TNIBFT -Chapter 56 Uprising in the Village

That night.

The moon was dark, the wind high. Only after the three children had fallen asleep did Ye Tian sneak out, wearing a dark cotton jacket.

“Whooo~”

The north wind howled, and Ye Tian shivered violently, the sleepiness instantly gone.

He looked up. The bright moon hung high in the sky, its light reflecting off the snow, casting a dim glow. The grayish light shrouded everything on the ground, mysterious, eerie, and filled with danger.

The cold made Ye Tian pull his neck in and his hands tremble. Opening the wooden gate of the courtyard, he stepped onto the snow and headed toward the village.

Shen Jie was the protagonist of this world. Killing him outright now was unrealistic.

Moreover, Shen Jie was the illegitimate son of the city lord. With Liu Ruyan still alive, going to kill Shen Jie now would not only be decapitation-worthy but would also implicate the three children. The best Ye Tian could do was slightly weaken Shen Jie—strip him of his fated protection. Even if he didn’t finish him off, Shen Jie would die like an ordinary character.

Stirring public outrage—that was the way to deal with Shen Jie now.

Ye Tian, familiar with the village, first sneaked to the Shen residence. With the “tools” he had prepared in advance, he pried open the courtyard gate.

There was no light, only foggy darkness.

Ye Tian’s eyes scanned the area and landed on clothes hanging under the eaves, still out. On them was a bright red bellyband. Stealthily, he yanked it off and stuffed it into his chest. At this hour, the villagers were dead asleep; a little noise wouldn’t matter.

After all, the wind and snow were strong at night. Some noise was normal, and with the cold, no one wanted to get up.

Thinking it over, Ye Tian picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the window of the Shen side room.

“Clang!” A loud crash echoed.

Ye Tian ran.

“Who’s there?”

Startled from sleep, the village chief and his wife awoke. The loud noise immediately set the village dogs barking, one after another.

Within minutes, it quieted down again.

Then came the second house, the third. Not only did he steal the bellybands, but some of the windows and water jars were smashed, yard objects knocked over, and poultry cages opened, letting the animals roam freely.

After this round of chaos, Mingfeng Village was in a midnight uproar. Exhausted and panting, Ye Tian finally ran home.

These people had often kicked others when they were down before. Ye Tian felt no guilt at all for this.

Rubbing the bulging bellyband against his chest, Ye Tian grinned. That bastard Shen Jie—if he dares to come tomorrow, he’s as good as done for.

“Creak…”

Ye Tian crouched and pushed open the door.

The house was dark and quiet. Fortunately, the children were still asleep; otherwise, it would have been hard to explain why he had gone out in the middle of the night.

And those bellybands needed to be hidden well.

Ye Tian took out the package given by the spice shop and carefully tucked the bellybands inside. Only after finishing this did he feel satisfied enough to prepare for bed. He turned around…

“Ahhh!”

In the darkness, a pair of bright, curious eyes stared at him.

One by one, round little heads, like tiny potatoes, popped out from the blankets.

Ye Tian’s heart raced, still in shock. Feeling guilty, he said, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“When did you wake up?”

Looking at the three little ones in the dark, Ye Tian pretended to be calm, holding the package and hiding it under his blanket.

Ye Yunting furrowed his small brow, his expression hard to read.

Ye Shuangxue’s eyes flickered strangely; she didn’t speak.

Xiao Jiang pursed his lips and said, “We woke up when you opened the door. Did you go out to pee?”

“Mm… go back to sleep quickly!”

Ye Tian, feeling guilty, mumbled a perfunctory reply, pulled the blanket over, and turned over, not daring to look at the three children.

This was practically a full-blown disaster scene.

Going out in the middle of the night to steal and cause trouble—if the children found out, how could he keep his dignity? Most importantly, he couldn’t let the three kids think that he had reverted to the old Ye Tian.

“Plop!”

The firewood burned brightly, popping lightly.

The three children lay on their small beds, hearts heavy with worry, staring wide-eyed into the darkness. None of them felt sleepy.

……

Early the next morning, Mingfeng Village was in an uproar.

“This matter, the village chief must give us an explanation. Otherwise, we’re not leaving!”

“Yes!”

A crowd gathered in front of the village chief’s house, full of righteous indignation.

The village chief’s face was dry and weary, full of helplessness, as he looked at the crowd. “Let’s talk about this properly… calmly…”

“Last night, someone broke into my courtyard gate…”

“Mine too.”

“Nothin’ was stolen, but my wife’s undergarment is gone… this… this must have been Shen Jie. No one else could have done this.”

“How shameless! That was my only undergarment. Village chief, you have to compensate me.”

“Yes, and my chickens and ducks—they ran away in the middle of the night!”

“My jar of pickles was smashed. That scoundrel Shen Jie is out for revenge!”

The villagers all clamored in front of the village chief’s house, each voice overlapping the next.

Each person was full of anger and resentment.

The village chief was at his wit’s end. Aunt Li was so furious she wanted to take a knife and kill Shen Jie. Their misfortune at home had apparently enabled someone shameless and unprincipled like Shen Jie to thrive.

To get revenge for being driven out of the village, Shen Jie had even dared to smash his own window—utterly ungrateful.

“This is just speculation. You have no proof that Shen Jie did this. Besides, Shen Jie now has nothing to do with my Shen family. Asking me for compensation isn’t appropriate, right?” the village chief said, spreading his hands helplessly toward the crowd.

The villagers were left speechless.

Aunt Li cursed loudly, “You greedy lot! If you want money, go find Shen Jie. What’s it got to do with us?”

“Shen Jie smashed my window—who else should we go to for compensation?”

Aunt Li’s boldness stunned the villagers. Their pent-up anger had nowhere to vent. One of them muttered, “When I catch that little brat, I swear I’ll kill him! Even stole an undergarment—is he trying to get himself killed?”

With their anger simmering, the villagers grumbled and dispersed.

That night, at the appointed hour, Ye Tian was set to meet Widow Zhang.

When Ye Tian returned home from the shop, the three children were sitting properly at the table, practicing calligraphy. Even Ye Shuangxue had changed her usual attitude. When Ye Tian entered, the little girl looked up, her big eyes meeting his, expression hesitant as if wanting to say something but holding back.

The atmosphere at home felt strange that evening.

With a major task ahead, Ye Tian prepared a simple dinner and waited for darkness, hoping everything would go smoothly.

……

At midnight—around 12 o’clock—Ye Tian dressed quietly, glanced at the three children sound asleep, and stepped lightly out the door.

“Bang!” The front door closed gently, cutting off the moonlight, leaving the house in deep darkness.

“Big brother… is he really leaving?”

Xiao Jiang pouted, pulled the cotton blanket off, and sat up on the bed, his voice husky.

Ye Yunting turned to look out the window. “Maybe… maybe he thinks he’ll be better off without us.”

His small hand gripped the blanket, knuckles whitening.

He didn’t understand why Ye Tian had to do this—why give hope to someone only to take it away?

Just as he was slowly learning to accept him, Ye Tian chose to leave in this way.