Chapter 84 Broken Finger After all, he is not hers.

Lin Meizhu was treating a wounded patient when she heard a voice shouting, "You damned quack! Our village chief kindly saved you, and you ruined his hand!"

Lin Meizhu was confused and asked, "What?"

The scarred burly man snorted, "You're such a good pretender!" He kicked over the medicine boxes that had been temporarily piled on the donkey cart and pointed at Lin Meizhu, cursing, "You ungrateful bastard! Tell the truth now! Are you a spy sent by the Golden Tiger Village? If we hadn't discovered you early, the village chief would have been dead by now!"

The bandits who were originally sitting or squatting stood up one by one after hearing this. Their eyes gradually became alert and vigilant, as if they were staring at their prey, and they were getting closer and closer.

The guy on the flat ground stopped what he was doing and hid behind Lin Meiju holding his breath.

Lin Meizhu raised her eyelids and looked at Scarface, saying, "Let me tell you what it means to be ungrateful."

She glanced at the men, their eyes fixed on her, a smile barely visible. "Ungratefulness is when I let you use our medicine for free and spent most of the day treating you, and yet you turn the tables and indiscriminately flatter me!"

"you……!"

Scarface was about to say something, but someone behind him shouted, "Chen Lao Er!"

Chen Yue stood on the hill, looked down at him, and said, "The village chief invites you!"

Without turning around, Chen Laoer spat and scolded, "Even if you didn't do anything bad, your crime is still unforgivable! If you had just given me a heads-up..."

Lin Meizhu snorted coldly, "Fubo Village saved me today. I'm deeply grateful, and I promise to repay the escort fee at market value, plus an equal reward. Isn't that your rule? To end the favor with a sword, then pay it off. Isn't that the way it works? Who is your village chief to me? Should I take care of him meticulously, asking about his well-being? He was unwell himself, didn't notice it, didn't seek medical attention, and now he's blaming me for it?"

A tall figure walked out from the Qiuyan Terrace. Shen Changfeng's voice was relatively calm, as if he was just an outsider. He said, "It has nothing to do with others."

As the sun sets, the light and shadows gradually dim, and most of his figure is immersed in shadow, making it impossible to see his emotions.

Half a month ago, he bribed an insider to set fire to the Golden Tiger Village's warehouse. Since the Golden Tiger Village hadn't been using poison on their weapons during recent operations, he presumed they had depleted their poison and lowered his guard. Furthermore, he already had injuries on his palms and fingertips, and the intense fighting today had torn the scars, easily masking the slight itching pain from the arrow wound on the back of his hand. This old injury also exacerbated the poison's penetration.

But even more difficult than the impending loss of his finger was Lin Meizhu's indifference. She said he hadn't sought medical help, but he had actually approached her. He felt that even if he had, the outcome would likely have been the same. After all, he wasn't hers.

She doesn't care.

Shen Changfeng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the sorrow churning in his heart, and lowered his eyes to hide all the emotions.

After a few breaths, the muscles around his cheeks gradually tightened. When he opened his eyes again, his determination was as sharp as lightning, and murderous aura burst out. He slowly uttered a few words: "Chen Lao Er."

After hearing that chilling voice, Chen Laoer's movements stiffened. He slowly turned around and, while leaping onto a large rock, he slipped and slammed his head against a sharp edge, bleeding all over his face. He didn't dare to utter a word, but immediately climbed to his feet, forcing himself to remain calm and stand upright before Shen Changfeng.

Shen Changfeng didn't look at him, but stood with his hands behind his back and asked, "After the battle at Fubo Temple, we became famous. You followed me to establish your own territory. What did I say that day?"

Chen Lao Er began to sweat for some reason and knelt down with a plop: "Village leader, I am just speaking up for you..."

After hearing these few words, the guys on the flat ground also guessed that the village chief must have an injury on his hand, and that he must have used the wrong medicine or received untimely treatment, so Chen Laoer came to blame him. As everyone was quietly exchanging glances, they suddenly heard a dull sound of something heavy falling from the rock. They looked up and couldn't help but shudder.

Who else could that bloody man who was pierced through by the stalagmite be but Chen Laoer!

Looking at the man with bulging eyes and bloodshot face, everyone suddenly remembered: Fubo Village was better than the other strongholds, but it was still a den of thieves! They were also murderers who killed without blinking an eye!

Shen Changfeng stood in the setting sun, his back silhouette cast on the mountain wall, uneven and sticky, sticky with the scarlet blood, like a giant beast growing from the dark side. It was hard to tell whether the monster behind him was his projection, or whether the ferocious beast was controlling his every move.

In the dead silence, everyone heard Shen Changfeng speak.

"What did I say that day!"

The bandits in dark robes below unsheathed their swords, pointed them at the sky, and shouted in unison: "Orders must be carried out, and the rules must be as strong as iron! Orders must be carried out, and the rules must be as strong as iron! Orders must be carried out, and the rules must be as strong as iron!"

The shout was deafening, its echo echoing through the mountains and forests, lingering for a long time. Lin Meizhu's chest rumbled with the shock, and in a trance, he had the illusion that the people standing before him were not some desperate criminals, but a disciplined army.

In the silence, there was only the sound of someone walking slowly.

The unrelated people on the plain dared not breathe, and kept their heads down for fear of breaking the taboo, hoping to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

A cold light flashed, Zhuzi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was met with a pair of cold black eyes. He was so scared that he almost ran away.

Shen Changfeng grabbed the back of his collar and held him down, then pointed the dagger at a spot with two fingers on his right hand and asked, "Is this enough?"

Zhuzi was so frightened that his face turned pale. Seeing that Lin Meizhu was still bent over tidying the medicine box on the ground and had no intention of paying attention, and Shen Changfeng's eyes were as sharp as a torch, as if he wanted to stare a hole through him, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and carefully examine the wound. He trembled even more violently after seeing it, and said: "I'm afraid, this one needs to go a little lower, and this one too..."

Shen Changfeng looked at the location that the man pointed to and remained silent for a long time.

Lin Meizhu leaned sideways when she heard a soft click and her fingertips gripping the medicine bottle twitched. She heard his calm voice, "Bring the medicine."

"Here's the medicine!"

Qingsong quickly responded and rushed forward to help bandage the wound. Then she heard the footsteps behind her gradually fading away, and more and more people around her whispered, "Thank God, he's gone!"

But everyone was still silent, because the masked men around them were still standing there, their eyes looking towards the center of the plain still full of hostility.

A sharp whistle blew, and several dark shadows leaped from the jungle, chasing after them. A second whistle blew, and the Fubo Village troops sprang into action. Within two moments, the trees had retreated like a tide, leaving only the shadows of the trees swaying violently. Raindrops slammed wildly against Lin Meizhu's face, and she suddenly closed her eyes. Drops of water rolled slowly over her neck, sticky and damp. Her cloak, soaked through, clung lifelessly to her. Suddenly, she felt she could no longer endure the oppressive heat. Hastily untying the laces, she untied the cloak and swung it free, leaning against the shaft of the cart and breathing heavily.

The drug dealers and their surviving companions didn't learn until they returned to the county that Fubo Village had raided Jinhu Village the previous night, slaughtering five or six hundred of them without losing a single soldier. They had also publicly beheaded the village leader Zhang Dashan's two younger brothers and burned all the village's food and supplies. Zhang Dashan, who had narrowly escaped the attack while reuniting with his sister-in-law, was furious upon hearing the news. He issued notices throughout the night, urging all the mountain leaders, big and small, to strangle Shen Fubo to avenge his brother, and swore a blood oath to fight Fubo Village to the death.

Huishengtang and others were still in shock, and Lin Meizhu was also uneasy. When she returned to her neighborhood, she found that neighbors were frequently looking at her. At first, she thought it was out of sympathy or curiosity, but later she realized something was wrong. She walked to the door of the pharmacy and saw that it was in a mess, with medicine cabinets collapsed, tables and chairs tilted, and herbs scattered all over the floor.

Lin Meiju glanced at the fire marks on the hindquarters of the two horses at the foot of the wall, and stopped in her tracks. She looked outside and saw a girl with double spiral buns. She quickly waved to her.

"Did you hear what I said?"

Xiaoman nodded heavily and repeated what Lin Meizhu had taught her, saying, "Tell Mom and Grandpa to stay home and not go anywhere. Give the purple box in Grandpa's room to Brother Huzi."

Lin Meizhu urged in a low voice: "Go quickly!"

Before she finished speaking, several yamen runners with swords drawn walked out of the pharmacy and shackled Lin Meizhu without any explanation: "Someone has reported that you are colluding with bandits and killing people. If you have anything to say, save it for the court!"

In the county yamen, the magistrate twisted a thin piece of litigation paper, tilted his head back, glanced at it briefly, then slammed the gavel and said, "Lin Meizhu, the plaintiff, Zhang Bosheng's wife, Kang, is suing you for colluding with the Golden Tiger Camp. You deliberately stayed at the post house, causing the Huishengtang convoy to be delayed. You then tipped off the thieves, learning that the Golden Tiger Camp troops had not yet set up their ambush. You then argued with Huichuntang's owner, Zhang Bosheng, and others on the road, stalling them, resulting in the complete looting of Huichuntang's goods, the death of fifteen people, and the injury of thirty, causing heavy losses."

All the servants in Huishengtang were filled with righteous indignation. This was simply distorting the truth!

The county magistrate put down the petition, glanced at the person kneeling on the ground, and thought to himself that it was true that one cannot judge a person by his appearance. Who could have thought that such a woman could be so cruel?

The magistrate turned to the two drug dealers and asked, "Is the complaint in the lawsuit true?"

The two drug dealers replied, "The Huishengtang people were indeed the last ones to arrive. Doctor Lin also had an argument with Master Zhang on the way. As for the others, I'm just..."

The county magistrate nodded and interrupted, "That's it. Lin Meizhu, Huishengtang suffered the least losses among the caravans. What else do you have to say?"

Lin Meizhu said, "Your Excellency, Huishengtang suffered the least losses because they evacuated in time and happened to encounter the battle for territory between Fubo Village and Jinhu Village. They were able to escape disaster. The others can also testify to this."

The county magistrate stroked his beard. "So? Fubo Village... did you encounter anyone from Fubo Village?"

Lin Meizhu replied, "That's right. I've discussed with several shopkeepers and decided to pay Fubo Village double the escort fee. Those people will..."

The county magistrate interrupted her again and asked, "Where is the deed?"

Lin Meizhu was choked and replied, "It happened suddenly. We just wrote an IOU and agreed to send someone to pay the debt after returning to the county..."

The county magistrate narrowed his eyes and shouted, "I'm asking you where the contract is!"

Lin Meizhu hated the corrupt official for leaving the mountains full of bandits alone and instead listening to a few distorted testimonies to harass her. She took a deep breath, swallowed her accumulated anger, and said, "There is no written contract yet!"

The county magistrate sneered and said, "You're saying that you first encountered bandits from the Golden Tiger Camp, and then from the Fubo Camp, but were able to escape danger both times? There are actually such cheap deals in the world where you get paid later, not to mention that this is a job where you risk your life! You vixen, you're talking nonsense! Why don't you just say you're the wife of the chief camp leader?!"

Lin Meiju's fists stiffened.