Bai Yujie's eyes reddened at the words, and tears began to fall.
Granny Wang cursed irritably, "Putting on that pitiful act, who are you trying to fool? There are no men here. If you're trying to use that trick to attract a man, you've come to the wrong place!"
Thinking of her own miserable fate, Bai Yujie couldn't help but burst into tears.
The more Granny Wang looked, the angrier she became. "You think you're in the right? Wasn't it you who brought misfortune to my son?"
"I'll beat you to death!"
She picked up a feather duster, ready to strike.
Bai Yujie immediately cried out, "Erzhu, Erzhu, come quickly..."
Hearing this, Granny Wang hesitated, lowering her hand but still glaring viciously. "You wretched girl, just wait. I want to see how long that dead eunuch can protect you!"
With that, she stormed out in a huff.
Left alone, Bai Yujie sat by the bed, wiping her tears.
In her mind, she couldn't help but recall the scene of Chen Erzhu angrily beating Wang Hu and slapping her mother-in-law. Her eyes gradually brightened.
"Erzhu, if you can protect me, even if your body is flawed, I... I am willing to be with you! But, the two hundred thousand that mother-in-law wants..."
Thinking of this, her expression suddenly dimmed, and she sighed softly.
Two hundred thousand seemed like an astronomical amount to her. How could Chen Erzhu possibly come up with it?
...
Chen Erzhu returned home, barely having sat down when he heard someone enter.
He immediately became alert. Could it be Wang Hu seeking revenge?
He quickly went out to check, only to find it was a few of his relatives: his uncle, cousin, and younger uncle.
His face instantly darkened, knowing exactly why they were here.
Sure enough, his uncle got straight to the point.
"Erzhu, it's been almost a year since your father passed. We paid the five thousand for the funeral expenses back then. You should repay it now, don't you think?"
Chen Erzhu immediately put on a smile and said, "Uncle, younger uncle, cousin, don't worry. I'll repay the money as soon as possible!"
His cousin retorted, "How will you repay it? You don't have any skills to earn money, staying in the village all day. What income could you possibly have?"
Chen Erzhu's face darkened, but he calmly replied, "Aren't you underestimating me a bit?"
At this moment, his younger uncle chuckled, "Erzhu, actually, we came today to discuss something with you. You don't have to repay the money. Your family has land, right? Just give it to us. After all, you can't farm it anyway."
Chen Erzhu's expression turned grim. So they were eyeing his family's land.
For a farmer, land is life itself.
His uncle also smiled, "Exactly, Erzhu, what your younger uncle said is right. That land is of no use to you. Why not give it to us? Besides, we don't want all of it, just the three acres at the east end of the village. One acre for each of our families, is that a problem?"
Chen Erzhu frowned slightly. What were they scheming?
His younger uncle continued with a smile, "Erzhu, your aunt is planning to arrange a marriage for you. The girl is from our village, very pretty, though she's mute. But don't mind that. Given your situation, it's already good that she doesn't mind you! However, you might need to offer a bit more for the bride price!"
Chen Erzhu's face grew even darker, and he retorted angrily, "Should I thank you for your trouble then?"
His younger uncle laughed heartily, "No need, no need. Just give us those three acres, and I'll make sure this marriage goes through for you!"
Chen Erzhu snorted coldly, "Sorry, I'm not interested in this marriage! Also, our family's land won't be given to you! Please leave. I'll repay the money I owe you, with interest, within a month!"
As soon as he said this, the smiles on his younger uncle and uncle's faces froze.
His cousin's face turned black, and he pointed at Erzhu, cursing, "Chen Erzhu, don't be ungrateful! Do you think we're here to inform you? We're just letting you know. We'll handle the paperwork with the Village Chief later. We don't need you involved, understand?"
Chen Erzhu's eyes darkened, and he coldly stared at him, "Take your finger away, don't point at me!"
His cousin became furious, glaring and shouting, "Who the hell do you think you are, putting on airs? Look at yourself in the mirror, you're the biggest disgrace to the Chen Family!"
His uncle and younger uncle quickly intervened, pulling his cousin away.
His younger uncle smiled, "Erzhu, don't be angry. That's just his temper, no harm intended! Alright, we'll be going now!"
Watching his uncle and younger uncle push his cousin out, Chen Erzhu chuckled coldly, "Fine, we'll see. Don't regret it later!"
He needed to find a way to make money!
Right now, he was so poor he could barely put food on the table.
After all, his poor health had prevented him from doing heavy labor, so he couldn't earn much.
Even his welfare had been cut off by the Village Chief.
But now, his health had improved, and he had acquired the cultivation technique passed down by the Immortal.
Thinking of this, he became excited and decided to start practicing immediately.
He locked the courtyard gate to avoid disturbances, returned to his room, and sat cross-legged, focusing his mind as the technique instructed.
Sure enough, he soon saw a golden nine-story pagoda floating in his mind's eye.
With a thought, he was instantly drawn inside.
What he saw left him utterly shocked.
It was a golden space, and most astonishingly, a golden Divine Dragon was bound by black chains, motionless, as if dead.
An incredibly terrifying and immense power flowed through the Divine Dragon's body, utterly astounding.
Chen Erzhu was dumbfounded.
"Is this the Divine Dragon left by the Immortal Master for me to practice the Divine Dragon Body Tempering Art? It's... it's enormous!"
Looking around the space, he saw ten elegantly designed racks at the edges, each holding various items.
These racks were protected by a golden barrier, except for the first one.
Chen Erzhu immediately approached it, and his eyes fell upon a set of jade needles. He was overjoyed, thinking these must be the eighty-one jade needles for the Creation Divine Needles.
He was thrilled and looked at the rest of the rack, finding several jade slips, which must contain various secret techniques.
He didn't examine them immediately but decided to start practicing the Divine Dragon Body Tempering Art right away.
The Divine Dragon Body Tempering Art had ten levels, and by practicing it, one could cultivate Dragon Qi within.
This Dragon Qi could transform and nurture all living things, possessing endless vitality and truly limitless applications.