While on Mount Hua, my mind is at peace!

Chapter 40 Wangjiazhai Village

Seeing that Granny Wang had a kind face, Yue Feng asked her if she had any spare rooms and if she could take him and his wife in for the night. Granny Wang, seeing his polite manners and pleasing words, and knowing that Wu Shuangxue was a beautiful woman, readily agreed.

Yue Feng and Wu Shuangxue followed Granny Wang to Wangjiazhai Village. They chatted along the way and learned that Granny Wang lived alone, as her son and daughter-in-law had both passed away the year before last.

When Granny Wang recounted this story, tears streamed down her usually cheerful face. Wu Shuangxue frowned, about to ask how her son and daughter-in-law had died. Yue Feng tugged at her sleeve, stopping her.

The two arrived at the Wang family's house, which turned out to be a very dilapidated little courtyard, though it was quite clean. Granny Wang settled them in a room on the east side of the courtyard, which was where Granny Wang's son and daughter-in-law had lived before their deaths.

Granny Wang's house was bare, and she didn't have much to offer the two of them. She made up the bedding, scooped some water from a broken vat outside, and then left. Yue Feng sat down on a small stool by the door, while Wu Shuangxue sat down by the bed. The two looked at each other and simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief.

Wu Shuangxue said, "Why didn't you let me ask just now?"

Yue Feng said, "The timing is wrong. The old man is already too heartbroken. Even if we wanted to ask, there's no need to wait until now."

Wu Shuangxue seemed lost in thought when she suddenly heard Granny Wang call from outside the door, "Child, are you resting?"

"No," Yue Feng replied, getting up to open the door. He saw Granny Wang holding a stack of clothes and saying to Yue Feng, "These are my daughter-in-law's old clothes. They're a bit worn, but they're still clean. Son, if your wife doesn't mind, she can wear them for now."

Yue Feng thanked her repeatedly, took the clothes with both hands, put them aside, took out a ten-tael silver ingot from his purse, and handed it to Granny Wang with both hands, saying, "This is a small amount of silver, just a token of my appreciation. Please accept it, Granny."

Grandma Wang was startled and waved her hands frantically, saying, "No, no, no! How could an old woman like me possibly afford such a large sum of money?"

Yue Feng handed the silver ingot to Granny Wang, letting her hold it, and said with a smile, "Please consider this as my wife and I's room and board expenses. Use this money to treat us to something nice."

Granny Wang still thought it was too much, and Yue Feng had to persuade her quite a bit before she finally accepted the silver ingots. Granny Wang immediately said she would go out right away to buy some fish from a fisherman in the village: "My son and daughter-in-law both love my fish dishes; I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

After seeing Granny Wang off, Yue Feng returned to his room, where Wu Shuangxue had already changed her clothes. Despite her simple attire, her natural beauty was undeniable, and Yue Feng couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. Wu Shuangxue gave a cold snort and turned her face away.

"young married woman……"

"I'm not your wife. If you call me that again, I'll kill you."

Yue Feng chuckled: "I just want to ask you, are you sleeping? If you're not, then move aside. I'm tired and want to lie down and rest."

Wu Shuangxue sprang onto the bed, arms outstretched, her body stiff, completely filling the small space. Yue Feng walked to the bedside, and Wu Shuangxue said, "What are you doing! This is someone else's house!"

"I won't do anything to you in your own home," Yue Feng said teasingly through the bed curtains, pulling them down. "My dear wife, just behave yourself tonight and get some sleep. I'll call you when the fish is ready."

Wu Shuangxue angrily retorted, "If you dare not call me, I'll never forgive you!"

"Alright, alright, I know, you little glutton."

The area behind the curtain fell silent, and soon the sound of even, gentle breathing could be heard.

Yue Feng moved a stool over, leaned against the bed, closed his eyes to rest, and unknowingly fell asleep. When he woke up, moonlight was already streaming in from the window, and he could hear two men talking outside the courtyard gate.

"Is this the old woman's house?"

"That's right. She used to come to my house to buy fish all the time, how could I not know?"

"Hurry up and search inside. That old woman was able to pull out so much silver; she probably has more at home. If you find it, we'll split it fifty-fifty according to the old rules."

The courtyard gate opened, and footsteps entered the yard. Yue Feng flashed out of the house, pointed a finger in mid-air, and blasted a large hole in the heart of one of the men. The man's face remained frozen in a greedy expression, but his body slowly collapsed.

The other man was so terrified by the bloody and horrific scene before him that he involuntarily opened his throat. Yue Feng reacted quickly and grabbed him by the neck.

"Shh—" Yue Feng put his index finger to his lips. "Keep your voice down, someone's sleeping here. I'm asking you, where is that old woman you were talking about?"

Seeing Yue Feng's amiable expression, the man became even more frightened and, after a long pause, finally said, "At...my house."

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing much, just tied her up. We plan to search her house first, then release her."

The man's eyes flickered, which Yue Feng noticed, and he nodded.

"Come on, take me to your house."

The man glanced at his dead companion, dared not disobey, and led Yue Feng to his home.

Where are they?

"In the woodshed... woodshed."

Yue Feng found Granny Wang tied up in the woodshed, her mouth gagged with a rag. Seeing that Granny Wang's eyes were closed, Yue Feng quickly went over to check her pulse and breathing, and found that she was fine, probably just too frightened.

Yue Feng untied the ropes binding Granny Wang, removed the rag from her mouth, and asked the fisherman, "Where's the silver?"

The fisherman took out some silver from his pocket, and Yue Feng took it and asked, "Who is the other person?"

"He's a childhood friend of mine, working as a maid for the Xu family in the city. It seems the Xu family is having dinner with someone tonight, and they're short on fish, so they sent him to buy some. That's when he ran into that old... Granny Wang."

Yue Feng remained calm and asked, "Who will your childhood friend give the fish to after he buys it?"

"One of the stewards from the Xu family lives at the village entrance."

Yue Feng then asked the fishermen for information about their childhood friends, and the fishermen answered honestly. Yue Feng instructed the fishermen to select two baskets of good fish, while he carried Granny Wang on his back, and together they returned to Granny Wang's house.

Wu Shuangxue had woken up sometime earlier and was now standing in the courtyard, staring at the corpse at her feet. Seeing Yue Feng approach, she immediately asked, "Where have you been? What happened?"

Yue Feng said to the fisherman, "Go to the corner and dig a big hole." After the fisherman left, he told Wu Shuangxue the whole story.

Soon after, a fisherman reported that the pit had been dug. Yue Feng ordered him to throw his childhood friend's body into the pit, and with a casual push, he pushed him in as well.

[Accessibility +10]

Yue Feng filled in the pit, took out the ten-tael silver ingot, and handed it to Wu Shuangxue.

"Can I entrust Granny Wang and everything else to you?"

Wu Shuangxue took the silver ingot and said coldly, "Do whatever you want. Although my Six Doors is not as arrogant as the Eastern Depot, we can still cover for you."

Yue Feng suddenly kissed her on the cheek, and amidst laughter, picked up the fish basket and fled the courtyard like the wind.