Volume One, Chapter Six: Simply Beyond Words!

A guava tree stood shrouded in wisps of nearly transparent vapor. Lin Xiaoxu felt a sudden constriction in his chest, followed by a wave of dizziness that blurred his vision. He stumbled, lost his footing, and fell hard onto the mountain soil.

After regaining his composure, he realized that because he had only just received the inheritance, his internal spiritual energy was weak and his foundation unstable. Coupled with his excessive expenditure of energy, his body had been severely overdrawn. Seeing that the aura still lingered around the guava tree, he simply sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state to cultivate the Nine Heavens Lingyun Technique.

He did not know how much time had passed before he finally opened his eyes.

"Wow!" Lin Xiaoxu was stunned by the sight of the guava tree before him.

The tree, having absorbed the spiritual energy, seemed infused with a newfound vitality. It had more than doubled in size. Even the guavas dotting the green branches were bright and translucent, each as large as a bowl, weighing down the branches until they looked ready to snap. A rich, intoxicating fragrance of fruit filled his nostrils. He closed his eyes, entranced, and felt his entire body relax.

Overjoyed, Lin Xiaoxu plucked a guava and took a large bite. The flesh was crisp and succulent; the juice was sweet and abundant. The soft, pale yellow seeds in the center had a rich, creamy texture. This was without a doubt the best guava he had ever tasted in his life!

As he marveled at the fruit, a wave of extreme comfort washed over him. It felt as if a weary office worker, exhausted from overtime, had stripped off his clothes and stepped into a warm spring, being massaged by gentle hands all over. It was simply indescribable.

Elated, Lin Xiaoxu quickly picked all the guavas nourished by the spiritual energy and packed them into two fertilizer bags. He hoisted both bags—totaling two or three hundred pounds—as easily as if they were two dolls. With a turn, he dashed down the mountain like a gust of wind.

"Quick, hit that idiot!"

A group of village children, seeing Lin Xiaoxu return, began pelting him with mud and small stones as usual. Lin Xiaoxu considered kicking them away, but decided against it; after all, they were not even ten years old, and it wasn't worth the trouble.

Just as he reached the door of his earthen-brick house, he heard a man speaking. Even if the voice were turned to ash, he would recognize it: it was the village chief, Wu Deshun.

"Yulian, the eight years you spent with that gambler Zhao Daming were hard enough. Before he died, he even sold you to Lin Xiaoxu, that idiot who can’t even wipe his own backside. But I can offer you a way out. As long as you stay with me, I’ll waive the twenty thousand that your late husband owed me. I guarantee you’ll live in luxury, eating well and wearing fine dresses with polished nails. I can even get you on welfare; you’ll have five hundred yuan deposited into your bank account every month without lifting a finger."

Wu Deshun cornered Shen Yulian in the main room.

"Wu Deshun, you are shameless! Let me tell you, you're dreaming!" Shen Yulian refused flatly. The man she loved was Xiaoxu, and she would never choose anyone else.

"Hmph!" Wu Deshun sneered, a flash of malice in his eyes. He had thought his offer was irresistible, yet she had rejected it. "Shen Yulian, you second-hand goods, don't be ungrateful! People say big breasts mean a small brain, and that saying is clearly true!"

Shen Yulian ground her teeth in rage, wishing she could tear Wu Deshun’s mouth apart. But Wu Deshun was in his early forties, a large and brawny man; if it came to a fight, she stood no chance.

"I have money and power! It's your family's good fortune that I’m even interested in you!" Wu Deshun lunged at her.

Shen Yulian ducked and slipped under his arms like a cat.

"Still trying to hide? Once I catch you, I’ll make you cry out for mercy!" The pent-up frustration of the last five years reached a breaking point. His eyes bloodshot, he lost all reason, ready to unleash his beastly instincts.

*Bang!*

A fist the size of a bowl landed squarely on Wu Deshun’s face. He let out a shriek of pain and collapsed to the floor.

"Damn it! Who is so blind that they dare to hit me? Are you tired of living?" Wu Deshun knew from the force of the blow that it couldn't have been Shen Yulian.

"Village Chief, why are you here? I thought you were a thief!" Lin Xiaoxu said with a silly grin.

"Lin Xiaoxu! It was you, you idiot!" The side of Wu Deshun’s face throbbed with pain and numbness. Furious, he scrambled up, intending to beat Lin Xiaoxu to death on the spot.

But to Lin Xiaoxu, Wu Deshun’s movements were slower than slow-motion. Before Wu Deshun could fully rise, Lin Xiaoxu crouched down, aimed his backside at the chief’s face, and sat down hard.

Shen Yulian’s eyes widened in shock, her jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"Mmph-mph..."

Wu Deshun felt as if his face were covered by a black cloth, unable to see anything. He felt as if his head had been shoved into a cesspit. The stench of sweat, feces, and urine nearly sent him to the afterlife.

"Xiaoxu, that’s enough! You’ll kill him!"

"Oh, Sister-in-law." Before standing up, Lin Xiaoxu deliberately rubbed his backside against Wu Deshun’s face a few more times.

"Gag—retch—"

The moment Lin Xiaoxu moved away, Wu Deshun gasped for fresh air, but his nose and throat were already filled with the stench. He gagged and coughed uncontrollably, his face turning the color of a pig's liver.

Wu Deshun shot a venomous glare at the still-grinning Lin Xiaoxu before sprinting away like a man running a hundred-meter dash. He reached a nearby stream and began scrubbing his face and rinsing his mouth incessantly, not stopping until his cheeks were sore and his skin was raw.

"Shen Yulian! Lin Xiaoxu! You dare to offend me? Let’s see how you survive in this village!"