The farmers that Zhang Heng rescued from the church had just walked to the center of the town when they ran into another group of people.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. As soon as the two sides met, they raised their weapons and pointed them at each other.
"Davidson, you b * stards! How dare you collude with the Cook Gang! You want to kill all of us with the help of the Cook Gang!"
"Listen to me, Nick. We just wanted to teach you a lesson. We didn't expect things to turn out this way. We did make a mistake. We shouldn't have trusted the Cook Gang," Davidson, who seemed to be the leader of the town's residents, said, "Listen to me, Nick.
"Tell that to the dead," Nick said coldly. Nick said coldly, "Now that those b * stards have been killed by a good man named Zhang Heng, why are you standing in our way? Are you trying to finish what they didn't do and kill us all?"
"Of course not. We just want to talk to you. We just discussed it. Considering your losses this time, we can give you five thousand dollars. Of course, we know this money is far from enough to make up for the pain of losing your family and friends … but at least it will make your life a little easier."
"With you around, our life will never be easy," Nick said angrily. "Also, you don't just want to compensate us, do you? What else do you want to say? Say it all at once."
"What happened to Sheriff Harper was a tragedy, but given the circumstances, we had no other choice …" Davidson was only halfway through his sentence when he saw Nick spit on the ground.
Before Davidson could finish his sentence, he saw Nick spit on the ground. Then, Nick's eyes swept across the people in front of him. No one dared to make eye contact with him. They all lowered their heads. "You bastards, you shot him. Thirty-two bullets in total. Everyone has a share. They shot the sheriff of their town, and they didn't kill him immediately. They deliberately avoided the vital parts and left him to die on the ground. I have to admit, you white gentlemen really know how to play. It's an eye-opener for me, a black man."
"What else can we do?" The owner of the grocery store couldn't help but interrupt, "The Cook Gang is standing right next to us, looking at us with guns. If we don't do as they say, they will kill us too."
"Nikkel," Davidson continued. "Everyone here feels guilty for what happened that day. Our consciences are tormented. We have been punished, but there is nothing we can do but look forward. As long as we can agree that Captain Harper died at the hands of the Cook Gang, just like everyone else, we will let you go."
"What? Are you worried that the good things you've done will be known by others? Is your conscience tormenting you? What kind of punishment is this? Do you know what punishment is? When all of you are hung on the gallows because of this, that's the real punishment. "
"Is it necessary to go this far, Nikkel? If I remember correctly, you guys don't have a good relationship with Captain Harper. Don't forget that he also hates black people. Many of your men have been imprisoned by him."
"That's right. Harper is an annoying and uneducated old b * stard. I've thought about shooting him in the head countless times, but when the Cook Gang wanted to kill us, apart from Mr. Matthew, only this old b * stard stood up for us … In the entire town, he was the only one who stood up for us. You have to admit, that old b * stard had balls. Then you guys killed the only person in the entire town who had balls."
"We didn't have a choice at that time," the owner of the grocery store muttered.
"You always have a choice. You have guns in your hands, and your numbers are no less than theirs. But you don't even dare to resist," Nikkel sneered. "You are a bunch of f * cking cowards. Now, either get out of our sight, or start a war. Stop talking so much nonsense."
"Nikkel, it's not that simple," Davidson explained patiently. "You don't know the situation we're facing now. Zhang Heng killed the Cook Gang's men in town, and there are still more than 30 Cook Gang members. They are all outlaws with blood on their hands, not farmers and miners like you and me. When they come back, we will have to face their wrath. So now we must unite and face the coming catastrophe. Only then can we save the town."
"Are you guys out of your minds, Davidson? After what happened, we might as well shoot ourselves in the head instead of working with you. Who knows if you'll immediately turn your guns on us when things go south? You guys will do anything to survive. "
…
While the two gangs were still confronting each other, Zhang Heng had quietly returned to the hotel.
Wendy moved the table away from the door in a flurry.
"Did anyone come here when I wasn't here?" Zhang Heng asked.
"Yes, the owner of the grocery store. He came here not long after you left, but before he could knock on the door, he went to look for someone else. What happened outside? I saw a lot of people," Wendy said curiously.
"The people living in Bliss are mainly a group of miners and their families. Because of the pollution of the nearby water source due to mining, a large area of crops died, and the remaining ones were very weak. This caused the anger of the local farmers, and the relationship between the two sides became more and more tense. From time to time, there would be some … uh … friction. Until six months ago.
"A boy from a miner's family and a girl from a farmer's family went out to play. In the end, only the boy came back, and the girl was missing. The girl's father thought that the boy murdered the girl, so he and a few friends rushed to the boy's house and killed the boy and his brother, who was about to fight back. Two days later, the girl returned home safe and sound, only to find out that she had quarreled with the boy, and in a fit of pique, lost her way.
"So this time, it was the miners' turn to demand an explanation … armed with guns, the farmers got the news in advance and organized their men. A conflict broke out between the two sides, and each side injured three or four people. Coupled with the fact that these farmers would cause trouble at the mine from time to time, the conflict deepened.
"About a month and a half ago, a hunchbacked old man appeared in the town. When he was drinking in the bar, he heard the miners complaining about the matter, so he told the miners that he could help solve their problems. As long as the miners were willing to pay six thousand dollars, he said that he could find someone to teach the farmers a lesson so that they would not dare to cause trouble again.
"The miners discussed it and felt that it was feasible, so they pooled the money. Then the hunchbacked old man came here with the Cook Gang. They arrested the farmers, intending to kill them and their families. At the same time, to prevent the miners in the town from going back on their word, they forced them to kill their sheriff. The process was … quite cruel, so I won't describe it in detail. But I think their real purpose was not just to earn the six thousand dollars, but your father."
"My father has something to do with this matter?" Wendy asked in surprise.
"Your father is not related to this matter, but to Cook, the head of the Cook Gang. Everything makes sense now. Remember the one-armed man from the Cook Gang who was hanged before? There must be a reason why he appeared in Lincoln County. I guess he was looking for your father. The guy who pretended to be the sheriff didn't know the relationship between Cook and your father, but there's no doubt that the two knew each other. Oh, and maybe Sheriff Dolan of Glen Town. The three of them are old acquaintances. Cook used the lives of these farmers to threaten your father to do something for him."
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