Chapter 4

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“No, no, no—Are you crazy, woman? Put the knife down quickly, killing someone is a capital offense, and your family only has you left. If something happens to you, how can I explain it to your parents!”

“Let me go, I’m going to fight them to the death.”

...

The situation took a 360-degree turn. The woman, dressed in mourning clothes, with a few strands of black hair falling down, raised a firewood knife, her face twisted in a fierce expression, and screamed like a madwoman.

Han Yi, on the other hand, clung tightly to the woman’s slender waist, desperately trying to stop her from rushing forward.

The villagers, watching from the side, were drenched in cold sweat, frozen in shock. Since the woman came to Plum Village, they had always thought of her as well-mannered, gentle, and beautiful, never imagining she had such a fierce side. She could easily be called a shrew!

The thugs had already rushed over, but their target was Han Yi. Seeing the woman suddenly raise the knife, they were caught off guard and retreated, taking five or six steps back.

This woman is really strong. Han Yi, struggling with the woman who might or might not be his wife, found it extremely difficult. He cursed inwardly, weren’t ancient women supposed to be virtuous and gentle? Why did I encounter such a fierce woman as soon as I got here? Is this heaven's way of destroying me, or did I not study history well enough?

He had just woken up, having been unconscious for three days, and had just experienced a roller coaster of emotions. His body was very weak, and he was reaching his limit, about to lose his grip. He urgently called out, “Fatty, you guys better leave quickly. This woman is crazy, I can’t hold her much longer. Come back for the money another day!”

“Oh, okay, okay, we’ll come back next time. Be careful, okay?”

Wang Bao was already terrified, nodding frantically, and was about to leave with his four or five henchmen. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, finding something odd about the situation, especially coming from Han Yi. He turned around, looking suspiciously at the couple struggling at the door.

His henchmen, facing this room full of mad people, had already decided to retreat. After all, Wang Bao wouldn’t be the one to charge forward; they would be the ones to take the hit. One of them said, “Young Master, it’s not safe to stay here. Let’s go quickly.”

Wang Bao, hearing this, was furious and slapped the man on the head, cursing, “You bunch of good-for-nothings, they’re obviously trying to scare us. Can’t you see that—”

But before he could finish, there was a “bang” above his head.

A firewood knife was nailed to the clothesline pole behind Wang Bao, vibrating and making a “buzzing” sound.

Wang Bao swallowed hard, slowly lifting his head, his forehead directly facing the sharp blade, which was just inches away. A large sweat drop rolled down his forehead. This is really a matter of life and death!

The villagers all widened their eyes, looking at the knife in disbelief.

Damn! You’re really that fierce, huh? I was just joking, and you took it seriously. Han Yi was also drenched in cold sweat. He never expected this woman to be so fierce, even more so than him. She was really going to kill someone.

The man beside him trembled, “Y-Young Master, t-they don’t seem to be faking it.”

“Oh no—Murder! Murder!”

Wang Bao shuddered, scared out of his wits, and screamed, crawling out of the door, his fat body suddenly becoming agile.

“Fatso, if you have the guts, don’t run. I’ll kill you today.”

The beautiful woman, though unarmed, continued to curse.

At this moment, a hoarse voice came from a distance, “Young Master Wang, Young Master Wang, sorry, sorry, I’m late.”

An old man, about sixty years old, with white hair and beard, dressed in a gray Confucian robe, waved his hand and ran over, panting.

“Old Xu, you’re finally here. Han Yi and his wife are plotting to kill me.”

Wang Bao, seeing the old man, ran over and said excitedly.

“What—What did you say?”

Old Xu, who seemed to have some hearing problems, leaned in and shouted.

“I said someone is trying to kill me.”

Wang Bao almost roared, his fat face turning red.

“What? Someone is trying to kill you? Who is so bold to commit murder in broad daylight? This is outrageous.”

Old Xu, spitting out saliva, looked righteous, as if he were the embodiment of justice.

“It’s Han Yi and his wife.”

“Han Yi? How is that possible?”

Old Xu, upon hearing Han Yi’s name, immediately shook his head, disbelieving. Indeed, the old Han Yi was weak and timid, afraid even to kill a chicken. How could he possibly kill someone? Who would believe that?

“If you don’t believe me, look—where’s the knife?”

When Wang Bao turned around, the knife on the wooden pillar was gone. He looked toward the door and saw Han Yi sitting there, leaning back, panting heavily.

The fierce woman, on the other hand, was now covering her face and crying, “Wah, my life is so hard!” and rushed into the house.

It was as if everything that had just happened was a hallucination.

Damn! You’re just leaving like that? What about me? This trouble is all your fault, and now I have to deal with it alone? You said we would kill together, how unrighteous. Han Yi rolled his eyes, feeling extremely angry, but he was so exhausted that he didn’t have the energy to argue.

Old Xu looked at the door, then at Wang Bao, confused.

“What are you looking at me for? They were really trying to kill me with a knife.”

Wang Bao, unable to contain his anger, pointed at the villagers, “These peasants all saw it.”

The villagers looked up at the sky, down at the ground, but none of them stepped forward to speak. I can’t provoke you, so I’ll just avoid you.

“You—”

Wang Bao, seeing this, was furious, thinking, well, you dare to oppose me, you’ll regret it. He shouted, “I’ll settle this with you later. Old Xu, you must uphold justice and make the Han family pay me back.”

“Sure, sure.”

Old Xu nodded repeatedly, slowly walking toward the Han family.

Since Han Yi no longer had the knife and Old Xu was there, Wang Bao was no longer afraid. He lifted his fat face, hands on his hips, and strutted forward, as if he wanted everyone to know how arrogant he was.

“Greetings, Old Xu!”

The villagers, seeing Old Xu approach, all bowed respectfully.

Old Xu’s real name was Xu Wang, a local from Plum Village and a scholar. Although he had failed the imperial exams for decades, the villagers still respected him and called him Old Xu. He was often called to mediate disputes in the village, and his words were trusted by the villagers. As a scholar, he was respected and had a good reputation in the surrounding areas, essentially making him the village chief of Plum Village.

Before Han Yi could speak, Yang Lin was already agitated, “Old Xu, you came just in time. Brother Han’s body is still warm, and Young Master Wang is already here to snatch people. This is really bullying us. You must stand up for us in Plum Village!”

“Have you peasants ever read books? Debts must be repaid, it’s only right. If you can’t pay, you should offer yourself as collateral, not call it snatching.”

Wang Bao, nose in the air, looked down on them.

Yang Lin snorted, “We’ve lived in the same village with Brother Han for decades and have never seen him borrow money from anyone, not even heard of it. How could he have borrowed money from you?”

“You should ask him!”

Wang Bao glared, then pulled out a white cloth with writing on it, “Look, look, this is the IOU from Han Dashi, with his fingerprint, and Old Xu was the witness.”

The villagers were shocked and looked at Old Xu.

Old Xu nodded, “Fellow villagers, this is true. Dashi did borrow 700 coins from the Wang family half a month ago and promised to repay 1000 coins after the autumn harvest.”

The villagers looked at Han Yi.

Damn, can I trust these memories? Han Yi was still sitting on the ground, wiping sweat, and said awkwardly, “It seems there was something like that!”