Meng Yongfu looked at Ma Xiangu, who was standing smugly in the courtyard. His old face was even darker than the dark robe she was wearing.

In the past two weeks, ever since Su Hua tricked him out of twenty taels of silver with her oath, the family's money has been flowing out like water from a burst dam.

Just for treating her son's injury, that old man from the Zhou family pharmacy swindled her out of two hundred taels of silver.

Later, they asked Fairy Ma to catch the evil spirit Su Hua, but they failed to catch even half of the ghost. They gave Fairy Ma two taels of silver, plus the twenty taels of silver that Su Hua demanded for lost work time, making a total of twenty-two taels of silver.

He worked at a noodle shop in Qingshui County, and even though he was busy all day, he could only earn four or five taels of silver at most.

Moreover, the four or five taels of silver did not include the costs of the noodle shop rent, labor, and flour.

In just half a month, he had spent all the money he had earned in several months.

Today, for some unknown reason, the noodle shop was unusually deserted. Students who usually came to eat noodles after class were nowhere to be seen. If it weren't for the support of the local residents, the noodle shop would have been closed down.

After Meng Fu and Liang Siyu's affair was exposed, Meng Fu lay in bed half-dead all day. Then, Meng Yun'er's reputation was completely ruined by Wang Ergou and his gang of thugs.

For half a month, the Meng family's situation was absolutely terrible, inside and out.

Now, this Fairy Ma has accomplished nothing, yet she still has the nerve to come and ask for money.

She's just as despicable as that brat Su Hua.

"Heh!" Ma Xiangu sneered, her turbid triangular eyes meeting the man's gaze without fear. "Five taels of silver was agreed upon when your daughter came to me. She only gave two taels as a deposit, and the remaining three taels are still nowhere to be seen!"

Moreover, the altar, shrine, and peach wood sword that have been with me for so many years have all been destroyed.

These are all priceless treasures, and I'm only asking you to pay me thirty taels. I'm just being kind-hearted, Ma Xiangu!

"If it were anyone else, they would have bankrupted your Meng family!"

She had been exorcising demons and ghosts in Qingshui County for over forty years, and had seen at least eight hundred or a thousand monsters and spirits. How could she be frightened by just one look from this young master?

Rumors are like dust in the wind; once blown, they spread everywhere.

The news of his ignominious escape from Shanghe Village yesterday spread like wildfire overnight, becoming the talk of the town. Not only did his business plummet, but the prestige he had built up over decades was also destroyed in an instant.

The people who used to treat her with utmost respect now throw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at her.

The area in front of their house was even turned into a stinking ditch by the splashing of water.

And all of this was caused by Meng Yun'er coming to her.

The debts of a son should be repaid by his father. Since Meng Yun'er has run away, she will naturally seek revenge on this young master Meng.

"You took the money yourself, but you're incompetent and can't get anything done. It's already kind of my Meng family not to ask you to return the deposit!" Meng Yongfu was so angry when he heard her speak that he flung his wide sleeves and looked vicious. "You actually dare to come here with the audacity to ask for the rest of the money and even demand compensation!"

It was truly like cutting your buttocks with a small knife—it opened my eyes.

If you're too senile to remember, I, Meng Yongfu, will kindly remind you that the person who damaged your priceless altars, tablets, and peach wood swords wasn't from my Meng family, but from Su Hua.

"If you want compensation, you should go find that brat Su Hua. You've completely come to the wrong person by coming to the Meng family."

Ma Xiangu choked upon hearing this.

She wanted to find Su Hua, but she didn't have the courage.

If she hadn't run fast at the crucial moment yesterday noon, she might have been pierced through by Su Hua with a peach wood sword and thrown into the river.

“I don’t care about any of that. All I know is that I wouldn’t have come to Shanghe Village if your daughter hadn’t come looking for me.” Ma Xiangu composed herself, glanced at the villagers who were gradually walking towards her, and plopped down on the ground. “If you don’t give me this money, I’m not leaving here today.”

Looking at her shrewish and unruly behavior, Meng Yongfu instantly recalled the scene of Su Baishi making a scene at the door earlier, which was almost identical to what he was seeing now.

All the misfortunes of the Meng family began from that time.

Thinking of this, the man's anger suddenly rose from his chest.

He grabbed a broom from the corner and started sweeping it at Ma Xiangu.

"Fine, fine, you're not leaving, huh!"

Do you need money?

I told you to ask for money, to ask for money, to ask for your mother's damn money..."

With each word spoken, his subordinate swung the broom hard.

"Ouch, that hurts..."

Unaware of what was happening, Ma Xiangu was struck hard on the head several times by a broom.

When I reached out and touched my fingers, I was surprised to find them covered in beads of blood.

Enraged, he leaped up, ran outside, and clung to the Meng family's gate, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Murder! The Meng family has murdered someone! The Meng family girl asked me to harm the Su family's youngest daughter, falsely accusing her of being a demon and ordering me to burn her alive. Now that the matter has not been accomplished, the young master Meng is enraged and wants to kill this fairy!"

The neighbors who rushed over after hearing the commotion were completely stunned by the shout.

It took me a while to realize what was happening.

The look of disgust in their eyes as they looked at Meng Yongfu was palpable.

"No wonder Hua dared to grab the peach wood sword that day. It turns out that all of this was a conspiracy by the Meng family."

"Fortunately, Hua is very capable. If she had been touched by those talisman fires, not only would she have been killed by the Meng family for nothing, but she would have been called a monster even after death. The Meng family is just too wicked."

"The Meng family previously instructed Wang Ergou and a few others to rob the Su family, which resulted in Meng Chengshi being imprisoned. They probably harbored a grudge ever since."

"It's not just that. As the saying goes, other people's things are always better. Yun'er stole Hua'er's fiancé and then tried to take over her family. Since she failed, she naturally holds a grudge and tries to harm Hua'er every day."

"The Meng family is rotten to the core. From the father to the sons and daughters, they are all ruthless and cruel..."