77 Jealousy (2)
◎Children always know how to ignore others◎
While he was distracted, several young men next to him exchanged glances and rushed forward, put the thick rope in their hands around the man, and then exerted force, and the rope suddenly tightened.
The man couldn't break free and let out a low growl.
Seeing the man being caught, everyone shouted in unison: "Beat him to death, beat him to death..."
Shu Yao pursed her lips and lowered her head in silence. Yang Xiuhe, who was standing next to her, saw her in a daze and poked her: "Hey, sister Yao, are you scared silly?"
Shu Yao came back to her senses, shook her head, and when she looked at the man again, he was like a ferocious beast, rushing around madly, trying to escape from the dilapidated temple.
The young men struggled to pull at the rope, but the man still dragged them away. Seeing this, the villagers rushed to help. Someone shouted, "Hurry up and hand him over to the village chief so he can deal with him."
The villagers worked together to subdue him, but the men were ultimately outnumbered.
The roars in his ears became quieter and quieter. Yang Xiuhe followed to watch the fun, while Shu Yao stood there blankly.
Is this man really a flower thief?
The villagers had already gone far away, and she was the only one left in the dilapidated temple. She looked up at the broken statue in front of her, and after a long time, she picked up her feet and ran towards the village chief's house.
Before she reached the village chief's house, she heard the crowd shouting something excitedly from a distance. When she ran closer, her eyes suddenly widened. She saw a man tied to a cross with several bloodstains on his clothes, obviously he had just been whipped. There were also several bundles of firewood soaked in oil piled around him.
Seeing this, Shu Yao had nothing to understand. The village chief wanted to burn this man to death.
At this time, the village chief was still whipping him with a whip dipped in salt water, cursing him viciously with words that Shu Yao couldn't understand. The groom next to him looked at the man with a sinister face, wishing he could tear him into pieces.
The families in the village whose daughters were bullied were even more indignant. They kept throwing rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at the man. Some even picked up sticks and hit him again and again. The blows were so heavy that you could even hear the sound of bones breaking.
"You thief, give my daughter back her innocence."
"You've ruined my beautiful virginity, you damned beast."
"Beat you to death, you shameless thing."
“…”
Everyone started talking at once, which soon aroused public anger and they all shouted that the man should be burned to death.
The sky is gloomy.
The village chief stopped beating because he was tired, and everyone else stopped too.
The man had been beaten to death, his entire body covered in blood, not a single patch of healthy skin left. He hung his head, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
Everyone lit the torches and was about to light the firewood pile when Shu Yao stepped forward. She stood in front of the man and faced the villagers: "Everyone, listen to me."
The villagers looked at her in confusion, and the village chief came up to pull her away, asking her to stop causing trouble.
Shu Yao took a deep breath: "He is not a flower thief."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience fell silent.
The village chief was furious: "You say it's not true, then it's not true. What evidence do you have?"
Others also said, "This outsider has been hiding in our village. Ever since he came, we've seen flower thieves. Who else could this thief be but him?"
Shu Yao: "He was with me when the bride disappeared yesterday afternoon." She pointed at the man.
According to her reasoning, the time didn't match, and she had a strong feeling that he was not the murderer.
But what she said was obviously not convincing.
Shu Yao was also anxious. The most urgent thing was to find the real murderer, but where could she find the real murderer?
The villagers didn't want to listen to her nonsense. They had finally caught the thief, but she started saying that they had caught the wrong person. Wouldn't all their efforts over the past two days be in vain?
Several people came up and pulled Shu Yao.
She struggled hard and turned around, only to see the man slightly open his eyelids, look at her deeply, and then droop his eyelids again, obviously he had no strength left.
"father."
A weak cry came from the side, and the village chief hurriedly turned around and saw his daughter coming out weakly holding on to the door frame.
Yang Yue's face was pale and her body looked shaky.
The groom walked over and helped her up, his eyes full of heartache: "Yue'er, why did you get up? The thief has been caught, we will bring him to justice right away."
Yang Yue had obviously been listening at the door for quite a while. She slowly walked up to the man, looked at him carefully, then turned to the village chief and said, "Dad, it's not him."
She didn't know who it was exactly. In that small dark room, the man she saw before she fainted was short and thin, definitely not the tall man in front of her. She wouldn't be wrong.
The village chief took a step forward and asked hurriedly, "Are you telling the truth?"
Yang Yue nodded.
The village chief straightened his back and asked the groom to take Yang Yue downstairs to rest. He stroked his beard and continued to order people to light the fire.
Shu Yao was anxious: "Village Chief, it has been proven that he is not the murderer, why do you still want to burn him to death?"
The village chief simply said, "Yue'er was too frightened and was talking nonsense just now."
This man must be the murderer if he is not the one who killed the girl. The villagers are already worried about the flower thief. If he is not caught soon, they will probably complain. He is a foreigner and everyone has some complaints about him becoming the village chief. If he fails to handle this matter well, he will probably be eliminated in the village chief election a year later.
Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes and ordered his men to take action immediately.
Shu Yao somehow found the strength to break free from her restraints, snatched the torch from the villagers, and said to the village chief, "I have a way to find the real flower thief."
…
Ji Shijing came back and found that Shu Yao was not at home. He was stunned. Where did she go?
The village was in such a dangerous situation right now, and he was afraid that she might encounter a flower thief. Just as he put down his books and prepared to go out to look for her, he heard Yang Xiuhe's voice from the other side of the low wall.
Yang Xiuhe had been back for a long time. She couldn't bear to see the scene of people being set on fire, so she slipped away early.
"My dear husband, are you going to look for Miss Yao?" She was still a little scared to talk to him.
Ji Shijing looked at her with a frown.
Yang Xiuhe laughed dryly: "Sister Yao is at the village chief's house now, let me tell you..."
"Hey, hey, I haven't finished speaking." Yang Xiuhe looked at the thin figure, and she followed her gaze. She had to say that Yao Meizi's brother-in-law was getting more and more handsome, and was really charming.
But when she thought of that incident, she immediately shook her head and decided to stop provoking him.
When Ji Shijing ran to the village chief's house, he saw Shu Yao with her arms outstretched blocking another man. From his perspective, it seemed as if she was fighting for that man against everyone.
Oh.
He felt very uncomfortable and tightened his hands hanging by his side. Then he pushed through the crowd and walked forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Shu Yao.
Shu Yao looked at him in surprise: "Why are you here?"
He glanced at her briefly, then looked away.
Shu Yao tilted her head. She felt that there was a hint of grievance in his eyes just now.
The village chief frowned, carefully considered Shu Yao's suggestion, and then nodded at her.
Shu Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
The village chief ordered the man to be put down. The villagers were puzzled. The village chief said, "There is another murderer. Find the other murderer first and then deal with him together."
Although the villagers had complaints, they didn't say anything else.
The village chief looked at Shu Yao: "What are you going to do with this man?"
Shu Yao gritted her teeth and looked at the bloody man in front of her. She couldn't bear to let him go back to the ruined temple, so she said, "I'll take him back first."
The village chief nodded.
Ji Shijing bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes constantly glancing at her and the man. Her heart skipped a beat, and nameless jealousy ignited.
Before leaving, Shu Yao said to the village chief: "Don't forget what we are going to do tomorrow."
…
After returning home, Shu Yao looked at the half-repaired west room. Fortunately, the guest room next to the west room had been repaired.
Two villagers carried the man into the guest room, but the house was just made of adobe and there was nothing inside. They threw the man on the ground and ran away.
Fortunately, Shu Yao had cleaned the floor thoroughly. She went back to the house and got two newly bought thick quilts, and put one of them as a cushion underneath.
She wanted to drag the man onto the quilt, but he was too heavy and she couldn't move him at all. So she looked at Ji Shijing who was standing at the door. Just as she was about to ask him to come over and help, she saw him leave without looking back.
Shu Yao sighed, and at this moment, the man on the ground slowly woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw the woman's graceful neck. His Adam's apple moved slightly and he made a slight "huh" sound.
Shu Yao lowered her head and met those blue eyes again. She subconsciously moved a little further away from him: "Are you awake?"
The man struggled to sit up, the wounds on his body were still bleeding, it looked horrifying, but he didn't even frown.
Shu Yao pointed at the quilt that had just been spread on the ground and said, "You sleep here today." Then she ran out quickly.
She hid behind the door and secretly observed the man's actions.
The man dragged his injured body to the door panel, leaned against it gently, exhaled, looked at his dirty clothes, and then looked at the snow-white quilt on the ground. He closed his eyes and planned to lean against it to rest.
Shu Yao returned to the room and found Ji Shijing reading by lamplight. He didn't even raise his eyes when she came in.
She came over and discussed with him: "Ah Jing, can you lend him a set of clean clothes first? I will buy you new ones next time."
He remained silent.
Shu Yao took it as his consent, went to the closet to get a set of older clothes, and then took the gauze from the closet over.
After she left, Ji Shijing slammed the book shut with a snap, his eyes cold and sinister.
Shu Yao placed gauze and clean clothes next to the man: "Treat the wounds on your body yourself, and here are the clean clothes, please change into them."
The man stared at her in silence.
She didn't want to stay any longer and ran out as if escaping.
That night, Ji Shijing ignored her the entire night.
Shu Yao lay in bed, feeling very nervous. She didn't know whether her plan for tomorrow would be feasible. She felt a little regretful now and shouldn't have gotten herself involved.
However, the flower thief would not feel at ease until he caught her.
I hope the Buddha will bless you and everything goes well tomorrow.
Seeing that the candle was almost burned out, she propped herself up and half sat up to remind Ji Shijing: "Ah Jing, go to bed early and watch it tomorrow."
Ji Shijing hugged the clothes on his body and ignored her.
Shu Yao was a little surprised. What happened to him today?
She got out of bed, put on her shoes, sat opposite him, and looked at him quietly.
Ji Shi's pure black hair hung down on his shoulders, with a strand falling directly onto the book, but he seemed not to have noticed.
Shu Yao noticed at a glance that he wasn't really reading. She pulled the book out of his hand and said, "Ah Jing, what happened to you today? Did something happen in school?"
He stood up calmly, walked to the bed, took off his clothes, lay straight on it, and closed his eyes.
Still ignore her.
Shu Yao’s little fists hardened. Hey, this kid.
She blew out the candle, rolled over him, and asked in his ear, her breath burning.
Ji Shijing's breathing stagnated, and he uttered two words without any emotion: "Sleep."
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