Chapter 617: The Past

Chapter 617 The Past

As they walked into town, the farmers that Zhang Heng rescued from the church ran into another group. The tension in the air was palpable, where both sides had their weapons pointed squarely at each other.

The muscular black man standing in front shouted, “Davidson, you bastards! You conspired with the Cook gang to kill us all!”

The guy named Davidson, probably the leader of the town’s residents, retorted in his defense. “Listen to me, Nikkor, we just wanted to teach you a lesson. I did not expect things to turn out this way. We made a mistake; we should never have trusted the Cook gang.”

“Try telling that to those who are now dead!” Nikkor hissed. “Now, those bastards have all been killed by a good man named Zhang Heng. Why are you standing in our way?! Are you planning to finish what they started and kill us all?”

“Of course not. We just wanted to have a chat with you. We were just discussing giving you 5,000 dollars as compensation for the losses you’ve suffered. Of course, we know the money will never remedy the pain of losing family and friends… but at least it can make your life a little easier.”

“As long as you’re here, our lives will never be easier!” Nikkor barked in a fury. “And it’s not like you’re offering to compensate us out of kindness. Whatever it is you have to say, might as well say it now!”

Davidson nodded. “Whatever happened to Sherriff, Harper was a tragedy, but given the circumstances at the time, we had no other choice…”

Nikkor interrupted by spitting on the ground. He looked at each person standing before him, to which no one dared meet his gaze—they all had their heads lowered. “You bastards! You shot him thirty-two times! Every single one of you has a hand in it. They shot their own sheriff! In fact, they didn’t kill him immediately. They deliberately avoided the vital organs and left him to bleed to death. I must admit that you white folk really do know how to have fun with a f*ckin human being… it really opened my eyes.”

“What could we have done?” the owner of the grocery store cut in. “Those men from the Cook gang were looking at us with guns their hands. If we didn’t do what they say, they were going to kill us too!”

“Nikkor,” Davidson continued, “Every one of us here feels guilty for what happened that day. Our conscience torments us-we’ve already been punished, and there’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is to look forward -as long as we can reach a consensus. Sheriff Harper, like everyone else, died in the hands of Cook as well. We will let all of you go.” “Why? Are you worried that other people would find out about all the good things you’ve done? Does your conscience torment you? Do you even know what real punishment is? When each and every one of you get hanged on the gallows for the crimes you’ve committed, that the real f*cking punishment then.”

“Is this really necessary, Nikkor? If I remember correctly, none of you were exactly best friends with Sherriff Harper. Let’s not forget that he also hated blacks and has locked up many of your people.”

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“That’s true; Harper was one god-awful, in-bred old bastard. I’ve thought about shooting that bald head of his many times, but when the Cook gang wanted to kill us… Except for Mr. Matthew, only this old bastard stood up against them… of all the people in the whole town, he was the only one. You have to admit, that old bastard had the b*lls, but you had to go kill the only person in the whole town who had them.”

“We didn’t have a choice…” the storekeeper muttered

“You always have a choice. You had guns, and there were more of you. Yet, you did not even fight back,” Nikkor sneered. “You are a bunch of mother*ckin’ cowards. Now, either you get out of our way, or we start fighting. Enough of all this nonsense.”

“Nikkor, it’s not that simple,” Davidson explained. “You don’t understand the situation we are faced with. That guy named Zhang Heng had only killed Cook members who stayed back to guard the town. There are still more than 30 of them out there! These men are cold-blooded murderers, not farmers or miners like you and I! When they come back, we will have to face their wrath, so right now, we must unite and stand together to face whatever’s coming for us. It is the only way we can save our town.”

“Is there a screw loose in your brain, Davidson? How can we work together after everything that has happened? Might as well be pointing the guns at their own heads. Who knows what could happen?! When things turn bad, who’s to say that you won’t turn against us? You people would do anything to keep yourselves alive.”

While the men argued, Zhang Heng had had already snuck back to the hotel.

Wendy quickly removed the table, barricading the door.

“Did anyone come by when I was away?” Zhang Heng asked.

“Yes, the owner of the grocery store; he came by not long after you left, but he didn’t knock. He’s gone off to search for someone else. What happened outside? There were a lot of people,” Wendy asked.

“Bliss’ residents are mainly miners and their families. The mines have polluted nearby water sources, resulting in large areas of crops to die. The remaining ones are no better. The local farmers are angry. The relationship between the two miners and farmers became increasingly tense. From time to time, there would be some uh… conflicts. Then six months ago, a miner boy and a farmer girl went out to play together, but only the boy returned. The girl never came back. The girl’s father believed that the boy killed her, so he went to the boy’s house with a few of his friends and killed the boy. Naturally, the boy’s brother fought back. Two days later, the girl returned home safely. It turned out that she had a disagreement with the boy and, in a fit of anger, she walked away from him and lost her way.

“So, this time, it was the miners turn to demand an explanation… with guns. When the farmers heard the news, they gathered a force as well. Conflict broke out between the two sides, with many wounded. Every now and again, the farmers would go down to the mines and cause trouble, and the animosity between them kept growing.

“About a month and a half ago, an old hunchbacked man appeared in town. He overheard the miners complaining about the whole thing, so he told them that he could help them solve their problem. All they had to do was pay him 6000 dollars. He said he could hire people who could teach those farmers a lesson, so they would never cause the miners any more trouble again.

“The miners talked it over and thought it was a feasible plan, so they pooled their money, and the hunchback brought the Cook gang here. They seized the farmers intending to kill them and their families. Then, to prevent the miners from reneging, the Cook gang forced the miners to kill their own sheriff. It was… very brutal. I won’t describe it in detail, but I think their real motivation wasn’t just to earn the six thousand dollars. It was your father.”

“So, my father’s related to all this?” Wendy asked in surprise. “Not this, but to the Cook gang’s leader Cook. It all makes sense now. Do you remember the one-armed man from the Cook gang who was hanged? He was in Lincoln County for a reason. I’m guessing that it probably has something to do with finding your father. The guy who pretended to be the sheriff didn’t know about Cook and your father, but there is no doubt that they know each other. Oh, maybe Sheriff Dolan from Glentown is involved too. The three of them are old acquaintances. Cook threatened to kill the farmers unless your father does something for him.”

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