After transmigrating into the body of the Jade Rat Spirit, I became Nezha's adopted sister.

But having taken Liu Pangzi's money, they had to do his bidding. The dark-faced man known as Instructor Zhang stepped forward, clasped his hands in a polite gesture, and said, "Young lady, please come with us. Master Liu would like to invite you to his residence for a few words."

Seeing this scene, Bai Yeying's initial sense of ease and joy vanished instantly.

Trouble still came knocking.

She pursed her lips, carefully tucked the clay figure into her bosom, looked up at the three instructors, her voice still clear and crisp, but lacking its previous softness: "What if I say no?"

Instructor Zhang frowned: "Young lady, don't make things difficult for us. You hit Master Liu, you have to give us an explanation."

"He bullied the elderly and weak first, forcibly robbed us of our money for vegetables, and even spoke rudely to us." Bai Yeying stood her ground. "I just asked him to pay the money he was owed."

"Stop wasting your breath on her!" Fatty Liu jumped up and down from behind. "Grab her! Take her back and I'm going to interrogate her properly!"

He spoke the last two words in a lewd and gritting tone.

The three instructors didn't hesitate any longer and surrounded them in a triangular formation. Their steps were steady and their breathing was long and even, clearly indicating that they possessed genuine skills and were not like Fatty Liu and the servants.

Judging from this situation, Bai Yeying knew she wouldn't be able to leave today unless things got serious.

She lightly touched the ground with her toes and slid to the left, aiming directly at Coach Li, who seemed to have the most stable lower body on the left!

Instructor Li reacted quickly, letting out a low shout as his staff swept across the room with a whoosh, blocking her path.

Bai Yeying did not take the blow head-on. Instead, she twisted her waist and slid past the staff by the slightest margin, while at the same time striking Coach Li's wrist with her right hand!

Instructor Li was shocked. He dropped his stick and felt a sharp pain in his wrist, which went numb and lost all feeling.

"You've got some skill!" Upon seeing this, Instructor Wang on the right swung a bronze rod with great force, aiming for the back of Bai Yeying's head!

Bai Yeying seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Without turning her head, she lunged forward, seemingly about to fall, but before hitting the ground, she braced herself with one hand, flipped in mid-air, and twisted her legs like scissors towards Coach Wang's arm holding the stick!

Instructor Wang had not expected his opponent to be so unpredictable and agile. He couldn't retract his staff in time, and his arm was caught in the crossfire. With a soft "crack," a sharp pain shot through him, and the copper staff slipped from his hand!

In the blink of an eye, the two instructors lost their weapons, and one of them suffered a wrist injury.

The remaining instructor, Zhang, was completely taken aback. This was no ordinary young girl. Her skills, her strength, and her speed...

He's a master.

He dared not be careless any longer. He drew a pair of judge's pens from his waist, let out a low shout, and pointed the pens at Bai Yeying's vital points. His moves were ruthless and skillful, clearly showing that he was the most skilled among the three.

Even with her bare hands, Bai Yeying wouldn't be careless when facing the Judge's Pen, which is specifically designed to counter internal martial arts techniques.

She weaved through the strokes of the pen, her toe kicking his hand, causing the judge's pen to fall.

With another kick, Coach Zhang fell to the ground and couldn't get up for a while.

She didn't intend to finish him off or kill him. These martial arts instructors were just doing their jobs for money; their crimes didn't warrant death.

When Fatty Liu saw that all the martial arts masters he had hired had been defeated by this woman, his body trembled violently. Beads of sweat rolled down his fleshy face and onto his silk shirt, soaking it completely.

He collapsed to the ground, his legs weak. He wanted to run, but he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

The three heavily hired bodyguards and instructors were lying on the ground in the blink of an eye, some groaning, some clutching their wrists, and when they looked at the plain-clothed girl standing a few steps away, their eyes were filled with fear.

Bai Yeying patted off non-existent dust from her skirt and walked step by step to Fatty Liu.

Seeing her approaching, Fatty Liu screamed and scrambled backward, trying to create distance: "You, you stay away! My, my brother-in-law is..."

"Shut up." Bai Yeying interrupted him, her voice not loud, but it choked Liu Pangzi's screams. She squatted down, held out her fair palm in front of Liu Pangzi, "Give it to me."

"Wh-what?" Fatty Liu's eyes widened, his mind completely blank with shock.

"Money," Bai Yeying said succinctly, her almond-shaped eyes slightly narrowed, "All the money you have on you."

She only meant to help when she saw injustice, not to rob anyone. But this fat Liu delivered himself to her doorstep, even hiring thugs, almost causing her to expose her skills and ruining her good mood from shopping all day. Asking for some compensation for emotional distress isn't unreasonable, is it?

"You...you're robbing me!" Fatty Liu stammered in disbelief.

Bai Yeying tilted her head, her face expressionless: "You forcibly took the old farmer's money for vegetables, isn't that robbery? I'm acting on behalf of Heaven, robbing the rich to help the poor. Besides..."

She pointed at the three instructors lying on the ground: "Hiring them must have cost you a lot, right? If you say another word, I'll beat you up like them, and then you can take it yourself."

Fatty Liu felt a chill run down his spine. Looking into the girl's clear but calm eyes, he felt a chill than when he had seen her make her move.

He dared not hesitate any longer and hurriedly began to rummage through his hands. He tremblingly pulled out his money pouch, sleeve pocket, and even a few silver notes from his boot, and piled them in front of Bai Yeying.

Copper coins, loose silver, and several silver notes of considerable denomination.

Bai Yeying didn't stand on ceremony. She took the bulging money pouch, stuffed in the coins and banknotes, and weighed it in her hand; it was quite heavy. She tied the pouch up and put it in her bosom.

She thought of the vegetable vendor; if Fatty Liu couldn't find her, he would definitely cause trouble for the vegetable vendor.

Her gaze fell on Fatty Liu's fat face, and she leaned closer: "Hey, Liu, look at me."

Fatty Liu looked up blankly and met Bai Yeying's eyes.

Fatty Liu's eyes glazed over instantly.

"I've forgotten about today. I can't remember anything about it. Your gold was stolen by bandits in the mountains when you left the city. Do you understand?" she said slowly, her voice penetrating directly into Fatty Liu's muddled mind.

Fatty Liu nodded blankly, his lips moving as he repeated, "I forgot... the bandits... the gold was stolen..."

Bai Yeying nodded in satisfaction, and followed the same procedure, giving instructions to the two terrified servants beside her. The two servants quickly stared blankly and nodded woodenly.

The three instructors who sat up nearby witnessed the entire scene. Having roamed the martial world and possessed some experience, they were all horrified. Was this girl perhaps no ordinary martial artist, but some kind of mountain spirit or monster?

Thinking of this, the three of them broke out in a cold sweat. Their gazes toward Bai Yeying were filled with fear, and they dared not even meet her eyes, for fear that they too would fall into her trap.

Bai Yeying turned and walked towards them. The three instinctively tried to shrink back, but the movement aggravated their injuries, causing them to wince in pain.

"Three instructors," Bai Yeying stopped in front of them, "look into my eyes."

Instructor Zhang gritted his teeth, trying to avoid it, but the voice seemed magnetic. He struggled for a moment, but ultimately met the voice. Li and Wang did the same. Soon, the three of them looked as bewildered as Fatty Liu and his servant.

"You were invited by Master Liu today to help fight the bandits. These injuries were sustained during the battle with the bandits. Remember that?" Bai Yeying repeated.

"Fighting bandits...fighting bandits..." the three murmured repeatedly, their eyes vacant.

Bai Yeying clapped her hands, took one last look at the group, turned around, and walked towards the mountains and forests. Her figure quickly disappeared into the shadows of the trees beside the official road.

After a long while, the few people who had been sitting blankly on the official road seemed to wake up from a dream and shook their heads violently.

Fatty Liu, clutching his still-aching knee, looked around in confusion at first, then his face changed drastically. Touching his empty chest and sleeve pockets, he screamed like a pig being slaughtered: "My gold! My silver notes! Those damned bandits! How dare they rob me in broad daylight! Ouch, my leg! It must have been those damned bandits who pushed me!"

The two servants, regaining their senses, rushed forward to help him up, equally indignant: "Master, it must be those thieves from outside the city! Let's report to the authorities! Report to the authorities!"

The three instructors helped each other to their feet, picked up their fallen weapons, and examined their injuries, their faces showing lingering confusion and fear.

Instructor Zhang rubbed his numb arm and hissed, "These bandits... they're really skilled. Their moves are bizarre, and they're incredibly strong. Even the three of us working together suffered such a great loss."

Instructor Li, shaking his still somewhat clumsy wrist, muttered, "Indeed, it's incredibly strange. Master Liu is really something; if he'd said he was dealing with such a tough nut, the price would have been different."

Instructor Wang stared in the direction Bai Yeying had disappeared. The woods were deep and twilight was deepening. He shrank back and whispered, "Alright, that's enough. Money is just an external thing. It's good that she's safe. This place... is a bit eerie. Let's hurry and help Master Liu back to the city."

The group of men, supporting each other, grumbled and sullenly made their way towards the county town, as if they had been robbed by bandits without cause.

...................

Bai Yeying sped through the forest until she was far from the main road and sure no one was following her before slowing down.

She took out the heavy money pouch, opened it, and looked inside. Besides silver coins, there were several jade pendants of good quality and a gold ring, clearly valuable items that Fatty Liu always carried with him.

"I'm rich!" she muttered, putting the money pouch away again. This windfall was enough to improve the food of the little demons in the cave for a long time, and perhaps it could even be exchanged for some useful things.