Under the banyan tree at the entrance of the alley, a group of men stood there, huddled together nervously, looking uneasy and frightened.
Passersby couldn’t help but glance a few times, feeling a bit puzzled.
These were idle loafers from the nearby area, always stirring up trouble with no proper livelihoods. Unfortunately, no one could manage them—not even their own families, who had already given up on them, leaving them to fend for themselves outside.
Ordinary people were also afraid of these loafers and would quickly avoid them when encountered.
In their eyes, these idlers, who lacked legitimate work, were all very troublesome. If accidentally provoked, one might spend nights worrying that they would climb over the wall to steal something or beat them up while they slept.
It was best not to provoke them at all.
However, at this moment, these typically troublesome loafers were lined up, standing there as if they were very afraid.
In front of them stood a petite and frail young woman.
The girl was dressed in a long, light green skirt, her figure slender and delicate. Standing under the shade of the tree, her face was charming, her features refined—she was an exceptionally pretty young lady.
No matter how one looked, she didn’t seem intimidating.
Yet, these loafers acted like mice seeing a cat, cowering pathetically in front of her.
It wasn’t even noon yet, and there weren’t many people passing by the alley—just a few scattered pedestrians.
Those who witnessed this scene couldn’t help but find it strange. Adhering to the principle of minding their own business, they quickly steered clear without staying to watch.
Yu Li, with a cold expression, addressed the group of men lined up before her, “Hand over all your gambling money.”
The group didn’t move, cautiously sneaking glances at her.
“What? Do you want a beating?” Yu Li’s face remained impassive as she casually broke off a tree branch and weighed it in her hand.
The men felt their scalps go numb and hurriedly shook their heads. Still sneaking glances at her, one of them cautiously asked, “Are you really Boss Li?”
Yu Li raised an eyebrow. “What? Don’t recognize me?”
She considered herself largely unchanged—her face was still the same. At most, over the past few days, thanks to eating well and being nourished, her face had become fuller. Plus, when she used her special ability to heal her body, her skin had turned fairer under its effects, but not to the point of glowing unnaturally.
In the future, her skin might become even fairer.
This couldn’t be helped. Her life-force ability could repair all hidden injuries and flaws in the body, restoring it to its healthiest state.
Fortunately, because her ability was weak, achieving the best physical state would still take some time.
This gradual progress was likely for the best, preventing her body from changing too drastically and shocking others.
The reason was ready-made anyway—she was recuperating her health. Some changes were normal.
“Kind of,” Skinny Wu muttered softly. “Boss Li, you’ve changed so much… we didn’t dare recognize you.”
The others quickly nodded in agreement.
When they first met Yu Li, while she did have some looks, she had been alarmingly thin at the time, and her skin was dark—tanned from long hours of working under the sun. At a glance, she hadn’t been particularly striking or capable of leaving a deep impression.
But after only a short time—surely it hadn’t been that long?—she seemed like a completely different person.
Her skin had turned fair, and her features seemed to have matured. At a glance, they almost didn’t recognize her.
Their skin had turned fair, and their features seemed to have refined. At a glance, they almost couldn’t recognize her.
Of course, she was still the same person, with the same face. It was like a photo taken from an unflattering angle suddenly transformed into a perfectly edited version.
Yu Li, displeased, said, “Can’t you recognize my voice?”
If they couldn’t recognize her face, couldn’t they at least recognize her voice?
Skinny Wu quickly tried to curry favor, “Boss Li, we just didn’t dare recognize you at first glance, but we can still tell by your voice.”
The others also plastered flattering smiles on their faces.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they smiled, it didn’t work. Yu Li extended her hand coldly and mercilessly, “Hand over your gambling money!”
The group looked as if they were mourning their dead, but they didn’t dare disobey. Reluctantly, they took out their money.
Yu Li unceremoniously confiscated all their gambling money—over four hundred wen in total—and tossed it into the bamboo basket beside her.
The group: “…”
Taking their money wasn’t enough. She started settling scores.
“Where did the money come from?”
Afraid that the tree branch in her hand might strike, Gao Sheng quickly said, “We earned it!”
The others nodded fervently in agreement, terrified she might think they had stolen it. If she got angry and decided to castrate them like pigs, that would be an even greater injustice.
Yu Li’s sharp gaze swept over them. Her cold scrutiny made the group of men avoid her eyes, not daring to look directly at her. Then she said, “So you earned money and immediately gathered to gamble?”
No one dared to speak.
She said coldly, “If you dare to gamble again, I’ll castrate you!”
The group’s scalps went numb, and they instinctively clamped their legs shut.
“Boss Li, we were just taking a rare day off, gathering to chat, and happened to gamble a little on the side,” Gao Sheng whispered. “We didn’t even go to the gambling house. This time, whoever won was supposed to treat everyone to a meal. It wasn’t real gambling…”
Yu Li’s eyes narrowed. “You’re thinking about going to a gambling house?”
“No, no, no! We wouldn’t dare!”
Gao Sheng and the others shook their heads frantically, hastily explaining, fearing she might misunderstand and cruelly carry out her threat.
They felt utterly miserable.
Over the past few days, since Yu Li hadn’t come to the county or shown up before them, they had gradually let down their guard, temporarily forgetting her terrifying authority.
Without the “demoness” hovering over them, they reverted to their old ways and ended up gambling today.
Who would’ve thought they’d be so unlucky? She happened to catch them, storming in and kicking them apart.
Gao Sheng had been kicked straight into Skinny Wu, who then knocked over the others like dominoes.
Just as they were about to get angry, they saw her face. For a moment, they didn’t even dare to believe it was her. Once they confirmed it was indeed Yu Li, they were almost scared senseless.
Yu Li’s gaze swept over them again, and she suddenly asked, “It’s almost the end of the month. Have you prepared the one tael of silver for your tribute?”
Gao Sheng and the others froze on the spot.
They remembered how they had followed her out of town to rob her, only to be robbed by her instead. She had even threatened them, demanding they pay her one tael of silver each month as tribute. If they didn’t, she would castrate them.
Skinny Wu muttered softly, “Boss Li, you already have over four hundred wen in your basket…”
With four hundred wen here, they only needed to gather another six hundred wen to make up the required tael of silver, right?
“That doesn’t count!” Yu Li said sternly.
So, after taking their four hundred wen, they still needed to go earn an additional tael of silver to give her as tribute?
Gao Sheng and the others finally started to regret.
If they had known such a day would come, where they themselves would be robbed, they wouldn’t have tried to rob her back then…
No, no. From now on, they wouldn’t rob anyone, nor would they gamble. Otherwise, if she suddenly showed up one day, beat them up, and took their silver again, or worse, castrated them like pigs…
That would be too tragic.
Yu Li said, “Considering this is your first offense, I won’t hit you this time. But if I catch you gambling again, I’ll beat you first, then castrate you!”
The group: “.…”
Could this young lady stop thinking about castrating them?
Ignoring their expressions, Yu Li coldly and mercilessly said, “Alright, go work and earn money. No slacking off.”
Being robbed of their money and threatened on top of it, Gao Sheng and the others were utterly miserable, hanging their heads dejectedly.
Just as they were about to leave, Skinny Wu suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, right, Boss Li, that Yamen Officer Zhu promised a few scholars to teach you a lesson. But since you haven’t come to the county for a while, he hasn’t been able to ambush you.”
Hearing this, the others also remembered the incident.
To curry favor with Yu Li, they had kept an eye on Yamen Officer Zhu after learning that a few scholars had sought his help to punish her. But just when they got wind of it, Yu Li stopped showing up in the county.
Not only had Yamen Officer Zhu failed to block her, but they hadn’t seen her either.
Now that they had finally run into Yu Li, Skinny Wu decided to share the news, hoping she would show some magnanimity and let go of their gambling offense.
After hearing him, Yu Li’s expression remained calm as she simply said she understood.
Gao Sheng and the others felt even more frustrated. Why was Boss Li so composed? Couldn’t she praise them a little and return their money?
That money had been painstakingly saved up over the past few days, and they had been planning to use it to drink together tonight.
—
After chasing Gao Sheng and the others off to work, Yu Li headed into Luoyu Alley.
She first went to Gao Sheng’s house in the alley and tossed the money she had confiscated into the Gao family’s home. Then she went to the Wu family’s house at the end of the alley and threw Skinny Wu’s money inside, continuing the same with the others’ homes.
At Gao’s house, only an elderly woman was home, cooking lunch.
Hearing a commotion, she came out of the kitchen and saw dozens of copper coins scattered in the courtyard, exclaiming in surprise.
That evening, when Gao Sheng returned home, Old Madam Gao mysteriously told him, “Sheng’er, someone brought money to our house today—forty-eight wen! I don’t know who threw it in. It must be money meant for us, right? I stayed home all day, and no one came to ask for it back…”
Old Madam Gao was puzzled, finding the whole situation strange.
This money must have been deliberately thrown into their house by someone. Even if someone lost their money, it wouldn’t just fall from the sky into someone else’s home, right?
Old Madam Gao didn’t believe anyone would go out of their way to give them money. Given her grandson’s past behavior, most people probably wished he would just drop dead—who would actually give them money?
Old Madam Gao had lived a hard life. She lost her husband when she was young and her son when she was middle-aged. Later, her daughter-in-law remarried, leaving her to raise her grandson alone.
Fortunately, at that time, Gao Sheng was already ten years old and capable of finding food for himself. This saved Old Madam Gao from too much hardship. Moreover, the house they lived in belonged to the Gao family, so they didn’t need to rent a place in the county. Combined with some savings she had, they managed to get by.