Following Zhao Nuanyue's lead, the crowd also spotted a small boat, paddling furiously toward them. They prayed it was the boat carrying Li Qiong and Wang Yuan.
Liu Lanhua grew even more frantic, praying in her heart that Wang Dadan hadn't been completely consumed by his lust. 'I hope he can hear my voice and get out of there, fast!'
But Wang Dadan was in the middle of his wicked act!
Hearing Liu Lanhua's shouts, Wang Dadan cursed inwardly. 'Shit, someone's here.' He spat, "Which blind bastard dares to ruin my fun? Just wait till I get back, I'll fucking destroy them!"
Wang Dadan had scouted this place beforehand. He knew a small hole in the back of the cave would let him escape to the other side of the hill.
Wang Dadan's body was on fire with lust, and his heart was on fire with rage. To have the prize right in his grasp, only to be forced to spit it out—the very thought was infuriating. 'When I get back, I'm going to find out who stuck their nose in my business,' he fumed. 'I'll definitely teach them a lesson.'
Barely a minute after Wang Dadan fled, Zhao Nuanyue, Yang Guanghui, and the villagers arrived.
"There are footprints on the ground! Oh god, there's a cave up ahead. Quick, let's go look." Spotting the naked forms of Wang Yuan and Li Qiong, Zhao Nuanyue immediately moved to block the crowd's view. "They're in there! Everyone, please wait. I'm a young woman. Aunts, big sisters, come in with me and take a look."
The villagers seemed to understand. Something terrible had truly happened.
Realizing that someone had harmed the two young women, the other villagers turned away, not daring to look in that direction.
Li Guihua and two other women entered and saw two naked women lying motionless and disheveled on the ground. They gasped, thinking they had been killed. Checking for breath, they found the girls were still alive. But before they could even sigh in relief, Li Guihua noticed blood beneath Wang Yuan and knew instantly she had been violated.
"That bastard deserves to be cut to pieces! Preying on women!" Li Guihua cursed. "Wang Yuan was assaulted! Quick, check on Li Qiong!"
The other woman went over to check, her voice trembling with lingering fear as she stammered, "This one... Li Qiong... seems to be okay. The beast probably didn't have time to... to get to her!"
Zhao Nuanyue's eyes reddened as she choked out, "Heavens, what's going to happen now? To lose one's innocence... how can she live with this!"
Li Guihua's eyes also grew red. 'What will Wang Yuan do now?'
"Let's get them dressed. They're still unconscious; they don't even know what happened yet!" Li Guihua urged. "Tell the people outside to start investigating immediately. This matter must be made public; it cannot be swept under the rug."
Once the girls were dressed, Zhao Nuanyue gently patted their faces, calling out urgently, "Li Qiong! Wang Yuan! Wake up, you have to wake up!"
But having been drugged, Li Qiong and Wang Yuan remained unresponsive.
Only then did Yang Guanghui and the male villagers turn back around. "I can't imagine what kind of monster would drug them," he said grimly.
Zhao Nuanyue didn't fail to remind Yang Guanghui and the other men, "That scoundrel must have heard us and fled. We came in from the front, so he must have escaped through the back. You have to hurry after him! You might still be able to catch him!"
Liu Lanhua, who had tagged along, turned pale with fright, her legs going soft. 'Run faster, Wang Dadan,' she prayed. 'Don't you dare get caught.'
Upon hearing this, Yang Guanghui yelled, "Everyone, with me! Let's catch this pervert!"
Most of the villagers were decent, honest people, and many had daughters of their own. If they didn't catch this predator, none of the girls in the village would be safe. So, they all followed Yang Guanghui out through the small hole in the back to give chase.
Two village women who had followed them rushed forward and checked the girls' breathing. "Let's get them to a doctor," one said.
So, everyone worked together to carry Li Qiong and Wang Yuan onto the boat. The local barefoot doctor, who usually just treated fevers and coughs, had no idea how to wake them. He simply said they would wake up on their own once the drug wore off.
Li Qiong and Wang Yuan were taken to the Dragon King Temple, where they remained fast asleep.
They were completely unaware of the horrifying ordeal they had just endured. Especially Wang Yuan—her body had been violated. What would become of her now?
Zhao Nuanyue and Li Guihua, the director of the Women's Federation, watched over Li Qiong and Wang Yuan. That woman Liu Lanhua also came over, putting on a show of concern as she hovered nearby.
"I can't imagine who could be so devoid of conscience!" Liu Lanhua was the first to speak, her voice full of condemnation. "How could someone do something like this? Aren't they afraid of being struck down by heavenly lightning?"
Zhao Nuanyue glanced at Liu Lanhua. 'This woman is really something else,' she thought. 'She's a master at playing the thief who cries "Stop, thief!"'
"It's true. Our village has always been peaceful. How could we have such a scoundrel here?" Li Guihua said. "I'm going to have a serious talk with Miao Cunzheng. We absolutely must find out who is responsible for this!"
"Of course we have to investigate. We absolutely must," Liu Lanhua said with righteous indignation, as if she were the one who had been drugged and assaulted.
Zhao Nuanyue sneered inwardly. 'It's going to take some real effort to bring down this Liu Lanhua legitimately. And that Wang Dadan is no pushover either. I'll have to come up with a foolproof plan.'
This time, Wang Dadan and Liu Lanhua hadn't gotten everything they wanted. They were bound to see the volunteers as thorns in their side. As long as these two local bullies were around, life would be hard for them.
"This is so frightening. I'm going to write to my family in Jincheng City and tell them how dangerous it is here," Zhao Nuanyue said in a choked voice, tears streaming down her cheeks. 'Acting? Anyone can act. I can do it too, and I'm a much better actress than Liu Lanhua.'
At these words, both the director of the Women's Federation and Liu Lanhua grew anxious.
"Zhao Nuanyue, you have to trust that the village will give you justice and not let the villain get away scot-free," Li Guihua said, trying to console her. "Miao Cunzheng is meeting with the village cadres right now to discuss how to handle this for Wang Yuan and Li Qiong. We'll talk to them properly once they wake up. You know as well as I do that finding this person won't happen overnight. Please, just give our village a little time."
One does not air their dirty laundry in public. If Zhao Nuanyue wrote home, the situation would escalate, and the county would get involved. In the end, Nianqiao Village would be shamed, unable to hold its head high ever again.
Nowadays, what mattered most was being hardworking and having a clean family reputation. With a degenerate on the loose in the village, who would dare to marry their daughters? The young bachelors would have an even harder time finding wives.