Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Fang Xiaoshi gradually stopped struggling and looked around.

In the pitch-black night, the village was completely silent, and everything that had just happened in this small courtyard seemed so abrupt.

But those houses, their outlines barely visible in the darkness, are like actors with their eyes closed, oblivious to the noise from the stage and the audience, simply fulfilling their duties and completing their performance.

Chapter 953 Poor Mountains and Bad Waters Produce Unruly People

It's another early morning.

The village chief pushed open his courtyard gate, carrying new offerings in his hand, and strolled slowly through the village streets and alleys.

"Village chief, what are you doing?"

One of the villagers saw the village chief and couldn't help but ask him a question out of curiosity.

The village chief adjusted the bag in his hand and smiled slightly:

"Recently, the offerings in the ancestral temple have been missing. It's probably because some little devil is greedy and doesn't wait for me to take the offerings down before distributing them to them."

I'm too lazy to catch these little gluttons, but the ancestral offerings still need to be made, so I'll just have to make a few more trips to replenish them.

"Oh, that's good. Village Chief, you go ahead with your work."

The villager seemed relieved, mumbled a few words, and turned to leave quickly.

"What's going on here?"

The village chief vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He glanced at the departing figure and walked towards the ancestral temple with a puzzled look in his mind.

But as soon as he arrived at the ancestral temple, before he could even open the door, a middle-aged woman with a hurried expression ran over.

"Village chief, something terrible has happened! Fang Xiaoshi has run away from his house. He just went to your house and should be running towards the ancestral temple now!"

The woman was sweating profusely with anxiety: "This child is still so difficult to handle. Even a group of people couldn't catch him. If he really runs over here, village chief, don't listen to his nonsense!"

The village chief was stunned by the barrage of information.

Before he could ask, a commotion came from afar. Then, Fang Xiaoshi rushed out of the alley, breathless, and ran straight towards him with a joyful expression.

"Hey, Xiao Shi, slow down."

The village chief quickly stepped forward to greet him: "What trouble have you gotten into this time? Why has the whole village been mobilized?"

Fang Xiaoshi rushed to the village chief's side, but for a moment he couldn't speak at all and could only gasp for breath.

Behind them, a group of villagers, also panting heavily, appeared before the village chief.

The village chief quickly opened his arms to reassure everyone, "Everyone, calm down. Don't act impulsively no matter what happens. Someone come and explain to me."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman quickly stepped forward and explained with gestures:

"It's all a misunderstanding. Everything that happened last night was a misunderstanding. Xiao Shi's family was robbed at night. My family happened to be passing by on Saturday and shouted to scare the thief away."

The boy became stubborn, insisting that the thief was his son, Zhou Liu. Even the hunter couldn't stop him; he just kept running out to complain to him.

"what?!"

The village chief's expression changed.

"No...that's not how it is!" Fang Xiaoshi roared, panting heavily. "They ransacked my house last Saturday night, and you're still twisting the truth here!"

"How could my family do something like that on Saturday!"

The middle-aged woman started screaming as if throwing a tantrum.

Other villagers chimed in, all criticizing Fang Xiaoshi for talking nonsense and damaging the village's relations.

Fang Xiaoshi couldn't possibly out-argue so many people; his voice was quickly drowned out. He could only furiously glare at the village chief's clothes, his eyes bloodshot, as he gripped the hem of his robe tightly.

The village chief was driven crazy by the noise. He looked left at Fang Xiaoshi and right at the surrounding villagers, and a chill ran through him.

Given the current situation, how could he not see who was lying?

"You...you..." The village chief's breathing quickened. "Go and bring Saturday to me!"

The noise from the villagers stopped instantly.

Immediately afterwards, the middle-aged woman burst into a piercing scream, and sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum.

"You're all bullying me! You're all taking advantage of my Zhou Liu's kindness. What did my Zhou Liu do wrong? Why should he be accused like this just because he was trying to help?"

Seeing this, some other villagers looked on with pity and stepped forward to persuade the village chief:

"There must be some misunderstanding here, village chief, don't be impulsive."

Others also stood in the crowd and spoke up.

“Village chief, Fang Xiaoshi has always been mischievous since he was a child. And there were no witnesses last night. Who knows what the truth is?”

“Village chief, we’re all family here. How can we do things like this? Don’t you think so?”

"If you ask me, everyone should stop arguing. The kids don't know any better, but don't we adults know any better? Spring is just around the corner, and everyone is busy. Don't let this trivial childish fuss delay the tilling of the land."

Amidst the cacophony of voices trying to smooth things over, the village chief suddenly spotted a hunched figure approaching from afar.

The hunter, looking dejected, walked step by step into the crowd, causing the noise to fall silent.

The village chief led Fang Xiaoshi forward, his expression complex as he spoke:

"Village chief, I'll do whatever you say," the hunter interrupted the village chief in a low voice.

The village chief fell silent for a moment.

He glanced at Fang Xiaoshi beside him, then at the hunter, and finally his gaze swept over the villagers around him who were united in their hatred of the enemy.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and a series of thoughts raced through his mind.

What would happen if this matter were blown out of proportion?

It's unlikely to cause any major problems, since they're all from the same village. Even if things get out of hand, it's unlikely to attract the government's attention. Instead, it would cause many people to break off relations and lose face.

What would happen if we let this matter pass?

The village chief's gaze returned to Fang Xiaoshi.

Fang Xiaoshi felt the village chief's gaze, and his eyes gradually widened.

“Village chief, you said you…”

The village chief asked with some difficulty, "Are you really seeing things?"

Fang Xiaoshi: "..."

He released his grip on the village chief's clothes and took small steps back.

He still remembered how kind the village chief had been when he spoke to him yesterday. Although he was young, he could tell that the village chief's words were not just an excuse.

But he also understood that the village chief's current choice was not a mistake, nor was it an attempt to hide the truth.

The hunter's voice rang in Fang Xiaoshi's ears, yet it seemed to come from afar:

"Xiao Shi, come home with Dad. Stop making a fuss. Let's just live a normal life."

"Where to go back?"

Fang Xiaoshi smiled sadly: "You mean go back to a normal life? You call this a normal life? You think this is what living is?!"

He looked away and noticed that several villagers were already eyeing him with hostility and trying to approach.

Fang Xiaoshi took another step back, gritting his teeth as he said:

"Come on, do you think I, Fang Xiaoshi, am afraid of you?"

"Everyone, don't be impulsive!" The village chief noticed the villagers' actions and immediately shouted to stop them.

But the moment he made his choice, his words lost their original weight, and the villagers still stepped forward.

The hunter stood between Fang Xiaoshi and the villagers, raising his hand to try to stop the villagers.

Just like when he faced these villagers, only he was retreating, while the villagers continued to advance without stopping.

A delicate shout erupted from the ancestral temple.

The ancestral temple gate was kicked open from the inside, and Chen rushed out with a livid face, pulling Fang Xiaoshi behind him to protect him.

Qiu Bai held his sword in one hand, the blade already drawn. Without saying a word, he walked up to the villagers, and the cold light flashing from the sword successfully stopped them in their tracks.

"You didn't leave?" someone asked in a trembling voice.

"Does it even matter whether we left or not?" Chen said angrily. "You should really look in the mirror and see how despicable you are now!"

Most villagers dared not meet Chen's gaze, their faces bitter as they lowered their heads, but some, hidden in the crowd, argued:

“This is a matter for our village, and it has nothing to do with you, young lady. Moreover, the whole thing started as a misunderstanding. It was all Fang Xiaoshi’s nonsense. We just wanted to explain things to Fang Xiaoshi.”

As soon as these words were spoken, someone was immediately reminded and joined in the clamor:

"That's right. Even if you're an official, you can't just force your way into a case without evidence."

Chen was so angry that his teeth itched: "Fine, then I'll take you all to town and interrogate you properly. Let's see how you try to deny it then!"

"We are not convinced!"

Immediately, someone in the village shouted.

"Old Chen, are you sure you can handle this?" A lazy voice came from inside the ancestral temple again.

Qi Yan led Qi Lin out slowly, a smile even on his face:

"Is this how you usually handle cases? The criminal's crimes are about to be exposed, but you can't even wait a little while, and you've missed a good opportunity to convict him."

Chen showed Qi Yan no pleasant expression at this moment:

"How do you think they became like this?"

"Sorry, I did push them, but Lao Chen, what you see is not quite the same as what I see."

Qi Yan remained calm, his gaze sweeping over everyone present again and again: "My eyes are looking into the future, and I have seen these people slide into the abyss step by step without receiving the lessons they deserve. Instead, their lives have become better because of external forces."

I really dislike it. A story should have good people getting good rewards and bad people getting bad rewards.

Before Chen could speak, a villager shouted out first:

"What are you talking about that we don't understand? Besides, you have no evidence..."

Qi Yan raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The afterimage of the Witch King appeared, and he waved a red light to shut the man up.

"Sorry, I don't rely on evidence when I do things."

Qi Yan was still smiling, but his smile was devoid of any warmth: "I have the right to be unrestrained, while you do not. So the moment I had my eye on you, you were destined for this end."

At that moment, a figure stood between the panicked villagers and Qi Yan.

Chen's face was grim. Without saying a word, he drew the Chixiao sword from his waist and stared intently at Qi Yan.

"You are still you, and it seems you will never change," Qi Yan remarked.

Another figure walked up to Chen's side.

Qiu Bai slung his longsword over his shoulder and gently advised, "Qi Yan, I don't know what kind of future you saw, but what we are experiencing now is not the future you saw."

If these people are wrong, or are destined to make mistakes, what we should do is try our best to prevent them from making mistakes.

"Do you remember what Qi Lin said about this village?" Qi Yan asked.

“…bad people come from poor and remote areas.”

“Yes, poor and remote areas breed unruly people,” Qi Yan sighed. “The stories I’ve seen have confirmed the outcome you want to see. As long as these poor and remote areas disappear, these people will begin to change.”

"Now that you've seen it, why don't you go and help them?" Qiu Bai frowned.

"That's Wei Yanwu's business. These people are his subjects. What do you think he went to do in such a hurry?"

Qi Yan smiled again: "And I'm only responsible for dealing with troublemakers. Otherwise, they'll miss the crucial step of learning a lesson. They'll get benefits for nothing without the necessary discipline. Do you think they'll realize how terrible their evil thoughts are?"

After saying that, Qi Yan waved his hand gently.

A wolf's shadow appeared behind him, and a sudden gust of cold wind enveloped Moushan Village, spreading outwards until it swallowed up the plain surrounded by mountains.

The villagers, terrified, and Qiu Bai, tense, heard Qi Yan's calm voice echoing in their ears.

"You possess fertile land that your ancestors fought against the heavens to obtain, yet you have not inherited their fighting spirit. You have allowed the fertile land to be swallowed up by natural disasters, and you only think about changing the status quo by relying on prayer and external forces. You are punished by having your farmland frozen three inches deep."

In the cold wind, the red light fell on the villagers.

“You are ignorant of the truth, and you know that your fellow villagers and clansmen are doing evil, yet you still choose to protect them, indulging your evil thoughts with gossip and forcing others with sophistry. You are punished by having noisy words in your ears for a hundred days.”