"I was upset about being sent to the cave last time, and I happened to run into Lord Wu, who was taking refuge from the flood, on the mountain. So I thought I'd make you suffer a loss in silence."

I know I was wrong, please forgive me.

After finishing his speech with a mournful face, Village Chief Liu looked pleadingly at Xu Jinhuan not far away, hoping that the girl would soften her heart and let him go.

But Xu Jinhuan wasn't as soft-hearted as he expected. Instead, she gave him a cold look and said something to the bandit leader.

“Ma Wencai, it seems Li Yichang was right. You need to work on your brain more, otherwise you might get tricked into buying ‘miracle drugs’ when you get old.”

After hearing this, Ma Wencai scratched his head and said, "Boss, don't listen to Li Yichang's nonsense. My brain is sharp!"

Xu Jinhuan pretended not to hear his inexplicably confident words and turned to Xie Datou, saying, "Datou, since this guy is not honest, we don't need to keep him alive. Let's just kill him."

Anyway, that Lord Wu is still alive. We can ask him after he's been soaked in the rain; it'll be the same thing.”

For Xie Datou, Xu Jinhuan's words were more effective than an imperial edict, so he didn't ask any questions, directly drew his long knife, and walked towards Village Chief Liu.

"Hey, no, no, let's talk this out!" Village Chief Liu shouted anxiously, not expecting these people to pull out knives so suddenly.

No matter how loudly he shouted, Xie Datou's actions wouldn't stop as long as Xu Jinhuan didn't speak.

As the long knife drew ever closer to his neck, and the feeling of being gripped by death grew ever stronger, all Village Chief Liu could do was shout.

"I'll confess everything, please don't kill me!"

Xu Jinhuan remained silent, watching Village Chief Liu quietly. Xie Datou's long knife continued to slowly approach Village Chief Liu's neck.

Cold sweat slowly slid down Village Chief Liu's forehead, the sweat sliding over his eyelids and into his eyes. Village Chief Liu burst into tears from the sweat.

"I really want to say that it was Old Li and I who were bewitched and wanted to steal the gold and silver from your stronghold, which is why we have caused you trouble time and time again."

After hearing what Village Chief Liu said, Ma Wencai was stunned. It turned out that this man really hadn't told the truth before. But what gold and silver did their mountain stronghold have?

He thought this, and he asked it aloud.

"Our mountain stronghold only has a few houses, where would you find gold or silver worth your scheming?"

Village Chief Liu's eyes darted around, but before he could come up with a suitable lie, he saw the long knife at his neck move even closer, almost touching his flesh.

Village Chief Liu broke out in a cold sweat again. If the long knife were to move again, he feared he would be seeing his dead parents once more.

Even though telling the truth might mean death, he'd rather not speak now than die immediately and live a little longer!

After making up his mind, Village Chief Liu stopped making up lies and told everyone he knew.

"Old Li and I happened to run into your bandit stronghold before. We know that they robbed the imperial court's disaster relief funds, so we thought we could take some with us during this trip up the mountain."

Xu Jinhuan was speechless after hearing this. Ignorance is the greatest courage. With their small bodies, they still want to take advantage of the chaos to rob people. Is it that she, Xu Jinhuan, can't lift a knife, or have they become too arrogant?

However, disaster relief funds?

Xu Jinhuan turned to look at Ma Wencai and said, "Ma Wencai, aren't you going to explain? I didn't see this item in the property details you submitted."

Upon hearing this, Ma Wencai immediately frowned and said, "Boss, I'm innocent! Those things didn't even go up the mountain. The Wu family told us to rob them and then send them to a post station. After that, it was no longer our responsibility."

As Ma Wencai finished speaking, he slapped his head hard.

"I must have been out of my mind to believe the Wu family. We did all the dirty and hard work, but in the end, it was those in power who enjoyed the fruits of victory."

Hearing the loud voice, Xu Jinhuan glanced helplessly at Ma Wencai.

"Take it easy on me. You're not very bright enough already. If you keep taking pictures like this, I'm worried I'll have to send people to look for you when you get lost."

Ma Wencai chuckled sheepishly, “Boss, I know you’re worried about me. Although I’m not the best at it, I’m an expert at finding my way around. Even if I’m deep in the mountains, I can still find my way.”

Xu Jinhuan turned her head away from the idiot and began to ponder the information the two had just revealed.

It seems that the disaster relief funds either went into the Wu family's treasury or were sent to the army controlled by the Wu family.

Thinking of the Wu family's warehouse, Xu Jinhuan thought of the large amount of supplies in her own space. Wu Daoyi had done so much, but in the end, it was all for her benefit.

Xu Jinhuan sincerely thanked Wu Daoyi for his gift. Without Wu Daoyi's strong support of the grain in his warehouse, it would have been very difficult for him to complete the hidden mission.

Xu Jinhuan's thoughts wandered for a moment, but he quickly came back to his senses and said to Xie Datou, "Let's deal with this person and make it clean."

Since we are driven by greed, we must learn to pay the price.

"Yes, boss." Xie Datou replied respectfully, then slid his long sword across the neck of Village Chief Liu.

Village Chief Liu's eyes were wide open as he watched the blood gushing from his body. His vision went black, and he gradually fell silent.

He never understood, even in his dying moments, why this seemingly delicate and frail girl could be more ruthless than anyone else…

After Xu Jinhuan finished dealing with these people's messy affairs, it was evening again.

While having dinner, she listened to the light drizzle outside and thought to herself that the rain would stop soon.

"Boss, today's dishes are all your favorites, so hurry up and eat some, or that idiot Ma Wencai will eat them all!"

As soon as Li Yichang looked up, he saw Xu Jinhuan staring out the window with a heavy expression. He immediately called out to Xu Jinhuan, trying to help her out of her somber mood.

Before Xu Jinhuan could speak, Ma Wencai, who was oblivious to social cues, became displeased.

"Li Yichang, are you trying to have another go at me? What do you mean 'I ate it all'? I only took a bite or two of each dish!"

While serving Xu Jinhuan a bite of her favorite dish, Li Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Yes, Brother Ma only served a few bites, but those bites were a bit big."

Ma Wencai and Li Yichang could still argue, but when it came to Li Xiaoxiao, they all backed down.

He silently told himself, "I, Ma Wencai, a grown man, can't argue with a little girl!"

Xu Jinhuan looked at the lively bunch on the table and shook his head helplessly. They were all quite normal when he first met them, but they became more and more childish as they got to know them better.

"Alright, stop teasing Ma Wencai, everyone, let's eat."

After Xu Jinhuan spoke up, the people at the table stopped teasing Ma Wencai and focused on eating.

After dinner, Xu Jinhuan said with a smile, "Since everyone is here, let's discuss what to do next."