"I don't care about anything else. All I know is, when our family was about to starve, no one came to help us. Now that we have money, you come to grab it. Where were you before? This money was earned with my son's life. Whoever comes to take it is after my son's life, and if they die, they deserve it!"
With that, Gu Yuan's mother coldly swept her gaze over the people around her.
Some of the people around, who had started to scheme, looked a bit embarrassed and unnatural.
At this moment, some chaotic noises came from outside, mixed with shouts of "The Clan Leader is here!" "Quick, make way for the Clan Leader!"
An elder, leaning on a cane and with well-groomed beard, entered the courtyard. Seeing Gu Yuan holding a long sword about to strike, he hurriedly shouted:
"Stop!"
Gu Yuan didn't listen and raised his hand to strike; the sword light flashed.
Pfft—
Gu Lao-san only felt a chill in his arm, followed immediately by a sharp pain.
Looking down, he saw that one of his hands was severed at the elbow, with blood gushing out.
At the same time, intense pain quickly spread from the wound.
"Ah! My hand... my hand!!!"
Gu Lao-san widened his eyes and, holding his broken arm, screamed repeatedly, rolling on the ground in pain.
Gu Yuan then leisurely flicked the long sword, shaking off the blood, and sheathed the sword.
Then, he took out a handful of copper coins from his bosom, threw them onto Gu Lao-san, and said indifferently:
"Weren't you asking for a loan? These are all yours, and you don't have to pay them back later. Are you satisfied or not?"
Seeing Gu Lao-san end up like this, everyone was silent, too scared to breathe heavily.
"You little brat, how dare you!"
The old man with the cane was livid with anger, pointing at Gu Yuan, glaring as he spoke: "You dare hurt someone in front of me, the head of the village? Do you still acknowledge me as the Clan Leader? Do you still respect the family rules? Believe it or not, I will deal with you according to the family rules!"
As he spoke, some of the men from the village behind him also glared angrily at Gu Yuan, with unfriendly expressions, but due to Gu Yuan holding a sword, they did not act rashly.
"Old Master Gu."
Gu Yuan smiled nonchalantly: "You know well enough what kind of person Gu Lao-san is, don't you?"
"What is his relationship with you? And what is my family's relationship with you? If I really listened to you, I'd be at a loss today!"
"You..."
Gu Cunzheng's mustache twitched in anger, just about to say something when Gu Yuan continued:
"To be honest, Gu Lao-san ending up like this is what he deserves! He tries to openly rob the silver compensation meant for me from the Qian Mansion; even killing such a scoundrel would be justified! Even if Steward Wu of the Qian Mansion found out, I bet he would applaud it!"
"Considering your position, I merely disabled one of his arms. In fact, you ought to thank me for my mercy."
Many people were wide-eyed, listening with startled hearts, never expecting Gu Yuan to be so bold as to speak to the Clan Leader in such a manner.
And so eloquent, too—is this really the same Gu Yuan who used to speak slowly, and act impulsively?
Upon hearing the keywords "Qian Mansion" and "Steward Wu," Gu Cunzheng, initially furious, fell silent. At this point, a perceptive fellow nearby quickly recounted what had just happened.
When he heard that Steward Wu from the Qian Mansion personally came to apologize to Gu Yuan, Gu Cunzheng's eyelids twitched.
As both the village head and the clan leader, he had naturally heard of the Qian Mansion in the county town, well-known for being influential. The Patriarch of the Qian Family was treated deferentially even by the county magistrate.
Unlike those short-sighted villagers, who only had eyes for the silver, he saw the bigger picture.
How could ordinary mountain villagers compel the Qian Mansion to lower themselves?
Therefore, for Steward Wu to personally apologize to Gu Yuan, there must be a reason!
At the very least, one thing is certain—Gu Yuan in front of him is definitely not ordinary, even the Qian Mansion does not wish to offend him too much.
"Hmph, he brought it on himself!"
With this thought, Gu Cunzheng glared fiercely at Gu Lao-san on the ground, threw out a remark, and left with a gloomy face, assisted by those beside him.
He didn't know what had happened with Gu Yuan, but since even the Qian Mansion didn't want to offend Gu Yuan, why should he involve himself in this matter?!
As for Gu Lao-san, this trouble was of the man's own making, and getting punished by Gu Yuan was well-deserved!
Anyway, this guy wasn't his own grandson, so he wouldn't feel any heartache if he died.
Besides, he didn't die, did he?!
What, Gu Yuan's actions were too severe?
Ha...
The gnarled tree at the village entrance's ancestral hall had been the site of no less than ten hangings over the years.
The river behind the village had also been the resting place for many, both people and objects, those drowned in pig cages; now if you go fishing in the river, you might even pull up several corpses.
Gu Yuan merely severed an arm; in his eyes, it wasn't a big deal at all.
Seeing the Clan Leader leave without another word, Gu Lao-san and some villagers were stupefied, not understanding why the Clan Leader left.
Yet some clever ones guessed the reason, whispering among themselves and occasionally glancing fearfully at Gu Yuan before hastily leaving.
Only Sun Zhong looked at Gu Yuan with bright, admiring, and envious eyes.
He couldn't help but feel that Gu Yuan, first cutting off an arm, and then standing up to the Clan Leader without flinching, awing everyone, was simply amazing!
Then, he was pulled away by Widow Sun.
Originally wailing and cursing, Gu Lao-san was dumbfounded seeing everyone leaving one by one, no one paying him any attention.
He didn't expect that even the Clan Leader wouldn't dare interfere in this matter.
Especially seeing Gu Yuan now, looking at him with a faint smile, hand stroking the sword hilt with ill intent.
Amidst resentment, he also felt fear and apprehension, worried that Gu Yuan might do something else.
To him, the current Gu Yuan appeared ruthless, vicious, almost like a demon!
"You... What do you want? Don't come near!"
His face was so swollen, he almost couldn't open his eyes. Subconsciously, he backed a few steps, then grabbed the severed arm from the ground, and, seizing the opportunity, fled through the door as if ten fierce dogs were chasing him.
Gu Yuan didn't stop him.
With today's public warning, added to the previous outcomes of Dong Gui and Sun Er, Gu Yuan had established himself as ruthless and vengeful, believing that henceforth no one would dare covet the silver.
He did understand why these usually amicable neighbors gave in to temptation today.
It was simply due to hard times, lack of winter supplies at home, perhaps a fear of starving, and seeing Gu Yuan's family suddenly get a large sum of money, they naturally had greedy thoughts.
When people are on the verge of starvation, in the face of life and death, shame, morality, even prior weak relationships, seem to become unimportant.
This is understandable, and Gu Yuan can comprehend it.
But understanding aside, it wasn't Gu Yuan who caused these people's hardships, so why should he bear their burdens?