Clan Leader Hu

"Nan'er-!"

"Brother-!"

Widow Liu and Liu Shengsheng immediately rushed out of the house and threw their arms around Liu Yunan, who had fallen to the ground.

Widow Liu wept bitterly and pleaded with Boss Liu:

"Big brother, please be merciful and spare Nan'er! I'm begging you-"

Liu Shengsheng clung tightly to her brother and burst into loud sobs:

"Don't hit my brother! Stop hitting him-! Ah-I'll do what you say. I'll sell myself! Stop hitting him!"

In the Liu Household's little courtyard, the fine drizzle seemed to be growing heavier.

After eating his fill, Lin Xiao couldn't shake a faint unease. He thought again of Tuzi's sudden promotion earlier. Could something have happened?

Perhaps he should go take a look.

If nothing was wrong, all the better. He could treat it as a walk to help digest his meal.

With that thought, Lin Xiao took out the household's only oilpaper umbrella, which his father had bought when his mother was still alive.

He opened it in the misty drizzle and set off through the night toward Tuzi's home.

Before long, the fine drizzle gradually turned into pattering raindrops.

They landed with a rapid pitter-patter on the paper umbrella, which was coated in thick tung oil.

By the time Lin Xiao reached the vicinity of the Liu Household, he saw several villagers in straw rain capes standing outside its courtyard.

When he drew closer, he saw that the people gathered outside were all highly respected village elders.

Among them was Xiushui Village's old village chief, Du Liushui, whom everyone usually called Third Master Du.

From inside the Liu Household's little courtyard came a young girl's breathless sobbing.

And Widow Liu's pleas.

"Big brother, please, for Dashu's sake, spare the three of us! Sheng'er can't be sold to someone as a servant!"

The village elders outside the courtyard also spoke up, trying to persuade him.

Village Chief Third Master Du spoke up as well, though his tone was rather hard and less than polite:

"Boss Liu, Yunan is your brother's only son, yet you've beaten him unconscious. If anything happens to him, that'll be a life lost! If something really does happen and your Liu Household's clan leader won't deal with it, I'll have no choice but to report it to the township chief!"

In fact, Liu Yunan had not lost consciousness. He was still aware, but he worried that if he really closed his eyes and passed out, there would be no one to protect his mother and younger sister. So, though he was already extremely weak, he forced his eyelids to stay open, tightly gripping his mother's and sister's hands, afraid to let go.

In the courtyard, Boss Liu, who was about to raise his stick and step forward to drag Liu Shengsheng away, turned to look at the village elders who had come after hearing the news, a trace of disdain in his eyes.

They were just a few old fools throwing their weight around because of their age. If not for their standing in the village and the Liu Lineage's discipline, he could have knocked them all dead with two swings of his stick.

"As his eldest uncle, I'm only disciplining the good-for-nothing son of my poor brother who died young. So what if I beat him? Can't I, his eldest uncle, teach my own disobedient nephew a lesson?"

Looking at Liu Yunan in the courtyard, beaten by Boss Liu until he was unconscious and at death's door,

the clan leader of the Hu clan, one of the village's major clans, immediately snorted:

"Liu Dashan, cut the nonsense! If you don't leave Widow Liu and her family alone tonight, I'll gather the villagers at once and drive you out! We won't tolerate a heartless villain like you in Xiushui Village!"

Hu Deli was the oldest of the village elders, but he was hale and hearty. He straightened his back and strode into the courtyard.

Amid the thick curtain of rain, Hu Deli, the Hu clan leader, stood firmly before Widow Liu and her two children, his small, withered frame supporting a large straw rain cape.

Drenched by the rain and growing irritable, Boss Liu looked at the frail old man before him, tightened his grip on his wooden stick, and said darkly:

"Clan Leader Hu, are you going to interfere in the Liu Household's family affairs?"

Hu Deli raised his head and met Boss Liu's vicious, venomous gaze.

"I'm an old man, and I can't stand to see such wickedness as the bullying of a widow and her fatherless children. In my old age, I'd like to play the hero just once. I'll give you only two choices: first, stop troubling Yunan, his mother, and his sister from now on; second, get out of Xiushui Village."

"That's right! Get out of Xiushui Village!"

"Our village won't tolerate someone who beats his own nephews and nieces to death and sells them off!"

At some point, many young men from the village had also appeared outside the Liu Household's little courtyard.

Lin Xiao glanced over and saw that most of them were members of the Hu clan.

They had all come forward to back up their old clan leader.

With the Hu clan leader there, Boss Liu did not make a move to drag Liu Shengsheng away, but neither did he leave.

Seeing Liu Yunan, his mother, and his sister still out in the rain, Lin Xiao delayed no longer. He immediately strode into the Liu Household's little courtyard as if no one else were there.

He went straight past Boss Liu, greeted Clan Leader Hu with a bow, and came before Widow Liu and her children. He hurriedly held out the umbrella and said:

"Auntie Liu, quickly, take Yunan inside and get out of the rain." As he spoke, he helped Liu Yunan, who was half-lying on the ground, to his feet and toward the house.

Meeting Liu Yunan's gaze, Lin Xiao gave him a reassuring look.

When Liu Yunan saw that Lin Xiao had come, he gave him a weak smile. Only then did he close his eyes, relieved, and sink into unconsciousness.

Seeing this green youngster who had appeared from who knew where disregard him so completely, Boss Liu burned with rage!

After helping Liu Yunan into the house, Lin Xiao did not linger. He turned and went back to the courtyard.

There he saw that Boss Liu was indeed beside himself with anger.

Lin Xiao suddenly smiled and cupped his fists in greeting to Clan Leader Hu in the courtyard, and to Village Chief Du and the other village elders outside it.

"The rain is getting heavier. Please come inside and rest a while, elders. Leave this to me."

The village elders looked at Lin Xiao, who was acting on the host's behalf, and couldn't make out what the Lin boy was up to.

But the rain was indeed growing heavier, and even through their straw rain capes, the cold damp seeped in, making their old bones very uncomfortable.

So they supported one another as they entered the Liu Household's little courtyard.

They apologized to Widow Liu in the main room for the intrusion and stood beneath the eaves outside it.

Seeing that the village elders had not entered the room, Widow Liu knew they were avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

She immediately brought out several small folding stools and set them beneath the eaves.

The village elders then sat down on the stools.

The people inside and outside the courtyard were surprised that Boss Liu had made no move and turned to look at him.

All this time, Boss Liu had stood motionless in the rain.

He stood there like a statue.

And on his statue-still face, an incredulous terror gradually appeared in his eyes.

He couldn't move!

He couldn't move so much as a finger!

And it had all begun when this green youngster in front of him came in!

Boss Liu stared at Lin Xiao, unable to hide the terror in his eyes.

He was utterly astonished.

What kind of monster is this boy? He can stop me from moving, even from making a sound!

He couldn't even open his mouth to speak now!