Whose Fault Is It?

As Yang JingTian was enjoying a sumptuous fish meal with Meng Lin and her daughter, a tumultuous clamor erupted outside. Distant cries of "Kill the jinx!" and "Burn the leper girl! Burn her! Exterminate the menace for the people!" could be heard.

Meng Rui, terrified, clung to Meng Lin, her voice trembling, "Mother, they've come again."

Seeing the mother and daughter's fear, Yang JingTian realized that the mob was targeting them. He asked with concern, "Aunt Meng, what's going on?"

Meng Lin, filled with sorrow, explained, "Ever since Rui contracted this peculiar illness, the villagers have deemed us ominous. Whenever misfortunes such as avian flu, shipwrecks, or child mortality occur, they blame Rui for bringing bad luck, arguing she's cursed them, and advocate for her to be burned to death."

Outraged, Yang JingTian exclaimed, "How preposterous! Such ignorant folly is beyond reason." His anger not yet subsided, he added with sympathy, "How have you and your daughter coped all this time?"

Tears welled up in Meng Lin's eyes as she shook her head.

Weeping, Meng Rui revealed, "It's always been mother who stands up each time. They throw eggs and stones at us."

In a fit of anger Yang JingTian slammed his palm onto the table, splitting it into pieces. Never having seen Yang JingTian in such a rage, both Meng Lin and her daughter were shaken.

To comfort them, Yang JingTian assured, "Stay here, I'll go see what's happening."

Meng Lin, astonished and trembling, asked, "JingTian, what are you going to do?"

Without responding, Yang JingTian exited and shut the door behind him.

Soon after, Meng Lin and her daughter heard Yang JingTian's furious roar, "If I ever see anyone bullying them again, I swear they won't be left with a whole corpse!"

His booming voice resonated like thunder, shaking the ground beneath them. What followed was the sound of a skirmish, punctuated by the villagers' cries of pain.

After a brief period, silence ensued, leaving only the moans of the injured.

When the door reopened, Meng Lin and her daughter, anxious, stepped out to a shocking sight.

Yang JingTian stood defiantly before hundreds of villagers, an unstoppable force, embodying the epitome of virile strength and power. The villagers, battered and bruised, lay groaning in pain. Scattered around were their weapons: hoes, shovels, knives, and sticks.

Murmurs of apology came from the crowd, "We're sorry, Meng Sister," "We won't dare again."

All the villagers, pleading, knelt before Meng Lin.

With compassion, Meng Lin urged, "Please, get up, everyone."

Yet, they dared not stand, fixated on Yang JingTian, who seemed a deity among men.

Meng Lin confronted him, "Did you do this? Why?"

Yang JingTian replied coolly, "I wanted them to understand the cost of their ignorance and foolishness."

Shaking her head mournfully, Meng Lin argued, "Fighting ignorance with ignorance, how are you any different from them? If they are unkind, should you be unjust?"

At a loss for words, Yang JingTian fell silent.

Meng Lin continued, "I never thought you shallow. Is your journey through the Jianghu solely for fame and endless vengeance? It's best if we pretend we never met. We neither need nor want your help. Please, leave."

Yang JingTian was stunned, never expecting Meng Lin to say such things.

Meng Lin's strength and wisdom took Yang JingTian by surprise. He couldn't help but feel inferior to her, finding himself speechless before her intelligence and breadth of heart.

Meng Rui, feeling sorry for him, said, "Mother, Big Brother Yang meant well for me."

Meng Lin, holding her daughter's hand, walked back to the house. With a decisive "bang," the door shut tightly.

Facing the villagers on the ground, Yang JingTian declared, "Folks, today I, Yang JingTian, have wronged you all. Please go home. If you have any grievances in the future, come find me directly and spare these women any more trouble. They are villagers just like you, suffering the same hardships."

With that, the villagers got up, nodded in agreement, and left.

As night fell, silver moonlight carried by the sea breeze arrived.

On the vast, empty beach, Yang JingTian felt an unprecedented solitude.

Without friends, family, righteousness, even his conscience seemed shattered.

This is what it's like when good intentions backfire.

What he always believed to be right was meaningless, even ludicrous in the eyes of others. He couldn't even forgive himself.

Standing on a seaside rock, Yang JingTian gazed out at the vast ocean, his loneliness beyond words.

The rugged rocks, long smoothed by wind and rain, had lost their sharp edges, leaving only their smooth surfaces.

For years, they stood unwavering.

Yang JingTian let out a long sigh.

Inside the small house, Meng Rui peered through the window at Yang JingTian in the distance, murmuring, "Mother, why are we treating Big Brother Yang this way? Did he do something wrong?"

Meng Lin remained silent, sitting quietly in deep thought.

The weather at sea is unpredictable.

With the gathering storm clouds and rumbling thunder, a downpour was imminent.

"Mother, the storm is coming. We should bring Big Brother Yang back," Meng Rui said urgently.

Meng Lin insisted, "Do not go."

Terrified, Meng Rui cried, "Why? Just because Big Brother Yang fought them? He was standing up for me!"

Meng Lin, resolute, said, "Don't ask so many questions – you're not to go."

Defiantly, Meng Rui responded, "Even if you forbid it, I must." Grabbing an umbrella, she dashed outside, with Meng Lin unable to stop her.

"Big Brother Yang, it's going to rain. Come back with me," Meng Rui shouted, reaching Yang JingTian.

He smiled and replied, "No need, a good rain will clear my head."

Meng Rui insisted, "You just recovered from fainting. Getting drenched could make you sick."

But Yang JingTian continued to smile, "Rui, I won't get sick."

Meng Rui protested, "My mother said anyone can get sick. Big Brother Yang, it was my mother's fault. She's not upset anymore, please come back with me."

Yang JingTian answered with a smile, "Rui, Aunt Meng isn't wrong. It's me who is at fault."

Meng Rui reasoned, "No matter who's right or wrong, it's wrong not to come back with me now."

Yang JingTian affirmed, "Then let me be wrong one more time. I won't be coming back."

Suddenly, torrential rain poured down, pattering like beans on the ground and causing a stinging pain as it struck the skin. But for Yang JingTian, the rain was nothing compared to the profound cleansing his heart was undergoing.