Xu Nian had a headache, especially when she saw the people kneeling all over the ground in front of her.
With Gu Zhan's help, she got out of bed and helped the village chief up from the ground. "Uncle Village Chief, please get up. What are you doing? This is what Gu Zhan and I should do."
"Everyone, get up, stop kneeling." So many people kneeling before me, I wonder if it will shorten my lifespan.
The village chief waved his hand, disagreeing with Xu Nian's words: "Half-immortal, don't say that. If it weren't for you, how would we have made it to the capital and lived the life we have today? If it weren't for you and General Gu that day, we would probably have lost our lives long ago."
The village chief still feels lingering fear when he recalls that day.
Xu Nian frowned upon hearing this. Gu Zhan had already told her what needed to be said. The Third Prince had taken advantage of her absence to coerce and bribe the villagers into ruining his reputation.
The village chief refused to comply, and the man named Wang An, enraged, went on a killing spree!
However, she had set traps in front of these five courtyards long ago. Unless the villagers led them in, the group would fall into her maze as soon as they stepped inside.
She tightened her grip on Gu Zhan's hand, and he immediately looked down, his eyes filled with concern: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?"
Using one's own essence and blood to draw upon the divine spirits of the universe is inherently detrimental to the body. When Xu Nian first woke up, her face was as white as paper.
She gradually recovered after three or four days of rest, but she still experiences occasional headaches and weakness in her limbs. This makes her seem like a porcelain doll to Gu Zhan, who is extremely afraid of her getting hurt.
"It's nothing." She sat down with Gu Zhan's hand and then said, "I was just wondering how Wang An and his group managed to get in, since I set up a magic array at the entrance?"
Wang Jinmei and Zhao Yingying exchanged a glance, their eyes showing the same guilt and panic.
Especially Wang Jinmei, who personally led Xu Nian to the haunted house that day, is now even more afraid to breathe, lest Xu Nian realize what's going on.
Given the villagers' level of trust in her now, how could she possibly survive?!
Zhao Yingying became much more audacious, coldly snorting in the crowd: "Who knows if your magic array even works? All you do is play tricks every day. If it weren't for you that day, how could everyone have suffered such an undeserved disaster?!"
She didn't see any magic array at all. Xu Nian really has some ability, so he started talking big!
"Zhao girl, what are you saying?!" Before Xu Nian could even speak, someone else spoke up for her, "The Half-Immortal has worked so hard for us, how can you not be grateful at all?"
"Exactly, I've always seen you swearing and cursing. I've never had the heart to say anything to you, but how come you, a young woman, act like a seventy or eighty-year-old woman, gossiping and spreading rumors?"
[Hahaha, I'm so happy! Look at that woman's expression, she's having so much fun!]
[This is a case of sincerity begetting sincerity. Because he genuinely cared for these villagers, they would rather be hurt than say a bad word about him.]
[Most of them are beautiful and simple-minded; only a very small minority—you know who I'm talking about.]
[Upon closer inspection, I suddenly had a bold idea. Given how much trouble Zhao Yingying is causing, surely she couldn't have let those people in, could she?]
Xu Nian didn't know if Zhao Yingying was a possibility.
But Wang Jinmei was 100% in cahoots with the Third Prince's men. Recalling that day, her eyes gradually turned cold.
A gloomy gaze fell on Wang Jinmei. "Auntie, aren't you going to come out and explain? Tell everyone what you did that day?"
The embroidered handkerchief fell to the ground, getting covered in dust. Wang Jinmei didn't have time to care and immediately knelt down. "Xu girl, I was wrong, Xu girl! Please forgive me. I... I was bewitched at the time."
"They, they threatened me. If I don't take you there, they'll kill me!" Wang Jinmei shouted loudly, as if afraid others wouldn't hear her grievances.
The village chief and the others were completely dumbfounded, looking at Wang Jinmei on the ground and then at Xu Nian.
In the end, she chose to believe Xu Nian's words, "This, fortune teller, has Wang Jinmei done something to offend you again?"
"Offend?" Xu Nian sneered. "That morning, my aunt ran in from outside and said, 'Uncle Village Chief, you're about to be beaten to death,' and asked me to go and save you..."
He told everything in detail, without embellishment or concealment.
The villagers who heard this were filled with shame, while Gu Zhan's eyes were chillingly cold. Having just learned the reason behind it all, he wished he could skin Wang Jinmei alive on the spot to vent his hatred!
"You! You!" The village chief pointed at Wang Jinmei, his hand trembling. "You woman! You always have such a sharp tongue, making the fortune teller angry, and he doesn't even hold it against you?! Yet you don't know how to be grateful, you repay kindness with enmity, and you've harmed her like this?!"
He was so angry he nearly vomited blood. He paced aimlessly around the room several times until he finally spotted the blank letter on the table. "If I keep you here any longer, who knows what trouble you'll cause. From this day forward, our marriage is over. You can't stay here!"
Xu Nian raised an eyebrow. Was the village chief doing this to save Wang Jinmei's life?
Unfortunately, the person in question wouldn't appreciate it.
"You...you're going to divorce me?!" The blank paper didn't have many words written on it, and Wang Jinmei didn't recognize the words. She only recognized the word "divorce," and then she collapsed to the ground as if all her strength had been drained. "What right do you have to divorce me?!"
"Even if I haven't done anything particularly meritorious for your Zhao family, I've certainly put in a lot of effort. And today, because of this, you're going to divorce me?!"
The village chief, cold-faced and heartless, was filled with grief and indignation. "A vicious woman like you, who dares to betray even her own benefactor, how can I dare to keep you?! Get out of here now!"
"You! Fine, I'll get out!" Wang Jinmei stood up, clutching the divorce papers, her face a mixture of resentment and grievance.
She turned to leave, but Xu Nian was not willing to let her go so easily. "Wait, Auntie, don't be in such a hurry. This matter is not over yet. It's not too late to wait a little longer."
The autumn sun outside was still dazzling, but Wang Jinmei felt a chill run down her spine as she stood at the doorway. "What else is there?! I'm already like this, aren't you satisfied?!"
“I’m not satisfied.” Xu Nian said, enunciating each word clearly. “I almost lost my life, and the villagers suffered heavy casualties. How can I be satisfied?!”
He glanced at the village chief almost imperceptibly, and the man was so ashamed he wanted to disappear into the ground.
The villagers then realized that Wang An claimed to be a man of the Third Prince, and Wang Jinmei was colluding with the Third Prince's men to try to kill Xu Nian. Didn't that mean their misfortune was also related to Wang Jinmei?!
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