Let's just drift through life together in this quick transmigration story.

There was no sign of the bandits until noon the next day. The few who had caused trouble earlier were hung on the tree by the door as Xiong Bufan had arranged, so that others could see the consequences of their actions and that those who owed her something should take note.

Looking at the nearly rotting corpses, Jiang Yue felt a chill. Jiaolong Village was known for its vengeful nature, and this action had created a deep-seated grudge. She approached Xiong Bufan and said, "Master, shouldn't we avoid them? Jiaolong Village is not to be trifled with."

Xiong Bufan put a dried fish in his mouth and said, "Don't avoid it, let them come and redeem the corpse. If they don't come, just keep hanging there!"

"Yes, sir."

If he weren't too lazy to go out, Xiong Bufan would have liked to raid the bandits' lair and become their king himself.

Jiang Yue left with a heavy heart and went to find the kitchen to prepare ingredients for dinner. Xiong Bufan ate more than the others, so the ingredients had to be bought in advance, otherwise they would not be available, and it would be cheaper to buy them in advance.

The maids were terrified when they saw the corpse, so they tried their best to avoid the back door and did everything at the front door. Since they stayed behind last time, life had been much better than before. The maids didn't run away on their own initiative, perhaps because they were scared.

Xiong Bufan lived a relatively comfortable life. He had money, a charcoal brazier in his house, and could eat snacks and listen to music.

Jiang Yue could only find cheaper street performers in the village, saving every copper coin she could.

As dusk approached, the village lost its usual liveliness, and everyone closed their doors and windows early and stayed at home. Jiang Yue sensed something unusual and sent her maid to close the gate early, warning her, "Report any disturbance immediately."

Maidservant: "Yes, Madam."

Jiang Yue was still a little flustered, so she went to find Xiong Bufan.

No matter what happens, their master will protect them. After all, their master would kill the second-in-command of Jiaolong Village for a little maid. With such a large family, the master will not abandon them.

"Master, what should we do if the people from Jiaolong Village come?"

Xiong Bufan: "If we snatch it and throw it out, it won't do them any good even if they report it to the authorities."

Jiang Yue fell silent. This was an era where reporting to the authorities was useless; in the end, only the poor and impoverished suffered.

Perhaps sensing Jiang Yue's unease, Xiong Bufan said, "It's alright, I'll get you a few more guns later, you can shoot them all dead one by one."

"Sir, I am not a serial killer."

Xiong Bufan: "It's okay, you'll get used to it after killing a few more. One shot, one kill."

Jiang Yue fell silent, then walked a short distance away and added some more oil to the kerosene lamp to brighten the room.

The two sat for a while longer, and as it was getting late, Xiong Bufan said to Jiang Yue, "You should go back now. I'm going to eat braised pork knuckle tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll have someone prepare it as soon as possible."

Jiang Yue tucked Xiong Bufan in, drew the curtains, turned off the lights, and slowly left the room. Panpan had done all these things before, but now that Panpan was gone, Jiang Yue took over.

Jiang Yue slept very restlessly that night. She kept dreaming that bandits were coming, and she was fleeing with her husband on her back. No matter which road they took, the bandits would block their way. In a moment of carelessness, they would be chased to the riverbank, where they would slip and fall directly into the river. "Ah—"

Jiang Yue suddenly opened her eyes. Moonlight shone through the window, and everything in the room was still familiar. There were no bandits or river. She walked to the floor, poured herself a cup of cold tea, patted her chest, drank the tea to calm herself down, and then went back to bed to sleep.

Xiong Bufan didn't have this worry and slept soundly that night.

The next morning, Jiang Yue, with huge dark circles under her eyes and yawning, served food to Xiong Bufan.

Xiong Bufan guarded the braised pork knuckle in his bowl tightly, as if afraid that Jiang Yue's saliva would drip into his bowl. "I'll do it myself. You can make whatever you want to eat."

"It's Master."

Jiang Yue yawned the entire morning; anyone who didn't know better would think that Xiong Bufan had dragged her out of bed in the middle of the night to do chores.

After eating two braised pork knuckles in a row, Xiong Bufan looked at Jiang Yue and, unusually, showed some kindness, saying, "You don't need to be so busy; you should still rest."

"It's Master."

Panpan hadn't been heard from for three days. Xiong Bufan was quite relaxed about it, thinking that someone else would take care of her even without her. Jiang Yue, on the other hand, was extremely busy and occasionally complained that Panpan's departure from her job made her work harder.

After taking a nap at noon, Jiang Yue felt much more energetic in the afternoon.

The villagers went home even earlier, before the sun had even set. When Jiang Yue asked them questions on the way, some of them ignored her and hurried home.

Jiang Yue also went back early and began to arrange for the maids to seal the front gate and put some thorny branches on the courtyard wall to prevent others from sneaking over the wall.

Prepare for everything, so that when danger comes, you won't be caught off guard and waiting to be killed.

Xiong Bufan continued doing what he was doing, and the atmosphere didn't affect her. Regarding the matter of eating dinner early, Jiang Yue only said, "Master, eat early and rest early to save lamp oil, which is worth quite a bit of money."

Having never met anyone more frugal than himself before, Xiong Bufan stared at Jiang Yue in disbelief, then said, "You're so good at budgeting, our family isn't that poor, is it?"

Jiang Yue thought she could persuade Xiong Bufan to stay calm, so she smiled and said, "Master, going to bed early is good for your health."

"alright."

After finishing his meal, Xiong Bufan went back to his room by himself.

The moon hung high in the sky, and many unfamiliar boats were moored by the village. The black sails were furled, and the boats were tied to the shore. A group of people got off the boats, with large knives at their waists and torches in their hands. The torches illuminated the entrance to the village, and there seemed to be more than a hundred people.

It was sometime in the evening when Xiao Hei whispered by the bedside, "Master, wake up, Master."

Xiong Bufan slowly opened his eyes. "What's wrong? What happened?"

“A group of people came up the river and headed straight for you. They looked very aggressive.”

Water bandits are terrifying. No matter how powerful Xiong Bufan is, she's just a little girl. Xiao Hei is giving her a tip now to curry favor, and once she dies, he'll be the first one she remembers.

Xiong Bufan jumped out of bed. "I know, thank you for telling me."

"It was nothing, sir, you don't need to be so polite."

Xiong Bufan ran to the middle of the yard and shouted, "Wake up, everyone! Get up! Someone's come knocking on the door!"

In no time, a group of people stood in the courtyard. Since they were all women, they didn't pay much attention to safety and were still tidying their clothes in the courtyard.

Jiang Yue went over and draped a coat over Xiong Bufan's shoulders. "Master, what happened?"

“The bandits have come to ransom the body. Grab your weapons and come with me to meet them.”

The maids were gossiping amongst themselves. How could they, as women, possibly defeat the river bandits?

One of them started, "The river bandits are so ferocious, we can't beat them at all, let's run away."

Others chimed in, "Yeah, let's run! Death is a small matter, but reputation is a big deal."

The maid who had been saved by Xiong Bufan was the first to run to the kitchen and grab a cleaver. "Master, I'll rush out with you."

Jiang Yue softly advised, "Master, let's run away before they arrive." She regretted it; she had been blinded by money and the power to manage the household. If only she had left with Panpan.