Mediating the Fight

Onlookers only watched the commotion, unwilling to help. The village chief was frantic, calling a few people to bring a ladder. He shakily tried to climb up: "Hey, if you all don't care, I as the village chief can't just stand by! The Xiong family can't be ruined by that scheming Mrs. Tang, and our village can't get the reputation of harboring a murderer!"

The village chief, old with graying beard trembling, called two people to hold the ladder as he prepared to climb over the wall himself.

Su Li watched the village chief. At such an old age, climbing a ladder and then having to jump down from the wall—if he fell and got hurt, what would they do?

"Village chief, come down quickly! If you fall and get hurt, what will we do!" Su Li hurried over with Xiao Zetian to pull him down.

Hearing the miserable screams from inside Mrs. Tang's yard, the village chief sighed: "Everyone else won't intervene, but if I don't, how can I be the village chief? We can't just watch Xiong jump into the firepit! Su Li, I know Mrs. Tang has been at odds with your family, even spreading rumors that made your mother faint. So you see, I didn't even have the face to ask Yuanbao to intervene; this old bone has to do it himself!"

Saying this, the village chief pushed away Su Li's hand and stubbornly tried to climb the ladder.

Su Li saw this was not going to work. The old village chief was such a good man, trying to prevent the village from getting the stigma of a homicide case and to stop Xiong from making a rash mistake that would leave his family helpless.

"Village chief, come down. Let my Yuanbao go." Su Li decisively pulled the village chief down and gave Xiao Zetian a meaningful look.

The village chief was very surprised but heard Su Li say: "I'm not doing this to save Mrs. Tang. I'm doing it for you, for Xiong, and for the village's reputation. Our village is about to build a school, and I'm funding it. If the village gets the reputation of a murder village, the school's reputation will be ruined."

The village chief sighed, "Good child, you really understand the bigger picture!"

The village chief stepped aside to let the ladder through. Xiao Zetian looked at the low wall; he could easily jump over, but to avoid scaring the villagers, he obediently climbed the ladder and jumped inside.

Once inside the yard, Xiao Zetian saw the burly Xiong violently beating Mrs. Tang like a chicken being caught.

Mrs. Tang was already bruised and battered, screaming loudly on the ground, struggling hard but unable to break free.

Xiao Zetian stepped forward and grabbed Xiong's arm: "Stop hitting her. If you kill her, you'll have to answer for it. What about your mother and children?"

Xiong was furious, eyes red, not listening at all, shouting: "Today, I must beat this bitch to death!"

Mrs. Tang, beaten senseless, suddenly heard Xiao Zetian's voice. Tears streaming down, she clung to him like a lifeline, shouting: "Yuanbao, save me! I'm going to be beaten to death!"

Xiao Zetian looked at Mrs. Tang like that and snorted coldly. If it weren't for Su Li's school reputation, he wouldn't bother. Let Mrs. Tang be beaten to death for all he cared.

But now that he had intervened, there was no half-hearted way about it. Xiao Zetian firmly grabbed Xiong's arm and pulled him up.

Xiong was a strong man used to farm work and very powerful, but he felt that being grabbed by Su Li's silly husband left him no strength to resist as he was just lifted up.

Xiao Zetian held Xiong's arm and walked straight to the door, throwing it wide open.

Xiong's wife immediately rushed in, grabbing his hand and crying: "Oh, what are you doing? If you get involved in a homicide case, what will happen to our whole family?"

Xiong looked at his wife, crying her eyes out, and suddenly sobered up. He glanced back at the half-dead Mrs. Tang, feeling a wave of fear. He thought to himself, if he risked everything for that woman, it really wouldn't be worth it.