The moonlight gradually dimmed, and a dark, eerie cloud appeared in the night sky.

Lü Guohua led a group of villagers in a hurry toward Old Qin's house, their footsteps and panting echoing on the empty mountain road.

When they rushed into the fenced yard with flashlights, Old Man Guo and Old Man Guo were already lying on the ground, their faces bruised and swollen, motionless, with only faint breathing to prove they were still alive. It was a truly pitiful sight.

There was a pool of blood on the ground; it was obvious whose it was.

"Qin Zheng! What are you doing!"

With a loud shout, Lü Guohua grabbed a flashlight and rushed over.

Standing by the wall, Qin Zheng was smoking. Because he had just gotten up from the kang (a heated brick bed), he was only wearing a tank top. His well-defined muscles were clearly visible under the courtyard lamplight, and the hair on his forehead was slightly damp with sweat.

His fierce appearance contrasted sharply with the bulky clothes of the villagers.

Hearing Lü Guohua's outburst, he merely raised his head slightly and glanced indifferently at Lü Guohua and the villagers following behind him.

"Third son!"

Following behind Lü Guohua, Li Xiuying caught sight of her dying youngest son and felt a pang of anguish.

She didn't even have time to look at her eldest son, Qin Zheng, and immediately rushed to Guo Laosan's side, hugging him and crying bitterly.

"Sanzi! What happened to you? How did you get beaten like this?" Li Xiuying's tears rolled down her cheeks like broken beads as she sat on the ground, wailing and crying, filled with endless grief and anger.

The villagers who followed also started discussing it.

"Qin Zheng is... way too ruthless!"

"Who can argue with that? We knew he was ruthless, but we didn't know he was this ruthless, capable of harming even his own brother so severely?"

"Tsk, it's really hard to describe. This kid is born to be a murderer and arsonist..."

Faced with the criticism and accusations of the crowd, Qin Zheng did not show any sign of backing down or looking embarrassed.

He stood not far away, his gaze resolute.

Even if he had another chance, he would still do the same. Everything he did today was to protect his wife and daughter.

Anyone who touches his wife and children is asking for death.

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Qin Zheng remained silent, his face cold, and walked towards the door.

Everyone was surprised and puzzled.

Watching Qin Zheng's departing figure, a villager asked, "What's he doing?"

"Run away?"

Another person immediately retorted, "You're running away shirtless? You'll freeze to death before long!"

"..."

As Qin Zheng left his house, went down the slope, and disappeared behind a haystack, a miserable scream suddenly rang out from inside the haystack.

A short while later, Qin Zheng returned, carrying two more figures in his hands.

Guo Laoda and Guo Laoer were captured by Qin Zheng, who grabbed them by the back of their necks and dragged them into the house.

thump!

thump!

The two men were thrown to the ground, and one of them took a punch to the face. But Qin Zheng's strength was immense; that one punch was enough to leave them completely disoriented.

Everyone who witnessed this scene was shocked.

This, this...

"Qin Zheng, what's going on?" Lu Guohua was the first to react and asked in confusion.

The two brothers, who had been thrown to the ground, opened their eyes to find Lu Guohua and a group of villagers staring at them, and were immediately horrified.

Seeing Old Guo and Guo Laosan lying on the ground in such a pitiful state, they knew something was wrong.

The two exchanged a glance. Guo Lao Er, being more cunning, immediately pointed at Qin Zheng and turned the tables, saying, "Qin Zheng! You beast! How could you hit him so hard? My father is one thing, but Lao San is your own brother!"

Guo Lao Er's voice was filled with anger and grief.

Guo Lao Er roared, "You heartless bastard! How could our Guo family have raised someone like you?"

The insults rushed towards Qin Zheng relentlessly.

As if they had caught him red-handed, they condemned Qin Zheng for being ruthless and cruel, for beating his own brother like this.

The two wives of the Guo family who arrived also joined in the lamenting of Qin Zheng's cruelty and ruthlessness. Guo's eldest and second sons collapsed to the ground, clutching their chests, their voices filled with grief and despair.

"Qin Zheng! I know you've always been dissatisfied with our Guo family, but you can't just beat someone to death!"

"Exactly! You guys are brothers, how can you be so ruthless!"

"Everyone, come and see, this is Qin Jiazi. Our Guo family is practically family with him. When he first came into our family with his mother, he bullied the Guo family like this!"

In an instant, everyone's emotions were ignited.

"Qin Zheng is too ruthless! He actually beat his own brother like this!"

"Yes, that's absolutely ruthless!"

"How can this kind of person be allowed to stay in our village? I think we should kick this bully out!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Some people couldn't stand it anymore and defended Qin Zheng: "Don't you know what kind of person Qin Zheng is? He's always been someone who won't bother others unless they bother him. Isn't his ruthlessness something you forced him to do? If the Guo family hadn't provoked him, would he have beaten people up?"

"Exactly! You only see him hitting people, why don't you ask him why he hit them!"

"Damn it, this is the Qin family's place! Why don't you ask how someone from your Guo family ended up in the Qin family's place!"

"You bunch of East Brigade members, you're all stirring up trouble, you're all scoundrels! You're just hoping Qin Zheng will leave our West Squad, aren't you? You're utterly despicable!"

The villagers gradually started arguing.

The sounds of discussion and arguing rose and fell, seemingly threatening to drown out Qin Zheng.

However, Qin Zheng seemed not to hear, standing there with a firm gaze and no fear.

He did the right thing; he did nothing wrong.

"Stop arguing!"

Annoyed by the noise, Lü Guohua's authoritative shout instantly silenced everyone's chatter.

He knew Qin Zheng wasn't an impulsive person, so he looked at Qin Zheng with a complicated expression and a serious look, then frowned and questioned, "Qin Zheng, you tell me, explain what exactly happened!"

Qin Zheng glanced at him, his sinister gaze gradually shifting to Old Guo on the ground.

The thought of Old Guo's purpose in sneaking over tonight made the ferocity in his eyes impossible to conceal, like a death knell staring intently at Old Guo and Guo Laosan.

"Let me speak."

A clear and beautiful voice rang out.

Ye Yun appeared holding the child, standing at the entrance of the main room, a slight smile on her lips, facing everyone with a generous smile even at this moment.

She held the child in one arm and a military overcoat in the other.

Qin Zheng was busy tidying up Old Guo and Guo Laosan, so she didn't have a chance to tell him to get dressed.

As she approached Qin Zheng with the military overcoat, Qin Zheng immediately stubbed out his cigarette, took the overcoat from her, and put it on neatly, behaving very obediently.

Ye Yun straightened his collar before turning to look at Lü Guohua and the others.

She glanced at Old Guo and Guo Laosan, who were barely breathing on the ground, and curled her lips into a smile, but her eyes were icy cold: "These two people sneaked into my and Qin Zheng's house in the middle of the night, trying to steal our baby!"

Tell me, should he have fought? Was he even allowed to fight? Did Qin Zheng make a mistake?