Unfortunately, Jacob did not allow him to be proud for too long. He clenched his fist and slammed into the village man's face like a freight train, forcing a scream out of his throat. "Ahh!"
Jacob's fist hit his jaw with such force that blood pooled into his mouth. Before he could spit the blood out, Jacob continued battering him relentlessly until he fell to the floor. His chest gently rose and sank with each shallow breath he drew in.
When the old woman saw her son getting beaten up, she started to scream, "No! Please don't hurt my son! Somebody please stop him!"
Her cries brought the villagers forward. They stopped Jacob and tried to calm him down at the same time.
"Bear, what the hell are you doing? He didn't provoke you at all. What did you attack him like that?"
"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Just take your wife and mind your own business!"
"Do you have a crush on his wife or something?"
One of the angry villagers blurted out. All of a sudden, the crowd went silent. Anger and resentment was still fresh in the air.
'Does this foreign boy really want to steal the wives of the whole village? Does he really think he can bully his way around here? There's no way in hell we'd let him get away with that!' The villagers cursed at him silently.
Before stirring up more public anger, Jacob gave a snort of disgust and spat a mouthful on the ground. "Don't talk nonsense! The only woman I want is my wife. No one can compare to her! I beat this scumbag because he rubbed me the wrong way!"
"Even so, that's not a good enough reason to beat him like that either. Do you think you can hide the sun behind the clouds forever? No way!" The crowd blamed Jacob.
"Not convinced, right?" Jacob picked up the bloody mess on the floor that had been his adversary. Already his eyes were swollen over and bloody spit drooled from his slack jaws. Suffice it to say, he looked grotesque.
Jacob's cold, blade-like eyes scanned the crowd one by one. "Anyone who disagrees with me, stand up and face me," Jacob yelled.
Most of the villagers still remembered the painful experience from last time. None of them had the heart to stand up to Jacob, instead they verbally persuaded him, "Bear, if you go on like this, you will offend the whole village. Just stop it!"
Jacob couldn't care less about what the villagers thought of him. With his own two hands he grasped the bleeding man's head and brought his knee cap up to his nose. There was a blunt crack and blood leaked from both his nostrils profusely.
"What honour is there in beating a helpless woman? If you really want a fight, come and fight me. Let's see if you are worthy of calling yourself a man," Jacob growled at the man.
"I was wrong! I've made a mistake! Please forgive me... Please!" The man was a broken mess, nose smashed and eyes almost shut with swelling. The thrashing he received made him fear for his life and he started to beg for mercy incessantly. The arrogance in him had been replaced with humility.
Shocked by her own inability to recognize her son's face, the man's mother fainted and fell to the ground.
While the man's wife, crouched in the corner and shed tears in silence.
In the end, the man could barely move and every muscle of his body had seized up. His arms are wrapped round his guts like he was holding them in. He was like a bullhead at death's door, lying on the ground.
Having witnessed such brutality with their own eyes, the villagers who were gossiping before felt sympathetic. They persuaded, "Bear, just let it go, okay? He has learned his lesson. He knows he was wrong. You can't beat him to death like this!"
"I know you have Mr. Barefoot on your side. But what if your Mr. Barefoot can't cure him? Beating someone is something, but taking someone's life is never a minor matter of one or two words, right?" The villagers insisted Jacob to release his anger.
Someone ran to Emily and said to her, "Please, go and persuade your man. If he doesn't stop now, he will end up killing that man."
Emily had seen Jacob fight with others more than once. It was clear to her that he had already been lenient on the man. Although the man looked to be in great pain, his injuries were merely flesh wounds and none of his vital organs were harmed. This would be a life-changing lesson for him.
There was no doubt about the fact that he would remember this lesson for the rest of his miserable life.
"Jacob," Emily called his name gently.
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