Captain Ou tugged on Secretary Yang’s arm and asked in a low voice, "How do we clean this up?"
"Who asked you to come?" Secretary Yang threw the blame back.
"Weren't you just looking for some excitement?"
"And now you're caught in the crossfire?"
Tian Jing: "..." Could these two keep their whispers any louder?
She turned around, hands behind her back, and walked towards the yard. "Li Min, take your basket and go home. Li Zhengguo, tidy up the fence and check with Suo Zhu if the shed is damaged."
"Yes, sister-in-law," Li Min replied crisply. Her sister-in-law was truly capable.
"Okay."
Li Zhengguo’s response was also loud. He then waved at everyone. "You can all go back. My family's vegetable shed was built in the wrong place. From now on, I won't be planting anything on this third of an acre by the door. I'll set up tables and chairs for you all to watch the play later."
The villagers were collectively speechless. After regaining their senses, they all turned and ran towards Ku River. Was Lin Sanlai's body still there?
Captain Ou gave Li Zhengguo an apologetic smile. "From now on, I won't get involved in anything concerning Accountant Li's family."
"Me neither," Secretary Yang chimed in.
In the end, only Accountant Li's family remained.
Tian Jing glanced through the toppled fence and asked Accountant Li, "Accountant Li, are you hoping I'll execute the 'cripple them and ask no questions' rule? Zhang Fangcao has provoked me how many times, and Li Aiguo, following her around, has also provoked me more than just once."
Accountant Li's face was full of bitterness. "I, I just wanted to apologize to you."
"There's no need. Our two families should have gone their separate ways after settling things. Now, we've become enemies."
Tian Jing found this Li family as annoying as a sticky candy and didn't give Accountant Li any face. She then turned to Li Aiguo. "Li Aiguo, your intentions are written all over your face."
"I don't care if Zhang Fangcao's plan today involved you or not, but I'm giving you one last chance. After all, ignorance is bliss, and this is the only chance you'll get."
"I am not someone you can covet. Openly, if all the men in this world were dead, you would still have no chance. Secretly, you can unleash your worst, and see what your final outcome will be."
"Also, you'd best change the foundation of the fourth house to the west. Seeing you is like seeing maggots in a toilet, and both male and female ones at that, it's too disgusting."
"Haha, sister-in-law, you're wrong. Maggots don't have genders," Li Min laughed heartily from the yard.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Then it's even more disgusting, neither male nor female."
Humiliated like this, Accountant Li couldn't bear to stay any longer. He patted his eldest son's arm and turned to leave.
Hu Hongju also left with her eldest daughter-in-law.
Only Li Aiguo and his wife stood there, unwilling to leave.
"Oh? Are you unhappy that I didn't see you out? Alright, I'll see you out."
"Don't come any closer."
Zhang Fangcao turned to run, but how could she outrun Tian Jing? With a swift kick, she sent her flying home, very convenient.
Turning around, she saw Li Aiguo running towards the end of the village. Li Zhengguo had already caught up and pulled him back.
He pushed Li Aiguo towards Tian Jing. "Tiantian, give him a send-off."
"Okay."
Accountant Li's family of four hadn't gone far when they heard a 'whoosh' sound, followed by a figure screaming as they flew by.
Just as they recognized it as Zhang Fangcao's voice, another figure flew past.
"Her father," Hu Hongju couldn't help but feel distressed seeing her younger son's silhouette.
Accountant Li stopped and turned. "Hu Hongju, do you want to go back to your mother's house?"
Hu Hongju froze. Her husband calling her by her full name meant he was angry.
"Aiguo is spoiled by you. He dares to have ideas about Tian Jing. Is he worthy? Tian Jing's martial prowess could crush him like an ant."
"When we get home, immediately kick him and his wife out of the house. Let them go wherever they want. I don't want a son like this who doesn't know his place and causes trouble."
Accountant Li retorted to his wife, still feeling stifled. "Jianguo, help me to the secretary's house."
Hu Hongju returned home with a grim expression. One lay by the doorstep, and another lay in the yard, both groaning in pain.
Li Aiguo, lying by the door, moaned louder when he saw his mother return. "Mom, Tian Jing that woman has gone too far. She, she directly kicked me back here."
Hu Hongju turned around, intending to argue with Tian Jing. This was bullying people with martial arts.
"Mom," Huang Sulan grabbed her mother-in-law's arm. "Tian Jing has warned you countless times. Dad also agreed to 'cripple them and ask no questions.' Mom, think about it, Tian Jing is so powerful in martial arts, and she's said this more than once, right?"
"What does this represent? It means she's given you chance after chance. She's given Dad too much face. Today, sister-in-law again brought Mom and Dad to provoke her, and she still gave Dad face."
"Mom, why would someone with such high martial arts, a hidden expert in our mountain village, be so bored as to provoke sister-in-law?"
"Is it that Li Zhengguo still misses sister-in-law? Or is her beauty inferior to sister-in-law's? Would she even glance at someone inferior to her in every aspect?"
"Lin Guangde of the Lin family also has considerable martial arts, doesn't he? He usually doesn't provoke others, right? He only gets aggressive when others interfere in his family matters or speak ill of him, right?"
"People who practice martial arts have their own bottom lines, Mom. Tian Jing is not an ordinary person. Ordinary people get angry when their bottom lines are repeatedly crossed, let alone someone like her, a master?"
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean? Are you implying I provoked Tian Jing?" Zhang Fangcao stopped groaning and crawled up to argue with Huang Sulan.
"Implying?" Huang Sulan sneered. "I'm not like you; I only speak directly. Mom, think carefully, every time you've clashed with Tian Jing, didn't sister-in-law provoke her first?"
"Sister-in-law, you used to be a virtuous and benevolent person. How did you change after Tian Jing arrived? Are you jealous of Tian Jing? Is it her beauty or her man? What have you done with Aiguo and the Li family's reputation?"
"Huang Sulan! You're slandering me..."
"Slap!" A slap interrupted her words. She covered her face, looking at her mother-in-law in surprise. "Mom?"
"Slap!" Hu Hongju slapped her again. "You wretched woman, you've been gone for three years. After we exposed your lies, you've targeted Tian Jing and Li Min everywhere. Why don't you target Li Zhengguo? Why! Tell me!"
Hu Hongju gritted her teeth, her face full of grief and indignation. She had married such a promiscuous woman for her younger son.
"Mom!" Zhang Fangcao's face was full of shame and anger. "Mom, you believe sister-in-law? I didn't target them; they targeted me."
"Yes," Huang Sulan replied nonchalantly. "They targeted you first."
"Mom, look, sister-in-law knows too."
"Yes, I know. Not only I know, but the whole village knows," Huang Sulan said with a disdainful smile. "Everyone knows they exposed your true colors at Li Min's house, so you hate them."
"If we hadn't exposed you, would you have hidden at her house every day, calling out 'Brother Zhengguo~ Brother Zhengguo~' to her every day, and coaxing Li Min to be your pawn?"
"You took everyone for fools, letting them be manipulated by you. You targeted those who weren't foolish."
Zhang Fangcao thought Huang Sulan was defending her, but unexpectedly, she was making her look even more ridiculous.
"Huang Sulan, you're retaliating against me because I didn't do housework."
"Hmph! You're something else, to twist the topic like that. Zhang Fangcao, don't think too highly of yourself. Retaliate against you? That would dirty my hands."
"Just like Tian Jing didn't want to deal with you, but you insisted on going over to bounce around, so she had to step out and tread on you, lest you forget your own name, you toad."