Blood flowed from Chen Jianye's injured head, quickly forming a puddle.
"First Master, are you alright?"
At the same time, Sha Zhu supported Yi Zhonghai and asked hurriedly.
"Damn it! How can I be fine? My back was broken by that little bastard."
Yi Zhonghai cursed loudly.
After escaping death, there was intense lingering fear.
He didn't care about his image anymore.
"What's wrong with Chen Jianye, chasing you like that?"
Sha Zhu turned his head and glanced at Chen Jianye who was lying on the ground.
It was better not to look; upon seeing him, Sha Zhu shivered with fright.
Chen Jianye lay on the ground, his forehead covered in flowing blood.
Something bad happened!
"Murder!"
A First Aunt watching the commotion shrieked.
The sound was extremely penetrating, echoing through the sky.
"Sha Zhu beat Chen Jianye to death!"
"Sha Zhu killed someone."
"Chen Jianye didn't get killed by First Master, he got killed by Sha Zhu."
"It's over, the Chen Family is ruined, their only descendant is gone."
A group of First Aunts quickly ran to the Middle Courtyard, surrounding Chen Jianye's body and discussing heatedly.
"No, how could he be dead? Don't talk nonsense."
"Jianye, get up and talk to me."
Sha Zhu swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva, forcing himself to calm down and shout.
Chen Jianye, lying on the ground, showed no movement at all.
Sha Zhu was dumbfounded, terrified, his hands and feet trembling.
"Sha Zhu, quickly help Chen Jianye up."
Yi Zhonghai heard the increasingly absurd discussions from the First Aunts nearby and quickly said.
Sha Zhu remained dazed, his soul adrift.
Did I kill someone?
A life for a life.
I am the He family's only descendant, and I haven't even married a wife yet, what should I do?
"Sha Zhu, did you beat Chen Jianye to death?"
A well-built middle-aged man shouted.
The speaker was Liu Haizhong, the Courtyard's Second Master.
Liu Haizhong was also a worker at the Rolling Mill, with the same off-duty time as Yi Zhonghai, returning a few minutes later.
Upon returning, he heard the discussions of many First Aunts and roughly understood the situation.
Sha Zhu killed someone.
He used a stool to smash Chen Jianye to death, hitting him directly on the forehead, and Chen Jianye died on the spot.
To be honest, when Liu Haizhong questioned Sha Zhu, his heart was also pounding.
He was a seventh-grade blacksmith, earning 67.5 yuan a month, and he had three children and a wife at home.
Liu Haizhong silently watched Sha Zhu, making sure Sha Zhu wasn't in a killing frenzy before daring to step forward and question him.
"Sha Zhu, a life for a life, you are so foolish."
A middle-aged man with large black-rimmed glasses and a sharp, monkey-like face said with anguish.
"No, did I kill someone?"
Sha Zhu had an unreal feeling and subconsciously looked at Yi Zhonghai for help: "First Master, say something."
Yi Zhonghai's face was very grim.
Sha Zhu indeed killed someone, but Sha Zhu killed Chen Jianye for him.
If he didn't help Sha Zhu, his reputation would be ruined.
Who would dare to help him in the future?
The key was that he couldn't handle this matter.
Debts must be paid, and a life for a life; this is natural law.
"Call the police, this matter is too big."
"Yes, we must call the police, someone is dead."
"Alas, our Courtyard has always been stable, how could such a thing happen?"
A group of First Aunts discussed.
"We can't call the police."
"Courtyard matters are resolved in the Courtyard."
Yi Zhonghai said decisively.
If they didn't call the police, there was still room for maneuver.
After calling the police, things would have to be handled officially, and he, as a Grandpas, would have no say.
"Lao Yi, how do you say we should resolve this?"
Liu Haizhong questioned.
He had long been displeased with Yi Zhonghai; why was Yi Zhonghai the Courtyard's First Master?
He had three sons, and his family was flourishing, much stronger than Yi Zhonghai, alright?
"Wife, go to the Chen Family and find Chen Family's Aunt."
Yi Zhonghai instructed.
The victim's emotions were stable; next was the work of dealing with the victim's family.
If the victim's family's emotions were stable, there was still a chance for this matter.
First Aunt hesitated slightly, then walked towards the Chen Family.
"What's the use of finding Chen Family's Aunt? Her husband died and her son is gone, it would be strange if she didn't fight you to the death."
"Exactly, if it were me, I would definitely demand a life for a life from Sha Zhu."
"Sha Zhu is too honest, is Yi Zhonghai his biological father? He's so foolish."
A group of old First Aunts discussed animatedly.
They felt that Sha Zhu's actions were outrageous.
If you wanted to save Yi Zhonghai, you just needed to stop Chen Jianye, right?
Why did he kill Chen Jianye in one go? What was the point?
Even a biological son wouldn't act like that.
"Chen Family... Chen Family's Aunt... gone!"
Not long after, First Aunt stumbled out, trembling.
A group of First Aunts started another heated discussion.
The Chen Family's head of household died, then the child died, and now the mother is gone.
This was a family annihilation.
In any place, family annihilation is a bad thing; just thinking about it makes one's heart tremble.
Yi Zhonghai's brows furrowed into a 'river' shape.
Originally, he had thought of inviting Chen Family's Aunt over and using the words of the Courtyard residents to force her to endure it, at most having Sha Zhu kowtow in apology and promise to support Chen Family's Aunt in the future.
He didn't expect Chen Family's Aunt to be gone too.
Now, Yi Zhonghai reconsidered Chen Jianye's act of attacking him with a knife and immediately understood.
So, the child, having lost his parents, went to extremes and took his anger out on him.
It was a good thing Sha Zhu knocked Chen Jianye down.
Otherwise, I would have been truly wronged.
Yi Zhonghai thought to himself.
"Lao Yi, what do you say we do about this?"
Liu Haizhong pressed him.
"It's also a karmic debt."
"Let me tell you the whole story."
Yi Zhonghai sighed and began to explain the cause of the incident.
Everyone listened in silence, no one spoke.
"At that time, Chen Jianye was like a madman, slashing at me with a knife."
Yi Zhonghai took off his padded jacket, revealing the purplish bruise on his back: "Sha Zhu, in his haste to save me, acted on impulse. In my opinion, although Sha Zhu made a mistake, he also eliminated a menace for our Courtyard."
"Lao Yi, according to you, Sha Zhu even did a good deed, then."
Liu Haizhong continued to challenge him.
"Chen Jianye went crazy. He had no father, no mother, no attachments, and he was determined to fight us to the death."
"Everyone think about it, if he had killed me today, who would be next?"
Yi Zhonghai's gaze swept over the crowd.
Everyone dared not look Yi Zhonghai directly in the eye.
Especially those who had taken advantage of the Chen Family, they felt somewhat guilty.
"Then, according to your meaning?"
Liu Haizhong asked with a frown.
"How about this, let's do a good deed to the end and let the Chen Family rest in peace."
"First, send Chen Jianye to the Chen Family, and place him with Chen Family's Aunt."
"Later, a few of us will discuss their burial."
Yi Zhonghai said thoughtfully.
He wanted to handle this matter quietly.
He was taking advantage of the fact that the dead cannot seek justice.
"Hehe."
Liu Haizhong sneered, not continuing the nonsense.
"Everyone, let's work together to carry Chen Jianye back."
Yi Zhonghai looked around.
Not a single person stepped forward to help.
Even though Yi Zhonghai spoke in a way that sounded convincing, everyone wasn't foolish.
The problem now was that Sha Zhu had killed someone, and if they helped carry Chen Jianye home, it would mean getting involved.
The crime of complicity would definitely not be avoided.
Sha Zhu killed Chen Jianye to save Yi Zhonghai, so Yi Zhonghai couldn't just ignore it.
Who else would want to get involved?
Even more so, glances flickered.
This time, they had a definite handle on Sha Zhu, and it would be easy to control him in the future.
Helping Sha Zhu conceal the major crime of murder, would it be a problem for Sha Zhu to contribute ten yuan every month in the future?
Yi Zhonghai's face grew even uglier.
In the face of the major crime of murder, his words were no longer effective.
If everyone in the Courtyard had helped, it would have meant they all participated in helping Sha Zhu conceal the matter, and Yi Zhonghai could have stubbornly protected Sha Zhu.
Now that everyone wasn't cooperating, Yi Zhonghai couldn't go down that dark path alone.
"Sha Zhu, you're the one who did this, what do you say we do?"
Yi Zhonghai decisively changed his approach.
Sorry, Zhu Zi.
"First Master, I, I don't know what to do."
Sha Zhu looked bewildered.
Yi Zhonghai was about to speak when suddenly a First Aunt nearby said, "Hey, everyone, look, Jianye moved."
Immediately, everyone's gaze focused on Chen Jianye, who was lying on the ground.