Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

These words struck the ground with resounding force.

The men of Kaoshantun, who had been so menacing, carrying homemade guns and spears, were completely dumbfounded.

"Smash down the gate? Pour gasoline and set the house on fire?!"

"Ergaizi is usually so carefree and irresponsible, did he really do something like ransacking and setting fire to someone's house?!"

"If that's true... then when people come knocking on our door demanding an explanation, we really won't be able to find fault..."

The crowd erupted in a commotion, the buzzing of whispers growing louder and louder. Many people unconsciously lowered their weapons a few inches, their eyes becoming increasingly complicated.

Seeing that the people of Kaoshantun were intimidated, Liu Changgui immediately jumped out from behind the truck bed, his face swollen like a pig's head, and plopped down on the wet, muddy ground, slapping his thighs and wailing:

"Fellow villagers! Righteous and just officials! My three large brick houses! They were all burned down by that good-for-nothing Erga! If Kaoshantun doesn't give us an explanation tonight, I'll smash my head against the stone mill at the village entrance and die!!"

"I'll confess, you motherfucker!!"

Before Liu Changgui could finish his wailing, a loud, sharp curse suddenly erupted from the back of the crowd!

"So what if I'm unreasonable?!"

Granny Wang slammed the heavy jujube wood lever she was holding onto the muddy ground, her eyes bulging, her demeanor even more ferocious than before:

"Erga is my own flesh and blood! I know him better than anyone what kind of person he is and what kind of temper he has! Even if he really did it, it must be you beasts who drove an honest man to his death! There was a reason for it, and you are the ones in the wrong!"

"Even if we concede that the sky is falling and the law is in order, it's the commune police station and public security officers who should come to the village in police cars to investigate according to the rules! When did it become your place, a bunch of lowlife thugs, to come to our Kaoshan Village with machetes and steel pipes to arrest people and carry out vigilante justice?!"

Aunt Wang swung the large jujube wood bar in her hand and thrust it directly at the noses of Ma San and his thugs, cursing loudly:

"Look at all the filthy, insidious things you're carrying! Machetes! Iron bars! Rushing into the village in the dead of night, in the dark, how are you any different from those bearded bandits who raided villages back in the day?!"

"I'm telling you right now, anyone who dares to lay a finger on my son will be killed by me!"

At this point in her tirade, Granny Wang abruptly turned her head and, facing the dark village road, let out a loud, hoarse wail:

"Wang Laonian! You damned old bastard! The bandits from the outer village are at our doorstep with knives, trying to take your son! Where the hell are you?! Where are you?!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a gaunt figure stumbled out of a narrow alleyway jutting out from the village road, pulling up his belt as he charged forward, cursing under his breath:

"Coming! Coming! What are you yelling about! I was just squatting in the outhouse, I'd only wiped half my ass off, and I came running over here with my pants up!"

Old Wang was panting heavily from running, and his cotton-padded coat wasn't even buttoned up properly.

But when he rushed to the front of the crowd illuminated by torches and car headlights, everyone present—including Ma San and the dozen or so fierce-looking thugs—stared wide-eyed, and a chill ran down their spines!

Wang Laonian, who was usually listless and quiet in the village, was now holding a well-maintained Type 56 semi-automatic rifle in his arms!

"Splash—!!"

Without a word, Wang Laonian pulled back the bolt and fired a gleaming yellow rifle bullet. The dark muzzle was pressed straight against Ma San's forehead, his eyes gleaming with the ferocity of a wolf in the old forest.

"Fuck your mothers, who dares to touch my son?!"

When Wang Laonian roared, the dozen or so thugs who had been howling just moments before suddenly fell silent as if someone had grabbed their necks.

The man at the front, carrying a machete, stared intently at the dark muzzle of the gun pointed at Ma San's forehead. The color drained from his face, and his hand holding the machete began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Third...Third Brother..."

The second son's Adam's apple bobbed laboriously, and his voice trembled.

"This is a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle! The real deal from the militia! 7.62mm rounds, one shot at close range can blow a bear's skull off! If this burst hits, we won't even have a whole corpse left!!"

Upon hearing this, the thugs in the tractor bed were so frightened that their legs went weak. The steel pipes in their hands clattered against the insteps of their feet, but they didn't dare to utter a sound. They all pressed their backs against the metal truck bed and shrank back as fast as they could.

Ma San stood there, the cold muzzle of the gun almost touching his forehead, cold sweat dripping down his forehead along the scar at the corner of his eye.

He's been out there for so many years, he's seen guns before.

This is the first time I've ever been this close, almost able to see the rifling inside a gun barrel.

What's worse, there wasn't a single scare glint in Wang Laonian's bloodshot eyes.

Ma San had no doubt that if he moved forward just a little more, this usually quiet old farmer would actually pull the trigger on the spot!

Just as the atmosphere at the village entrance reached its peak, a calm voice suddenly came from behind the crowd:

"Uncle Wang."

"Raise the gun barrel up a bit."

Old Wang snorted heavily through his nose, but still managed to raise the muzzle of his gun a few inches.

Upon hearing this, the crowd that had been packed tightly together immediately parted to the sides.

Zhao Shanhe, wearing a dark coat and with half a cigarette between his fingers, walked out slowly from the depths of the village road.

Dazhuang and Da Niu followed behind, one on each side.

Ergazi hastily threw on a cotton-padded coat, wrapped his feet in thick white cloth, and, supported by Da Niu, limped to the village entrance.

Zhao Shanhe walked up to him, first glancing at the gun muzzle on Ma San's forehead, then at the bulging canvas bullet pouch at Wang Laonian's waist, and a look of helplessness immediately appeared on his face.

"Uncle."

"Why did you bring out all the best stuff you've been saving from the militia's armory?"

Just moments ago, Wang Laonian was as fierce as an old wolf protecting its cubs, but upon seeing Zhao Shanhe, his flushed face suddenly showed a hint of unease.

"I...I was just using the outhouse."

"When I heard your aunt yelling outside, saying someone was coming to grab Ga Zi with a knife, I acted impulsively and, without even fastening my belt properly, went to the brigade headquarters and opened the warehouse door..."

Zhao Shanhe glanced down, then at the bulging green canvas bullet pouches at Wang Laonian's waist, and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time:

"Not only did they take the gun, they even hung up the ammunition pouches?"

"There are only about ten thugs with iron bars on the other side. If it really comes to blows, it'll just be a matter of one magazine and ten bullets. You've got all these bullets hanging out there. Are you planning to wreak havoc in the woods?"