Chapter 167: Chen Jinhai: She Wants to Slander Me

A few villagers who didn't know the truth — and possibly even some who were shills — started urging the village chief to name the culprit.

Chen Jinhai looked grim, but the gleeful expression at the corners of his eyes couldn't be suppressed; he glanced covertly at Ye Cheng and muttered, "Kid, you're still not dead?"

When everyone's emotions were at their peak, Chen Jinhai turned to the old elder and said, "Elder, tell me, who did the Sea Dragon King say it was?"

The old elder stood up, microphone in hand, pointed at Ye Cheng, and said, "The Sea Dragon King said it was Ye Family's second son — he's the one who offended the Sea Dragon King."

Having said that, the old elder coughed and sat back down.

Chen Jinhai smugly held onto the microphone and said to Ye Cheng, "Ye Cheng, the Sea Dragon King says you used dark arts — what do you have to say for yourself?"

Now that you've named names, Ye Cheng stood up straight, adjusted his clothes, and spoke loudly,

"I don't know any dark arts," he said. "Unlike some people who love to play dirty tricks, even though the old elder is over ninety, you still try to drag him down — aren't you afraid the Chen family's ancestors will curse you in the afterlife?"

Ye Cheng's words were crystal clear: he was directly accusing Chen Jinhai of being behind it.

As soon as he said that, several Chen family juniors jumped to their feet, pointing at Ye Cheng and shouting,

"You surnamed Ye, you admit you used dark arts or not? You won't be satisfied until you've ruined the whole village's fishing, will you?"

"If you cause everyone to go hungry, you won't get away with it."

While shouting, those Chen family juniors pushed forward toward Ye Cheng, looking to take advantage of the chaos to attack him.

Chen Jinshui was also present; seeing his own relatives about to strike, he quickly rose to stop them, but in the family he had little influence, so no one paid him any heed.

Ye Guowei stood up, pointed at them, and shouted angrily, "What are you doing? Bullying the few with the many?"

"Who dares to bully my brother!" a roar came from behind Ye Cheng; Xiao Hu appeared, holding two iron pipes.

As Ye Guowei and Xiao Hu stepped forward, the situation instantly became evenly matched.

Seeing his son stand up, Xiao Hu's father quickly rose as well, moving close to his son and glaring at the opposition.

Ye Cheng gave the Chen family juniors a cold look.

"What? Did the village chief give you some benefit, making you so eager? You just want to jump in and hit me while things are chaotic?"

Hearing Ye Cheng say that, Chen Jinhai's old face twitched; he grabbed the microphone and said, "Ye Cheng, don't talk nonsense — I didn't tell them to hit you. It's your deeds that have provoked public outrage; everyone's indignation is spontaneous."

Ye Cheng snorted coldly, "Indeed, spontaneous indignation — but it seems only your Chen family feels it, any resonance?"

"Besides, what era is this? It's the 21st century, and you're still blaming the Sea Dragon King, claiming he's cursing our village — this sort of centuries-old scam? We're in the internet age, everyone's online — who are you trying to fool?"

Ye Cheng's remark found support from many; after all, the 21st century is a time when old and new ideas clash, with some backing the elders' views and many embracing new thoughts.

Chen Jinhai's face flushed then paled; he had planned to rely on his family's numbers to seize Ye Cheng at once and charge him with offending the Sea Dragon King, but now that others were supporting Ye Cheng, it became problematic — surely they couldn't just start fighting outright.

"Ye Cheng, don't think your sharp tongue is enough — hear this: the Sea Dragon King says you used dark arts, and your conduct is improper besides; if we let you go to sea, you'll surely bring disaster to the village."

Ye Cheng gave a wry, speechless laugh, "Oh, another charge added — improper conduct. Where did that even come from?"

Chen Jinhai looked down on Ye Cheng, speaking calmly, "Ye Cheng, don't think we don't know about your affair with Zhang Guafu — the whole village's talking, you two are just screwing around!"

Zhang Guafu, who also had the right to attend the meeting, heard Chen Jinhai's remark about her, let out a strange cry, and charged straight through the crowd at Chen Jinhai, her ten fingers scratching his face in a flash,

"I'll scratch you to death for spouting nonsense — I was wondering who was gossiping here, and it turns out it's you."

This woman, when she goes berserk, really goes berserk; poor Chen Jinhai, caught off guard, had four bloody gashes torn across his face, and even the old elder sitting nearby was frightened enough to rise and try to dodge.

"Zhang Guafu, you're crazy, aren't you? You dare to scratch me?"

"What's it to you if I scratch you? You're spouting rumors — Ye Cheng lent me money, 30,000, 30,000; look, look, he's actually trying to ruin my reputation, and that's why he needs 30,000."

Zhang Guafu's words were incredibly crude, yet strangely, the villagers all believed them.

She's a widow, he's a young man — if they really wanted to, a few hundred or thousand would suffice; why would they need 30,000?

Impossible, absolutely impossible; there's no such going rate in this village.

Zhang Guafu held up the IOU; a few older folks took it, examined it, and nodded.

"It's indeed a loan of 30,000 yuan."

"See? I told you so." Zhang Guafu broke free from the crowd with a tug, jumped onto a stool, pointed at Chen Jinhai, and launched into a tirade,

"Chen Jinhai, you old lecher, I asked you for a loan, you said you wanted my body, I agreed, you said each time you'd lend only a hundred — bah!"

"I'm short on cash, not lowborn!"

Upon hearing Zhang Guafu's words, everyone turned to look at Chen Jinhai — damn, so it was you who wanted to ruin her reputation, and you even claimed to lend only a hundred each time; you actually have the nerve to say that.

Chen Jinhai hurriedly explained, "Don't listen to her nonsense; she's just a slut trying to smear me."

"Smear you? Fat chance — this 30,000 yuan is for Xiao Liang's heart surgery; I can ruin my own reputation, but I'd never use Xiao Liang as a joke." Zhang Guafu shouted back.

"It's for Xiao Liang's surgery, then — no wonder she wouldn't joke about Xiao Liang."

"Right, right — she also asked me for a loan, but I really don't have that much money; that's true."

In a village this size, everyone knows roughly what's going on; many people are aware of Xiao Liang's situation, and public opinion suddenly swung in Zhang Guafu's favor.

Seeing everyone's support, Zhang Guafu raised the IOU again and said, "I asked Ye Cheng for a loan; he handed it over without hesitation, and didn't even write interest."

Ye Cheng scratched his nose, a little embarrassed; he wasn't that saintly — it's not like Zhang Guafu sneaked in at night and left him no choice — he didn't want to lend the money either.

"No interest on the 30,000 — this Ye Lao Er is certainly capable."

"Capable of what? It's all money earned by dark arts and sea‑raking, after all — the karmic blowback will fall on the whole village."

The topic swung back to Ye Cheng, instantly splitting into two camps; as they spoke, everyone still held a sense of awe toward the Sea Dragon King.