Chapter 22: Adding Insult to Injury

The villagers, especially the women, had never witnessed such a scene. To see a strapping, upstanding man driven to such public, heart-wrenching sobs—he must have suffered a terrible injustice!

"Oh, my heavens! This is... this is too bullying!"
"Fengzi, stop crying, child, please stop!"

The weeping of the "star-crossed lovers" acted like a splash of cold water into a pot of boiling oil, instantly freezing the fervor of the courtyard, leaving behind only the awkward, sizzling residue of the confrontation. The village women, ever the most tender-hearted, could not bear to watch. Here was a man who had returned from the jaws of death, and his poor, deaf-mute wife, simply trying to scrape together a living—how could they be such an eyesore to anyone?

"Oh, what a sin!" Auntie Zhang, who was prone to tears, was the first to break. She pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping her eyes. "Wang Erhu, you heartless brute! Look at how you’ve driven these children to despair! Do you even have a conscience left?"

That shout was like the bugle call for a full-scale assault.

"Exactly! What kind of skill is there in bullying an orphan and a widow?"
"Wang Erhu! You must kneel and apologize to Fengzi and his wife right now!"
"Apologize? Is kneeling enough? Is that even human language coming out of his filthy mouth? We should sew his lips shut with a needle!"

The villagers' rage, ignited by Xu Feng’s earth-shattering performance, shifted one hundred and eighty degrees. It transformed into a torrent of spit and fury, raining down upon Wang Erhu as he sprawled on the ground. Wang Erhu was utterly bewildered. He couldn't fathom how, just a moment ago, he had held the moral high ground, only to become the object of everyone’s scorn and a wretched piece of trash in the next. Looking at Xu Feng, who was sobbing breathlessly while clutching his wife, only one thought crossed his mind: *Is this bastard a professional mourner?*

Seeing the tide turn, Widow Li quietly retreated to the back of the crowd, inching toward her home, terrified that the fire might spread to her.

Old Man Zhang, leaning on his cane, struck the ground heavily. He walked up to Wang Erhu, his face livid. "Erhu! Apologize!"

Wang Erhu was hauled up from the ground by a few young men. He looked at Xu Feng, then at the sea of angry faces surrounding him. Terrified and resentful, he mumbled incoherently, "I... why should I..."

*Smack!*

A burly man couldn't hold back and delivered a ringing slap to his face. "You dog-born bastard, you still dare to argue? Apologize to Fengzi immediately!"

Wang Erhu’s vision swam from the blow, and whatever backbone he had left vanished. He knew that if he didn't bow his head today, he wouldn't be walking out of this yard. Pushed and shoved by the crowd, he staggered toward Xu Feng. With his head hung low, he squeezed the words through gritted teeth: "Xu Feng... I’m sorry..."

Xu Feng was still sobbing. Hearing this, he slowly lifted his head, his red-rimmed eyes filled with "grief, indignation, and grievance." He shoved Wang Erhu away, his wailing growing louder. "Apologize? What good is an apology?! Huh?!"

He pointed to Lin Xue, who was weeping in his arms like a flower in the rain, his voice shrill. "Can my wife’s humiliation be wiped away by a simple ‘I’m sorry’? How is she supposed to hold her head up in this village from now on?"

"How will everyone look at her? Every time they see her, will they think of how you, Wang Erhu, tried to tear her pants off?"

The words were devastatingly cruel.

The villagers realized he was right; the damage to her reputation could not be mended by a flimsy apology, especially for a woman.

"That’s right! An apology isn't enough!"
"He must pay! Pay money! Pay grain!"
"Exactly! This won't end without compensation!"

The crowd grew rowdy again. Old Man Zhang nodded, finding this demand fair. "Wang Erhu, doesn’t your family have half a bag of cornmeal left? Bring it out! Compensate Fengzi’s family for the wrong you've done!"

At the mention of grain, Wang Erhu bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Why should I! His wife beat me up like this—it’s a miracle I’m not asking him for medical expenses, and now you want me to pay grain? Not a chance!"

His shameless, stingy attitude only further incensed the villagers. Several men began rolling up their sleeves, ready to strike.

Just then, Xu Feng suddenly stopped crying. He wiped his face, which had hardly any tears on it, with his sleeve. He pulled Lin Xue closer and said in a tone thick with exhaustion and bitterness, "Forget it... just let it go..."

He waved his hand as if he had spent all his strength. "I appreciate everyone's kindness, but... I don't want his compensation."

The crowd was stunned.

Xu Feng sighed, casting a complex look at the bow leaning in the corner. "When it comes down to it, the fact that we caught game today is thanks to Brother Erhu... lending me his bow."

"You could say... you could say he did me a favor. Let’s just call it even. I’ll take the loss."

His words were incredibly "magnanimous," a true act of "returning evil with good." The villagers' sympathy and admiration for Xu Feng reached their peak. *Look at Fengzi—suffering such a grievance, yet still remembering the favor of a borrowed bow! What character! What grace!* Compared to Wang Erhu’s petty, villainous face, the contrast was stark.

"Fengzi, you’re just too kind-hearted!" Auntie Zhang said, heartbroken.

A quick-witted young man suddenly slapped his thigh. "Hey! I've got it!" He pointed to the bow in the corner and shouted, "Wang Erhu, you don't know how to hunt anyway, and that bow is just a decoration! Fengzi can put it to good use!"

"I say, forget the grain! Just give the bow to Fengzi as compensation! Let’s call it even!"

This proposal struck a chord with everyone.

"Exactly! Great idea!"
"A fine sword for a hero, a fine bow for a hunter! That bow belongs to Fengzi!"
"Wang Erhu, do you agree?"

Wang Erhu’s eyes went wide. That bow was an heirloom left by his father. Even though he couldn't pull it himself, it was a memento and a symbol of his family’s history as hunters. To make him give the bow to Xu Feng? That hurt more than losing his grain!

"No! That belongs to my father..."
"So what if it was your father’s? Did he leave it to you so you could bully people?"

Old Man Zhang’s cane struck the ground with a thud. "If you don't agree, fine! We’ll go with the previous plan—half a bag of cornmeal! Go home and get it now! We’ll all go with you!"

Half a bag of cornmeal was his family's entire month's ration. Wang Erhu looked at the menacing crowd, then at Xu Feng’s "grief-stricken" face, and knew he wouldn't get out of this without bleeding a little. Between his rations and a useless bow, he gritted his teeth, feeling as if a piece of his flesh were being carved away. He squeezed out the words: "Fine... the bow... take it!"

"Saying it isn't enough! You have to say it clearly in front of everyone! That this bow belongs to Xu Feng from now on, and has nothing to do with you!"

Humiliated to the point where his face turned the color of a liver, Wang Erhu closed his eyes and practically roared, "The bow! It belongs to Xu Feng from now on! Are you happy now?!"

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse!" Seeing the matter resolved, Old Man Zhang waved his hand to clear the crowd.

The villagers left, feeling satisfied that they had performed a righteous and heart-warming deed. As they departed, they didn't forget to offer a few words of comfort to Xu Feng and cast disdainful glares at Wang Erhu.

Wang Erhu, looking utterly defeated, was hauled away by his two cohorts. Before leaving the courtyard, he glanced back at the dilapidated gate, the resentment in his eyes turning cold and sharp. *Xu Feng! And that little slut! You just wait! I’ll collect this debt with interest sooner or later!*

The courtyard finally returned to silence. As Xu Feng watched the crowd vanish, the look of utter grief on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by a faint, mocking smile. He let go of Lin Xue, whom he had been holding tightly, and patted her back.

"Alright, stop crying. Everyone’s gone."