The shouting outside continued, growing even more aggressive. It sounded like the person was practically jumping as they cursed. Their voice was so loud and forceful that it attracted a crowd of onlookers trying to mediate, including Aunt Li from next door.

“Bah! You shameless hussy! Don’t think I don’t know—your son bullied my child too! I can’t be bothered to settle scores with you right now, and yet you dare lecture me? You really think I’m some weakling who won’t fight back? Get out here now, you little brat, or I’ll tear your house down!”

What followed was a string of crude insults. Le Gui quietly wiped the sweat from her forehead, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

Di Jiang, expressionless, stood up and prepared to go outside. Le Gui and Ah Hua immediately grabbed his arms, one on each side.

“Your Lordship, stay calm!” Le Gui said with a solemn face.

Ah Hua nodded frantically. “Yes, yes! Please, stay calm! Even though this place is separated from the Immortal and Mortal Realms by a barrier, if we cause too much of a commotion, we’ll be discovered!”

“Yeah, we’ll be— Wait, what? There’s a barrier?” Le Gui was bewildered.

Ah Hua was speechless. “You didn’t know? Those people clearly saw us run into the secret realm, yet they still haven’t come after us. Didn’t you find that odd?”

“I thought they were just too scared to chase us. After all, every fighter they had was beaten half to death by Your Lordship. They must have learned their lesson,” Le Gui replied matter-of-factly.

Ah Hua twitched the corner of his mouth, about to mock her, when a cold voice came from above.

“Let go.”

Ah Hua and Le Gui shivered at the cold tone and clung to Di Jiang’s arms even tighter.

Di Jiang: “…”

“You have to promise not to go on a killing spree, or I won’t let go,” Le Gui pleaded.

[Ahhh! Your Lordship, please stay calm! I paid five months’ worth of rent! If you kill someone, we’ll have to leave the village, and my rent money will be wasted!]

Di Jiang frowned. “That’s all you care about?”

Le Gui thought he was mocking her for being cowardly and immediately nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it. Your Lordship, please, have mercy. Don’t kill anyone, okay?”

“Also, don’t use spiritual power to hurt anyone. Mortals are fragile. They won’t survive even a single strike from you,” Ah Hua added.

Le Gui chimed in, “It’d be best if you didn’t do anything at all.”

“Yes, nothing at all,” Ah Hua nodded in agreement.

Just as the words left their mouths, a loud knock suddenly shook the door.

[Damn! I’ve never seen someone so eager to die!]

Le Gui cursed internally. As she considered whether to have Ah Hua scare them away as a ghost, Di Jiang spoke in a calm voice. “Let go. I won’t kill them.”

Le Gui and Ah Hua didn’t move. They continued staring at him.

“I won’t use spiritual power on them either,” Di Jiang added, sounding displeased.

Before he even finished speaking, Le Gui and Ah Hua released him at the same time. Since Le Gui was the only one in their troublemaking duo who could be seen, she eagerly went to open the door.

The person outside hadn’t expected her to open the door so suddenly. They had already raised a fist to pound on it again but ended up punching thin air and falling straight to the ground.

“Ow!”

Aunt Li, who had followed behind, hurried to help them up. “Are you alright?”

“Get your hands off me!” The person angrily shoved her away.

Aunt Li gave an awkward smile and shot Le Gui a look, signaling her to run.

Le Gui forced out a strained smile, but she knew she couldn’t leave. If she did, the man beside her would probably go on a rampage.

The person on the ground was none other than the mother of the first child who threw water at them—the tallest boy from the neighboring village. Judging by her height and features, the boy clearly took after her. Ever since Le Gui transmigrated, she had never seen such a physically imposing woman. Her skin was dark with a reddish hue. In modern terms, she looked… well-nourished and brimming with vitality.

One glance and it was obvious—this was the kind of person who could argue nonstop for three days and nights.

Several neighbors had followed Aunt Li and were trying to calm the woman down. Aunt Li quietly moved closer to Le Gui and whispered, “She’s known as the most notorious shrew within ten miles. People call her ‘Mother Tiger.’ She’s fiercely protective of her son. He can bully others, but no one can lay a finger on him. You beat her son so badly—there’s no way she’ll let this go. You’d better sneak out and come back in a few days.”

“Sneak out?”

Mother Tiger had sharp ears. She immediately climbed to her feet. “I’d like to see anyone try to run—”

Her words cut off the moment she caught sight of Di Jiang’s face.

Born and raised in the countryside, she had only been to town a handful of times and had never seen a man this stunning and dignified. For a moment, she was completely speechless.

After a long pause, she realized she had lost composure. She immediately scoffed. “No wonder. I was wondering what kind of man would allow his woman to straddle another man. Turns out, you’re just a kept pretty boy. No wonder you can’t control your woman.”

[Oh, great. Now she’s resorting to humiliating us like this.]

Le Gui cursed internally. She held onto Di Jiang’s arm and whispered, “She’s just complimenting you for being handsome.”

Di Jiang: “…” Did she take him for a fool?

“You can’t say that! It was Lai Zi and his friends who bullied us first!”

A chubby boy squeezed into the room. He didn’t understand exactly what was being said, but he could tell Le Gui was being insulted and immediately stood up for her.

Mother Tiger instantly lashed out. “How dare you, you little brat! Since when does a child get to interrupt when adults are talking?! My son is the most well-behaved and obedient boy! If you hadn’t provoked him first, why would he have bullied you? It’s obvious this little hussy got tired of the food at home and set her sights on my son—”

“Enough! With so many people here, is there anyone who actually believes your son is well-behaved?”

Le Gui had been holding back for the sake of keeping the peace, thinking she would let the woman vent and be done with it. But the more Mother Tiger spoke, the more outrageous she became. Finally, Le Gui snapped back.

“First of all, your son is barely thirteen or fourteen. He’s still a kid. Secondly, look at your son’s face. Then look at my husband’s. Do you really think I’d abandon my husband for your son?”

Although they weren’t from the same village, everyone here had interacted before and knew what Mother Tiger’s son looked like. The moment Le Gui said this, someone in the crowd couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

As a mother, Mother Tiger naturally thought the world of her son, but she wasn’t blind. Even she couldn’t deny that the man in front of her was far more attractive than her son. Her face immediately turned red with anger.

“I was saying you’re tired of—”

“Tired of the food at home? That doesn’t mean I’d go out and eat shit, does it?” Le Gui countered.

“You—”

“Enough, sister. Let’s all just drop it,” Aunt Li quickly stepped in to mediate. “It’s just a small dispute. There’s no need to make enemies over it.”

“You! All of you!”

Mother Tiger looked around at everyone, then suddenly dropped to the ground and started wailing. “You’re all ganging up on me! The whole village is bullying me! Oh, Heaven, open your eyes and strike these people down with lightning!”

Before her words even finished, a loud clap of thunder suddenly roared outside.

Everyone froze in place.

Mother Tiger, invigorated by this seeming divine response, scrambled to her feet. “Did you hear that? The heavens are about to smite you all!”

“I don’t think… that lightning was meant for us.”

Le Gui quietly linked her arm around Di Jiang’s, signaling him to stay calm.

Di Jiang enjoyed watching a good spectacle, but that didn’t mean he liked being part of one. At this point, his patience was running thin. Feeling the slight tug on his sleeve, he slowly lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable.

Le Gui locked eyes with Di Jiang, and for a moment, she was certain she saw the words “Kill them all, including you” written in his gaze. Alarmed, she quickly said, “The fight already happened. There is no point in making a fuss now. Why don’t you just tell me what you want? You came all the way here. Surely, it’s not just to yell at me.”

Hearing this, the woman’s eyes flickered before she directly stretched out her hand.

Le Gui had expected this. With a stiff expression, she asked, “How much do you want?”

“Five… taels of silver!” The woman had originally intended to ask for five strings of copper coins, but after noticing Le Gui and Di Jiang’s fine clothing, she immediately changed her mind.

Le Gui was stunned. “Five taels?! For what? I just gave him a black eye, and he gave me one in return!”

Di Jiang’s gaze shifted slightly as he glanced at the bruise around her eye.

“My son hasn’t married or had children yet. Can you, a lowly girl, compare to him? If his face is ruined, who will be willing to marry him? If his entire future is destroyed, can you take responsibility?” the woman shouted.

Le Gui curled her lips. “Even if his face isn’t ruined, I doubt he’ll have an easy time finding a wife. Girls aren’t blind. Who would want to marry an idle troublemaker?”

“Enough. Just tell me, are you paying or not?” The woman had learned by now that she couldn’t let Le Gui steer the conversation. Otherwise, this matter would never end.

Le Gui glanced at Di Jiang. Seeing that he remained indifferent, she reluctantly nodded. “Fine, fine, I’ll pay. Happy now?”

She gave in so easily?

In rural villages, five taels of silver was a fortune. The other villagers immediately tried to dissuade her, saying even if she reported it to the authorities, it wouldn’t be considered a serious matter. But Le Gui thought that if she could settle this with money, it would be for the best. Otherwise, if things dragged on, everyone here might lose their lives.

She retrieved her coin pouch and openly started searching for the silver in front of everyone. The woman’s eyes lit up at the sound of clinking coins. While she was thrilled about the money she was about to receive, she also regretted not asking for more.

Still, since they were on the other party’s turf, pushing too far might result in losing everything. The woman rubbed her hands together, eagerly watching Le Gui.

As Le Gui focused on finding a five-tael silver ingot, Di Jiang suddenly asked, “The injury on your eye was from her son?”

“Yes,” Le Gui replied absentmindedly as she continued rummaging.

Di Jiang’s gaze turned toward the woman. Mother Tiger flinched, feeling a sudden unease. “W-what are you looking at?”

She was nervous for a moment, but then quickly dismissed the thought. What was there to be afraid of? He was just a pretty boy.

“Where is your son?” Di Jiang asked.

The woman straightened her back. “Right outside.”

Hearing this, she immediately turned toward the door and shouted, “Husband, bring our son in!”

Le Gui paused and looked up. A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties entered, bringing with him the boy she had fought earlier.

“…So you’re her husband?” Le Gui looked at the man, unimpressed. “Since you’re already here, why didn’t you come in with her? Why let her charge ahead on her own?”

The man avoided her gaze. After a long pause, he muttered, “It’s not a big deal. A woman can handle it.”

Le Gui had finally found the five taels of silver. Hearing this, she rolled her eyes.

“Enough talking,” the woman snapped, yanking her son forward and pointing at his bruised eye. “See? I’m not trying to scam you.”

“That’s right. Stop wasting time and just pay up!” the man echoed, trying to act fierce. Their son stood between them, putting on a pitiful and innocent act.