Chapter 198

Xu Ran walked into the room and told Liu Tong what he had just seen. That figure was probably planning something against them, or else he wanted to steal Big Black.

Liu Tong heard Xu Ran’s words. He did not expect that the villagers would be so bold. After all, they were living in the village head’s house, but why would someone still dare to steal? Could it be that he was not from this village?

Xu Ran was also thinking what Liu Tong was thinking. He wondered if this person might be Hu Ming.

Although someone had said that Hu Ming would not steal from the village, what if the stolen one was not from the village? What if he was new to the village and thus had no idea what was happening?

Could it be that the stolen one found something missing but had nowhere to go to complain, and he didn’t want to screw up his relationships with other villagers due to this kind of thing, so he just swallowed his grievances?

The more Xu Ran thought about it, the more he felt it was possible, and then he started to wonder if he was too imaginative.

Xu Ran and Liu Tong thought it over, then lit the oil lamp in the room, opened the door and sneaked out.

However, they didn’t take the oil lamp with them. The oil lamp in the room was lit, so others would probably believe that they were in the room. No one would think that they went out late at night.

However, Xu Ran had another doubt. The village head was too poor to have rice, while he should have oil lamp at his home. Wasn’t that weird? Oil was quite expensive.

But Xu Ran did not think that much for the time being. Instead, he went to find the killer with Liu Tong actively.

When they caught the murderer, if the village head still didn’t handle him, then Xu Ran would notify the Yamen of the incident. After all, a murder happened in the village, so Zhubu must be paying close attention to it.

Both Xu Ran and Liu Tong remained silent. They sneaked into the cowshed discreetly. Xu Ran saw two people pulling each other, as if something had happened.

Xu Ran and Liu Tong watched them quietly. The two of them had pulled each other for a while, and Xu Ran heard one of them saying, “You can’t do this. It will arouse their suspicion.”

Then the other one said, “Why not? If you hadn’t left too soon today, I would have drowned them. In that case, their horse will be ownerless and eventually belong to us. In the final analysis, you were a coward and ran away too soon.”

The one who talked first said, “It wasn’t like this last time. All of them died. It was because they were lucky that they survived this time, but it’s good that they didn’t die. Then we can blame the murder on them. In that case, aren’t their belongings still ours?”

The other one replied, “Do you think it’s so easy? They are currently living in the village head’s house. What if the village head does something to them before we do?”

These two seemed to be thinking of a way for this matter, while Xu Ran and Liu Tong were totally astonished. The two of them were discussing how to murder for money, and even the village head was actually thinking about the same thing!

The two of them didn’t speak in a low voice, as if they were not afraid of being discovered at all, but it was not strange. Only the village head lived in this place and there was no one else. Moreover, according to these two, the village head was not a good person either, and he was very likely to attack them. Therefore, Xu Ran and Liu Tong were ambushed on both sides.

“Alright, stop appearing in the village recently. If you really were seen by Yamen runners or other people in the village, then you would be finished. It’s not that I’m blaming you, but you really were inhuman. You even killed your own dad.”

These words were quite informative to Xu Ran. The speaker was Hu Jin, the one who had pushed them into the water during the day, while the other one should be Hu Ming. Hu Ming was actually in cahoots with Hu Jin and they wanted to kill Xu Ran and Liu Tong. Thinking of that, Xu Ran got devastated.

Since the identities of the two speakers were confirmed, then it was much easier to make out their voices.

Xu Ran listened very carefully. When Hu Jin finished speaking, Hu Ming said, “My dad? Humph, he treated that Xu better than me. If he hadn’t stopped me back then, how would I have attacked him? I guess that Xu is his biological son.”

Hu Ming didn’t feel guilty when he said this, as if Xu Ran really was Mr. Hu’s son, while he wasn’t. He was nothing more than an outsider.

When Xu Ran heard this, his body twitched. He wanted to rush up and slap Hu Ming.

When Xu Ran was twitching, Liu Tong could tell what he wanted to do. Liu Tong tugged at Xu Ran’s clothes, not letting him go.

Xu Ran didn’t stand up. He looked back at Liu Tong and calmed down. There were too many scumbags, and anyone would meet several in his life. Of course, there weren’t many people who would even kill their own dads.

The two speakers on the other side had no idea that they had been overheard. They were still discussing how to steal their horse without arousing any suspicion.

Most importantly, they could blame the village head for the stolen horse. It seemed that these three had been holding a grudge for a long time!

Xu Ran thought that he might have the village head deal with these two. After all, finding the murderer was also a contribution, right?

On the other side, Hu Jin ran from the cowshed to the front to see if they were asleep. Xu Ran thought of the oil lamp he had lit, and also wanted to follow him and have a look.

“Ah!” Xu Ran didn’t expect to hear a scream. He looked back at Liu Tong, both speechless. They had no idea what was going on.

Then Xu Ran heard the village head’s loud voice, “Come out!”

Xu Ran and Liu Tong thought the village head was talking about them. Just as the two of them clenched their fists and were about to walk out, it didn’t occur to them that the one who walked out was Hu Ming. He didn’t actually run away after being discovered? Xu Ran was confused.

Xu Ran also pulled Liu Tong along. They were walking very gently, so apart from the village head who was facing them, neither Hu Jin nor Hu Ming saw them.

Xu Ran heard Hu Ming saying to the village head, “Aren’t you afraid of waking up the people in your house with such a loud voice? Oh, that’s not right. This lamp is on, so are the two people in the room still awake? How about coming out and chatting?”

Hu Ming was talking louder and louder. Apparently, he was talking to Xu Ran and Liu Tong.

After Hu Ming finished his words, the village head told him, “Look back.”

Hearing the village head, Hu Jin and Hu Ming both looked back, and saw two people behind them staring at them. Hu Ming and Hu Jin were at a loss. Why were these two behind them?

Xu Ran and Liu Tong had no intention of moving. Xu Ran’s idea was simple. If these two wanted to run away, he and Liu Tong could still stop them.

Judging from the current situation, either the two of them united with the village head, or Hu Ming and Hu Jin united with the village head. Now the village head held the option.

In the dark night, Xu Ran chuckled, “Village head, make your choice. Whose side are you going to take? You know what they have done, and so do we. There’s an old saying. God sees the truth but waits. One will eventually run into ghosts if he always walks outside late at night. Just like the one who wanted to drown me today, aren’t you afraid that someday, you will also be drowned by those who died in the water?”

Xu Ran ask the last question very flatly, but it made the listener shivering.

After that, Xu Ran said nothing and waited for the village head’s answer, as well as Hu Ming’s.

Hu Ming seemed to have been frightened for real, but probably by his own thoughts. He kept trembling.

Hu Jin saw him and patted him, “What’s the point of being afraid now? You weren’t so sentimental when you killed your dad. We’ve got a fat chance of winning.”

Hu Jin whispered these words to Hu Ming’s ear, so Xu Ran and the others didn’t hear what Hu Jin said.

Having heard Hu Jin, Hu Ming was not that scared instead, “Who told you there are three of them? Didn’t you hear Xu saying just now that he was waiting for the village head’s decision? That means they haven’t done negotiating yet. In that case, we can also negotiate with the village head, right? These two are rich, and we can definitely make a fortune if we kill them.”

Hu Jin thought about it and found that Hu Ming made sense.

Hu Jin said, “I didn’t expect you to be so smart. Why haven’t I noticed it before?”

Hu Ming smiled, “I’ve been in town for a long time, so I have naturally learned a little.” He sounded somewhat proud.

After a while, Xu Ran heard Hu Ming telling the village head, “Village head, I also know your history. Those two are not from our village. You can’t just support the outsiders, right? As long as this is over, we can still live life the way we like in the future. Village head, what do you think?”

Xu Ran stared at the village head nervously. If the village head agreed, they would be in trouble. After all, he was not good at fighting, and Liu Tong alone might not be able to beat three!

Under Xu Ran’s gaze, the village head nodded cruelly, “You’re right. As long as this is over, we can live life the way we like.”

Hu Ming clapped his hands and walked towards the village head, “Now you’re talking! I knew you were sensible, village head.”

However, things did not turn out exactly as he imagined. As soon as Hu Ming approached the village head, the village head caught him rapidly. Those with sharp eyes could tell that the village head was a martial artist. But unfortunately, it was too dark.

Hu Ming did not expect the reversal of the situation. The moment he wanted to ask the village head about it, he felt that something was poking his waist, and then he just screamed.

“Your Lordship, you might come out now.”

Hearing this, everyone present except for the village head was stunned.

What was going on? It was astonishing! Zhubu had stayed awake and made an ambush in the middle of the night?

When the village head finished speaking, there were actually more than one person coming out. Then, more and more people came out. Not only Zhubu, but even the villagers were there.

All of them came out from behind the cowshed. So many people should have been lying in ambush. How come they hadn’t noticed them before?

Xu Ran also found it strange. He looked back at Zhubu. In the faint light, Xu Ran saw him smiling.

Zhubu seemed to know Xu Ran’s doubts and said to him, “There is a huge pit behind the cowshed. Most people were in it.”

It suddenly dawned on Xu Ran. No wonder they hadn’t noticed them. After all, who would pay attention to a huge pit in the middle of the night?

Zhubu walked towards the village head. He stood on the steps and looked down at the crowd down below, “Everyone, I’m really sorry for asking you all to watch a show in the midnight. It’s dark now. Please burn your torch if you have one. Let all of us take a closer look at this beast who killed his own dad!”

Zhubu specially emphasized his last remark. After that, many torches were burned soon down below. Meanwhile, the villagers started to criticize him.

Xu Ran thought that the village head might have deliberately created this illusion for them.

But Xu Ran wondered since when they had been targeted? Otherwise, they would have been too insignificant to be noticed.