The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 17

“Immortal, here’s the lime you asked for!” Ever since the boss learned that a toad spirit had been hiding in his well and was killed by Yuan ruo, he changed how he addressed her, showing immense respect.

“I told you, I’m not an immortal. I’m just an ordinary Taoist cultivator!” Yuan ruo took the bag of lime and sprinkled it over the areas where the toxic goo had splattered. Once all the lime was used, she returned the bag to the boss. “With this lime and a few more days of sun, the poison will be completely gone!”

“Then…?” The boss held the bag, looking hesitant to speak.

Yuan ruo asked him, “What’s on your mind?”

The boss lowered his head and voiced his concern, “Can the immortal tell how long that toad spirit was in my house? It… it…”

“What happened to your wife is most likely connected to it,” Yuan ruo said, getting straight to the point. She then took his wrist, and after taking his pulse, she was even more certain. “You’re not clean either, and if I’m not mistaken, your child is the same.”

“This…” The boss was stunned. “So, it was that toad that harmed my wife?”

“You could say that,” Yuan ruo nodded, adding a reminder. “And if the toxins in you and your child’s bodies are left untreated, they will cause much more harm in the future!”

“Ah!” The boss was both surprised and frightened, and was about to kneel down. “Please, immortal, save me!”

“Don’t do that!” Yuan ruo quickly helped him up. “The antidote isn’t difficult to find, now please, stand up!”

The boss stood up. “Please, immortal, tell me what to do!”

“You just need some detoxifying herbs, you can…”

“Leave this to us. We’ll go find them for you,” Jiang Yilan suddenly cut in. “Sister Zhou needs someone to look after her anyway. You all should stay home for the next few days and not go out!”

“Ah, this…” The boss looked troubled. “I’m not sure that’s appropriate.”

“What’s not appropriate about it? I think it’s perfect.” Jiang Yilan took Yuan ruo’s hand, and as the two of them looked at each other, they exchanged a series of winks. In the end, Jiang Yilan won the silent argument with a lift of her chin and pulled Yuan ruo away.

“Just leaving her there?” A good distance away from the boss’s house, Yuan ruo stopped walking.

“Uh-huh!” Jiang Yilan shook her head. “Didn’t you say the tea house boss is a gentleman? What’s there to worry about leaving Sister Zhou with him?”

“Knowing a person’s face doesn’t mean you know their heart!” Yuan ruo crossed her arms. “Even people who live on the mountain for years understand this, but you, who are always out in the world, don’t?”

“I… of course I understand!” Jiang Yilan stammered. “I just feel like the boss is a genuinely good person.”

“But what if something goes wrong?” Yuan ruo stared into Jiang Yilan’s eyes. “Then you would be the one who harmed them!”

Jiang Yilan felt a chill from Yuan ruo’s stare. “Fine, I’ll go back and check. I’ll make sure Sister Zhou is safe!”

After Jiang Yilan said that, she started walking back, and Yuan ruo followed behind, silently chuckling.

What Yuan ruo didn’t expect was that her casual joke would turn out to be true—something really did happen when they returned. But the trouble wasn’t from the boss; it was from a wealthy bully with his thugs.

“Don’t you dare!” The boss in the courtyard, though scared, was doing his best to protect the widow Zhou and her child.

“We won’t get messy,” the leader of the bullies said with a smile. “We’re just here to talk about you giving up this house!”

The house was the boss’s home, so he naturally couldn’t agree. “If I give you the house, where will my family and I live?”

“Where you live is not…” The bully was about to get nasty, but then he changed his mind, pulled out a silver ingot, and said, “Take this. You can live somewhere else just the same!”

The boss glanced at the silver. “This house was left to me by my parents. I can’t give it to you.”

The bully was immediately enraged. “I see you’re refusing a toast and asking for a forfeit. Since you won’t take the money, I’ll just have to throw you out!”

“What are you doing?” The boss stepped forward, trying to stop the men. But as a single person, he couldn’t stop so many thugs. After just one round, he was pushed to the ground.

“Brother Li!” When the widow Zhou saw what happened, she was about to rush over, but she heard the boss shout:

“Quickly, take the child and go! Don’t worry about me!” The boss was already pinned down by the thugs, but his only thought was for the widow Zhou and the child, completely disregarding his own safety.

“See? I told you I didn’t misjudge him!” Jiang Yilan, who had seen everything, said triumphantly to Yuan ruo.

“You didn’t misjudge him, but if you wait another moment, it won’t matter if you were right or wrong!” Yuan ruo looked at the three being bullied. Seeing a thug about to strike the boss’s head, she flicked a small stone at him.

“Ouch!” The aggressive thug’s hand suddenly felt a sharp pain and he couldn’t move. Another man tried to take his place, but Jiang Yilan, who had rushed over, kicked him away.

“Who are you?” The bully, seeing the uninvited guest, immediately asked in a rage. “How dare you meddle in my business?”

Jiang Yilan laughed. “Isn’t that what meddling is for?”

“Miss Jiang!” The widow Zhou was overjoyed to see Jiang Yilan, and her eyes lit up with hope.

“Don’t be afraid, Sister Zhou, stand back!” Jiang Yilan smiled at the widow Zhou while moving closer to the thugs, forcing them to release the boss.

Once the boss was free, he quickly went to the widow Zhou’s side, protecting the two of them as they retreated.

“Alright, come on!” After the three were a safe distance away, Jiang Yilan smiled at the thugs.

“Since you’re looking for death, I’ll grant your wish!” The bully waved his hand. “Get her!”

The thugs charged at Jiang Yilan, but in a matter of seconds, they were all on the ground.

“Oops!” After finishing off the thugs, Jiang Yilan looked at the leader with a half-smile. “Your turn!”

“You… you just wait!” The bully said, threateningly, and turned to run. The remaining thugs, seeing this, also fled the courtyard.

“Sister Zhou, are you alright?” Jiang Yilan ignored the fleeing men and only cared about the widow Zhou’s condition.

“I’m fine!” The widow Zhou said, then looked at the boss next to her. “But Brother Li might be hurt!”

“I’m fine,” the boss said, unconcerned about his own injuries. His concern was for something else. “I’m just worried that Zhong Yuanwai’s thugs will be back!”

Jiang Yilan asked, “Why do you say that?”

“Sigh,” the boss sighed. “He’s taken a liking to my land and wants me to move so he can relocate his family’s ancestral grave!”

“Huh? Ancestral grave?” Jiang Yilan looked at Yuan ruo. “Can that sort of thing be moved so casually?”

Yuan ruo replied, “Usually not, but there can be reasons.”

Jiang Yilan asked the boss, “Why do they want to move it?”

The boss shook his head. “I’m not sure. I just vaguely heard that his son, for some reason, forgets everything the next day after he falls asleep!”

“Could he be sick?” Jiang Yilan asked. “Why would they blame it on the ancestral grave?”

“That, I don’t know,” the boss replied.

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