Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Ye Qingyao stood in front of the courtyard gate, holding a pig-slaughtering knife.

Her hand holding the knife trembled slightly, and her face grew increasingly pale.

Because the area outside the courtyard was already crowded with people.

Almost all the able-bodied men in the village came, each carrying a wooden stick, a machete, and some even had harpoons for going out to sea, completely blocking the already small courtyard gate.

Ye Qingyao looked at those familiar faces, her face gradually turning pale.

She knew all of these people.

Even before her brother went missing, they were all incredibly kind to her when they saw her.

Some call her Qingyao, while others say she has a hard life and that she should feel free to ask if she needs anything in the future.

There were also families who lacked meat and food, and the older brother would bring them some when he hunted game in the mountains or caught big fish at sea.

At that time, everyone in the village said her brother was a good person.

They also said that the Ye siblings were kind-hearted.

But everything changed after her brother went missing.

At first, some people were willing to help her out.

But as the money left by his brother dwindled, and as everyone believed that Ye Wudi would never return, the so-called goodwill also disappeared.

Some people started bringing up old grievances from who-knows-how-many years ago.

Someone deliberately took away the dried fish that was drying in front of her house while she was away.

The village women, seeing that she was pretty, would gossip all day long, saying that she had learned to seduce men at such a young age.

That time, the village scoundrel got drunk and broke into her yard in the middle of the night.

Ye Qingyao fought back desperately, and finally grabbed a knife next to the stove and stabbed it into the other person's stomach.

The man didn't die, but the next day, Erhunzi's family stormed in with a group of people.

They pinned her to the ground and slashed her face with a knife, leaving three cuts that stretched from the corner of her eye to her chin.

His originally handsome face became grotesque as a result.

But Ye Qingyao has no regrets.

If she hadn't been ruthless enough, it wouldn't have been just her face that was ruined.

From that day on, those in the village with ill intentions became more wary of her.

Everyone knows that this girl is really capable of stabbing people with a knife.

"Don't come any closer!"

Ye Qingyao gripped the butcher knife tightly with both hands, pointing the blade at the crowd outside the courtyard.

"If you dare take another step forward, I'll really fight you to the death!"

There was a moment of silence outside the courtyard, followed by a burst of laughter.

"Hahaha! Fighting to the death?"

"You think you can scare us just because you have a knife?"

Although everyone was laughing loudly, they didn't immediately move forward.

Clearly, the scoundrel who had been stabbed earlier still made them somewhat wary.

Everyone wants to benefit, but no one wants to be the first to rush in and get hurt.

The burly man leading the group noticed their hesitation, and his expression immediately turned grim.

He took two steps forward and snorted coldly.

"What are you afraid of? With so many people, you can't even restrain a little girl?"

As the burly man spoke, his gaze swept over Ye Qingyao again.

Although her face was ruined, her figure remained unaffected.

If it weren't for the special instructions from that important person in the city that the person must be delivered intact, he might have had some other ideas.

But now is not the time.

The burly man cleared his throat and said loudly:

"Ye Qingyao, don't blame everyone for being heartless."

"Your brother offended a powerful figure in the city back then."

"They have already said that as long as you are sent there, they will give the village three thousand taels of silver."

"Three thousand taels!"

"Enough for everyone in the village to live comfortably for several years!"

Upon hearing this, the gazes of those around him intensified.

Three thousand taels of silver.

Even if it were divided among each household, it wouldn't be a small amount.

Anyway, Ye Qingyao has no father or mother.

Her only brother had long since disappeared.

They traded her alone for the wealth of the entire village.

It's a great deal no matter how you look at it.

Looking at those greedy faces, Ye Qingyao felt a chill run down her spine.

"My brother doesn't owe you any money at all."

"And I haven't offended any important people."

"You just want to use me to make money!"

The burly fat man sneered.

"Does it matter whether or not it's for exchanging money?"

"Your brother is already dead."

Ye Qingyao's body trembled violently.

"What did you say?"

The burly man's smile widened.

He knew that this news was the one that would be most devastating to Ye Qingyao.

The reason she was able to hold on all these years was simply because she always believed that Ye Wudi would come back one day.

As long as we break free from this idea.

What waves can a little girl stir up?

"I said, your brother died a long time ago!"

The burly fat man grinned.

"That's what the nobleman in the city said himself."

"Ye Wudi is ignorant of his own limitations. He offended people he couldn't afford to offend and was killed long ago."

"The bodies might be buried in some desolate wilderness."

"You haven't come back for so many years, you don't really think he's still alive, do you?"

Ye Qingyao's face turned deathly pale instantly, and the hand holding the pig-slaughtering knife began to shake uncontrollably.

"Impossible! You're lying!! My brother won't die!!"

She said this, but her voice grew softer and softer.

For so many years, there has been no news of him, and he has never come back even once.

Even the money that used to be sent back through intermediaries in previous years has completely stopped.

Ye Qingyao dared not think about it.

Because once she acknowledges her brother's death, all the things she has struggled to endure over the years will become meaningless.

Seeing her lost in thought, the burly man's eyes flashed with a hint of smugness.

"Hurry up and arrest her!"

The young men exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and walked into the courtyard.

Ye Qingyao suddenly came to her senses, raised the butcher knife, and her eyes gradually hardened.

"Come any closer, and I'll kill you!"

The person at the front paused.

The burly fat man started cursing angrily from behind.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

"With so many people, are we afraid of a brat?"

"Her brother is dead!"

"No one can save her today!"

"Oh?"

An aged voice suddenly rang out from behind Ye Qingyao.

"Yeah?"

The smiles on everyone's faces froze simultaneously.

Ye Qingyao also turned her head in a daze.

Gu Changjin, with white hair and dressed in black, stood with his hands behind his back, suspended in mid-air.

A sea breeze blew by, and my robes swayed gently.