Chapter 67 - 66: Who Is It?

Chapter 67: Chapter 66: Who Is It?

Huai Yu knew absolutely nothing about Uncle Zaozi’s business philosophy of never taking a loss. She only knew that her newly acquired fortune had vanished in the blink of an eye, exchanged for a woven basket filled to the brim and a chorus of CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP that left her feeling both pained and delighted.

The little chicks were quite energetic. Even in a new environment, they continued to chirp. While waiting for the bus, Huai Yu noticed two passersby had already subconsciously turned their heads for a second glance. She remembered the two fish that had become quiet and lazy after being purified. Pulling the basket into her arms, she pressed her hands against the bamboo weave and silently released a sliver of purifying power.

Listening closely, the cheeping of the chicks in the cage grew softer and softer until it faded into complete silence. She stealthily peeked through a crack—they seemed to have fallen asleep. Huai Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Before anyone could notice her furtive behavior, she hurriedly squeezed onto the bus like a thief.

She thought about the ten pounds of soybeans she had bought today, realizing she could purify several more patches of land. If she took cuttings from that bundle of sweet potato vines, she could plant a huge field, couldn’t she? And she had even more expensive potatoes! Next time, she would have to visit Golden Yuan; the potatoes sold by that lady were bigger than the ones in the market.

Then there were the cowpea seeds and cucumbers. Wow, she didn’t even dare to imagine how much they would yield! If she couldn’t eat it all, she could sell the surplus, dry them, or pickle them. She would have to find time to buy a few more pickling jars. And chili peppers! Although she only had a small handful of seeds, they were incredibly important. Extremely important! She definitely had to plant them in that fertile soil mixed with plant ash.

The bus swayed back and forth as she mapped out all her territory in her mind during the ride. Realizing there was still a lot of uncultivated land left, she made an enthusiastic decision to start clearing it tomorrow.

By the time she got off the bus, it was already past three in the afternoon. Carrying her basket and humming a little tune, Huai Yu mentally shifted the position of the chicken coop several times, wishing she could instantly fly home to plan everything out meticulously.

She recalled that mutated fish were incredibly aggressive nowadays, and mutated rabbits seemed quite fierce, too. If she kept these little chicks in the thatched shed, would weasels or snakes come to steal them at night? Maybe she should keep them in the treehouse. She could use a straw curtain to make a small pen. Since they were so little, their chirping shouldn’t be too noisy. Besides, chicks were very fragile when young and could easily die if she wasn’t careful. She had to look after them attentively! After all, they cost 250 points each.

Huai Yu thought it over and decided to do just that. It was still early enough for her to get them settled in—

"Ah!"

She stared at her treehouse, completely stunned.

On the lawn in front of the door, the grass shoots were scattered and broken, as if something had violently slashed across them. Atop a row of perforated bricks left in the sun, the ginseng seedlings—which looked just like carrot tops and had only recently regained a bit of vitality—had been decapitated. Only a few bare stems remained.

The waterproof tarp on the roof had been slashed open, mercilessly pouring bright daylight down from above and illuminating the entire room. The cluster of wisteria blossoms by the door that had been in constant bloom was now sliced to the ground. Unnoticed by the intruder, it had been trampled into a dark purple paste of crushed petals.

And her stove... She had just managed to muster a sliver of forced relief, thinking that at least her cooking pot was fine. But as soon as she lifted the pot, the simple firepit-and-stove constructed from blue bricks collapsed diagonally right down the middle! The cut was perfectly flat and smooth, as if it had been cleaved apart by a single diagonal sword strike.

Then she looked at her quilt. She finally couldn’t hold back her tears. Even the white silk cotton inside her ugly quilt had been sliced out. The entire house was a complete mess, and the tree trunks forming the frame bore deep, slashed scars. If a violent storm were to strike right now, her house would probably collapse in an instant.

"Waaah..."

Huai Yu finally broke down, collapsing to the ground and crying her heart out. She was so devastated. Utterly, absolutely devastated!

As she cried, her gaze swept across the room, and she felt as if something was missing from the head of the bed. The house was too small, and she owned too few things; the presence of every single item was etched into her heart. Scrambling over on her knees in a sorry state, she leaned in for a closer look. The Rose inside the tall, slender white porcelain vase had been sliced in two, falling onto the blue bricks.

But the crystal-clear Ice Sculpture that had been sitting in front of the vase was completely gone.

Huai Yu froze. She barely managed to stop her sobbing, but she couldn’t stop the large tears rolling down her face. Opening her tear-blurred eyes, she frantically searched the room but found no trace of the Ice Sculpture—not even a single fragment of ice or snow. Her sorrow could finally no longer be contained.

Did someone come to steal? To steal Lin Xuefeng’s Ice Sculpture? But why? Why did they have to ruin her house like this?

This was her home. She had worked so hard, traveling up and down the mountain, shedding so much sweat. She felt intensely sad, a sadness tinged with resentment. Yet, she didn’t know who to direct her resentment toward, or why anyone would come all this way just to steal that Ice Sculpture.

After a moment of thought, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and walked over to the Rose Corridor.

"Did... did you... *sob*... did you see... *sob*..." She was crying so hard she started to hiccup. She couldn’t stop at all, but she still struggled to get the words out. "Did you see who... *hiccup*... who it was?"

At this moment, she really, really wanted to be as powerful as Lin Xuefeng, so she could viciously slice the person who destroyed her house into pieces.

The Rose Corridor rustled, its leaves and petals swaying, but it seemed to exude an odd sense of gloating joy. Huai Yu stared blankly, momentarily unable to gauge its mood.

Just then, several vehicles drove over from a short distance away, eventually struggling to a halt halfway up the path.

Zhou Qian’s voice called out, "Little Yu!"

Seven or eight people stepped out of the vehicles, each fully armed and wielding a large, broad shield. They stood there hesitantly, not daring to approach.

Zhou Qian, leading the group, wore an expression of guilt. After agonizing for a long moment, he took two difficult steps forward. But in that very instant, all the vines of the Rose Corridor darted like slithering snakes. Spikes as cold and hard as steel, along with leaves resembling serrated circular saws, were fired out simultaneously—

"Shields!"

THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK!!!

After a rapid series of impacts, the shields forming a protective wall in front of them were completely embedded with spikes and leaves. Only the very ends stuck out. The Defense Army soldiers behind the shields were already drenched in cold sweat. Over the recent period, they had quietly scouted the area several times without harboring any hostility, and the Rose Corridor had remained silent each time. Because of this, coming face-to-face with its ferocious side once again left everyone trembling with lingering fear.

"It’s fine," Zhou Qian’s voice rang out. "This isn’t how it acts when it loses its temper. This is just a warning. Come on, everyone lower your shields. Be careful, and approach slowly."

Huai Yu watched all this with wide eyes. The hiccups she couldn’t stop just moments ago were instantly shocked right out of her.