Group Owner, they are all bullying me

The Divine Land.

Yushui Village, Local Earth Temple.

Lin Yuyu’s face flushed red with excitement as she exclaimed, "A warm welcome to our esteemed Group Leader and all the senior members for your inspection and research visit to Yushui Village!"

She was beyond thrilled.

In this world, if you didn’t have strength, you had to rely on connections—and frankly, she had neither!

Though she had stumbled into high-level scenarios twice by accident, her lack of skill meant she barely gained any real experience. She had only familiarized herself with basic spellcasting and barely advanced from the lowest 14th-tier to the peak of the 13th-tier.

In a world teeming with demons and monsters, she was still nothing more than a small fry!

But today, the Group Leader himself had arrived, leading a delegation of top-tier experts for an inspection!

What did this mean?

It meant her greatest backer had arrived!

With the Group Leader backing her, what demon or monster would dare bully her now?

"Lin Yuyu, don’t mind us. Just act as you normally would—show us your daily routine in its truest form," Chen Yi said with an official tone.

The purpose of his visit was to study the strengths of the grassroots management system in the Divine Land, identify its flaws, and ultimately transplant this incense-based divine system—capable of greatly enhancing fortune—back to the Purple Star Continent.

He wanted to see the real workings of the system, not just copy it blindly from the lofty Divine Land’s Heavenly Dao.

To put it bluntly, the Heavenly Dao here was lazy, even negligent. As long as the world functioned smoothly and its fortune grew steadily, it barely lifted a finger—it probably didn’t even know what its subordinates were up to!

But under Chen Yi’s discerning gaze, the Divine Land’s seemingly prosperous facade was riddled with hidden problems, all glossed over.

And Lin Yuyu?

She was the sharp scalpel that would cut through this false veneer!

"Ah... I’m a bit nervous. If I don’t perform well, please guide me, Group Leader and seniors!"

Lin Yuyu stood at attention and even gave a salute, mimicking formal etiquette.

"Hahaha..."

Chen Yi couldn’t help but laugh, and the other members of the inspection team—Ye Wuchen, Fang Zheng, Gu Yuan, and Xiao Chunan—also chuckled warmly.

They had all been novices once. Now, seeing such an earnest rookie putting on a show before them stirred an indescribable feeling.

"Hehe..." Lin Yuyu scratched her head awkwardly but politely, then straightened up and reported seriously, "I oversee an area of over three hundred li around Yushui Village, including nine settlements, 1,024 households, and nearly ten thousand people."

"Before your arrival, I had already completed most of today’s routine tasks. The rest won’t take more than an hour to finish. After that, we’ll move on to the unresolved, thornier issues—which might require some assistance from the seniors... Group Leader, does this arrangement suit you?"

Chen Yi replied calmly, "It’s your call."

With permission granted, Lin Yuyu immediately shifted into work mode. Her spirit form drifted out of the shrine and floated toward one of the villages, with Chen Yi’s group following closely behind, observing and commenting along the way.

It was dusk. A few burly men, hoes slung over their shoulders, walked back from the fields, chatting and laughing along the narrow village paths.

"Blessed by Lady Yusu, this year’s crops are growing exceptionally well!"

"True. Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t Lady Yusu’s statue in the temple look different now?"

"Yeah, I feel the same. I remember her eyes used to look half-closed, like she didn’t dare look at us. Now they’re wide open—almost like she’s glaring at me, just like my eldest daughter when she’s angry..."

"Ugh, don’t say that—I’ve got goosebumps now! That glare’s back! Did Lady Yusu hear us? Lady Yusu, forgive me! I shouldn’t have gossiped about you behind your back..."

Indeed!

Lin Yuyu was both embarrassed and annoyed. Normally, she could tolerate the villagers’ chatter, but now, with the Group Leader and seniors right behind her, they were still blabbering? Did she have no dignity left?

Fine—may you choke on your food and water!

"Hahaha! Old Wang, you’re done for! Better offer Lady Yusu extra incense tomorrow to apologize, or she might stop blessing you!"

"Tch, my big mouth... I’ll head home now and prepare the incense first thing tomorrow!"

"This is serious, you know. My wife came back from her family’s place yesterday and told me something big happened in Dashixiang. A man skipped his incense offering to Lord Wugou, and that very night, a ghost got him!"

"What? That serious?"

"Just because he missed an offering, a ghost attacked him? Really?"

"Shh! Keep it down! I’m only telling you lot—this is taboo talk. Don’t spread it around!"

"Relax, you know I can keep a secret!"

"My lips are sealed too!"

"Go on, tell us!"

"Well, according to my wife, an old mulberry tree on Dashishan turned into a demon. It’s raising a whole bunch of vengeful spirits—nasty ones. Even Lord Wugou can’t handle it. Only with enough incense can Lord Wugou muster the strength to protect everyone. No incense? Then he’s powerless..."

"Yikes! No more talk—I’m going home right now to make incense with my wife. A hundred sticks! We’ve got to keep Lady Yusu well-fed, or she won’t have the strength to fight off ghosts, and then I’m done for!"

"Exactly! The Qing River’s crawling with drowned ghosts. We can go hungry, but we must never let Lady Yusu starve..."

"Let’s go, let’s go—time to make incense!"

"..."

Smoke curled from chimneys as dusk settled. The setting sun painted the sky in fiery hues, and a gentle breeze carried the distant barks of dogs—a picture of peace and tranquility.

But as the guardian deity of this land, Lin Yuyu’s expression darkened.

She knew exactly what was happening in Dashixiang. That demonic mulberry tree was raised by Lord Wugou himself—a scare tactic to pressure the villagers into obedience. By keeping them fearful and desperate, he ensured they’d focus solely on begging for his protection, making it easier to squeeze more incense offerings from them.

Worse, he had even extended his reach into her territory. He offered to "lend" her the mulberry tree—if she handed over 30% of her incense revenue.

Lin Yuyu refused, of course.

Sure, the villagers could be annoying, but their devotion was genuine. Her power came from them—how could she exploit them instead of protecting their well-being?

That wasn’t how an educated transmigrator should behave!

But unfortunately, refusal wasn’t always an option.

Lord Wugou had a hundred ways to force her into submission.

At least, that was the case before she joined the chat group.

Now?

Sob... Group Leader, they’ve all been bullying me!