Chapter 38: Deceiving the Zhang Family

Clearly, her hand moved as swift as a blade, without a moment’s hesitation.
Clearly, she was malicious and wicked, never showing mercy.
Yet, she still craved those trivial bonds, still wanted to linger in this place that brought her pain yet remained impossible to forsake.

The Zhang grandfather and granddaughter fell into a long, heavy silence. They were certain that the six men from earlier were mere child’s play to her. The tiger from that day, even more so.

Bai Mianmian ceased to speak. She withdrew her gaze, waiting quietly for the numbness to spread through her wounds.

"Host, do not harbor any illusions. Judging by the twists of the Heavenly Dao's plot, you have no chance of redemption on your deathbed," the system reminded her kindly in her mind.

"Who said I was laying the groundwork for the future?" she retorted. Even if it were a setup, she would never let this wretched system know. "The heroine is only thirteen; even if she can marry at fifteen, there are still two years to go. If I make the Zhang family hate me to the bone right now, how lonely life will be thereafter! I want them to love and hate me in equal measure. The power of a soft blade should never be underestimated."

The system was speechless. It was the one that issued the tasks, but she was the one performing them—and how she did so was becoming increasingly beyond its control. The system truly was getting old and experienced.

"Grandfather, drink some water."

Suddenly shaken from her thoughts, Zhang Huilan feigned a movement behind her back and produced a gourd. The old village head, caught off guard, drank half of it in one go. He had always known the value of his granddaughter’s precious gourd, but he did not know it was potent enough to knit his broken leg back together in such a short time.

"Ugh!"

"Grandfather!"

Zhang Huilan had never been injured, nor had she ever used the water from the gourd pool in her space to treat an illness. She had no idea what kind of healing effect a large intake of spiritual spring water would have. The sight of the old man convulsing violently threw her into a panic, and the muffled cries of pain she couldn't suppress made her lose her composure.

"Still not going back to fetch help?" Bai Mianmian deliberately prompted.

The little chubby girl’s intellect had already gone offline; she scrambled off the carriage and ran toward the village, while the old village head was already numb with pain. Bai Mianmian stood up calmly. She first felt around the carriage, retrieved the crooked-mouthed gourd, and placed it on the ridge of the field by the roadside. Afterward, one by one, she dragged the carcasses of the wolves to the edge of the field.

As she had anticipated, not long after the old village head fainted, Zhang Huilan returned with others. She brought Manager Chen and several servants from the Chen estate.

"Why is there such a strong stench of blood?" Manager Chen sensed something was wrong.

Just as Zhang Huilan was about to speak, Bai Mianmian cut in: "A pack of wolves attacked the horses."

"A pack of wolves!" He was stunned, instinctively scanning his surroundings.

"They have already left; they had their fill and moved on," Zhang Huilan quickly added. "Uncle Chen, please, help me—help me take my grandfather to the city."

She lied. To get the men from the Chen estate to help, she claimed the carriage had overturned and the shaft had crushed her grandfather's leg. At that moment, these men had not yet retired for the night and were still discussing the strange incident of wolves descending the mountain in early spring. Usually, wolves only descended in the dead of winter, or occasionally at the tail end of it. Now, with grass sprouts growing deep in the mountains and rabbits and pheasants active, food shouldn't have been an issue. For a pack to descend now, howling so fiercely—any nearby village that heard them was likely already reaching for axes and knives in preparation.

Zhang Huilan’s lapse in intelligence had only occurred while her grandfather was writhing in pain; as she ran, her wits slowly returned. With the fading howls of the wolves still in her ears, she knew full well the impact of beasts on nearby villages. By the time she knocked on the gates of the Chen estate, she was already confident in her plan.

"Uncle Chen, I know how dangerous the wolves are. If I hadn't been sure they had returned to the mountains, I wouldn't have dared to come and ask for your help." Firstly, the sound of the pack was indeed far off on the mountain peak, and secondly, since the people were already there, she couldn't let this favor go to waste.

Manager Chen had a deep understanding of the good fortune of the Zhang family's "Lucky Baby." After a moment of deliberation, he had his men pull the carriage toward the city.

By the quiet wheat field, Bai Mianmian stood alone. After a long while, she unbuttoned her collar, hid the gourd behind her back, and, dragging her wood-chopping knife, strolled back to the village.

The Zhang family had not slept well for days. Today, seeing no one return despite waiting, they were growing increasingly anxious. When the mournful howls of the wolves faded into the distance, the four brothers grabbed hoes and choppers and headed out.

The two parties met by the river. Bai Mianmian had long anticipated such a scene. As the brothers hesitated, unsure of the figure in the distance, she loudly called out, "Uncles of the Zhang family!" allowing them to lower their guard.

"Grandfather Zhang and Lucky Baby are resting in the city and will return tomorrow. Just now, I hunted eight wolves; they are on the roadside not far from He Dong Village. You should go back and push a cart to help me transport them."

The Zhang family blamed her for Zhang Huilan’s second disappearance. If she hadn't caused trouble and insisted that their treasure follow her to the city, they wouldn't have had to endure this fear again. Without a second thought, Zhang Qiang refused: "Sorry, we have matters to attend to; we cannot help you."

"Are you all certain?" she asked, unruffled. "I advise you all to make some time. My business is not finished. If people find out that I killed eight wolves single-handedly, I wonder what kind of trouble the Zhang family will fall into!"

Zhang Huilan’s latest mishap was closely linked to her. The two elders of the Zhang family could no longer keep it a secret. At the very least, the men of the Zhang family now knew why she was clinging to them. A wanted criminal suspected by others was one thing, but a wanted criminal who could slaughter eight wolves single-handedly was an entirely different concept. It would be hard to convince people that a family so deeply involved with her was truly innocent.

"Of course, if you are not afraid, you can leave those wolves where they are. In any case, only Manager Chen knows his carriage was attacked by wolves. It is unlikely he will link it to me."

Having delivered her threat, she walked away leisurely, leaving the four Zhang brothers fuming. They were furious.

"What does she mean? She snatched Father’s carriage and returned to the village by herself?" Suddenly grasping a key point, Zhang Sheng asked his brothers.

Zhang Qiang had just realized the same thing, and his temper flared: "Aside from that, what other situation would cause Father to stay in the city with Lucky Baby? Father knows we are all waiting at home. Lucky Baby knows Mother’s temperament even better. She should be able to guess Mother's current state."

"…If that’s the case, we actually have her to thank today," Zhang Yuan said with a strange expression.

The moon was thin, and the stars in the sky were bright, though they could not outshine that crescent moon. The brothers stood close, seeing each other’s vague outlines, though their individual expressions were impossible to read at a glance. A lonely atmosphere rippled between the four brothers. Relief and anger were intertwined; for a moment, they couldn't tell if they were happy or distressed!

"Wa-wa-wa..."

A night bird flew past, and the brothers continued onward in silent agreement. They thought that since the wolves were not large, each of them could carry two back without needing a cart. But upon arriving at the scene, they were shocked by the heavy stench of blood. A closer look at the miserably dead horses made them feel even more fortunate.

After silently carrying the dead wolves back, they pushed a cart out again. Their faces were paler than a corpse that had been dead for ten days.

Bai Mianmian had actually gone straight to their home and, with utter shamelessness, went to sleep in Lucky Baby's room!