Outside the courtyard gate, Xu Huaili had long grown impatient, cursing and grumbling under his breath. Some of the curious onlookers who had followed to watch the spectacle couldn’t help but remind him, “Huaili, keep your voice down—this gate isn’t soundproof…”
The reminder only made things worse. Xu Huaili raised his voice even louder, “What? Am I not allowed to say a few words about him? Even if he’s moved out, he still has to call me Second Brother. As his elder brother, not only can I scold him, but I could even beat him up, and no one would dare question it…”
Seeing him act so arrogantly, the other person shook their head helplessly.
The rest of the crowd watched on, amused by the spectacle.
Xu Hualian, however, was not pleased and said, “Second Brother, you should really say less.”
Did scolding Third Brother make him look capable? No, it didn’t. While Third Brother, being the one scolded, would be mocked as weak, Second Brother wouldn’t come out looking good either—and he himself would be dragged into the embarrassment.
Xu Huaili didn’t dare treat this fourth brother the same way he treated Xu Huaiyi, doing whatever he pleased. He pursed his lips, snorted, and finally quieted down.
Just then, the courtyard gate swung open. Xu Huaiyi walked out unhurriedly, and in front of everyone, he closed the gate again and snapped the lock shut with a click.
The copper lock gleamed conspicuously, as if slapping someone in the face.
After the initial shock, the onlookers exchanged bewildered glances. What was this all about?
Xu Huaili exploded on the spot, pointing a finger at him and demanding an explanation, “Third Brother, what’s the meaning of this? Fourth Brother and I come to your door, and instead of inviting us in right away, serving tea and water, and treating us properly, you lock the gate? Do you even see us as your own brothers?”
Xu Hualian didn’t question him outright, but his face was filled with disapproval. He felt Third Brother was being utterly unreasonable. Even if Second Brother’s behavior was somewhat inappropriate, retaliating like this would only bring shame to the Xu family.
Brothers being at odds was a major taboo for any family.
Having already moved out, Xu Huaiyi had no intention of playing along with their charade. He tore off the veil of pretense without hesitation, “My own brothers? Are you really my own brothers?”
“Would my own brothers treat me like a beast of burden all these years? You enjoyed the fruits of my labor while living idly, yet in your hearts, you mocked me as foolish and looked down on me, allowing anyone to gossip about me.”
“Would my own brothers push me out to become a live-in son-in-law? The Xu family wasn’t so poor that they couldn’t put food on the table—how did it come to selling off a son? If you had even an ounce of brotherly affection for me, you wouldn’t have stood by while I bore the shame of being a ‘married-in son-in-law’ for the rest of my life, all while you lived in spacious tiled houses and even had spare money for schooling.”
The onlookers were stunned, while Xu Huaili and Xu Hualian were furious and flustered. Each of his words felt like a slap across their faces, delivered without mercy.
But at that moment, there was no stopping him.
Xu Huaiyi held a carrying pole, poised as if ready to strike if either of them dared to step forward.
The public slaps and skin-peeling continued.
“Would my own brothers enjoy my wife’s dowry yet stand by and watch her die without lifting a finger? I knelt before you, kowtowing until my head bled, and what did you do? Not only did you show no sympathy, but you even fanned the flames with your sarcastic remarks!”
“Would my own brothers drive my family of three out without giving us a single grain of food, leaving us to fend for ourselves? I worked most of the family’s land, yet in the end, I was forced to leave with nothing but the clothes on my back!”
Xu Huaiyi grew more impassioned and indignant as he spoke, feeling it was unjust for the original owner who had died, and also stifled by his own transmigration into such an identity. His eyes reddened, teeth clenched in a cold sneer, his voice resolute and unwavering, "Brothers like you, who suck the blood of others to sustain yourselves—I, Xu Huaiyi, dare not associate with such lofty company!"
As his final words fell, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Only the cicadas in the trees chirped, one after another.
After a moment, there was movement—various gasps, sighs, and exclamations of astonishment!
"Hiss…"
"Whoa…"
"Oh my dear mother…"
It truly echoed that old saying: don’t bully someone just because they’re honest. Once an honest person loses their temper, it’s like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami surging—absolutely making you regret it.
Look, now the Xu family had completely lost face. Their dignity had been torn off and trampled on the ground, over and over, each time more brutally than the last.
Those accusations were deafening!
Everyone stared at Xu Huaiyi. This man had once been so quiet and unremarkable, who could have imagined that in just a few days, he would withstand pressure to buy medicine for his wife, break away from the old family home to establish his own household, quietly return with a cart full of goods pulled by a mule, and now, even more astonishingly, erupt completely after long silence.
Could this be the so-called rebound from rock bottom?
Indeed, even a rabbit bites when cornered, and even a clay figurine has a temper. No matter how honest Xu Huaiyi had been before, pushed to the brink, he couldn’t continue to be meek—otherwise, how could he survive?
An elderly man stroked his beard and murmured with emotion, "So it’s said, never bully the young when they’re poor."
Who knows when someone might turn their life around?
Others felt this saying didn’t quite fit the situation but couldn’t think of words to refute it. They silently resolved not to underestimate Xu Huaiyi from now on.
Otherwise, Xu Huaili’s fate would be theirs.
Stripped of all dignity.
This wasn’t just a slap in the face—it was a public execution. For those with thinner skin, it was no different from being sliced a thousand times.
Xu Huaili was already seething with rage, his usual eloquence—the sharpest in the Xu family—now failing him. His lips trembled, but no words came out.
Everything Xu Huaiyi said was the truth—how could he refute it?
Finally, with eyes wide in fury, he squeezed out a sentence, "You’re crazy, you’ve gone mad…"
Xu Huaiyi sneered coldly, "And it was you who drove me mad!"
"You…" Xu Huaili’s vision darkened. At that moment, he wished he could rush at Xu Huaiyi, punching and kicking to vent his hatred. But facing Xu Huaiyi, who held a shoulder pole with a cold, fierce gaze, he staggered back, too afraid to step forward. Humiliated and enraged, he spat out, "You just wait!" before turning and fleeing.
The onlookers were speechless.
They had thought a physical fight was about to break out and had even stepped back a meter to clear space. But in the end, this was all?
With Xu Huaili’s escape, most of the excitement vanished. Everyone turned their gaze to Xu Hualian, their eyes subtly expectant. This one was a skilled hunter—surely he wouldn’t be as cowardly as Xu Huaili?
At this moment, Xu Hualian wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground. But he couldn’t. If he ran too, it would only make him appear more guilty and fully confirm their crimes. Then he might as well give up on being a respectable person altogether.
He struggled to meet Xu Huaiyi's mocking gaze, his voice dry and strained. "Third Brother, your words are rather biased. The situation isn't as you described…"
Xu Huaiyi cut him off with a sneer. "Which part isn't? Tell me! If I've wronged you, I, Xu Huaiyi, will kneel and apologize!"
Xu Hualian flushed crimson, feeling utterly humiliated in that moment and deeply regretting having come. "Must you push things to this extreme? Even if we brothers have wronged you, do you not care at all about the family's reputation?"
Was he trying to rally the entire Xu family against him?
Xu Huaiyi had no intention of letting him have his way. "You are you, and the Xu family is the Xu family. I believe that generations of the Xu family have taught their descendants to be fraternal and united, not to feed on the blood of their own brothers."
Xu Hualian, "…"