"Murderer!"
"You're a murderer!"
A cry, sharp and filled with deep grief, cut through the crowd. Chen Yu walked forward with narrowed eyes. Many people had already gathered around. Through the gaps in the crowd, he could see Vice City Lord Kley, holding the hand of a well-dressed woman. The woman, however, had bloodshot eyes and was extending her hand, yelling incessantly at the person opposite her.
"Make way."
Chen Yu lightly patted the shoulder of the person in front of him. Upon seeing Chen Yu, the person quickly moved aside and shouted into the crowd.
"Everyone, make way! The City Lord is here."
The surrounding onlookers parted. Chen Yu and the little demon finally got a clear view of the situation.
The woman, whose arm was being held by Kley, had tear-streaked eyes. Remnants of flesh and blood clung to her fingernails. Her eyes were red from crying as she stared intently at the burly man standing beside Lauren.
The burly man had severe scratches on his arms and face, but he kept his head down, silent.
"City Lord."
Seeing Chen Yu arrive, Kley let out a cry as if he had found a savior.
"What's going on?" Chen Yu gestured towards the two of them, then looked at the surrounding onlookers. "What are all of you standing around for? Don't you have work to do? Do you want your wages at the end of the night?"
The onlookers instantly dispersed, returning to their tasks.
Watching everyone leave, Chen Yu frowned and turned around, his gaze falling upon the woman and the burly man.
"What happened?"
"City Lord, you must do justice for me. He... he's a murderer, he killed my son." The woman, her eyes full of tears, rushed forward and tightly gripped Chen Yu's leg, pointing at the man covered in scratches.
"Stand up and speak."
Chen Yu held the woman's arm, trying to help her up. However, the woman remained kneeling on the ground, unmoving.
"I said, stand up!" Chen Yu's expression suddenly became much more serious. The woman clinging to his leg visibly trembled, pursed her lips, and slowly rose with Kley's support.
Immediately, Chen Yu turned his attention to the man beside Lauren.
"You killed his son?"
"City Lord, I did not." The man being questioned by Chen Yu was clearly a bit guilty, answering with his head down, not daring to meet Chen Yu's eyes.
"You're lying."
The woman, now supported, became enraged again, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"You're the one who stole our family's food, causing my son to starve to death. It's you, you murderer! If it weren't for you, my son wouldn't have died. He was only 6 years old, so young."
Chen Yu's heart sank.
This was bad.
The most troublesome issue had indeed arrived.
Chen Yu had anticipated such events long ago. All these refugees had fled from various places. Whether on the road or within the city, in order to survive, there were bound to be conflicts over food. Chen Yu had pondered how to resolve such issues but could not come up with a reasonable solution.
He held onto a sliver of hope, wishing to avoid such situations.
But alas...
Sighing internally, Chen Yu remained silent for a long time. He observed the emotional states of the woman and the man. The immediate priority was to calm the woman's emotions.
"Lauren."
"Yes, City Lord."
"Take this elder sister to rest by the side. Look, her lips are a bit pale. Find her a quiet place to rest well, and get her some candy." Chen Yu said softly.
From Lauren's expression, Chen Yu clearly sensed his hesitation.
Chen Yu instantly understood; there was likely no candy in Windfall City.
"I have some."
Chen Yu took out a bag of candy and tossed it to Lauren. Unexpectedly, the woman shook her head repeatedly.
"I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving! City Lord, you must do justice for me!"
"Enough is enough." To everyone's surprise, the man who had been silent until now suddenly looked up, his eyes wide. "I've been letting it go because you're a woman. You say I stole your food, but why don't you mention that you stole the food from me in the first place?"
"Who, who stole it?"
The woman's eyes showed clear panic, and she then yelled in an even sharper voice.
"You're the one who stole my food."
"Fine, if you insist on blowing this out of proportion, I'll see it through to the end." The man glared and shouted, "You're shameless! We were all fleeing for our lives back then, and my wife, seeing you with a child, felt pity and shared some of her rations with you. But you, you took all the dry food when my wife and I weren't paying attention. Do you know how much effort I put into finding you? Do you know if I didn't get that food back, my wife and daughter would have starved to death?"
"I didn't, I didn't!"
"Then do you dare to swear on your soul, say that you never took my food, that all that food was yours, do you dare?"
The woman, mid-shout, was silent for a long time. Seeing this, Chen Yu had a general idea of the truth.
"Take her to rest."
Lauren, understanding, took the woman's arm. Even as they moved away, Chen Yu could still hear the woman shouting "murderer" and "killer."
The man, his body covered in scratches, clenched his fists tightly, remaining silent.
"Take this medicine to treat your wounds." Chen Yu took out a bottle of external wound medicine and offered it to the man. Seeing the ointment being offered, the man's tears suddenly burst forth. "City Lord, I truly... am not a murderer. I did take food from her, but it was food that rightfully belonged to me. If I hadn't taken it, my wife and daughter would have starved to death. Was I wrong?"
Chen Yu gently patted his shoulder, sighing inwardly.
He could sense that this man was by no means a bad person. The woman was not his match in terms of strength. If he had wanted to retaliate, the woman would have fallen to the ground long ago and been unable to move, rather than being covered in scratches now while she remained unharmed.
Furthermore, when he mentioned "stolen food" and "swear on your soul," the woman had noticeably paused.
"You are not wrong." Chen Yu said softly, "Protecting your wife and daughter is your responsibility, and taking back what rightfully belongs to you is only natural. You did everything right. Stop crying; you're a grown man, why are you crying?"
"City Lord, you... you won't kick me out, will you?"
The man slowly looked up, fear in his eyes. Chen Yu smiled and shook his head.
"Why would I kick you out? You did nothing wrong in this matter. You are now a citizen of my Windfall City. Why would I drive you away for no reason? You can stay in the city with peace of mind, consider this your home. Windfall City will not mistreat any of its citizens. How about this, I'll give you a day off, your wages will still be paid. Go back and compose yourself, and come back to work tomorrow."
"No need, City Lord. You are so good to us. I cannot accept your wages for nothing."
The man shook his head vigorously, wiping the tears from his face. "I'll go back to work now. I'm truly sorry, City Lord, for making you witness such a scene."
After quickly applying some ointment, the man returned to his work.
Kley watched the man leave, his eyes full of regret.
"City Lord, how should this matter be handled? This... who is actually at fault here?"
"No one is at fault." Chen Yu said softly, shaking his head. Kley craned his neck in bewilderment, then heard Chen Yu murmur, "That man is not wrong, and that woman is not wrong either. The one at fault is this world."