"If that's the case, why should we protect them?" Qingzi looked up at Lin Chuan, her pitch-black eyes like the dazzling stars in the night sky, yet filled with confusion.

"What we are protecting is not them." Lin Chuan smiled and said: "What we are protecting is the dignity of this country, the dignity of this nation."

"I don't understand." Qingzi shook her head and said: "But, I... I will help you!"

Quietly, Qingzi leaned her head on Lin Chuan's chest, feeling his heartbeat, feeling the warmth from his body. That warmth continuously heated her gradually cooling heart. At that moment, Qingzi suddenly felt that Lin Chuan's shoulders were so broad, his chest so strong and warm. After more than twenty years, it seemed like the first time she felt such a warm embrace. Or perhaps, this was the first time in her life she felt so secure.

"Kill her, kill her!"

The villagers' shouts of excitement grew louder, and more and more people joined in.

At this moment, the Japanese Feng Shui Master yelled through the crowd: "Miss Qingzi, do you see? This is the inferiority of this nation. You help them, yet they still want to kill you. How sad is that, how heartless!!"

Qingzi closed her eyes, perhaps without Lin Chuan, she would have resorted to killing, but at this moment, she forgot everything. She would rather lean in Lin Chuan's arms, enjoying this rare warmth and emotion. Enjoying this rare tenderness and residual warmth.

Black and white are just a line apart; good and evil are just a thought away.

Zhao Zhonghai hurriedly stood in front of the villagers and shouted: "Enough. Although Qingzi is Japanese, she has been helping you all along. Why are you so cold-blooded?"

"There's not a single good thing about the Japanese." At this time, someone shouted: "The calamities caused by their ancestors must be paid back by their descendants."

"Pay back, pay back!!" The villagers didn't care about anything else, these people who had farmed in the countryside all year round, probably talked most about the stories of 'going to Japan' after meals. It had been passed down from generation to generation. In their bones, in their genes, a mark had already been branded.

Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes, revealing a disdainful smile. Perhaps this was the story of The Farmer and the Snake.

Zhao Zhonghai also felt a bit of despair.

"Chuanzi, why don't you... take Qingzi and leave first, and leave this place to me to deal with," Zhao Zhonghai hastily suggested.

"No!" Lin Chuan shook his head and said: "If I really took Qingzi and left, then it would mean I've admitted defeat."

"Are you planning to fight against the villagers of Dragon Spring Village?" Zhao Zhonghai asked.

"Of course not!" Lin Chuan shook his head.

At that moment, Lin Chuan let go of Qingzi and pushed Zhao Zhonghai aside, then slowly walked to the front of the group of villagers. The group of villagers stopped their roars and took a few steps back. They all knew Lin Chuan was a formidable fighter; they had already experienced his prowess at the entrance of Dragon Spring Village.

"Even a dog knows to repay kindness, yet are you still human?" Lin Chuan coldly looked at the villagers and said: "All of you just think Qingzi is a woman, so she's easy to bully. But have you thought about it? Qingzi just helped you. Do you have the gall to bully her?"

"No matter how eloquent you are, she's still Japanese," a villager cursed: "A dog can't change its habit of eating shit. Japanese can't change their intent to destroy China."

"That's right!" The crowd shouted in unison.

"Fine." Lin Chuan sneered and said: "You want to kill her? Qingzi is my woman. If you want to kill her, you'll have to step over my dead body first."

Everyone was stunned, looking at each other in disbelief. No one dared to step forward. Both Lin Chuan and Qingzi were formidable characters. It was impossible for a group of villagers to confront them. Let alone kill them, they couldn't even harm a single hair on their heads.

"Fellow villagers, the Japanese who invaded China have long left this world," Zhao Zhonghai hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Qingzi is just an ordinary Japanese woman, she has nothing to do with the war back then. What we need to do now is only to stop the other party from building a Heroic Spirit Monument for those dead Japanese. We don't deal with other things, and we can't manage so much."

"She's still a descendant of the Japanese invaders." There were still people unwilling to let Qingzi go.

"Enough!" Lin Chuan suddenly produced a dagger in his hand and said: "Anyone who wants to kill Qingzi, come take this dagger from my hand and stab it into my chest."

Instantly, no one dared to speak, everyone was stunned, looking at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan opened his palm, a dagger thin as a cicada's wing quietly lying on his hand. Everyone looked at Lin Chuan with confusion. Was this young man really serious? Was he really going to stand up for a Japanese woman?

The crowd was puzzled and also surprised.

"What? No one talking now?" Lin Chuan coldly looked at the people and said: "Didn't you all want revenge, want to kill? Why are you all silent now? Is no one going to speak?"

The crowd dared not speak, all looking at Lin Chuan.

"Alright." Lin Chuan sneered coldly, "Since you won't take action, then I will!"

*Pu-chi...*

Having said that, Lin Chuan stabbed the dagger into his own arm.

*Hiss...*

The crowd immediately gasped, staring dumbfounded at Lin Chuan. They hadn't expected Lin Chuan to actually go through with it. At that moment, the leading stout man hastily said: "Brother, enough, enough, we... we won't bother her anymore."

"Ignorance, foolishness!" Lin Chuan swung the dagger in his hand, stabbing himself in the arm again, and said, "What I'm doing is to awaken you, to get you to understand that unity is paramount, not blind xenophobia, not failing to distinguish good from evil."

"Lin Chuan, enough." Zhao Zhonghai hurriedly stepped forward to intervene, saying, "Why must you do this?"

"I pity their misfortune and am angered by their lack of resistance." Lin Chuan sighed, saying, "Shedding a bit of blood is trivial if it can awaken the self-esteem of a nation, awaken the strength of a nation, I believe it is worthwhile."

Finally, the villagers stopped targeting Qingzi and instead, turned their hostility towards Director Li and others.

Director Li and his people were very anxious.

"Mr. Lin Chuan, are you alright?" Qingzi quickly came over.

"I'm fine." Lin Chuan shook his head, saying, "Shedding this bit of blood is nothing."

"Let me help you dress the wound." Qingzi hurriedly offered.

After saying that, she tore her skirt into strips and used them to bandage Lin Chuan's wounds. Stopping the bleeding was now imperative. As long as the blood flow could be staunched, he would be safe; they could go to the hospital for disinfection once the matter was settled.

A crowd of villagers surrounded Director Li and his people.

"What are you trying to do, rebel?" Director Li shouted angrily, "Get out of here at once."

"Who's the village head? Who's the head, tired of living?" A junior official on the side bellowed angrily, "Is the village head fed up with his job?"

"Hmph, the village head has already been sent to the hospital by you lot." A villager shouted from the side.

Director Li was stunned, and he quickly cursed, "Get out now, this is a government decision, not something you lot of ***** can stop."

Zhao Zhonghai made his way through the crowd, walking over with a smile, "Even if it were the king of heaven himself, he would have to reason with us. We will absolutely not allow the construction of the Heroic Spirit Monument here."

"Alright, fine," Director Li nodded, saying, "We'll leave!"

After that, Director Li waved his hand immediately and led his more than a dozen men away in disgrace, and even the Japanese Feng Shui Master left with them. As he left, the Feng Shui Master smiled at Qingzi, saying, "Miss Qingzi, now you see, this is an unreasonable nation!"

He spoke in Japanese, and aside from the translator brought by Director Li's party, only Qingzi and Lin Chuan could understand. Lin Chuan's expression changed slightly, and he said with a cold laugh, "Sir, I shall not comment on what you've said. But, you will be held responsible for your words."

"You!" The Feng Shui Master was taken aback; he hadn't expected Lin Chuan to understand his words. He smiled and said, "Very well. How about a bet with you, sir?"

"A bet on what?" Lin Chuan asked.

"I bet that this monument will be erected in a few days." The Feng Shui Master smiled confidently.

Lin Chuan was dumbfounded for a moment; he truly could not guarantee that he could stop the construction of the monument. If it were someone else, Lin Chuan could be sure, but the monument was personally approved by Tang Yumeng. He really didn't want to stand against Tang Yumeng.

However, faced with this situation, he had no choice but to stand with the local villagers.

"What's the matter? Afraid?" The Feng Shui Master sneered.

"Don't trouble him!" Qingzi stepped forward.

"Miss Qingzi, please don't forget, you are a Japanese!" The Feng Shui Master looked at Qingzi, saying, "You are destined to be their enemy."

"No!" Qingzi shook her head, saying, "There are no natural enemies in this world."

"You also saw what just happened." The Feng Shui Master smiled confidently, saying, "You had no previous grievances with them, yet they still wanted to put you to death."

"That was a misunderstanding." Qingzi said helplessly.

"Fine, let's bet!" Lin Chuan clenched his teeth, saying, "What's the stake?"

The Feng Shui Master looked at Lin Chuan with interest, saying, "You clearly have no confidence in yourself, why would you still want to bet?"

"This is not just a bet, but also a contest of wits." Lin Chuan smiled, saying, "I cannot lose in the battle of wills; since you want to bet, then let's bet. Tell me, what's the stake?"

"A single request." The Feng Shui Master looked at Lin Chuan, saying, "If you lose, you must fulfill one request of mine, one that is within your capabilities to grant."

"Fine." Lin Chuan nodded, "And you?"

"If I lose, then I shall retire to a life of peace, never again to set foot in China, nor engage in the practice of Feng Shui," the Feng Shui Master declared with an air of righteousness.

[Content has been adjusted, chapters 250-260 have been added.]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.