Chapter 437: A Hidden Trouble

Chapter 437: Chapter 437: A Hidden Trouble

Ji Huan struck suddenly, using all her strength. Caught completely by surprise, Huang Juncai had no way to dodge. The small ball hit him square in the face. He howled in pain, clutching his face and squatting down.

"Juncai!"

Ji Xiu’e rushed over and pulled his hands away from his face, revealing his right eye was already badly swollen.

She whirled to face Ji Huan, her expression instantly becoming terrifying.

"I never thought you could be so venomous, attacking Juncai so viciously in broad daylight, and..."

"You shut up, too!"

Ji Huan’s face was a mask of frost, her gaze filled with loathing and cold indifference.

"I think you know exactly what happened better than I do! I’m still standing here perfectly fine, and you and your son should both be thanking Ding for that. Otherwise, even if I were the one to die today, Huang Juncai would not have escaped his doom!"

Ji Xiu’e’s gaze flickered and fell on the small wooden ball on the ground.

Ji Huan walked up and stood before her.

"I’m done wasting my breath on you. Whether you want to demand justice for a person or a dog, be my guest. Who’s to say I don’t have my own justice to demand?"

She spoke these last words with a lowered voice.

And it was precisely this sentence that made Ji Xiu’e go rigid.

She looked up, her eyes meeting Ji Huan’s.

The girl’s face didn’t much resemble Mrs. Wei’s, but those eyes were her spitting image. They were clear and deep, without a single ripple, yet they seemed to see right through a person’s heart, sending an involuntary chill through the body.

’How ridiculous! What was she afraid of? There was nothing to fear!’

’It just wasn’t time yet... I’ll bear it. I’ve borne it for all these years.’

Ji Xiu’e was the first to look away, as if she had no intention of pursuing the matter further.

"Mom! She injured me this badly, and don’t forget Heizi..."

"Shut up!" Ji Xiu’e said hatefully. "It was just an animal. If it’s dead, it’s dead. How much more trouble do you want to cause!"

When Ding was mauling Heizi, Mrs. Zhu had grabbed Ji Mingmao and run far away. Now, only Ji Qingshan and Ji Xiu’e were left on their side at West River Gully.

The disparity in strength was immense. No matter how much Huang Juncai couldn’t stomach this, he had to force it down.

Seeing Ji Xiu’e about to leave with the old man and the youth in tow, Ji Huan suddenly went after them. She leaned in close to Ji Xiu’e and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"My Ding is extremely vengeful. It never lets go of anyone who has bullied me. It was lucky that only a beast was killed this time. What if it had been Cousin Juncai... Auntie, you’ve already lost one son. You must watch this second one very carefully. After you’ve passed on, you’ll be counting on him to perform your last rites."

"You!" Ji Xiu’e stopped in her tracks, a sinister coldness flaring in the depths of her eyes.

’The death of her eldest son, Huang Junjie, was her weak spot. Sure enough, it was a bullseye every time.’

Ji Huan drew back, her tone switching to one of casual conversation.

"Oh, by the way, Auntie. I haven’t seen Uncle the last few times you’ve visited. Has he gone gambling again? That’s not good. Gambling causes immense harm. At best, it leads to financial ruin. At worst, it destroys families... I’d have thought you and Uncle would have experienced that firsthand."

"Ji. Huan."

Ji Xiu’e stared daggers at Ji Huan, forcing the name out one syllable at a time. Her expression was terrifying.

Ji Huan’s icy expression, however, instantly melted into a smile. She even waved. "When one person gambles, the whole family suffers. You must remember that saying. Goodbye."

After the three had left in a rage, Widow Xie said disapprovingly, "Why did you have to deliberately provoke her?"

Although she hadn’t clearly heard what Ji Huan said to Ji Xiu’e, she could guess the gist of it from Ji Xiu’e’s murderous expression.

"Ji Xiu’e is a venomous snake, and this snake has practiced the Ninja Divine Skill. If I don’t provoke her, she’ll just keep her head down, hiding in the shadows. I’ll never be able to sleep in peace."

Ji Huan had long anticipated that once her business in Yeyang got going, Ji Xiu’e would inevitably catch wind of it and show up at her door.

And show up she did. But her wicked nature hadn’t changed; this time, she used Ji the Fourth as her weapon.

And Huang Juncai was clearly bent on taking her life.

’At this point, it’s either kill or be killed. No more holding back.’

’Ji Xiu’e is so good at biding her time, isn’t she? Let’s see if she can still keep it together after receiving this little present from me.’

Widow Xie just assumed Ji Huan was clashing with Ji Xiu’e because she still suspected the woman’s involvement in Dabao’s kidnapping, on top of the fact that Ji Xiu’e had teamed up with Aunt Kang to scheme against her marriage prospects. She didn’t think much more of it.

"And all that sordid business with Ji the Fourth, how did you know about that?"

Not just Widow Xie, Ji Xuelan was also very curious.

Before today, they had never heard Ji Huan mention it.

"After the prefectural exam."

Ji Liantang being beaten, Ji Qingshan having a stroke—with these things happening one after another, it was obvious it wasn’t that simple.

"The village rumors were wild and unreliable, so I simply asked Ping’an to help me investigate. With a two-pronged approach in both town and Yeyang, I quickly got to the bottom of it."

"Honestly, you." Widow Xie poked Ji Huan on the forehead. "How did you even think to do that?"

Ji Xuelan was also astonished that she had the foresight to investigate all this.

She was even more astonished that Ji Huan had been holding such a huge trump card over Ji Liantang, yet had managed to wait until now to play it.

"’One should not harbor intentions to harm others, but one must never be without defenses against them.’"

’Guided by this principle, I gather all the gossip about my enemies, whether true or false. It always comes in handy at a critical moment.’

Ji Huan kept that part to herself, though.

"As for why I waited until now... If I had brought it up for no reason, putting aside the final effect, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my own hands clean."

She could have secretly spread the information as a "rumor," but Ji Huan didn’t want to do that.

Knowing full well that branch of the Ji Family would never give up, she naturally had to save it as a trump card to be used for its maximum value.

Ji Qingshan had been jolted from his dream of official glory, but that wasn’t enough. His beautiful dream had not yet been completely shattered.

So she would be the one to rip off that last fig leaf and completely pop the bubble of his lingering hope.

Once Ji Qingshan gave up hope and was taken down, Aunt Kang, Mrs. Zhu, and the others would lose their backbone and become insignificant.

Not to mention that scum Ji Liantang, who was so detached from the real world his combat effectiveness was basically zero.

Then she could free up her time and energy to focus on dealing with Ji Xiu’e.

"I had originally wanted to bring up my cousin’s leg injury at the same time, but..."

"I know what you’re worried about," Ji Xuelan interrupted her.

"At first, I also couldn’t wait to broadcast the truth, but my dad promised Grandfather. It was one of the conditions for splitting the family back then...

It’s better not to say anything. Otherwise, if the village gossips found out, they’d definitely come to our door asking about the past, and it would be endless.

I don’t want Ming Fang to be hurt again..."

Ji Xuelan let out a long sigh.

"Anyway, Ming Fang has already put it behind him. And the things you did mention are enough to tear the mask right off Ji Liantang’s face. Let’s see if he still feels so superior from now on!"

"Stop chatting, you two! The pork feast is ready!" Aunt Gao shouted in their direction, holding a ladle.

Though it was called a ’pork feast,’ it could have been called a full-on nose-to-tail banquet.

Blood sausage, sautéed pork intestines, sliced boiled pork, meat picked from the bone, and stewed pork with pickled cabbage—all the essential dishes were there.

The meat picked from the bone was especially popular. It was made by simmering marrow bones in a rich, old broth, then stripping the meat directly from the bones. It was served piled high on a platter to be dipped in minced garlic. The potent garlic aroma and the tender, fall-off-the-bone meat made it the favorite dish.

Village Chief Meng even had someone deliver two jugs of wine from his home.

The aroma of meat and wine wafted over West River Gully. On this cold winter day, everyone gathered together in a lively hubbub, chatting and catching up. Their moods weren’t spoiled by the earlier unpleasantness, though it inevitably became a topic of conversation.

Everyone crowded around, except for the young man with the scarred brow. He didn’t join the throng, and if Ji Huan hadn’t spotted him in time, he probably would have left already.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to leave," Ji Huan called out to him. "Tomorrow morning, report to Ji’s Flavor Industry on Yeyang East Street. You can find it, right?"

The young man with the scarred brow froze in place.

Ji Huan smiled. "You answered every question I posed correctly—and I keep my word."

Widow Xie was just coming over to greet him when she overheard this and quickly pulled Ji Huan aside.

"Wuan, are you really going to hire him? Maybe you should reconsider?"

Ji Huan asked, puzzled, "Why? I observed that he’s very quick-witted. He’s also calm in a crisis and quite brave. A person like that isn’t..."

She trailed off, suddenly stopping.

She recalled how Widow Xie had hesitated, stopping herself mid-sentence, when she had introduced the young man with the scarred brow earlier.

"He..." ’Could it be he has some kind of difficult past?’