Huaishui Village

Lin Hanzhi and Miao Yue exchanged a meaningful glance. Miao Yue drew her saber and stepped forward. In just a few smooth, flowing moves, she suppressed the old village chief who had been acting arrogant just moments ago, rendering him unable to move, and pushed him back down onto the guest chair.

"Speak properly," Miao Yue's voice was still sweet, but her eyes flashed with a coldness inherited from Lin Hanzhi, her words carrying a clear threat.

The old village chief was still shaken. Looking at the cute, obedient-looking girl in front of him, his wrists throbbed with numbness.

*Hiss...* One had to know he was a man who did farm work all year round, yet his strength was actually inferior to a young girl's?

He felt deeply humiliated.

Qi Gu took a step forward and simply said, "I ask, you answer."

The old village chief was stunned, but under Miao Yue's threatening gaze, he had no choice but to nod. "I'll answer, I'll answer... I will definitely answer."

"What is the origin of the name Huaishui Village?"

"Our... the main water source of our village flows from the Huai River. The Huai River is the most important water resource in our Hua Country... The previous village chief named it after that."

"Why did you help us?"

"Who said I was helping you?" The old village chief's face turned sour. "I told you to get lost!"

Qi Gu said, "I know you don't dare to speak. It doesn't matter. Our purpose in coming here this time is to resolve the situation."

The old village chief's scolding stopped abruptly, his expression turning solemn. "You... you all know about it?"

"That thing is very fierce. Will you be alright?" The old village chief looked worried, scanning the newly arrived group. He felt they were just a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears youngsters whose strength surely wasn't outstanding.

"Rest assured," Qi Gu said indifferently, his tone firm and reassuring.

"Then how about staying at my house first? My house has plenty of rooms upstairs." As soon as the old village chief finished speaking, the staff and guests looked at him with somewhat complex expressions.

He realized something and suddenly explained, "The money to renovate my house didn't come from the village. It was all sent back by my son who works outside... He insisted on me renovating the house. He doesn't know about the village's situation. I purposely hid it from him and didn't let him come back."

The old village chief spoke, then looked at his daughter-in-law beside him. "Chunhua, go see if there are enough blankets and pillows in the house. I want to host these guests."

Qian Chunhua turned to leave upon hearing this, but Qi Gu suddenly said to Miao Yue, "Hold her!"

Miao Yue was even more obedient to Qi Gu than to Lin Hanzhi. She followed his orders unconditionally, immediately pinning Qian Chunhua's arm behind her back and pressing her down.

The plump woman struggled relentlessly, but she was completely unable to break free from Miao Yue's restraint.

The old village chief did not understand the meaning of this and hurriedly tried to help his daughter-in-law. "What is the meaning of this? My daughter-in-law just finished her postpartum confinement. How can her body take such rough handling!"

"Is she really your daughter-in-law? Think carefully. You didn't want your son to return, so why would you agree to let your daughter-in-law bring your grandson back to this village for confinement?" Qi Gu asked coldly.

The old village chief felt as if he had been struck on the head, his expression dazed. "How could she not be my daughter-in-law? She even gave birth to a child for our family... A plump baby boy, weighing about eight catties..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly ran upstairs. Before long, his face turned pale as he carried down a chick wrapped in swaddling clothes. "I... how did my grandson turn into a chicken? And a baby chick at that!"

Lin Hanzhi leaned close behind Qi Gu, his peach blossom eyes curving. "Of course, because it was originally a chicken. Look at what is on your daughter-in-law's body."

Qian Chunhua, who was pinned down, had quite a few yellow chick feathers on her. Hearing this, she glared fiercely at Lin Hanzhi.

Lin Hanzhi shrunk behind Qi Gu's back like a victimized little wife and complained, "It's glaring at me!"

Pubu Gesang found this scene relatively easy to digest, but Miao Yue couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Qian Chunhua: ?

No, did both of them completely ignore its existence? "So what if I glare at you? And you, what are you laughing at?!"

As it spoke, its body suddenly expanded, its features turning ferocious. It grew animalistic features and fangs, and fur covered its face. It was actually a two-meter-tall weasel.

Seeing the plump daughter-in-law he had lived with for a month suddenly turn into such a giant beast, the old village chief's entire body went numb. He stammered "you, you, you" for a long time but couldn't utter a full sentence.

"Dad, once I deal with these fools who don't value their lives, I'll still be your daughter-in-law. Our family is having chicken tonight. Don't worry, I absolutely won't eat you. The chickens you raise are the best in the area!" The wild weasel's voice was sharp, shifting from a female voice to a male one. It opened its fangs to face Qi Gu, but before its mouth could fully open, Miao Yue leaped onto its neck and knocked out its two sharpest fangs with a single strike of her blade.

"Eat chicken? Eat congee instead," Miao Yue sneered. "If you don't want to be beaten to the point where you can't even drink congee, turn back obediently."

The weasel covered its mouth with its paws and quietly reverted to its original form—a weasel only slightly larger than a cat and smaller than a dog, tucking its tail.

"Don't hit me, don't hit me! I only wanted to trick you out of some chickens to eat, so I bewitched this old man into thinking I was his daughter-in-law!" The weasel's survival instinct kicked in instantly.

Having thought his family was growing, only to have his joy dashed, the old village chief's face turned green. "You little rascal! No wonder you urged me to slaughter chickens every day—stewed today, roasted tomorrow, fried the day after! So you're a transformed weasel... and a male one at that!"

"Dad! Aside from eating some chickens, I didn't do anything bad! I even helped you clean the house! Isn't the house much cleaner than before?" The weasel said aggrievedly. "Please persuade them to let me go. In the future, I'll still help you clean up. Just give me a chicken leg each time!"

Seeing that the old village chief was unmoved, the weasel continued, "If I hadn't eaten chickens every day and poured chicken blood outside the house to ward off evil, you would have been targeted by that thing long ago!"