Reversing the Milky Way

In the following days, apart from his daily work at home, Bai Cheng sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, flipping through the book of spiritual herbs. Two days passed in this way.

Bai Cheng arrived at Renhui Academy as usual. He looked around at the students and noticed that Yu Qing was not there. Today was Instructor Su's herbal medicine class, and almost no one ever missed it.

Just then, Lü Liang came to Bai Cheng's side and said, "Brother Bai Cheng, I heard that you were robbed by bandits a few days ago. How did it go?"

Upon seeing Lü Liang's concern, Bai Cheng replied, "I'm fine, nothing's wrong. By the way, why haven't I seen Yu Qing?"

After hearing this, Lü Liang calmly replied, "I only heard a few days ago that you encountered bandits on your way back. Yue Ling hasn't been to the school for five days, and I was worried that you might be injured. As for Yu Qing, he hasn't come at all. Logically speaking, even if you're not cultivating in the school, you should still come at least once a week. I just don't know what problem Yu Qing encountered that has prevented him from coming."

Bai Cheng felt inexplicably nervous after hearing this. "Could it be that Yu Qing suffered a serious injury? But when I asked Uncle Yu these past two days, he didn't mention any serious injury to Yu Qing. It seems necessary to go to Yu Qing's house to check on him." Soon after, Su Lingyue arrived at class and began teaching. She even called on Bai Cheng to test his knowledge, but Bai Cheng answered all of Su Lingyue's questions fluently. Time quickly passed and it was already afternoon.

As Bai Cheng was leaving Wuling Town, Song Zhentian, who was guarding the gate, saw him and went up to him, saying, "Bai Cheng, I heard that you and Yue Ling were robbed by bandits a few days ago. How are you? Are you alright?"

Bai Cheng replied, "Thank you for your concern, Captain Song. I'm fine."

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's words, Song Zhentian continued, "That's good. But I heard you killed quite a few bandits. Tell me in detail how you killed them? If I remember correctly, you're only at the early stage of Body Refinement, right?" After saying that, he carefully examined Bai Cheng again.

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng replied, "Actually, I didn't contribute much. It was all the work of Uncle Yu and Yu Qing's guards. I couldn't offer any help."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhentian understood: "I see. But speaking of which, why did these bandits rob you?"

Bai Cheng naturally knew why, but how could he say such a thing? Did he expect someone to spend a hundred silver coins to buy his life? At this moment, Yue Ling, who was standing to the side, said, "Actually, it's nothing big. It's just that Brother Bai Cheng is good-looking."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng and Song Zhentian were both speechless. Such an excuse was clearly treating others like fools, and no one would believe it.

After a moment of silence, Song Zhentian replied, "That's quite possible."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng was completely bewildered: "Huh?? Is that really true?"

Song Zhentian said solemnly, "That's right, they're just female bandits. Heading northeast from the east of Wuling Town, there's a main road with two high mountains on either side, called Twin Mountains. Each mountain is home to two powerful female bandits who call each other sisters. They're considered powerful because both are early-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivators, and their bounties can only be claimed at the Surveillance Bureau, and only cultivators can claim them. The elder sister is called Hongshuang, and the younger sister is called Hongyu." These two women didn't really rob gold or silver; they only robbed people, both men and women. No one they kidnapped ever returned alive. Those who accompanied them said that the two female bandits, upon seeing men of average or ugly appearance, would immediately call them unattractive. Later, when passing through the section of road in front of Twin Mountains, all the handsome men and beautiful women had to either disguise themselves in a disheveled manner or hire Qi Condensation Realm cultivators as guards. However, Qi Condensation Realm cultivators were not something ordinary people could afford, so most chose the former.

After hearing this, Bai Cheng broke out in a cold sweat. Although he had only guessed, he didn't expect it to actually be true, and that she was also attracted to good looks. In that case, it seemed that he couldn't go to the east of Wuling Town. However, these were not his concerns now, because according to the map, Shuangzi Mountain was a hundred miles away from Yujia Village, so at least he didn't have to worry about the female robber.

Thinking of this, Bai Cheng said to Song Zhentian, "Thank you for the reminder, Captain Song. I will be careful." After saying that, he took Yue Ling back to Yujia Village. After returning to Yujia Village, the two of them did not go home, but went straight to the village chief's house.

Then Bai Cheng witnessed a scene that filled him with immense remorse. The village chief Yu Tianqing's door was covered in white paper money, and two women dressed in white funeral attire knelt before it. Beside them knelt several children who appeared to be only five or six years old. One of the children, holding a bamboo basket, was repeatedly grabbing handfuls of white joss paper and scattering it into the air, covering the area around them. Behind them hung a banner that read: "Give Me Back My Husband."

This scene attracted a large crowd of villagers, who completely surrounded the entrance to the village chief's house. Someone in the crowd shouted, "Look, Bai Cheng is here!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd quickly made way, leaving Bai Cheng and Yue Ling, standing in the middle, isolated like two people. The two women, seeing Bai Cheng, immediately rose and rushed to his side, their faces contorted with tears. They grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently, crying, "Give me back my husband's life! My husband died for you! How can you have the face to live in this world?" Their cries grew even louder. The children kneeling on the ground, seeing this, also came to Bai Cheng's side, weeping and tugging at his clothes, shouting, "Give me back my father! Give me back my father!" This scene instantly drew discussion from the surrounding villagers.

Bai Cheng felt his mind go blank. He was at a loss, not knowing what to do. He couldn't deny that the two village guards had died because they came to rescue him. Bai Cheng continued to be shaken by the people around him.

At this moment, Yue Ling, who was standing next to Bai Cheng, could no longer stand it. She stepped forward, separated Bai Cheng from the two women, and stood in front of Bai Cheng, saying, "Enough! I know how you feel, but Bai Cheng is also a victim. Why don't you go after those bandits and instead come after our Bai Cheng? What kind of behavior is this?"

Upon seeing Yue Ling, the two women screamed loudly, then pointed at her and yelled, "You...you...you little slut! It was you who sent the village guards to rescue Bai Cheng! If it weren't for you, my husband wouldn't have died! It's all your fault!" As they spoke, they lunged at Yue Ling, trying to imitate what they had done to Bai Cheng.

Upon seeing this, Yue Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. She then raised her right foot and stomped hard on the ground. The immense force caused the stone slab beneath her feet to crack, and the huge tremor sent dust flying into the air, raising a cloud of sand.

The two women were so terrified by the scene that they collapsed to the ground, while the children nearby burst into tears. One of the women shouted, "What are you doing, you wicked devil! You killed my husband, and now you want to harm me and my children! You're not human!" The surrounding villagers, witnessing this, began to point and whisper.

The words, "You're not even human," deeply stung Yueling. She clenched her fists, her eyes hardening with rage. Just then, a loud voice rang out from the village chief's gate: "Stop!!"

Then, village chief Yu Tianqing and Yu Qing emerged. Yu Qing had severe dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't slept well. Upon seeing them, the two women rushed towards the village chief, shouting, "Village chief, please punish the murderer! Otherwise, my husband's spirit in heaven will not rest in peace!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Tianqing also looked displeased and shouted, "Enough! I have already given you double the compensation, so stop making such unreasonable demands!"

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, "Village chief, are you going to protect the murderer?!" This immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the crowd. Yu Tianqing frowned slightly and then said, "The murderer is a bandit; it has nothing to do with innocent people!"

Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, he said to Bai Cheng, "You two come in first, I have something to say." Bai Cheng had calmed down considerably by this time. He and Yue Ling exchanged a glance and then followed Yu Tianqing through the gate, leaving behind a group of murmuring villagers.

Once inside, the four sat facing each other. Bai Cheng, burdened by the lessons he had learned on Earth, was consumed by moral condemnation. He then said, "I'm sorry, it's all because of me." Yu Tianqing and Yu Qing exchanged a serious glance, and Yu Qing spoke up, "You don't need to blame yourself; after all, you're a victim too."

Yu Tianqing continued, "That's right. Besides, there are village guards in the village who have been harmed by various things. Some have been attacked by spirit beasts in the forest, while others have been attacked by bandits. It's common for village guards to be injured. Danger is always around them, so you don't need to blame yourself."

At this moment, Yu Qing spoke up: "In the past, when such things happened, we would compensate the families according to the standard, and the families would agree. There has almost never been a case like this before. Moreover, we have already compensated each family twice. According to the standard of three silver coins per household per month, our compensation for five years is one hundred and eighty silver coins, and double is three hundred and sixty silver coins. You should know that this is not a small amount, but they still refuse to leave."

After listening, Bai Cheng pondered for a while. It was indeed a considerable sum. In his understanding, even he, as long as he didn't cultivate, could easily afford one silver coin a month. Of course, if he were cultivating, that would be a different story. Thinking of this, Bai Cheng asked, "Do they have any other requests?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing sighed and replied, "Sigh... I don't know. They've been making a scene at my doorstep for a week now. I've tried to persuade them to stop, but they just ignore me."

At this moment, Yu Tianqing pondered for a moment and asked, "By the way, Bai Cheng, I heard from Yu Qing that these bandits' target is you? What's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng felt a surge of anger.

"Someone offered me a hundred silver coins to kill me."

Upon hearing this, the other three were also somewhat surprised.

Yue Ling asked with a serious expression, "What? Someone would actually do this?"

Bai Cheng pondered for a moment and said, "That's right, and I already know who it is."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing anxiously asked, "Who is it?"

Then Bai Cheng slowly uttered a name: "Zhao Haiming!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Tianqing exclaimed in shock, "It's him? Bai Cheng, do you have any proof?"

"Although I don't have any evidence, I'm pretty sure it's him."

After listening to Bai Cheng's words, Yu Qing crossed her arms, closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "But why? Is it just because you beat Zhao Bo?"

After he finished speaking, the other three also lowered their heads to think. At this moment, Yue Ling spoke up and said, "Today, I always felt that those two women seemed to be deliberately targeting Bai Cheng."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing asked in confusion, "But why is that? It's not Bai Cheng's fault."

Yue Ling then said as if she had discovered something, "If I remember correctly, the village chief election will be held in two months, right?"

Yu Tianqing nodded in agreement: "You mean, someone did this on purpose?"

Then, Yueling expressed her opinion: "That's right. The village chief election is held every three years. The person with the highest support rate among the villagers is chosen from the village chief and the two stewards of the east and west villages. You have been re-elected twice and no one has ever said anything. However, since Zhao Haiming became the general steward of the west village six years ago, there have been frequent criticisms of the village chief. In the election three years ago, Zhao Haiming even jumped out to encourage the villagers to vote for him, but at that time only a small number of villagers voted for him."

After Yue Ling finished speaking, the others fell silent. Bai Cheng also emerged from his self-blame and finally understood. He then said, "It seems that Zhao Haiming not only spent money to save his own life, but after discovering that I escaped, he must have made a fuss about it again. On the one hand, he used people's hearts to condemn him, and on the other hand, he used public opinion to coerce the village chief."

Yu Tianqing suddenly realized, "That makes sense."

At this moment, Bai Cheng asked the question he had always wanted to ask: "I'm just curious, why can't Zhao Haiming be dismissed? Is it just because his father has a relationship with Liu Yuntian?"

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's words, Yu Tianqing explained, "That's right! Zhao Haiming, the chief steward of Dongcun, was recommended to me by Liu Yuntian the very day he became the inspector of Wuling Town. He was not only the inspector of Wuling Town, but also a cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation Realm at the time. Even the garrison commander of our Yu Family Village was his confidant. How could I refuse?"

After saying that, Yu Tianqing shook his head again and sighed, "In this world where cultivation level matters, how can ordinary people like us who don't cultivate compete with them? The reason I made Yu Qing intensify his cultivation is to make him stronger as soon as possible, so that he won't be restrained by others. Unlike me, who is nominally a village chief, but Xuan Taiming interferes in almost everything. What can I do?"

Hearing this, Bai Cheng sighed. It seemed that without strength, one could only live a humble life here. Thinking of this, Bai Cheng secretly made up his mind to make sure that Uncle Yu and Yue Ling could live a good life.

The group chatted at the village chief's house until evening, after which Bai Cheng and Yue Ling left. By then, the woman at the door was gone.

Before leaving, Yu Qing told Bai Cheng that he had discussed it with his mentor and that he would go to the academy after he had dealt with this matter.