Chapter 5

As the sound approached, a young man dressed in a white robe and wearing a plain square headband emerged from the crowd. He walked straight up to Wang Chenglin and said coolly, "Young Master Wang, you said you wanted to find someone to beat you up, right? Since that's the case, this young master will grant your wish!" As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chenglin saw a fist quickly appear before his eyes, growing larger and larger.

With a "slap!" Wang Chenglin immediately felt a sharp, numb, and painful sensation in his nose, followed by a hot liquid gushing out of his nostrils. The scholar, who had just been boasting in front of Hu Laosan, immediately fell backward, fortunately being caught by the servants behind him.

Wang Chenglin wiped his nose and saw his hand covered in blood. He almost unbelievably pointed at the man and shouted, "You, Yueyang, you actually dare to hurt me! I will report you to the yamen!"

The person who hit Wang Chenglin was, of course, Yueyang, who had just arrived. Yueyang sneered and said, "So what if I hit you? If you have the ability, go report me to the governor. Besides, I haven't even pursued the matter of what you did to me at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion at the beginning of the month. Today, I might as well settle it all at once!"

Over these few days, Yueyang had also found out. The reason he had fainted and remained unconscious was because of a conflict with this Young Master Wang at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, after which he was attacked by Wang and his servants. Yueyang had always remembered this, and the punch just now was a way to collect some interest.

Seeing Yueyang's aggressive demeanor, although Wang Chenglin was afraid, he couldn't lose face. He pointed at Yueyang and shouted, "You... you... you are so despicable! Just wait, I will report you to the educational commissioner and have your degree revoked!"

"I'll wait for you!" Yueyang looked at the man with disdain. Revoking a scholar's degree required the approval of the provincial educational commissioner. Do you, a mere salt merchant from Yingzhou, have that kind of power?

"Damn it, wasn't someone supposed to report that this guy was almost dead? Look at him, he's lively and energetic, not at all like someone who's about to die!" Looking at Yueyang, Wang Chenglin couldn't help but curse the person who had informed him.

However, although Wang Chenglin was arrogant, he wasn't a fool. He quickly turned his eyes and sneered, "Hmph, Yueyang Yue Zhenghong, our fields are almost dried up, and we just want to dig a canal to bring in some water. But you keep blocking us. What are your intentions? Do you really want to see thousands of acres of farmland yield nothing? How cruel you are!"

"That's right, Yue's family is so cruel, not giving us a single drop of water. Isn't this forcing us to die?"

"That's right, since there's no way out, let's fight to the death with the people of Wulizhai!"

The surrounding farmers were stirred up by Wang Chenglin's words.

"Heh, you really know how to put a label on things!"

Yueyang laughed. Although Wang Chenglin had a nose full of blood, he was putting on a righteous and noble act, which Yueyang found incredibly ridiculous. This kind of act and rhetoric could only fool someone like Hu Laosan, who wasn't good with words. In the modern world, Yueyang, who had spent years on various online forums, had seen all kinds of tricks. He had seen many people who first packaged themselves as righteous and then criticized others from a high moral ground.

Rolling his eyes, Yueyang sneered, "Wang Chenglin, don't make yourself sound so noble. The Sanggan River has been flowing through Wulizhai for hundreds of years. As the saying goes, 'those who live near the water get the moon first.' It's only natural for us to take water nearby. Your family has always used the Hun River, and we have always been like water and oil, not mixing. Now, with the drought, you want to dig a canal from our side. Have you thought about what will happen to Wulizhai if your fields get water but ours don't? If we don't have water, who will we complain to?"

"That's right, Young Master Yue's words make sense. If your family doesn't have water, you can dig a canal, but if the Sanggan River dries up, where will the people of Wulizhai go to complain?"

"That's right, especially that Young Master Wang, I've always disliked him. He demands water with such a righteous attitude, I really want to beat him up."

Hearing Yueyang's words, the people of Wulizhai behind him began to murmur, especially Hu Laosan, who felt as refreshed as if he had drunk a large bowl of plum juice on a hot summer day, feeling extremely satisfied.

"You..."

Wang Chenglin was left speechless by Yueyang's words, feeling a deep hatred in his heart.

"Damn it, is this still the clumsy Yue family idiot? Did that stick I hit him with not kill him but wake him up instead? No, I can't let him continue talking. If he keeps talking, our morale will be completely lost."

Wang Chenglin knew that they were not in the right from the beginning. The only reason they had the upper hand earlier was because Hu Laosan wasn't good with words, and he had taken advantage of his status as a scholar and some twisted logic. He thought that with the old lady of Yue family being too old to come out and Yueyang being originally not good with words, and having been hit on the head by him a while ago, no one in Yue family would dare to do anything to him. But he didn't expect Yueyang to suddenly appear and become so eloquent, causing the situation to completely slip out of his control. Now things were getting complicated.

"No, I can't let this guy continue talking! Otherwise, we will have done all this for nothing. Let's just... " Thinking this, a fierce look appeared in Wang Chenglin's eyes. He turned to the head servant behind him and gave him a meaningful glance. Seeing the fierce look in Wang Chenglin's eyes, the servant nodded and, with a sinister expression, shouted, "Fellow villagers, talking won't solve anything. The people of Wulizhai won't give us a way out, so we have to find our own way. Fellow villagers, let's all fight together!"

As he finished speaking, the head servant immediately swung his wooden stick and charged forward. The ten or so servants behind him also raised their sticks and rushed toward where Yueyang was standing. People are often blind followers, and the hundreds of villagers who had come with Wang Chenglin also charged forward. But what no one expected was that the head servant of the Wang family would aim his stick directly at Yueyang's head, causing a loud whistling sound as it approached. If this stick hit, Yueyang would be seriously injured or even die.

Wang Chenglin's madness was truly unexpected by Yueyang. He never thought that Wang Chenglin would dare to make the first move, and that the first target would be him, so he was momentarily stunned.

"Master, be careful!"

At this moment, a figure rushed forward and stood in front of Yueyang. He shouted and raised his left hand to block the blow. The servant's stick hit the man's arm with a "slap," and the thick stick broke into two pieces.

This man was Hu Laosan, the head of the guards at Yue family. Hu Laosan, enraged, punched the servant who was still holding the broken stick, hitting him in the chin. With a "crack," the servant's jaw was broken, and he flew backward several steps, landing on the ground motionless.

Only then did Yueyang react. A surge of anger rose in his heart. He had underestimated the viciousness of the Wang family. If Hu Laosan hadn't blocked that stick in time, his head would have been split open again!

In a moment, Yueyang's anger turned to rage, and he pointed forward and shouted, "Fellow villagers, the Wang family has started the fight! The people of Wulizhai are not cowards. Any man who wants to fight, come and beat these bastards! I'll take the blame!"

"Charge, beat these Wang family bastards!"

"Fellow villagers, fight!"

The people of Wulizhai had been bullied by the Wang family for a long time and had been holding in their anger. The reason they hadn't fought back was the lack of a leader. Now, seeing the young master of Yue family speak up, they had no reason to hesitate. Led by Hu Laosan, they charged forward toward the Wang family, and a large-scale brawl began...

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