Chapter 82: Escape the Sea of Suffering

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Escape the Sea of Suffering

Yang Sigeng demanded, "Says who? The news has spread all over your Huangtuo Village, and it’s even reached our Baiyang Village. You still dare to deny it? You think I, Yang Sigeng, am a pushover?" As he spoke, he rolled up both his sleeves, revealing his muscular arms.

Yang Sigeng was a bricklayer who usually worked with a crew building houses. He did heavy manual labor all day, so a glance at his rolled-up sleeves was enough to tell he was a man of great strength.

Old Mrs. Bai hadn’t lived all these years for nothing; she wasn’t about to be easily intimidated by Yang Sigeng. She screeched, "Don’t you try to scare me! This is Huangtuo Village, not your Baiyang Village! You can’t just come here and run wild!"

"Me, run wild? Fine! Today, I, Yang Sigeng, will show you what it really means to run wild!" He was utterly enraged. When had he ever been swindled like this? It was a direct slap in the face.

"Brothers, smash it all!" Wielding a club, he was the first to charge into the house, smashing everything in sight and sparing nothing.

The seven or eight burly men who had followed him, not to be outdone, also raised their clubs and stormed into the house on a smashing spree. They didn’t even spare the main door, tearing it from its hinges and smashing it to splinters.

Old Mrs. Bai was so frantic she was practically hopping on the spot, but she didn’t dare go forward to stop them. These men were all holding weapons; a single blow would be more than enough to make her suffer dearly.

She yelled to Bai Xiaofeng, who was standing by in a daze, "Xiao Feng, quick! Go get the village chief! Tell him vicious thugs from another village are here to murder and set fires!"

Bai Xiaofeng nodded frantically and rushed out. Although Bai Erzhu and Bai Dazhu were grown men, one had two broken hands and the other was naturally timid. Neither dared to step forward and reason with the intruders. They could only stand by and watch helplessly, mumbling pleas for everyone to talk things out and stop smashing, but their voices were instantly swallowed by the roar of destruction.

Zhao Lan wanted to go out and see what was happening, but Bai Zhi grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Mother, we can’t go out right now. That old hag will just find some other nasty things to say. Let’s just wait. They’ll call for us soon enough. If all goes according to plan, today is the day we escape this sea of misery."

Zhao Lan’s eyes lit up. "Are you serious?"

Bai Zhi smiled and nodded. "Of course, it’s true. When have I ever lied to you?"

Zhao Lan thought it over. ’That’s right,’ she realized. ’This whole affair has blown up. The entire village knows Bai Zhi supposedly can’t have children in the future. On top of that, Zhi’er’s relationship with the family is already so strained, and my own hand is useless for work. As long as Doctor Lu is willing to speak up for us, given the Bai family’s nature, they would never be willing to keep feeding two unprofitable, idle mouths.’

’Splitting the family... they’d probably be thrilled at the chance.’

At this thought, her spirits lifted considerably. She calmed down and returned to sit by the bed, waiting for a member of the Bai family to come and call for her and her daughter.

By the time Bai Xiaofeng returned with the village chief, nearly everything in the house had been smashed. The large water vat in the backyard, the small canopy where Bai Xiaofeng usually practiced his calligraphy, and every pot, bowl, and basin in the kitchen—nothing was spared.

Old Mrs. Bai was sitting on the ground, wailing uncontrollably and spewing every foul curse she knew.

"Stop at once! Who are you people? What gives you the right to smash up this home?" Though the village chief was old, his many years in the position had given him a powerful air of authority. His sharp command actually brought Yang Sigeng and his men to a halt.

Yang Sigeng stepped forward, club in hand, and demanded of the village chief, "Who are you? Are you a member of the Bai family?"

The village chief replied, "I am the village chief of this Huangtuo Village. And I’m asking you, why are you here, senselessly destroying a person’s home?"