When the men saw him like this, the women finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction. "There, Wu Third's madness is cured!"
Just then, the crowd parted, and a broad, burly woman charged in. Her face was covered in flesh, and she looked like someone you didn't want to cross. She went straight up to the man they'd helped to his feet and, without a word, slapped him twice across the face. "You little bastard! You married into the Wu family and still dared to run? I'll beat you to death!"
The woman was strong as an ox. She rolled up her sleeves and struck him twice, sending blood spurting from his nose. He staggered and nearly fell again, and she only stopped when an elderly woman at the scene stepped in to talk her down.
The old woman leaned on a cane, with someone supporting her on the other side. "Stop hitting him. Killing him would be one thing, but you mustn't harm the legacy of Heishui Village. What if Zhusheng Niangniang finds out..."
The moment Zhusheng Niangniang was mentioned, the chaotic scene fell silent. Even the furious burly woman's expression changed, and she lowered the hand she'd just raised.
The old woman thumped her cane against the ground and fixed her gaze on the burly woman. The skin on her gaunt face twitched as she spoke slowly, her tone somewhere between a threat and a warning. "Head of the Wu family, remember this: this is the last time. The year before last, your eldest went mad and tried to leave the village. He fell into Heishui River and drowned. Last year, it was your second son. Fortunately, the villagers found him in time, broke both his legs, and sent him back to you. And now