The confusion and disbelief in the villagers' eyes were palpable; the sight of the two imposing figures guarding the tree hollow was truly unsettling. After a brief moment, those two sentinels used their hands to stretch the opening of the tree hollow as if they were forcing a door, widening it considerably. Soon after, a figure backed out of the hollow, trembling all over. Upon seeing the two guardians, he immediately collapsed onto the ground, drenched in a cold sweat. He then turned and saw the large crowd of villagers gathered there—he was utterly spiritless.

"Village Head..." A commotion erupted among the villagers. Yang Xiaoling stood up, approached the Village Head, and pulled several ten-thousand-yuan checks that Zhou Huan had thrown into the tree hollow earlier that day from his pocket. She then tossed the checks onto the ground.

"Everyone, look! These checks were thrown into the tree hollow by Master Zhou during the day, and someone came to collect them tonight. This is the person demanding donations to the Tree God! Look at this, and see where all the money you donated in the past has gone!" As soon as Yang Xiaoling finished speaking, the villagers exploded in outrage.

Some villagers shouted fiercely, "You rotten Village Head! My child is over thirty years old, and it was you who made him small! And you still demand donations? I even donated the shares from my family's Tang Dynasty antique! One day, I saw an antique at his house that was exactly the same as mine. I wanted to ask about it then, but I thought it couldn't be the Village Head. It seems I was truly blind! You are a source of disaster!"

"A true disaster! My child hasn't recovered to this day because I offended you at the village committee meeting. At first, I thought the Tree God thought I did something wrong and was punishing me deliberately. I've been throwing nearly twenty thousand yuan in cash into that hole every year! Ah... so it was someone playing tricks all along!" As he spoke, the man lunged forward to beat the Village Head, having already kicked off his shoe, preparing to strike.

But the Village Head had turned into a stone statue, utterly motionless and completely dumbfounded, watching the panicked faces all around him without uttering a word.

"Whoosh!" Zhou Huan, who had been hiding in the tree, suddenly jumped down. The villagers gasped in shock. Where had this Zhou Huan come from, jumping down from a tree?

"Hey, you claim to be Zhou Huan, but we don't believe you. Don't tell us you arranged all this too," the man who was about to flee asked Zhou Huan deliberately.

Zhou Huan chuckled, "Let me make things clear to you; my situation is simple." With a casual gesture, Zhou Huan pulled out his ID card from his bag. "Are you seeing clearly now? You punk, I haven't settled accounts with you yet! The Village Head gives you a meager thousand or eight hundred a month, and you can still compromise your conscience to do things?"

"Even if you are Zhou Huan, they said you were shrunk. It seems the money you donated to the great tree actually worked. Right?" The fellow kept stirring up trouble.

Zhou Huan raised his hand and slapped him hard, sending the scoundrel spinning on the ground. "Still stirring things up? You are truly blind! The checks were clearly pulled from the Village Head's pocket, yet you dare to attribute it to the Tree God? Here, you all immediately bring me Yang San!"

The beaten young man deserved it; his incessant questioning after the slap silenced him, especially since the Village Head had handed over Zhou Huan's checks in front of everyone, and there was indeed a hole under the tree.

Just then, Dongzi and Da Luobo arrived, bringing Yang San with them. Zhou Huan stood up and asked, "Who are the most respected people in your village?"

The crowd exchanged glances, and three individuals stepped forward. Zhou Huan then said, "Come with me. Let you supervise me, so I don't return to find you don't believe me. And also, take his fingerprints; they will be handed over to the public security organs for legal processing later."

Zhou Huan went to Yang San's house, and a short while later, he returned with the accompanying villagers. In his hand, he held a plate of dumplings—dumplings Zhou Huan himself had made, deliberately placed on Yang San's dining table. Why was Zhou Huan so certain that these dumplings were drugged? Zhou Huan had seen the prescription for this particular medicine; some ingredients had a distinct odor that he could recognize instantly upon smelling them.

"Come, come, Yang San, remember this: you might be in severe pain shortly, but one thing—no matter how much pain you feel, do not strike your head, or your brain capacity will drop to zero." Zhou Huan first warned Yang San, then told Dongzi and Da Luobo, "You two keep a close eye on him. Check on him in less than two hours, and Yang San will return to normal."

Turning back to the Village Head, Zhou Huan said, "Don't think you're off the hook. Your fingerprints are on this plate, there are scuff marks on the back wall from being stepped on, and your shoes have traces of earth from that wall, with identical tread patterns. Don't try to deny it. If you sincerely admit your mistake in front of all these people, perhaps they will forgive you, but you cannot escape legal responsibility!"

"I... I admit it!" After a long silence, the Village Head finally spoke. Just as he was about to continue, Yang San's body suddenly began to contort, then stretch, and in the next moment, he was pouring sweat like a river, soaking the dry, sandy ground.

The Village Head looked at Yang San and confessed, "I admit that all the minor ailments plaguing the village these years were my doing. Then I arranged for people to tell everyone to donate more money. I would regularly retrieve the money from under the tree. I was too greedy; otherwise, you, Zhou Huan, would never have known about this place."

"Hahaha, you are wrong, Village Head, truly wrong. Let me ask you, does your medicinal formula include the ingredient 'Ghost Eye'?" Upon hearing this question, the Village Head was once again thrown into utter confusion.

"You... what exactly are you? You even know this formula?" The Village Head truly didn't know how to perceive Zhou Huan anymore. In his mind, he only remembered hearing about Zhou Huan's reputation in the past: the founder of the Shoushi school, merely someone who dealt with the dead. How could he also be knowledgeable about Chinese herbal medicine? What was going on?

Zhou Huan grabbed the Village Head's hand tightly. "Look at your own hand closely. Every time you prepare the 'Ghost Eye' medicine, your fingers turn black, as if poisoned. When the sun is out and shines strongly, two layers of skin peel off your hands before they fully heal."

"You even know that?"

Zhou Huan continued, "Not only do I know that, but I also know that the 'Ghost Eye' you cultivate is grown in the corner of your room. Otherwise, the person taking it wouldn't suffer pain. Normal 'Ghost Eye' grows in sunny spots, covered with plastic sheeting at night. If left for a month, the fruit it produces can smooth the blood circulation channels. But you were afraid that people would find out about your indoor cultivation of 'Ghost Eye' and learn about the secrets behind you, which is why you grew it inside."

At this moment, the Village Head was struck dumb, completely beyond help, his lips unable to form words. Sweat streamed down his temples as he stared at Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan leaned close to the Village Head's ear and whispered, "Don't think I don't know how Yang Xiaoling's grandfather died. Don't force me to investigate you forcefully; it's better if you confess yourself. If I have to trace things back to their root myself, be careful, or I might uproot you entirely."

The Village Head's eyes were hazy, tears and sweat mixing and rolling down his face. He finally nodded. "I... I can tell you, but you must dismiss the crowd first. After I've told you everything, I'll sign a statement."

"That would be best. Also, you must contribute all the 'Ghost Eye' from your house. There are still a few people in the village who haven't recovered. Tomorrow, I'll give you the chance to do something good for them."

"Ah!" At this moment, the Village Head finally let out a long, heavy sigh and nodded. "Being rich is not as good as living with a clear conscience. Taking from others never feels right. I knew something was amiss from the very beginning, but the subsequent events pushed me to this point step by step; I had no choice."

After finishing his conversation with Zhou Huan, the Village Head stood up and addressed the crowd. "I did wrong in the past. I will actively seek treatment for those who haven't been cured. I took everyone's money, and I will return it in full. I am willing to accept punishment under the law."

The villagers finally understood what had truly happened. No wonder the Village Head spent money like water, buying whatever he wanted, and was the wealthiest in the village—so that was why.

Zhou Huan dismissed the gathered spirits. He, along with Dongzi, took the Village Head and the man who had tried to run straight to the Village Head's home.

Zhou Huan's first action was to pluck four 'Ghost Eye' fruits from the Village Head's house. Then, he gathered his True Qi, donned his Heavenly Silkworm Gloves, clenched his palm, and the few 'Ghost Eye' fruits were crushed into powder. Afterward, Zhou Huan divided the powder into several portions, then compounded them according to the formula left by Old Master Yang, mixing them with honey to form medicinal pills.