Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Contest Between the Two Villages Begins

The villagers looked at Gu Xiaoyao's fragile arms, as if they would snap at the slightest bend, and shook their heads slightly. With that appearance, how could she possibly win?

“The people from Dagu Village are simply too much. Last time they seized our land, and now they’re trying to win that good plot with such underhanded means.”

“Why don’t we just fight it out? Tomorrow, when the contest starts, we can all rush up and give them a good beating first.”

A villager came up with this idea. Even if they couldn't win, at least they’d vent their anger.

Old Chu shook his head, disagreeing with the proposal. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to vent his anger, but he felt that if they really did fight, the ones getting beaten would probably be their own villagers.

“Chengjin’s wife, there aren’t many left who can compete tomorrow—you should think carefully.”

All the men who were supposed to compete from their village had already fallen victim, so tomorrow they would have to send another group. Yet those who remained were hardly strong or robust; they’d likely be thrown off the stage in just a few bouts.

“I’ve thought it through. But, Village Chief, you haven’t given me the deed yet! If I win tomorrow, the land will be mine.”

Gu Xiaoyao was confident in herself, and her luck had always been good. Even if Dagu Village sent all their strongest men, she believed she could win with her own abilities.

“Sigh, why are you so stubborn, child? I have written the deed... but you should really think it over again.”

Old Chu felt there was no hope for their village to win tomorrow. With a sigh, he pulled the deed from his sleeve.

Everything was written out clearly, and the villagers had left their fingerprints, making the deed valid.

“Don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll win back all the land,” Gu Xiaoyao assured them, checking the deed and, finding no fault, putting it away.

The villagers continued discussing the events of the day before, but Gu Xiaoyao, having gotten what she wanted, quickly returned home.

Chu Chengjin leaned against the doorframe, watching her as she came back, a small smile playing on his lips, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly as he asked about the contest.

“Are you really going to compete tomorrow? With your physical condition, it will be hard to win.”

“I think I’ll win,” Gu Xiaoyao replied, her usually expressionless face showing a trace of feeling as she looked at him.

“Oh? And why do you think that?” Seeing the confidence in her eyes, Chu Chengjin was a bit curious.

“Because my luck is exceptional,” she responded.

Of course she wouldn’t lay all her cards on the table in front of him. Gu Xiaoyao lifted her chin slightly, her expression unexpectedly endearing.

That her confidence came from this left Chu Chengjin momentarily at a loss for words.

While the two spoke at the door, three people in the neighboring house secretly watched, craning their necks. After a while, they shrank back and sat down on the heated brick bed.

“Tomorrow that Gu woman is going to compete—we have to go see the spectacle, watch how she gets beaten to a pulp.”

Chu Qingsong gripped the bedding tightly, pounding it a few times in anger. Liu Shi and Chu Qingbai silently hoped that the men from Dagu Village would give Gu Xiaoyao a thorough beating.

Because of the drugging incident, Lotus Village was especially "lively" that night, though Gu Xiaoyao and her family retired early.

The next morning, before dawn, Gu Xiaoyao was already awake. She got up quickly, dressed neatly, and slipped through the village toward the dense woods.

Sitting cross-legged on a stone, she attuned herself to the breath of the forest, closed her eyes, and began using her abilities to control the plants.

In the post-apocalyptic world, she had grown her powers using crystal stones, but here, she had yet to discover a method for enhancing her abilities.

So far, she’d only learned that after reaching her limit and recovering, her powers would grow a little each time.

The space connected to her ability was visible, but she still couldn’t open it.

This frustrated Gu Xiaoyao greatly. For now, the most important thing was to figure out how to increase her powers more quickly.