Chapter 25: Meeting That Young Girl

Mu Gushan said indifferently, "What is there to be soft-hearted about? Since she is a money-losing burden, I would have no way to survive if I didn't sell her."

Village Chief Xu sighed. Since the Mu family had already said as much, he found it difficult to intervene further.

Steward Lin, not wanting to delay any longer, ordered his men to drag Mu Daya away.

Mu Daya wailed in despair, "Father, Mother, I don't want to go to the Lin family! I don't want to die! Please, save me, save me!"

Seeing this, Madam Qian’s heart broke. Suddenly, she picked up a sharp shard of broken tile, held it to her own throat, and said with grim determination, "If you don't release my daughter, I will die right in front of you."

Yu Jinzhen frowned. Although Madam Qian was not a person of high moral character, she was at least a capable mother.

Mu Gushan scowled, "What nonsense are you spouting? If you keep causing a scene, I’ll divorce you!"

Madam Qian gave a bitter laugh. "I’m not even afraid of death; why would I fear being divorced? Regardless, if my daughter is sold today, I will die."

Steward Lin glanced at Mu Daya, unwilling to give up. "If you want to die, then die. It’s your own suicide; it has nothing to do with me."

With that, he signaled his attendants to take the girl and leave.

Madam Qian gritted her teeth, truly ready to slash her throat.

Seeing this, Mu Gushan threatened, "If you dare to slit your throat, I’ll sell your other two daughters as well!"

Madam Qian stiffened, and could only watch in despair as her daughter was dragged away.

"Wuwu... Daya, my poor Daya!"

Madam He grew annoyed at the sight of Madam Qian. "Enough. Daya is still alive and hasn't died yet. She’s not bad-looking and is already of age to marry. If she becomes pregnant and bears a child for the Lin family, you will have endless riches to enjoy in the future."

Madam Qian continued to weep.

Madam He was merely indulging in fantasies. Once inside the Lin household, it was questionable whether the girl would even survive a month.

Suddenly, Yu Jinzhen stepped back abruptly.

Mu Dehong, seeing his slap miss, tried to step forward to discipline Yu Jinzhen.

Yu Jinzhen did not retreat in the slightest; instead, she kicked Mu Dehong hard in the stomach.

Clutching his belly, Mu Dehong glared at her with malice. "You dare kick me?"

Village Chief Xu, who happened to arrive just in time to witness the scene, immediately stepped in to advocate for justice. "You lot in the Mu family—is it only allowed for you to hit others, but not for them to resist? Zhenzhen hasn't done anything, and you hit her for no reason. The fact that she didn't beat you crippled is already out of respect for your third son."

Mu Dehong frowned and said, "This is a family matter within my household."

Village Chief Xu retorted sharply, "A family matter? Zhenzhen does not acknowledge you as her family, but she has accepted my two sons as her godfathers and is my god-granddaughter. Did you ask me before you tried to discipline my god-granddaughter?"

Mu Dehong had already heard from his two sons about what transpired in the forest.

It was infuriating that she had managed to find Village Chief Xu as her backer.

Seeing the unwillingness on Mu Dehong’s face, Yu Jinzhen rolled up her sleeves, looking eager for a fight. "Still want to teach me a lesson? Fine, I could use the practice."

Everyone else was left speechless.

Recalling his sons' descriptions of her prowess against the python in the mountains, Mu Dehong spat out a harsh threat: "Just you wait, I'll deal with you sooner or later!"

With that, he and his family slunk away in defeat.

Yu Jinzhen blinked, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Madam Qian was still crying, with her two other daughters standing by, looking helpless. Yu Jinzhen paid them no mind; they had inflicted plenty of harm on the third branch of the family in the past.

After returning home, Yu Jinzhen placed the silver before Mu Guhuai. "Godfather, we sold them for three taels of silver today."

Mu Guhuai was surprised. "The military camp actually bought them, and paid so much?"

"Yes, we have money now."

Mu Guhuai said earnestly, "You earned this money, so you should keep it. I still have some in my hands."

Yu Jinzhen looked down at her clothes and thought she would indeed like to buy some new ones.

"Very well, I will listen to Father." Yu Jinzhen asked, "Father, did anything happen while I was away?"

Mu Guhuai didn't know why, but he felt he couldn't hide anything from her. "Your eldest and second uncles brought a ladder and tried to climb over to steal things, but I discovered them and drove them back."

Yu Jinzhen asked seriously, "Did you suffer any losses?"

Mu Guhuai smiled. "I really didn't suffer any losses; on the contrary, they fell several times."

"That’s good."

Yu Jinzhen was hungry, so she went out again. Upon returning, she brought out a hot pot meal kit, intending to have hot pot for dinner.

As for lunch, she had eaten sparingly and then went to rest.

She hadn't walked this much in over two years, and having used force several times today—all while recovering from a serious illness—her ten-year-old body truly couldn't handle the strain.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuance arrived at the military camp just in time for lunch.

The camp was different from the life of commoners; the soldiers trained hard and ate three meals a day.

Lu Yuance walked through the camp, looking around. "Why does the atmosphere here feel a bit different?"

Min En quickly recounted the events of Yu Jinzhen's visit. "That is how it is. Perhaps because the child was so formidable, many were stimulated, and they practiced with extra effort today. Also, live wild boars are not easy to come by, so I accepted it. Rest assured, it is not poisoned."

Lu Yuance didn't say anything.

Shen Lianyu was in the command tent. Seeing his cousin enter, he smiled and said, "Ace, you've come at just the right time. We have fresh wild boar meat today, and the vegetables are still warm."

Lu Yuance nodded and joined his cousin for lunch.

After eating, Lu Yuance brought out the foam box that held the cherries. "Cousin, take a look at this. You are knowledgeable; do you know what this is?"

Shen Lianyu, expecting the foam box to be heavy, picked it up with force and nearly threw it aside. "This is lighter than I imagined."

Lu Yuance: "When I first saw it yesterday, I also thought it was heavy."

Shen Lianyu examined the foam box and lightly scratched it with a knife. "Although this box is very light, it is also quite fragile. Where did you get it?"

Lu Yuance looked at the wild boar meat on the table. "The foster mother of the girl who delivered the boar meat brought it to the residence. Her foster mother claimed she found it in the mountains, along with this fruit."

The person behind him immediately placed about half a catty of cherries on the table. "Madam Liu also said that this fruit was picked by her foster daughter in the mountains."

His aunt had felt she couldn't finish them all, and then, in a sudden burst of maternal affection, had him bring half a catty over.

Shen Lianyu picked up a fruit and sniffed it. "Do you believe her?"

Lu Yuance: "Of course not. There are so many soldiers who go into the mountains frequently, if not daily. The soldiers have left footprints all over most of Tianlei Mountain. Why is it that our men find nothing, yet she can find these? Moreover, according to Min En, her martial arts skills are unfathomable—even Min Qing is no match for her."

Shen Lianyu ate a cherry and also felt its taste was extraordinary. He said sternly, "It seems we must go and meet this young girl."