Chapter 44: A mouth that can kill gods and Buddhas

Her words fell into the ears of the onlooking villagers like a spark in dry grass, instantly stirring up a storm. The murmuring grew louder, as if they had just discovered a new source of gossip.

“Aiya, so it is true. Why else would she sneak into a cripple’s room in the middle of the night?”

“Exactly! A man and a woman alone together at night—how clean could that be?”

“Hmph, I bet that Chang Suisui has been eyeing Xie Yu for a while now, just waiting for a chance to get close to him.”

“Tsk tsk, and Xie Yu too—why doesn’t he know how to avoid suspicion? Letting a girl come to his room at night, he’s just asking for trouble.”

Xie Yu’s expression turned terrifyingly dark. His jaw was clenched, the muscles in his arms tense, veins bulging. He instinctively glanced at Chang Suisui, worried she might crumble under the pressure. Thankfully, she only lowered her head and sat quietly beside him, still and obedient.

Xie Yu finally relaxed a little.

His cold gaze swept across the crowd, and he sneered, “So what about my sister-in-law sneaking into her brother-in-law’s room in the dead of night with her daughter? How should that be explained?”

Zhao Xiulan shot up from the ground like a spring. “Xie Yu! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Xie Yu looked at her with icy indifference, his gaze cold enough to freeze. “Just stating the facts.”

“Oh heavens! I was just bringing something over with Xiaohua, and now I’m being accused? I can’t live like this anymore!” Zhao Xiulan dramatically threw herself on the ground and began to roll, getting her clothes covered in dirt within moments.

Xie Yu casually added, “Sister-in-law, maybe don’t roll around so much—you might tear your clothes. Then people will really start saying you’re trying to seduce your brother-in-law.”

Pfft—

Chang Suisui nearly burst out laughing and had to lower her head even more to hide her expression. She hadn’t expected Xie Yu to be this sharp-tongued. He could really talk—fearless and ruthless. It didn’t matter what the truth was, he just said what needed to be said. His motto seemed to be: If I’m shameless enough, nobody else can survive!

The villagers were getting more excited by the minute.

“Tch, this Zhao Xiulan woman. Not only is she shameless herself, now she’s teaching her daughter all these dirty tricks too.”

“Exactly. I heard her daughter got married super young. Bet she climbed into someone’s bed first.”

“Learned it from her mom. No way that child was raised by decent people.”

“Trying to seduce her own brother-in-law… how shameless can you get?!”

Zhao Xiulan clearly hadn’t expected things to spiral out of control like this. She scrambled up, pointing and cursing at the crowd.

“You’re all wicked, heartless gossips! Slandering me and my daughter! You’d better watch your filthy mouths or I’ll rip them right off!”

Her voice grew shrill with rage, like a hen whose nest had been raided.

But the villagers weren’t cowed. In fact, her tantrum only egged them on.

“Oh? Getting defensive now, are we? Guilty conscience, huh?” A woman in a floral top crossed her arms and shot Zhao Xiulan a mocking smile.

“Exactly! Think just because you’re the village head’s wife you can act high and mighty? Pah!” another villager sneered openly, full of scorn.

Zhao Xiulan was about to explode with fury. She lunged at the woman, starting a full-blown catfight.

Xie Xiaohua stood frozen—this wasn’t how things were supposed to go! Weren’t they here to catch Chang Suisui and Xie Yu in the act? How had her mom ended up fighting with the villagers?

Coming to her senses, she rushed into the crowd to break things up, only to get slapped several times by a few enraged aunties. After some struggle, she finally managed to pull Zhao Xiulan out.

“Mom! Don’t forget why we’re here in the first place!” Xiaohua grimaced, dodging more swipes while yelling the reminder.

Zhao Xiulan finally snapped out of it. She slapped her thigh dramatically, ready to start rolling again—but Xie Yu’s earlier comment about torn clothes flashed through her mind, and she froze.

Instead, she began wailing, “Oh heavens! Husband, come quickly and see what your precious brother is doing to us! He’s bullying your wife and daughter!”

Xie Xiaohua joined in immediately, crying loudly, “Dad! Where are you?! Mom and I are being bullied!”

At this point, the villagers began to sober up a bit. After all, Zhao Xiulan’s husband was the village head. If he took offense, they could easily find themselves in trouble.

Some quick-witted ones jumped in to smooth things over.

“Alright, Jianguo’s wife, that’s enough. It’s late, let’s all go home, huh?”

“Yeah, whatever’s going on, let’s deal with it tomorrow. Everyone’s tired after a long day.”

“Come on, folks, let’s disperse—”

But Zhao Xiulan wasn’t having it. Seeing the crowd she brought begin to scatter, she screamed, “Disperse? No way! Not until this is settled!”

Xie Xiaohua, helping her mother stand, shot a hateful glare at Chang Suisui sitting beside Xie Yu. She hissed, “Exactly! None of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for that shameless Chang Suisui messing around with men. She’s the reason my mother’s been humiliated like this!”

Once again, everyone’s attention returned to Chang Suisui.

“She has been the center of gossip ever since that broken engagement…”

“Yeah, sneaking around with Xie Yu at night—doesn’t look good.”

“Such a pity. She used to seem so quiet and decent…”

“In a village like ours, reputation is everything. What she’s doing isn’t just ruining her own name, but dragging others down too.”

Chang Suisui ignored the remarks. Instead, she calmly pulled out the silver needles from Xie Yu’s leg and softly said, “Try moving a little. See if you can feel anything.”

Xie Yu frowned, his gaze fixed on her. Compared to his leg, he was more worried about her situation right now. But when he met her gentle, watery eyes, he could only follow her instructions.

The next second, his eyes widened in shock.

His toe—it moved. Just a little, and the reaction was sluggish, but it moved.

Inside, Xie Yu felt like a storm had erupted. If not for all the people around, he would’ve scooped up Chang Suisui and shouted for joy. The light in his eyes gleamed like stars.

Chang Suisui noticed his reaction and couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

She put away the silver needles, then slowly turned to face the crowd and began to speak…