NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: Settling the Score
Chapter 33: Settling the Score
With a wave of anger, Xu Lian marched towards Pei Zhaoxi.
Seeing his furious approach, Pei Zhaoxi finally realized the danger. Her face turned pale as she stepped back in fear. “What are you going to do?”
“What do I want to do?” Xu Lian’s gaze was icy as he reached out to grab her. “I want to ask you – why did you shoot cold arrows at me on my way back to the mine? Do you want to kill me?”
Pei Zhaoxi panicked. In a desperate move, she swung her bow at Xu Lian, aiming to strike him across the head.
“How dare you hit me back!” Xu Lian roared in anger, swiftly disarming her and tossing the bow aside.
In the blink of an eye, his large hand snaked around her delicate neck, squeezing like a vice.
“Ugh…” Pei Zhaoxi’s face turned blue, her eyes rolling back in terror. “You… if you kill me, my father will never forgive you! He will kill your entire family to avenge me!”
“You still dare to threaten me?” Xu Lian chuckled bitterly, his face darkening with fury.
At that moment, his mind raced with thoughts of how to deal with Pei Zhaoxi. Killing her would sever his ties with the Pei family and escalate things to a deadly, irreparable level – a result he didn’t want, especially since his own strength was not yet at a level where he could afford to ignore the Pei family’s wrath.
Sparing her, however, was just as difficult. After all, she had attempted to kill him with cold arrows. Why should he let this go unpunished?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had to teach Pei Zhaoxi a deep lesson. If he didn’t, she might think that he was weak and cowardly, and trouble would follow him endlessly.
With a shove, he sent Pei Zhaoxi tumbling into the grass. This lesson would be enough to leave a lasting impression – something she would never forget.
Anger often had a peculiar rhythm: it surged quickly and dissipated just as fast. Soon, Xu Lian’s anger subsided and he returned to his calm demeanor. “You shot arrows at me, and I’ll return the favor. Now we’re even, how about that?”
Pei Zhaoxi said nothing, only crying as she hurried away.
Xu Lian’s horse had been killed by the arrows, so he had to walk back to the mine. He ordered some men to drag the horse back, as it would be a waste not to use it.
It was already getting dark by the time he returned, and Xu Lian called out, “End work for the day. Open the storehouse and distribute the grain.”
The miners were given not only their rations for the day, but also small portions of horse meat.
“Thank you, Manager Xu!”
“Manager Xu is so generous!”
The miners were overjoyed, their mouths watering at the thought of the meat. It had been a long time since any of them had tasted it-grain was already a struggle, let alone meat.
Xu Lian silently thanked Pei Zhaoxi for giving the miners this unexpected benefit.
“Brother Lian, how can you give meat to these lowly mud-legged workers?” Frowning, Zhang Yuan seemed displeased. “We could salt it and save it for the next meal, can’t we?”
Xu Lian didn’t even bother to answer. Was he treating the meat like it was his own personal property?
In the past, Xu Lian might have hesitated to share such a large horse with the miners, but now, with 300 taels of gold in hand, a monthly salary, and additional income from the mine, giving the workers some small benefits was no big deal.
“Help the world when you are prosperous, and maintain your integrity when you are not,” he thought to himself. This was the philosophy he followed now.
Pu Ling asked worriedly, “I saw that your horse was killed by arrows, Manager Xu. Did someone attack you?”
Without Xu Lian, they wouldn’t have the life they had now. He couldn’t afford to be harmed.
When they heard that Xu Lian had been attacked, Zhang Yuan, Yang Ye, and Lin Bufeng all looked worried, their concern was obvious. They worked under Xu Lian as overseers and had gotten used to a good life – they didn’t want to go back to the days of poverty.
Xu Lian casually made up an excuse. “It’s nothing. I was just practicing archery with Miss Pei from the Pei family, and unfortunately, I injured my horse.”
Pu Ling, still uneasy, advised, “Arrows don’t have eyes, Manager Xu, please be careful.
Yang Ye looked serious and added, “My dear son-in-law, if you can’t take care of yourself, at least think of your wives. If something happened to you, what would they do? Even if they could remarry, no other man would have your skills to make sure they live well.”
Surprisingly, Zhang Yuan also expressed his concern. “Brother Lian, your life is no longer just yours, it affects us as well. I’ve taken in two more young ladies in addition to the three I had, and I can’t afford to lose my position as an overseer.”
“…”Xu Lian didn’t know how to respond.
Lin Bufeng, perhaps sensing the tension, decided to speak up as well. “Manager Xu, you need to take care of yourself.”
Xu Lian couldn’t help but pat the young man on the shoulder. “Not bad. You’ve become more articulate and confident. There’s progress.”
Zhang Yuan, eager to take credit, said, “I’ve been teaching him how to fight and curse people every day, so of course he’s made progress.”
Xu Lian divided the reserved horse meat among the four overseers, keeping a portion for himself. He also took some extra meat and vegetables from the kitchen before hopping onto Yang Ye’s black donkey cart to head home.
The small black donkey cart carrying five men struggled under the weight and moved at a sluggish pace.
“Pu Ling, take some silver from the granary tomorrow and buy some horses from the market,” Xu Lian said.
He had completely forgotten about this matter; the horse he had been riding earlier still belonged to Han Du’s mine.
“Understood,” Pu Ling replied.
Zhang Yuan, always eager to take advantage of any opportunity, asked expectantly, “If the mine buys horses, can I ride one to and from work?”
Xu Lian didn’t indulge him. “No, the horses are for the mine’s emergency use. No one but me is allowed to use them. If there’s an urgent matter and we don’t have a horse, and your head gets chopped off because of the delay, don’t come crying to me.”
Zhang Yuan shrugged his neck and didn’t say anything further.
When they reached the main street of the town, Xu Lian jumped off the donkey cart and headed toward his home.
From the distance, he saw a two-horse carriage parked in front of his house, guarded by more than ten guards, all carrying sabers.
Xu Lian’s heart tightened as he recognized the embroidered Pei character on the curtain of the carriage – it was undoubtedly from the Pei family.
Could it be… that the Pei family had come to settle the score with him?
“If they want to settle things, let them come. It’s not all my fault. Both sides are to blame. Why should I worry?”
He stepped forward confidently.
In this world, women from ordinary families didn’t care much about their reputation. With nothing more important than food, they would often change men just to survive.
But women from prestigious families were different. They had to marry into another prestigious family, which meant that they were strict about their reputation. If they lost that, they could never marry into a family of equal status.
Of course, no matter how important it was, there was nothing more important than life itself. Did Pei Zhaoxi’s life have no value?
So, Xu Lian wasn’t worried about the Pei family causing trouble. Even if things escalated, he had the quarry patrol inspector backing him up, so he wasn’t afraid.
“Master, Manager Xu has returned.”
The chief guard approached the carriage window and spoke.
An elderly man dressed in luxurious robes stepped out of the carriage first, his dignified face showing clear signs of someone who had held power for a long time.
A young man and woman followed, and Xu Lian immediately recognized them as Pei Heng and Pei Zhaoxi. Pei Heng stood respectfully behind the elderly man, while Pei Zhaoxi had a cold, resentful expression on her face, as if someone owed her a fortune.
“I am Pei Jifeng, the current head of the Pei family. I’ve heard a lot about Manager Xu’s great achievements, and I’ve come to pay my respects,” the old man said with a polite smile, bowing from afar. “Manager Xu is truly remarkable, managing a mine before the age of twenty.”
Xu Lian felt a twinge of confusion. Judging by the respectful attitude of the head of the Pei family, it didn’t seem like they were here to settle a score. Could it be that Pei Zhaoxi hadn’t told him everything?
There was no time to think about it any further.
Xu Lian quickly cupped his hands and replied, “I just returned from the mine, and I apologize for keeping you waiting, Pei family head. Please come in.”