At this moment, Liu Hai couldn’t possibly admit that Zhang Nu wasn’t a villager. If he confessed now, it would only confirm the accusations against him. Seeing that Liu Hai was still refusing to acknowledge the truth, the villagers' disappointment deepened.
If Liu Hai had admitted that Zhang Nu was an outsider and taken responsibility, the villagers might have shown him leniency. After all, they had cared for him for so long. However, his continued denial and attempt to deflect blame were unexpected and only made things worse.Now, the villagers saw no reason to be polite to him. If Liu Hai didn’t care about them or their rules, why should they care about him? They weren’t foolish, and there was no reason to protect someone who had turned his back on them."Liu Hai, after everything we've done for you, you still refuse to admit the truth?" one villager said, his voice full of disappointment.
“We treated you like family, but now it’s clear we were wrong about you. You’ve just been using us this whole time.”
An elderly woman, highly respected in the village, voiced this harsh truth. Her words carried weight, and many villagers quickly sided with her. Sure enough, the looks in their eyes changed, viewing Liu Hai as a traitor.
Liu Hai felt incredibly uncomfortable. He had never done anything to betray the village or its people. So why were they treating him like this? Where had he gone wrong? Why were they blaming him for everything?
“Granny, I really don’t understand what you mean,” Liu Hai said, his voice filled with confusion. “What did I do wrong for you to target me like this? If I’ve made a mistake, I’ll change. Isn’t that enough?”
The elderly woman sighed deeply upon hearing Liu Hai’s words. In her heart, she had already lost all hope in him. At one point, she had believed that Liu Hai could be the village’s beacon of hope, but now it was clear that he was no different from the outsiders who sought to destroy their village.
“Liu Hai, do you know? I once thought you would be the hope of this village,” the old woman began, her voice heavy with disappointment. “I was even prepared to tell you everything. But now I see how wrong I was. You’re no different from those outsiders trying to destroy our home. How could I have ever considered you our savior?”
“This was my mistake, and I won’t make it again,” she added, her gaze full of sorrow as she looked at Liu Hai. Her words were soaked with regret, and it was clear that the villagers had accepted her judgment without question. No one believed in Liu Hai anymore.
At this point, Zhang Nu realized that their identities had likely been exposed. There was no point in trying to argue their way out of it. However, he couldn’t shake his curiosity. Why was this village so adamant about keeping outsiders away? Could it be that the village harbored a deeper, darker secret? And why did the village echo with strange, wailing cries every night, as though it were a normal occurrence? Something here was deeply amiss.
Zhang Nu held back Liu Hai, stopping him from speaking further. He whispered to him, “There’s no point in arguing anymore. They’ve already figured out who we really are. If you don’t want to be thrown out of the village, your only option now is to appeal to their emotions. Convince them to let us stay.”
Liu Hai, trusting Zhang Nu completely, nodded in agreement. If it hadn’t been for Zhang Nu, he would’ve died back at Nine Fox Ridge. Since Zhang Nu suggested playing the emotional card, Liu Hai was fully prepared to do so.
“Uncles, aunts,” Liu Hai began, his voice filled with sincerity, “I never wanted things to come to this. I’ve been wanting to tell you the truth for a long time, but the village chief’s warnings terrified me. I was afraid that if you found out about my true identity, you’d make me leave. And if I leave, I’ll have nowhere else to go. I don’t even have a family to return to.”
Following Zhang Nu’s advice, Liu Hai started to appeal to their emotions. He believed that the villagers still had some feelings for him, and if they heard him speak from the heart, perhaps they would let him stay. Surely, they wouldn’t be so heartless as to throw him out just like that.