Qingshan Slope.
The scorching sun was high in the sky. A crowd of villagers, brandishing sticks, swarmed around an old tile-roofed house, shouting non-stop, "Xia Laosi, hand over your daughter quickly!"
Hearing the commotion outside, the man inside the house darkened his eyes. He clenched his fists and lowered his voice to the girl sitting opposite him. "No matter what happens, you mustn't go out."
The girl was dressed in a black T - shirt and gray long pants. She had a simple ponytail. Her skin was a bit tanned, but her facial features were small and delicate. Her long eyelashes covered her somewhat gloomy eyes.
She propped her head up with her right hand, and her legs crossed under the table swayed casually. Hearing her father's words, she nodded.
Having received her assurance, Xia Laosi got up and opened the door to greet the crowd.
He turned around and immediately closed the door tightly. Then, he stared at the crowd warily with vigilant eyes. "What do you want?"
A middle - aged woman slowly stepped out from the crowd. She had a cloth wrapped around her head. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her sunken cheeks were like a parched field.
"Xia Laosi, ever since you adopted Xia Sanghuan, there have been droughts in the village year after year. We've had no harvest. Aunt Qi came to me in a dream a few days ago and said there's an omen in our village. And then I dreamed of your daughter. What else do you have to say?"
This woman who kept referring to Aunt Qi was the village witch, Granny Ma. And the villagers behind her were all her followers.
Hearing her words, the other villagers became even more excited. They waved their sticks at Xia Laosi. "We must get rid of this omen to save our Qingshan Slope! Sacrifice her to appease the disaster!"
Seeing the bad situation, Xia Laosi stood alone in front of the door. "As long as I'm alive, no one can take my daughter away!"
Granny Ma thought he was overestimating himself and sneered. "If you don't get out of the way, we'll have to burn down your house to save Qingshan Slope!"
"Burn their house! Burn their house!"
Amid the shouts of the crowd, the door slowly opened.
Xia Sanghuan leaned against the door. Her eyes locked on Granny Ma, and then she showed a half - smile.
Granny Ma frowned tightly. Looking into those cold eyes of hers, it was as if the girl could see deep into her soul, as if all her schemes had been seen through at a glance.
Xia Laosi panicked and immediately tried to push her back into the house. "Didn't I tell you not to come out?"
"No need to trouble ourselves. She came out on her own. Take her away."
Granny Ma gave a look, and a man beside her immediately stepped forward to grab Xia Sanghuan, but was blocked firmly by Xia Laosi.
"Granny Ma, you came to our house to make trouble today, incited the rumor that I'm an omen, and even threatened to burn our whole family to death. Isn't it because you're eyeing the field behind our house and our house's ridge?"
"You just want to drive us out of Qingshan Slope and then take over all our things, right?"
Xia Sanghuan spoke slowly, with a sweet smile on her face and an innocent look in her clear eyes.
Granny Ma's heart skipped a beat. How did this brat know all her thoughts?
She quickly suppressed her surprise, afraid that something might go wrong. She turned around to stir up the emotions of the villagers behind her. "Don't be misled by this girl's nonsense. Take her for the sacrifice right away. Next year, the sky will surely send down rain!"
"Everyone, believe me. All this was told to me by Aunt Qi in a dream!"
As soon as she finished speaking, all the villagers seemed to be possessed. They rushed forward crazily to grab Xia Sanghuan.
Xia Laosi was thin and weak. He couldn't match the strength of the crowd. He was pushed to the ground and coughed up blood in a hurry.
"Dad!"
Xia Sanghuan was forcibly tied up. Seeing the blood on the ground, she clenched her fists tightly. Her pupils dilated slightly. She was anxious to go and check on him, but two strong villagers firmly pressed her shoulders and forced her to kneel on the ground.
Xia Laosi's face was pale. He shouted anxiously, "Don't touch Huanhuan!"
"Your father got seriously ill because he raised you. This is God's punishment!"
Granny Ma felt relieved seeing the embarrassed state of the Xia family.
A few days ago, she came to Xia Laosi to exchange fields, but this Xia Laosi was so stubborn and refused. That's why she came up with this plan.
Now it was great. His fields and house would soon all belong to her.
Once the omen incident spread, the Xia family would have no place to stand in Qingshan Slope from now on.
In the chaos of the crowd, no one noticed a few black sedans slowly driving towards the Xia family.
"Mr. Fu, this is the place."
The driver parked the car steadily in front of the crowd and respectfully said to the middle - aged man in the back seat.
The car window slowly rolled down. Fu Zeming tilted his head and looked out.
At first sight, he saw the girl kneeling on the ground. Those familiar eyebrows and eyes shocked him greatly.
Yes, this was his daughter!
A few black sedans lined up and stopped. A group of men in black suits got out of the cars and followed Fu Zeming towards Xia Sanghuan.
At this time, the villagers also noticed the commotion here. They had never seen such a grand occasion before and were momentarily stunned in place.
"Where do these people come from? Why are they coming to our village?"
"My goodness! These must be the rich people from the city! Those four - wheeled cars look so expensive! Just the bodyguards they have are so many. They're not as easy to feed as the pigs in our pens!"
People were talking in whispers. Only Xia Laosi visibly relaxed after seeing Fu Zeming.
Fu Zeming walked up to Granny Ma with a majestic aura.
"Let her go."
With just this simple sentence, Granny Ma felt her legs go weak. She stared at the black - suited men behind Fu Zeming and tried to appear calm. "This is a matter of our village. No matter who you are, you mustn't interfere. Otherwise, you'll be punished by God!"
Fu Zeming remained expressionless. The black - suited men behind him immediately stepped forward and surrounded the villagers.
Everyone was intimidated, but they only let go of Xia Sanghuan and didn't leave.
Seeing this, Granny Ma gritted her teeth and shouted, "Even if the King of Heaven comes today, we must complete the sacrifice. Otherwise, Qingshan Slope will be doomed! Whoever dares to stop us, we'll fight to the death!"
These villagers regarded Granny Ma as a god and had no independent thinking. Under Granny Ma's command, they got excited again.
There was no way to reason with them. They had to be treated in their own way.
Coldness flashed in Xia Sanghuan's eyes. When no one was paying attention, she quietly approached Granny Ma. With a spin of the silver needle in her hand, she pricked Granny Ma's acupuncture point.
Granny Ma felt a slight stinging pain in her wrist and didn't pay much attention. However, the next second, she suddenly started shaking all over. She fell to the ground uncontrollably, her face deathly pale, and her legs trembling.
"What's wrong with Granny Ma?"
The villagers all cast their gazes at her but didn't dare to step forward.