C18 The Village Tyrant

Sheng Nanzhen assured Miao Xiu repeatedly, and finally, Miao Xiu agreed to let her go out.

"Take some snacks with you. If you get hungry on the way, you can eat..."

Before she left, Miao Xiu kept giving her advice, like talking to a three-year-old.

Sheng Nanzhen finally set off with seventy dollars and some snacks.

In their village, every family had a bicycle except theirs. The only valuable thing they owned was her mom's pair of gold earrings. So, if she wanted to go out, she had to walk. It would take at least two and a half hours to reach Azure Crow Town.

After taking some medicine, she felt a bit better; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to walk for so long.

Sheng Nanzhen walked quickly, but halfway through, she started to pant and felt weak. It seemed she had overestimated her strength.

She took a break, drank some water, and continued on, only to be stopped at an intersection by a bamboo pole blocking the road. Four young men stood nearby.

Sheng Nanzhen glanced at them briefly.

From the memories of the original owner, she knew that the path from Azure Mountain Village to Azure Crow Town passed through several small villages. Among them were two villages, one called Gou Village and the other Guo Family Village. Due to some marriage issues years ago, these two villages became rivals. The people from Guo Family Village wouldn't let those from Gou Village pass through, and whenever people from Gou Village saw someone from Guo Family Village, they would fight.

She now stood at the crossroads that belonged to Guo Family Village. It seemed tensions between the two villages had escalated again. The original owner of her memories had heard about these issues but never witnessed them firsthand. Now, she was seeing it all for herself.

"Which village are you from?" someone asked.

Sheng Nanzhen replied, "Azure Mountain Village."

She had nothing to do with either of these villages, yet they wouldn't let her pass. The tall, skinny young man in the middle sneered, "Hmph, those folks from Gou Village don't even dare to acknowledge their own ancestors."

Sheng Nanzhen hadn't realized that by taking a shortcut, she had ended up on a path belonging to Gou Village. Now, these people didn't believe she was from Azure Mountain Village. Besides, she rarely took this route, so she was a stranger to them. The young men were even more determined not to let her through.

"Get back. We don't let people from Gou Village pass here."

Holding her temper, Sheng Nanzhen said, "I told you, I'm from Azure Mountain Village. I just took the Gou Village path as a shortcut. I have urgent business in town, so don't block my way."

She was a bit out of breath, but she could handle these young guys. Still, they refused to let her pass.

Sheng Nanzhen didn't have time to waste arguing with them. "I'll say it one more time: I need to get through. Setting up roadblocks on village paths is illegal."

"What's the deal with these people?"

"They set up roadblocks here, but they sure know who to target. They won't stop strong young men, but they'll go after the elderly and young women. As long as they're from the village, they make life impossible for them."

Sheng Nanzhen said, "I told you, I'm from Azure Mountain Village, and I have important business in town."

Her eyes were fixed on the bamboo pole, a quiet intensity in her gaze.

The group of young men huddled together, whispering.

"Doesn't she look just like that picture?"

"Yeah, exactly the same."

"Damn it, she's clearly from the village and dared to lie to us. Let's drag her into the straw and show her what happens when you try to fool us..."