Bai Taotao rushed forward to open the door.

The reason was simple.

Although the person knocking was Chen Daniu, Bai Taotao could feel a dense aura of spiritual energy through the door.

——It must be Song Zhi who had arrived!

However, as soon as she opened the door, she saw ten men standing outside. There were both old and young among them, with a burly, dark-skinned man at the forefront. He had broad shoulders, a stout figure, and a messy beard on his chin.

This man was none other than Chen Lanfen’s elder brother, Chen Daniu.

Seeing the fair, delicate, and beautiful Bai Taotao, Chen Daniu froze in place, his eyes wide open.

He had long heard about the beautiful but supposedly foolish girl of the Bai family. It was said that because of her frail health, Bai Zhengqian and his wife protected her carefully and never let her go to bustling or crowded places for fear she might be frightened. As a result, Chen Daniu had only seen her from a distance a few times.

Now, seeing her up close, Chen Daniu was stunned by her beauty.

Bai Taotao frowned as she looked at Chen Daniu. Even though they were at least three meters apart, she was overwhelmed by the stench of sweat emanating from him. Then, she noticed Song Zhi standing at the back of the crowd. Her expression lit up with a radiant smile as she called out, “Brother Song Zhi,” and quickly sidestepped along the wall to avoid Chen Daniu, running swiftly toward Song Zhi.

The sweet and delicate tone of the young girl’s voice caused Chen Daniu to swallow hard involuntarily. Improper thoughts bubbled up in his mind, accompanied by an unbearable itchiness. His eyes followed the slender and graceful figure of the girl, his body half-numb with fascination.

At this moment, Hongdou and Huangdou, the younger children, followed closely behind Bai Taotao and ran toward Song Zhi.

“Big brother! Big brother!”
“Big——bro——ther!”

Song Zhi was taken aback by the warm welcome.

Whether with his biological father or his adoptive parents, he had never experienced such enthusiastic reception. For a moment, he stood frozen in place.

Bai Taotao threw her arms around Song Zhi’s arm and inhaled deeply.

It’s the Immortal Emperor—no, not the Immortal Emperor—but Song Zhi smelled wonderful. From the village to the county, after several transfers between vehicles, his white shirt remained spotless and fresh. There wasn’t even a hint of sweat on him, only the faint, clean fragrance of soap.

Moreover, the dense, fragrant spiritual energy surrounding him made her feel extraordinarily comfortable.

The happiness on Taotao’s face was unmistakable.

Song Zhi: …

Was his presence really this important to Taotao?

He was quietly moved.

His heart swelled with unfamiliar warmth and emotions he couldn’t quite describe.

At this moment, Bai Nansheng walked out from the courtyard.

Chen Daniu finally turned around. With his bull-like eyes, he looked at Bai Nansheng. For some reason, he thought of something amusing and grinned so widely that his teeth were visible. “Nansheng, I heard Lanfen gave birth? Hahaha, this is great news, hahaha…”

Although he expressed congratulations, his tone carried a touch of mockery and smugness.

Bai Nansheng was enraged by the grating laughter. Without a word, he punched Chen Daniu.

Though Chen Daniu was bulky and Bai Nansheng was tall and thin, with Bai Nansheng’s size seemingly only half of Chen Daniu’s, Bai Nansheng had been causing trouble since childhood, growing up in fights. Recently, he had been training in the army, gaining extensive combat experience. His punches were swift and fierce. One landed squarely on Chen Daniu’s chin.

The smile on Chen Daniu’s face hadn’t even faded when his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the ground.

The impact of his heavy body hitting the cement floor was accompanied by a dull thud, reverberating shockingly.

Everyone was stunned.

Song Zhi was startled. His first instinct was to pull Bai Taotao, who was holding his arm, behind him, then shield Hongdou and Huangdou, watching the Chen family and Bai Nansheng warily.

By now, the Chen family had recovered from their shock. Furious and shouting, they charged forward.

“Bai Nansheng, are you crazy?”
“Are you a mad dog? You didn’t even say a word before hitting someone!”
“An eye for an eye… Ow!”
“Bai Nansheng, are you looking for trouble…”
“Why did you hit him…”

Before they could finish their curses, Bai Nansheng knocked them all to the ground without exception.

The Bai family members rushed out of the courtyard, dumbfounded by the scene.

Chen Juxiang’s legs nearly gave out, and she almost collapsed to the ground!

She had been counting on the men from her mother’s side of the family to stand their ground against the Bai family’s main branch. Yet now? More than a dozen robust men, and not one of them could stand up to Bai Nansheng!

Chen Juxiang muttered bitterly and glared at Bai Nansheng to comfort herself, “You… even if you’re strong, you’re just one person. Once you return to the army, who will protect your family? Hmph, maybe Daniu, Erniu, and Sanniu can’t defeat you, but they can surely deal with your old man…”

Bai Nansheng turned his bloodshot eyes toward her.

With a sinister grin, he walked to the unconscious Chen Daniu, bent down, grabbed one of Chen Daniu’s legs, and twisted it in the opposite direction.

A dull crack echoed!

Chen Daniu’s left ankle visibly deformed. At the same time, the unconscious Chen Daniu was jolted awake by the pain. His eyes bulged as he let out a miserable scream before fainting again.

Everyone gasped in horror!

Bai Nansheng, eyes blazing with fury, turned to Chen Erniu, who lay nearby. “Is the child in Chen Lanfen’s belly yours?”

The dazed Chen Erniu stammered, “Huh?”

Without waiting for an answer, Bai Nansheng grabbed Chen Erniu’s leg and twisted it the same way—

“Ahhhhhh!”

Chen Erniu let out a blood-curdling scream before passing out.

Bai Nansheng turned to another man and asked, “Is the child in Chen Lanfen’s belly yours?”

“No… No!” The man, a member of the Chen clan, scrambled away in fear. “I have nothing to do with her. Daniu, Erniu, and Sanniu locked her in the house all the time. I barely even saw her…”

Seeing that this man was unfamiliar, Bai Nansheng let him go. He then spotted Chen Sanniu, who was trying to crawl away.

Bai Nansheng rushed forward and kicked Chen Sanniu in the backside.

Chen Sanniu fell flat on his face and shouted, “Help! Help!”

Bai Nansheng stomped on Chen Sanniu’s ankle, his voice fierce. “Is the child in Chen Lanfen’s belly yours?”

Chen Sanniu frantically denied it. “No…”

Before he could finish, Bai Nansheng stomped down hard.

The sound of bones shattering filled the air. Chen Sanniu’s ankle was crushed into a sunken shape.

Chen Sanniu let out a piercing scream, “No! Ahhh… I had nothing to do with it! I never slept with Lanfen! I didn’t! Ahhh, help…”

The Bai family members were all stunned.

The horrifying scene left the villagers trembling in fear!

Tan Fenghui’s face turned pale. Clutching her chest, she swayed unsteadily. Bai Dongsheng quickly supported his wife and helped her into the courtyard. Tang Liren hurriedly called her daughters to help the elderly back inside…

No one paid any attention to Chen Juxiang. Her heart pounded wildly from fear until, in the end, she clutched her chest and collapsed to the ground.

Tang Liren supported Bai Zhengqian as they returned to the courtyard.

Bai Zhengqian, seething with rage, said angrily, “To temper his personality, I even sent him to the army! Tell me—why is he still so impulsive? Does he intend to drive me to my grave before he’ll stop?”

Tang Liren was also furious, but given the current situation, with someone in the family already having lost their cool, the others needed to stay calm and suppress their anger. She gently advised, “Those brutes from the Chen family… letting Nan’er retaliate with violence might be more effective than trying to reason with them…”

What a pity her earlier plans were now completely ruined.

At that moment, Father Chen, who had been beaten to the ground outside the courtyard, finally came to his senses. He shouted toward Bai Nansheng, “Nansheng! Nansheng, stop!”

But Bai Nansheng had already lost control.

With a sinister grin, he walked over to Father Chen, squatted down, and asked, word by word, “The child in Chen Lanfen’s belly—is it yours?”

Father Chen shook his head repeatedly, “No, no! I treat Lanfen like my own daughter…”

“Oh? Then whose child is it?” Bai Nansheng pressed, enunciating every word.

Father Chen looked extremely embarrassed.

Bai Nansheng sneered, “Chen Juxiang said it’s Chen Daniu’s?”

The crowd was shocked, erupting in whispers!

Father Chen flushed red with shame. “I—I told them that it was wrong, but they wouldn’t listen!”

Bai Nansheng said coldly, “Don’t try to dodge the question! Whose child is it? If you don’t tell me, I’ll break every leg in the Chen family today!”

Father Chen trembled, glanced at the battered and bruised people lying on the ground, steeled himself, and said, “It’s Daniu’s child!”

“What the hell do you mean, ‘Daniu’s child’?” Bai Nansheng asked with a rogue tone.

Chen Sanniu was still howling in pain…

Father Chen was desperate and had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, “Based on when Lanfen got pregnant… the child in her belly—it’s Daniu’s!”

Everyone from both the Bai and Chen families was stunned.

Even though many had already suspected it, hearing Father Chen openly confirm it still felt unbelievable.

Although Chen Lanfen was the Chen family’s adopted daughter, she had been raised by them since she was a child. Wasn’t she practically their real daughter? How could this happen? And judging by the situation, it seemed that both the father and son in the Chen family had defiled her? Good heavens—they were nothing but a den of beasts!

And—

Bai Nansheng asked again, “Then whose idea was it to send a pregnant Chen Lanfen to seduce me?”

Father Chen hesitated, his eyes flickering. “Lanfen… she, she liked you…”

Bai Nansheng sneered, stood up, and walked over to Chen Daniu. He glanced back at Father Chen.

“No—”

Father Chen let out a miserable cry.

It was too late. Bai Nansheng grabbed Chen Daniu’s other leg without hesitation and twisted it with a loud crack.

This time, Chen Daniu only twitched slightly before passing out.

Lying nearby, Chen Sanniu was shaking like a leaf and wailed, “Dad! Second Aunt (Chen Juxiang) set us up with this rotten plan and got us into trouble with this ruthless demon. Why are you still protecting her?”

Father Chen shivered as he said, “Nansheng, after Lanfen got pregnant, we originally planned to arrange a wedding for her and Daniu, but… your grandmother suggested we let you marry Lanfen instead. She said your family is harmonious, everyone works hard, and marrying into your family would give her a better life… She also said you’d have trouble finding a wife, and that your mother would be willing to go broke to help you marry one…”

“Your grandmother even discussed it with us and said that Lanfen should seduce you first, then we’d pin the baby on you. Afterward, we’d ask your mother for a bride price of one thousand yuan. With that money, Daniu, Erniu, and Sanniu could each spend two hundred yuan to marry wives, and there’d still be four hundred yuan left over… Plus, you’d help Daniu raise his son. Wasn’t that like a pie falling from the sky?”

“So we… we beat Lanfen and forced her to seduce you in the cornfield… Afterward, when it was settled, your mother gave us one thousand yuan as the bride price, and your grandmother took two hundred yuan for herself…”