TNIBFT -Chapter 58 Ye Tian, You’re So Vicious

Widow Zhang was tidying her clothes while looking around. The dark courtyard was silent, and Ye Tian’s blue bundle lay on the ground.

That damn bastard must have run off, right?

“Hiss!”

Widow Zhang raised her hand and lightly touched her wound, full of resentment toward Ye Tian.

If someone had caught her sneaking around in the middle of the night, it wouldn’t just ruin her reputation—it would also affect her son, Zhang Fan.

She glanced at the courtyard wall and then shouted, “Stop banging!”

“Not letting people sleep in the middle of the night?”

As she slowly swayed her hips and walked toward the main gate, a loud “Bang!” erupted. The courtyard gate was kicked open from the outside.

Splinters flew everywhere.

The flickering firelight illuminated Widow Zhang’s flushed face. Squinting in anger, she glared at the men rushing in. “What are you doing?”

“Bullying us orphans and widows, huh?”

She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of the man next to her, but he shook her off. Over a dozen burly men stormed inside, overturning everything. Chaos erupted in the house, with Widow Zhang screaming constantly to stop them.

Someone shouted, “Where’s Shen Jie?”

“Hand him over! Did you hide him?”

“Shen Jie? What Shen Jie?” Widow Zhang looked utterly confused.

The villagers had followed the footprints here. Seeing Widow Zhang play dumb, someone said angrily, “Stop pretending! We saw him come in with our own eyes. If you don’t want trouble, hand him over!”

“Shen Jie has shat on us over and over. He thinks we’re pushovers. That bastard—let me see how I deal with him!”

Everyone was enraged.

“Clang!” A loud crash rang out.

A large water jar was smashed with a stool, spilling half of its water across the floor, soaking most of the room.

Widow Zhang’s eyes widened, her face twisted with anger, and she shouted uncontrollably, “I’ll fight you all!”

Then followed a frenzy of smashing, yelling, and chaos.

Shen Jie cowered in the empty corner of a water jar. If he were found now, it would be a death sentence. And these people were acting like they had been set off with explosives—what was going on?

“Wretch! Corrupting the village morals and hiding someone too!”

Seizing the chance for revenge, one of them slapped Widow Zhang across the face.

Her cheek swelled instantly, stars flashing before her eyes.

The villagers held torches, their faces fierce in the bright light. Mingfeng Village wasn’t full of good people—they were all exiles or relatives of criminals.

Widow Zhang realized that the only option was to submit. With their numbers, if anything went wrong, she’d be the one to suffer.

She fell to the ground, covering her face with one hand. “It was Ye Tian… he climbed over the wall and ran away.”

Ye Tian?

Everyone froze, exchanging glances.

Someone said, “I’ve long suspected Ye Tian and Widow Zhang were cozying up to each other.”

“Honestly, Ye Tian is capable of something like this…”

“What do we do now?”

Everyone hesitated. Shen Jie, hiding in the corner, immediately relaxed.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “What’s this?”

Shen Jie’s heart raced.

Had they discovered him hiding in the water jar?

Should he make a run for it? If he didn’t act, would they seal the jar?

What to do?

The footsteps drew closer. Shen Jie trembled all over. Even as a “child of destiny,” he was only 14 and had no worldly experience.

Just as he prepared to bolt, someone outside said, “A bundle.”

“Whose is this?”

Shen Jie relaxed. Luckily, he had been smart. Ye Tian’s bundle contained only spices, worth a hundred taels. Ye Tian wouldn’t give up easily, so this matter had nothing to do with him.

Widow Zhang had originally intended to claim the bundle for herself.

One hundred taels—that was Ye Tian’s entire fortune and life. Wherever he carried it, it was his lifeline.

But for now, survival came first!

Widow Zhang said, “This is also Ye Tian’s—it’s his spices inside.”

“These were just given to me by him, they’re worthless.”

Spices?

No one believed her. Immediately, someone stepped forward and unwrapped the package. The moment it was opened, the crowd erupted.

“A dudou!”

“This is the dudou that was lost last night!”

“Damn, could it really have been Ye Tian?”

The crowd went wild instantly. Widow Zhang was completely dumbfounded. She had seen Ye Tian take the spices from the shop herself—how did it turn into a dudou?

A dudou?

Shen Jie’s heart raced to his throat. Why was there a dudou in the package?

Ye Tian framing him?

Thinking of this, Shen Jie gritted his teeth in fury, wishing he could kill Ye Tian on the spot. Thinking of the dudou he had just stolen that night, Shen Jie felt as if a hot potato was lodged in his chest.

As long as he didn’t go outside, no one would notice him.

Just when he thought he was safe, someone asked, “What’s this?”

Footsteps grew closer.

Shen Jie crouched in the big vat, afraid to breathe, tightly shutting his eyes. Suddenly, a large face peered down from above, and someone shouted, “There’s someone here!”

Shen Jie was startled.

Terrified, he scrambled to his feet, trying to run out.

“It’s Shen Jie!”

“Block him!”

“Bastard, it really is him!” The crowd grew excited. Shen Jie was like a lamb trapped in a wolf pack, struggling desperately.

Someone grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the ground, and immediately two people pressed him down.

“It’s not me! It’s Ye Tian framing me! I followed Ye Tian in here!” Shen Jie looked at the furious crowd, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Bang!”

No sooner had he spoken than someone kicked him in the face. “You think we’ll believe you just because you’re trying to blame Ye Tian?”

“You followed Ye Tian? Do you think we’re fools? The makeup on your face—did Ye Tian put that there too?”

“Exactly! It’s obvious that Widow Zhang and Shen Jie were colluding. To protect Shen Jie, they shamelessly pinned the blame on Ye Tian…”

“Shen Jie’s done things like this before.”

The crowd murmured, voices overlapping.

Hidden in the corner, Ye Tian was moved to the point of tears. The villagers’ eyes were truly sharp!

Widow Zhang looked at the bruised Shen Jie in disbelief. What was going on?

The person she had been intimate with just now was Shen Jie?

Then what about Ye Tian?

It was time for him to make his move. Ye Tian, still hiding in the corner, straightened his clothes and stepped out through the door, his face gentle as he looked at the villagers. “Why are you all here?”

“How many people did Widow Zhang invite at once?”

Seeing Ye Tian looking confused, someone asked, “Was it Widow Zhang who invited you?”

“What do you think?”

Ye Tian asked, turning the question back at them. Shen Jie, lying on the ground, struggled and shouted, “You’re lying! It was clearly you! You framed me! You deliberately made me come here! Ye Tian, you’re so toxic!”

“I made you come?”

“I made you steal the dudou? Or I made you get intimate with Widow Zhang?”

“The evidence is clear, the villagers’ eyes are sharp, and their wisdom shouldn’t be underestimated. You still want to deny it? Do you take us for fools?”

At Ye Tian’s words, the villagers all nodded in agreement.

“Beat him! Let’s see if he dares to do it again!” Ye Tian clenched his fist and charged first. The crowd immediately swarmed, surrounding Shen Jie, raining punches and kicks on him.

“What’s he holding in his arms?”