My Partner Always Wants to Dig My Grave - Chapter 18.2

As Si Wan moved to step forward, Guan Yue quickly stopped her, saying, “It’s no use going now. They won’t listen to a word anyone says.”

Before her trailing voice had even faded, Guan Yue saw Si Wan catch a farming tool hurled at her barehanded, leaving Guan Yue no time to voice the rest of her persuasion.

Si Wan snatched the tool from the hands of the leader, her ears buzzing with the clamor around her. Feeling increasingly irritated, she furrowed her brow and spoke in a tone neither too loud nor too soft, yet carrying undeniable authority.

“Everyone, quiet down.”

Her slender, tall figure holding a hammer seemed out of place, but the villagers’ jeers finally subsided as they took in her stance and the stunned expression on the leader’s face.

“How can someone who looks so gentle be so strong?” the villagers muttered under their breath, watching Si Wan’s movements closely.

Si Wan spoke calmly, finishing the sentence Guan Yue hadn’t been able to complete.

“In response to this, we will report to the higher authorities and arrange compensation for everyone.”

Liu San, the leader who had been disarmed, flushed red with embarrassment. After a moment, he raised his voice even higher, as if trying to outmatch Si Wan’s presence.

“You educated folks talk pretty, but this land is our lifeblood.”

As soon as Liu San finished speaking, the villagers behind him chimed in agreement.

Just then, Liu Yaoyao, having heard the commotion, rushed over. Seeing the villagers confronting Si Wan and the others, she anxiously pushed her way to the front and addressed the crowd urgently.

“Uncles and aunts, the ancient tomb discovered in our village this time holds significant research value. That’s why Professor Si has brought her team here to excavate.”

Nearby, Liu Jin, still nursing a grudge against Si Wan over the incident from the other night, shot her a glare before sneering at Liu Yaoyao, who had come to intervene.

“What do you, a young girl, know? Seems like a few books have made you forget your roots, siding with outsiders.”

“Exactly! Went to the big city and now looks down on us folks stuck in this backwater,” Liu Fang chimed in, eager to stir the pot and mock along with Liu Jin.

Liu Yaoyao paled at their taunts and hurriedly tried to explain.

“That’s not it…”

Before she could finish, someone from the jeering crowd shoved her, and she stumbled to the ground.

The gravel on the ground scraped her palms, the sharp pain making her wince.

“Hey, how can you be so unreasonable, pushing a young girl like that?” Guan Yue couldn’t stand it any longer, pointing at them indignantly.

Seeing this, Song Yan immediately crouched down to check the girl’s injury, her voice filled with concern.

“Are you okay? Should we take you to get bandaged up now?”

Liu Yaoyao shook her head, her expression dejected.

“What do we do? There are so many of them.”

Song Yan didn’t know what to do either and could only look toward Si Wan.

Guan Yue moved closer to Si Wan and whispered,

“Hang in there a bit longer. Officer Nian said they’re almost here.”

Realistically, Si Wan was the only one present who could handle a fight. Both sides were cautious, neither truly intent on escalating to violence.

Si Wan stood cold-faced, still holding the hammer she had seized, her solitary stance evoking the aura of someone capable of holding off an army, making others hesitant to act rashly.

Yet when she spoke, her tone was detached, her reasoning methodical, as if she were delivering a lecture in a classroom.

“Excavating and researching tombs discovered across various regions is the duty of us archaeologists. Every artifact unearthed from these tombs contributes to the study of history. Your disruption and obstruction here have already hindered our work.”

At Si Wan’s words, the villagers exchanged bewildered glances, their anger giving way to confusion.

“What’s this person talking about? Why do I feel so drowsy listening to her?” Liu San whispered to Liu Jin beside him.

Liu Jin snorted coldly, his own humiliating memory resurfacing at the sight of Si Wan’s face. “Don’t be fooled by her nonsense. No matter what they say, these people still want to take our land. This woman is clever, she knows how to record with her phone. Whatever she says will be taken as truth, and that won’t do us any good.”

Spurred by Liu Jin’s instigation, Liu San was abruptly reminded that the land beneath his feet still belonged to him. He immediately snatched a firewood knife from someone nearby, glared at Si Wan, and shouted, “You’re right! Quick, grab their phones! Don’t give them a chance to spread rumors about our village!”

Liu Jin watched Si Wan with a smug expression, secretly plotting to seize her phone in the chaos and delete the video from that night. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly.

Just then, Nian Nian, dressed in her police uniform, finally arrived with her team. She assessed the situation with a thoughtful glance, her eyes lingering on the hammer in Si Wan’s hand, whose owner was unclear.

Wearing an apologetic expression, Nian Nian approached Si Wan and extended her hand. “Sorry, Professor Si. The mountain roads are rough, and your call came urgently. We just arrived.”

Si Wan nodded slightly and, out of courtesy, handed the hammer back to Liu San across from her. Ignoring his reluctance to take it, she pressed it into his hands, then shook Nian Nian’s hand briefly and said calmly, “It’s fine. The timing is about right.”

Seeing the police surrounding them, Liu San tossed the “evidence” in his hand aside and pointed at Si Wan, adopting a victimized tone as he addressed Nian Nian. “Officer, you must stand up for us! These educated folks are trying to seize our land. Hurry up and arrest them!”

Other villagers chimed in one after another, as if using their numbers to pressure the police into arresting Si Wan and her team.

Hearing Liu San and the others twist the facts, Si Wan’s companions immediately retorted indignantly, “It was you who started this by bringing people to attack us! You wouldn’t listen to reason!”

Nian Nian maintained a professional smile and addressed the villagers calmly. “Professor Si Wan and Professor Guan Yue have been specially invited from out of town to guide the excavation of the ancient tomb. All their actions have the full support of higher authorities. We deeply apologize for the land occupation required by this archaeological project, but the relevant government departments will provide compensation.”

Hearing Nian Nian’s words, the villagers realized the police were on Si Wan’s side. Even though they still held tools, they didn’t feel they were in the wrong. Glaring at Si Wan and her group, they promptly sat on the ground, ready to throw a tantrum.

“You’re all in this together! Someone, come see, even the police are bullying honest folks!”

Nian Nian looked at Liu San on the ground, having encountered too many such unreasonable people. Though she felt a headache coming on, she kept her smile and tried to speak again, only to have her words drowned out by the villagers’ overlapping protests.

In the end, Nian Nian could only glance helplessly at Si Wan, shrug, and wait for them to tire themselves out. Turning to Si Wan and Guan Yue, she apologized, “Sorry, Professors. We didn’t handle this well.”

With the police present, the villagers, no matter how much they wanted to cause trouble, didn’t dare to take action. Moreover, Nian Nian’s orders were also to protect the two professors.

“Enough!”

At that moment, a voice cut through their clamor.

Liu Yaoyao, supported by Song Yan, stood up. She understood better than anyone what these people truly wanted. She spoke to them plainly, in terms they could comprehend.

“The government will give you money.”

Hearing this, they froze for a moment. Liu Fang was the first to react, saying, “Girl, are you telling the truth? How much can we get?”

After all, the only thing they truly cared about was the word “money.” Seeing an opportunity to interject, Nian Nian immediately spoke up.

“You don’t need to worry about that. You’ve contributed to the archaeological efforts, and the compensation won’t be small.”

Upon hearing this, the few who had been the most disruptive immediately dropped the farming tools they had been using as weapons.

Liu Fang pulled Liu San and a few others over, smiling directly at Liu Yaoyao as she said, “If you’d told us earlier there was money to be made, we wouldn’t have thought you were trying to steal our land. We were just too anxious, it was all a misunderstanding. But girl, you can’t lie to us, or we’ll have to come after you.”

Liu Yaoyao knew they weren’t joking. Since they couldn’t afford to offend anyone else present, they had singled her out as the easiest target.

Taking a deep breath and ignoring the pain in her hand, she forced a smile and said, “Of course, I would never lie to any of you, uncles and aunts.”

Reassured by her promise, the crowd finally relaxed a little. They picked up their farming tools from the ground and began to disperse.

Watching their retreating figures, Liu Yaoyao let out a sigh of relief, only then realizing that cold sweat had soaked through the back of her shirt.

A hand patted her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Si Wan speaking.

“Thank you. You did very well.”

After a moment’s thought, Si Wan added, “Don’t be so impulsive next time. If they had hit you, it would’ve been considered provocation and disorderly conduct, which wouldn’t have ended well for them.”

As for Liu Jin’s instigation to snatch her phone, Si Wan was certain they wouldn’t have succeeded.

Si Wan then led the team to another spot to examine the condition of the lower soil layers, while Guan Yue and Nian Nian stepped aside to discuss the next steps.

Si Wan looked down at the ground, covered with weeds and mature cornstalks. Yet she felt as if she knew, Sheng Zhen was here.

…