Chapter Seventy-Eight: This Band of Despicable Scoundrels

How could such a coincidence happen? None of the others were affected—only those who had planned to compete tomorrow were all struck with vomiting and diarrhea.

“Oh… how could something like this happen? Why did it happen only to them?”

“Exactly! They’re supposed to compete tomorrow. If they can’t go, won’t we have to hand over the best land to Great Valley Village?”

At the thought of this possibility, the villagers, who had yet to fully wake up, immediately became alert. In a rush, they hurried to check on those stricken with stomach troubles.

“Village chief, what did they eat? They knew they were supposed to compete tomorrow—how could they be so careless with their food?”

Some who didn’t understand the situation immediately voiced their reproach.

Everyone knew that before such an important contest, rest was necessary to have the strength to defeat the men from Great Valley Village.

Upon hearing this, the village chief strode over and smacked the speaker on the back of the head.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Did you get your head stuck in a door? It’s obvious someone did this on purpose!”

“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in our village. Are you all brainless? All those who fell ill are the ones set to compete tomorrow—it doesn’t take much to see this is a plot!”

Chief Chu’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, his tone loud and exasperated. He swallowed hard, feeling as though his brain ached from the stress.

After hearing Chief Chu’s words, the villagers finally realized the truth. Of course—someone had done this deliberately.

“Was it those people from Great Valley Village? A bunch of despicable cowards! They know we can’t beat them fairly, and yet they still drug us.”

With that sudden clarity, everyone understood—the competitors had been poisoned.

This was the effect of a strong laxative. In the crowd, Gu Xiaoyao watched as the villagers seethed with outrage, secretly thinking that the men from Great Valley Village were indeed cautious.

Despite seeming stronger than the men from Lotus Village, they still resorted to such disgraceful means.

“Sister-in-law, you’re here too? Thank goodness we came back late. Otherwise, you might have been caught up in this as well.”

When Dahua arrived and saw the poisoned villagers, each looked haggard and miserable, an unpleasant odor lingering around them.

“Even if I’d come back early, I doubt they would have bothered to drug me.”

A woman like her wouldn’t have been considered a threat; they had targeted only the men.

Gu Xiaoyao looked at the anxious faces of the village chief and the other villagers, and thought they had indeed been far too careless.

“That’s true. Those men from Great Valley Village probably didn’t see you as any kind of threat.”

Dahua considered this and agreed. It was strange—they acted so confident, yet still resorted to such underhanded measures.

Once the villagers realized what had happened, they crowded around the village chief, voices rising in anger.

“Chief, we have to go to Great Valley Village and demand justice! This is outrageous—how could they do such a thing?”

“Exactly! We believed in fair competition, but how could they stoop to drugging our people?”

Chief Chu looked at their furious faces and, feeling spent, waved his hand weakly before squatting down by the roadside.

“How can we demand justice? Did any of you actually see someone from Great Valley Village do this? None of us saw a thing…”

“As it stands, we have only one competitor left—only one who didn’t eat the drugged food.”

His gaze fell on Gu Xiaoyao, and the villagers followed suit, all eyes turning toward her.