"Fifth Brother! Old Lady Lu really didn't lie to us! There really is water in Lu Family Village!"

"Hmph! They actually got to snag such a good deal!"

“Lujia Village has been competing with us for land every year, and they always have the upper hand in everything! This time, we’ll show them what’s what!”

"Brother, do you have any good ideas?"

The two men's voices grew softer and softer. Jiang Ling, who was hiding behind a tree, peeked out in the direction of the voices and saw a man with a hideous scar on his face whispering to another short man.

After listening to the scarred man's words, the short man gave a thumbs-up in agreement.

Jiang Ling covered her mouth and tiptoed out of the mountains.

She glanced back and thankfully found no one behind her. Relieved, she quickly walked towards the village chief's house.

The village chief is getting on in years, and after being tossed and turned all night yesterday, he's still asleep in bed.

He looked displeased after being woken up, but when he heard Jiang Ling calling for him, he quickly got out of bed and went to greet her.

"Jiang, what do you want with me? Is there a problem with the water source?" the village chief asked, looking at Jiang Ling, who was covered in sweat.

Jiang Ling recounted to the village chief everything she had just heard and seen, word for word.

The village chief was shocked when he heard this, and his face immediately darkened.

"Jiang, is what you're saying true? Did you really see a man with a scar on his face?" the village chief asked again.

“Yes, judging from what they said, they seem to be planning to target the water source!” Jiang Ling said, her eyes darting around.

"Damn it, these scoundrels from Dahua Village!" The village chief cursed angrily.

"Jiang! I'll go to the village entrance right now and ring the bell, then lead the people of Lujia Village to Dahua Village to demand an explanation!" the village chief said angrily.

"No! No! Village Chief, don't be impulsive!" Jiang Ling blocked the village chief's path.

“Mrs. Jiang, this is no need for a woman like you to take the lead. There are already some conflicts between Lujia Village and Dahua Village! Now that He Tiezhu is trying to kill our Lujia Village!” The village chief said indignantly, his brows furrowed and his lips downturned.

“Village chief, I didn’t say you couldn’t go to Dahua Village to reason with them, but what can you say if you go now? We have no proof, and we’ll only alert them!”

Jiang Ling's words gradually calmed the village chief down from his anger.

"Jiang, do you have any good ideas?" the village chief asked, frowning.

“At least for now, we have the upper hand. They don’t know yet that we know their plans. Tonight, we can find a few strong men and hide around the cave entrance to catch them off guard!” Jiang Ling carefully explained her plan to the village chief.

After listening, the village chief nodded and showed a thoughtful expression. Seeing this, Jiang Ling turned to leave.

She had only taken a couple of steps when she was violently bumped into by a figure. The person was quite strong and knocked Jiang Ling to the ground.

"Ouch!" Jiang Ling winced in pain.

"Mrs. Jiang, I'm so sorry!" The person who bumped into Jiang Ling was Wang De's wife.

She hurriedly helped Jiang Ling up, then turned and took a few steps toward the village chief, saying in a tearful voice, "Village chief, something terrible has happened! Please go and check on my Lightning and Xiaoyu! They seem... they seem to have been poisoned!"

The village chief was shocked to hear this and quickly asked, "How could they suddenly be poisoned? Could it be that the two children ate something they shouldn't have?"

Wangde's wife was so anxious that she couldn't speak. She was covered in sweat, her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was pulling the village chief's arm as they walked towards their home.

Jiang Ling didn't want to meddle, but since Lu Wangde's family was her neighbor and lived so close, there was no reason not to go. So she simply followed behind the two of them and headed towards Wangde's house.

Before they reached the end, Jiang Ling saw that a large number of people had gathered around Lu Wangde's house, including her son, Jiang Yaojie.

"Yaojie, what's going on?" Jiang Ling pulled Jiang Yaojie to a less crowded side and whispered.

"I don't know. I only heard Aunt Wangde crying, and then a lot of people came to her house," Jiang Yaojie replied, shaking his head.

Jiang Ling didn't speak. She pursed her lips and looked around outside first. After confirming that there was nothing unusual inside, she cautiously walked into the courtyard.

A heart-wrenching wail erupted from inside the room as Lu Xiaoyu and Lu Shandian, the two children, convulsed on the bed, foaming at the mouth.

"Have you invited Doctor Zhu over?" Jiang Ling asked.

"Doctor Zhu went to the next village to see a doctor, and he's said he won't be back until dark!" Lu Wangde replied anxiously, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Did your two children eat anything unusual today?" Jiang Ling asked as she walked into the house.

"No! Xiaoyu and Shandian never eat random things!" Wangde's wife grabbed Jiang Ling desperately, as if she had found a lifeline, and said, "Jiang Shi! Please! Please save my child! I... I'll kneel down and kowtow to you!"

As she spoke, Wangde's wife slammed her legs heavily on the ground and frantically kowtowed to Jiang Ling.

This happened so suddenly that by the time everyone helped Wangde's wife up, bright red blood was already seeping from her forehead.

"Wangde's wife, calm down. Try to recall what the two children ate from yesterday to today," Jiang Ling asked tentatively, holding Wangde's wife's cold hand.

"Eat? They only ate some wild vegetables and potatoes that we dug up earlier. Xiaoyu and Shandian aren't greedy kids; they won't eat random things!" Wangde's wife's eyebrows were almost furrowed into a "川" shape.

“The wild vegetables and potatoes are not poisonous, so could someone have poisoned them?” Wang De’s wife’s answer left Jiang Ling at a loss. She stood aside, stroking her chin and thinking, her eyes glancing around from time to time.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!