Suddenly, one child coughed softly, followed by a second, a third... Soon, all the children opened their eyes and looked around blankly.
"Mommy?" a little girl called out timidly.
"My child!" The mother cried tears of joy and hugged her daughter tightly.
Cheers and cries rose and fell, and the entire beach was in an uproar.
The villagers laughed and cried, tightly embracing their children who had been given a new lease on life.
Xiao Feng stood to the side, a satisfied smile on his lips.
Although he couldn't see it, he could feel the joy in the air.
The children awoke, and the entire beach was filled with ecstasy.
The villagers flocked to Xiao Feng, their eyes filled with gratitude.
An elderly man with gray hair walked unsteadily to Xiao Feng, knelt down with a thud, and said in a trembling voice, "My benefactor, you saved our child. Our entire village can never repay this great kindness!"
As he spoke, he began to kowtow. Immediately, the surrounding villagers followed suit, and in no time, the beach was covered with kneeling figures, with waves of gratitude echoing throughout.
Although Xiao Feng couldn't see this touching scene, he could guess what the villagers were doing from the shouts and the sound of footsteps.
He quickly reached out his hands and helped the villagers around him to their feet, saying urgently, "Please get up, everyone. You're too kind, Xiao Feng! The children are safe and sound, which is my greatest comfort. There's no need for such a grand gesture."
As he spoke, he continued to help the other villagers.
When the villagers saw that Xiao Feng was adamant about not letting them perform the grand ceremony, they all surrounded him and began to recount their past hardships.
A young father, his eyes red with tears, said, “My benefactor, these days, the whole village has lost its vitality. We parents feel like the sky is falling. If it weren’t for you, I really don’t know what we would have done.”
A mother holding her child choked up and said, "Yes, you are our savior!"
Xiao Feng listened quietly. After the villagers had finished speaking, Xiao Feng cleared his throat and said sincerely, "Fellow villagers, the hardships of the past are over. The children have all awakened, and the days ahead will surely get better and better. I, Xiao Feng, have only done what I should do. You don't need to worry about me so much."
His words reassured the villagers.
The villagers nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with gratitude and trust as they looked at Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng turned to face the awakened children, a gentle smile on his face, and asked, "How are the children feeling now?"
A slightly older boy eagerly answered, "Uncle, we feel much better. It felt like we were dreaming the whole time, but now we're finally awake."
Xiao Feng then asked with concern, "Is there anything wrong with your body?"
The children all shook their heads, indicating that they were fine.
Just as the beach was filled with the joy of the children waking up, a thin, gloomy young man suddenly stood out from the crowd.
He narrowed his eyes, pointed a finger directly at Xiao Feng, and shouted, "Don't be fooled by him! It was this Xiao Feng who colluded with the evil dragon, causing it to devour the souls of the village children! If it weren't for him, how could the children have been in a coma for so long?"
These words caused an uproar in the audience.
The grateful looks instantly turned into suspicion, and the villagers whispered among themselves, their faces full of shock and confusion.
Some people whispered among themselves, "How is this possible?"
"Didn't he just save the children?"
"Could such a thing really be true?"
The atmosphere changed abruptly, with the villagers who had just been grateful to Xiao Feng turning into a disgruntled crowd.
An elderly man with white hair frowned, looked Xiao Feng up and down, and muttered to himself, "This... how is this possible? He just saved the children."
But the young man persisted, adding fuel to the fire, saying, "He's just being hypocritical. Maybe he's afraid of being exposed, so he saved the child to cover up his crimes!"
As he incited them, some villagers' eyes gradually turned fierce, and the crowd began to stir.
Some people clenched their fists, while others picked up stones from the ground; the situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.
Just then, Wu Wu, who had been standing next to Xiao Feng, heard these slanders and immediately turned red with anger.
She leaped in front of Xiao Feng with a "whoosh," like a mother animal protecting her cubs, spreading her arms to shield him.
Wu Wu glared angrily at the young man and shouted, "You're talking nonsense! How could Brother Xiao do such a thing? He went to great lengths to save the children, and you're just twisting the truth here!"
Wuwu continued, "Don't forget, everyone, it was Brother Xiao who risked his life to rescue the children from the dragon's lair. If he really colluded with the dragon, why would he risk his life to save them?"
The young man sneered and mocked, "You've been fooled by him. Why would a stranger like him help us for no reason? He must have some ulterior motive!"
A sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he continued to incite, "Perhaps he's a spy sent by the evil dragon to infiltrate our village!"
Wu Wu was so angry that she was trembling all over, her hands clenched into fists, wishing she could rush up and beat him up right away.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and turned to the villagers, saying, "Everyone, calm down and think about everything Brother Xiao has done for us. Without him, our children would still be in a coma. How can we believe such unfounded accusations?"
Wu Wu suppressed his anger and looked around at the villagers' confused and bewildered expressions.
We absolutely cannot let this older brother be wronged!
The older brother is innocent!
“Listen to me, everyone,” Wu Wu said firmly, “After Brother Xiao came to the village, he disregarded the danger.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping intently across the faces of each villager, and continued, "If it weren't for him, we would never have known that the children's souls had been devoured by the evil dragon, let alone how to save them."
At this point, Wu Wu's eyes reddened slightly, and her voice choked with emotion: "He has done so much for the village, yet you are here maliciously slandering him. What are your intentions?"
After hearing Wu Wu's words, the villagers began to hesitate again.
Their gazes darted back and forth between Xiao Feng and the young man, unsure of whom to believe.
Someone muttered, "Wu Wu is right. If it weren't for Xiao Feng, the children would still be unconscious."
Another old woman frowned and said, "But the young man said he saw it with his own eyes, how do you explain that?"
At this moment, the young man's face turned bright red, and his eyes were wide open, like a bull about to go berserk.
The young man stepped forward abruptly, pointed at Wu Wu's nose, and shouted in a shrill voice, "You little brat, don't try to cause trouble here! I saw with my own eyes that he was associating with the evil dragon, he is the culprit!"
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