Chapter 100

Chapter100

"Oh, where did you steal these eggs from?" Gossipy Liu started, her usual sarcastic tone dripping.

Lu Wanxiao rolled her eyes in speechless exasperation, thinking to herself that this woman must have some serious screws loose, or maybe her eyesight was off.

She had already made it clear by stepping aside to let them pass, yet the woman still came over to bother them.

Could it be that she hadn't been scolded or had her mouth stuffed with nonsense for too long, and now her skin was itching for a beating?

To be honest, if she hadn't traveled here from the 21st century, she would have suspected that in her past life, she must have dug up Gossipy Liu's ancestral graves—that's how deep the feud was.

But she grumbled to herself but kept smiling, and said with a beaming smile, "Do you know how that woman from the neighboring village, the one who died last year before she was even forty, met her end?"

Gossipy Liu had no idea why Lu Wanxiao was bringing this up out of the blue, nor what she meant by it, but she wasn't about to back down.

So she stiffened her neck and retorted, "How would I know how she died? And what's her death got to do with me anyway?"

"Are you sure you don't know?" Lu Wanxiao looked at her suspiciously. "But wasn't it you who told everyone last year about that woman from the village two doors over who died before she turned forty?"

At Lu Wanxiao's reminder, Gossipy Liu recalled the incident.

"I told you all, that nosy woman from Liushu Village was beaten to death. Oh, they say it was a gruesome sight!"

Back then, she had even been gloating about it...

Seeing her expression, Lu Wanxiao knew she remembered. She let out a light snort. "That woman taught us that nosiness kills. So from now on, mind your own business and stop poking your nose into mine, got it?"

Though Lu Wanxiao's face still wore a pleasant smile and her tone was even milder than usual when she scolded her, her eyes were ice-cold.

For a moment, Gossipy Liu felt that if she didn't obey, Lu Wanxiao would kill her.

But then she thought again: Lu Wanxiao was just a wild little brat, and her husband was a crippled good-for-nothing.

However sharp her tongue or wild her behavior, what could she really do?

Why should she be afraid of her?!

So, after a brief moment of fear, Gossipy Liu reverted to her sour, venomous face. "Pfft! Like I care about you! If I weren't worried you'd get caught stealing eggs and get yourself killed, I wouldn't even give you the time of day!"

Hearing this brazen remark, Lu Wanxiao burst out laughing. "So you're saying I should thank you, is that it?"

She had come looking for trouble herself, and now, after being scared, she was fabricating such a noble excuse.

How had she never noticed before that Gossipy Liu could be so cunning?

"Now you get it! Hand over those eggs—"

Gossipy Liu, missing the sarcasm in Lu Wanxiao's tone, thought she was genuinely thanking her and instantly wore a smug, ugly look.

She eyed the few eggs in Lu Wanxiao's basket, swallowed secretly at the thought of the eggs, and was about to demand them as thanks.

But before she could finish her sentence, Lu Wanxiao took two steps back, looked her up and down, and clicked her tongue twice. "Indeed, the shameless have thick skin—thick as a fortress wall, bulletproof!"

Then, before Gossipy Liu could respond, she added, "Hey, Liu Changfu, if there's ever a war on the frontier, you should consider going to the battlefield to earn some merit. Maybe your Zhang family could prosper and thrive from then on!"

Ah, this woman really can't take a compliment. She had just thought Gossipy Liu had a good brain, and now she turned dumb.

Did she really think Lu Wanxiao was such a pushover?

"You!" Insulted as shameless and thick-skinned, Gossipy Liu's face flushed with anger. She pointed at Lu Wanxiao and began to curse:

"You little tramp, you—mmph!"

Seeing that Gossipy Liu deserved a slap, Lu Wanxiao quickly bent down, scooped up a handful of dirt, and shoved it directly into her mouth.

The rest of her rant was stifled.

The dirt from the roadside wasn't like the soil from the fields—it had nothing but an earthy taste. Gossipy Liu almost threw up, but Lu Wanxiao swiftly snatched a bunch of mugwort leaves and pressed them against her mouth, so she couldn't even vomit.

Glancing around and seeing no one, Lu Wanxiao decided to teach Gossipy Liu a lesson she wouldn't forget, so she'd stop being a nuisance.

It wasn't that she was afraid of her.

But people like her were like flies in an outhouse—always buzzing around, annoying and disgusting.

She didn't have the time to shoo away a fly every time it came.

Without further ado, Lu Wanxiao set her basket on the ground, gave Gossipy Liu a chilling smile, and released her hand from covering her mouth.

Before Gossipy Liu could spit out the dirt, Lu Wanxiao grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall.

Her face expressionless, her eyes ice-cold, Lu Wanxiao squeezed hard. The feeling of suffocation hit Gossipy Liu, and now she was truly afraid.

She feared that Lu Wanxiao might just choke her to death. Instinctively, she tried to beg for mercy.

"Lu... Lu... ptooey..."

But with dirt still in her mouth, the moment she opened it, the saliva-mixed dirt nearly sprayed onto Lu Wanxiao's face.

Lu Wanxiao wrinkled her nose in disgust, her eyes growing even colder. Gossipy Liu was so terrified she didn't dare breathe, let alone spit out the dirt. She swallowed it down, some of it dribbling out with her saliva.

It nearly made Lu Wanxiao sick.

To avoid the dirty saliva dripping onto her hand, Lu Wanxiao released her grip on Gossipy Liu's throat.

Then, with lightning speed, she dislocated Gossipy Liu's jaw to prevent her from screaming, and said coldly:

"Listen here, you big-mouthed Liu. Whatever reason you have for disliking me, from now on, keep it to yourself. If you can't, then take a detour whenever you see me. Understand?"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm." Though seething with hatred, Gossipy Liu dared not resist or even think of retaliation. She nodded frantically, afraid that if she was too slow, Lu Wanxiao would choke her again.

Lu Wanxiao was different now. In the past, when they fought, it was just pulling hair and tearing clothes, and she didn't always come out on top.

But now, she went straight for the throat. Before Gossipy Liu could even react, she was nearly strangled to death.

Seeing the tears streaming down Gossipy Liu's face only disgusted Lu Wanxiao further. She reached up, broke off a branch from an apricot tree growing over the wall, and used it to lightly tap Gossipy Liu's cheek, still smiling.

"I know you're a loudmouth who loves to stir up trouble and throw your weight around. You can't go a day without gossiping, and everyone in the village is afraid of your stinking mouth. They'd rather not argue with you, for fear of getting dirty.

But I, Lu Wanxiao, am not afraid of you, and I won't put up with your nasty habits.

How you act with others—being a gossip, causing trouble, throwing your weight around—I don't care!

But if you come bothering me like you did today again, or if I hear you speaking ill of me or my family behind my back, I'll make sure you never speak again!

"Do you hear me?"

Looking at Lu Wanxiao, who still had a smile on her face, Gossip Liu felt a chill down her spine and dared not do anything but nod vigorously.

Seeing how scared and obedient Gossip Liu was, Lu Wanxiao felt somewhat satisfied. She tossed aside the branch in her hand and then helped her put her jaw back in place.

She dusted off her hands, picked up the basket, and walked away.

After a couple of steps, she paused, thought, and turned back. Looking at Gossip Liu, who still didn't dare to breathe or move, she kindly reminded:

"Don't think I'm bluffing. I mean what I say. If you don't believe me, just try it and see if I don't make sure you never speak again!"

After saying that, regardless of Gossip Liu's reaction, she walked away with her basket.

Alas, people like Gossip Liu are such a nuisance.

She hasn't done anything truly heinous, so I can't just cripple or kill her like I did Luo Shao.

She's just got a foul mouth, no tact, and always comes to annoy me.

The only way is to scare her so she never dares show her face again. I hope after this she'll learn her lesson.

If she still comes without any sense, I really wouldn't mind getting serious—I'd make sure she never speaks again for the rest of her life.

Returning home, Song Changting was writing something under the awning, while Qing Zhou and Zhang Qi were watering the vegetable garden.

As for Cang Wu, he was still sitting under the pomegranate tree, contemplating life, occasionally sighing and glancing down at his injured foot.

Lu Wanxiao's eyes darted around. She put down the basket, washed her hands, went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water and drink it, then dragged a chair over and walked toward him.