The Last Life I Own

The scorching sun baked down on Ox-Head Village. In front of a dilapidated farmhouse, Leonardo Walker, a tall man with a simple-minded expression, was crouched on the ground, trying to fix a broken hoe. This morning, while digging for yams in the mountains, he had accidentally damaged the hoe. Now, he was awkwardly but earnestly trying to repair it.

“Leonardo, your big yellow dog has run off to the back hills. You should go and check on it quickly. Don’t eat the red sorghum from the village chief’s farm anymore!” At that moment, a woman carrying a basket passed by, and she kindly reminded us of this situation.

Leonardo Walker immediately put down what he was doing, stood up, and ran towards the outskirts of the village, completely confused and unaware of what was happening.

“Leonardo, where are you going?” Inside the farmhouse, a woman rushed after him. In her early twenties, she had a plump figure and fair skin. Her face showed obvious worry. She was Leonardo Walker’s sister-in-law, Clyde Heller. Since her brother wasn’t very smart, she couldn’t help but worry whenever he went out, fearing he might get into trouble or get bullied.

Leonardo Walker turned around, wearing a simple, honest smile on his face. He replied loudly, “Sister-in-law, Big Yellow has run off into the mountains. I need to find it!”

Da Huang was a yellow ox, and also the most valuable possession in Leonardo Walker’s household. It was relied upon for plowing and farming every day. “Sister-in-law, there’s still yam cooking in the pot. Eat first, it’ll help with milk production for the baby.” With that, he turned around and ran towards the back mountain.

“Then run slowly, so you won’t fall…” Clyde Heller wanted to say a few more things, but the children in the house suddenly started crying. She had no choice but to turn around and go inside to calm them down.

It was nearly noon by now. Under the scorching sun, the villagers living on the back hill gradually finished their work and went home. Only a few people were still working. “Leonardo, what are you doing on the back hill at this time? Aren’t you supposed to be helping your sister-in-law cook at home?” One of the villagers who hadn’t finished working asked Leonardo Walker out of curiosity. Since Leonardo Walker wasn’t very smart, the villagers had gotten used to calling him “Leonardo”.

Leonardo Walker wiped the sweat from his face and blurted out, “I’m looking for Big Yellow!”

“I’m looking for your dog, Da Huang. I saw it go that way just now.” The villager pointed in the direction not far away, offering a kind reminder, “Go check on it quickly. That’s Samuel Black’s sorghum field over there. Be careful.”

Samuel Black is the head of Niutou Village. He’s not only the richest man in the village but also a notorious tyrant. Last time, some chickens from Ronald Heller’s house accidentally wandered into his sorghum field. When Samuel Black found out, he had the chickens slaughtered without any mercy. If Big Yellow really damaged his sorghum field, Samuel Black would probably demand that Big Yellow be killed as well!

Leonardo Walker said “Thank you” in a simple manner, then ran towards the field of bright red sorghum. But when he arrived at the field, he couldn’t see Big Yellow anywhere. Not understanding what had happened, he thought Big Yellow must have run into the center of the field. So, he carefully walked in as well.

Although Leonardo Walker was tall and burly, the sorghum plants around him were even taller than him. Once he stepped inside the field, he disappeared from sight in an instant. As he walked deeper into the sorghum field, he looked around constantly, calling out “Big Yellow” from time to time.

Suddenly, a faint noise came from ahead. Leonardo Walker felt hopeful, thinking it might be Big Yellow hiding there. He quickened his pace. But upon approaching, he realized the noise wasn’t made by Big Yellow. It was a woman’s voice—soft and fragmented, filled with both pain and an indescribable sense of joy.

Although Leonardo Walker wasn’t very smart, he had a curious mind. He crouched down, gently pushing aside the sorghum stalks, which were thicker than his thumb. Peeking through the gaps in the leaves, what he saw stunned him instantly.

In front, a large area of sorghum plants had been crushed to the ground, lying scattered in a small pile. On the surrounding sorghum stalks, there were women’s clothes hanging, along with a man’s T-shirt. What caught everyone’s attention most was a man and a woman hugging each other right in the middle of that pile of crushed sorghum.

“Damn it, what’s going on here…” Even if Leonardo Walker was stupid, he could barely understand what was happening before his eyes. He tried to turn around and leave, but his body seemed nailed to the spot. His legs were too heavy to move.

In less than half a minute, a disgusted voice came from among the sorghum piles. A woman sat up and said, “Good-for-nothing! I went through all this trouble, and you give up so easily?”

When Leonardo Walker saw the woman’s face clearly, he was terrified. It wasn’t anyone else but Samuel Black’s wife, Elliott Banner. Elliott Banner was in her thirties, more than a dozen years younger than Samuel Black. She was beautiful and well-proportioned. She always dressed in a very provocative manner. On the streets, she often argued with people. Many secretly called her “the little fox spirit”.

“Well… this is my first time playing like this too. I’m a little excited!” At that moment, a man also sat up, his face full of embarrassment. Leonardo Walker blinked several times. When he recognized the man’s face, he was shocked—it was Ronald Heller from next door!

Not long ago, Samuel Black killed a chicken belonging to Ronald Heller because the chicken ran into his sorghum field. The two of them had a fierce argument over this. Who would have thought that today, Ronald Heller would go to Samuel Black’s sorghum field and do such a thing to Samuel Black’s wife? Is this some kind of revenge?

“Get lost. You’re not much better than that old Samuel Black. Three seconds for you, less than a minute for him!” Elliott Banner glanced at Ronald Heller with disdain, his tone filled with contempt.

Ronald Heller wasn’t convinced and wanted to try again. But Elliott Banner had lost interest and paid him no attention at all, focusing instead on picking up clothes around him. Leonardo Walker was terrified, sweating profusely. Right not far from him hung one of Elliott Banner’s clothes. If Elliott Banner came over to pick it up, he’d definitely notice Leonardo!

He quickly lay flat on the ground, trying to use the weeds around him to hide his figure. But just then, another sound came from the sorghum field ahead. “What are you standing around for? Someone’s coming! Go check it out!” Elliott Banner panicked immediately. He hurriedly picked up his clothes and put them on, without noticing Leonardo Walker, who was not far away.

Ronald Heller also quickly got dressed and headed in the direction of the noise. After a short while, he came back. “Did you see who it was?” Elliott Banner asked, worried. Ronald Heller smiled. “What’s there to worry about? It’s just Leonardo’s big yellow dog. Just an animal that won’t cause any trouble.”

Hearing this, Elliott Banner finally breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest. “Alright, let’s get ready to leave right away. Don’t let anyone find us.” She also asked Ronald Heller to tidy up the sorghum plants that had been trampled around, making it look like they had been damaged by livestock. Then, the two of them left the sorghum field carefully, one behind the other.

After the two left, Leonardo Walker finally dared to get up slowly. He quickly went toward Big Yellow, took it by the leash, and led it down the mountain from the other side of the sorghum field.

On the other hand, while descending the hill, Elliott Banner ran into Jared Osmond, a villager who hadn’t finished his work yet. “Beautiful, just now Leonardo went to your family’s sorghum field in search of Dahuang. I hope his Dahuang didn’t damage your sorghum, did it?” Jared Osmond asked kindly.

But it was this very sentence that made Elliott Banner’s heart sink instantly. She forced herself to remain calm and asked softly, “Jared Osmond, did you say… that Leonardo Walker went to our sorghum field to look for the cows just now?”