“My son! Wake up! Feicai!”
Inside the courtyard, Chen He and Wang Chuntao knelt beside Chen Feicai, panic written all over their faces.
“Father, Mother, you’re finally back! My legs won’t move anymore! Where’s that bitch Lin Xiazhi? Hurry up and poison her to death! You absolutely can’t let her live!”
Chen Feicai had actually regained consciousness quite a while ago.
He had only continued pretending to be unconscious because he couldn’t bear the embarrassment of waking up in front of everyone.
Looking at his son lying helplessly on the ground, Chen He’s face darkened. A murderous glint flashed through his eyes.
“So it really was that girl who did this? There wasn’t any thief?”
Chen Feicai grabbed his father’s arm as tears streamed down his face.
“Father, it’s true. Every word.”
Wang Chuntao nodded frantically.
“It really was her, Husband. You have to believe us!”
She instinctively tried to wipe away her tears.
Only then did she remember her broken arms.
The hatred in her heart surged once again.
The moment she spotted Lin Xiazhi strolling leisurely toward them, she gritted her teeth.
“Lin Xiazhi! Get over here and kneel! The villagers aren’t here to protect you anymore. Let’s see where you can hide now!”
“Hide?”
Lin Xiazhi casually tugged at her damp clothes before folding her arms across her chest.
She looked down at the three of them from above.
“Hand over my slave contract and the marriage contract.”
“If you do, I’ll consider breaking fewer of your bones.”
“…”
Chen He whipped his head around.
He couldn’t believe those words had come from the timid, submissive Lin Xiazhi.
Only now did he finally believe everything his wife and son had told him.
Chen Feicai trembled in terror.
“Father! See? She’s really possessed! Hurry up and poison her! Beat her to death! Hurry!”
Wang Chuntao also shrank behind Chen He.
“Lin Xiazhi was as weak as a rabbit before. How could she suddenly become this strong? She broke both my arms and Feicai’s legs. No one would believe it if we told them…”
Lin Xiazhi chuckled softly.
“I don’t just know how to break bones.”
“I know how to set them too.”
Her smile gradually turned frightening.
“Do you know what it feels like to have your bones snapped apart… then forced back together?”
“Perhaps…”
“We should let Wastrel Feicai experience it first.”
In her previous life, Lin Xiazhi had been an attending surgeon at a top-tier hospital.
Combined with her X-ray vision, almost any operation involving traumatic injuries had been effortless.
As for criminals…
They often became her unwilling test subjects.
She had experimented with bone sculpting, polished bones into smooth beads, carved intricate bone artwork, and whenever a carving failed…
She simply used the bones to make soup for her beloved pets.
Among those who knew her, she had earned a rather unusual nickname.
The “Bone” Beauty.
It had been a long time since she’d carved anyone’s bones.
Her hands were starting to itch.
“You dare call me a wastrel? I…”
Nothing mattered more to Chen Feicai than his reputation.
He was a xiucai scholar.
Being called “Wastrel” instead of Feicai was an insult he couldn’t tolerate.
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Lin Xiazhi slipped one hand behind her back.
With a thought, she retrieved a palm-sized boning knife from her storage space.
It had been custom-modified from a surgical scalpel.
The handle featured a finger ring for a secure grip.
The blade had been extended into a long, razor-sharp edge.
One slash…
And it would cut straight to the bone.
It even had an elegant name.
Bone Dust.
Reduce someone to dust, bone by bone.
She hooked her index finger through the ring and lazily spun the knife in the moonlight as she slowly approached.
The blade gleamed with an icy silver sheen.
“Lin Xiazhi! I won’t let you hurt my son again!”
Although she was holding a knife, Chen He could only grit his teeth.
He grabbed the shoulder pole lying on the ground and swung it toward her.
Lin Xiazhi caught it effortlessly.
She sneered.
She had survived seven years in the apocalypse.
Did he really think she would fear a simple carrying pole?
With one violent pull…
Chen He stumbled straight toward her.
She leaned close to his ear.
“Your son is nothing more than a slightly more valuable beast.”
“Why shouldn’t I kill him?”
The next instant, one hand clamped firmly over Chen He’s mouth.
The knife named Bone Dust plunged mercilessly into his arm.
Then…
She drew it downward in one smooth motion.
Rip!
His entire forearm split open.
Flesh peeled apart, exposing gleaming white bone beneath.
Blood poured down like flowing water.
Pain.
Unimaginable pain.
Chen He’s eyes bulged.
Blood vessels burst across them from the agony.
He wanted to scream.
But her hand sealed his mouth shut.
The cries remained trapped in his throat.
His whole body convulsed violently.
Cold sweat soaked every inch of him within moments.
Feeling the overwhelming pain radiating from him…
Lin Xiazhi merely snorted coldly.
Then she finished with a brutal punch.
“Urgh!”
Chen He flew backward like a rag doll.
He crashed directly into Wang Chuntao and Chen Feicai, both of whom had long since been frozen in terror.
“Father!”
“Husband!”
Neither of them dodged.
They instinctively caught Chen He as he lost consciousness, clutching his ruined arm while crying in despair.
“Help! Somebody help! Murder!”
Wang Chuntao screamed desperately.
“Ahhh!”
A fist slammed into her jaw.
Before she could recover, punches and kicks rained down upon her.
The icy blade rested against her cheek.
She stared at Lin Xiazhi in utter horror, her face twitching uncontrollably.
Lin Xiazhi leaned close.
“Isn’t this your precious only son?”
“Shout one more time…”
“I wouldn’t mind crippling him completely.”
With a casual flick of Bone Dust…
A fresh bloody cut appeared across Chen Feicai’s body.
The pain nearly forced a scream from his lips.
Yet one look into Lin Xiazhi’s eyes made him clamp his mouth shut.
“Please…”
“Please don’t kill my son…”
Tears flooded Wang Chuntao’s eyes.
She shook her head frantically.
“I won’t scream anymore. I won’t.”
Enduring the agonizing pain, Chen Feicai’s mind raced.
Lin Xiazhi wanted freedom.
He absolutely couldn’t let her have it.
Otherwise…
Their entire family would die.
Ignoring them, Lin Xiazhi walked into the house.
Using her X-ray vision, she searched every corner of all four rooms.
She even inspected the pigsty and chicken coop.
Nothing.
Neither the slave contract nor the marriage contract was anywhere to be found.
Impossible…
She frowned.
The Chen family also owned a house in town.
Unfortunately…
She had no idea where it was.
She’d have to ask Wang Chuntao.
Outside in the courtyard…
Wang Chuntao was desperately whispering to her son.
“Feicai, let’s run! Lin Xiazhi’s gone mad! She kills without blinking! We can’t stay here!”
Chen Feicai looked down helplessly at his crippled legs.
“Mother, calm down.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to escape.”
“I can’t.”
“She only wants the marriage contract and the slave contract.”
“As long as we refuse to…”
“The slave contract.”
“The marriage contract.”
A cold voice suddenly drifted down from above.
Both of them went pale.
Their conversation stopped instantly.
Chen Feicai glared at her angrily.
“Without my cooperation, you’ll never dissolve our engagement.”
“If you dare kill my parents…”
“You’ll remain a slave for the rest of your life.”
“I’ll never tell you where those documents are.”
Lin Xiazhi smiled.
The smile never reached her eyes.
“As expected of the novel’s male lead.”
“You actually know how to use my weakness against me.”
She grabbed Wang Chuntao by the hair and yanked her head upward.
Bone Dust pressed lightly against her throat.
A thin line of blood immediately appeared beneath the blade.
“You really think I wouldn’t kill her?”
Wang Chuntao’s entire body stiffened.
“Ah! Don’t kill me! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
She was terrified of death.
Nothing mattered more than staying alive.
“Mother! You can’t tell her!”
Chen Feicai’s expression changed dramatically.
But Wang Chuntao spoke before he could stop her.
Her words poured out at astonishing speed.
“Number Twenty-Eight, West Alley in town! That’s the new house Feicai prepared for himself and Xiuxiu after they marry! Both your slave contract and your marriage contract are hidden there!”
“Mother!”
The color drained from Chen Feicai’s face.
Once Lin Xiazhi got what she wanted…
She would silence them forever.
He had wanted to warn his mother not to say anything.
But it was already too late.
“Very good.”
Lin Xiazhi smiled coldly.
“You can die now.”
Bone Dust slowly bit into Wang Chuntao’s throat.
“No!”
Dragging his useless legs, Chen Feicai desperately tried to lunge forward.
Suddenly…
A dark figure landed in front of him.
He froze.
His mind went completely blank.
“You can’t kill her.”
A large hand suddenly gripped Lin Xiazhi’s arm.
A towering shadow enveloped her.
Her instincts screamed danger.
Without hesitation, she spun around and kicked backward.
The attack was effortlessly restrained.
She quickly looked up.
A familiar face entered her sight.
“You?”
Mu Zheng.
How had he gotten inside?
He stood well over six feet tall, his broad frame casting a long shadow over her.
Compared to him…
She looked no bigger than a little chick.
The overwhelming difference in height and build sent alarm bells ringing through Lin Xiazhi’s mind.
She had the absurd feeling that he could snap her waist in half with a single hand.
The original owner’s body was simply too small and undernourished.
In her previous life, she had stood around 170 centimeters tall.
If she wanted to become strong again…
She would have to nourish this body properly.
Her eyes remained wary.
“Let go.”
Mu Zheng immediately released her arm.
His voice was unexpectedly gentle.
“Don’t kill anyone.”