“Lin boy, watch your words—that’s Zhou Xiaofu,” reminded the middle-aged man with a steadier demeanor.

“Zhou Xiaofu?!” Lin Erzhu’s eyes went wide, and he squatted down to study the figure lying on the ground. After confirming the man’s identity, he fought back a laugh with some effort, eventually just shaking his head in mock sympathy. “What a pitiful sight.”

Whoever did this was really doing heaven’s work! If he had been there, he would have gladly added a couple of kicks!

A few men gathered around the unconscious Zhou Xiaofu, exchanging glances. One of them tentatively suggested, “Should we try waking him up? And what about those injuries—should we put some medicine on them?”

There was only an old doctor in their village, but he’d gone to the neighboring village to see his daughter these past couple of days and wasn’t around. Zhou Xiaofu looked pretty badly beaten up; they couldn’t just leave him like that.

These village men were used to treating minor injuries themselves, so maybe they could at least take a look at him.

They pulled out the grass stuffed in his nose, fearing he might suffocate. Fortunately, his nosebleed had already stopped.

“No, no, no!” Lin Erzhu waved his hands hastily. “We’re not doctors, and with his severe injuries, if we mess up, won’t his family come knocking on our doors looking for trouble?”

The others nodded at the logic in his words, so they refrained from acting. The middle-aged man suggested, “Should we send someone to inform his family?”

After all, it was only right to let his family know about his condition.

Their eyes landed on Zhou Song, who was Zhou Xiaofu’s cousin. It made sense for him to be the one to break the news.

Zhou Song agreed and was about to accept the task, but Lin Erzhu stopped him. “Let me go. Brother Song, stay here and keep an eye on him.” He didn’t wait for any objections and quickly headed out.

Knowing that family, not a single one of them is easy to deal with—especially Zhou Xiaofu’s mother. If she found out her son had been beaten up, who knows what chaos she might cause. If Brother Song went, wouldn’t he just be putting himself right in the line of fire? Whereas if he went himself, he wasn’t a family member, so he didn’t have to hold back. If they started spouting nonsense, he could just turn around and leave without them having a reason to blame him.

Since someone had volunteered to be the messenger, the rest of them found places to sit in the yard, waiting for the village elder to come and deal with things.

Only the middle-aged man went back home, afraid that he might miss the village elder’s arrival if he waited too long. Zhou Song also stepped out for a moment, grabbing the two buckets of water he’d left by the gate and carrying them to the kitchen to start boiling some water. Since they were hosting people, he figured they ought to at least offer them some water.

Once everyone had their drink, the village elder hurried over in a flustered state. The person who went to get him only told him someone might have died, scaring him half to death. He rushed over without even stopping to ask for details. After arriving at the man’s house, he headed straight to Zhou Song’s place without much questioning.

His expression turned grave as he entered and immediately spotted the person lying motionless in the middle of the yard. For a moment, his vision went black, and he nearly collapsed, barely catching himself as the man beside him steadied him. “Village Elder, I told you, there’s no death—just someone who fainted.”

Still recovering from his fright, the village elder crouched down and checked the man, feeling relieved to find he was indeed still breathing.

Zhou Song brought the village elder a bowl of water and fetched him a stool to sit on. Just as the elder sat down to take a sip, Zhou Xiaofu, lying on the ground, groaned and opened his eyes.

The elder quickly put his bowl down and leaned over, asking, “Zhou Xiaofu, how are you feeling?”

Zhou Xiaofu’s first response was a wince of pain; his already bruised and battered face twisted in agony, which only made his injuries hurt worse. He didn’t even notice who was beside him as he sucked in his breath and whimpered in pain.

Seeing his state, the village elder decided to give him a moment to catch his breath before questioning him further.

After a few moments of groaning, Zhou Xiaofu turned his gaze slightly and noticed Zhou Song standing nearby, watching him with a blank expression. Memories of what had happened flooded back, and a chill of fear gripped him. He screamed, curling up and trying to scoot away.

The village elder and the others jumped at his reaction and quickly restrained him to prevent him from further aggravating his injuries.

Zhou Song stepped forward, resting a hand on Zhou Xiaofu’s shoulder. “Cousin, are you alright?”

Zhou Xiaofu froze, remembering the fierce look in his cousin’s eyes as he beat him up. He shivered, fear overwhelming him.

Seeing him finally settle down, the elder sighed with relief and asked, “Zhou Xiaofu, do you remember who beat you?”

While Zhou Xiaofu wasn’t popular in the village, nobody wanted someone going around beating people in the dark. If this was a grudge against Zhou Xiaofu alone, it would be less concerning. But if the person had no particular target, leaving it unresolved would make everyone uneasy.

“It was…” At the elder’s question, Zhou Xiaofu was ready to rat out Zhou Song, but he glanced over and met Zhou Song’s cold, dark eyes, and his words caught in his throat.

“Who was it?” The elder leaned in, frowning.

“I… I don’t remember!” Under Zhou Song’s icy gaze, Zhou Xiaofu quickly shook his head, wincing as the movement aggravated his injuries. “I… really don’t remember!”

The village elder sighed, frustrated. With no witnesses and a victim with memory loss, how were they supposed to investigate?

Thinking it over, he recalled something and turned to the men who had carried Zhou Xiaofu back. “Didn’t someone say Shen Xiaolang was the first to find him? Maybe he saw something—could one of you go fetch him?”

“Village Elder,” Zhou Song quickly interjected, “he’s a Kun Ze, and he was terrified when he found Zhou Xiaofu. Calling him back to revisit this scene would only scare him more.”

He didn’t want Shen Qingzhu dragged into this. If it was possible, he’d rather keep him out of the situation entirely.

“That’s true, Village Elder. I saw Shen Xiaolang earlier, pale as a ghost—he must’ve been really shaken up. I’ve never seen him so rattled.” The middle-aged man chimed in, supporting Zhou Song’s plea.

Ever since Shen Qingzhu came to the village, he’d always been cheerful and kind. This was the first time they’d seen him so visibly distressed, and he’d probably have nightmares tonight.

The elder nodded, softening at their words. He was about to let the matter drop when two figures walked in—none other than Shen Qingzhu and Wu Lanshu.

Zhou Song saw him and frowned, flashing a look that clearly conveyed his disapproval. But Shen Qingzhu simply looked away, ignoring his cousin’s glance. Since this had started because of him, he couldn’t just leave everything for Zhou Song to handle.

His gaze fell on Zhou Xiaofu, now awake and visibly fearful, and he quickly looked away. Bowing slightly to the village elder, he said softly, “After returning home, I couldn’t settle my mind, so I came to check. Seeing he’s alive does ease my worry a little.”

His head was slightly lowered, his gaze avoiding Zhou Xiaofu. His face was pale, and his thin frame leaned close to Wu Lanshu, looking quite pitiful.

Noting that Shen Qingzhu had been ill recently, the village elder felt a bit of sympathy and spoke to him kindly. “He’s alright now; there’s no need for you to worry. But I wanted to ask, did you see anyone else when you found him?”

“Someone else?” Shen Qingzhu frowned slightly and shook his head, as though suddenly recalling something. His lashes trembled slightly as he hesitated before saying, “When I was just entering the path, I actually heard him…”

He glanced at Zhou Xiaofu lying on the ground, then continued, “…cursing loudly, using some really foul language. Then I heard him scream. It scared me, but I thought that if something happened, I could call for help. I hesitated for a while, but I still went closer for a look. When I arrived, though, he was already lying on the ground, and I thought he was dead. I panicked and ran to get help…”

The village elder had already heard most of the story from the others. Hearing Shen Xiaolang’s words, he glanced down at Zhou Xiaofu. It sounded like Zhou Xiaofu had angered someone by cursing them and got beaten up for it. In that case, didn’t he deserve it?

Zhou Xiaofu opened his mouth to argue, but no words came. He had indeed started by cursing, which led to the beating, so he didn’t know how to defend himself!

To the elder, Zhou Xiaofu’s expression reeked of guilt, and Shen Xiaolang’s account seemed plausible. It looked like Zhou Xiaofu had brought this on himself!

“My son!” Suddenly, a wailing cry came from outside as Hu Lan stormed in, eyes streaming with tears. Zhou Dashan, his face grim, followed her, with Lin Erzhu strolling in last, hands folded.

Hu Lan’s eyes immediately fell on her battered son, lying on the ground. She collapsed next to him, wailing, “My poor son! Which rotten soul did this to you?!”

Seeing his parents arrive, Zhou Xiaofu felt he had someone to rely on and began wailing, “Mother, you have to stand up for me!”

Their cries filled the yard like a funeral dirge, and even the village elder frowned in displeasure.

Zhou Dashan scowled and demanded, “Village Elder, who did this to my son?!”

Though Zhou Dashan usually found Zhou Xiaofu’s behavior disgraceful, especially since Zhou Song often showed him up, he was still his son. Having his son attacked made him furious.

The elder shook his head. “No one saw it happen, and he said he doesn’t remember. Shen Xiaolang found him lying there and called for help.”

“Shen Xiaolang?” Hearing this, Hu Lan whipped around to face Shen Qingzhu, ready to pounce. “Did you see who did this to my son?!”

Before she could approach, Wu Lanshu stepped forward to shield her young master, and Zhou Song moved to intercept Hu Lan, grabbing her arm.

“Zhou Song!” She shook him off and jabbed her finger toward him angrily. “Your cousin was beaten, and you’re still protecting others!”

“Enough! If Shen Xiaolang hadn’t found him, your son might still be lying in that ditch. Don’t go picking on him!” Even the elder couldn’t stand her antics anymore. “Dashan, control your wife!”

Zhou Dashan found her behavior embarrassing and roughly pulled her back.

Forced to retreat, Hu Lan resumed crying over her son, clinging to him like he was already dead.

Feeling his parents nearby, Zhou Xiaofu felt more confident. He raised his hand, pointing at Zhou Song. “Father, Mother, he’s the one who beat me!”

Everyone froze in shock. Lin Erzhu was the first to object, “Good grief, Zhou Xiaofu! Brother Song carried you here out of kindness, and now you’re accusing him?”

Hu Lan ignored this, crying even louder. “So it was you, Zhou Song! You vicious creature, you dared lay hands on my son!”

She lunged at Zhou Song, clearly intent on hitting him. Lin Erzhu blocked her, “The truth isn’t even clear yet. What do you think you’re doing?”

Like a madwoman, Hu Lan scratched and clawed at Lin Erzhu, who tried to avoid touching her directly. She managed to scratch his neck, leaving a red mark. Zhou Song quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from attacking further.

The surrounding men hesitated to intervene, unsure how to handle her wild rage. Finally, Wu Lanshu stepped up and shoved her back. “It’s just your son’s word. Just because he said Zhou Song did it, doesn’t mean he did!”

Hearing Wu Lanshu’s words, Zhou Dashan pulled his wife back again, scowling at Zhou Song. “Village Elder, you’ll give us justice, won’t you?”

The elder knew he couldn’t ignore the situation, but he didn’t completely believe Zhou Xiaofu. “Zhou Xiaofu, you just said you couldn’t remember who attacked you. Now you claim it was Zhou Song. What proof do you have?”

“What proof?” Zhou Xiaofu pointed at his injuries. “Isn’t this proof enough?”

Before the elder could respond, the other men began voicing their objections.

“This is no proof! If anyone could accuse others just for being hurt, it’d be chaos!”

“Exactly. Zhou Song was just passing by when he helped carry you back.”

“A person should have some conscience.”

The men in the village knew Zhou Song’s character well. He was always there to help when anyone needed him. But Zhou Xiaofu’s reputation was equally well-known for being a nuisance.

Seeing everyone siding against him and feeling the sting of his injuries, Zhou Xiaofu could barely catch his breath. Hu Lan quickly helped him sit up, gently patting his back to calm him down.