“Ah—”
Su Mengmeng was sent flying by that strange force, crashing into the wall. The dazzling, luxurious hair ornaments in her hair pierced her scalp.
Blood streamed down from her hair.
She reached up to touch her face, and the sight of her hand covered in blood sent her into a panic. She twisted and screamed, “My face! My face!”
Her shrieks were piercing, like an Evil Ghost crawling out of the Netherworld.
Ignoring Su Mengmeng’s cries, Qing Bao gazed delightedly at the Judge’s Brush, which was almost as tall as she was.
“Brushy, how did you come back with me too!”
When that monkey stormed into the Netherworld, he snatched away Qing Bao’s Book of Life and Death.
But the Judge’s Brush—Qing Bao had clung to it tightly, crying and refusing to let the monkey take it.
Their decades-long bond was a testament to their connection.
The Judge’s Brush emitted a red glow, its shaft trembling as if responding to Qing Bao.
It was as docile as a delinquent youth with half-dyed red hair.
The little milk bun jumped up excitedly, grabbed the Judge’s Brush, and pointed it at Su Mengmeng, swinging it around like a monkey wielding a golden staff.
“Su Mengmeng, in this life you have never accumulated virtue, yet you have killed three kittens and one human life. Today, I sentence you to the seventh layer of the Mountain of Knives Hell, to endure a hundred years of punishment on the blade-covered mountain!”
With these words, the little one decisively swept the Judge’s Brush through the air…
Only to stare blankly at her small face.
She had swiped at nothing…
The Book of Life and Death was gone!!!
It had been torn up by that Ma Lou!
So, the Judge’s Brush in Qing Bao’s hand could only be used to hit people now, right?
“Grab her! Beat her to death!” Su Mengmeng screamed hysterically, her blood-covered face a horrifying sight.
Pursing her little lips, Qing Bao nearly burst into tears out of frustration.
That damned Ma Lou had ruined her grand moment, leaving her utterly embarrassed.
In the next instant,
She lightly waved the brush shaft toward the group of adults.
All of them were sent flying, crashing into the wall and spitting out blood.
A look of terror flashed in Su Mengmeng’s eyes.
Several of the boys who had committed evil deeds ran out crying hysterically.
Qing Bao walked up to Su Mengmeng, lifted her with one hand, and remained silent.
“Qing Bao, where are you taking me? Let me go!” Su Mengmeng struggled desperately.
She couldn’t understand why such a powerful brush had suddenly appeared to save Qing Bao.
While she, even with so many people protecting her, had been utterly defeated without any ability to fight back.
Her little face stern, Qing Bao dragged Su Mengmeng to the doorway with one hand, effortlessly.
Before them lay the bodies of three little kittens, one of which was a beautiful calico kitten, barely a month old.
“Kneel.” The little one pressed her head down and coldly uttered two words.
Su Mengmeng lifted her face, disbelief in her eyes. “Are you insane? You want me to kneel to three animals… Ah!”
Before she could finish, Qing Bao forced her head down, slamming it hard against the ground.
Her already bloodied face now bore several more wounds, and gravel from the ground embedded itself in her forehead, making Su Mengmeng weep uncontrollably from the pain.
It hurt so much—she wanted to kill Qing Bao!
Qing Bao felt not an ounce of pity for her. Instead, she continued to press Su Mengmeng’s head down, slamming it twice more with loud thuds.
The translucent souls of the little kittens rose into the air. Seeing that Qing Bao was safe, they finally drifted away at peace.
“What are you doing!!!”
At that moment, an angry roar shattered the bloody scene. An elderly woman, her face frantic, rushed forward and shoved Qing Bao aside.
She helped up Su Mengmeng, who was lying on the ground, nearly unconscious from the pain.
Su Mengmeng wept as she spoke to the old madam, “Grandmother, it’s not Qing Bao’s fault. It was Mengmeng who bumped into her.”
Bean-sized tears mixed with blood dripped onto Old Madam Su’s palm.
Old Madam Su felt her heart ache to the point of suffocation, staring in horror at the blood covering her hand.
“What are you all standing around for? Fetch a physician!”
“Qing Bao, how dare you try to kill your own sister! You wretched creature! If anything happens to Mengmeng, I will never let you off!”
Old Madam Su’s vicious attitude toward Qing Bao, the fury in her eyes nearly burning the little one to ashes.
In her previous life, Qing Bao had been terrified of this grandmother.
But now she wasn’t afraid at all, instead calmly explaining, “She hit me first. She even tried to gouge out my eyes.”
The tiny child pointed to the injuries on her face, her adorable expression full of politeness and principle.
She was now a very reasonable baby.
If this were the Netherworld, she would have jumped up and used the Judge’s Brush to poke two holes in their knees.
“Mengmeng is in this state, and you still accuse her of hitting you? You demon! I’ll beat you to death!”
Old Madam Su had originally brought Su Mengmeng back to their rural hometown to await her son’s victorious return for ancestral worship.
Unexpectedly, night had fallen and her son still hadn’t returned.
And the always sensible and well-behaved Mengmeng had actually been bullied like this by this wild child raised in the countryside.
If she had arrived any later, Mengmeng might have…
So malicious! Only three years old and already so vicious!
Old Madam Su ordered someone to seize Qing Bao. An old maidservant picked up a stick from the ground and swung it at Qing Bao.
Qing Bao furrowed her little brows, her cute expression turning into one of minor anger, her small fists clenched at her sides:
“I’m reasoning with you, why are you getting so worked up?”
With that, she waved the brush handle in her hand, and the sticks snapped in half.
The maidservant holding the stick stood stunned, completely incredulous.
She looked at the three-year-old baby before her, face full of baleful energy, and retreated a step in fear.
This… this is most inauspicious!
“Old Madam! The Star of Calamity has appeared! The Star of Calamity has appeared!”
Three years ago, when two daughters were born simultaneously in the General’s Residence, a fortune-teller passing by during the celebrations said that one of the girls was a descended Star of Calamity who needed proper guidance toward goodness, or there would be endless consequences.
Old Madam Su had been half-convinced, but now such a scene completely verified that Qing Bao was the Star of Calamity!
Otherwise, how could a normal three-year-old child possibly attempt murder!
“Quick, summon the Clan Leader and the clanspeople! Let them see for themselves how malicious this Star of Calamity truly is!”
Old Madam Su’s fingers trembled uncontrollably from fear of the prophecy.
“Where is Si He? Bring her here quickly! Let her see with her own eyes what kind of creature she gave birth to!!”
Si He was Qing Bao’s mother, who had gone out during the day saying she was buying Sugar Crisp and new clothes for Qing Bao, but never returned.
Now all the Su Family clanspeople were waiting in the Ancestral Hall for General Su’s triumphant return to offer incense, which was why the small, dilapidated courtyard where Qing Bao and her mother lived was largely unattended.
This was what had allowed Su Mengmeng to dare attempt such deadly violence against Qing Bao.
“Old Madam, wasn’t Si He taken by you…” The maidservant started to ask but immediately fell silent when Old Madam Su glared at her.
Thinking of her mother, Qing Bao’s small body trembled slightly!
Old Madam Su had learned that General Su and his Co-Wife had achieved military merits together, intending to elevate the Co-Wife to official wife status.
She framed Si He for adultery with a man, causing Si He to lose her reputation. After witnessing her daughter’s death, Si He became disheartened and took her own life.
It seems likely that Si He was abducted by Old Madam Su and taken to the back hill on her way back.
“This servant just saw the General’s Wife returning from the city and heading to the back hill with a man. Since it’s getting dark, why don’t we go search for her there?”
The matron before them, with ill intentions, was gathering clansmen to go look for Su He at the back hill.