Xiao Li's departure left only Xu Jinhuan and his two companions around.

Xie Datou glanced at Xu Jinhuan without leaving a trace, then looked at Xu Youyou who was squatting on the ground crying, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was alright, his boss hadn't lost.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Xu Youyou wipe away her tears, get up with teary eyes, and walk towards him.

Xie Datou frowned inwardly. How did the Xu family raise their daughter? A proper young lady from a respectable family had grown up like a child from a brothel, and she didn't even walk properly.

With that butt sticking out almost as high as the sky, is he trying to sneak up on his boss when he's not looking?

Xu Youyou had no idea what Xie Datou was thinking. She spoke in a soft, sweet voice.

"Sir, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have argued with my younger sister. I should have been more accommodating. After all, she's been away from home for over ten years, enduring countless hardships and living a life of hardship."

As Xu Youyou spoke, she smoothed the stray hairs behind her ear and deliberately turned her already swollen cheek toward Xie Datou.

Xu Jinhuan looked at her manipulative attitude and curled her lips. It seemed that Xu Youyou hadn't had enough of being beaten up yet, even though she was right in front of her, and she was still talking like a tease.

On the surface, her words seemed like an older sister's forbearance and pity for her younger sister, but upon closer listening, one could discover that she was actually criticizing Xu Jinhuan.

Finally, the emphasis on Xu Jinhuan living alone outside makes the purpose even clearer: to make Xie Datou believe that Xu Jinhuan sold her body to make a living all those years.

If Xu Jinhuan and Xie Datou are indeed in the kind of relationship Xu Youyou imagines, these words might work and grant Xu Youyou's wish.

Unfortunately, Xu Jinhuan and Xie Datou had a very proper master-servant relationship!

Xu Youyou is destined to have her wish unfulfilled.

Sure enough, Xie Datou's words completely broke Xu Youyou down.

"Since you know you're in the wrong, why are you still standing here crying? Aren't you going to apologize to Old... Xu Jinhuan?"

Xu Youyou touched her still swollen face and asked incredulously, "You want me to apologize to her?"

Xie Datou frowned upon hearing this. "Didn't you say you were wrong yourself? If you don't apologize, who will? Are you going to apologize or not? If you don't, I'll beat you up."

After saying that, Xie Datou reached for the hilt of his knife with his right hand.

A flash of anger crossed Xu Youyou's eyes. She was already so pitiful, yet this constable showed her no pity whatsoever, only caring about that Xu Jinhuan. It was a complete waste of her acting skills.

Once Tingjun comes to rescue her, she will definitely take revenge on those two scoundrels!

She thought this to herself, but when Xu Youyou saw that Xie Datou was really going to draw his knife, she chose to compromise.

"Jin Huan, it's all my fault, I was wrong, please forgive me."

Xu Youyou bit her lip and managed to say those words.

To everyone's surprise, Xu Jinhuan sneered, "That's ridiculous. Just because you apologize doesn't mean I have to accept it. You're a grown man, use your brain."

My words still hold true: don't show your face in front of me, or I'll beat you every time I see you.

After speaking, Xu Jinhuan paused, looked at Xu Youyou's red and swollen, somewhat asymmetrical face, and, being obsessive-compulsive, slapped Xu Youyou again.

Yes, it's symmetrical now, that feels good.

Xu Youyou covered her face, which was so painful she was almost numb, and shouted, "Xu Jinhuan, are you crazy?!"

Xu Jinhuan said with a smile, "That's right, I'm crazy. Come and hit me if you dare!"

These words angered Xu Youyou so much that she forgot her usual composure and started spinning around in circles. In the end, she kicked the wall in anger, but because she used too much force, she broke her leg.

Seeing this, Xie Datou couldn't help but secretly admire him. As expected of his boss, his destructive power was just that strong!

Remembering his boss's instructions not to reveal his identity for the time being, Xie Datou said coldly, "Alright, now that the problem is solved, let's all go back to our rooms."

After saying that, he turned and went to the constables' quarters, ready to begin his operation according to Xu Jinhuan's plan.

Xu Youyou sat on the ground, her eyes filled with anger. What did he mean by "the problem is solved"? Couldn't he see how badly she had been bullied?

What a waste of eyes!

Xu Jinhuan gave Xu Youyou a cold look. If it weren't for the Heavenly Dao restraining her, she would have killed the person in front of her right now...

Xu Youyou seemed to sense that something was wrong, so she stopped blaming people, quickly got up from the ground, and using her uninjured leg as support, moved quickly to another place...

Xu Jinhuan scoffed and returned to the room she had been in.

At this moment, since everyone in the house had nothing to do, they all sat around the fire chatting.

And accompanying the chatter of the group was the increasingly loud sound of rain outside...

Before we knew it, it was evening.

"Why is the rain getting heavier and heavier? It doesn't seem like it's going to stop anytime soon," a woman muttered as she added firewood to the fire.

The people around them chimed in, "Yeah, it looks like we'll really have to stay here tonight."

Someone curiously opened the window and was immediately splashed with rainwater.

"My God, come and see! It's raining so hard it's like the sky is leaking. Even if the sun comes out, the roads won't be easy to travel on."

Looking at the dark, oppressive sky, everyone inside felt a bit suffocated. Seeing the rain pouring in, they quickly told the person to close the window.

The man nodded in agreement and was about to close the window when Xu Jinhuan stopped him.

The woman thought Xu Jinhuan was just bored, so she explained with a smile.

“Miss, the rain is too heavy. You can’t leave the window open. If you feel stuffy, I can leave a small crack for you.”

To everyone's surprise, Xu Jinhuan looked at the distant mountains and forests with a grim face. After clearly seeing the human-shaped black dots, he shouted, "Old people and children, hide quickly! Bandits are coming!"

The others froze on the spot upon hearing this, and after a moment of stunned silence, they asked blankly, "What did you say? Bandits? You're not joking, are you?"

Xu Jinhuan didn't have time to explain. These people were willing to brave the rain to come; they must have something big planned. She needed to go see how Xie Datou's preparations were going.

"If you don't believe me, you'll see for yourselves in a bit."

With just this one sentence, Xu Jinhuan turned to leave and inform Xie Datou of the news.

The plump woman ran quickly to Xu Jinhuan's side and asked, "Jinhuan, is there anything I can help you with? Tell me."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Jinhuan said, "Auntie, you should quickly pack up your things. I'll go see if there's a cellar. You can take the elderly and children and hide there."

The plump woman nodded immediately, "Okay, I'll go get ready right away."

Then she added with some concern, "Jinhuan, you must be careful. Your aunt wants to go north with you. I'll treat you to all the good food and drink there."