Xia Ren's decision to stop just now was not out of consideration for Li Zheng.
Instead, it was due to his daughters' repeated cries that he temporarily suppressed his murderous intent.
Now that his daughters and Jiang Wan'er had entered the house, Xia Ren could finally clear out the last village bully in the courtyard.
"Li Zheng, save me..."
Xiao Lao Liu now knew that the Xia Ren before him was not a vengeful ghost, but Xia Ren's killing intent made Xiao Lao Liu feel that Xia Ren was ten times more terrifying than a vengeful ghost.
He understood that the only one who could save him now was Li Zheng.
It was precisely for this reason that Xiao Lao Liu scrambled to Li Zheng's feet, clutching tightly to his thigh.
Li Zheng knew Xiao Lao Liu was a bad seed, so he didn't give Xiao Lao Liu a good look, sternly asking him, "Speak, what exactly happened?"
Xiao Lao Liu didn't even have the courage to look Xia Ren in the eye now, so he lowered his head and twisted the truth: "Our three brothers saw a fire here, so we kindly came to put it out, but Xia Ren, without distinguishing right from wrong, attacked and killed my second brother and fifth brother."
He pushed all the blame onto Xia Ren.
What a malicious scheme.
Upon hearing this, the killing intent in Xia Ren's brows surged dramatically.
This startled Li Zheng, making his heart skip a beat. He had seen people with strong killing intent, but never one like Xia Ren; this killing intent was even stronger than that of the Chieftain he had seen before.
It was as if Xia Ren had killed dozens of people before.
Otherwise, he would definitely not possess such overwhelming killing intent.
"Still twisting the truth even now?"
"Everyone just saw that my wife and children came out of the left wing, which was not on fire, but when I returned, I saw you kicking the door of the left wing."
"The meaning is very clear: it was you few who, thinking I was dead, believed that orphans and widows could be bullied, and so you attacked my family. As for proof, my wife and children can come out and testify."
Xia Ren, with reason and evidence, angrily rebuked Xiao Lao Liu.
"You're lying! Everyone, don't believe Xia Ren. They are Xia Ren's family, they will definitely give false testimony for Xia Ren."
Xiao Lao Liu gritted his teeth, his voice lacking conviction as he spoke, seemingly not even believing himself.
Li Zheng and the villagers in the courtyard immediately understood the truth of the matter.
One by one, they glared fiercely at Xiao Lao Liu, opening their mouths to curse him.
"Xiao Lao Liu, are you even human?"
"We knew you guys were bad, but we never expected you to be so vicious."
"Bah, you dog!"
"Li Zheng, please judge Xiao Lao Liu according to the laws of Great Ji."
...
The surrounding villagers were filled with righteous indignation, all enumerating Xiao Lao Liu's wrongdoings.
"Li Zheng, I won't dare again, please be merciful and save me just this once."
Xiao Lao Liu grabbed Li Zheng's clothes, crying with snot and tears.
Li Zheng had no sympathy for him.
He pushed Xiao Lao Liu away, and with a solemn and stern expression, declared: "As the Dahe Village Chief, I have the right to handle the affairs of this village. Xiao Laoer, Xiao Lao Wu, and Xiao Lao Liu attempted murder and arson, and the evidence is conclusive. According to the laws of the Great Ji Dynasty, they deserve death. As for Xia Ren, he killed the villains to protect his family; not only is he innocent, but he is meritorious."
With that said, Li Zheng nodded towards the sturdy man in front of him.
This sturdy man was the captain of the Dahe Village Patrol Team. Understanding Li Zheng's meaning, he lifted the long saber in his hand and struck Xiao Lao Liu's neck.
Xiao Lao Liu fell into a pool of blood and quickly breathed his last.
Li Zheng intentionally looked at Xia Ren, wanting to see what Xia Ren's reaction would be.
He saw that Xia Ren didn't even blink, which made him fully understand that Xia Ren was definitely a ruthless person, and the number of lives he had taken was definitely not small. From now on, he should try his best not to offend Xia Ren if possible.
"Xia Ren, are you satisfied with this judgment?"
Li Zheng, leaning on his cane, asked Xia Ren respectfully with a kind face.
"Satisfied." Xia Ren nodded, then cupped his hands in gratitude: "Thank you, Li Zheng, for upholding justice."
Li Zheng stepped forward and patted Xia Ren's shoulder, then gave instructions to the Patrol Team members to take away the three bodies in the courtyard, and then led his people out of Xia Ren's courtyard.
As for the firewood shed, it was almost completely burned down and hadn't spread to other houses, so it was left alone.
Not long after Li Zheng left Xia Ren's courtyard, the sturdy man, who was the captain of the Dahe Village Patrol Team, came to Li Zheng's side.
"Xia Ren fell off the cliff and died last night, so why is he acting like nothing happened now?"
The Patrol Team captain asked, puzzled.
"You ask me, who should I ask? Later, you go to the Xiao family, deliver the bodies, and explain the situation to the Xiao family members. Also, tell them not to think about seeking revenge on Xia Ren, otherwise Dahe Village will not tolerate their family."
Li Zheng continued walking forward, leaning on his cane, recalling Xia Ren's terrifying gaze from earlier, and couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
While he said this, Li Zheng knew that the Xiao family would definitely not let it go so easily.
Perhaps in the future, they wouldn't dare to openly seek revenge on Xia Ren, but that didn't mean they wouldn't secretly try to deal with Xia Ren.
At Xia Ren's house.
At this moment, Xia Ren was bandaging Tie Niu's shoulder wound.
He learned about what had just happened from Er Ya, and only then did Xia Ren understand that Tie Niu had been injured while trying to save someone.
And Tie Niu, upon learning of Xia Ren's amnesia, asked in astonishment: "Xia Ren, are you really suffering from amnesia?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Xia Ren finished bandaging Tie Niu's wound, stood up, and continued: "Thank you for today's matter. If you ever need my help in the future, just say the word."
"Between us brothers, saying thanks is too formal."
Tie Niu chuckled honestly.
As he finished speaking, Tie Niu's stomach rumbled.
He lowered his head shyly, covering his stomach, and said: "I'll head back now, see you at the village entrance tomorrow morning."
Tomorrow, the entire Dahe Village would flee south, and they were to gather at the village entrance.
"Don't go yet, wait a moment."
Xia Ren said to Tie Niu, then turned and entered the house.
Soon, Xia Ren walked out of the house.
He was carrying a small basket with about two catties of edible mushrooms inside.
He saw Tie Niu's sallow and emaciated face and understood that Tie Niu's family must be short on food, so he intended to use this to thank Tie Niu for his rescue earlier.
"No, you have a large family; these edibles should be left for your wife and children."
Tie Niu repeatedly refused.
"Don't worry, my family won't starve. These are all things I gathered in the mountains today, and there's still a lot more inside."
As Xia Ren spoke, he pushed the small basket containing the mushrooms into Tie Niu's hand.
"Then I won't be polite."
Seeing that Xia Ren didn't seem to be joking, Tie Niu thought for a moment, then nodded and chuckled honestly.
After Tie Niu left, Xia Ren turned and returned to the house.
As soon as he entered, he saw his three daughters gathered around a wicker basket.
Seeing the mushrooms, chestnuts, and two wild chickens inside the basket, the three little girls' eyes sparkled.
Even Jiang Wan'er was filled with excitement and joy, as if she had temporarily forgotten what had just happened.
"Husband, did you go into the mountains to become a Boss?"
Jiang Wan'er looked at Xia Ren, feeling both happy and worried.
It seemed to her that only by becoming a Boss and robbing could one collect so much food during this severe drought, so she was very worried about Xia Ren.
"What are you thinking? These are all things I collected from the mountains."
Xia Ren smiled calmly.
Seeing Xia Ren's composed and calm demeanor, Jiang Wan'er believed him and breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the quick-witted Er Ya came up to Xia Ren, excitedly saying: "Daddy, can we eat chicken tonight?"
"Of course." Xia Ren gently stroked Er Ya's head with kindness.
San Ya looked at Xia Ren, her eyes curving into happy smiles: "That's great, we're eating meat tonight! Daddy is the best, San Ya loves Daddy the most!"