Chapter 68: The Era’s Darling Scapegoat? It Doesn’t Matter—My Father Will Step In, Part 5

Qin Ye had mastered the art so completely that even Liu Feng was left dumbfounded. The onlookers around them were abuzz with speculation.

Here was a grown man, usually steady and reliable, polite to all, now forced into acting like a shrewish woman—he must have suffered some terrible injustice. With this, the crowd’s gaze turned to Liu Feng, and they found her utterly detestable.

Just as Qin Ye was throwing himself about and making a scene, thunder cracked through the clear sky. Liu Feng was about to exclaim that thunder on a clear day was a sign of the heavens' anger at her son's unfilial behavior, but Qin Ye seized the moment first.

"Thunder on a sunny day—Heaven above, even you can’t bear to watch any longer? Fine, then strike me down where I stand! If I survive your lightning, from this day forth, I sever all ties with the Qin family. From now on, even if I die alone in the wild, with my daughters left destitute, starving or freezing to death, I will have nothing to do with the Qin family ever again!"

Thunder rolled again and again from the sky, chilling the hearts of all who watched. Most astonishing of all, the lightning really did strike, bolts hitting the ground all around Qin Ye—yet every one missed. He emerged unscathed, while Liu Feng’s hair was left frizzed and frazzled from the electric blasts.

Qin Ye, unharmed, rose from the ground, dusting himself off. "Even Heaven itself stands with me. Good, let’s go—let’s ask the Patriarch to preside and divide the family."

The "Patriarch" he spoke of was the oldest member of the Qin family, a vigorous elder in his eighties, highly respected and wielding great authority. Most people in Brook Village bore the surname Qin; compared to other villages, Brook Village was notably united, all thanks to this venerable elder’s presence. Yet, for all his virtues, he had one absolute rule: no one was permitted to split from the family. He believed only unity would bring prosperity. Anyone wishing to separate had to seek his approval.

Despite Qin Ye’s rolling on the ground, the daughter in his arms remained spotless, not a speck of dust on her. After helping Qin Zhizhi wipe her tears, he handed her to her mother-in-law.

"Folks, I may not be from Stone Village, but I am your son-in-law. You are all witnesses, you all know the truth. I ask you now to come with me to Brook Village, to bear witness as I cut all ties with the Qin family!"

No one could argue with him now; not even the most obstinate could claim these were his real parents. The thunder had left their minds blank, their hearts quivering.

At Qin Ye’s invitation—and with valuable cigarettes being distributed to the men, and seeds and sweets to the women—the atmosphere turned festive. People are quick to accept a treat, and besides, this was a spectacle, the juiciest gossip. Soon, a merry crowd was rallying friends and neighbors, escorting Qin Ye to Brook Village.

Liu Feng was in shock, feeling as though her very identity had been reversed with Qin Ye’s. Throwing tantrums and standing on moral high ground, pointing fingers from above—these were her signature moves. So why was it her usually reticent eldest son performing them now?

"This is called fighting fire with fire," Qin Ye lectured the third system within him, in a tone both earnest and instructive. "When you resolve a problem, resolve it thoroughly, so it doesn’t fester and spoil your mood later."

The third system could only sigh. It was worth learning, but wasn’t Qin Ye adapting a little too well? Whatever role he found himself in, he played to the hilt. In the last world he was a storm-lord, before that an emperor, before that a figure not worth mentioning, and in the world before that, the richest man alive. Now, he’d become the village’s leading drama king? Did he have no sense of dignity fitting a master or magnate?

Using sword energy to summon lightning upon himself—deliberately conjuring an omen of divine wrath—truly, he was the first. No other cultivator of his level would stoop to such humiliation. Most maintained their dignity and pride befitting their status. The third system was weary of it all.

While the system lamented, Qin Ye arrived at Brook Village. With New Year’s Eve only two days away, the fields were quiet, everyone busy with holiday preparations. When the villagers saw a crowd from Stone Village approaching en masse, they thought a fight was brewing and went to sound the alarm.

But this was no brawl—it was a family split.

Wait a minute, what did affairs in Brook Village have to do with Stone Village? The people from Stone Village responded with mock sympathy: “You’re behind the times, brother. Your villagers have crossed a line—even Heaven is angry. Lightning kept striking, but never once touched Wild Child. Even Heaven supports him!”

Brook Village residents were baffled. "What lightning? What Heaven’s anger? What nonsense are you spouting?" Stone Villagers, feeling superior, recounted the whole spectacle to their Brook Village friends.

Brook Village was mortified. What a disgrace. Would people now point them out as the village where parents drove their son to break ties, so much that even Heaven turned against them? But wait, if it was the children driving their parents to death, why had Heaven not responded? A few lucid minds realized this, but clarity was rare.

At last, the venerable patriarch was escorted out. He listened to the babble of younger generations and fell into a long, heavy silence. Finally, he waved a hand in defeat, “Let it be, let it be. Times have changed; I’m old now, I can’t intervene any longer.”

Old Man Qin didn’t even understand what had happened—why was the family suddenly splitting up? "Elder, it’s not just a division—it’s a severance," someone said with schadenfreude.

Old Man Qin’s face darkened. "I don’t agree! How have I ever wronged him, for him to cut ties with me?"

"But your wife, right in front of your eldest, tried to kick your granddaughter to death! Can you really say you haven’t wronged your eldest?"

"And your eldest’s wife—she worked herself to death for your family, died young. Why did she die? Don’t tell us you had no idea."

"Exactly, if you say every family treats sons and grandsons well, then why did your youngest’s daughter get such different treatment from you and your wife?"

Old Man Qin was besieged by questions, left speechless, his face turning a sickly shade of blue. When he saw his son Qin Ye, he tried to assert his parental authority and lay hands on him. Qin Ye, however, produced a knife from somewhere and slashed his own thigh.

The crowd gasped.

"What are you doing?"

"A child’s body is given by their parents. To sever ties with them, though it was they who wronged me first, still, I owe them the debt of birth and raising me. If I am to be unfilial by cutting ties, I must return my flesh to them."

As he prepared to cut himself a second time, the elders hurried to restrain him. Pale-faced, under the gaze of the villagers, Qin Ye pressed his fingerprint to the documents and then went to town to open a new household account.

From this day forth, the original family was officially split from the Qin family.

Old Man Qin felt he had never been so humiliated in his life, and he blamed it all on Liu Feng. Liu Feng was beaten so badly she wailed for days without showing her face.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ye frowned and secretly ambushed Old Man Qin with a sack beating. Though Liu Feng was no saint, Old Man Qin’s actions were truly reprehensible. As for the second and youngest brothers, who stood by as their mother was beaten, Qin Ye beat them even harder—especially the youngest, Qin Long.

Liu Feng had favored Qin Long since childhood, always thinking of him. Yet when she was beaten, he just watched. Better to have raised a stick than such a son.

After this, Qin Ye felt invigorated, his spirits restored.

He took nothing from the family but the wedding photos of his former self and his wife, then moved in with the Liu family.

A deep enmity now festered between the Qin and Liu families.

Li Xianglan, whose maiden name was Li Xianglan, had always hesitated. Her father once worked for a landlord, earning her an elegant name but also branding her a bad element, a stigma that haunted her youth until marriage offered her protection. Because of her past, she understood well that if she let Qin Ye take Liu An and left her, Liu Hua, and the children behind, perhaps Qin Ye would only return for their funerals.

She never underestimated the darkness of human nature, and so she resolved to follow Qin Ye’s advice and leave with him.

The Liu family nearly lost everything to greedy relatives but managed to save quite a bit. With Li Xianglan taking her children and son-in-law away, those belongings were left to benefit the neighbors. Having profited, the villagers were suddenly much friendlier, and Qin Ye easily obtained the necessary introduction letters.

By the time the Qin family realized Qin Ye was gone, the Liu household was already empty.

For Liu An and Liu Hua, it was their first time ever leaving the village, and everything sparked their curiosity. Li Xianglan, worried her son-in-law might be embarrassed by their naivety, kept reminding them not to gawk.

The green train was packed tight—pickpockets, human traffickers, all sorts mixed in. At fourteen, Liu Hua was no child, yet even grown girls could be abducted and sold off as brides in the mountains—quite a profit for traffickers. The same peril hung over Qin Zhizhi and Qin Sangsan.

Every time Qin Ye disappeared from sight, it was to deal with the unsavory types targeting their group.

Liu An sensed something was amiss, and in the second half of the journey kept a close eye on his sister and nieces, not letting them out of his sight.

Though they were kept from wandering or staring, Liu Hua and Qin Zhizhi’s excitement was undimmed. As for Qin Sangsan, she spent the entire trip fast asleep in Qin Ye’s arms.