However, after asking around, there was no significant discovery.
That being said, who would normally pay attention to this kind of thing?
After Chen Xiaowen finished his report, he couldn't help but complain, "Who would pay attention to this? If you asked me about any strangers who came to the village today, I could actually tell you a thing or two."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaobei raised an eyebrow. "Oh, then tell me, which strangers came to the village today?"
"The woman who came looking for you, and also Cui Banxian."
Cui Banxian.
Upon hearing this name, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but frown.
Chen Xiaobei didn't know much about Cui Banxian. After all, with his previous life's poor background, how could he have had any connection with someone like Cui Banxian?
Just then, Lidong added, "Enough, that guy never tells the truth. How can he call himself half-immortal? Don't let him fool you all."
Normally, this kind of profession should be respected in this era.
For someone to have earned such a reputation from Cui Banxian, they must be quite a unique character.
Chen Xiaobei looked at Lidong.
"Brother, why do you say that?"
Lidong snorted. "When your sister-in-law was pregnant for the first time, she went to him for a fortune-telling. He said she would have a son, but it was a daughter. The second time, he said it would be a son again, but she had another daughter."
"When it came to the third pregnancy, he met my mother and told her it would be a girl, but it turned out to be a boy."
Hearing Lidong's words, everyone laughed, and they all dispersed.
Chen Xiaobei didn't overthink it. After all, a swindler wouldn't necessarily have the guts to kill someone.
Besides, where would he even get a bamboo viper?
That night, many people came to pay their respects at Chen Ping's house.
After all, his grandfather was the village chief, and he had done some good deeds in the past, so he had some connections.
An elderly woman came in, crying particularly loudly, calling him her "dear brother-in-law" repeatedly.
Seeing how sorrowful she was, Chen Ping stepped forward to return the gesture. "Aunt, please accept my condolences."
The old woman wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and sighed deeply. "I don't know which damn fool enticed outsiders and harmed my brother. All he wanted was to be the village chief!"
The speaker didn't mean much, but the listener took it to heart.
Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat.
Right.
Today, someone from outside came to look for Chen Xiaobei, from the Liu family in the county.
The elder had said that the bamboo viper was not native to Hetou Village; it was an outsider. Ordinary villagers wouldn't have such a snake.
Moreover, the person from the Liu family had just taken one look and immediately stated that it was a venomous snake bite, then discovered the venomous snake in the corner, which he quickly killed.
Many things are all about making connections, and once he thought about it, it all seemed reasonable, perfectly fitting together, with no flaws.
The possible scenario was that Chen Xiaobei wasn't satisfied with just being the captain of the village guards and wanted to go further, so he colluded with the Liu family to harm his own grandfather.
It made perfect sense, without a single mistake.
Upon realizing this, Chen Ping was filled with overwhelming anger.
He grabbed a kitchen knife and, in a frenzy, rushed towards Chen Xiaobei's house.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei was in the yard, having dinner with Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao'er.
While eating, the three of them were sighing and lamenting the sudden passing of Chen Anbang, still feeling deeply regretful.
Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried footsteps. Turning his head, Chen Ping entered.
Luckily, that evening, Chen Xiaobei had lit an oil lamp and hung it on the scaffolding nearby, so it was still somewhat clear.
When he saw the cold, gleaming kitchen knife in Chen Ping's hand, Chen Xiaobei immediately thought that something was wrong.
He quickly turned around, grabbing a nearby shovel to face him.
"Chen Ping, what are you trying to do?"
Cui Hongyu quickly stood up, holding Chen Qiao'er, and hurried into the house.
Chen Ping pointed the kitchen knife at Chen Xiaobei and said sternly, "Chen Xiaobei, don't pretend to be a good person in front of me. I've figured it out. It was you who colluded with the Liu family to kill my grandfather. I'll never forgive you."
Chen Xiaobei was dumbfounded and couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Why am I suddenly being blamed for this?"
"Chen Ping, are you crazy? When did I harm your grandfather? You need to present evidence for everything."
"Alright, the elder said this snake wasn't from here, it came from outside, and the only outsiders here are the Liu family."
"You obviously wanted to be the village chief, so you secretly colluded with the Liu family to kill my grandfather, then pretended to help catch the venomous snake."
"What are you talking about? Just because they're outsiders, you can't just assume they did it."
"Alright, then why did that guy immediately say it was a snake bite and so quickly kill the snake? Clearly, he just wanted to silence it."
What?
Chen Xiaobei gave Chen Ping a concerned, almost pitying look.
Killing the snake to silence it? Would the snake talk?
Chen Xiaobei wanted to rebut, but then he suddenly realized something. He couldn't find a way to counter Chen Ping's reasoning; Chen Ping had constructed a whole chain of logic.
It seemed perfectly reasonable.
It made it hard to argue.
"Chen Ping, the Liu family came to see me to discuss other matters, and it has nothing to do with your grandfather. Also, you need to understand one thing: you gave me the position of captain of the village guards, I didn't seek it out. To be honest, I don't even care about it. If you want it back, you can have it anytime."
At that moment, many people arrived after hearing the commotion. When they saw Chen Ping holding the kitchen knife and confronting Chen Xiaobei, everyone was stunned.
But Chen Ping wouldn't relent, and repeated what he had said earlier to the crowd.
Chen Xiaobo couldn't help but point at Chen Ping and say, "Chen Ping, that's not right. You were the one who told us you didn't want the position anymore and gave it to Chen Xiaobei. Now you're saying he wants to be the village chief? You're contradicting yourself."
A few others nodded in agreement, but Chen Xiaobei could tell that some people had already begun to believe Chen Ping, or at least partially believed him.
Chen Ping pointed the kitchen knife at the village guards, glaring fiercely as he said, "Chen Xiaobo, I've treated you guys well, haven't I? And now, just because you haven't seen me for a few days, you start siding with them. You're all ruthless."
At that moment, someone shouted loudly, "The elder is here! The elder is here!"
With a few coughs, the elder shakily entered the scene. Upon seeing the situation, he stopped, his cane in hand.
"What are you two trying to do?"
Chen Xiaobei helplessly said, "Elder, it's not what you think. He came at me with a kitchen knife, saying I killed his grandfather. This isn't..."
Chen Xiaobei almost swallowed the words "nonsense."
He suddenly realized that "nonsense" might not even have been invented in this era.
The elder frowned, looking at Chen Ping. With a sigh, he said, "Chen Ping, I watched both you and Xiaobei grow up. Although Xiaobei comes from a poor background, he is not a bad person. He would never do something like this."
The other village guards nodded in agreement, since they still depended on Chen Xiaobei in the future. How could they not speak in his defense?
At this moment, Chen Ping was isolated, his anger boiling over. He stamped his foot and shouted, "Fine, none of you will help me. I swear, I will get to the bottom of this sooner or later."