Her ability level was too low; she needed to raise it quickly. Having just enough strength to kill was far from sufficient.
She held a low-level crystal core in each hand. The first ability she cultivated was wind-based. She planned to stay awake all night to raise all her abilities to at least level one; the beginner stage was just too weak.
After all, reaching level one was still simple and wouldn't take much time.
The chirping of cicadas was very clear in the silent night, occasionally punctuated by the croaking of frogs.
In the middle of the night, Xi Qingyue stopped absorbing the crystal cores. Her wind, wood, earth, and water abilities had now all reached level one.
Xi Qingyue dried the washed clothes using a dryer and then changed into the set of coarse cloth garments.
She glanced at the sleeping Xi Weilan, quietly slipped out of the room, and went outside.
She walked in a circle around the large willow tree, then climbed up and swung herself onto the branches.
The view from the large willow tree was excellent; in the moonlight, she could see the movements at the entrance of the village on the other side.
She was waiting, watching for any activity at Xi Erniu's house. If someone really did come at night, it would surely be sent by the wealthy landlord Wang.
If that were the case, then she would have to find time to pay a visit to the Wang family. Just because she wasn't staying there tonight didn't mean she should overlook the fact that the rich landlord was targeting her. She believed strongly in reciprocal courtesy.
She sat on a sturdy branch, a crystal core appearing in each hand again. On this willow tree, it was only natural to enhance her wood ability.
While absorbing the crystal cores, she kept sensing the movements in the village.
An hour later, a few sneaky figures emerged from the shadows at the village entrance. They seemed to have a clear purpose, heading straight for the location of Xi Erniu's house.
Xi Qingyue nimbly jumped down from the tree and stealthily made her way toward Xi Erniu's place.
Li Laizi, leading a few of his men, headed for Xi Erniu's house as they had been informed. They were here for the ten silver taels.
The group tiptoed into the Xi family yard. Li Laizi ordered one of his men to climb over the courtyard wall and then open the gate from the inside.
"Be careful. Our target is the two children. Don't wake anyone up and cause unnecessary trouble."
Once inside, Li Laizi had them search every room. They needed to tie the children up and take them back.
Half an hour later, a subordinate came out of a room carrying a sack over his shoulder.
"What about the other child? Weren't there supposed to be two—one about three years old?" Li Laizi frowned in displeasure.
The rich landlord Wang had specifically said there was a seven or eight-year-old child and a three-year-old child. Both had to be taken back. Not one could be missing.
"Don't know. We only found one kid, about seven or eight. How about we just take this one back first?" the subordinate suggested helpfully.
"Yeah, boss. We searched everywhere. There's only this one child. Maybe the other went to a relative's place. Let's just hand this one over to Lord Wang first."
Hearing his men's reasoning, Li Laizi found it acceptable and nodded. "Alright, one is better than none. We can always make another trip."
With that, he prepared to lead his men away.
Watching their series of actions, Xi Qingyue sneered coldly in her heart. "What a fine Lord Wang. Your life is as good as mine. Just wait."
They clearly intended to kidnap her and her sister to vent their anger. Unfortunately, these fools didn't even bother to ask about the children's genders before attempting a kidnapping. They simply didn't take children seriously at all.
She stroked her chin in thought. If she let these people take the child away, Xi Erniu would surely report it to the authorities tomorrow, which would interfere with the village head handling her household registration. Killing these people here would probably cause problems too. No, her household registration had to be secured first.
With this decision made, she had a plan: none of them were good people anyway, so let them tear each other apart.
Just as Li Laizi and his men were about to sneak away, a gentle breeze brushed past.
"Ah..."
A scream shattered the silence of the Willow Tree Village night like boiling oil in a pan.
Xi Erniu and his wife, sound asleep, were jolted awake by the wailing in the yard. They rushed out without even bothering to put on shoes.
When they saw the black-clothed figures lying in the yard and the sack placed on the ground, Xi Erniu was instantly consumed by fury. Without a second thought, he charged forward. He only had one son. How dare anyone try to take his child? They were asking for death.
Cheng Dingxiang started shouting at the top of her lungs. "Thieves! Someone help! Catch the thieves!"
Li Laizi and his men had been knocked down by an inexplicable gust of wind, and a sharp pain shot through their knees as if someone had slashed them with a knife. Lying on the ground, they instinctively began to howl.
By the time they regretfully covered their mouths, it was too late. Xi Erniu rushed out of the house and started punching and kicking them wildly.
"Trying to steal my child? I'll kill you! I'll kill you..."
Li Laizi, enduring the pain in his knees, tussled with Xi Erniu. The other men quickly joined in, scrapping with Xi Erniu.
Cheng Dingxiang, still shouting loudly, joined the fray armed with a fire poker. The entire yard descended into chaos.
Neighbors living nearby, hearing the commotion, hurried over and jumped into the fight, making the scene even livelier.
As more and more villagers arrived, Li Laizi and his men quickly went from fighting to being on the receiving end of a one-sided beating.
In no time, Li Laizi and his gang were beaten black and blue and then tied up tightly.
Xi Qingyue didn't watch any further. While the villagers were tying up the men, she returned to the thatched cottage by the large willow tree.
First, she changed Xi Weilan back into her coarse cloth clothes. Then she made the other two rooms dusty and filthy.
She also put away the tables and chairs in the rooms, making half of each room dirty again. She spread out the bedding she had brought from home in a corner.
She wasn't sure if anyone would come here, but it was better to be prepared.
A quarter of an hour later, Aunt Wang hurried over with two other women to her thatched cottage.
Before they arrived, Xi Qingyue hugged Xi Weilan and lay down on the bedding. The sofa was stored away in her space, and the spot where it had been was once again dirty.
Through the window, under the pouring moonlight, Aunt Wang glanced inside and breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, Da Ya and Er Ya are fine. I said so. They've just moved here. No one knows they're staying here yet. No one would come to steal them."
"Not necessarily. The village head was right to send us to check. That Li Laizi came to steal children. Who knows if there are others?"
"Oh, those two poor girls. Look at this house. It has nothing. Xi Erniu is truly a beast."
The women whispered quietly outside. The village head had just interrogated the men and learned they were there to kidnap children. Worried about the two sisters, he had sent them to check.
"Shh, keep your voices down. Don't wake them. There probably won't be anyone else coming tonight. Let's go."
Aunt Wang cut off their conversation and led the others away.
After they left, Xi Qingyue's eyes snapped open. Good thing she had been prepared. It seemed there were still kind-hearted people in the village.
She didn't pull out the sofa again but slept on the ragged bedding instead. She couldn't be bothered with whatever happened next at Xi Erniu's place.
After tonight's events, even if something happened later to Xi Erniu's family or the wealthy Wang family, no one would suspect her. At most, they would think it was mutual retaliation.
