Chapter 110 (1/2)
”I plead guilty, I plead guilty! It's all my fault, I should die! I hit Yu Hang when I was drunk and I was afraid of the consequences, so I made it sound like he had stolen money from me instead! Heavens, please forgive me, ah, please forgive me!” Zhang Dongming had been scared out of his wits. He held his head in his hands as he knelt on the ground crying for forgiveness like a broken record.
Zhang Dongming actually had a good business ac.u.men. Otherwise, the rich and n.o.ble people from the capital wouldn't bother coming to a backwards place like Tanggu Town to commission furniture. However, this man was not only miserly but he also had a fatal character flaw: he loved alcohol. In addition, his ability to handle alcohol was very poor. Every time he came across wine he had to drink it until he was drunk, and when he was drunk, he was given to violent tendencies.
Towards the people around him, especially the apprentices who came from poor and impoverished families, he would either beat them up with his fists or find some other way to torment them to satisfy his violent cravings. Thus, most of the apprentices at his store didn't end up staying long as they all tried to find any method they could to leave. As for those who had no options, they could only be like Yu Hang, silently enduring until they lost their lives to him.
Out of all of the apprentices, Yu Hang was considered to be one of the people who had lasted the longest time. He was naturally diligent and cautious when he worked, so the main teacher of the shop took better care of him. Thus, Shopkeeper Zhang had fewer opportunities to make him his punching bag.
Unfortunately, Shopkeeper Zhang was like a rabid dog when he was drunk and didn't differentiate between innocent and guilty people before he bit them. In fact, in his drunken stupor, he didn't have any qualms causing the head craftsman trouble. Every time he was drunk, the apprentices in the store were out of luck, and Yu Hang often couldn't escape the fate of being hit by Shopkeeper Zhang.
This time, the head craftsman had left to purchase some lumber and took one of the tall and strong apprentices to help. He left Yu Hang in the back courtyard to practice carving and shaving wood——the head craftsman had noticed that Yu Hang was hardworking and clever, so out of the kindness of his heart towards this apprentice, he wanted to transfer some woodworking techniques to him.
Yu Hang had been practicing his skills diligently and didn't expect calamity to suddenly fall upon him. Shopkeeper Zhang had been invited to drink alcohol with some people, and, when he staggered back to the shop, he headed straight towards the back court to satisfy his drunken urge to beat someone. Yu Hang had turned into his victim. Not only did he beat the child with his fists from head to toe, but the drunken man also picked up every piece of spare lumber there was around and hurled them at Yu Hang's tiny and weak little body. The boy tried to s.h.i.+eld himself but in the end he spat up blood and stopped moving...
This wasn't the first time he had accidentally killed an apprentice. In fact, Shopkeeper Zhang never cared about the lives of his students who had come from powerless, dest.i.tute families. After killing them, he'd carelessly throw their corpses into a common grave and let the feral dogs drag their bodies away. Once he got rid of any clues or evidence pointing towards him, he would then make a false countercharge. Shopkeeper Zhang would bring his partner along to visit the dead apprentice's family and then accuse the apprentice of stealing something from the store and running off. Then, the timid family members would even have to kowtow to him and ask for forgiveness.
Shopkeeper Zhang had a vague idea what Yu Hang's family situation was like. He was the son of an ordinary, poor fis.h.i.+ng family that had relied on fis.h.i.+ng for generations. Yu Hang had no background and no status, so even if he accidentally killed the boy, what was the worst that could happen? However, who would have thought that the Yu youngster had a little brother who was studying at Rongxuan Academy and that he would be on break and want to visit his brother today? Thus, his crime had been exposed prematurely.
In actuality, being exposed wasn't really a big deal either. All he needed to do was make up something that made it Yu Hang's fault and send his poor, trash family away. After all, weren't impoverished fishermen, who were on the bottom of the social ladder, all cowardly and timid? Why was there a silly girl who managed to lead him by the nose and make him make a vow to the heavens? Usually making a heavenly oath meant nothing, but why did the heavens act today and send lightning to punish him...
In order to fix the problem now, his only choice was to kneel on the ground and ask the heavens for mercy and forgiveness! Zhang Dongming repeatedly knocked his forehead on the ground and the sound of his head tapping on the ground echoed. When he lifted his head, people could see a purple mark forming on his face, ”I was wrong, I admit my guilt! I am willing to pay for all of Yu Hang's medical fees! If, on the off hand, things get worse, then I will take charge of all of his funeral expenses!”
”Pah! Surnamed Zhang, stop cursing my older brother!! Is being well off really that great? You should know, everything that people do here on earth is seen by the Heavens!! If you sin too much, don't be surprised when the Heavens decide to punish you!!” When the lightning had struck, Yu Xiaocao had been s.h.i.+elded behind her father. Now, without the slightest bit of fear on her face, she walked forward a step with the flash of lightning behind her. It made her seem as if she was a child sent by the Heavens.
Yu Yunxi had been standing for a long time in the midst of the crowd. He serenely watched the slightly-built, fearless girl in the middle who had a cold expression on her face. A faint sense of respect for her rose in his heart along with another indescribable feeling.
Although Shopkeeper Zhang wanted to refute the little girl in front of him in his heart, he continued to kowtow to the heavens and admit his wrongs. As he apologized and repented, the dense lightning in the skies slowly dissipated and the thick, dark clouds in the sky gradually disappeared.
After witnessing this phenomenon, the townspeople of Tanggu Town soon had a saying based on this event, 'If you do bad things you'll get punished by lightning'.
Yu Hang, who had been diagnosed as a hopeless case by the doctor from Tongren Medicine Hall, slowly opened his eyes after the black clouds scattered. With a very weak voice, he called out at Liu Muyun, who had been sobbing endlessly, ”Mother…”
The people surrounding them all commented one after another, ”The Heavens have eyes! The G.o.ds have not only punished the evil person but also saved Yu Hang's life…”
”Are you awake, Xiaosha? What part of you feels uncomfortable?” Yu Hai softly asked his weak son as he supported his wife who was crying tears of joy.
Yu Hang barely managed to squeeze out a placating smile on his supernaturally thin face and replied with great difficulty, ”Father, Mother! I'm okay, I'm sorry for making you two worry…”
”It's all my fault, it's all my fault! If I had made you come back earlier, then you wouldn't have encountered such a bad fate…” Madam Liu had cried so hard that her eyes had swollen up until she almost couldn't open them. After the crazy rollercoaster events of the day, she felt physically and emotionally exhausted.
Yu Xiaocao noticed that her older brother was struggling in an effort to sit up and hastily stopped him, ”Older Brother, you broke three of your ribs! Doctor Sun had just done his best to bandage you up, but you're absolutely not allowed to flail around!” Mother, it's a good thing that Older Brother has woken up, so stop crying. Your body is not very healthy, so if you keep crying, it'll make Older Brother very worried for you.”
”Older Brother, let's go home! Father and s.h.i.+tou will protect you, so there will be no other bad people who can bully you!!” Little s.h.i.+tou's eyes had turned as red as a rabbit's eyes. He slightly sobbed as he tried to comfort Yu Hang. Yu Hang did his best to smile back at him.