Chapter 7

The night was already deep, but tonight, at the entrance of Nanlin Village, many villagers had gathered. Tonight was the day they were supposed to go to Taoli Village to dig a water channel.

Calculating the time, the villagers who went to dig the water channel should be returning soon.

"Look, they’re coming, they’re coming."

Suddenly, someone in the crowd whispered, and soon almost all the villagers heard a chaotic sound of footsteps approaching. They could vaguely see several figures walking towards the village entrance.

"It’s Uncle Chen and the others, quick, light the lamps!"

Tonight happened to be a cloudy day, with the sky dark and no stars visible. It was precisely because of this that the village decided to dig the water channel today.

Soon, two villagers lit up lanterns, and the village entrance instantly became bright. At this moment, the five villagers who went to Taoli Village to dig the water channel returned.

"Hmm?"

Lin Yiming, already a mid-stage Spirit Induction martial artist, had much better eyesight than the other villagers. He immediately noticed that the five returning villagers were all walking abnormally. Everyone was staggering and supporting each other as they walked back.

Especially the oldest, Uncle Chen, who was almost being carried back by the others.

On the faces of the five, there were already large bruises, and their clothes were stained with dried blood. Even on Uncle Chen’s face, there was a piece of gray cloth, which had been dyed red.

Soon, all the villagers could clearly see their appearance.

"Uncle, were you discovered?" A strong young man in the village, seeing Uncle Chen’s condition, quickly ran to him and supported him with both hands. He was Uncle Chen’s nephew. The Chen family was one of the largest families in Nanlin Village, second only to the Lin family.

"Ah..." Uncle Chen sighed, but before he could speak, the most impatient villager, Zhang Laowu, interrupted, "Uncle Chen, if you were discovered, why didn’t you run away quickly? If you were discovered, so be it. We can always go dig again next time, but it’s better than getting beaten up."

"Run? We wanted to run, but where could we run to!"

"Can’t run? Could it be that they sent dozens of people to guard the dam? That’s impossible, right? They also need to farm. Sending six or seven people to guard the dam is already a lot." Zhang Laowu frowned upon hearing Uncle Chen’s words, "It can’t be that they knew about our operation tonight in advance, right?"

"No, no, don’t think too much." Uncle Chen waved his hand and then pointed with one finger, "There was only one person guarding the dam."

"One person?" All the villagers were shocked, "How could one person beat you up like this? Unless that person is a martial artist, otherwise the one who got beaten would be him. Even Li Laoer, the strongest in Taoli Village, couldn’t beat all five of you!"

Facing the villagers' doubts, Uncle Chen said, "That person is indeed a martial artist!"

"Martial artist? Impossible!"

"It’s impossible. Although Taoli Village has geniuses, there are no martial artists in the village now."

"That’s right. If Taoli Village had a martial artist chosen by another sect, we wouldn’t know. With their style, if a martial artist appeared in their village, they would be afraid that no one would know and would spread the news everywhere."

"That person is indeed a martial artist, and you all know him." Uncle Chen slowly said, "Do you remember the big event that happened in Taoli Village twelve years ago?"

"Twelve years ago? Uncle Chen, are you talking about the event where the village chief of Taoli Village was replaced?" Someone in the village thought for a moment and said, "Twelve years ago, the village chief of Taoli Village was Li Sanshui. He found a way to sell the village’s grain at a high price. Then his son, Li Yan, stole all the money and ran away to another place."

"Because of this, Li Sanshui was removed from his position, and the current village chief of Taoli Village was appointed. Also because of this, Taoli Village struggled for about five years. Their land is rented from a high official in the town."

"Yes, I’m talking about this. Tonight, the person we met was Li Yan, who fled twelve years ago. Li Yan not only returned but also became a peak late-stage Spirit Lock martial artist. We were about to start digging the water channel when he appeared and beat us down with just a few punches and kicks."

Uncle Chen recounted their experience tonight, "He said that he used the money from back then to learn martial arts and had just returned after completing his training. He was in a good mood upon seeing his family. Since it was the first time he discovered us, he let us off with a warning. If it happens again, he will make the whole village suffer."

All the villagers fell silent. With a martial artist, and a peak late-stage Spirit Lock martial artist at that, what could they do!

Lin Yiming stood in the crowd, his hands involuntarily clenching. Taoli Village was simply too overbearing. If the villagers went to dig the water channel and were discovered, they could just be driven away. Did they need to use such heavy-handed methods? Especially Uncle Chen, who was nearly sixty years old, could he withstand such a beating?

Don’t think that Uncle Chen looks fine now; who knows if he will have any long-term health issues. Besides, the villagers going to dig the water channel was not wrong.

The Zhurong River was not the private property of Taoli Village. The Zhurong River flowed through five villages, and all five villages had been using the river water.

But Taoli Village built a dam to block the river, preventing the downstream villages from using the water, which was already wrong.

Upstream from Taoli Village, there were three other villages, and none of them had built dams to block the water.

Now, when their village tried to negotiate, Taoli Village refused to release the water. When they secretly went to dig the dam, they were beaten. They were trying to force their village to the brink of death.

It was hateful that their village now had a peak late-stage Spirit Lock expert. The Spirit Lock stage was just below the Martial Dao Spirit Heart stage. A peak late-stage Spirit Lock martial artist was two major stages higher than himself. He was no match for the other side.

Lin Yiming clenched his fists tighter, determined to train harder. He must become a Martial Dao Spirit Heart expert and take revenge for Uncle Chen and the village!

As Lin Yiming was making a silent vow, someone in the village spoke up again.

"Now, what should we do? The village has no water source, and the crops are failing. We can’t pay the land rent, and even the villagers will have nothing to eat."

"Ah, if there’s no other way, we can only go to the town to work as day laborers."

"Working as day laborers is not a solution. It’s the off-season now, and the town doesn’t need many day laborers."

"Even if it’s just a chance, it’s better than starving to death."

Lin Yiming listened to the villagers’ words and suddenly stepped out of the crowd, saying, "Uncles and aunts, listen to me. I have some money. With this money, we can buy some grain in the town. We should be able to get through this difficult time."