Chapter Eighty-One: Utter Contempt

The villagers of Lotus Blossom Village, too, had their pride. Hearing Tang Zhong speak with such disdain sparked a fire in their hearts. When men speak, their mouths often move faster than their minds, so the people of Lotus Blossom Village quickly found their blood stirred.

“Tang Zhong, stop your sarcastic talk. You people from Great Valley Village are nothing but despicable and shameless,” someone retorted.

“That’s right, always relying on underhanded tricks—you're no better than maggots in a cesspit. If you’re so confident, why stoop to such disgraceful means?”

Though Elder Chu had intended to swallow the bitter truth, others could not contain their anger. The villagers of Great Valley paraded around with an air of superiority, as if they could defeat Lotus Blossom Village with a mere flick of the finger. If that were so, why would they resort to poisoning with laxatives? It was the height of cowardice and dishonor.

“What are you weaklings blabbering about? What tricks? Our village doesn’t need to stoop to such things,” the Great Valley villagers shot back, standing up to point accusingly at their rivals.

“Be clear about what you’re saying! No one from Great Valley Village would ever do something so vile!” they shouted.

Seeing them still playing the innocent, as if they were pure lotuses rising from the mud, the people of Lotus Blossom Village scoffed, their eyes brimming with contempt.

They had already committed the deed, yet here they were pretending to be paragons of virtue. It was truly sickening.

“You know full well what you’ve done. You poisoned our villagers with laxatives—everyone who was supposed to compete today was taken down by your tricks.”

“Don’t pretend you weren’t involved. All those who fell ill were meant to compete with Great Valley Village. Don’t take us for fools. The truth is plain for all to see.”

The Great Valley villagers exchanged uneasy glances, uncertain for a moment. If every competitor had fallen ill right before the contest, suspicion would naturally fall on them.

“That’s impossible! No one from our village would ever do such a thing. We’re already better than you; we don’t need to resort to such lowly tactics,” Tang Zhong declared, his rough face full of disbelief as he waved the accusation away.

Elder Chu took a deep breath, deciding not to remain silent any longer. “Fine. If you say none of your people did this, then after the contest, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

He had his own ways of unmasking the culprit if it came to that. His wrinkled eyes swept over the villagers of Great Valley, and he let out a cold snort.

“Enough talk. Let’s get on with the competition!”

The people from Great Valley were left speechless by Elder Chu’s steely resolve.

Beneath the arena, the contestants from both Great Valley and Lotus Blossom Villages stood facing each other. Gu Xiaoyao, standing among the burly men, soon heard jeers from the other side.

“Tsk tsk, who would have thought Lotus Blossom Village was this weak, sending a woman to compete? It’s laughable.”

“Haha, I bet they know they’ve already lost, so they’re just putting her in to make up the numbers!”

Gu Xiaoyao ignored all the mocking looks and watched as the first match began.

At the sound of the gong, the two men in the ring immediately locked in combat. Neither had formal martial training, so it was a raw, gritty fight.

“Dogzi, go! Get your arm around his neck—don’t let go, use your strength!” the men of Lotus Blossom Village shouted, their cheeks puffed in excitement, wishing they could fight in his place, shouting instructions from below.