Zhang Cuihua led her family's relatives to the village entrance, where several police cars were already parked. The village chief was speaking with the Protectors.

"We have a report from the public alleging that a woman named Zhang Cuihua from your village bought a girl from human traffickers," the lead Protector asked.

"How could that be? Our village is filled with good, law-abiding citizens," the village chief said with a stiff smile. In truth, he had heard long ago that Zhang Cuihua's foolish son had gotten married.

On the wedding day, the bride never showed herself. Zhang Cuihua claimed she was just shy, but everyone could tell something was amiss. After all, who in their right mind would let their daughter marry an idiot? Although the whole village knew what was going on, no one said a word.

"Hmph. In that case, we can go check Zhang Cuihua's home, can't we?" the old Protector said with a sneer.

"It seems Zhang Cuihua isn't home," the village chief replied, his eyes flickering evasively.

At that moment, the village chief saw a group of people running from within the village, led by none other than Zhang Cuihua herself. A sudden sense of foreboding struck him. This is bad.

Simultaneously, Xia Liang arrived at his destination. Not far from his car, he saw a giant rock inscribed with the words "Zhang Family Village."

"The feng shui of Zhang Family Village is quite good," Xia Liang remarked after getting out of the car and looking around. "The village is surrounded by hills, making it seem nestled within them. A Wealth-Calming Stone is positioned at the entrance, pressing down on the path to prevent the village's fortune from leaking out. A classic 'tortoise carrying gold on its back' formation."

Xia Liang's eyes lit up; this was clearly the work of a skilled physiognomist. Based on the feng shui alone, while the village might not become fabulously rich, it could at least be modestly prosperous and healthy.

"However, there's still room for improvement in this feng shui setup," Xia Liang mused, stroking his chin. "While the Wealth-Calming Stone prevents the village's wealth from escaping, it also makes it difficult for outside wealth to enter. If I were setting this up, I would replace the Wealth-Calming Stone with a Wealth-Protecting Beast to allow for a mutual flow of fortune."

Xia Liang made a few gestures in the air as he mumbled to himself, but he soon gathered his thoughts. He wasn't here to inspect feng shui; he was here to save someone.

He walked quickly toward Zhang Family Village and reached the entrance in less than five minutes, where two groups were locked in a standoff.

"Just as I expected, there's trouble," Xia Liang murmured. The Protectors were blocked at the entrance, completely unable to enter the village.

"Fellow villagers, human trafficking is illegal! We cannot knowingly break the law!" the old Protector shouted through a megaphone.

"Nonsense! When did I ever buy a bride? Don't spout such rubbish!" Zhang Cuihua yelled, standing at the front of the crowd with her hands on her hips. The old Protector was at his wit's end. With the villagers blocking the entrance, he couldn't just arrest them all; after all, the law doesn't punish the masses.

"Just let us go into the village and take a look. It will be clear whether you bought a bride or not. We can clear your name," the old Protector said, his throat dry from talking so much.

"You want to look, so we should just let you? We villagers don't agree!" Zhang Cuihua waved her hand dismissively and shouted to the relatives behind her.

"That's right, we don't agree!"

"Why are you falsely accusing people?"

"What makes you Protectors so special!"

Zhang Cuihua's relatives began to cause a commotion. In reality, most of them knew she had bought a bride. Some were only there out of obligation to family, forced to come and put on a show of support. Others had their own ulterior motives, curious to see if Zhang Cuihua would actually get arrested. Among them were several old bachelors and childless elderly men. If Zhang Cuihua got away with it, maybe they could buy a girl or even a plump little boy for themselves. With these thoughts in mind, they were determined to back her.

The old Protector took the bottle of mineral water a colleague passed him and took a gulp. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he sighed. They had been at a standoff for an hour with no progress.

"Master, let's just force our way in," a young Protector said indignantly.

"How can we enter without evidence? We're Protectors, not bandits," the old Protector replied, smacking the young man on the head.

"So we're just going to stand here and wait?" the young Protector asked, rubbing his head pitifully.

"What else can we do? We'll see who can outlast whom," the old Protector said, picking up the megaphone again.

He cleared his throat, but just as he was about to speak, a young yet firm voice interrupted him.

"Let me try."

The old Protector turned to see a handsome young man.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here, now," the young Protector said impatiently.

Xia Liang merely gave him a look without saying a word.

"How dare you..." The young Protector stood up to scold Xia Liang but was held back by the old Protector.

"Let the young man try," the old Protector said with a profound look in his eyes.

"Thank you," Xia Liang said with a nod and a smile.

"Master, do you know him?" the young Protector whispered.

"I don't," the old Protector replied, shaking his head.

"Then why are you letting him go up there?" The young Protector's eyes were filled with confusion.

"There is much you still don't know," the old Protector said meaningfully after a glance at Xia Liang. "This young man is no ordinary person."

"If he's not an ordinary person, is he an Immortal or something?" the young Protector muttered, scratching his head. The old Protector didn't respond, his gaze fixed on Xia Liang.

"I assume you still remember me," Xia Liang called out to the crowd.

"You..." Zhang Cuihua's heart skipped a beat when she saw Xia Liang. She certainly recognized him—the chief culprit. If it weren't for him, things would never have escalated this far.

"I advise you to cooperate with the Protectors. It will save your entire village a lot of suffering," Xia Liang said with a placid smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Cuihua's face darkened.

"Who cares what he means? I think this kid is asking for a beating."

"He says he'll make our whole village suffer? Does he have that kind of power?"

"Doesn't he know this is a society ruled by law? Who would dare touch anyone in our village?"

Zhang Cuihua's relatives clamored noisily.

"You still know this is a society ruled by law?" Xia Liang was so angry he laughed. The way they were acting, you'd think he was the one obstructing the Protectors. Just then, the village chief stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Everyone, calm down, calm down," he said, waving his hands at the crowd. "Villagers, stop brandishing your weapons. Put them down."

He then turned to the officers. "And you, esteemed Protectors, should probably leave. After all, you can't just accuse people without any evidence," the village chief pleaded.

Xia Liang sneered. It was clear the chief was siding with his villagers, even daring to cover up something as serious as human trafficking.

"Village Chief, I see a streak of wealth in your life palace. It seems you've recently come into a large sum of money," Xia Liang said, blinking slowly.

"Hm?" The village chief froze, wondering why this young man was suddenly talking such nonsense.

"Did you happen to give that money to your son as a bride price?" Xia Liang continued.

Hearing this, the village chief's expression changed completely. His son had found a girl from the city, and they were planning to get married, which should have been a joyous occasion. However, the girl's family had suddenly demanded a bride price of 30,000 Yuan, threatening to call off the wedding if they didn't pay up. As a village official, how could he possibly come up with 30,000 Yuan? So, he had recently tampered with the village's account books and taken the money from there.

"May I ask, sir, who you are?" the village chief's tone became respectful. He had no idea who this young man was.

"My name is Xia Liang. I'm a physiognomist," Xia Liang stated calmly.

"A physiognomist?" the village chief muttered to himself.

"Village Chief, do you need me to explain where this money came from?" A faint smile played on Xia Liang's lips.

"No, no need!" the village chief said hastily. If this got out, not only would he go to prison, but the villagers would probably dig up his ancestral graves.

"As the head of this village, you must still have some authority, correct?" Xia Liang said to him.

"Of course! What are your instructions?" The wrinkles on the village chief's face seemed to form a smile.

"Let us into the village," Xia Liang said.

"This..." The village chief clearly hesitated.

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