CHAPTER 234: CHAPTER 233 JUSTICE

"Stop that car!"

"Catch him! Catch him!"

The people, as if waking from a dream, immediately chased after it, but how could two legs outrun four wheels? At most, they picked up small stones to throw, which were deflected by the car’s steel body.

"Hurry, follow them!"

"Don’t let him get away; we need to make him pay!"

"Quick, quick, go get Uncle Hai over here!"

The few strapping young men in the front immediately sprinted after the car, and those behind followed, shouting and cursing, as if the entire street was pursuing the hit-and-run vehicle.

The other workers who hadn’t left gathered around the child to discuss what to do, and by this time, Uncle Hai, who was inside the venue, finally learned that something had happened outside and was quickly fetched by some workers.

The workers made way for Uncle Hai, who saw a pool of blood reflecting the fading sunlight at the edge of the crowd, and his heart sank immediately.

"Nine Meters, Nine Meters, don’t scare your uncle, wake up, I have some dragon’s beard candy here," Qi Bajiu cradled his nephew in his arms, his face anxious as he whispered urgently to the boy, seemingly afraid of frightening him.

His niece was being examined by an older woman nearby for injuries. She had some bloodstains on her, but they didn’t seem to be hers; she secretly looked at her uncle and brother with confusion on her face, neither sad nor crying.

She seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened with her young mind.

When Uncle Hai arrived, a woman directly knelt in front of him, banging her head on the ground repeatedly, "Uncle Hai, please save my child... please... please..."

She lay on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, and Uncle Hai followed her gaze. Even with his familiarity with the harsh realities of life, he couldn’t help but flinch—she didn’t hold her child because she dared not.

The child appeared to have been struck by the car, knocked to the ground, and then run over by its wheels, with the head being crushed, making it unrecognizable.

In this situation, let alone Uncle Hai, a regular medical officer, even a divine doctor wielding a divine weapon would be powerless. Medical officers are not omnipotent; they can mend bones but cannot bring the dead back to life.

Uncle Hai shook his head at the others, and the women workers nodded, pulling the crying, breathless woman aside to comfort her.

Uncle Hai walked over to Qi Bajiu, who seemed to just notice him and softly said, "Uncle Hai, this is my brother’s son, Nine Meters. The little rascal is so naughty; he doesn’t even dodge when he sees a car coming. I’ll let my brother and sister-in-law beat him when I get back. He looks like he’s asleep; can you wake him up, can you...?"

Uncle Hai looked at the child in his arms with wide, vacant eyes, said nothing, and gathered pure white light in his hands, leaning down to gently tend to the boy’s wounds. Suddenly, it became very quiet around, everyone barely breathing, and people to the west even stepped aside, allowing the sunlight about to dip into the mountains to aid Uncle Hai.

No one knew how much time passed; maybe long, maybe short.

When Uncle Hai stopped the light in his hands, Qi Bajiu immediately said softly, "Uncle Hai, can Nine Meters, can he wake up?"

Seeing the longing in Qi Bajiu’s eyes, Uncle Hai silently reached out to close the child’s eyes.

Qi Bajiu swallowed hard, looked at the sky, the ground, and at Uncle Hai, but refused to look at his nephew in his arms. He blinked, holding back tears, his voice choked with emotion, "Uncle Hai, do you know any other skilled medical officers? I have money; I have a lot of money..."

"He’s dead." Uncle Hai looked at him, enunciating each word: "He’s gone for good."

"No, see, he’s still so young; he still wets the bed, he, he still likes to read newspapers to me..."

"He’s dead!"

Uncle Hai roared, slamming his fist onto the ground beside him, creating a small pit. The stones in the soil cut his fist, and he continued pounding the ground furiously with a ferocious expression until others quickly restrained him to prevent further self-harm.

He was very sad.

If he hadn’t been truly merciful, he wouldn’t have run a loss-making noodle shop for workers for so many years, helping them with their troubles, treating minor illnesses, and offering advice.

He was just an ordinary person of limited abilities, unable to achieve great things, unable to solve the misfortunes of these suffering people, and unable to improve their conditions, so he could only help alleviate the pain of daily life, teaching them tricks to find joy in hardship.

He couldn’t lead everyone out of darkness; he could only light a fire in their hearts.

But watching the two children who were just singing beside him die like this, even after decades of experience in the mud of Xuanzhu County, Uncle Hai still couldn’t control his emotions.

He was very angry.

Angry at his powerlessness, angry at the cruelty of the perpetrator, angry at the unjust fate, and even more infuriated by this wrong time, wrong place, and wrong protagonist!

It just happened to be the day of the union’s founding;

It just happened to be where hundreds of workers were gathering;

It just happened to be the worker’s child who died, and the culprit a Silver Blood noble;

Uncle Hai didn’t know if it was a conspiracy against the union, but he knew that Zhengwei and White Night’s efforts over the past few days could be ruined. Given the current situation, no matter how eloquently he spoke, no worker would believe him.

Unless...

"An eye for an eye!"

"We demand justice!"

"We want fairness, we want justice!"

Someone said, "But anyone who could drive in Xuanzhu must be from the Silver Blood Society..."

"So what if they’re from the Silver Blood Society!?" a worker immediately cursed, "Does the Silver Blood Society get to kill people as they please? Just because it’s the Silver Blood Society, must we swallow our anger, even if they’ve killed our children!?"

"Today it’s not your child; what about tomorrow, the day after? You don’t have children today, but what about next year, the year after!?"

Faced with the roused workers, others fell silent, hesitating, fearful, yet also angry and worried.

Having been compliant citizens for too long in Xuanzhu County, and having heard of the Silver Blood Society’s bloody suppression of rebels, their passion was soaked by the cold reality.

"The Heyang Army is already gone, the Linhai Army has left, the Silver Blood Society is now just a paper tiger!" someone shouted, "If we unite, if thousands, tens of thousands of us workers unite, the Silver Blood Society won’t dare do anything to us!"

"Right, if we all go together, they won’t dare do anything to us!"

"We must unite, and we can fear them no more!"

"All we want is justice!"

The White Night Walker, understanding the deep-rooted intimidation of the Silver Blood Society among the people of Xuanzhu, loudly analyzed the strength of both sides, eliminating the workers’ fears, and encouraging their courage. With their cries, others gradually subdued their feelings of fear, replacing them with anger and a sense of responsibility.

"We can’t endure any longer!"

"If not for ourselves, then think of our children!"

"If we keep our heads down at this moment, what meaning does a union have!?"

"Make the Silver Blood Society hand over the murderer! An eye for an eye!"

"If we stand together, we will make the Silver Blood Society bow!"

Suddenly, someone addressed Uncle Hai, "Uncle Hai, we listen to you; tell us what to do!"

"Uncle Hai!"

"Uncle Hai, you must seek justice for us!"

After calming down, Uncle Hai exhaled slowly and, facing the fervent and enraged gazes of those around him, nodded lightly.

He understood the hint from other White Night Walkers and also knew that this was indeed the only way to salvage the situation at hand.

The workers’ anger needed an outlet, and Zhengwei could present the culprit to affirm his stance.

If White Night and Zhengwei coordinated well, this could still be an excellent opportunity, a chance for the union to gain widespread recognition and for Zhengwei to clear his name completely.

Under everyone’s gaze, Uncle Hai raised his still heavily scarred right fist and shouted:

"For the child and for other children, we must seek justice!"

"We must make them know that we workers will not bow down any longer! Never again!"