Street Stories: A True Account of a Group of Blind Men in the Underworld

Wu Hushi had twice tried to sabotage Qiao Yang's marriage, but this time she not only failed but was also publicly humiliated by Su Yue.

A surge of resentment choked him, and the more he thought about it, the more unwilling he became. The ruthlessness in his eyes was almost overflowing.

Back home, she pulled her son, Wu Sheng, aside and whispered:

"Son, do you want to get married?"

Wu Shengtou was startled, then looked up blankly: "Mom, why are you saying this?"

"That girl, Su Yue, is beautiful and comes from a good family. It would be a great blessing if she could marry into our family."

A glint of greed and malice flashed in Wu Hu's eyes:

"She's just acting foolishly right now, that's why she's with that blind man Qiao Yang. If you're willing to take the initiative and snatch her away, she'll be one of our Wu family!"

Wu Shengtou turned pale with fright and waved his hands repeatedly:

"Mother, no! Qiao Yang can tell fortunes and knows martial arts; he's incredibly powerful..."

"What are you afraid of!" Wu Hu gritted her teeth. "What can a blind man do? I've already come up with a plan, just do as I say..."

She leaned close to her son's ear and whispered a wicked plan in detail.

Wu Shengtou's face turned pale and then red. After struggling several times, he finally nodded timidly.

A conspiracy targeting Qiao Yang and Su Yue quietly unfolded in this dark corner.

Wu Hushi knew better than anyone that Qiao Yang was now capable and popular in the village, and with Su Yue's unwavering loyalty, she had no chance of winning in an open confrontation.

The only way to bring down Qiao Yang is through underhanded tactics.

That evening, Aunt Wang from the village suddenly rushed into the Qiao family's courtyard, wailing and crying. As soon as she entered, she grabbed Qiao Yang's hand, tears streaming down her face.

"Mr. Qiao! Please, please save me! My family's heirloom silver lock is gone! It's our lifeline!"

Qiao Yang slowly stood up upon hearing this, his tone calm:

"Auntie, don't rush, tell me slowly, when did you lose it?"

"It happened this afternoon! Nobody's home. I just searched everywhere, but I can't find it!"

Before long, villagers gathered around the crowd, three or four deep.

Wu Hushi mingled in the crowd, her eyes sinister, a hidden sneer curling at the corner of her mouth.

Just as Qiao Yang was about to concentrate on his calculations, Wu Hu suddenly jumped out from the crowd, pointed at Qiao Yang, and said in a sharp and piercing voice:

"What's there to calculate? Who in this village has the best chance? Who dresses smartly and spends lavishly? It's none other than you, Qiao Yang!"

Everyone was stunned, and their eyes all fell on Qiao Yang.

Wu Hushi, unforgiving once she was in the right, grew increasingly shrill in her voice:

"What honest money can a blind man like him earn out there? Judging from his clothes, they weren't bought, they were stolen! Today he steals silver locks, who knows what he'll steal tomorrow!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Su Yue's face turned pale, and she immediately stepped forward, firmly blocking Qiao Yang's path.

"Qiao Yang is an upright and honest person; he would never do such a despicable thing!"

Wang Xiuming and Han Ying also ran out of the house, saying that Qiao Yang had never stolen anything since he was a child.

"Never stolen anything?" Wu Hu scoffed, her face full of disdain. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Who knows what he's been up to behind the scenes!"

In my opinion, we should search for it! If we can't find it, I'll apologize to Mr. Qiao! But if we do find it—"

She only got halfway through her sentence before her threat was already obvious.

Aunt Wang was already extremely anxious and at her wit's end, and after being provoked by her, her eyes immediately welled up with tears:

"Search! Just search! I only want to find the silver lock!"

Su Yue tried to stop him, but Qiao Yang gently pressed down on her shoulder.

His voice remained calm, yet it exuded an unassailable confidence.

"You can search, but I'll make this clear from the start—if you can't find anything, Aunt Wu, you must apologize to me, Su Yue, and my whole family in front of the entire village."

Wu Hu immediately patted her chest, her arrogance palpable.

"If you can't find it, I'll kowtow to you! But if you do find it, you'd better get out of Southwest Village!"

Several busybodies immediately rushed into the house, ransacking it inside and out, but found nothing.

Seeing this, Wu Hushi immediately pointed to the woodshed in the corner and shouted sternly:

"It's definitely hidden there! The most secluded places are the easiest to hide things in!"

The group rushed into the woodshed and rummaged through it haphazardly for a moment. Suddenly, someone exclaimed in surprise:

"Found it! What is this?!"

A shiny silver lock was found in the woodpile.

Aunt Wang looked closely and burst into tears on the spot:

"It's mine! This is my silver lock!"

Wu Hu burst into triumphant laughter, pointing her finger at Qiao Yang:

"You blind bastard, Qiao Yang! Caught red-handed, what do you have to say now!"

An uproar immediately erupted around them.

The villagers' gazes towards Qiao Yang instantly changed—a mixture of suspicion, disdain, and regret.

Su Yue's face was deathly pale, and her whole body was trembling, yet she still clung tightly to Qiao Yang.

"It wasn't him! It absolutely wasn't him! Someone framed him!"

"Framed? Who would bother framing him for no reason?" Wu Hu pressed on relentlessly, "The evidence is right in front of you, and you still want to protect him! I think you've been thoroughly fooled by this blind man!"

Just when everyone thought Qiao Yang was speechless and his chances of survival were over, Qiao Yang, who had been standing silently all along, finally spoke slowly:

"Aunt Wu, are you so sure the silver lock is hidden in the woodshed?"

Wu Hu's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to remain calm:

"I guessed! What, is that not allowed?"

Qiao Yang gently shook his head; his voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire courtyard.

"You didn't just guess. You planned this all along to frame me."

Unfortunately, you miscalculated one thing—

Do you think I'm blind and don't know anything?

He took a small step forward.

Despite being blind, his composed demeanor instantly silenced the noisy courtyard.

Qiao Yang appeared to be listening intently with his eyes closed, but in reality, he could detect every rustle of wind, the lightness or heaviness of breathing, and the distance or proximity of footsteps within a radius of several feet.

This is a skill he honed day and night after losing his sight—using his ears as eyes to locate sounds.

"Aunt Wang's silver lock was stolen this afternoon."

Qiao Yang spoke calmly, but his words were clear: "This afternoon, I was with Su Yue the whole time, and many villagers can testify to that."

He paused, then his tone suddenly shifted, becoming sharp as a knife, aimed directly at Wu Hushi.

"But you, Aunt Wu, this afternoon, you sneaked up on my woodshed three times."

You thought no one saw you, but the sound of your footsteps, the smell of soap on you, the crunching sound of you crushing firewood... can't fool me.

Wu Hu's face suddenly changed drastically, and she screamed in terror:

"You're talking nonsense! How could a blind man like you know I was here!"

"My eyes may be blind, but my heart is not!"

Qiao Yang said coldly, "You hid the silver lock in the woodshed, calculating that you would find it 'just in time' when they searched my house, so that I would be ruined and Su Yue would give up on me."

He suddenly turned to face the crowd, his voice deepening:

"Mr. Wu, were you present when your mother did all this?"

Wu Shengtou shuddered violently, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Qiao Yang said calmly, "When your mother hid the lock, you were keeping watch at the door. You were so nervous that your breathing became erratic and your heart was pounding. I heard it all clearly."

Now, dare you say you've never been near my house this afternoon?

Wu Shengtou's face was ashen, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Even a fool could understand seven or eight parts of what he was saying just by looking at him.

Qiao Kai was the first to react, stepping forward and staring intently at Wu Sheng's head:

"Did your mom force you to do it?!"

When Wu Hushi saw that her son had given himself away, she panicked immediately:

"He's a blind man spouting nonsense, and you actually believe him?!"

"Whether I'm lying or not, you know best in your heart."

Qiao Yang's tone was indifferent, yet every word was piercing: "If you continue to be stubborn, we'll go to the village to reason with them. Then, theft, framing, and damaging someone's reputation won't be something that can be resolved with just an apology."

In short, he accurately hit Wu Hushi's weak spot.

Her legs went weak, and she panicked on the spot, her arrogance vanishing instantly.

The villagers' gazes towards Wu Hushi immediately shifted from indulging in the spectacle to blatant disgust.

"She hid it herself! How malicious!"

"They can't stand seeing others do well, so they resort to such despicable means!"

"I almost wronged such a good person as Qiao Yang!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Wu Hushi could no longer hold on and sat down on the ground, crying and wailing.

"I was wrong... I was just upset, I didn't mean to..."

Wu Hu tried to beg for mercy in a low voice, but Qiao Yang looked at her without backing down in the slightest:

"Aunt Wu, we had an agreement. If you couldn't find anything, you would apologize to me. Now that you have found something, you framed me, so you should apologize even more."

"In front of the whole village, apologize to me, to Su Yue, and to our family."

With nowhere else to turn, Wu Hu could only lower her head, trembling, and manage to squeeze out an apology.

Qiao Yang spoke calmly, his voice low but firm:

I don't expect you to truly repent, I just hope you remember—

Don't mess with honest people. In this world, some things are clearer than the eyes.

After saying that, he turned around and precisely grasped Su Yue's hand.

At that moment, Su Yue's eyes reddened, and the tears she had been holding back finally streamed down her face. It wasn't tears of grievance, but of pride, of peace of mind, and of complete trust.

She gripped his hand tightly, her voice soft yet firm:

"Qiao Yang, I knew you'd be alright."

Qiao Yang turned towards her, a gentle smile slowly curving his lips:

"With you here, I'll be fine."