Chapter 72: Chapter 72: The Village Chief Fell Down, and He’s Bleeding
When the villagers saw Aunt Deng, their expressions soured.
She came striding over, dragging a reluctant Deng Fugui by the hand.
The old village chief frowned in displeasure. "What are you doing back here?"
Aunt Deng, however, ignored everyone and rushed straight for the chests of treasure.
The glittering pearls and gemstones nearly blinded her.
This was all real gold and silver.
Seeing Aunt Deng’s reaction, the villagers recalled how she had abandoned them and scoffed with even greater contempt.
’She ran away then, and now she’s back to claim a reward?’
Deng Fugui was mortified, constantly glancing at Shen Ningning out of the corner of his eye.
He saw the little girl pouting, her big, dark eyes fixed on Aunt Deng with displeasure.
Overcome with embarrassment, Deng Fugui violently shook off his mother’s hand.
"Mother, didn’t you say we were never coming back?!" ’Why did she have to drag me back here?’
Aunt Deng shot him a glare.
’How could a woman as clever as me give birth to such a stupid son!’
Aunt Deng shoved him in front of the old village chief and Uncle Deng.
"Father, husband, don’t be angry. I wanted to come back a couple of days ago, but my parents held me back. They were afraid the bandits would come and leave young Fugui without a mother and father."
"So, as soon as we heard the bandits were defeated, we rushed back. Seeing that you’re all safe, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"
Finished with her speech, she asked with a sly grin, "I heard all about it. The Emperor himself bestowed rewards. Our family should be getting quite a lot, right?"
The old village chief’s expression was stern. "Every household gets three items. No more, no less."
"What? Father, you’re the village chief and you’re only getting that much? Fine, fine! Three items isn’t too bad. Let me have a look..." She decisively reached out, cut straight to the front of the line, and started rummaging through the chests.
The villagers’ faces turned grim.
Out of respect for the village chief, no one stopped Aunt Deng.
However, the old village chief acted justly, grabbing her hand to stop her.
"There’s nothing in here for you!" he said. He then told the other villagers, "Take your shares. Pay her no mind."
Aunt Deng was taken aback. "Father, how can you say that? I’m a part of this family, too."
"I may have left, but it was all for Fugui’s safety! After I left, I couldn’t eat or sleep. I was worried sick about all of you!"
The old village chief rebuked her sharply. "If that were true, the first thing you would have done upon returning is check on your husband! My son was injured fighting the bandits, yet you act as if you can’t even see his wound. All you have in your eyes is gold and silver!"
Surprised, Aunt Deng turned to look at the silent Uncle Deng.
Sure enough, his arm was still wrapped in a white bandage.
One might have expected the old village chief’s words to stir some guilt in Aunt Deng.
Instead, she immediately threw a fit.
"Husband, you were injured? Then why does our family only get three pieces of jewelry? That’s completely unfair!"
With that, she grabbed two more gemstone necklaces from the chest.
The old village chief, his head throbbing with anger at her antics, roared, "Put those down!"
"Father! How can you be so biased? As the village chief, you’re always thinking of other families instead of your own."
"When times were at their worst, you lent the Qin Family money for grain. Now that we finally have a chance at a better life, why won’t you take more for us? The one who got hurt is your own son!"
Uncle Deng came forward to pull her back. "That’s enough! Stop talking!"
The old village chief retorted angrily, "No matter the circumstances, as village chief, I must consider the entire village!"
"Besides, this whole incident wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been blinded by greed, stolen something, and then paraded it around town! How else would you have attracted the bandits?"
Aunt Deng stomped her foot and clutched her chest dramatically. "Father! Your words are breaking my heart! If it weren’t for me, how would our village have ever gotten a reward from the Emperor?"
From the way she spoke, you’d think the credit was all hers.
Aunt Liu planted her hands on her hips and cursed, "You shameless creature! How dare you say something like that?"
"We were just lucky to have our little Fuxing, Ningning, who asked the Crown Prince to send troops. And we had the wolves’ help! Otherwise, the bandits would have slaughtered us all long ago!"
"You were the first to run when you heard there was danger! And this all happened because you’re a thief with sticky fingers! You even tried to steal the meat Ningning gave us before. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have gotten away with it!"
The other villagers also began pointing and murmuring.
Shen Ningning, perched on the Black Wolf King’s back, had remained silent the entire time.
Her large, dewy eyes shifted toward Deng Fugui, who stood a short distance away.
He stood beside his mother, head bowed in deep humiliation, his fists clenched tightly.
Aunt Deng’s face went pale, then red with anger and shame.
Finally, she just started a shouting match with Aunt Liu.
"Sister-in-law Liu, with a mouth as nasty as yours, it’s no wonder your son was born with a lame leg!" Aunt Deng weaponized the other woman’s private pain, shouting it for all to hear.
Aunt Liu, unable to stomach such a vicious insult, lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of Aunt Deng’s hair.
"How dare you talk about my son!" The two of them began to brawl.
The villagers were shocked and rushed to pull them apart.
In the chaos, Chen Ye shielded Shen Ningning as they watched the farce unfold.
The old village chief stepped forward and grabbed Aunt Deng’s arm. "That’s enough!"
But in her fury, Aunt Deng slapped the old village chief’s hand away and gave him a shove.
"Stay out of it!"
The old village chief lost his footing and fell.
The back of his head struck the ground, and he lost consciousness immediately.
Shen Ningning was the first to see it. Her little face filled with panic, she cried out, "Grandpa Village Chief fell!"
"Father!"
"Grandpa!"
Uncle Deng and Deng Fugui rushed to his side.
The old village chief’s eyes were shut tight, his face as pale as death.
Shen Ningning quickly told Chen Ye to take her swift horse into town and fetch a doctor.
The villagers all scrambled to help, carrying the old village chief back to his house.
Aunt Deng stood frozen in place, her hair disheveled, a stunned look on her face.
She stared at the spot where the old village chief had fallen. A small pool of blood was spreading on the ground, and her expression grew more and more panicked.
Shen Ningning retrieved a whole ginseng root from her Immortal Realm and hurried inside to help.
Feeling guilty, Aunt Liu took the initiative to go to the kitchen and brew the ginseng into a soup.
The other villagers brought out their household medicinal supplies. Some went to boil water, while others cleaned the wound on the back of the old village chief’s head.
When they parted his hair, they found a gash as long as a little finger.
Everyone gasped. They feared the old village chief might not make it.
Deng Fugui knelt by the bed, crying his heart out.
Shen Ningning told him to stop crying and handed him her waterskin. "I’ve used this water to steep medicine before. It can help with injuries. Here, use it to wash Grandpa Village Chief’s wound first."
Deng Fugui hastily wiped his tears and took the waterskin.
After the wound was cleaned with the Spiritual Spring Water, the bleeding finally stopped for the time being.
A short while later, Chen Ye returned with the doctor.
It was none other than Manager Fang from the pharmacy, whom they hadn’t seen for several days.
Upon seeing Shen Ningning, he first clasped his hands in greeting.
"I heard there was trouble in Xiangyun Village, so I came at once. Is the young miss doing all right?"
"I’m fine, please hurry and check on Grandpa Village Chief!"
The pharmacy manager went inside.
Seeing the room crowded with people, Shen Ningning simply mounted the Black Wolf King and waited in the courtyard.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aunt Deng cowering by the doorway as if she were scared stiff. She didn’t move, her eyes fixed in a blank stare on the courtyard.
A moment later, Deng Fugui was the first to emerge, looking utterly crestfallen.
