Chapter 175: The Wealthy Master Is Bullying the Poor!

That night, deep silence.

Guo Shen and the others had long since settled into a peaceful sleep in the innermost room.

Xiao Er stood guard on the inner side of the main gate.

In the outermost room, Tuan Tuan cuddled the big wolf and was about to fall asleep.

Suddenly, the big wolf grew restless; Tuan Tuan snapped open her eyes, patting the wolf: "Stay quiet, okay? If you make a sound, the bad guys will run away!"

The big wolf gave her a glance, shut its mouth tight, and stayed silent.

Xiao Ningxun was startled by the wolf's movement, rose, and peered out through the window crack.

A wisp of white smoke drifted from the door crack into the courtyard, followed by a sweet, cloying exotic fragrance seeping in thread by thread.

Inside, Xiao Er frowned, gathered inner breath and held his breath, turned toward Xiao Ningxun, and made a face‑covering gesture.

Xiao Ningxun hurriedly placed a gentle hand over Tuan Tuan's mouth and nose, leaned down and whispered, "Hold your breath."

Tuan Tuan promptly stifled her mouth and nose, lifted her tiny hand to cover the big wolf's snout.

After a moment, a Dagger skillfully slipped into the door crack and, with a few strokes, pried the door bolt aside.

From outside the door, a man's voice called, "Done! This 'Immortal Drop' is a good thing; the people inside must be dead asleep by now!"

"Move faster! First load all the valuables, then go after those little girls!"

Three stealthy black shadows pushed open the courtyard gate and slipped in, the last one carefully closing the gate behind them.

As soon as they looked up, they froze outright.

In the moonlight, a gray giant dog as massive as a calf stood in the courtyard, its verdant eyes fixed on them, emitting low growls from its throat.

The few people stared a moment, then shouted, "Wolf!"

Turning to flee, they were met head‑on by Xiao Er's towering figure, blocking the main gate solidly.

The startled few scrambled; a man with a pock‑marked face shouted, "Only one! Up!" and the three lunged at Xiao Er, trying to break through.

Xiao Ningxun emerged from the house, cradling Tuan Tuan.

"How dare you attack my second uncle? Big wolf! Bite them!" Tuan Tuan ordered, and the big wolf darted up like an arrow.

Its massive body instantly knocked a person flying.

"Ouch!"

Immediately, a huge paw pinned another person to the ground.

The last one, seeing the gate blocked, turned and ran toward the courtyard; the big wolf took two strides, caught up, and sank its teeth into his leg.

A scream rang out instantly.

Xiao Er hurried forward, used a prepared rope, and bound the three thieves tightly.

The big wolf held its head high, chest out, circled them repeatedly, frightening the few into huddling tightly together.

Tuan Tuan clutched Xiao Ningxun's neck, her little face beaming with excitement: "Third Brother, we caught the bad guys!"

Xiao Er kicked each in turn: "What's your name? Where are you from? Speak!"

The people exchanged glances but said nothing.

Xiao Ningxun's face darkened: "Send them to see the officials!"

The pock‑marked man grew angry: "We are from Luo Family Village! We just got riled up at night and entered the wrong door; on what authority do you send us to the officials!"

Tuan Tuan, delighted, shouted, "Lies! Can even your own family get lost?"

The pock‑marked man, looking like a scoundrel, retorted, "What's the matter? My memory's bad; can you control that?"

Xiao Er tore open his collar, and a bundle of items fell out.

He picked it up, gave it a gentle sniff: "Did you use a hypnotic incense before entering the house? Don't be dishonest!" Then he kicked again.

The pock‑marked man winced, feigned innocence: "That isn't mine at all! You framed me!"

The other two, apparently following his lead, also shouted, "Yeah! It's you who framed us!"

"Exactly! We just entered the wrong door! Did nothing! You're wronging good people!"

Tuan Tuan, never having seen such shameless people, widened her eyes at their words: "Third Brother! Look at them!"

Xiao Ningxun hugged her sister: "Xiao Er, imprison them separately, keep them locked up for a night, and question them tomorrow."

He lowered his head, glanced at the person bitten by the big wolf: "Don't let him die."

"Yes!"

Early the next morning, Tuan Tuan rubbed her sleepy eyes and followed Xiao Ningxun out of the room.

After breakfast, Xiao Er said to Guo Shen: "In those rooms over there, three thieves we caught last night are locked up. Guo Shen, you've been here a long time; could you go check if you recognize any of them?"

"Alright."

A moment later, she returned: "The pock‑marked one is Luo Maitun, the village chief's son of Luo Family Village; the other two often stay with him. Their faces look familiar, but I can't recall their names."

"These three troublemakers never do proper work, they steal and sneak around, and are widely disliked!"

"The village chief's son?"

Xiao Ningxun recalled her mother's words: the county magistrate was less effective than the current administration; though the village chief's position was modest, its power was considerable, and Nüzi Jian wanted to keep things peaceful here; without the village chief's support, that would be impossible.

At this moment, the Ministry of Works' craftsmen had all arrived and were preparing to continue building houses.

Xiao Ningxun called out, "Two people, come with me."

"Understood."

Xiao Ningchen led his sister, Xiao Er, and two craftsmen, using a long rope to bind the three thieves' wrists, and walked into Luo Family Village.

The villagers, seeing this, quickly gathered in small groups.

Xiao Er cupped his fists toward everyone: "Dear fellow villagers, could you point the way to the village chief's house?"

An older woman raised her hand and pointed: "Follow this road straight down; the biggest gate is it."

"Thank you!"

The villagers kept gathering, all of them following behind, pointing and commenting.

"Hey, isn't that Wang Laizi?"

"Ugh! Retribution! Is this a hard nut? Let someone handle them!"

"Serves him right! He steals my chickens all day!"

"That stinky Luo brat, two days ago he even touched my daughter's hand; if I weren't afraid of his father, I'd have fought him!"

"Someone should have dealt with them long ago!"

The village wasn't large, and we soon arrived at the village chief's doorstep.

Before Xiao Er could call out, the door was violently flung open from inside.

A woman who looked about thirty, holding a dustpan and about to step out, glanced up at the crowd at the doorway and froze for a moment.

"Mother! Mother, help me quickly! They're bullying my son!" Luo Maidun shouted as soon as he saw her.

The woman followed the voice, saw him, and immediately let out a shrill scream: "My son—!"

Tuan Tuan was startled and leapt high.

The dustpan in the woman's hand clanged to the ground, scattering the beans inside everywhere.

She carelessly plopped down, slapped the ground hard with both hands, and began wailing loudly:

"There's no justice! They beat my son like this and still bind him to be paraded! They're denying us any way out! —"

She howled while glancing sideways at Xiao Ningxun and the others, realizing they were the ones the head of the household had mentioned—those who wanted to open a girls' school in the village.

"The village chief even gave them that plot of land, and I still have my eye on that house! Good timing—let's make a big fuss and drive them out of the village!"

She cried out loudly: "The wealthy master is bullying the poor! What kind of world is this!"