Holy Soul Village's Troubles

Ning Qiu got dressed and followed Gou Dan and his mother to the village's small square.

Along the way, Xiao Wu acted as though she were the one who had suffered a loss, keeping her distance from Ning Qiu the entire time.

"Village Chief, what do you think we should do?"

"Exactly, Village Chief. This can't go on any longer! If it does, the village won't have any way to survive."

"Village Chief, say something already!"

Even from far away, they could hear the familiar voices of Holy Soul Village's villagers. Men, women, young, and old—countless villagers had gathered in front of the small square, all eyes focused on Old Jack. As for Old Jack, his gaze remained fixed on the handprint left on the water pool.

In Old Jack's view, if the village still had soul masters, how could every stray cat and dog dare to bully the villagers of Holy Soul Village?

"We still have to endure this matter," Old Jack replied.

"Endure, endure, endure—how much longer are we supposed to endure? They've gone too far! Since we can't afford to provoke them, can't we at least avoid them? I suggest we leave this place and relocate somewhere else!" a villager proposed.

"That's easy for you to say. This place has excellent geographical conditions and lies at the border between the Two Great Empires. There are many merchants passing through. If we move elsewhere, our vegetables might not sell as well. Besides, this is our home!" another villager objected.

"Do we really have to keep enduring this? Just because we're farmers, do we deserve to be bullied by those thugs? At worst, we'll fight them! They're only soul masters. I refuse to believe that so many of us can't beat them!" another villager said indignantly.

"Don't be rash. They're soul masters, while we're ordinary people. If we make a big issue out of this, it won't do us any good. When the time comes, the authorities will still side with them," Old Jack advised.

"Grandpa Jack is right. We can't act rashly. We still need to endure this!"

As soon as Old Jack finished speaking, a childish voice rang out. The villagers of Holy Soul Village turned toward the sound and saw a child around one meter forty-five tall walking into the crowd from the outskirts.

The adults were discussing serious matters, yet a child had actually interrupted.

However, the villagers of Holy Soul Village did not scold the child for it. On the contrary, they asked for his opinion.

"Little Village Chief, why do you agree with Old Jack too?" one villager asked Ning Qiu with some disappointment.

Ning Qiu was different from other children. The vegetable greenhouse technology he had created had greatly increased the income of Holy Soul Village's villagers. Privately, the villagers had come to a consensus.

Old Jack was already old. Once Ning Qiu came of age, they would elect him as the village chief.

Furthermore, Ning Qiu was sensible and well-behaved. Aside from his age and height, his words and actions resembled those of an adult. No—his mature temperament surpassed even that of some adults.

"The other side has soul masters. According to the laws of the Balak Kingdom, soul masters possess certain privileges in civil disputes that cannot be ignored. Moreover, they're a gang whose main source of income is protection money. There's a high chance they have nobles backing them. If we take this to court, we're farmers—we won't gain anything from it. We might even end up in prison because of it," Ning Qiu analyzed.

On the way here, Ning Qiu had already learned from Gou Dan's mother that the injured villagers were not just Gou Dan's father, Skinny Monkey, but also more than a dozen villagers who had gone into the city to sell vegetables that day.

The cause of the matter was very simple.

When the villagers of Holy Soul Village went into the city to sell vegetables, they had to pay protection money. It was now the end of the month, and the villagers had already paid it once at the beginning of the month.

But only a few days later, the Black Force that had originally collected the protection money was defeated by another Black Force. Their territory fell under the control of the new Black Force, which then demanded that they pay the month's protection money again.

After failing to reason with them, and intimidated by their brutality, the villagers of Holy Soul Village compromised. They paid the protection money for that month a second time.

Unexpectedly, over the next short half month, the Black Forces changed hands at an astonishing pace. The places supplied with vegetables by Holy Soul Village alone had changed hands between five Black Forces.

As farmers, they had neither status nor influence.

With no other choice, the villagers of Holy Soul Village ultimately compromised again. They paid protection money five more times.

Today, they had encountered yet another change in the Black Forces. The new gang demanded that the villagers of Holy Soul Village pay protection money once more.

Even a rabbit would bite when cornered, let alone people! For the same place, they had paid protection money seven times within a single month. And each payment had been more than the last. How could the villagers of Holy Soul Village possibly endure that?

Thus, the villagers, who had accumulated so much resentment, finally erupted.

Gou Dan's father, Skinny Monkey, gathered the villagers who had entered the city and fought the gang members.

The other side had soul masters. How could these villagers possibly be a match for them? Every villager who tried to defend their rights was beaten black and blue. When they went to the authorities, the authorities refused to accept the case on the grounds that they had caused trouble.

Helpless, the bullied villagers could only return to the village dejectedly.

"Are we just supposed to keep enduring this?" one villager asked indignantly.

"Exactly. There are so many of us. I don't believe we have to be afraid of them!" another villager echoed.

"It's not that we're afraid. It's that we can't," Ning Qiu said.

"Ning Qiu, I thought that as the village's Little Village Chief, unlike Old Jack, you would be young and hot-blooded. I never expected you to be so afraid of trouble too!" A villager looked at Ning Qiu with disappointment in his eyes.

"It's not that we're afraid. It's that we can't!"

Ning Qiu swept his gaze over the adults around him who had watched him grow up. Whether because of their past bond or because his system was now bound to the village and could no longer choose another one, he had to intervene in this matter. He said, "Uncles and aunties, if you trust me and trust Old Jack, then promise me this: don't enter the city again for the next month. At most one month. After one month, I'll get justice for you. Anyone who dares bully the villagers of Holy Soul Village—I want to see what they're made of!"

"If that's the case, won't our vegetables just rot in the fields?" a villager asked with a frown.

"Other than that, we have no choice. I promise everyone here that I will settle this debt with them properly," Ning Qiu said solemnly.

"Ning Qiu, they have soul masters!"

Before the villagers could respond, Old Jack, the village chief of Holy Soul Village, was the first to warn Ning Qiu. Deep down, he strongly disapproved of Ning Qiu's extreme approach.

"Soul masters? It's not like we don't have one! Xiao Wu!" Ning Qiu glanced at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu immediately understood. Walking on tiptoe, she stepped into the center of the crowd and introduced herself, "Hello, everyone. My name is Xiao Wu—the Wu in dancing. Martial soul: rabbit!"

As soon as Xiao Wu finished speaking, a yellow soul ring rose from beneath her feet.

PS: It's April 1st, and April Fools' Day has begun.

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