She had traveled into the body of a girl from the Xie family village. The original owner had always been weak and sickly, so even though she still remembered all the moves and techniques from her past in combat, this body lacked the strength and power behind each hit. But it didn't matter—dealing with a few women who didn't know martial arts was still manageable. She had confidence.
"If you don't want to go blind, then watch where you're looking!"
Jewel clenched her jaw, eyes cold as ice.
"Hah! Are you threatening me? That's hilarious!"
The woman leading the group scoffed.
"Exactly! Jewel, don't forget—you still owe our boss ten taels of silver. Your fingerprint is right there on the IOU, and you dare speak to our boss like that!"
The second woman was surprised by how bold Jewel was acting now. Before, she would always smile and flatter them, not daring to talk back.
"She just needs a good lesson. Let's teach her a little something, haha…"
The third one laughed loudly.
"Yeah, what a coincidence that we ran into you today. How about you pay back what you owe?"
"Come on, sis. You forgot the Xie family's been broke forever!"
The third woman said with fake kindness. "But in my opinion, even if she doesn't have silver, she can still pay us back in other ways."
"In what way? You think she's got anything else of value?"
"That guy behind her could pay the debt just fine!"
She gave Jewel a wicked look. "Sell him to some rich family or a brothel—we'd get a good price."
"He's just a man. Is he even worth ten taels?"
The other two joined in, their eyes full of contempt and mockery.
But what they didn't know was that their words had already pushed Jewel past her limit—she was ready to fight.
There's an old saying: "It's hard to win people over with force, but easy with kindness." But if someone has no conscience, how can kindness work?
These three were clearly bullies. They thought she was just like the original girl—a soft, easy target.
But she was not that girl anymore. She wasn't going to put up with this.
Behind her, Xavi didn't know what to do. A chill crept down his neck. Hearing the mocking laughter of the three women, his face went pale, and he started trembling.
He had never seen such a situation before. He was terrified they would hurt Jewel—or worse, take him away, and he wouldn't be able to stop them.
"You dogs think you can take what's mine? Don't even dream about it!"
Jewel glared at them, her hands itching to strike.
"Huh, look at you. Haven't seen you in a few days and you think you're tough now? Want a beating?"
The leader of the three was furious. Since when did Jewel have this attitude?
"If you've got the guts to fight, then come on. If not, then get lost!"
Jewel stood tall, ready to see if they really had the courage they pretended to.
The three women got angry. Sure, they weren't trained fighters, but neither was Jewel. And there were three of them—they thought they'd easily win.
As for that delicate-looking guy? One slap and he'd run off—he didn't count.
The three exchanged looks. The first and second charged at Jewel, while the third went for Xavi.
Xavi saw them coming. Someone grabbed his arm, trying to drag him away. He panicked and bit the woman hard. He didn't even know where he bit her—all he heard was a piercing scream.
"Ahh! You little brat, how dare you bite me!"
She shoved him hard. He stumbled back several steps and fell heavily to the ground.
"Xavi!"
Jewel broke free from the two women attacking her and landed a kick right on the loudmouthed third woman's face.
"Xavi, did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
Jewel rushed over, afraid to touch him too much in case she made things worse. In this place, men were delicate—if he was injured, it could leave lasting pain.
Especially since her husband was so thin and fragile. He'd probably end up covered in bruises in a few minutes.
She gently checked him over and asked where it hurt. Then she carefully picked him up and carried him to a tree by the side of the road, helping him sit comfortably.
"Wife, I just fell. I'm okay, don't worry."
Xavi really wanted to help her fight, but he wasn't strong enough. He was pushed aside so easily.
What surprised him most was that his wife could actually fight!
To him, Jewel now looked like a hero.
"Good boy. Stay here and wait a little. I'll make them pay."
She smoothed down his messy hair and looked at him tenderly. "If you get scared, don't watch."
"I'm not scared. But you be careful."
His eyes were full of worry. He didn't want her getting hurt.
"Don't worry."
She gently touched his face, calming him down, and once he nodded, she turned back to the three women who were still rolling on the ground.
They slowly got up, holding their stomachs and faces, glaring at her with fire in their eyes.
"I didn't plan on doing anything to you," Jewel said coldly. "But you touched someone you shouldn't have."
Her voice was ice.
Soon—
"Ahhh!"
"Help! Please!"
"Stop! I was wrong… it hurts!"
Jewel was like a drummer pounding away—fist after kick—until the sounds of begging filled the air.
"Do you know you were wrong now?"
Jewel finally stopped, stretching her sore wrists and asking the bruised women casually.
This body really was weak. She was tired already.
"Yes, yes! We were wrong!"
They were completely defeated, too afraid to move.
"Did you bring the IOU?"
"I… I did."
The leader shakily pulled a wrinkled paper from her pouch. Even if Jewel tore it up, she didn't dare ask for the money back now—she knew she couldn't win a fight.
Jewel took ten silver taels from her sleeve and threw them near the leader. Then she grabbed the IOU, confirmed it was real, and ripped it into pieces.
"The debt is cleared. If you dare bother me again, I won't hesitate to teach you another lesson!"
The woman had seen Jewel's strength and was truly scared now. "We won't. Never again…"
"Then get out of here. Don't let me see your faces again!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the three ran off like scared dogs, their swollen faces disappearing into the distance.
But the third one—who lagged behind—kept sneaking glances back, squinting like she was trying to get a better look at Xavi… or maybe at Jewel.
Under the tree, Xavi had already gotten up.
His clothes were messy, but he'd fixed his hair with a hairpin again.
Jewel walked over and took his hand. "Xavi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Did you get hurt?"
His waist was sore, but he didn't want to say it. It wasn't a big deal—he could deal with it for a few days.
"I'm fine. Come on, I'll carry you home."
Jewel figured he probably landed hard on his back. His hesitant words told her he didn't want to worry her and planned to endure the pain silently.
But she knew him too well.