“What? Lil Tang wouldn’t have harmed anyone! I trust his character!”
“Who’s this old geezer? Does he think that he’s such a big deal, that everyone would know who he is from his surname?”
Tang Dashun, Shi Xuenong, and the other people who don’t know him talked among themselves. They felt angry for Tang Hao.
Shi Xuenong yelled angrily, “Hey, damn old geezer, you said that Lil Hao harmed your family, but do you have any evidence?”
“That’s right, that’s right!” The Dragonrock Village council also agreed. “You sound like you’re the underhanded, despicable, and unmentionably cruel fraudster!”
Lil Hao was the major benefactor of Dragonrock Village. They believed in his character, which was why they could not tolerate Old Master Xue’s slander.
Moreover, they were celebrating an auspicious event that night. Only an underhanded and rude person would disrupt it.
Old Master Xue’s eyes opened wide out of anger.
‘Dammit, just who are these people? Looking at their shabby clothes, they’re just normal peasants!
‘Why would these peasants be at such a grand event? There’s so many of them!’
“Shut up! What do you peasants know?” Old Master Xue chided.
Shi Xuenong, Tang Dashun, and the others were instantly furious.
“F*ck your mother! So what if we are peasants? Do you think you are that high and mighty?”
“That’s right! Your ancestors are all peasants too!”
“Hey, brothers, don’t bother reasoning with them. They’re noble Southporters, unlike mere mortals like us!” Someone jeered.
“Oh, no wonder! They’re from Southport!” Shi Xuenong laughed.
“That’s not exactly right. They’re like us, from Westridge, but they migrated to Southport and made a fortune there!”
“Oh, is that so!”
Shi Xuenong’s disdain grew. “That means you’re just a wannabe!”
Old Master Xue’s facial muscles twitched. He was at his boiling point.
‘Dammit, these peasants are making fun of me!’
Commissioner Xia was suddenly reminded of that case. He went to Secretary Qian and briefly explained it to him.
“So that’s how it is!”
Secretary Qian’s expression sank. He looked at Old Master Xue and said, “Back then, the case was mysterious. The police couldn’t find any leads at all. If you said that he did it, I don’t think you could back it up with any proof.”
“Hmph! Of course the police can’t find any leads. That’s geomancy! He must have hired a powerful geomancer to harm my family,” Old Master Xue said.
Secretary Qian was taken aback, but he immediately broke out laughing.
Geomancy, or the study of fengshui, was a supernatural belief. He could not tell if it was actually real.
Even if it was real, it could not be used as evidence in court either.
According to Commissioner Xia, the third victim was said to be a master geomancer from Southport. How could he be a victim of fengshui then?
Commissioner Xia also said that the Xue father and son indeed had a conflict with Tang Hao, but there was no evidence that Tang Hao did anything.
Instead, while retracing the Xue father and son’s footsteps, they found that they had gone to Tang Hao’s factory at the night of the conflict.
They obtained the security footage from the factory and found that they had done something curious there, as though they were laying a fengshui formation.
It was clear that the Xue father and son were the ones with malicious intent.
After that, they could not figure out how the Xue father and son were harmed.
Without evidence, it did not matter what the truth was.
“You must be joking, Old Master Xue. You can’t trust supernatural things like fengshui! Even if a master geomancer was involved in this, how can you say that he was the one who hired them?
“Fengshui isn’t popular here. It’s more of a Southport thing!
“And… all those people, don’t tell me that they’re all geomancers? What are you planning by bringing all of them here?”
Secretary Qian sounded harsh and accusatory.
“That’s right. What do you want to do? Are you planning to harm someone? Get lost, all you Southporters! Get out of Westridge!”
The people were restless.
The details of the incident spread out among the crowd. Even Shi Xuenong and the other villagers knew that the Xue father and son were the ones at fault.
“Dammit, it’s your son who wants to harm our Lil Hao. How dare you place the blame on Lil Hao? Your son probably deserves to die, so there’ll be less bad people in the world!”
Shi Xuenong took off his shoe and flung it at Old Master Xue.
His movements were very fast. Old Master Xue did not manage to dodge it, and the shoe hit him squarely in the face.
The shoe was unbelievably stinky. Old Master Xue nearly fainted from the smell.
“Father!”
A middle-aged man defended him from behind.
Old Master Xue’s body wobbled. His anger made him light-headed.
He was insulted by a peasant! That peasant even threw a shoe at him!
That was… utter humiliation!
“You… Just you wait! You’re the province secretary here, right? You’re a nobody to me! My Xue family has connections in the mainland. Just you wait, you’ll be out of a job soon!
“And you too, and you, and you, and you… don’t be too happy yet. This Haotian Group will go bankrupt very soon. It’s too easy for my Xue family to ruin you.
“And you too, you filthy kid. Prepare to suffer!”
Old Master Xue yelled. His face was contorted.
Just as he finished speaking, another shoe flew toward him.
It was a very accurate throw. The shoe hit its target again.
Old Master Xue’s body stiffened.
He was trembling with anger. “Just you wait, all you filthy peasants! I’ll make sure that you are dead!” He yelled madly.
“Dammit, can’t you shut up? Do you think that you’re in Southport now?”
Shi Xuenong grumbled. He turned around to yell at the people behind him. “Take off all your shoes! Throw them all at him!”
Everyone’s expressions seemed hostile.
That old person had been ill-mannered. He said that he was not afraid of Secretary Qianb, and he also boasted that he would bring down Haotian Group.
“You don’t believe me? Just you wait!” Old Master Xue yelled again.
At that moment, everyone heard the sound of car horns from the road. A few black cards came into the venue.
The cars stopped, the doors opened, and people got out of the cars. Two of the people were Province Secretary Weng and Vice Governor He.
The other people looked like they were high-ranking officials too.
They furrowed their brows once they saw the commotion.
The newly-arrived guests walked toward the commotion, with Secretary Weng leading the way.
Old Master Xue was in the middle of his tantrum. He was about to open his mouth and spew curses.
However, one person from his group happened to glance at the incoming guests and shook with fear.
His lips trembled. “How… how could this be…” he mumbled.
He could not believe that the top-ranking officials from the province were invited to the party.
How… was that possible?
They were in Westridge, a small, backwater district!
Haotian Group was not very significant either. How could it attract the attention of all the top brass of the province?
That was ridiculous!
Secretary Qian and the others went ahead to meet those people.
He also told them about the situation.
“Oh, there’s something like that? They’re Southporters, right? How disrespectful!” Secretary Weng said coldly.
Vice Governor He also seemed unhappy.
Secretary Weng’s expression sank. “Drive them away quickly! A few more VIPs are coming!”
Secretary Qian was shocked. ‘VIPs? Isn’t Secretary Weng already the highest-ranked official in the province? Is there anyone higher?
‘Oh my god!
‘If Secretary Weng calls that person a VIP, who might they possibly be?’
Secretary Qian and the others broke out in cold sweat. They could not believe what they heard.
He was not that surprised that Province Secretary Weng and Vice Governor He were there. They knew that Tang Hao was Old Master He’s benefactor, and Vice Governor He was Old Master He’s son.
Their appearance at the party was no surprise at all.
They were shocked that Tang Hao managed to invite a higher-ranking official.
“Who else did Tang Hao manage to invite? This is ridiculous!”
They were shocked beyond belief.
They hastily rushed back to the crowd and tried to shoo away the Southporters. The Southporters resisted, and they called Commissioner Xia and his subordinates over to pull them all away.
The people jostled and argued at the entrance. Before Old Master Xue and his gang could be driven away, two cars stopped amid the commotion.
