But Xie Yan felt that this absurd world, this distorted filial piety, and these numb villagers left him with nowhere to vent his frustration.
He smiled and patted Yu Yuehui's hand, then turned and walked to the window. Looking at the blue sky outside, he felt that the sky had become somewhat gloomy.
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
The aftermath of this incident was like a cold knife, piercing Xie Yan's heart.
That aunt's family had long since declined, leaving only her elderly younger brother, who was over sixty and approaching seventy.
Upon hearing this devastating news, he collapsed to the ground, as if he had no strength left to stand, and was dragged there by his son in an oxcart.
After getting off the oxcart, he was helped into the house by his son, his steps trembling as if he were dragging a heavy lead weight.
When he saw his sister, who had been beaten bloody and mangled, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, hanging his head helplessly and crying like a baby.
The cries were filled with regret and despair, as if he wanted to cry out all the guilt he had felt over the years.
Xie Yan stood aside, feeling only irony and amusement.
Who is he crying like this for? What was he doing when his sister was being beaten?
Xie Yan was certain that this aunt must have sought help from her family!
If only one person had stood up for her back then, she wouldn't have been beaten for so many years and ultimately beaten to death!
Wasn't it precisely because Wang Qianjin knew that this aunt had no one to back her up and no one to rely on that he beat her so recklessly and so confidently?
Just then, Wang Qianjin walked in.
Xie Yan had long heard of his brutal deeds and always thought that this person should at least look fierce or be big and burly.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have scared everyone else so much that no one dared to help this aunt.
But the Wang Qianjin before them was completely different. He was not only thin and small, but also had dark skin, graying temples, and looked old and weak.
How could such a timid and weak old man possibly match the image of the terrifying abuser in the rumors?
But this scumbag beat his wife for decades and eventually beat her to death.
The saying "your appearance reflects your heart" is often inaccurate; a bad person may have a kind face, and a good person may have a fierce appearance.
Xie Yan saw no remorse in Wang Qianjin's somewhat bewildered and dazed eyes, only numbness and indifference.
When his aunt's younger brother saw him, he rushed over with trembling hands, but Wang Qianjin actually dodged a few times, as if he was very impatient.
Finally, amidst the disgruntled rebukes of the crowd, he reluctantly stopped, letting his aunt and brother's fingernails scratch several bloody marks on his face.
Those few bloodstains, so red they were glaring, seemed to have drawn an absurd period to this tragedy.
And then, the matter simply ended there.
A few light bloodstains became the "accountability" for a human life.
Xie Yan watched all this and felt a tightness in his chest, as if a fire was burning inside him, but he had nowhere to vent it.
But this same man beat his wife for decades, and in the end, he beat her to death.
Xie Yan stood aside, feeling a chill creeping into his heart.
How ridiculous! A vibrant life was so disregarded, and all that was left were a few fingernail marks.
And the aunt's son and daughter are even more chilling.
Not one of them stood up to seek justice for their mother; they just stood by and cried their eyes out, not uttering a single word of blame for their father! The two daughters were even weaker, like lumps of mud, only able to cry and unable to utter a single coherent word.
The villagers were indifferent to this, as if such tragedies were commonplace.
In their eyes, a human life is so insignificant, as light as a feather.
But that was a living, breathing human life! He was beaten to death; his head was so badly mutilated that a large chunk was sunken in, and his flesh was mangled and bloody—a truly gruesome sight.
Xie Yan also went to see the poor woman off on her final journey.
Looking at the horrific wounds on her face, he felt so distressed that he could barely breathe.
I can't imagine how much pain she must have been in!
Xie Yan was just an outsider, and he couldn't accept it just by looking at her. He really couldn't understand why her children could be so indifferent.
After returning from the funeral, Xie Yan walked silently down the road.
Seeing Xie Yan's low spirits, Yu Yue ran out after him. After catching up with Xie Yan, she gently took his cold hand, said nothing, and just stayed quietly by his side, as if her silence was the best comfort.
Back home, Xie Yan hugged Yu Yue tightly, his voice filled with helplessness: "Wife, why are the people here so scary?"
"That was a living, breathing human life! How could they be so indifferent and casual?"
"And his son, with a family like that, how can he still find a wife? Their family is clearly a terrible quagmire, why would anyone be willing to marry their daughter into it?"
His voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a murmur, as if he were questioning the world and himself.
Yu Yue hugged him tightly, feeling his body tremble, and felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
She knew that Xie Yan was already carrying too much anger and helplessness in his heart, and all she could do was silently stay by his side and give him a little bit of warmth.
When Xie Yan finally came to his senses, Yu Yuehui looked at him with a solemn expression and said in a low voice, "You may not know, but for their children, what they care about more than their mother's death is that this incident has caused them to lose face."
Meeting Xie Yan's incredulous gaze, Yu Yue nodded solemnly.
He continued, "You don't know their family situation. Mrs. Wu is an extremely proud person."
"After each beating, she would always find various excuses or try her best to cover it up, never letting outsiders know about the family's shameful affairs. Growing up in such a family atmosphere, her children had long been accustomed to violence and had developed indifferent and face-saving personalities."
"They might blame Wang Qianjin, but not out of grief or anger over their mother's death, but because this incident would make them lose face in the village."
"Take Wang Jinbu for example. He might have considered things a bit more. Besides the issue of saving face, he was also worried that this matter would affect his son's future marriage."
"For him, getting his son married in the future is the most important thing."
"He was rejected because his father was known to beat people, which led to no one wanting to marry him. He only got his current wife by sacrificing his sister."
"Just you wait and see. Before long, this matter will be completely forgotten by everyone, or it will be spread in a different version. For example, that your aunt died of natural causes, or that she went out at night and accidentally fell to her death because it was too dark."
Xie Yan found it both laughable and tragic.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does he have a daughter now?"
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