Chapter 10: Extreme Heat

Jiang Si was dying to know how Qin Shen would deal with Zhang Dingtian and Zhang Jing. She held her breath and quietly shifted to another peephole to keep watching.

Qin Shen walked toward them step by step, a blood-stained military knife still in his hand. Zhang Dingtian scrambled to his feet in terror and hastily explained, “We didn’t know you had taken over this place. If we had known, we’d never have dared to climb over the wall! Please, I’m begging you—just let us go this once!”

Zhang Jing’s gaze fell on the two wild boars behind Qin Shen. Enduring the pain, he forced a smile and said, “Big bro, we really didn’t mean any harm. This house has been vacant for so long, and our own place was burned down—we had no choice but to break in. If you don’t mind, we can help you cure the meat, work for you—just give our family one room, that’s all!”

They had no idea Qin Shen was the son of Qin Songming.

Qin Shen stared at them deeply and spat out one word: “Scram.”

Zhang Jing had no desire to live under the same roof as someone so dangerous anyway. “Okay, okay, we’re leaving…”

They limped out of the courtyard, humiliated. Jiang Si was a little surprised. She had clearly seen intense killing intent in Qin Shen’s eyes, yet he had still let them go.

That said, it meant his moral bottom line was still intact—for now, at least, he didn’t pose a threat to her family.

Jiang Si put away her binoculars and turned to head downstairs. What she didn’t see was Qin Shen, now standing still, suddenly turning his gaze in her direction. His pitch-black eyes gleamed with a cold, fragmented light, and his face was unreadably somber.

Back in the village, Zhang Dingtian and Zhang Jing returned defeated. Zhao Yun, refusing to give up, turned to Grandpa Xu—an elderly villager who had stayed behind. After much begging, and since Grandpa Xu needed someone to care for him, he finally agreed to let them move into his house.

When Jiang Linhai kindly brought them supplies, Zhao Yun had the nerve to complain that the items weren’t complete and even wanted Jiang Linhai to help haul over several large water tanks.

Jiang Si completely ignored her and pulled Jiang Linhai away.

On their way home, the ground was more cracked than ever. The rice fields had peeled open, forming twisted, gaping mouths in the earth.

Jiang Si took out a meteorological-grade thermometer to measure the air temperature.

Whoosh—it shot up to 60°C.

At this rate, the Longquan River would likely dry up soon.

When that happened, the villagers would descend into panic and resort to plundering water resources.

Jiang Si decided to fill all the purified water buckets in her space and then stay home permanently.

She and Jiang Linhai arrived at the Longquan River and saw that the water level had dropped significantly again. On the now-exposed riverbed, many fish were flopping around, dying.

Villagers were frantically collecting them under the blazing sun. Some had developed huge blisters on their faces, looking like they had contracted some horrific disease.

Seeing this, Jiang Si and Jiang Linhai knew they had to act crazy too—to blend in.

They exchanged a glance and chose a spot in the riverbed with less mud to move toward the center.

Wearing rubber boots, they had only taken a few steps when they spotted a huge carp.

If they dried it or salted it into preserved fish, it could last one to two years.

Although Jiang Si had her spatial storage, resources still needed to be replenished eventually.

Jiang Linhai picked up the fish and put it in the basket. In the blink of an eye, he saw another large carp stranded in the mud.

He walked over in a few strides, but his foot squished something that burst with a sickening pop, followed by a series of crunchy, wet sounds—enough to make your scalp crawl.

Jiang Linhai assumed it was fish eggs and didn’t pay it any mind, continuing to collect fish.

Jiang Si, standing on a rock, had just caught a few more fish and reached the center of the river.

She reached out to fill the buckets in her space. But the moment her fingers touched the water, she saw countless transparent bubbles with a tinge of red floating in the water.

Looking closer, the water was densely packed with these unknown bubbles.

And the red dots inside them were… wiggling.

Mosquito eggs.

Jiang Si’s face instantly paled. She jumped to her feet so fast it startled Ying Cui, who had been sneaking up behind her to push her into the river.

In her past life, the sudden appearance of mosquito swarms had been horrifying—like bloodthirsty vampires. If a door or window wasn’t sealed tight, they’d pour in and suck a person dry in seconds.

Some mosquitoes even carried viruses. One bite, and you’d be afflicted with bizarre, incurable illnesses.

Jiang Si still got chills recalling the time her family was hiding inside while swarms of mosquitoes buzzed outside, slamming against the door like a battering ram.

With the heat rising so quickly, it looked like the mosquitoes were about to hatch early.

She had to go home and reinforce their defenses immediately.

Jiang Si called to Jiang Linhai to hurry home. But Ying Cui arrogantly blocked her path, hands on her hips, pointing at the fish in Jiang Si’s basket.

“You people grow more crops than anyone in this village. You have the most grain stored—yet you’re still trying to fight us for fish? Put it down!”

There were fish everywhere—yet Ying Cui singled out Jiang Si, clearly picking a fight on purpose.

Behind Ying Cui stood her three sons and their wives. No wonder she was acting so smug.

Other villagers, seeing Jiang Si getting bullied, feared Ying Cui might come after their fish too. They quietly backed away.

Only Niu Niu, a little girl from a neighboring village, turned to the forest ranger Lu Zhifeng and said, “Daddy, they’re bullying big sis!”

Lu Zhifeng hesitated. Jiang Linhai saw his daughter being threatened and raised his sickle, roaring, “Ying Cui! Touch my daughter and I swear—I’ll make your whole family pay!”

Ying Cui sneered, “Let’s see who dies first!”

Her sons and daughters-in-law all raised their sickles, confidently and shamelessly ready for violence.

The Longquan River was already overrun with mosquito eggs. Jiang Si didn’t even want the fish anymore—but she wasn’t about to let Ying Cui have them either.

Jiang Si lifted the basket, narrowed her eyes, and said coldly, “You want the fish? Fine. I’ll give them to you.”

Thinking Jiang Si was a pushover, Ying Cui smugly pulled out a pair of scissors and barked, “Last time you cut my hair and almost killed me. Today, either you give me your hair—or you gather 100 jin (50 kg) of fish for me!”

Under the scorching sun, even wading in the water for a short while felt like being boiled alive.

Even if Jiang Si managed to catch 100 jin of fish, she’d lose half her life doing it.

Jiang Linhai grabbed the fish basket and smashed it into Ying Cui’s face.

“You want fish? I’ll give you fish till you choke on it!”

The giant carp flopped around, slapping Ying Cui repeatedly. She fell into the mud, landing right on a pile of mosquito eggs. The popping, squishing sound was enough to make anyone shiver.

But Ying Cui’s sons and daughters-in-law didn’t notice—they just raised their sickles to strike Jiang Linhai and Jiang Si.

Jiang Si hurled the fish basket at their heads, pulled the knife from her waist, and—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Ying Cui’s entire family froze in place, terrified.

Lu Zhifeng’s eyes were sharp. He pointed the black barrel of his gun straight at Ying Cui’s forehead. “Scram.”

No matter how fast their sickles were, they couldn’t beat a bullet.

And once shot, no one could save them.

Before Ying Cui could even get up, her sons and daughters-in-law had already fled without a trace.

Ying Cui collapsed, legs trembling, crying and begging not to be shot as she crawled away on all fours.

The more arrogant she was before, the more pathetic she looked now.

Jiang Si hadn’t needed Lu Zhifeng’s help—but since he stepped in, she’d thank him properly.

She planned to give him ten jin of millet and a chunk of cured meat.

Lu Zhifeng gently patted Niu Niu’s head and said calmly, “Your grandpa once saved my life. He’s gone now. Say goodbye to sister and uncle.”

Niu Niu, sweet as ever, waved her tiny hand with a sunny smile, “Bye-bye, sister and uncle. See you next time!”

Lu Zhifeng had his ranger’s rifle, which kept him and Niu Niu relatively safe—but there were other dangers it couldn’t defend against.

Jiang Si thought for a moment and pointed at the mosquito eggs clearly visible in the puddle. “Uncle Lu, those mosquito eggs are huge and numerous. I think they’ve mutated. Please stock up on mugwort—you’ll need it.”