"I just wanted to come back and see if this flower was still alive, but it's still withered. If you're unwilling to cooperate, Ye Tiancheng, then fine, but can you at least tell me how you managed to revive that withered flower?"
"I don't know either, it was really by chance. I don't even know why the flowers at my place withered before, or why they regenerated. It's a very profound question."
Just as the village chief was relentlessly questioning Ye Tiancheng but getting nothing out of him, a luxury car arrived. From it stepped out a middle-aged woman, impeccably dressed and exuding an aura of wealth.
This middle-aged woman's demeanor was far more elegant than the landlady's. The landlady who rented the house to Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Pang had an air of a nouveau riche, but this woman was entirely different. The sun hat she wore was clearly custom-made in France, a piece of high fashion from a renowned designer. It was the kind of item one couldn't buy even with money in China.
The hat obscured half of the woman's face, making her features difficult to discern, but her bright red lipstick was quite noticeable. As the middle-aged woman removed her hat, she fixed Ye Tiancheng with a sharp gaze.
"May I ask if you are Mr. Ye Tiancheng?"
"Hello, I am. May I ask who you are?"
"I heard you cultivated a pot of flowers, radiating spiritual energy. I'd like to discuss cooperation with you."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, Village Chief Liu, who had been watching the scene unfold, became anxious upon hearing that she was there to poach his business.
"What are you doing? There's a queue, you know. I was discussing business with Mr. Ye. What's the meaning of you just barging in? I detest people like you who deliberately steal others' business. Don't think you're so great just because you have a bit of money. Mr. Ye won't be swayed."
After saying this, Village Chief Liu roughly pushed the lady. Several tall bodyguards dressed in black immediately emerged from behind the lady and pinned Village Chief Liu down.
"How dare you, you insolent wretch, lay hands on our young lady? I think you're tired of living."
"What young lady? She looks over forty. Is she an old maiden?"
Village Chief Liu's words were truly impolite. The middle-aged woman, hearing his sarcastic remarks, suddenly became enraged and shouted at him.
"You can stab me a hundred times, but you must never call me old. If you dare to say I'm old, don't blame me for fighting you to the death!"
The two bodyguards understood their young lady's intent. They quickly kicked Village Chief Liu to the ground and then began to furiously kick his body. Village Chief Liu was unable to defend himself and was in a daze.
"Beat him! Beat him to death! How dare he call me old."
Although Ye Tiancheng also disliked Village Chief Liu, he knew that no matter how powerful someone was, it wouldn't be good for anyone if a life was lost.
"Miss, I beg you to calm down. Why are you arguing with a village chief? You are not from the same class."
"I'm angry, alright? You'd better not meddle, or you'll suffer too. If I weren't afraid of dirtying my hands, I would have hit him myself."
"You, a woman, are still resorting to violence? You're a shrew!"
Village Chief Liu was being beaten to the point of spitting blood, yet he remained stubborn. Instead of begging for mercy, he cursed the distinguished middle-aged woman.
This infuriated Zhou Xiangxiang.
With a punch to Village Chief Liu's stomach, she glared at him with sharp eyes, remaining silent. This made her even more terrifying.
This punch landed squarely on Village Chief Liu, causing internal injuries. When the bodyguards released him, he collapsed to the ground like a leaf in the wind, curled up like a shrimp.
"You are a shrew..."
Ye Tiancheng had never witnessed such a fight over business. It seemed that for the sake of profit, people—men, women, young, or old—could become utterly frenzied. It was truly frightening.
"What are you all looking at? Hurry up and beat him! I'll take responsibility if he dies. Stop standing there and come help me beat him!"
Zhou Xiangxiang was truly ruthless. Village Chief Liu was already defenseless, yet Zhou Xiangxiang had no intention of letting him go, wishing she could beat him to death.
The bodyguards dared not move further, as Village Chief Liu was already bleeding from the mouth and nose. If this continued, it was likely to result in a fatality.
"What are you standing around for? Don't you want your wages? You are my bodyguards. Now this old man has bullied me. Don't think you can stay out of this. If this old man dares to touch me, even if he knocks off a single hair, I will hold all of you accountable. See if you all don't suffer!"
Seeing that the bodyguards had stopped moving, Zhou Xiangxiang, in her anger, began to roar at them.
In fact, many people had been slowly gathering to watch. Now, seeing Zhou Xiangxiang's relentless pursuit of violence over such a trivial matter, wanting to beat someone to death, it was truly a case of treating human life as worthless as grass.
It seemed this woman was not only rich but also powerful, showing no fear even if someone were to die.
"Alright, you can stop now. It wouldn't be good if he died."
No one dared to speak, fearing they might be implicated. After all, they were just ordinary farmers. Only Ye Tiancheng stepped in front of Village Chief Liu, his expression indignant and his tone icy. As he strode forward, he exuded a sense of righteous indignation, drawing his sword to help the wronged.
"Fine. I was very sincere about wanting to cooperate with Mr. Ye, but Mr. Ye treats me like this. I'm quite surprised. It seems you don't want to cooperate with me, so I don't need to be polite anymore. It's better to be enemies than friends among locals. When we're enemies, there's no need to pretend to be friendly; it's too exhausting!"
After speaking, Zhou Xiangxiang signaled her bodyguards to attack Ye Tiancheng, not with words, but with a look. The bodyguards finally felt relieved. Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng stepped forward. Otherwise, if they continued beating Village Chief Liu, they would have committed manslaughter. However, Ye Tiancheng looked young and strong, so he should be able to withstand their blows.
Ye Tiancheng didn't realize what was happening at first. By the time he sensed something was wrong, it was too late. He saw several people rushing towards him, and then he saw fists growing larger in front of him, about to hit his face.
At the critical moment, Ye Tiancheng used his true qi to block the attacks. The bodyguards, upon contact with Ye Tiancheng, felt as if they had touched something sharp and painfully rolled onto the ground.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I want to say that my childhood was different from others. I practiced qigong in my hometown, so you'd better not send your bodyguards to fight me. They can't defeat me."
Zhou Xiangxiang was not going to let Ye Tiancheng off the hook. In front of so many people, Zhou Xiangxiang did not want to lose face.
"Don't think you're invincible just because no one can defeat you. There are always people better than you."
"I know that, of course. I've been beaten up many times before. Today was just a fluke. I hope Miss Zhou will be magnanimous and not hold a grudge. Let's make peace. I'll take the village chief to see a doctor."
After saying this, Ye Tiancheng left with Village Chief Liu. Regardless, it was a human life. Although Village Chief Liu seemed only interested in profit, he was old and deserved respect, not to be trampled and insulted by Zhou Xiangxiang.
Watching Ye Tiancheng's retreating back, Zhou Xiangxiang glared at him fiercely, a murderous glint in her eyes, wishing she could kill Ye Tiancheng on the spot for making her lose face.
Ye Tiancheng exerted great effort to finally get Village Chief Liu to the hospital. Fortunately, Village Chief Liu was not seriously injured. Ye Tiancheng had been worried on the way, as he had to constantly use his true qi to protect Village Chief Liu's vital points. Otherwise, at his age, any sudden complication could lead to death.
Village Chief Liu's children had already arrived. Upon seeing Ye Tiancheng, they immediately grabbed his collar without understanding the situation.
"You're the one who injured my father, aren't you? You shameless wretch, how dare you touch an elderly person? You'd better prepare to pay."
It's no wonder some people are afraid to help the elderly when they encounter trouble. If you help them and they turn out to be difficult, it can be quite problematic. It's no wonder Village Chief Liu seemed so peculiar, living with such eccentric children. It's hard not to be strange in such a situation. Of course, it's also possible that Village Chief Liu corrupted his children. Ye Tiancheng wasn't interested in finding out.
"I am the one who rescued your father. Don't try to frame me. If you want to cause trouble and extort me, that's fine, but it won't benefit you. I advise you not to set your sights on me."
Ye Tiancheng made his position clear. How they acted was their business, but Ye Tiancheng had not bullied the elderly and had no reason to take responsibility for the injury. Ye Tiancheng had handed over all the money he earned that day to the hospital when registering. He felt he had done enough good deeds and had the confidence to face these people, with no need to be humble.
"Pay up! I just asked the doctor, and they said the medical expenses might be tens of thousands of yuan. I know you're a farmer and don't have much money, but you can write an IOU. Since you work there every day, just give us the money you earn. We have time to wait, but you can't escape paying. There's no such thing as hitting someone for free. If you hit someone, you have to take responsibility."
These children of Village Chief Liu were about to drive Ye Tiancheng mad. Ye Tiancheng even considered using his true qi to teach them a lesson, but he thought it wasn't convenient in the hospital. Moreover, he had used his true qi several times already today and couldn't overdraw it too much, as it would affect his cultivation progress.
"I didn't want to tell you who hit your father, because I figured you couldn't do anything to him, and having someone like that around would cause you endless trouble in the future. But since you're being so persistent, I really have to say it. There are many witnesses who can prove that your father was beaten by a woman named Zhou Xiangxiang. I believe if you hit her, you'll know she's a businesswoman, quite wealthy. If you have the courage, go ask her for money. Don't just talk about tens of thousands; if she's willing, it could be millions."