Xie Xun was angry.
Jiang Xiaoxiao could probably guess that Xie Xun was unhappy because he knew she was trying to use him.
Jiang Xiaoxiao had never coaxed anyone before.
But she felt that if she were the one who was angry, just words wouldn't be enough to appease her; actions would be required, at the very least cooking lots of delicious food.
However, Xie Xun didn't seem to be particularly fond of eating...
Staring at Xie Xun's tightly closed bedroom door, Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't sleep.
She sat in the main hall for most of the night, using qimen dunjia to deduce the direction of the gang that had robbed Xie Xun's money and beaten him up that day.
As soon as the sky began to brighten, Jiang Xiaoxiao left Shi Mo Village with her kitchen knife.
Not far from Taoyuan Town, there was a fork in the road. The small path led to Shi Mo Village, while the main road led to Kaihe County.
Usually, there were many passersby.
The gang that had robbed Xie Xun were seasoned bandits, and this fork in the road was their usual place to commit crimes.
Today happened to be a market day in the town, so the gang had come to lie in wait early.
However, after a long wait, they didn't see anyone passing by, and the few of them began to grow restless.
The leader was a man with a ferocious scar on his face, known as Knife Scar Face Man.
He squatted on a tree, chewing on a blade of grass with his brow tightly furrowed, cursing loudly: "Damn it, why isn't anyone going to the market passing through here today?"
"Boss, why don't we go back and get something to eat first before coming back? Look, the brothers have been starving all morning, they really can't take it anymore...ah! Boss, look over there, there's a girl, tsk, that pretty little face, she's really damn good-looking!"
The speaker was a tall, thin man nicknamed Long Insect.
Originally starving with his belly pressed against his back, Long Insect's beady eyes instantly lit up when he saw Jiang Xiaoxiao walking slowly towards them.
He rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"Heh heh, if the money's not coming to us, at least a little girl is being delivered to old man."
Knife Scar Face Man spat out the blade of grass in his mouth and jumped down, giving the others a subtle signal.
This was something they had done many times before.
Thus, with just a glance, everyone understood and split into two groups to surround Jiang Xiaoxiao.
"Little lady, where are you heading?" Knife Scar Face Man stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with lust.
Jiang Xiaoxiao said, "Looking for you."
Knife Scar Face Man became even more excited. "Looking for me? How about brother keeps you company and plays with you for a bit?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded. "Okay."
Completely unlike the decent housewives they had teased before, Jiang Xiaoxiao's reaction was far too calm and eerie.
Knife Scar Face Man was taken aback for a moment.
Could she be a fool?
A fool would be even better, as she wouldn't understand anything and would be easier to handle.
Thinking this, he grinned again and reached out to embrace Jiang Xiaoxiao's waist.
But instead of a soft waist, what his hand touched was a sharp, cold kitchen knife.
A kitchen knife!
This little girl was actually carrying a kitchen knife on her!
The others also noticed the kitchen knife tucked into Jiang Xiaoxiao's waist.
"Boss, this little girl has a knife!" Long Insect's face turned pale as he shouted, "She's looking for trouble!"
"Trouble?" Knife Scar Face Man sneered contemptuously. This delicate, tender little lady could barely lift the kitchen knife, let alone use it, how could she possibly cause any trouble?
However, before he could finish his thought, Knife Scar Face Man saw the girl, who was shorter than him, suddenly leap into the air and then raise her leg high.
That leg came straight at his head.
"Damn it—" Knife Scar Face Man's expression changed drastically.
Immediately after, everyone saw their formidable leader being pressed to the ground by this little girl, who pinned his head down with her heel.
The sound of his kneecap shattering made their hearts tremble with fear.
Jiang Xiaoxiao calmly looked at Knife Scar Face Man. "How much money did you rob from Xie Xun?"
At this point, Knife Scar Face Man was in so much pain that he just wanted to roll around on the ground.
However, Jiang Xiaoxiao's leg was still pressing down on his head.
He didn't know where this wicked girl's strength came from, but she was so heavy that he couldn't move an inch.
"How much money did you rob from Xie Xun?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked again.
Knife Scar Face Man was almost crying from the pain.
"Xie Xun? What Xie Xun?"
He had robbed so many people, how could he possibly remember each one?
It seemed there was no way to get an answer.
Jiang Xiaoxiao turned her head towards Long Insect. "Find a rope."
Her gaze wasn't cold, but rather soft and gentle, even a bit dazed.
Yet her ruthless actions made their backs break out in a cold sweat.
Who could have imagined that this delicate, tender-looking girl was hiding such formidable skills?
Today, they had certainly kicked an iron nail!
Long Insect gulped.
He didn't doubt for a moment that if he dared to resist, he would be the next one kneeling on the ground with a shattered kneecap.
"Miss...miss, don't be angry, a rope, right? I'll go find one right away, I'll go right now!"
When Xie Xun woke up, the day had already brightened.
Out of habit, he looked towards the small nest.
The nest was empty.
It was only then that he remembered Jiang Xiaoxiao had regained her human form last night.
She had said that she came to find him because the purple golden dragon aura on his body could help break her curse.
In other words, she wanted to use him.
A strange restlessness arose in his heart.
Xie Xun opened the door and stepped out.
His peripheral vision glanced at the room to the right of the main hall.
This room was where his nanny used to live.
Last night, in his anger, he had told Jiang Xiaoxiao to tidy up the room and rest there, then he closed the door and went to sleep.
He had no idea what happened after that.
He walked up to the door and knocked.
There was no movement inside.
"Jiang Xiaoxiao!" he called out.
Still no movement from inside, but instead the wooden door opened a crack.
Xie Xun pushed it open further and peeked inside, finding the bedding neatly arranged, without any sign of being slept in.
Had she left?
The restlessness in his heart grew even more apparent.
Xie Xun shut the door forcefully, then went to the well to draw a basin of water and wash his face.
After washing his face and going back inside, Xie Xun noticed that the kitchen knife he had placed on the wooden cabinet was also gone.
During Jiang Xiaoxiao's transformation, the kitchen knife couldn't be shrunk down.
Xie Xun was afraid it might accidentally hurt someone, so he had placed it on the cabinet.
Now, both she and the knife were missing, a truly clean departure.
When he realized he was feeling irritated for no reason, Xie Xun's expression darkened even further.
He quickly regained his composure, deciding not to light the stove and cook breakfast. Instead, he took a small hoe and started weeding the vegetable garden.
The vegetable garden was on the west side of the courtyard, with raised dirt beds.
As he stood on the higher ground tying up the bean vines, he unintentionally glanced over and saw someone approaching on the village path.
It was Jiang Xiaoxiao.
She was dragging a rope.
At the end of the rope was a bound man.
The man had a robust build, and clearly wasn't light.
Yet Jiang Xiaoxiao dragged him as effortlessly as dragging a dead dog.
Vaguely, Xie Xun could even hear the man's cries and pleas for mercy.
Xie Xun's eyelids twitched.
He wiped his hands and walked down.
He saw Jiang Xiaoxiao dragging the man through the gate.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Xiaoxiao's gaze was somewhat different from her initial dazed look, now containing a hint of pleading.
"Xie Xun, I brought back the one who robbed you. I shattered his kneecaps, and on the way, he agreed to pay you back ten times the silver he stole. Are you happy now?"
Xie Xun looked deeply at Jiang Xiaoxiao. "So you went out early to find him and make me happy?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao obediently nodded. "Mmhmm..."
