"Beasts! You're deceiving Little Jiu again to speak up for you? Shameless and despicable! Don't think we don't know—Zeng Niu already told us everything. That day, you wanted to throw Little Jiu off the Cliff of Contemplation!"
There was no way Zhou Shi could admit defeat, especially in front of the goddess...
"Brother Shi Tou, brother-in-law didn't deceive me, Sister Cui'er said so too..."
Little Jiu Niang said anxiously.
Zhou Shi said through gritted teeth, "Cui'er is a confused girl, what does she know? This beast has been hiding his cunning since childhood, I—"
"Slap!!"
Before Zhou Shi could finish speaking, everyone saw Lin Ning flash to his side, followed by a crisp sound of a slap that left everyone stunned.
"You dare hit me?"
Blood trickled from the corner of Zhou Shi's mouth, and his eyes were bloodshot. He let out a roar and lunged forward.
But then his father Zhou Cheng hurried over and shouted sternly, "You bastard, how long do you intend to keep this up? Get back and reflect on yourself properly!"
Several notable families in the village had martial arts passed down through generations, and the hardship of training in martial arts naturally didn't need to be said, so they adhered all the more strictly to the rule of "spare the rod, spoil the child."
Every one of them, even Zhou Nini, had been beaten into shape by Deng Xueniang since childhood, so they were all quite afraid of their elders.
After being sternly scolded by Zhou Cheng, Zhou Shi drooped dejectedly, but the glance he shot at Lin Ning still carried a hatred as deep as the sea.
Just as Zhou Shi turned to leave, he heard that hateful voice of his enemy behind him: "Wait."
Everyone's gaze fell on Lin Ning at once...
Lin Ning's expression was indifferent, but his gaze wasn't on Zhou Shi—instead, he stared directly at Zhou Cheng and asked, "Just leaving like this?"
Zhou Cheng's already unpleasant expression darkened further. He furrowed his brow and said, "Xiao Ning, this matter was originally a misunderstanding..."
"So he can open his mouth and say beast, close his mouth and say beast?"
Lin Ning's gaze gradually deepened as he spoke slowly, looking at Zhou Cheng.
Zhou Cheng was about to speak when Zhou Shi, behind him, roared furiously, "I already got hit, what more do you want? If you have the guts, let's settle it to the death on the Cliff of Contemplation!"
Hearing this, Lin Ning turned his gaze toward him and said indifferently, "Zhou Shi, do you know when your Zhou family came to Qingyun Village, and how you survived?"
Once these words were said, the expressions of several chieftains of Qingyun Village and the onlookers grew subtly complicated.
Some people who had originally felt that Lin Ning seemed somewhat aggressive no longer thought so now.
The Zhou family had come up the mountain back in the generation of Lin Ning's grandfather. To be precise, they had been saved by Lin Ning's grandfather when they were being hunted down with nowhere left to turn.
Seeing that Zhou Shi didn't answer, Lin Ning looked toward Zhou Cheng again and asked, "Eighth Uncle, the person my father saved back then wasn't just my Second Uncle Tian alone, was it?"
Once these words were spoken, Zhou Cheng's dark face instantly flushed red and then purple.
Everyone else's expressions changed drastically one after another.
Even Tian Wuniang, who always kept an indifferent expression and a cool, aloof gaze, had a change in her eyes at this moment, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly.
This was the first time since that incident years ago that Lin Ning had publicly called Tian Hu "Second Uncle Tian" again in front of others...
The reason everyone's expressions changed was because back then, the one who had fallen into trouble alongside Tian Hu and was besieged by Luo Cheng, the City Guard commander of Yulin City, also included Zhou Cheng.
The people Lin Long had saved indeed weren't just Tian Hu alone.
"I'll kill this beast!"
Under the gaze of everyone watching, Zhou Cheng, humiliated and enraged beyond endurance, turned and struck a palm strike straight at Zhou Shi's Baihui acupoint.
The force behind it was by no means for show.
This actually surprised Lin Ning...
"Old Eight!"
Amid a chorus of startled cries, Hu Dashan, who was standing closer, stepped forward and caught Zhou Cheng's hand.
Zhou Cheng shouted loudly, "Fourth Brother, let go! Today I will definitely kill this ungrateful beast, otherwise how could I still show my face to anyone?"
Hu Dashan said angrily, "What are you doing? It's just a misunderstanding, why does it have to come to this? When we're angry and cursing at each other, who hasn't called someone a beast this and a beast that, cursing eighteen generations of their ancestors? As elders, we should just mediate and make peace. Have you gone confused too?"
Though Hu Dashan was a rough man, he wasn't without sense. On the surface he was advising Zhou Cheng, but in truth he was also advising Lin Ning.
Zhou Cheng let out an angry "hmph" and turned his head away, unable to speak.
Lin Ning's words today had truly left him with no way to save face.
Seeing this, Fang Lin walked up to Lin Ning and said softly, "Ning Ge'er, this matter has already been made clear—it's just a misunderstanding. Let's stop here, shall we?"
Lin Ning lowered his eyes and said, "Third Uncle, I'm not a stingy person. We all grew up in the same village, and even if there are disputes, they're nothing more than quarrels among brothers. That's why, when they picked a fight with me earlier, I repeatedly backed down and explained myself again and again. Even when the insults didn't stop, I didn't take it to heart. If that were all, it would be fine. But he shouldn't have insulted my Aunt Chun. Ever since my parents passed, Aunt Chun has treated me better than her own child. Without Aunt Chun, how could I have lived until today? So, you may insult me, but whoever insults Aunt Chun, I will never let it go lightly."
Hearing these words, everyone's expressions changed again.
At this moment, Zhou Cheng truly wished he could kill this rebellious son of his. Aunt Chun was the personal maid of the former head of the family's wife, Madam Ning. In the hearts of the older generation of the village, Madam Ning was no different from a Bodhisattva who saved people from suffering. Lin Long was a man of boundless righteousness, but he had a fiery temper, and he always dealt heavily with those who made mistakes. However, as long as it wasn't a fundamental, serious mistake, Madam Ning would often gently plead on their behalf. Lin Long listened only to her...
Besides this, it was also almost common knowledge that the previous head of the family, Tian Hu, had feelings for Aunt Chun, but Aunt Chun, for the sake of her former master's son, had never agreed, and it ultimately became a lasting regret.
Finally, Aunt Chun was also deeply trusted by the current head of the family, Tian Wuniang, and the younger sister, Tian Jiuniang, had practically been raised by Aunt Chun's own hands.
But Zhou Cheng never imagined that his son, who had always been rather shrewd and promising, would actually curse Aunt Chun in front of everyone...
Fang Lin also found this deeply troubling. He glanced with barely restrained anger at Zhou Shi, whose mouth was still bleeding—this young man whom he had once regarded with some admiration had truly disappointed him today.
He paused, then said to Lin Ning again, "How about this—let Shi Tou and the others go kowtow to your Aunt Chun and apologize. Today it was this junior's fault. He's also a child Aunt Chun watched grow up, he really shouldn't have done this..."
Lin Ning slowly shook his head. Over there, seeing this, Zhou Shi's face had almost lost all color—did he have to die no matter what...
Just then, someone at the edge of the crowd suddenly cried out, "Aunt Chun is here!"
The crowd of onlookers parted, and Aunt Chun could be seen hurrying over.
After first glancing at Lin Ning, unharmed, she let out a long sigh of relief, and then tears fell as she said, "Bullying Ning'er again? He was really just playing with Little Jiu'er..."
Deng Xueniang went up to her and quietly recounted what had happened, then said with a bitter smile, "Sister Chun, right now it's Xiao Ning who won't let go, and Old Five can't back down either. Look..."
Hearing this, Aunt Chun realized the matter was different from what she'd heard. Completely relieved, she stepped forward to persuade Lin Ning, "Ning'er, we're all one family. A little quarrel is enough, let it go. We've always just been freeloaders here anyway—if people scold us a bit, so be it. From now on, you need to endure more..."
"Oh my goodness, Sister Chun, don't add fuel to the fire!"
Hearing this, Hu Dashan grabbed the hand of the ashen-faced Zhou Cheng, who had been about to strike his own Tianling acupoint, and practically wanted to kneel before Aunt Chun, pleading in a mix of laughter and tears.
He then called out to Lin Ning, "Xiao Ning, consider this your Fourth Uncle begging you, alright? Forgive this brat just this once. If there's a next time, you won't even need to say anything—I'll personally beat that little mongrel to death!"
Deng Xueniang also stepped forward and said, "Xiao Ning, I'll vouch for it too—whoever dares insult your Aunt Chun again, whoever dares act recklessly again, I won't forgive them either. After this incident, they surely won't dare again."
Aunt Chun tugged at Lin Ning's arm and said with a smile, "I was only joking just now. Shi Tou is just upset that I favor you—he wants me to dote on him too. From now on I'll make more good food for him, and his anger will fade... Alright, alright, no more joking. Ning'er, your mother taught you from young to be broad-minded, especially to treat your brothers and sisters with kindness. For a village like ours, outsiders usually find it very hard to destroy us, but if internal strife breaks out, we won't even need outsiders to kill us—we'll collapse almost entirely on our own. You're one who loves reading, so you must understand your mother's meaning better than we do. Let it go this time. Come on, come on, everyone go, hurry home. I'll make you something good to eat at noon."
These words—half wisdom, half coaxing a child—only made Fang Zhi and the others feel all the more ashamed. Lin Ning smiled and nodded at Aunt Chun, then turned his gaze toward Fang Zhi and the others.
Fang Zhi was the leading figure among the younger generation of Qingyun Village. With something like this happening today, he genuinely felt shame and resentment in his heart. Seeing Lin Ning look his way, he avoided eye contact.
Hu Xiaoshan, Zhou Nini, and the others were the same.
Seeing this, Lin Ning gave a light laugh and said, "Qingyun Village is, after all, a mountain stronghold that lives by the sword and spear, so it's fine if you all look down on me. Everyone also knows I've had no interest in inheriting the village since I was young, and I wouldn't be good at it anyway, so whether you all submit to me or not really doesn't matter."
Once these words were said, most people present changed expression.
Many faces turned excited, and many others nodded in satisfaction.
But then Lin Ning's tone shifted, his voice lowering as he said, "But Qingyun Village, in the end, still bears the surname Lin! Zhou Shi, Fang Zhi, and the rest of you—you're all welcome to go ask your Great Chieftain to her face what she's called now."
Having said that, Lin Ning turned to face the woman standing out from the crowd, unmistakably distinguished, and said, "Tell them what you should be called now."
Tian Wuniang's phoenix eyes met Lin Ning's gaze directly, cool and calm.
As their eyes met, everyone around seemed to hold their breath, with only the mountain wind blowing in gusts.
After some time, Tian Wuniang slowly lowered her eyes, and in a voice slightly hoarse but firm, said, "I'm called Madam Lin, née Tian."
Lin Ning turned back around, looked at Fang Zhi, Zhou Shi, and the others, and asked word by word, "Did you hear that?"
Fang Zhi and the others were speechless. Lin Ning's voice suddenly rose as he shouted sternly, "Did you hear it or not?"
Fang Zhi and the others flushed red, but under the sharp, intent stares of Fang Lin and the others, they all spoke up one after another: "We heard it."
Lin Ning's expression turned calm, and he gave a light laugh, saying, "Good, as long as you heard it. My Lin family is still contributing to this village. Aunt Chun and I aren't freeloaders... but I don't mean anything else by this either. I have no intention of throwing my weight around or interfering in the village's affairs—I have no interest in that at all. I just want to remind you all: you can refuse to submit to me, you can look down on me, that's fine. But do not insult me, and especially, do not insult Aunt Chun. We are not living off anyone's alms. My Lin family has shown kindness to all of you."
Having said this, he was about to leave, but then paused, turning his face to look at Fang Lin beside him, and said with a smile, "Third Uncle, Aunt Chun and I aren't living as beggars, are we? We shouldn't be insulted like this, should we?"
Fang Lin's face instantly flushed dark red. After taking a deep breath, he said through gritted teeth, "Ning'er, spare your Third Uncle some dignity. Do you really want your Third Uncle to kneel before you too?!"
Lin Ning laughed heartily, cupped his hands in a bow, and without looking at anyone else, supported the weeping Aunt Chun and walked toward the North Mountain Bamboo Courtyard.
Everyone in the village made way, some even bowing to him in respect—they too were people who had received great kindness from the Lin family.
..
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