Chapter 130: A Matter of Minutes

Bai Xi’s small face was stern as she grabbed a handful of the loose skin on Xiao Hei’s neck. "You think I’m a sick cat just because the tiger isn't showing its claws!?"

Xiao Hei immediately whined. *Master, no way. I’m strong and sturdy; I’m no sick tiger, and certainly not a sick cat.*

Bai Xi was still fuming. Hearing this, she gave its head a sharp, impatient pat. "Xiao Hei, listen to me. Later, you focus on those people who were jumping around the most and take them out first."

Xiao Hei agreed instantly.

"And those who were shouting about beating people up—don't you dare let them off. If you let even one of them go, I’m going to stew you for meat."

Xiao Hei’s tiger eyes immediately locked onto the people from Xiaxin Village with a ferocious glint. It bared its sharp fangs, looking even more terrifying under the blazing sun. Everyone caught in the tiger's predatory gaze felt a chill go down their spines, wishing they could dig a hole and bury themselves right then and there.

When Zhou Dahu heard this, he knew things were taking a turn for the worse. He quickly interjected, "Look, today’s incident isn’t that big of a deal. There’s no need to blow things out of proportion. Kids will be kids, and fights are bound to happen. As elders, we shouldn't be interfering."

"I’m a kid, too," Bai Xi said, not falling for it at all. Her anger vanished as she smiled, her eyes curving into adorable crescents.

She was joking, of course. She was the Great-Aunt of Niuluo Village, not Xiaxin Village. Reason and sentiment alike dictated that she stand with her own people. Initially, she hadn't wanted to make a fuss with the people of Xiaxin Village, but it seemed some people simply didn't deserve any grace!

Xiao Liu and the others were her people. If she couldn't secure justice for them, where would she put her face?

"This... we’ve already given you the watermelons, and we aren't taking a single one. What more do you want?" Zhou Dahu looked at Chen Daliu, pleading, "We’re all from neighboring villages. They say a distant relative isn't as good as a close neighbor; let’s not make things too ugly."

Ugly? They only thought it was ugly now? Where was this sentiment before? During the last drought, the entire village came to steal water, and now they were stealing watermelons. Things found in the wild were supposed to belong to whoever found them first, but Xiaxin Village’s blatant robbery was clearly bullying Niuluo Village!

Chen Daliu replied, "We don't want anything specific. We listen to our Great-Aunt."

By now, the people of Niuluo Village were no longer angry; instead, they found the scene incredibly satisfying. Their faces were full of pride—look, their Great-Aunt was standing up for them. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't drag their Great-Aunt down at a time like this, and Chen Daliu wasn't a fool; he wasn't about to grant Zhou Dahu’s wish.

"I make the decisions for Niuluo Village," Bai Xi stated, making it clear that Zhou Dahu should stop struggling; asking anyone else was useless.

Hearing this, the people of Niuluo Village nodded in unison. That was true—whatever their Great-Aunt said, went. Seeing the expression on the faces of the Niuluo villagers, Zhou Dahu was left dumbfounded.

Bai Xi stroked the spot on Xiao Hei’s neck she had just pinched, as if to soothe it, or perhaps to signal something else. Just as the group from Xiaxin Village was trembling with fear, she spoke leisurely: "I’m not someone who likes to see blood for no reason. If you want to resolve this, fine. Compensate Niuluo Village seventy yuan, and we’ll call it even."

If the sun hadn't been so scorching, she probably wouldn't have let them off so easily. She had come all this way, and Xiao Hei had run the whole distance—if they just walked away with two watermelons, the other villages would surely laugh at Niuluo Village once they heard about it. Only she, Bai Xi, had the right to discipline others; no one was allowed to laugh at her. Even laughing at Niuluo Village was out of the question!

"What?" the people of Xiaxin Village gasped. "Seventy yuan?"

Seventy yuan—did she mean for the villagers to pool it together? Even if the whole village chipped in, the share per family would still be a significant amount. Besides, who would want to hand over their hard-earned money just like that?

Unlike the people of Xiaxin Village, the Niuluo villagers were stunned for a moment, but no one questioned her. Everyone wore an expression that said whatever their Great-Aunt decided was right. What was seventy yuan? For a village of over a hundred households, seventy yuan was a pittance. If the people of Xiaxin Village hadn't gone too far, would their Great-Aunt have been disturbed? She had ridden here on Xiao Hei, enduring all sorts of hardships. If she had tripped or gotten hurt, it wouldn't matter if Xiaxin Village paid ten times the amount.

"You—you are being too overbearing!" A teenager from Xiaxin Village couldn't help but bolt out from the crowd, shouting at the Niuluo villagers with his neck stretched out.

Whether in the Celestial Realm or Niuluo Village, no one had ever dared to talk back to Bai Xi like that. She was simultaneously angry and amused. She slapped Xiao Hei on the head as if it were a table and shouted back, "So what if I am bullying you!"

"You..." The boy wanted to continue, but Zhou Dahu turned around, his face full of rage. He took two large strides over, slapped the boy across the face, and scolded, "You little brat, this is no place for you to speak!"

Truly, newborn calves were not afraid of tigers. That was a massive white tiger; did the boy have a death wish? The people of Xiaxin Village, who had been angry at the boy's outburst, saw their village chief take action and their resentment faded. They certainly didn't want to be fed to the tiger.

Xiao Hei was smacked on the head, but it didn't seem angry. It simply nudged Bai Xi’s palm with its head, as if comforting her not to be upset. Seeing how affectionately Bai Xi had raised such a massive beast, the people of Xiaxin Village didn't dare say another word. A five- or six-year-old toddler, using heaven knows what methods to make a giant white tiger so obedient—that alone was enough to extinguish any desire to resist.

Trying to reason with a toddler was a fool's errand. If things went wrong, she would just set the tiger on them. And as she had said, if anyone came to investigate, they would only conclude that a wild beast had come down from the mountains to attack people. Besides, if they hid the tiger in the mountains for a few days, the officials wouldn't conduct a massive search.

Zhou Dahu, being the village chief, thought things through more thoroughly. He looked at Bai Xi with a grim expression and said earnestly, "We... we don't have that much money. Can we..."

Before he could finish, Bai Xi interrupted him. "That’s not my problem." Her voice was milky and sweet, yet she spoke with such willful indifference, determined to be as infuriating as possible. "Since you have the energy to bully the people of my village, you must have the energy to earn the money to compensate us."

"Three days. Just three days. If you don't bring the money within three days, don't blame me for being unkind."

With that, Bai Xi patted Xiao Hei’s head, signaling it to turn around, and prepared to take the Niuluo villagers home. Seeing this, Xiao Liu immediately shoved the boy who had pushed him earlier, rolled his eyes, and then, with Xiaoshan, proudly picked up a watermelon each and trotted after the group, panting.