Shiliu Village rests at the foot of Lion Mountain. A small stream winds down the hillside by the path leading into the village.
As the village is far from town and lacks running water, the villagers must fetch their drinking water from this stream.
By the stream now, Li Mei bends over, washing clothes.
Before her stands a young man with messy hair, his clothes tattered and patched with fabric of mismatched colors.
The man grins foolishly, continuously splashing water at Li Mei.
"Erzhu, stop playing, Erzhu. My clothes are soaked."
The man seems not to hear Li Mei, still splashing water at her.
Li Mei puts down the clothes, wipes the water from her face, and begins to retaliate.
She wears a cream-colored short-sleeved shirt today, with black spaghetti straps peeking through on her shoulders, suggesting a superb figure.
Li Mei is a well-known widow in the village. Her husband, surnamed Wang, died of hepatitis a few years ago, leaving her to live alone in an empty house.
The man splashing water with her is named Erzhu. He is simple-minded. He wandered to Shiliu Village in his early years and was adopted by the widow's husband. After her husband's death, the kind widow did not want Erzhu to wander again, so she let him stay and live with her until now.
In the stream, they continuously splash water at each other, laughing merrily.
"Oh, stop playing, Erzhu, I give up, I give up!"
Li Mei’s stamina is not great, and she is defeated in a short while.
Li Mei reaches to adjust her fallen strap. The hook on her bra has come undone from the force of her movements.
"Erzhu, come here, help me."
Hearing this, Erzhu grins foolishly and walks to Li Mei, extending his hand.
"Hey, I didn't ask you to tickle me, you fool, stop it!"
"Ah, stop tickling, it's itchy~"
Li Mei's face turns red, and she glares at Erzhu.
She has to reach behind her back and points to the hook's location: "Here, help sister hook this up!"
The simple-minded man continues to grin foolishly. Li Mei can't help but sigh.
Just then, a stout man, Fatty, the village bully, emerges from the reeds by the stream.
Fatty looks at Li Mei's alluring, voluptuous body and swallows.
But seeing the foolish Erzhu beside her, he has a flash of inspiration. He picks up a bamboo pole and, while Li Mei and Erzhu are not paying attention, pokes her clothes into the river.
With a splash, the clothes quickly float away downstream.
Li Mei realizes what happened and quickly exclaims, "Oh no, Erzhu, the clothes have floated away! Go get them back for me."
Hearing this, Erzhu stops playing and chuckles as he goes to retrieve the clothes.
Fatty stands by the reeds, watching Erzhu leave. He is overjoyed and swaggeringly walks up, "What are you doing here with that fool, Li Widow? You were shouting so loudly."
"Nothing, just washing clothes."
Li Mei glances at Fatty with disgust.
"Ha, Li Widow, it's been so long since your husband passed. You must be very lonely, right?"
Fatty walks towards Li Mei, a lecherous grin on his face. He has long coveted Li Mei.
Li Mei immediately feels a sense of dread. She glances around; there is no one in sight.
She looks at Erzhu, who has already disappeared.
"What do you want? If you come closer, I'll call for help."
Li Mei hastily covers her chest and frowns coldly at Fatty.
Fatty is not afraid at all. Instead, he licks his lips with a sinister laugh, "What do I want? What do you think I want?"
Fatty walks closer. Li Mei grits her teeth, picks up a stone, and throws it at him. While Fatty dodges, she turns and runs.
"Hey, don't run, brother is very capable."
Fatty immediately gives chase. Despite his large physique, he runs surprisingly fast. In a few strides, he catches up to Li Mei, pushes the thoroughly soaked Li Mei to the ground, and pins her with his nearly two-meter-tall body.
"You bastard, stop it, hurry up and stop!"
Li Mei shouts, struggling with all her might. But she, being frail, is no match for Fatty.
Fatty presses Li Mei's hands down with his knees and rips off his shirt.
Li Mei panics immediately, tears flowing uncontrollably, her voice filled with despair.
Seeing this, Fatty becomes even more excited. He leans down, about to kiss her.
Suddenly, a figure rushes out from the reeds.
It is Erzhu, the simple-minded boy, who has returned!
Seeing Li Mei being harassed, Erzhu immediately charges at Fatty and kicks him away from Li Mei. He then lunges at Fatty, wrestling with him!
"You fool, are you looking for death?"
Erzhu's sudden appearance catches Fatty off guard.
His good deed interrupted, Fatty is enraged and fights back.
Erzhu is also quite tall, but he is thin, like a bamboo pole.
Before long, Erzhu is defeated. Fatty grabs Erzhu by the neck with both hands and drags him to the deepest part of the stream.
He shoves Erzhu underwater, pressing him down firmly, not allowing him to escape.
A few minutes later, Erzhu shows no more signs of movement.
Li Mei lies on the ground, watching the two in a state of panic. She repeatedly calls out to Erzhu, but he doesn't respond.
Erzhu lies completely still in the stream. A fish, swimming from the bottom of the stream, glides towards him and, as if passing through a wall, enters his mind.
"River Luo Divine Art, Supreme Physician."
"I am the River God, who has cultivated for a thousand years. Today, I shall pass down the supreme great law to you. I hope you will perform good deeds and accumulate virtue, and escape this sea of suffering as soon as possible."
Erzhu suddenly opens his eyes. The flowing water seems to have no effect on him, and his eyes become clear.
A past memory appears in his mind!
He was originally the eldest son of the Luo family in the capital. He was betrothed to the Chen family. Who knew his fiancée would break the engagement and conspire with her lover to kill him, which caused his mind to become dull and led him to wander to this day. His parents were also killed because of this!
His family was destroyed.
Erzhu clenches his fists, secretly vowing to get revenge.
Feeling the power surging through his body, he violently breaks free and stands up.
Fatty is startled.
"Damn it, this fool is truly resilient."
He curses and prepares to strike again, but Erzhu grabs him.
"Ah, let go, my hand!"
An immense force comes through, causing Fatty to writhe in pain.
Then, with a crack, Fatty's hand is snapped off.
Erzhu then kicks him forcefully, knocking Fatty unconscious!
Li Mei, having regained some strength, manages to sit up. Seeing Fatty lying motionless in the stream, she frantically waves, "Erzhu, hurry, let's go!"
Erzhu looks at Li Mei with gentleness in his eyes. During the years he was simple-minded, her family took care of him meticulously.
He walks to Li Mei's side, bends down, "Sister Mei, let me carry you."
Li Mei does not hesitate and climbs onto Erzhu's back. Everything happened too suddenly; she did not realize that Erzhu was no longer the same foolish person he used to be.
Feeling the warmth from his back, Erzhu slowly carries Li Mei back to the village.