"That's strange, isn't there anyone in here?"

"Boss," the underling said cautiously, "this house seems to have been uninhabited for a long time. Could it be that no one lives here at all?"

The man frowned, muttered a curse under his breath, and then left through the doorway.

Xu Nian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's all over now."

The village chief, still shaken, walked up to Xu Nian and scolded, "Immortal, the person you saved seems to be a big problem."

"There's nothing we can do about this trouble. This is a living, breathing human being. Are we just going to let him die at the doorstep?"

After saying that, Xu Nian squatted down and turned the man over. She found that his forehead was covered in blood, indicating that he had been beaten badly. Considering the man outside earlier, Xu Nian couldn't help but frown.

"Help me carry him inside. There are some herbs left over from last time. I'll apply them to him so he can wake up quickly and leave sooner, saving us the trouble."

Xu Nian knew that in a town of this size, the local bullies were always hard to offend. They just wanted to rest here for a few days and didn't want to cause trouble.

This man looks so pitiful.

[Could he be dead?]

【Pah, pah, pah! Don't say such unlucky things.】

Xu Nian had no interest in reading the comments; she focused all her attention on the man in front of her. Half an hour later, the man slowly woke up from his coma.

"Where...where am I? Am I already dead?"

Xu Nian was both amused and exasperated. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, you're still alive."

"Miss...you actually...you actually saved me?" The man's eyes widened in disbelief. He struggled to his feet, knelt down, and kowtowed to Xu Nian. "Thank you for saving my life, Miss. I will never forget it."

“Let’s talk about gratitude later,” Xu Nian interrupted the man without hesitation, “Why were you being chased on the road in the middle of the night, and why did you fall in front of our house? Who were those people?”

"You...you're not locals, are you?" The man's expression was evasive, and after a moment he sighed helplessly, "That's right, if you were locals, why would you save me?"

"The person chasing me was the young city lord... When I was listening to storytelling at the teahouse, he came to dine and dash and even tried to grope the teahouse maids. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I spoke up to stop him. Who knew that when I was on the street that night, someone hit me on the head from behind with a stick."

The man said indignantly, "His willful behavior is all thanks to the city lord. Don't be fooled by his sanctimonious appearance; it's all just for show. He's a poor man who can't afford to eat. He's not allowed to go out during the day, not even to beg on the streets. He can only come out at night to scavenge scraps and barely survive!"

"But this place is close to the capital; it shouldn't be in such a sorry state."

The man sighed, both amused and exasperated, and said, "It's all because those wealthy families snapped up all the arable land here early on. We ordinary folks have to be beholden to them if we want to buy rice or grain, which only fuels their arrogance."

Many people listened to the man's complaints, and their expressions all changed.

They thought it was a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, but who would have thought that it would hide so many strange and unexpected things?

The local tyrant, Young City Lord, is already a nuisance, let alone outsiders like us who don't know anyone here and have even saved someone who offended him. How could we possibly have a good life?

Xu Nian naturally understood this principle. She looked at the man seriously and said, "We already have enough people here. There is really no place for you to stay. I have already treated your wound. You can leave on your own in a little while."

Although she was soft-hearted, she couldn't joke about the lives of so many people.

The man understood Xu Nian's meaning, nodded somewhat disappointedly, and said, "I understand, thank you for your kindness, I will leave first thing tomorrow morning."

After dealing with the man's matter, Xu Nian finally felt relieved and could rest. When she woke up the next day, the man was nowhere to be found. After inquiring, she learned that the man had left early in the morning.

I'm so afraid he'll get revenge on that young city lord! I'm so angry! Why are good people always the underdogs?!

[The streamer really doesn't trust him to go alone. What if something happens? Who will be responsible?]

Why be so aggressive? The streamer isn't omniscient; what if saving him leads to retaliation?

I love this streamer's non-saintly persona; keep it up!

"A demigod."

The girl who was on good terms with Xu Nian walked up to Xu Nian and said, "Do you have any food left in your pocket? You left a lot of things on the mountain and you're getting a little anxious from hunger... Don't worry, I won't take it for nothing!"

Although Xu Nian did his best to help during the mudslide, it was still not foolproof.

Where would they find so much food these days?

This is why Xu Nian chose to rest here.

Xu Nian remained silent, and the girl waited patiently. After a while, Xu Nian finally spoke, "I don't have much food left either. Go and ask others how much they have. If it's really not enough, buy some more dry food here before continuing on your journey. Anyway, we're almost at the capital, so it won't cost much."

The girl nodded and hurried to inquire. After a while, she came back with the money and explained everyone's needs to Xu Nian.

Xu Nian, wanting to be a good person to the end, went out to help everyone buy food, but as soon as she opened the door, she felt that there was nothing blocking the way outside.

She didn't hold back and increased the pressure on her hand, but unexpectedly, she was met with a curse.

"Which fool dares to mess with me? Do they not want to stay here anymore?!"

Xu Nian was slightly taken aback. She peeked out and saw a fat, big-eared young master covering his eyes, crying and screaming in pain. A group of servants dressed in the same clothes surrounded him, all looking at him with worried expressions.

No way, no way, I'm so lucky, I ran into the so-called young city lord as soon as I stepped out?

"How dare you be so disrespectful to our young city lord! Quickly kowtow and confess your sins, and perhaps our young city lord will show you some leniency!"

Xu Nian rolled her eyes, looking completely oblivious to what was going on around her.

"idiot!"

A slap landed squarely on the head of the servant who had been yelling at Xu Nian. The servant cried out in pain and retreated to the side.

"Little beauty." The young master leered at Xu Nian, rubbing his hands together as he approached. "Last night you seemed to have saved someone you shouldn't have. It seems you're from out of town and don't know how powerful I am."

After saying that, he introduced himself and said, "I am Ding Yaozu, the only son of the city lord. I will inherit the position of city lord in the future. If you don't want to suffer, then apologize to me politely."

Seeing that Xu Nian didn't react, Ding Yaozu frowned and said impatiently, "I'm talking to you, are you deaf? I'm warning you, don't be stubborn!"