung by so many bees at this time of year, these little rascals must have gone poking a beehive.

"Let's go take a look."

As soon as Bai Xi spoke, Xiao Hei rose to follow her.

Descending from the treehouse, Little Shunzi kept pace while continuing his report: "Great-Aunt, I was only stung a few times, but Little Stone and Little Mountain got stung quite a bit. By the time we came down the mountain, their faces were completely swollen."

The two of them had cried their eyes out while dispatching Little Shunzi to seek Bai Xi at the treehouse, terrified of facing punishment at home.

With Great-Aunt around, their parents wouldn't dare lay a hand on them.

"Was it the honeycomb in the walnut tree at the eastern mountain recess?"

Little Shunzi's admiration deepened further. "Great-Aunt, how do you know everything?" If the wounds on the back of his hand hadn't started burning and aching, he would have applauded in excitement.

Bai Xi glanced at Little Shunzi and let out a soft hrumph without speaking. How did she know? Xiao Hei had told her, of course. Bai Xi had actually intended to wait until spring when the honeycomb grew larger before harvesting it to eat, but who could have expected these brats to run over there?

The adults in the village wouldn't dare easily provoke a swarm of bees without proper protective gear, yet these boys were audacious enough to try.

Before Bai Xi even arrived, she heard the wailing and lamenting cries of the two boys from afar.

Little Mountain hadn't dared go home, so he had followed Little Stone to his house. The sight of their bump-covered faces had thoroughly terrified Little Stone's mother.

Little Stone's mother had hurriedly sent someone to notify Little Mountain's mother. As the two families were frantically and angrily trying to figure out what to do, Bai Xi arrived.

"Great-Aunt."

"Great-Aunt, why are you here?"

Upon seeing Bai Xi, both families hurriedly offered respectful greetings.

"Carry on with whatever you need to do. I heard from Little Shunzi that the two of them got stung, so I came to take a look."

Little Shunzi, feeling rather guilty, initially hid his hands and shrank his neck behind Bai Xi. He failed to consider, however, that standing a head taller than Bai Xi, he had nowhere to hide.

Hearing Bai Xi mention him, Little Shunzi awkwardly stepped out from behind her. Listening to the wails of Little Stone and Little Mountain, he instantly felt the stings on the back of his own hand begin to burn and throb with pain.

Upon hearing her words, the two families nodded hastily and went back to preparing folk remedies.

Little Mountain and Little Stone were rolling around under the eaves of the house. It wasn't that they lacked backbone; the pain was simply too excruciating. Such notions as being stoic men were completely thrown to the winds, leaving them wishing only to roll on the ground to ease the agony.

Seeing this, Bai Xi realized Little Shunzi hadn't exaggerated at all—their faces were truly covered in bumps.

To be able to endure being stung like that and still manage to hike down the mountain back home showed a certain degree of resilience.

It was Xiao Hei's first time witnessing such a spectacle. It tilted its white tiger head slightly, its eyes filled with curiosity, looking rather endearing.

The sight of Xiao Hei was proof enough of Bai Xi's presence. As Little Stone rolled about and saw a white tiger head appear before him, he instantly knew Great-Aunt had arrived.

"Wuwu, Great-Aunt..."

Upon seeing Bai Xi, the two boys—whose clothes were so dirty from rolling on the ground that their original colors were unrecognizable—cried with even greater grievance.

"Great-Aunt, it hurts so much..."

Bai Xi curled her lips. It didn't hurt her.

Of course, Bai Xi hadn't come just to watch the spectacle. Seeing their state, she offered a few words of pacification, then turned and walked away with Little Shunzi.

"Where are Zhuangzi and Zhuzi?"

Little Shunzi also felt like crying from the pain, but he managed to hold it in. Hearing Bai Xi's question, he sniffled and choked out a reply, "They went to their maternal grandmother's house with their mother." If they hadn't been short-handed, nothing would have gone wrong. Yes, it was all because they were short-handed.

"What about Little Liu?"

"Little Liu had a stomachache today, so he didn't come up the mountain with us."

Hearing this, Bai Xi cast a glance at Little Shunzi, at a loss for what to say about these three ill-fated children.