Big Breasts & Wipe Hips: A Novel

longer. Zaohua was slowing Sima Liang down, and when they reached the open ground in front of the kiln, a brick hurled by Wei Yangjiao knocked Sima Liang to the ground. Zaohua ran straight at Wei with the knife, but missed when he sidestepped the attack; Wu Yunyu came up and kicked her to the ground.
    “Stop right there!” Mother shouted.
    Like vultures spreading their wings, the four attackers bared their arms and began kicking Sima Liang and Sha Zaohua, over and over again. She cried out piteously; he didn’t make a sound. They rolled on the ground, trying to avoid the feet of the attackers, who, in the moonlight, seemed caught up in a strange dance.
    Mother stumbled and fell, but got stubbornly back to her feet and grabbed the shoulder of Wei Yangjiao and wouldn’t let go. Known for being sinister and cunning, he drove his elbows back into her, catching her on both breasts. With a loud yelp, she backed off, lost her balance, and sat down hard on the ground. I threw myself down on the ground and buried my face in the mud; it seemed to me that black blood was gushing from my eyes.
    And still they kicked Sima Liang and Zaohua in an explosion of savage fury. At that moment, a hulking figure with a mass of unkempt hair, an unruly beard, a face covered with soot, and dressed all in black emerged from the kiln. His movements were stiff as he crawled out and got clumsily to his feet; raising a fist that seemed as big as a pile driver, he swung at Wu Yunyu and shattered his collarbone. This onetime hero sat on the ground and cried like a baby. The other three hardy souls stopped dead. “It’s Sima Ku!” Wei Yangjiao shouted in alarm. He turned to run away, but when he heard the angry roar from Sima Ku, like an explosion out of the earth, he and the others froze in their tracks. Sima Ku raised his fist again; this time it crunched into Ding Jingou’s eye. The next punch drove the bile up and out of Guo Qiu-sheng’s mouth. Before the next punch was launched, Wei Yangjiao fell to his knees and began banging his head on the ground, kowtowing and begging for his life: “Spare me, old master, spare me! Those three forced me to join in. They said they’d beat me up if I didn’t, knock the teeth right out of my mouth … please, old master, spare me …” Sima Ku hesitated for just a moment before delivering a kick that sent Wei Yangjiao rolling backward. He scrambled to his feet and ran off like a frightened jackrabbit. It didn’t take long for his barking voice to break the silence over the road leading to the village: “Go catch Sima Ku — the leader of the restoration corps landlords, Sima Ku, is back — go catch him —”
    Sima Ku helped Sima Liang and Sha Zaohua to their feet, then did the same for Mother.
    Mother’s voice quaked. “Are you human or are you a ghost?”
    “Mother-in-law —” Sima Ku sobbed, but didn’t go on.
    “Dad, is it really you?” Sima Liang blurted out.
    “Son,” Sima Ku replied, “I’m proud of you.”
    Sima Ku turned back to Mother. “Who’s left at home?”
    “Don’t ask any questions,” Mother said anxiously. “You must get away from here.”
    The frantic beating of a gong and crisp rifle fire came from the village.
    Sima grabbed hold of Wu Yunyu and said, slowly so there’d be no misunderstanding, “You piece of shit, you tell that bunch of turtles in the village that if anyone lays a hand on any relative of mine, I, Sima Ku, will personally wipe his family off the face of the earth! Do you understand me?”
    “I understand,” Wu Yunyu said eagerly. “I understand.”
    Sima Ku released his grip and let Wu fall back onto the ground.
    “Hurry, go on now!” Mother slapped the ground with her hand to get him moving.
    “Dad,” Sima Ku sobbed, “I want to go with you …”
    “Be a good boy,” Sima Ku said, “and go with your grandma.”
    “Please, Dad, take me with you.”
    “Liang,” Mother said, “don’t get in your father’s way. He has to get out of here.”
    Sima Ku knelt in front of Mother and kowtowed. “Mother,” he said sorrowfully, “the boy is going to have to stay with you. Since I could never repay the debt I owe you in this lifetime, you’ll have to wait till my next lifetime!”
    “I failed the two girls, Feng and Huang,” Mother replied tearfully. “Please don’t hate me.”
    “It wasn’t your fault. And I’ve already exacted vengeance.”
    “Go on, then, go on. Run fast and fly far. All vengeance does is lead to more of