Edited by Lord Immortal
Having finished his instruction, the man in black disappeared within a blink of an eye, and Aunt Cui let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, she had just promised him without thinking. However, in the current situation, she was indeed concerned. What the childe told her to do was so difficult!
It was easy to drive them away since Cui"s had the final say around the Zhoujia village. In addition, they had the help of those two brothers, Zhao Long and Zhao Hu. Nevertheless, with regard to the last matter, she couldn"t do it.
Aunt Cui wandered about in the same place. The jump of a fish caused something of a stir on the tranquil surface of the dark lake. She thought about her current life and her future expectations about it. She clenched her teeth while blinking. Those who were able to make extraordinary achievements all tended to have something to depend on. It was a pity to miss such an opportunity when the man in black backed them.
Aunt Cui took a deep breath and prepared to go back to make arrangements. To her surprise, with a few strides, she saw a fire burning straight into the sky.
She muttered to herself. Whose house was on fire? Who could be so careless?
She narrowed her eyes to have a careful look and then her face changed. The fire was rising from the direction of her house. She rushed towards home and prayed vehemently while running. "It can"t be our house! Please!"
However, it proved to be futile.
Aunt Cui ran back home only to find that she could do nothing but watch the fire spread. Her husband and son stood on one side, broken-hearted and lost. They coughed again and again. In ragged clothes, they looked embarra.s.sed and were coughing and gasping for breath.
Aunt Cui blinked and suddenly yelled madly while rushing to the fire.
The folks quickly pulled her away and chimed in to calm her down.
"Aunt Cui, it"s okay if you only lose things in the house. Only your life is the most important."
"Yes, with our help, everything will be fine. Look on the bright side. Don"t be silly."
Cui Zhuang and the village head also wore a bitter look. Those who didn"t know the truth believed they were sad about the house and things inside. Only they knew that Aunt Cui was crying for the burnt money that she secretly obtained from that man.
"How tough my life is!" Sitting on the ground, Aunt Cui cried as if she had lost a family member.
Cui Zhuang wiped his cheeks and took over the clothes handed over by the folks. After putting them on, they joined the fire-fighting team. The young and middle-aged people in the village were busy for over an hour until they extinguished the fire.
Cui Zhuang circled around his house"s ruins and then stopped at a spot. He bent and checked the ground, his expression warping with rage. He went forward to speak in front of everyone. "Someone poured kerosene around our house. Today, someone set a fire on purpose to burn us to death!"
When Cui Zhuang finished, a person immediately went forward and said, "Cui Zhuang, rice can be eaten at will, but you can"t just talk casually. We belong to the same village. You have been taking care of everyone for years. Who will try to kill you?"
There was a bit of blame in his words. They had worked hard to douse the fire only to be misunderstood. Who would feel at ease in such circ.u.mstances?
Looking at the house of Geng Zhishan, Cui Zhuang said slowly, "Yes, all the people present belong to one village, but there are newcomers over there."
When Cui Zhuang finished his words, everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke. Cui Zhuang appeared to be very surprised. "Folks, do you think I"m wrong?"
"Cui Zhuang, during this time, we have caused a lot of troubles. Geng Zhishan had helped many people in the village over these years. He didn"t say anything about us even when we pointed fingers at him. We can"t always mess up with him. Besides, no one saw it, and there is no evidence. It"s not wise for us to continue to find his faults."
Finally, someone said something fair. During these days, except for the beginning, they also became aware later, but it was a bit late then.
Fortunately, now, they were more rational.
Cui Zhuang glanced around and said in a low voice. "Now that you are not willing to help us, I"ll seek justice myself. Our house can"t be burned without reason."
Sitting on the ground, Aunt Cui was in a haze. After thinking for a while, she muttered, "Yes, yes, yes… I see… I see it now."
"What do you mean, Aunt Cui?"
As Aunt Cui murmured, the people standing near her also heard it, so they asked in confusion.
Aunt Cui cleared the dirt on her face and fixed her hair. "It"s nothing. Thank you all for tonight. It"s not a problem. Please go and have a rest."
"Mum!"
Cui Zhuang called her in a low voice. Aunt Cui waved her hand to stop him from talking. They sent everyone away in a polite manner, refused the goodwill of the folks, and rested in the cowshed.
Cui Zhuang wanted to ask Aunt Cui something, but she only said, "Let"s also have a rest as early as possible. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
Aunt Cui turned to lie down with an unusually calm look. The village head was smoking without uttering a single word.
The village head"s house was burned, and others in the village were busy about this matter. Geng Zhishan was also aware of this thing since they were so noisy outside. How could he have no sense ofthis?
Xie Mengxuan carefully got up and walked to the doorway. Leaning against the door frame, she looked at the direction of the village head"s house and said in a low voice. "It"s wet now. How can it be set on fire, let alone such a big one?"
Geng Zhishan yawned, walked over, and handed her clothes to her, saying, "Who knows? Darling, don"t worry. It"s too late already. Time to sleep now."
Xie Mengxuan turned to look at him. "Are you going to have a look?"
"No." Geng Zhishan answered. "With the help of so many people, it doesn"t matter if I don"t go."
"Okay." Xie Mengxuan nodded and had a look at the hut. "Has Brother Gu come back? Have you seen him before sleeping?"
"No, but I saw Uncle Luo." Geng Zhishan said with a blink. "Darling, what"s Brother Gu"s full name?"
Xie Mengxuan had no other doubts but answered casually, "Why do you ask this? You can also call him Big Brother Gu."
Geng Zhishan muttered, "No, it"s weird. He doesn"t look older than me. Just tell me. It"s impossible for me to call him big brother."
Xie Mengxuan knew he disliked Gu Yusheng. It didn"t matter even if she were to tell him his name, so she answered, "Gu Yusheng."
"Well." Geng Zhishan nodded, but his look changed soon after. "What? Which Yusheng?"
Looking out, Xie Mengxuan failed to notice his change and turned to write the word on his hand. While watching, Geng Zhishan gradually lowered his eyebrows. He looked down, his expression obscure.
"Geng Zhishan, what"s wrong?" Xie Mengxuan slightly bent to look at him as she didn"t understand what had happened to him.
Before he gave a response, Gu Yusheng appeared at the doorway and ran in. Looking at him, Xie Mengxuan wore a smile and slowly went to him.
Inside the house, Geng Zhishan slightly inclined his head and covered his eyes in the dark. Why did Gu Yusheng use his true name?