Xu Xinghe frowned slightly as she looked at the girls who had surrounded her, and said in a cold tone, "I'll say it again, don't make a move, or I won't be polite."
She didn't want to get entangled with these girls any longer; she just wanted to finish her mission as soon as possible. But the person in front of her clearly didn't take her warning seriously.
"You're not polite? You're just a wild outsider, how dare you act so arrogantly here! Sisters, don't listen to her, grab her hair, tear her clothes, let her know what we're made of!"
As soon as she finished speaking, several girls rushed up like madmen, reaching out to grab Xu Xinghe's hair and clothes with sharp nails, clearly intending to leave some bloody marks on her body.
Xu Xinghe's eyes sharpened, and she could no longer hold back.
She sidestepped the girl in front, grabbed her wrist with her own, and with a slight twist, the girl cried out in pain. Before anyone else could react, Xu Xinghe raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap.
"Smack!"
The crisp sound echoed in the open space. The girl was knocked to the side, and a clear five-finger mark instantly appeared on her face.
She covered her face, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Xu Xinghe, her voice shrill, "You ugly monster, how dare you hit me!"
"Ugly freak?" Xu Xinghe sneered, increasing the pressure on her hand. The girl was in so much pain that tears almost fell from her eyes. "You're all going to hit me, so why can't I hit you back? Am I supposed to just stand here and let you bully me for nothing?"
After saying that, she released the girl's wrist, dodged another person's scratch, and slapped her across the face.
These girls usually just bicker and argue; they don't know any fighting techniques. They only know how to pull hair and slap people—such shrewish behavior. They are utterly helpless in front of Xu Xinghe.
Xu Xinghe was quick and ruthless, slapping each girl he grabbed. Before long, the girls who rushed up had red and swollen faces, wincing in pain, and dared not rush forward anymore.
Among the crowd, only Ah Cui, who hadn't made a move, was still standing there unharmed.
She stared in shock at the scene before her, never expecting that this ugly outsider would be so good at fighting!
She forced herself to remain calm, pointed at Xu Xinghe, and shouted angrily, "You're an outsider, how dare you hit us! You're finished! We won't let you get away with this!"
She is no match for Xu Xinghe now, and continuing the fight will only result in her suffering losses.
Why not retreat first, go back to your father who is the village chief, and use this as an excuse to get rid of this eyesore of an ugly monster!
Thinking of this, A-Cui quickly called to the others, "Let's go! Let's go home and ask my father to settle this with us, so he can get justice for us!"
The girls, already terrified of being beaten, felt as if they had been granted a pardon upon hearing this. They covered their faces, glared fiercely at Xu Xinghe, and hurriedly left with A Cui.
Xu Xinghe watched their disheveled figures, raised her hand to straighten her torn clothes and hair, her face expressionless.
These minor squabbles were nothing to her.
She wasted no more time and turned to walk back into town.
After walking briskly for more than an hour, Xu Xinghe finally arrived in the town.
She arrived at an inconspicuous teahouse, the meeting place she had arranged with her people in the military. "Boss, a pot of pre-rain tea, please."
The middle-aged man behind the counter looked up, his gaze quickly sweeping across her face. He calmly took the money and turned to get the tea.
While bending over, he secretly slipped a note to Xu Xinghe and handed her a packet of tea at the same time.
Xu Xinghe took the tea and the note, then turned and walked out of the teahouse as if nothing had happened.
She found a quiet alley, opened the note, and found the contact's location written on it.
Following the directions on the note, she quickly found a secluded courtyard and handed the small box wrapped in oil paper to the soldier waiting there.
"Try to find out where this soil is from as soon as possible, and let me know immediately if you have any results," Xu Xinghe instructed.
"Don't worry, Comrade Xu, we will handle it as soon as possible." The other party nodded, took the box, and turned to go into the house.
After completing his mission, Xu Xinghe bought some daily necessities at the town's supply and marketing cooperative and then set off back to Lijia'ao.
She didn't want to linger in town, lest she cause any further trouble.
But halfway there, she saw a familiar figure.
Yi An was standing under a big tree by the roadside, her brows furrowed, looking anxiously toward the town.
Upon seeing Xu Xinghe, he immediately strode forward, "Su Xiao, you were far too reckless! How could you have attacked so many people?"
Xu Xinghe frowned slightly. "They attacked first. I was just defending myself."
“No matter who started it, you hit the village chief’s daughter and the village girls, so this is going to be troublesome! Those people have already come to Uncle Li, crying and begging you to go back and get justice, and they even said they want the village chief to deal with you.”
He lowered his voice, "Uncle Li was worried that you would be harassed by the village chief if you went back, so he specifically asked me to wait for you here and tell you to leave quickly and not go back to Lijia'ao for the time being. Find a place to hide for a few days and wait until this matter calms down before we talk about it again."
"I won't leave. They were the ones who attacked me first, surrounded me, and insulted me. I was just defending myself. Why should I hide?"
Yi An's face darkened, and she said coldly, "You don't understand the rules of Lijia'ao! They are all native villagers, related by blood, while you are just an outsider. Even if you are a relative of Uncle Li, you beat up so many girls at once, especially A Cui from the village chief's family. They will never let this go."
“The villagers are always protective of their own. Even if they know that the women started the trouble, they will only think that you, an outsider, have bullied them. Uncle Li’s influence is usually enough, but when so many households are involved, he can’t control the situation at all.”
“If you don’t go back, they’ll just make a fuss at Uncle Li’s house. Out of respect for Uncle Li, they won’t really do anything to him. But if you go back, they’ll definitely keep bothering you, and the village chief will use that as an excuse to make things difficult for you. That’ll be the real trouble. They might even tie you up to seek justice.”
In villages where everyone shares the same surname, some things can indeed be very difficult to handle.
Xu Xinghe looked at Yi An, "Do you have any other solutions?"
She didn't want to hide, and she didn't want the clues left by Jiang Linchuan to be lost on such trivial matters.
Yi An frowned and thought carefully for a moment. "The only way is for you to come back with me, apologize to those girls from house to house, and give them some money. All they want is face and compensation. Once they have the money, and out of respect for Uncle Li, this matter might be settled."
"You want me to apologize and pay money?" Xu Xinghe sneered. "Impossible! I didn't do anything wrong, why should I apologize and pay money?"
“Then there’s nothing I can do.” Yi’an shrugged. “If you’re not willing to back down, you can only go back to town and hide until they calm down.”
Xu Xinghe didn't say anything more, turned around, and started walking towards Lijia'ao.
"Su Xiao! Where are you going?" Yi An shouted hurriedly and quickly chased after her.
"Let's go back to Lijia'ao and see what they dare to do to me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com