Chapter Forty Concluded

Bai Mianmian did not stand on ceremony and stripped herself bare. The sight of the gashed, festering wounds made Old Mother Zhang’s sense of foreboding intensify.

"Saving your grandfather and granddaughter is not as simple as killing a horse. I said it before: for every drop of blood lost, your family pays a hundred taels of silver. For every wound sustained, your precious granddaughter must support me in my old age and bury me when I die."

"..."

Old Mother Zhang was struck dumb. The horse alone was already enough to cause her family distress; now there were so many wounds! Her family could slave away for ten lifetimes and still not pay it off. As for the part about supporting her in old age and burying her, she ignored it entirely. She didn't even dare to imagine something that would make her beloved granddaughter miserable for a lifetime.

"I’ll go find you a doctor."

"And let the doctor wonder how I escaped from the wolf's claws?" Bai Mianmian laughed derisively. "Or do you want me to end up on a wanted poster?"

The Zhang brothers had discussed her capabilities with Old Mother Zhang the previous night, so they understood her meaning perfectly.

Bai Mianmian began to dress, moving with unhurried grace. "Fatty Zhang and Steward Chen said the wolf pack attacked the horses and left after they were full. Neither the horse nor the wolves can be seen leaving your place. The wolf meat doesn't taste good, so you help figure out how to dispose of it. Keep two good wolf pelts for me, and exchange the rest for money."

Not only could they not sell it brazenly, but they also had to instruct the children in the family carefully. Old Mother Zhang nodded blankly.

"I have a bit of a fever; please send me a bowl of food when you eat."

Facing her lack of courtesy, Old Mother Zhang found that she had actually grown accustomed to it. She left the room on unsteady legs. The Zhang brothers were very pragmatic; once they connected her to the fugitive who had killed six men, the way they looked at her became restrained. They were afraid, certainly. They were also deeply suspicious. A ruthless person who could easily handle six burly men and eight wolves—where couldn't she stay? What was her true motive for clinging to their family? The old couple’s thoughts were much simpler; they directly linked Bai Mianmian to their precious granddaughter’s jade gourd, feeling that she had noticed something.

And so, the days of Bai Mianmian living at the Zhang house began.

After the Zhang brothers quietly disposed of the wolf meat, her standard of living rose rapidly. Fearing she might die on their hands, the Zhang family sent their eldest grandson into town that same day to buy bags of medicine. The old couple did not let Zhang Huilan use the spirit spring, and Bai Mianmian did not sneak extra food for herself. After seven or eight days, once the bloody gashes had scabbed over, she hurried to the fields.

That damn system was truly excessive; she had to till the land herself for the system warehouse to be effectively used. Fortunately, it wasn't perverted enough to make her plow over the grain seeds that had already been sown! All the fields in Hexi Village belonged to the Chen family, and the Chen family, in order to keep their tenant farmers close, did not mind selling off some secondary farmland near the foothills and riverbanks. The land the Zhang family helped her buy was, naturally, seedling land. By now, the sparse seedlings were an inch high. The weeds grew faster than the crops, and it took her an entire morning to clear about thirty square meters.

"System," the woman sighed, propping up her waist, "are you sure you aren't taking revenge on me?"

"The host is overthinking."

"I think thirty square meters is not small."

"It is indeed not small," the system suddenly agreed.

Bai Mianmian was stunned for a moment. The damn system had always acted in opposition to her; when had it ever been so cooperative?

"What are you up to?"

"Congratulations to the host for completing the 'Best Supporting Female Villain with a Kind Heart' task. You are about to receive thirty square meters of independently reclaimed space."

"Congratulations to the host for successfully breaking free from system control and attracting the attention of the Heavenly Dao. You are rewarded with one 'Midnight Dream' pill."

"Ding. The host is about to begin an independent life."

"Ding. The system is unbinding."

"Ding. The system has finished unbinding."

A series of system notifications left Bai Mianmian dumbfounded. In the end, she gripped the chocolate malt ball in her hand and let out a long, howling roar at the sky.

"You damn system, get out here!"

The wind blew gently, and the white clouds drifted by. For miles around, there was nothing left but a woman gloomily contemplating the fact that she had been deceived. All that talk about being a villainous foil, all that talk about bravely dealing with the female lead—it was all a test. If she had truly been that kind of person, let alone this small thirty-square-meter space, what if… was it true that she would have been given an area equal to how much weeding she did today?

Bai Mianmian felt regret—a regret she hadn't felt in either of her two lifetimes combined.

"Fine."

She put away the malt ball, gripped her wood-chopping axe, and hummed a little tune as she headed into the mountains. This time, the birds were singing, and the deer were calling. The whole world looked beautiful.

"Cluck, cluck~"

She hadn't climbed very high before she spotted a pheasant. With a swift swing of her axe, she caught it in one go. Since she had transmigrated, Bai Mianmian hadn't had a single day of comfort. This time, heading into the mountains, she was truly happy. After wandering for three days, she carried a stag into town.

"Alright, stop looking at me like that. I just didn't want you all to suffer any more grievances."

By spinning a story about doing it for her younger siblings, she successfully fooled the two little ones. They looked at her with a mixture of emotion and heartache. Given the system's nature, she thought it might be starting up again. Bai Mianmian, wanting to test it, headed straight for the Zhang house after picking up her siblings. After some explanations, even the old couple looked at her with newfound respect—especially after she mentioned she could help reset Old Man Zhang’s broken legs.

"Second Sister, you made me sad for so long," the little chubby girl said, shedding sentimental tears.

Bai Mianmian smiled wickedly: "It was a last resort, but your family still has to pay the money."

The Zhang family: "..."

"Later, I'll buy a plot of land next to yours. You must remember your promise to support me in my old age," she said with a grin.

The Zhang family did not grin back.

"Life is suddenly so wonderful!"

Humming a tune with no melody, Bai Mianmian linked her arm through the chubby girl’s: "Come on, help me pull some weeds."

The chubby girl: "..."

Her mood was no longer wonderful!

***The End***