Li Guiying is on a trip to hunt down the villagers accused of killing her husband. Provided to China Daily

A long nightmare is finally over for a 59-year-old woman who spent 17 years hunting down the villagers accused of killing her husband during a surprise attack.

"When I come to my husband's tomb, I tell him all the suspects have been caught," Li Guiying said.

Li's saga dates back to Jan 30, 1998, when five villagers who suspected she had reported them for having extra children accosted her on her way home.

She said they sought revenge, and cursed and beat her with bricks, clubs and spades.

"I did not have enough time to react. I just found I had been stabbed and was bleeding in my stomach," she said.

Hearing her screaming, Qi Yuande, her husband rushed out, but he was beaten unconscious.

Qi Jinshan, one of the five villagers, stabbed her husband with a dagger, and he died from severe blood loss that day.

Walking on a dirt path near her home at Qipo village of Nandun county, in Xiangcheng city, Henan province, Li said: "Here, it is the place where my husband was killed. I will never forget it."

The couple had five children, a new house and a happy life, she said. When the police made no progress in catching the killers, who fled the village, she was determined to pursue them herself.

From that day on, Li encouraged villagers to pay attention to any news they heard about the five men and report back to her or her family. Moved by her determination, they built a network to feed her information.