Zhao Ce, such a fierce scholar

Su Caier looked up and saw a little child squatting nearby, holding some other stones and throwing one into the new pit she had just dug. There was a clump of mud on the child's straw shoes, which looked wet and she didn't know where he had stepped on it. Su Caier looked around and didn't see any adults nearby. She whispered, "Little friend, I'm working. Can you go play somewhere else?"

The child replied, "You're a disaster, digging a pit to harm us. I have to fill all the pits you dig." He threw a few more stones into the pit as he spoke.

Su Caier watched the child's actions and pursed her lips, not knowing how to persuade him.

Just then, a woman walked over. She saw her child so close to Su Caier and immediately changed her expression. She quickly walked over and hugged her child, scolding loudly, "Didn't I tell you to stay away from this disaster? You're so close, what if you get contaminated with her bad luck?"

Another woman who was delivering food nearby came over to ask what was going on. The child pointed to the pit on the ground and said, "Mom, you said she's a disaster. Look, she's digging pits to harm us. What if we fall in?"

Although Zhao Youcai had explained to the villagers that Su Caier's eyes became like that because of an illness, the villagers' deep-rooted beliefs could not be easily changed by just a few words. Although they didn't shout to drive Su Caier out of the village anymore, they still wouldn't allow their children to get close to her.

They were afraid of being contaminated with the bad things on her body, which would bring disaster to their families.

Moreover, news of the battle between Zhao Ce and Uncle Liu's family spread throughout the village yesterday. The woman who scolded the child was Uncle Liu's daughter-in-law. Today, she brought her child and Aunt Liu to deliver food. She looked at the pit on the ground and remembered the fight between Zhao Ce and their family yesterday. She complained with a little bit of fear in her mouth, "People are coming through here too. You're digging such a deep hole here. What if someone accidentally falls in, what should we do?"

Su Caier was a little nervous and looked down, saying, "This pit is not deep. It won't harm anyone..."

The pit was only about a palm deep and sloped downwards around it. It was unlikely that anyone would fall in. But while Su Caier was speaking, her gaze was drawn to something not far away.

The woman next to her said, "Chunxiang, stop talking. You still have work to do for Zhao Ce's family. Let's go." The woman called Chunxiang grumbled unhappily, "If you want to harm people, go somewhere else. Don't cause trouble in our village. When you see this person in the future, walk away. Just look at her eyes, if you see them too much, you'll become unlucky."

As she was speaking, a voice suddenly rang out, "Don't... don't move!" It was Su Caier who had raised her voice a little.

Chunxiang thought that Su Caier was upset and looking for trouble, so she immediately stopped walking. Although her family was scared by Zhao Ce yesterday, this was a matter between women. A big man like Zhao Ce shouldn't interfere. Besides, she could take the opportunity to vent some frustration at home.

At this moment, another male voice sounded not far away. "Caier, don't move!" It was Zhao Ce.

Chunxiang turned her head with her child and saw Zhao Ce walking towards them with a serious look on his face. She immediately felt a little nervous and said, "Zhao, Zhao Ce..."

"Do you want to interfere in our women's affairs too, as a scholar with no shame?" Zhao Ce didn't pay attention to her and focused on looking at the dense grass over there.

The woman next to him was afraid of being implicated and was about to slip away. Zhao Ce immediately whispered, "Don't move!"

The woman looked puzzled at Zhao Ce. She was just passing by, would he take her with them too? Just as she was about to speak, she heard Su Caier's voice trembling slightly, "Husband, don't come over."

She held the hoe tightly in her hand and looked at the dense grass over there, swallowing nervously. But Zhao Ce didn't listen to her and walked over lightly.

Su Caier was so anxious that she was about to cry. She said, "Husband, go around the back."

"Don't come over!" While she was speaking, Zhao Ce had already walked to her side.

The child across from them suddenly exclaimed, "Mom, there's a snake!" After shouting, there was a chilling sound of rapid movement. After the sound, a big black snake as thick as a baby's arm poked its head out of the grass.

"Ah! A snake!" Chunxiang, holding her child, screamed in panic. The woman next to her also screamed, "Run!" After speaking, they ran away in a hurry towards the main road.

People working in the field nearby heard the screams and immediately informed each other. "There's a snake over there!" "Old Liu, that seems to be your daughter-in-law!" "Hurry up!" There was a bustling sound coming from the field. However, the snake didn't give the people a chance to catch their breath after hearing the screams.

The snake spat out its tongue and headed straight for the child next to Chunxiang. Su Caier nervously held the hoe in her hand and trembled. But she still shouted, "Quick, get away!" She was about to throw the hoe to kill the snake, but the big black snake crawled too fast and she couldn't aim.

Zhao Ce immediately reached out and stopped the little girl's movement. He took the hoe from her and said, "Stay here."

In an instant, the big black snake came within a yard of Chunxiang's child. She held her child and watched the snake approaching quickly, her scalp tingling as she stood in place. Her mother-in-law's voice could be heard from the other side, "Daughter-in-law, is my grandson over there?" But she was shaking so much that she couldn't make a sound.

Her legs were as weak as noodles and she couldn't move. She watched as the big black snake was about to bite her child. Trembling, she hid her child behind her back.

"Husband, don't go..."

Su Caier's panicked voice came from beside her. A figure swiftly passed by the crowd. When Old Liu and Old Liu's wife, who were working in the field on the other side, arrived panting and carrying hoes, they saw Zhao Ce moving quickly. He held the hoe and struck the crawling snake fiercely.

The hoe had been sharpened for work in the past two days, and combined with Zhao Ce's strength when the hoe struck the snake, its body was instantly severed. The snake's head, which was still spitting out its tongue, was disconnected and the snake's body continued to writhe.

Zhao Ce immediately picked up a dustpan and covered the still-twitching snake's head. He stepped on the back of the dustpan with one foot, and the whole process flowed smoothly and was completed in one breath.

Old Liu and the others stopped in their tracks, staring in amazement at Zhao Ce. They couldn't believe that there was such a scholarly man who could be so fierce.