53: Chapter 53 The chains are broken! You are now free!

Whoa!

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience went into an uproar.

The villagers looked at one another, their expressions shifting.

The village chief was actually that rich? And he hid it under the pigsty?

Wang Dafu's expression changed drastically, and the walnuts in his hand dropped to the ground.

This was his top secret; even his wife didn't know. How did this person find out?

"You... you're talking nonsense!" Wang Dafu roared in exasperation. "Don't listen to his lies! Smash that phone for me!"

"I'd like to see who dares to move!"

Su Yun shouted sternly, "Liu Ergou! What are you trying to do with that hoe in your hand?"

A tall, thin man who was about to rush forward was startled and subconsciously stopped in his tracks.

"Liu Ergou, you stole two chickens from Widow Zhang's house in the neighboring village last month, and you even made off with a pair of her red underwear. Does your wife know about this?"

Roar!

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

Liu Ergou's face turned the color of pig liver. With a clatter, the hoe fell from his hand, and he covered his face as he ducked back into the crowd.

"And you! The one in the blue clothes!"

Su Yun didn't give them a chance to catch their breath, his fingers tapping rapidly on the screen.

"Zhao Tiezhu! You have the nerve to hit someone?"

"Three years ago, you tricked your own niece into going out and sold her for five thousand yuan, then turned around and told your brother the child was lost."

"Aren't you afraid your niece will come back in the middle of the night to take your life!"

The man named Zhao Tiezhu trembled all over, his legs giving way as he collapsed to his knees.

"Stop talking, stop talking..."

Now, all the villagers were panicking.

How was this a phone?

This was clearly a Demon-Revealing Mirror!

No matter how secret the matter, no matter how shameful the deed, everything was laid bare before this voice!

The originally aggressive crowd began to retreat.

No one dared to be the first to step forward.

Fearing that they would be the next one named.

"Don't listen to him! He's a ghost! This is sorcery!"

Wang Dafu was still struggling desperately, but his trembling voice had already betrayed the fear in his heart.

"Sorcery?"

Su Yun sneered, "Wang Dafu, last night you were still with your daughter-in-law..."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Like a cat that had its tail stepped on, Wang Dafu shrieked, interrupting Su Yun.

If this were said out loud, would he still have any dignity left? How could he ever show his face in the village again?

Just then.

Zhao Laosan, who hadn't spoken the entire time, went completely mad.

He looked at the cowering villagers, then at the phone that was still continuously exposing secrets.

The fear of losing everything caused him to lose his mind completely.

"Everyone, get the hell out of my way!"

"I don't care who you are! Even if the King of Heaven himself shows up today, don't think you're taking anyone away!"

Zhao Laosan picked up the hoe from the ground, a suicidal madness glinting in his eyes.

Since none of them were going to survive, they might as well die together!

Ignoring the phone, he raised the hoe high and swung it down violently toward Li Guohua's head.

If this strike landed, his head would definitely be split open!

"Watch out!" Su Yun shouted.

Li Guohua didn't dodge at all.

Or rather, he didn't want to dodge.

He pressed his son firmly beneath him, using his own back to receive the fatal blow.

As long as his son was okay...

As long as Lele could survive...

Li Guohua closed his eyes.

Countless people in the livestream screamed, not daring to watch what was about to happen.

Just as the sharp hoe was only a few centimeters away from Li Guohua's back.

Bang!

A crisp gunshot suddenly rang out.

The shot hit the dirt by Zhao Laosan's feet, sending debris flying.

The hoe in Zhao Laosan's hand fell with a clatter, and his whole body went limp, as if his bones had been removed.

Before he could react, there was a loud crash as the two dilapidated wooden doors, along with half of the earthen wall, were smashed open by a black SWAT riot vehicle.

Bricks and tiles rained down on the ground, and the rising dust was so thick it made it hard to see.

"Don't move! Get down! Hands behind your head!"

Seven or eight fully armed SWAT officers appeared like divine soldiers descending from heaven, their movements so fast they were a blur.

In the blink of an eye, the previously arrogant Zhao Laosan was pinned to the ground by two SWAT officers, his face pressed against the earth covered in chicken and duck droppings, unable to move.

"It hurts! It hurts! My arm is going to break!" Zhao Laosan howled like a stuck pig.

"Stay still!" The officer didn't indulge him at all, pinning his back with a knee. With a click, the silver handcuffs were snapped on.

Seeing this, the villagers in the courtyard dropped their makeshift weapons with a series of clatters.

The group that had been shouting for blood just moments ago was now cowering, wishing they could bury their heads in their laps.

This was the power of the state apparatus.

In the face of true justice, these local tyrants who acted like kings through clan influence were nothing at all.

Li Guohua remained in the position of protecting his son.

It wasn't until a young police officer rushed over to support him that he seemed to snap out of it, his whole body trembling.

"It's over, you're safe now," the officer's voice was gentle. "Mr. Li, the ambulance will be here soon."

Li Guohua couldn't hear a word.

Ignoring the searing pain in his back and the blood covering his face, he struggled to his feet and stared intently at the chain fastened around his son's neck.

That chain had been wrapped around his son for twelve whole years!

"Pliers... give me pliers!" Li Guohua's voice was incredibly hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing together. "Help me cut it! I beg you!"

The officer in charge, his eyes reddening, turned and shouted, "Hydraulic cutters! Quick, get the hydraulic cutters!"

A SWAT officer immediately retrieved a pair of massive hydraulic shears from the vehicle.

Li Guohua grabbed them, his hands shaking like a leaf.

He was too emotional, and too afraid.

He was afraid of hurting his son, afraid that all of this was a dream.

The youth lying on the ground was still shivering.

He didn't know what was happening; he only knew that the demon who beat him every day was being pinned down.

"Lele, don't be afraid. Daddy's going to get this off for you." Tears streaming down his face, Li Guohua carefully lined up the jaws of the hydraulic shears with the rusty chain.

The surroundings were deathly quiet.

Even the comments in the livestream had stopped.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the screen.

Snap!

A crisp sound of metal snapping rang out.

The chain that had imprisoned the youth's freedom for twelve years and trapped Li Guohua's hopes for twelve years snapped apart.

Clatter.

The chain fell to the ground.

This sound felt like it was striking the hearts of everyone present.

Li Guohua threw aside the cutters and pulled the dirty, smelly youth into a tight embrace.

"It's broken... it's broken!" Li Guohua wailed. "Lele, we're free! No one can ever lock you up again! No one!"

The youth was held so tightly he could barely breathe, but he didn't struggle.

The embrace was very warm, with a faint scent of tobacco and blood.

"Was this the smell of a father?"