What, go to the officials?
Such bickering is common among farming families; how can one rush to the officials at the slightest issue?
"So, have you thought it through? But let me warn you, going to the officials will require evidence. Without it, you’ll be charging falsely and end up eating the plank and sitting in jail," Wufu sneered coldly.
"It was clearly you who hit me," Zhang Erpang cried out loudly.
Wufu looked at him with disdain, "You say I hit you, but why would I hit you?"
"I came to watch over my family’s land, and you hit me."
Wufu laughed, "You watching over your family’s land? Oh, you mean the wasteland next to my house..."
She glanced at the onlookers, snorted with laughter, "It’s amazing how your Zhang family operates. As soon as I’m about to build a house, you start clearing the land right next to mine and then expect me to pay for your wasteland to build on. What a clever plan."
Lady Chen’s face turned red.
The surrounding onlookers went ’wow’, so that was it. No wonder he got beat up.
"All the wastelands on these hills are waiting to be cleared. We can clear wherever we want; it’s not yours," Lady Chen shouted.
"Yes, that’s why you so willfully cleared next to my house," Wufu spoke bluntly, staring at her, "Do you think I’m a fool to spend silver on that worthless land?"
Her gaze was icy, and Lady Chen flinched, "You!"
"I forgot to tell you, I’m not building the house here anymore!" Wufu continued with a smile, "If you want to farm, go ahead, but let me tell you, you better not start farming lightly. Otherwise, you might end up with a bruised face like Pang Dun, and then it’d clearly be a land-related issue."
Zhang Erpang, hearing her call him Pang Dun, became furious, shouting wildly with fists swinging, looking ready to charge forward and fight.
Lady Chen, seeing her side losing ground, became extremely anxious, especially upon hearing Wufu say she would not build the house anymore. Hadn’t their efforts last night been in vain? This could not happen.
Seeing her second son’s swollen face, she threw caution to the wind and resorted to her most familiar tactic. She sat down on the ground, slapped her thighs, and opened her mouth wide to wail, "Oh Lord in the heavens, quickly—"
Another feathered arrow landed in front of Lady Chen’s feet, its tip a mere length of a finger away.
"Uh..." Lady Chen’s wailing got stuck in her throat, and she burped, staring at the feathered arrow trembling in the mud.
All the onlookers understood clearly. My goodness, Wufu sure knows how to shoot an arrow; nobody could accuse her of bad aim or shooting carelessly.
In fact, judging by the distance of just one finger, it was clear she intended to shoot there on purpose—first to intimidate and second to do no harm.
Wufu passed the bow and arrow back to Liu Jin and took the Hoo Die knife in her hands, toying with it again. The flash of the blade dazzled everyone’s eyes, and Baozi and the others watched with bated breath.
She stepped out of the threshold, one step at a time, and walked towards Lady Chen.
"What do you want to do?" Zhang Da stood in front of Lady Chen, eyeing Wufu warily as he looked at the knife in her hand.
"Nothing much; I just want to tell you not to pull that stunt again. I don’t enjoy that kind of show," Wufu said, gesturing for Baozi in the crowd to come over, "Baozi, wouldn’t you agree?"
Baozi nearly choked on the sunflower seeds in his mouth, coughing violently.
Damn it, when had she noticed him?
The onlookers glanced at him and then at Wufu, suddenly recalling the previous rift between the two.
That’s right, Baozi was tough enough, but didn’t she challenge him before? And it was one against seven!
"Mother, let it go," Zhang Da, overcome by fear, pulled his mother to leave.