Chapter 261: Chapter 194: Someone Rushed into the Bamboo House to Attack the Panda
"HONK HONK HONK!"
The little goose was ferocious.
Before the goose even reached him, Zhu Chuanlei felt a chill in his crotch and immediately jumped up in fright.
Li Xiang’s Little Aunt watched from the side, completely stunned. It was a dizzying sight. Though it sounds like a long story, the animals attacked one after another. Never mind the man himself; even a spectator would have been dazzled. It gave the man absolutely no time to react.
Li Caihong couldn’t help but ask her mother beside her, "Mom, will the little ones be okay?" She was worried the animals might get hurt, as there was a huge size difference between the two sides.
Granny Li Xiang said, "Don’t worry. Xiang’Er has trained them to be devilishly clever."
The granny was also very pleased. At a critical moment, it was the little animals who guarded the home and loyally protected their masters.
Zhu Chuanlei spotted a broom by the wall and went to grab it. But then, a red shadow appeared. Before he could get a clear look, his head was involuntarily whipped from side to side.
"SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP~"
Holy crap! He’d been hit with several big slaps with lightning speed!
The red shadow was, of course, the Little Fox. It was the strongest of the group and handled Zhu Chuanlei with ease. It had even held back some of its strength with those few strikes; otherwise, it could have slapped his teeth right out of his head.
Zhu Chuanlei was completely bewildered. He looked left and right, and a strange feeling crept over him.
Because, despite being a grown man, he hadn’t managed to lay a single finger—or feather—on these little creatures. He was being beaten so badly he had no chance to fight back.
Moreover, the animals weren’t making any noise, nor were they running away. Instead, they had surrounded him on all sides, staring at him coldly.
’This is a little freaky...’ A chill ran up Zhu Chuanlei’s spine.
’I’m done playing with you lot. I can’t find a proper weapon right now. Just wait until I find a stick or a knife. I’ll beat you little things to death.’ Zhu Chuanlei swore to himself.
Just as he was about to leave, three tall and burly security guards charged through the Moon Gate from the neighboring scenic area. The one in the lead was especially imposing, nearly two meters tall and built like an iron tower.
"Who are you?! How dare you trespass on private property and cause trouble here?!" The iron tower of a man was, of course, Lei Jiaming. It wasn’t that they were late; the animals’ wave of attacks had just been too fast, lasting no more than twenty seconds in total.
With a loud shout, Lei Jiaming used a special riot control fork to pin Zhu Chuanlei to the ground. The other two guards swarmed in and held him down firmly. No matter how much Zhu Chuanlei struggled, his face flushing red, he couldn’t move an inch.
He had been a good fighter in his youth, but after seventeen years in prison, he was older and no match for the sturdy young men from Lei Family Gully who practiced martial arts.
"Brother Ming, what’s the next step?" a guard asked Lei Jiaming.
Lei Jiaming glanced at Granny Li Xiang and the Little Aunt, then went over to ask them a few questions and understand what had happened. After a quiet discussion, Lei Jiaming barked at Zhu Chuanlei, "Seeing as this is your first offense, we won’t call the police. If you dare to come back, we’ll break your legs!"
He then gave a meaningful look, signaling the two guards to escort him to the village entrance.
And so, Zhu Chuanlei was hauled away. He felt indignant and aggrieved—a tiger in a flat land, bullied by dogs.
When they reached the village entrance, the guards released him but stood watch to prevent him from re-entering.
Zhu Chuanlei knew he couldn’t win, and he was injured, so he left.
He went to town and found a small private clinic to have his wounds bandaged by a doctor. Luckily, the injuries weren’t serious. However, the doctor recommended he get a rabies vaccine.
Unfortunately, he had no money and couldn’t afford it.
’That bitch’s family is so rich now, building such a fancy house. If you won’t give me money, I’ll just go to your house and steal some.’ The more Zhu Chuanlei thought about it, the angrier he got, so he took a car and headed back. He planned to hide nearby and make his move after dark.
The guards at the entrance were long gone, of course. Zhu Chuanlei didn’t dare use the main path, so he circled around to the back of the village.
As a result, he got a bit lost and ended up on Panda Mountain.
The place was teeming with tourists.
’What the hell? I’ve been to this Li Family Village before. It was dirt poor. How did it get so rich now? And so many tourists?’
He had only recently been released from prison and was severely out of touch with society. He had no idea there were national treasure pandas here—two of them, in fact.
’Huh, isn’t that the little fox that attacked me earlier? And the yellow dog that bit me. You two sons of bitches, you dare to bite me? Just watch how I’ll teach you a lesson.’
He looked around and found a sturdy stick. Convinced that with a weapon in hand he was sure to win, he thought, ’Dogs and foxes like these have weak backs. I’ll aim for their waists and break their spines!’
The Little Fox had spotted him long ago. Er Huang wanted to rush forward and bite him, but the Little Fox stopped it. With a quick flick of its eyes, it led Er Huang and turned to run into the bamboo forest.
Zhu Chuanlei gave chase. When he reached the edge, he saw a red line but ignored it and stepped right over.
In the distance, a security guard shouted for him to stop and come out, but he paid no attention. He just kept chasing and trying to hit the Little Fox. The fox deliberately slowed down, dodging left and right, putting on an act of terrified, panicked flight. It even let out a few pitiful yelps from time to time. Meanwhile, at the Little Fox’s signal, Er Huang had already disappeared somewhere.
Outside, many of the tourists were in an uproar.
"Wow, who is that guy? He’s actually hitting the little fox?"
"Someone’s attacking the Little Red Fox~"
More and more people heard the commotion and rushed over.
Soon, the Little Fox had lured Zhu Chuanlei to the front of Tuantuan’s bamboo house and zipped inside in a flash.
"I’ll teach you to run! I’ll teach you to be so wild! Let’s see where you can hide! I’m going to bash your brains out today!" Zhu Chuanlei shouted, waving his stick as he charged in after it.
Soon, the sounds of terrified screams from a panda and a fox, along with dog barks, rose and fell from within the bamboo house. The sounds were mixed with the whoosh of a swinging stick and Zhu Chuanlei’s curses.
Many people took photos and recorded videos. Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, "Someone rushed in to attack the panda~"
"What kind of person is that? How dare he attack a national treasure? That’s outrageous! Tuantuan is so cute, and he’s hitting it with a stick?"
The security guard finally arrived at the entrance of the bamboo house. But before he could go inside, a figure was unceremoniously thrown out.
The guard sucked in a sharp breath. "Who is this?"
’Is this still the same guy from before?’ he wondered.
’He’s been beaten so badly his own mother wouldn’t recognize him, would she?’
The guard quickly called Lei Jiaming, reporting that someone was causing trouble on the back mountain, Panda Mountain. He said the person seemed to be seriously injured—covered in bruises, face swollen, and both legs looked like they were broken!
The tourists were all chattering. Lei Xiaohui also came over to see what the commotion was about. Yao Yao and Zhao Xueqing were busy in the shop and didn’t come out, but many people in the shop had heard there was big drama and ran outside.
Lei Jiaming came over and took a closer look. ’Well now, isn’t this the master I kicked out this morning? How did he get beaten into this sorry state?’
After asking about what had happened, Lei Jiaming thought for a moment and decided it was best to report to the boss.
So, he gave Li Xiang a call.
After hearing the general gist of what happened, Li Xiang had only one thing to say: "Call the police."
In fact, some tourists had already called the police, but Lei Jiaming still had to report it again.
The tourists calling the police was their own business. As the head of security, he had to fulfill his own duty: call the police!
A short while later, Li Xiang’s Little Aunt and grandmother also arrived. They were utterly astonished to see Zhu Chuanlei lying on the ground, half-dead.
When the police arrived, Zhu Chuanlei had already regained consciousness. But his entire body ached, both his legs were broken, and he couldn’t get up at all. ’I must have the worst luck in eight lifetimes,’ he thought.
After the police arrived, one began the questioning. "Name?"
"Zhu Chuanlei."
"ID."
Zhu Chuanlei struggled to produce his ID card.
The officer ran a check. ’Holy cow, seventeen years in prison? And he was just released not long ago?’
"What’s the deal with you? You just got out and you’re already causing trouble, attacking a Class II protected animal, the red fox, and a Class I protected animal, the giant panda?"
"Do you have any idea that pandas are a national treasure?"
"Whether it’s the giant panda or the little red fox, attacking either one carries a minimum sentence of up to five years in prison, plus a fine. If the circumstances are serious, it’s five to ten years or even more. Looks to me like you’re trying to get back in, aren’t you?"
Zhu Chuanlei was shocked, but he couldn’t jump up. He was dumbfounded and hastily explained, "I didn’t attack them! They attacked me!"
As soon as he said that, the police chuckled, and the surrounding crowd laughed as well.
Someone shouted, "How can you be so shameless? Officer, don’t listen to his nonsense. We saw with our own eyes him chasing the Little Red Fox with a stick, and then he charged into the bamboo house to attack the giant panda!"
Zhu Chuanlei grew frantic and yelled, "Even if that’s true, it was a mutual fight!"
The officer laughed. "A mutual fight with a national treasure? It’s an animal, so it doesn’t know any better, but you don’t either? It’s an animal; if you hit it, of course it’s going to fight back."
Another officer said, "This doesn’t count as a mutual fight. You’re the one who unilaterally started it."
"Right, right!" Old Village Chief Li Jinyu chimed in from the side, explaining loudly, "Tuantuan and its mother, the two giant pandas, have been here for so long. They’ve always been adorable, exceptionally gentle, and good-tempered. We all love them. Many tourists have taken pictures with them and can vouch for it. And now they’ve been beaten by a bad man! Officer, you must seek justice for our wild giant panda, a national treasure!"
Another member of the village committee added, "Our village party secretary, Li Xiang, is a member of the county’s Political Consultative Conference. He has already reported the situation to the county and provincial leaders."
The tourists were all discussing it amongst themselves, naturally taking Tuantuan’s side.
Especially now, as Tuantuan, at the Little Fox’s signal, came out, lay on the ground pretending to be seriously injured, and whimpered pitifully, looking extremely uncomfortable. Its mother stood guard beside it, letting out angry roars from time to time, looking like it had been wronged and wanted revenge but didn’t dare approach.
The tourists felt even more sorry for it. Someone suggested that Village Chief Li call the provincial authorities and request a team of experts to come treat Tuantuan and check its health.
Someone else said that Tuantuan was still a juvenile, a panda cub, just happily eating its bamboo shoots when a bad man suddenly rushed in and beat it. It would surely be traumatized. They suggested the provincial experts should not only check Tuantuan’s physical condition but also pay attention to its mental health.
Seeing the public outcry, the lead officer said loudly, "Everyone, please rest assured. Attacking a national treasure is an extremely serious and vile criminal act. According to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, he may be sentenced to varying degrees of punishment. We will definitely handle this impartially and get justice for Tuantuan."
In fact, the act of attacking a panda not only results in criminal punishment but can also lead to social condemnation and financial liability.
But Zhu Chuanlei was so poor, he probably couldn’t afford to pay any compensation.
Zhu Chuanlei nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood. ’What did I do? I didn’t do anything! I’m the one who got beaten up! I’m the one who’s seriously injured, okay?’
The moment he had charged in, he’d felt something was wrong. The panda and the dog were both inside waiting for him, and then he was completely powerless to fight back.
And while those animals were beating him, they were also screaming their heads off, making it sound like he was the one abusing them.
’Heaven have mercy, who was abusing whom? If he said these animals had become spirits and deliberately set him up, who would believe him?’
Faced with so many accusations, he was truly unable to defend himself. With his legs broken and his body covered in injuries, he was overcome with anger and fainted.
Zhu Chuanlei was taken away by the police, and Li Family Village gradually returned to peace.
Li Xiang called again to comfort his Little Aunt, telling her not to be afraid and that the guy wouldn’t be able to stir up any more trouble in the future.
As for his Little Aunt’s job, Li Xiang had already figured that out. He planned to bring her over to the Jade Processing Factory in Ruili to work as a deputy director.
