Free Web NovelChapter 408: Chapter 159: Just Deserts
That black-hearted Mr. Shi didn’t just set out rat traps; he coated them with itching powder.
The powder seeped into their torn flesh, causing an itch so deep it felt like ants were crawling inside their very bones. It was an agony beyond words.
That experience was a rude awakening for every scoundrel and hooligan in the city. They all straightened up, and no one dared to covet Mr. Shi’s belongings again.
Mr. Shi thought he had thoroughly intimidated the petty thieves and that no one would dare to pull the tiger’s whiskers again.
But he didn’t realize that people are naturally rebellious.
Besides, after suffering such a humiliating loss, who wouldn’t hold a grudge?
The hooligans were just waiting for a chance to strike back, and it was Mr. Shi himself who handed it to them.
They hadn’t planned to act so soon. But one day, while they were gathered for drinks, someone mentioned seeing the peddler who lived at Mr. Shi’s house. He had carried a bundle into the exchange house and came out empty-handed just moments later.
’What could that mean?’
’It meant the peddler had silver, too. Whether he’d stolen it or just gotten lucky, he definitely wasn’t short on cash.’
’He had so much silver that he needed to exchange it for silver notes, which were easier to keep on his person and carry around!’
With a conclusion like that, who wouldn’t be tempted?
There were now two fat sheep in that courtyard. If they could catch just one of them, they’d make a killing.
So, thinking there was no time like the present, they decided to act that very day.
After nightfall, the group snuck into Wo Laicai’s house and, from there, crept over to the Shi family’s home.
But Mrs. Shi had a bad case of diarrhea and kept running back and forth to the outhouse. It forced them to huddle behind Wo Laicai’s wall, not daring to move, waiting for the old woman to finally settle down before they went over.
Thinking back on it, the petty thieves found it strange.
Hiding at Wo Laicai’s place, they could hear the neighbor’s door open and close, over and over. The CREAK, CREAK sound made their skin crawl.
If they could hear it, there was no way the peddler living at the Shi’s house couldn’t.
’Or maybe the peddler had timed the old woman’s trips to the latrine, thinking he could successfully hide in Chen Wanyue’s room before she got back?’
But as it turned out, his luck was bad. He was caught red-handed, and then the bloody murder happened.
Thinking of the bloody incident, the men shuddered.
When the trouble first started, some thought it was the perfect opportunity, while others felt it was best not to get involved.
But just as they were debating, Mr. Shi ran out of the house.
’What a golden opportunity!’
’It was as if heaven itself had arranged the perfect moment for them. They’d regret it for the rest of their lives if they missed it.’
The group seized the chance while the courtyard was empty and the people inside hadn’t noticed them. They hurried into the old couple’s room to ransack it for money.
Before they could even find a few copper coins, a series of blood-curdling screams and wails erupted from the next room.
The sounds were so piercing they chilled them to the bone. It made their hair stand on end, and one of them nearly wet his pants on the spot.
Curiosity got the better of them, and they couldn’t resist pressing their ears against the wall to eavesdrop.
They heard everything, from start to finish.
They were scared stupid. They never would have imagined that such a frail-looking woman could be so ruthless.
They had only come to steal, but they ended up as eyewitnesses to a murder.
To avoid being thrown in jail, they fled during the chaos. But feeling they couldn’t leave empty-handed, they helped themselves to a good deal of the peddler’s merchandise on their way out.
When the whole county was in an uproar over the Shi family’s case, they mingled with the crowds to watch the spectacle, but they didn’t dare breathe a single word of what they had heard that night.
Originally, they hadn’t wanted to sell the stolen goods. But they were poor.
So poor they couldn’t afford a meal, reduced to gnawing on bones people threw away. Life was hard.
So, they sold off the things they had.
But who could have guessed? The silver they received was barely warm in their pockets before they were ’invited’ to the government office.
The hooligans were scared out of their wits. Every one of them was as pale as a ghost, their voices trembling like dogs about to freeze to death.
"We didn’t kill anyone, really! We’re just brave enough for petty theft and small-time crimes. Murder... we’d never dare."
"Mrs. Shi knocked out the peddler, and then Chen Wanyue knocked out Mrs. Shi. The Shi family’s son woke up, and Chen Wanyue goaded him into finishing them off, smashing both their heads in."
"We’ll take responsibility for what we did, but if a single word of this is a lie, may Heaven strike us down and send us to hell."
Faced with these sudden eyewitnesses, Chen Wanyue, who had thought she was home free, completely lost her composure.
She desperately tried to defend herself, crying out that the scoundrels were giving false testimony and deliberately trying to frame her.
