"Who's shameless here?" Chief Ding roared angrily. "Huang Shi, I've tolerated you for too long, don't push your luck!"

"Exactly, they keep us up in the middle of the night, constantly chattering away. You guys aren't annoyed, but we are."

"If we hadn't come here, how would we have known you were so ruthless?" Huang Youquan sneered. "Ding Ze, no matter how you deny it, you can't escape the charge of disregarding human life. They are the evidence."

As he spoke, Huang Youquan pointed to the bound man, full of confidence.

He felt that at this critical juncture of life and death, these people would surely know what to do and would join him in attacking the Ding family.

However, something unexpected happened.

"No, no, don't talk nonsense."

"Did you hear that?" Chief Ding said in a light tone, "You wouldn't believe me when I said you were looking for trouble, but now you've given up?"

He appears calm and collected on the surface, but is actually quite pleased with himself.

They are, after all, one's own child; they can be relied upon in crucial moments and won't turn against outsiders.

Although my opinion has changed slightly, I still haven't given up on my plan.

It's impossible to say I wasn't moved at all. After all, these were children I watched grow up. With more than twenty lives at stake, no one could remain unmoved.

But there was no other way.

If outsiders were to find out about this incestuous affair, the consequences would be unbearable.

After careful consideration, he still chose the method that caused the least harm and directly eliminated the root cause.

It's not about being cold-hearted; it's about knowing that this is the best thing for everyone and minimizes the cost.

As for Ding Wan...

Chief Ding simply assumed the man was dead outside.

"Are you idiots?" Huang Youquan could hardly believe his ears. "He's going to bury you alive, suffocate you to death, you know that?"

"Stop talking," Huang Shi stopped him. "Saying more won't make a difference."

Why?

Huang Youquan really couldn't understand it.

If someone wanted to kill him, as long as he had a breath left, he would definitely take up a knife and seek revenge, but these people had no such awareness at all.

Not only did they not seek revenge, but they also unanimously defended the murderer. Where is their backbone?

Huang Shi did not answer, but turned to look at Chief Ding. "Ding Ze, it doesn't matter if you don't admit to what happened today. I will have people watching them at all times. If anything happens to them, I will report it to the authorities immediately."

Whether he's willing to smooth things over depends on his willingness.

Since you've done such a despicable thing, don't blame others for being merciless.

"Whatever," Chief Ding sneered. "There was nothing to begin with, but you insist on finding fault. It's just a matter of cleaning up the family. The Ding family is not like the Huang family; we cannot tolerate such a disgraceful scoundrel."

Although he spoke toughly, Ding Ze was actually worried, fearing that Huang Shizhen had someone watching him.

"What kind of logic is this, wiping out more than twenty people at once?" Huang Shi sneered. "With such behavior from your clansmen, it's clear that you, the clan leader, are no good either. You are unworthy of your position."

These words were a clear direct challenge to Chief Ding, urging him to step down. Ding Ze had truly come to hate Huang Shi.

"The Ding family's affairs are none of the Huang family's concern. You would be better off spending your time on Huangshan, lest you miss your last chance to see him."

"Who caused his condition? Wasn't it that wretched woman from your Ding family?"

Huang Youquan truly believed this, and so did the rest of the Huang family.

Even though Huang Shi understood that it takes two to tango, he still felt resentful towards Ding Wan, believing that the main responsibility lay with her for not respecting herself, while his son simply lacked self-control.

"What a joke! Which courtesan doesn't act like that? Does that mean every man in the world wants to sleep with them? Some people are lustful and then blame everything on others. It's ridiculous. Don't forget, no matter how lowly the Ding family girls are, they didn't drug Huang Shan and force him to take off his pants."

Chief Ding's words made the Huang family very embarrassed.

Those who initially sympathized with Huangshan couldn't help but complain:

Are all the women in the world dead? He insists on sleeping with members of the Ding family, even with the hatred of several lives on his side. This is not only cowardly, but also utterly heartless.

Everyone in the Ding and Huang families knows about the complicated history between them, from toddlers to the elderly.

Huang Shan knew all this perfectly well, yet he still got entangled with Ding Wan, which was utterly humiliating.

Immediately, a sense of dissatisfaction arose among the crowd.

I used to have a biased view of Huangshan because I was a family member, and I felt sorry for him in every way. Now I think it's good that he died, it's clean and clear.

However, not many people were foolish enough to show it in front of Huang Shi.

Upon hearing this, Huang Shi's face turned ugly, and he couldn't help but sneer, "Clan Chief Ding is right. Otherwise, how could you Ding people get involved with your own family? Being lustful is one thing, but disregarding ethics is another. To raise such people, one must think..."

Even if Huangshan is a scoundrel, he's still just one person. The Ding family has twenty-eight members; if anyone's going to lose face, it's them.

At this point, Huangshi had completely given up and lost all face; he absolutely could not afford to lose face as well.

"Clan leader, it's really getting late. We have things to do tomorrow, so stop dawdling." The Ding family members couldn't hold back any longer.

They've been arguing all night, trying to out-argue each other, but they still can't win the argument.

Why bother?

It's a waste of time and only adds to your frustration.

Isn't it better to lie in bed and sleep soundly sometimes?

Upon hearing this, Chief Ding immediately realized how naive he had been. He snorted coldly, "It's all your fault for looking for trouble. If you like staying, then stay. I'm not going to keep you company."

After saying that, he led his men away in a grand procession.

During the journey, the group of people who were tied up did not express any objections, as if they did not understand their situation at all.

"Chief, are we just going to let them leave like this?"

"It's alright, someone's keeping an eye on them, don't worry."

"who?"

Huang Shi pointed to the treetops and didn't explain further.

"Could it be," Brother Huang cautiously probed, "that Huang Chuan specifically sent someone over?"

"More or less."

Huang Shi's words were vague. He didn't know Jiang Nuan's identity, but he deduced that she was of high status, even higher than Huang Chuan.

But he didn't want others to know these things.

“I see,” Brother Huang said, no longer nervous. “Now I can rest assured. With someone watching them, they definitely won’t dare to do anything reckless.”

He thought that Chief Ding would at most exterminate the person from the clan, but he never expected that this person would be so ruthless as to bury the person alive.

Honestly, he was terrified.

So many lives, taken so easily, without even a change of expression—who among ordinary people could do that?

Such a ruthless person must be carefully guarded against.

“I really don’t understand,” Huang Youquan couldn’t help but ask, “those people were almost buried alive, why did they still protect Ding Ze? Such cowardice, do they think they’re not dying fast enough?”

"It's a very simple principle. If you were in that situation, would you believe that the Ding family genuinely wanted to help?"

"Of course not, they definitely have ill intentions."