Jiang Liuli exited the dimension and saw Zhao Shi still unconscious on the riverbank, so she shook her awake.
When Zhao Shi opened her eyes, she was met with the magnified, ugly face of her own daughter. Tears instantly welled up and streamed down her face.
She stretched out a trembling hand, her rough fingertips cautiously touching Jiang Liuli’s face as if to confirm this was not a hallucination.
“Dani… My Dani…”
Zhao Shi’s voice was incredibly hoarse, and tears rolled down her deeply wrinkled cheeks. “Mother thought… thought I would never see you again…”
She suddenly pulled Jiang Liuli into her arms, her withered limbs erupting with astonishing strength, squeezing Jiang Liuli so tightly she could barely breathe.
“Mother was wrong… Mother shouldn’t have been so weak…”
Zhao Shi trembled as she cried, her scalding tears soaking Jiang Liuli’s shoulder.
“From now on, even if I have to give up my life, I will never let anyone harm you again…”
Jiang Liuli froze.
In her previous life, she was an orphan who had been alone since childhood. That was why she had been able to adapt to the apocalypse at top speed, advance quickly, and become one of the most powerful figures of the end times.
But now, being held by this unfamiliar woman, she felt a bit of discomfort mixed with a hint of anticipation.
Perhaps, in this era, she could experience what it was like to have a family!
This was a dream she had always longed for in her past life but had never realized.
Since I’ve taken over your daughter’s body, I’ll live on in her place. As long as you all aren’t too disappointing, I will… I will take care of you!
At this thought, Jiang Liuli gently hugged Zhao Shi back. The gesture made Zhao Shi cry even harder.
She could feel the shudders running through the frail woman’s body—the lingering fear from a near-death experience and the ecstatic joy of having her back.
“Mother! Let’s go home!” Jiang Liuli said softly.
“No! Dani, you can’t go back! A bride chosen by the River God will be burned alive if she returns!”
Zhao Shi suddenly pushed Jiang Liuli away in terror. “You have to leave, quickly! The farther, the better!”
“Mother, without a household registration certificate and a travel permit, where can I go? We have to go back. Don’t worry! I have a way to keep myself alive, and I have the ability to make those who harmed me pay the price they deserve!”
Jiang Liuli’s voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable strength.
She helped Zhao Shi to her feet, her gaze fixed resolutely in the direction of the village.
The sky had cleared by now, and a full moon hung high in the air, brightly illuminating the path back to the village.
Zhao Shi was stunned by the coldness in her eyes and, for a moment, couldn't find the words to refute her.
“Dani, why do I feel like you’ve changed?”
Looking at this version of Jiang Liuli, Zhao Shi felt she was a world apart from the daughter she knew before. She even had the feeling that the young woman before her was not her daughter.
“Mother! I’m someone who has already died once. If I remain as weak as before, letting others bully me as they please, I might as well have just died this time!”
“It’s not just me! You and Father have to change, too. Otherwise, today it was me, but tomorrow it could be Little Sister, or even your little granddaughter. Grandpa, Grandma, First Uncle, and Third Uncle—they’ll do anything for money!”
Zhao Shi’s entire body jolted upon hearing this. The thought of the fate her two daughters and granddaughter might face in the future ignited a spark of determination in her eyes.
Her rough hand gripped Jiang Liuli’s tightly. “Dani is right… Mother can’t be weak anymore! But are you sure you’ll be alright if you go back?”
“Mother! Have you ever heard that surviving a great disaster brings good fortune? Since they failed to kill me, they will be the ones to suffer misfortune!”
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Liuli’s eyes as she supported Zhao Shi and walked toward the village.
The crowd that had participated in the sacrifice had already returned to the village to rest. However, a small number of families were still awake, gathered outside the old Jiang family home to watch the commotion.
Jiang Yinbao lay in a bloody heap in the Jiang family courtyard, his life hanging by a thread.
Twelve-year-old Jiang Xiaoni was kneeling beside Jiang Yinbao, crying so hard she was on the verge of fainting.
Inside the house, Jiang Yinbao’s eldest son’s wife, Xu Shi, was in labor. Her piercing screams tore through the night sky.
Jiang Yinbao’s second son’s wife was inside helping, her anxious words of encouragement audible from time to time.
“Useless thing! Can’t even give birth to a child! Is she trying to keep everyone from sleeping all night?” Jiang Qianshi stood outside the east wing, hands on her hips, cursing loudly. “Just as useless as that brainless mother-in-law of hers!”
“Mother! Stop scolding her! Zhao Shi jumped into the Swallowing Sky River, so she’s most likely dead. If you keep scolding Xu Shi and she gets too upset to give birth and dies, Second Brother will treat you even more like an enemy!”
Jiang Tongbao’s wife, Wang Shi, said in a strange tone, glancing at the unconscious Jiang Yinbao in the courtyard.
She recalled the man-eating glare Jiang Yinbao had given them before he passed out, and she felt the hair on her body stand on end.
She had never seen such a look in Jiang Yinbao’s eyes before, as if he wanted to kill them all…
“He dares! That coward! If he dares to disrespect Mother, I’ll have my Jinbao break his other leg!”
Jiang Jinbao’s wife, Wu Shi, was built large and sturdy like a man. At this moment, she glanced contemptuously at the unconscious Jiang Yinbao, her eyes full of mockery.
A coward like Jiang Yinbao? If she weren’t concerned about the impropriety between men and women, she could beat him half to death by herself. Why would she even need her husband?
Hearing Wu Shi’s words, Jiang Xiaoni’s small body trembled violently.
She lifted her red, swollen eyes and stared fixedly at Wu Shi’s harsh face, crying out:
“For a few taels of silver, you killed my mother and my sister. Now my father is on the brink of death, and my sister-in-law went into premature labor because you pushed her to the ground, and she still hasn’t given birth! It’s bad enough that you won’t get a doctor for them! How can your words still be so vicious?”
“You little brat, have you rebelled! How dare you speak to your elders like that! Are you asking for a beating?”
As Wu Shi spoke, she strode forward and raised her large, fan-like hand to slap Jiang Xiaoni.
“Stop!”
A cold voice suddenly came from the courtyard gate.
Everyone followed the sound and saw a drenched Jiang Liuli supporting an equally disheveled Zhao Shi. In the moonlight, the birthmark covering half her face looked particularly ferocious.
Seeing the mother and daughter who had appeared silently behind them, the villagers recoiled in fear.
Some screamed in terror, while others scattered and fled.
Only a few of the bolder villagers remained, watching as Jiang Liuli supported Zhao Shi and walked slowly into the courtyard, trying to determine if they were human or ghosts…
Under the moonlight, the birthmark on Jiang Liuli’s right cheek glowed an eerie blue-black. Paired with her soaking wet red wedding dress and disheveled long hair, she truly did resemble a malevolent spirit.
Wu Shi’s large hand froze in mid-air. Watching Jiang Liuli support Zhao Shi and walk unhurriedly toward her, her legs went weak with fright, and she collapsed to the ground.
She knelt there, kowtowing repeatedly to Jiang Liuli. “Dani… spare me! It wasn’t me who harmed you, it was Mother-in-law!”
Wu Shi frantically turned and pointed at Jiang Qianshi, who was frozen in shock. “It was her! For ten taels of silver, she was the one who sent you to your death, not me!”
Jiang Qianshi had also been thoroughly frightened by Jiang Liuli, but her sharp eyes spotted the shadows behind Jiang Liuli and Zhao Shi.
She shot Wu Shi a fierce glare. “You spineless thing! What are you panicking for! They have shadows, they’re human! Not ghosts!”
Jiang Qianshi spat fiercely. If she didn’t have more important things to do right now, she would have definitely given Wu Shi a few hard slaps.
Jiang Qianshi pointed a bony finger at Jiang Liuli. “Well, well, Jiang Dani! The River God didn’t even take you, and you still dare to come back? Are you trying to bring the River God’s punishment down on all of Stone Village?”
She took two steps forward, feigning fierceness, trying to crush the young woman before her with her usual authority.
But when she met Jiang Liuli’s eyes, which were so cold they held not a trace of warmth, she couldn’t help but shiver.
This girl… seemed different.