Night.

Late night.

The weather was terrible, the northern winds harsh.

At midnight, three men snuck to East Villageside, pulling their scarves around their necks. As they looked at the solitary cottage in the distance, Qi Yuanye hurried his two older brothers.

"Be careful, you two."

"Aren't you going along too?"

Qi Yuanxiu blinked and asked his brother.

"I'll stay here and keep a lookout for you."

Qi Yuanye stood beyond the gates and chuckled.

"Lookout? What for? It's not like anyone else will come here in the middle of the night to try and kill them." Qi Yuanxiu dragged Qi Yuanye along crossly.

"Hurry up! We're brothers, so we gotta go together." Qi Yuancheng was not planning on letting his younger brother escape alone either.

All three of them were in this together.

This time, nothing should go wrong. However, on the off-chance that something did… He would at least have one more meat shield.

That should prevent what happened last time from repeating.

—On the bed-stove, the order remained the same. Qi Qingyao lay on the edge, with the three toddlers next to her, and Jiang Yeqian at the wall.

This was truly the best arrangement.

However, usually as the night went on, their positions would change. Qi Qingyao would be hugging Erniu like a comfy pillow, while Dabao and Xiaobao would clamber over Jiang Yeqian like octopi.

After the braised meat he had, Jiang Yeqian felt considerably more nourished. Add that to the effects of the ginseng, and his internal injury was rapidly healing.

His cultivation necessarily meant that he was much more alert than Qi Qingyao.

All of a sudden, Jiang Yeqian sensed almost inaudible footsteps outside the window. In an instant, he sat up with Dabao and Xiaobao in his arms. The two children were sound asleep, so they did not react at all.

"I hear something," he said, shoving Qi Qingyao.

"Huh?" Qi Qingyao woke up blearily.

"Lie down and don't move." Jiang Yeqian carried Dabao and Xiaobao to the other side.

Qi Qingyao hugged Erniu, pulling the blankets around her as she sat up in the darkness. As she was about to ask Jiang Yeqian what was happening, she heard the man next to her say, "I see, so it's a little snake~"

Qi Qingyao immediately shuddered, completely terrified. She was properly awake now.

"What are you talking about?" she muttered.

Under the dim moonlight, she saw three slippery creatures slither in through the window. Their bodies squirmed in the moonlight.

"Ahh—"

Qi Qingyao could not help it. She fainted on the spot.

Jiang Yeqian hit the snakes' weak points and casually captured all three snakes. After he killed them, he threw them off the bed and looked at the unconscious woman, murmuring to herself, "She fainted after seeing a few snakes? What a… weak-hearted woman."

He nonchalantly pushed the window open slightly and glanced outside. Three sneaky figures ran out past the fence, their whispers traveling to him in the wind.

"Now we just gotta come by tomorrow morning to collect their bodies."

"Yeah, we'll handle the bodies and then take the remaining pork back."

"Are you two stupid? The woman sold a ton of meat yesterday, she must have money too!"

"Hehehe, when that happens, all of it will be ours."

…

Jiang Yeqian shook his head and lay down exasperatedly, going back to sleep.

—When Qi Qingyao woke up, her head felt extremely heavy. She sat up and realized that the three children were surrounding her, wide awake.

"Mommy, you're awake."

"I slept in."

Qi Qingyao sat up and rubbed her head, only to notice that the children were all dressed. Did that guy help dress them? She turned around to look for him, but the moment she turned, her heart nearly stopped in her chest. She hurriedly pulled her blankets up to wrap herself tightly, her face deathly pale as she asked, "W-W-What are you holding there?"