Chapter 9: Lower Than a Beast

Words : 1894 Updated : Jan 15th, 2026

At that moment, Penny Lapwood screamed in terror. "You animal, let go of me!" "James Hickton, you scum-may you die a miserable death!" The more she screamed, the more excited Cole Lyson got. Two nights ago, Ben Lyson had come to Penny's place, saying he would help her apply for poverty assistance. Penny felt grateful then, thinking the village branch secretary, Ben Lyson, was a good man. She never expected Ben to grope her when she wasn't looking. She dodged at once and didn't let him go any further. Only Ben and she knew about it, so how did James Hickton know? In truth, Cole Lyson had been peeping through Penny's window that night. He had meant to sneak in and take advantage of his second sister-in-law. Ben showed up, so he didn't get his chance. From the window, he saw Ben grope Penny. Now Cole grew even bolder. He yanked down Penny's outer pants, revealing a white pair of short shorts underneath. "Penny Lapwood." "It's the dead of night on a deserted mountainside. No one's coming." "Scream yourself hoarse and it'll only turn me on more." "Be a good girl and I'll be gentle. Otherwise, I'll beat you to death." Penny trembled uncontrollably. Cole pinned her to the ground, about to force himself on her, when a kick crashed into his back. He tumbled across the dirt, rolled several times, and slammed into a tree trunk. Joseph Lyson had struck. He couldn't watch any longer. This animal even wanted to violate his second sister-in-law. Joseph picked up the clothes Cole had torn and walked them over to Penny. "Penny, put your clothes on first." Shaking, she reached out, took the bundle, and covered her chest. Then she grabbed her pants from the ground and pulled them back on. Cole, groaning against the tree, saw it was the village fool, Joseph Lyson. Rage flared. He scrambled up, snatched a big stone from the ground, and charged. "Stupid idiot, you ruined my fun!" "I'll smash you to death, you dumb bastard!" He hurled the stone at Joseph's head. Joseph raised his forearm to block. The rock hit his arm, shattered, and skittered away. Joseph grabbed Cole by the collar and slapped him hard, twice, across the face. "James Hickton, you beast lower than pigs and dogs-I'll kill you!" He drove a kick into Cole's gut and sent him flying more than thirty feet. Cole curled up, pain twisting his body, as if every bone was coming apart. He lay there a long moment before he managed to crawl up. He knew the village fool Joseph Lyson was freakishly strong; he stood no chance. Pointing, he spat curses: "Damn fool, just you wait!" "See how I kill you next time!" He stumbled downhill and soon vanished into the night. Penny finally caught her breath. She stepped up to Joseph, gratitude flooding her face. "Joseph, thank you." "If you hadn't saved me, that animal would've ruined me." Joseph couldn't help noticing her figure-curves that stirred a man's imagination. Even in the darkness, he could make out the proud lines of her body. It felt awkward to stare. After a quick glance, he looked away. "Penny, don't mention it." "I happened to be hunting in the hills. I saw James Hickton try to bully you, so I taught that bastard a lesson." He needed the excuse. He often hunted rabbits and pheasants on Fairy Mountain. Besides, he had just dug up a fifty-year-old Ginseng and didn't want anyone to know. Cole had run off, but Penny was still shaken. She eyed Joseph's sturdy frame and thought about how pitch-dark it already was. If she went down alone and ran into James Hickton again, she might be assaulted. So she said, "Joseph, it's really dark." "I'm scared to go down the mountain by myself. Could you walk me home?" Joseph nodded. "Sure. Let's head back." They started down together. On the way, Joseph asked why Ben Lyson had gone to her house two nights ago to help her apply for poverty assistance. "After Gerard died at the mine, didn't you get condolence payments and compensation?" Penny said the compensation and condolence money for the three brothers-Guazi, Gerard, and Tizi-had all been taken by their mother, Delilah. The three widows didn't receive a penny. None of them had jobs, and with no income at all, they had become impoverished households. Joseph listened and finally understood. He thought the three women were truly pitiful. He decided that once he sold the Ginseng, he would help them out. Talking as they walked, they soon reached Penny's home. After she thanked him several more times, Joseph saw it was late and took his leave. When he stepped into his own yard, Della Sowden came storming over. "Joseph, weren't you sleeping inside? Why did you run off into the wild?" "Della was knocking on your door for more than an hour, and you never answered." "What's with you? You're getting more and more troublesome." Della glared at Joseph, furious. She hadn't even had time to properly talk to him about what happened at the town hospital this morning. She told him to rest in the afternoon, yet he slipped out to play. How could she not be angry? Seeing Della's face, Joseph thought, Crap. When he left earlier, he had climbed out through the back window. Coming home, he should've climbed back in and opened the door from inside. After walking Penny back, he rushed home and forgot about the window. He chuckled, trying to smooth things over. "Della, don't be mad." "Reina Sowden is coming to our village tomorrow, right?" "I wanted to catch a wild rabbit in the back hills and cook it for her tomorrow." "That's why I got back late." Della shot him a look. "Then where's the rabbit? Why didn't you bring it home?" "Sadly, I didn't catch a rabbit," Joseph said. "But I dug up a Wild Ginseng." "I planned to go sell it in the county this afternoon and come back, but looks like there wasn't enough time." Because of the delay earlier, it was already past eight in the evening. Della saw Joseph's goofy grin and knew his heart was still in the right place-he'd even wanted to catch a rabbit for her sister, Reina Sowden. Her anger eased. "Joseph, you must be hungry. Let's go in and eat." She turned and walked inside, and Joseph followed. On the table sat two bowls of rice, a plate of fish, and two vegetable dishes. Joseph sat down and found Della strangely alluring with the last of her temper still clinging to her. When she leaned slightly and reached for a dish, the sight was downright mesmerizing.

Chapter 9: Lower Than a Beast

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