Putting an End to Moral Coercion
The village head said bluntly, “Xing Chen, I know you don’t have the money to fight a lawsuit. However, if you can come to this point for this matter, I can not pursue your responsibility and even give you some benefits.”
Huo Xiaoran glared at him angrily. “A small village head actually spouted nonsense and resorted to bribery. Hmph.”
He immediately said to the surrounding villagers, “If you can bear witness to what you saw today and let Huo Xiaoran successfully avenge Qiao An, I, Huo Xiaoran, promise everyone here that I will definitely reward you heavily.”
The village head sneered. “Haha, a huge reward? Xing Chen, do you have money? Anyone can say beautiful words. You want to lie to these innocent villagers, right?”
Huo Xiaoran looked at the village head coldly. “I’ll leave the ugly words here. If anyone helps me accuse Wang Ning of abduction, wife abuse and colluding with Xiaoya to commit arson, I, Huo Xiaoran, will give this person 500,000.”
The village head smiled disdainfully. “500,000 should be your entire family’s assets, right?”
Everyone sighed. “500,000? That much?”
There would definitely be brave men when a high price is offered. The villagers’ expressions relaxed and they were eager to try.
The village head and Wang Ning’s family immediately became terrified.
If the villagers united and targeted them, they would not be able to hide the ugly things they had done.
The village head was a little flustered. He scolded Huo Xiaoran angrily, “Xing Chen, stop bragging. 500,000? If you have 500,000, would you still be living in the Xing family’s lousy house?”
The villagers’ enthusiasm subsided and they sobered.
That’s right. How could Xing Chen have that much money?
There were dozens of witnesses in this village. Wouldn’t each witness cost tens of millions?
Huo Xiaoran smiled coldly and said, “My An’an is chilvarous. As long as I can wash away the sins here and return civilization and safety to the villagers, I, Huo Xiaoran, will take out 100 million as a reward.”
When he said 100 million, the village head had a look of panic on his face.
However, 100 million might be out of reach for the villagers, so they did not believe that such good luck would befall them.
“Xing Chen, if you really have money, not to mention 100 million, even if it’s 1 million, we’re willing to cooperate with you if you subsidize our families by tens of thousands. But if you don’t have money, don’t tease us.”
No one believed Huo Xiaoran’s words.
Huo Xiaoran felt very defeated. He had been poor for too long, so these people believed that he was poor.
At this moment, a threatening voice suddenly sounded from the crowd. “He’s not lying to you. It’s just 100 million. It’s a piece of cake for him.”
Everyone saw that Huo Zhou was wearing an expensive suit and a limited edition Rolex wristwatch. He had been a rich child since he was young. His noble aura was natural.
Because of him, the villagers trusted Huo Xiaoran more.
Huo Zhou threw out another piece of shocking news. “You ignorant people don’t know what’s good for you. To tell you the truth, this Xing Chen you’re talking about is the founder of the Capital Angel Group. He’s also the heir of the richest family in the capital, the Huo family. Not to mention 100 million, he won’t frown even if he takes out 10 billion for charity.”
“Heavens, so Xing Chen is a big shot in the capital?” Everyone sighed.
Xing Xiaoya’s admiration and love for Xing Chen had multiplied because of his value, making her blindly infatuated again.
At first, the village head and the Wang family were especially arrogant. Now that they heard Huo Zhou reveal the identity of Big Boss Xiaoran, they immediately withered like frosted cabbages.
After all, Huo Zhou’s arrogant tone and noble temperament seemed authentic.
Huo Xiaoran looked at the village book coldly and provoked, “Now you should believe that the truth and justice are in my hands, right? I advise you to repent and turn yourself in and strive to make up for your mistakes.”
He then looked at Wang Ning and Xing Xiaoya. “As for the two of you, you’ll be punished with death. You won’t live unless my An’an comes back safe and sound.”
When Xing Xiaoya saw Huo Xiaoran’s cold-blooded and cruel appearance, her heart tightened nervously.
She finally believed that Huo Xiaoran would kill her to avenge Qiao An.
In the end, she overestimated her status in Huo Xiaoran’s heart.
The village head’s face darkened. He was someone who had experienced many storms. His panic was quickly suppressed by his calmness.
He thought of the past. Every time he encountered trouble, he would turn misfortune into fortune. What could a mere Xing Chen do to him?
The village head even tried to point out the situation. “Wang Ning’s father and mother, bring Wang Ning home first. There’s always a conclusion.” When he said this, he looked at Huo Xiaoran provocatively.
Wang Ning’s parents immediately went forward and prepared to take their son away. Unexpectedly, Huo Xiaoran suddenly strode forward and stopped Wang Ning’s parents.
“Don’t even think about taking Wang Ning away.”
“Xing Chen, aren’t you going too far? I can take my son away if I want to.”
Huo Xiaoran’s face darkened as he said domineeringly, “I said not to take them away.” Then, he turned to Huo Zhou and said, “Zhou Zhou, take Wang Ning and Xing Xiaoya away. I still have to interrogate them.”
“Xing Chen, this is imprisonment. You’re abusing lynching. It’s illegal,” The village head roared.
Huo Xiaoran glanced at him indifferently. “If you have the ability, sue me. Do you dare? The dirty things you did will be exposed soon. At that time, you won’t be able to protect yourself.”
The village book was petrified on the spot.
Huo Xiaoran instructed Huo Zhou, “Zhou Zhou, the bones in the cemetery don’t belong to An’an. I have to find An’an. Bring these two things back and interrogate them.”
“Alright.” Huo Zhou waved at the bodyguard.
When the mighty and majestic bodyguards walked out, the village head and Wang Ning’s parents were immediately stunned. Then, in their daze, they watched as Wang Ning and Xing Xiaoya were taken away.
Xing Xiaoya was so frightened that she wailed and begged for mercy. “Brother Xing Chen, spare me. I really didn’t hurt Qiao An. You’ll regret treating me like this. My father saved your life.”
Huo Zhou walked up to Xing Xiaoya and splashed a basin of cold water on her. “Your father saved Xing Chen, but he took those expensive accessories from Xing Chen for himself. To put it bluntly, he was a bandit, so he didn’t sincerely help Xing Chen. He was a person who lost his footing in human trafficking.”
Xing Xiaoya was dumbfounded.
She had always used the moral high ground to coerce Xing Chen, but Huo Zhou degraded it as a crime.
She instantly felt an inexplicable sense of helplessness.