Chapter 577: Neighborhood Affection

Le Family, Le Wenmao's bedroom, at the bedside.

Wang Ping'an watched his own master standing at the bedside, looking dazed, knowing of Le Wenmao's death; the blow to his master was far greater than ordinary.

He wanted to open his mouth to comfort his master, but now, not only can he not speak, even if he could, he's only a few months old; if he actually spoke, at best he might not frighten his master, let alone soothe him.

He could only look at his master with sympathy, hoping his master would recover quickly from the shock of Le Wenmao's death.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Outside the courtyard, a rapid series of footsteps sounded; Le Zhuang, who had just placed his grandfather on the bed and was about to tidy his appearance, heard the steps and asked anxiously, "At a time like this, who could be coming to our house? Surely not someone here to avenge the Cui Clan, right?"

He knew clearly that Cui Xing had many subordinates in Liangshui Town; he let them unite the town's ruffians, and the subordinates were all ruffians.

His grandfather had recently launched a massacre at the Cui Clan, perhaps frightening many, including Cui Xing's men; now, having learned that his grandfather perished in Yellow Springs,

Those bastards might treat his family as soft targets and avenge Cui Xing.

Ruffians?

He hadn't dealt much with them, but he knew what they were; if only Cui Xing existed as a boss, even though many in Liangshui Town were his subordinates, including close confidants, he believed few would avenge that bastard Cui Xing.

Who doesn't know ruffians are the most unscrupulous!

And how could anyone avowlessly avenge a so‑called former boss?

Upon learning of Cui Xing's death in Yellow Springs, the Cui Xing subordinates in Liangshui Town considered the most pressing matter to be seizing his inheritance, seeing whether they could occupy his former position, unite the town's ruffians; if they failed, the ruffians would revert to a chaotic scramble for one or two streets as before.

How could they possibly find time to avenge a dead man like Cui Xing?

However.

The fact that Cui Xing had a good younger brother—Cui Ji, who clung to the Zhu Clan's eldest son's leg—meant Cui Xing could unite Liangshui Town's ruffians; if they avenged Cui Xing, they might win over Cui Ji and perhaps fulfill Cui Xing's ambitions.

Unite Liangshui Town's ruffians!

"Don't worry, it's not the ruffians, it's your neighbors!"

Xuanqing Daozhang looked at Le Zhuang's demeanor with a detached expression, unsure whether it was the blow of his grandfather's death in Yellow Springs or his knowledge of the uncle's power that kept him indifferent to Liangshui Town's ruffians.

"Neighbors?"

Le Zhuang was startled; he never expected neighbors to show up at his house at this moment.

Just now.

Xuanqing Daozhang had heard the words he said to the on‑looking neighbors outside the Cui mansion, but he paid no mind, nor believed that his uncle's few words would cause those neighbors to come help with his grandfather's funeral; it wasn't that his family had a dispute with the neighbors.

Rather, over the years his family had clashed with the Zhu Clan; even though the Zhu Clan hadn't retaliated, the surrounding neighbors immediately distanced themselves, fearing association and possible retaliation from the Zhu Clan. Initially.

He was angry at the neighbors' behavior; as a child he often heard his grandfather speak of helping the neighbors, never expecting that merely offending the Zhu Clan would make his family unable to rely on them, yet the neighbors cut ties at once.

Until.

Having personally experienced Zhu Xing's cruelty—call it worse than a beast—he gradually understood the neighbors' stance.

Whether in peace or chaos, ordinary folk like them must never provoke the powerful families, lest they die unnoticed with no one to stand up for them.

Of course.

There are exceptions, but they're rare; even when a strong person steps up for commoners, it's usually to extort benefits from the powerful, and after that, no one cares about the commoners' fate.

"It shouldn't be so; my junior brother just returned and warmly greeted the neighbors, didn't he? How could anyone think that, with his grandfather gone, the neighbors would refuse to help?"

Wang Ping'an furrowed his brow slightly, his face full of curiosity; regarding Le Zhuang, this cheap junior brother, he was eager to accept him—not only could he become a master, but also because of Le Zhuang's relationship with his master, making him a legitimate junior brother—so many doubts swirled in his mind as he thought aloud:

"I see now—when they greeted my junior brother warmly, they were probing me and my master. My junior brother's family has a strained—rather, a cold—relationship with the neighbors, likely due to the Zhu Clan; the neighbors, aware of that conflict, naturally dare not deal with his family!"

"Why don't you go out and see for yourself?"

This novel you to

Xuanqing Daozhang smiled.

Le Zhuang opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out; he nodded, stepped briskly outside, and saw person after person in the courtyard—men and women, all neighbors—holding back tears, pretending not to know what was happening, and asked:

"Uncles, aunts, how did you all come here?"

He feared that by asking, these people might have come to help with his grandfather's funeral, and that they might deny it, embarrassing him, so he asked those words.

"Xiao Zhuang, your grandfather is gone; you're the only one left in your family. I don't know what you'll do later, but the most urgent matter now is handling your grandfather's funeral; as a youngster, you probably don't even know how to manage it!"

An elderly woman stepped forward, her gaze toward Le Zhuang full of sympathy; as long‑time neighbors, she knew the Le family's situation and couldn't be unaware, yet wary of the Zhu Clan—no matter how sympathetic she was to the Le family, over the years she could only turn a blind eye, and she sighed:

"We've come to help with your grandfather's funeral; please don't reject us!"

Thump!

Hearing this, Le Zhuang could no longer restrain himself; he fell to his knees, tears streaming, and thanked the crowd profusely: "Thank you, thank you!"

"We're neighbors; this is what we ought to do. Honestly, we've all wronged your family; when your grandfather was alive, he helped us many times!"

(End of chapter)