Secretary Liu had uncovered a mountain of evidence now it was truly ironclad.
Scattered across the ground were remittance slips, letters, and the neatly stacked bills revealed from the smashed iron box, silently exposing Old Man Sun’s years of greed and corruption.
Old Man Sun, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, now looked ashen, his lips trembling.
He tried to open his mouth, but no sound came out. All he could do was watch helplessly as the villagers picked up the money and letters that rightfully belonged to them, the fruits of their hard work and care.
Seeing the anger in their eyes, as tangible and consuming as fire, almost made him feel as if he were being burned alive.
“Old Man Sun! You heartless beast!” Aunt Zhang, realizing it was the money she had set aside to save her son, couldn’t hold back her emotions and fainted on the spot, saved just in time by nearby villagers.
Uncle Li trembled as he picked up a letter addressed to his grandson that had never been sent, tears streaming down his face. “My grandson… my grandson must have thought his grandfather abandoned him…
Old Man Sun! You’ve ruined my grandson’s future!”
“Beat him to death! Beat this black-hearted man to death!”
“Send him to the commune! Execute him!”
“Yes! Send him to labor reform!”
Years of pent-up resentment erupted like a breaking dam, pouring out all at once.
The furious villagers, eyes red, advanced step by step toward Old Man Sun and his son, fists clenched tightly.
Sun Laizi, terrified out of his wits, hid behind his father and screamed, “What do you want to do? My father is the village chief!
Dare touch him and see what happens!”
“He won’t be for long!” Brother Zhu roared, charging forward with several strong young men.
Old Man Sun stared at the enraged villagers before him, ready to tear him apart.
His face twisted from gray despair into something grotesque and fierce.
He had spent most of his life in Hexi Village commanding absolute authority never had he felt such humiliation.
He could not accept that everything he had carefully built could be destroyed by a single outsider woman!
Fear instantly turned into rage.
“They’ve all turned against me! The world’s turned against me!” he screamed, eyes bloodshot, ignoring the last shred of dignity he had left. “You think you can bring me down?
Not that easy! All of you, attack! First, grab that Shen woman!”
He attempted one last desperate command, gesturing to the few thugs he had left, now trembling with fear.
The thugs steeled themselves and swung their clubs forward. Brother Zhu and the other young men immediately raised hoes and shovels, standing firm to block them.
“Old Man Sun! You still dare to act lawlessly!” Wang Xuemei spread her arms, resolutely shielding Shen Zhiwei.
“Get out of the way!” Old Man Sun, completely losing his mind, snatched the heavy wooden club from one of his thugs, eyes red, and charged recklessly toward Wang Xuemei and Shen Zhiwei, club raised high.
His stance clearly showed he intended to take them all down with him.
“Sister Wang, watch out!”
“Miss Shen!”
The villagers gasped in alarm, hearts in their throats. Brother Zhu and the others strained to rush forward, but other thugs pinned them down.
Beep! Beep!
From a distance, growing closer, a military-green truck kicked up clouds of dust as it barreled down the muddy road.
The door swung open abruptly.
A tall, imposing figure leapt out.
It was Gu Yanzhou.
His face was cold as ice, eyes piercing as they locked onto Old Man Sun. Every villager’s attention was instantly drawn to the sudden appearance of the military vehicle and soldier.
“Secure the scene!” His voice was calm but carried clearly to everyone.
Almost simultaneously, seven or eight fully armed, agile soldiers leapt from the jeep and the following military truck.
They quickly moved into the chaotic crowd, separating the conflicting parties. Sun Laizi and the main thugs, still yelling, were twisted into submission and easily restrained.
The absolute pressure of the cold firearms instantly quelled the unrest.
Gu Yanzhou strode forward decisively, ignoring all astonished eyes, and made a beeline for Shen Zhiwei.
His military boots pressed firmly into the muddy ground, steps unwavering.
Old Man Sun, frozen mid-swing with the club, was paralyzed with fear at the sudden military show of force.
Before she could even react, a soldier had efficiently disarmed her, twisting her attacker’s arms behind his back.
Gu Yanzhou didn’t glance once at the disgraceful village chief; his full attention was fixed on the slender yet upright figure before him.
He quickly walked up to Shen Zhiwei and stopped.
A thin sheen of sweat marked his temple from the hurried journey. “Are you hurt?”
His eyes locked onto her, scanning her from head to toe quickly, thoroughly, missing nothing.
His gaze lingered for a moment on her slightly disheveled hair and the mud-stained edges of her clothing, and deep in his eyes surged an unmistakable, unguarded worry.
Shen Zhiwei looked up at him, meeting that almost-overflowing concern, and her heart felt as if it had been violently struck both aching and tender.
She pressed down the inexplicable sting in her nose and the exhaustion from everything she had endured, shaking her head.
Her lips curved into a small smile meant to reassure him. “I’m fine. You came… just in time.”
She had intended to say, “You came at the perfect moment,” but the words shifted, matching her feelings more precisely it was as if he had always been meant to be here, arriving from the sky at the moment she needed him most.
Hearing her reply and seeing that she was indeed unharmed, Gu Yanzhou relaxed his furrowed brow slightly.
He raised his hand to brush a stray lock of hair from her cheek, but paused midair.
Feeling it might be too forward, he let his hand rest steadily on her shoulder instead.
“Good, that’s enough,” he said softly. “Don’t be afraid. Leave it to me.”
After speaking, he turned, positioning himself slightly in front and to the side of Shen Zhiwei, shielding her from the crowd.
The soldiers on the scene had already fully secured the area.
Old Man Sun, Sun Laizi, and their accomplices were restrained, while the villagers clustered nearby, stunned and expectant as they watched the young officer who had appeared so suddenly.
Gu Yanzhou’s subordinates moved efficiently, producing gleaming handcuffs. With a crisp click, Old Man Sun’s wrists were locked tightly.
Another soldier handcuffed the struggling, screaming Sun Laizi.
The once-dominant father-and-son duo, terror-stricken, were now drained of all defiance.
Crying and screaming, they were lifted off the ground by the soldiers and led to the military vehicle.
Every villager saw the scene clearly.
The silence lasted only a moment.
Then, heartfelt cheers erupted from the crowd, like a long-suppressed volcano finally erupting.
“They’ve been taken away! They really’ve been taken away!”
“Heaven has opened its eyes!”
“Thank you! Thank you, Commander!”
Many wiped tears from their eyes, supporting one another, faces alight with unprecedented relief and joy.
Aunt Zhang, weak but gratified, smiled, while Uncle Li clutched the letter finally able to be sent, tears streaming down his face.
Sunlight pierced the clouds, falling upon the land that had just weathered the storm and upon the pair of figures standing side by side.
Gu Yanzhou slightly turned, withdrawing his gaze from the Sun father and son being led away, and fixed it on Shen Zhiwei.
She was watching the jubilant villagers, her delicate face carrying a trace of fatigue but more prominently a gentle, relieved smile.
The sunlight outlined the soft lines of her face.
Gu Yanzhou said nothing, simply watching her. His normally cold, piercing eyes had softened entirely, leaving only a warmth that was hard to put into words.
His gaze traced the contours of her features, and she seemed to sense his focus, instinctively turning toward him.
Their eyes met.
Shen Zhiwei’s heart fluttered slightly. She did not look away, returning his gaze with a deeper, grateful smile.
At that moment, the raucous cheers seemed to fade into the distance.
She clearly felt that the hardest, loneliest moments had truly passed.
“Everything on the military side is ready. The cases of Chen Weidong and Li Man have complete evidence chains. Once we return, we’ll settle everything properly, once and for all.”
The sunlight stretched their shadows long across the ground, intertwining them closely together.