"Alright, you have enough wood. I'll put it in the carriage," Lin Feng said, putting the axe down. This time, Lin Feng used pure Qi to put the wood in the carriage, because it was getting dark and they had to bring the wood down to the leader of the village.
Lin Feng used pure Qi, and instantly the pain in his body disappeared. Lin Feng still had the strength of the Half-Supreme God layer, that hadn't changed. Chopping wood like an ordinary man was a refreshing experience.
"Should I come with you?" asked Lin Feng when he saw Xiao Qing put her hand on the carriage. She was ready to go down to the leader of the Fortified Village.
Xiao Qing smiled indifferently, "What could happen to me? Have a rest in my house. When I come back, I'll grill some meat for you," said Xiao Qing, then left without turning around.
Lin Feng stood in her courtyard and gazed into the distance. He could still smell her sweet perfume. He didn't go back to the wooden hut right away, instead going for a walk.
—
After a few minutes, Lin Feng saw some people pointing at him, a bunch of older women. Lin Feng could easily hear what they were talking about.
"Hey, shhh! What if he heard us? I've heard that he was a wild man Xiao Qing brought back."
"Is that so? She brought back a wild man? Isn't she afraid? He could be evil and rap…" began an ugly woman. But she quickly stopped talking when she saw Lin Feng was looking at her icily, then ran away. The other women ran away as well.
Lin Feng stood there and watched the women run away. They seemed so petty. No matter where he went, older women pointed at him and criticized him. Lin Feng couldn't attack them, as they were so weak.
Lin Feng took another path. He realized that people here were poor. The biggest house was a only hundred square meters. Their houses and courtyards were all they had.
Lin Feng explored the area around Xiao Qing's house, walking a few dozens of li. It was the same everywhere. In the evening, at dusk, mist floated above the village, and the bright red sun set in the west. It reminded Lin Feng of Chinese antiquity.
Even though the village wasn't in a desert, the place was quite desolate, and there was lots of sand and dust there. Lin Feng liked this kind of lifestyle; people were poor and they didn't have much, but Lin Feng felt even more alive in such conditions.
Lin Feng went back to the wooden house an hour later, but Xiao Qing hadn't come back yet. Lin Feng started getting worried about her. It was already late, and the moon was already high up in the sky. With the moonlight, the atmosphere cooled, and Lin Feng felt cold in his heart.
He decided that if Xiao Qing didn't come back, he'd go to the government offices to look for her.
——
Lin Feng didn't know that some of the leader's servants were making things difficult for her, a manager, to be precise. He was in charge of receiving firewood.
"Manager Tian, I brought firewood in time, and the pieces are quite big. Usually, it's alright, why are you not satisfied today?" asked Xiao Qing, her hands on her hips. She was furious. She hadn't been bullied for a long time.
Manager Tian smiled mockingly, "I said it wasn't fine, do I need a reason for that? Hehe, you think you can do anything because our great prince likes you? I'll tell you one thing; until you have slept with your great prince, you are not one of us. Hehe, you understand?"
"You're humiliating me!" shouted Xiao Qing furiously, especially when the one who was humiliating her was a short fat man. She was so angry that she kicked the carriage, which rolled towards Manager Tian.
However, Manager Tian had the strength of the sixth Godly Emperor Layer, and even though Xiao Qing was quite strong, she couldn't compete with him. After a dozen attacks, he grabbed her by the wrists firmly.
Xiao Qing's face stiffened, starting to panic. Manager Tian looked at her in perverse glee. He grinned, showing his disgusting yellow teeth. "You have a strong temper, Miss. Every day, our great prince sleeps with many different women, you think he remembers you? Hehe, I think it'd be fine if I played with you today. Come to daddy!"
Manager Tian burst into laughter and dragged Xiao Qing even closer to him, as if he had caught fresh prey.
Xiao Qing's expression changed drastically. Now matter how she struggled, nothing worked though. Manager Tian was firmly holding her wrists and dragging her into his courtyard.
"Manager Tian! Our Great Young Master is calling you!" shouted someone at that moment, interrupting Manager Tian.
Manager Tian's smile stiffened as if he were a scorching hot flame and someone had thrown a bucket of ice-cold water at him. But the great prince was calling him, so he had to go.
"Miss, I'll let you off today, but we'll have other opportunities to have fun," said Manager Tian laughing evilly and caressing her cheeks. Then he looked at Xiao Qing's jade hairpin, which stirred his curiosity.
"Hey! Miss, you have such a beautiful jade hairpin, but how could a poor and miserable little girl like you have such a precious item? I'll take it," said Manager Tian, smiling coldly. He quickly stretched out his hand to her hair.
"Give it back to me! Give it back!" shouted Xiao Qing. She felt even more humiliated, and sad because it was the first time a man had given her a gift. She really cared about that hairpin, and now that Manager Tian had stolen it from her, she was furious.
However, Manager Tian just smiled icily. He slapped Xiao Qing's hand and pushed her away. She was blown away and crashed against the carriage. The firewood fell down and scattered on the ground. She groaned with pain and put her hand on her chest. She even coughed up some blood.
"Bah! Stinky miserable bitch! You're hot, but you're nothing more than a toy for other men!" said Manager Tian mockingly. He turned around and left the courtyard.
Very quickly, a young man in grey clothes came into the courtyard. He hastily ran towards Xiao Qing and supported her by the arm to help her stand up.
"Miss Qing, are you alright? Hurry up and leave while Manager Tian and the great Young Master aren't here," said the servant to Xiao Qing hastily.
Xiao Qing looked at him skeptically and asked, "You're the one who called him?"
"Yes, I called him to make him leave," said the servant, nodding and smiling casually.
"You moron! You'll be in danger, A Qi!" said Xiao Qing. Her expression changed quickly. She was extremely worried for him.
"Sister, don't worry about me. Hurry up and run! Don't ever come back here. I have a solution," said A Qi, pushing Xiao Qing away. Xiao Qing had no choice but to leave, but she was worried about Xiao Qi.
She had always brought firewood to the government offices, ever since she was young. Each time, Xiao Qi received the firewood from her. Time had passed and they had become like siblings. They had gone through similar hardships in life. Xiao Qi was an orphan, and the leader of the village had brought him in and he had become his servant.
Xiao Qi was usually quite afraid, but now Xiao Qing could see that he was a real man.
Xiao Qing wiped the blood off her mouth; she didn't want Lin Feng to notice there was something wrong. She didn't know that she had a big hand mark on her cheek…
——
Lin Feng was seated at the gate and gazing into the distance. When he saw that Xiao Qing wasn't coming back, he got ready to go and look for her.
However, as he was about to set off, Xiao Qing slowly came walking back. When Lin Feng saw her, he instantly noticed the red hand mark on her face and sensed that she was injured.
But Lin Feng didn't ask anything, he waited for her to speak.