The engagement banquet had turned into a complete disaster.
Lin Wanxia’s parents practically dragged her home, pulling and shoving her along while the Zhou family’s furious curses followed them through the village.
Everywhere they went, people pointed fingers and whispered.
“She’s gone mad! That Lin girl has completely lost her mind!”
“She threw away a perfectly good chance at a secure future! Who’s going to marry her now?”
“She’s offended Secretary Zhou. The Lin family is going to have a miserable time in Hongqi Village from now on.”
The villagers’ cruel remarks cut into Lin Wanxia’s parents like knives.
They were so ashamed that neither dared raise their head.
The moment they stepped inside their modest home, Lin Wanxia’s mother finally lost control.
Slap!
A sharp crack echoed through the quiet mud-brick house.
“You wretched girl! Are you trying to drive us to our graves?!”
Her mother trembled with anger, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Lin Wanxia’s father crouched on the doorstep, silently smoking his long-stemmed pipe. He took one puff after another, his brows drawn together so tightly that deep wrinkles formed between them.
A heavy silence settled over the household.
Lin Wanxia pressed a hand against her burning cheek, but her heart remained strangely calm.
She understood her parents’ anger. By humiliating the Zhou family in public, she had offended the most powerful household in the village. They feared the consequences far more than they cared about her broken engagement.
In her previous life, their fear had driven them to pressure her into giving Zhou Jianbin another chance. Each concession had drawn her deeper into his trap.
This time, she would not give in.
“Dad, Mom, Zhou Jianbin isn’t a good man.”
Her voice was steady and composed.
“He only approached me because he wanted the permit Secretary Zhou arranged for him to return to the city. He’s been involved with Li Xue behind my back for a long time.”
“You’re still making up these ridiculous accusations!”
Her mother was practically beside herself with anger.
“Jianbin is such a good young man! Look at how well he’s treated you! He’s always been so attentive and considerate!”
“You’re the one who’s lost her senses!”
Lin Wanxia knew there was no point in arguing.
Her parents had already convinced themselves that Zhou Jianbin was the perfect son-in-law. Nothing she said now would change their minds.
So she stopped trying to explain.
Instead, she looked at them calmly.
“Whatever you think of me, I’m ending this engagement. You can scold me or beat me all you want, but I will never go back to him.”
“You…”
Her mother pointed a trembling finger at her, too furious to finish the sentence.
“She’s truly been possessed by something!”
“Lock her up! Don’t let her out until she comes to her senses!”
Her father finally spoke.
He struck the bowl of his pipe against the ground with a sharp tap, making it clear that the discussion was over.
A moment later, the bedroom door slammed shut.
Clank!
The lock clicked into place, cutting Lin Wanxia off from the outside world.
The room fell into darkness.
Only a thin strip of fading daylight slipped through a crack in the window.
Lin Wanxia leaned against the cold earthen wall and began carefully considering her situation.
Her reputation was in tatters, her parents refused to support her, and Zhou Jianbin would never forgive the humiliation she had inflicted on him.
Staying in the village meant remaining within the Zhou family’s reach.
She needed money, freedom, and a way out.
But how could she obtain any of them?
She searched through her pockets.
All she found were a few crumpled grain ration coupons and several small coins.
It wasn’t even enough to buy a ticket to the county town.
Then, suddenly, something occurred to her.
Wait!
She remembered an incident from her previous life.
If her memory served her correctly, a traveling merchant from the south would arrive at the commune market within the next few days.
The man sold all sorts of unusual stones and curiosities.
Among his wares was an unremarkable greenish stone that nobody had paid much attention to.
In her previous life, she had accidentally broken that stone open.
To her astonishment, hidden inside was a piece of magnificent imperial-green jadeite, exceptionally clear and rich in color.
Unfortunately, Zhou Jianbin had taken the jadeite from her.
He later sold it for an astronomical sum, using the money as the foundation of his new life after returning to the city.
The memory still made Lin Wanxia furious.
That jadeite had belonged to her, yet Zhou Jianbin had stolen it and used the proceeds to build his fortune.
Not this time.
If she could obtain the stone before anyone else, she would finally have the money to escape the village and begin rebuilding her life.
Once she made up her mind, Lin Wanxia immediately began searching for a way to escape.
The room had an old-fashioned wooden window, but thick strips of wood had been nailed across it.
She tried shaking the frame.
It didn’t budge.
Forcing her way through was impossible.
She glanced around the room, searching for anything that might be useful.
Then her eyes settled on an old hoe her father had left in the corner.
An idea struck her.
That could work!
She waited until late at night, when the house had fallen completely silent and she was certain her parents were asleep.
Then she quietly picked up the hoe.
Moving toward the wall that faced the backyard, she began digging.
The earthen wall was old and poorly maintained. Years of exposure to the weather had loosened the packed soil, making it much easier to break apart than she had expected.
It was the perfect place to escape.
Still, she had to be careful.
If she made too much noise, her parents would wake up.
So she worked slowly, scraping away the soil a little at a time.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Sweat soaked through her clothes, and painful blisters formed across her palms.
Some eventually burst, leaving her skin raw and bleeding.
But Lin Wanxia refused to stop.
She had endured far worse in her previous life.
A little pain was nothing compared to the freedom waiting on the other side of that wall.
At last, she managed to dig a hole just large enough for a person to crawl through.
She set down the hoe and prepared to squeeze outside.
But just as she was about to climb through, a dog suddenly began barking in the courtyard.
Then came the sound of several men speaking in hushed voices.
“Damn it! That little bitch actually had the nerve to throw boiling tea in Brother Jianbin’s face! We’re going to teach her a lesson tonight!”
“Keep your voice down! Do you want to wake her parents?”
Lin Wanxia froze.
Zhou Jianbin!
And those good-for-nothing friends of his!
Her heart leaped into her throat.
She immediately pulled herself back into the room and hurriedly stuffed loose chunks of earth into the opening.
Then she pressed herself against the wall and held her breath.
The footsteps drew closer.
Closer.
Until they stopped just outside her family’s courtyard.
“Brother Jianbin, why don’t we just break in and drag her out?”
“No. That would make too much noise.”
Zhou Jianbin’s voice was cold and vicious.
“I’ve already asked around. Her family keeps grain in the barn on the eastern side of the village. We’ll wait there.”
“Why the barn? What if she never comes?”
Zhou Jianbin gave a cold laugh.
“She won’t stay locked up forever. If we can’t catch her tonight, we’ll find another opportunity. The barn is secluded, and nobody will hear her screaming.”
“And if she heads somewhere else?”
“Then we’ll watch the roads leading out of the village. She can’t disappear into thin air.”
One of the young men nodded eagerly.
“Understood, Brother Jianbin!”
The men laughed quietly among themselves.
After a little more discussion, their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Lin Wanxia remained pressed against the wall.
A cold sweat had broken out across her back.
That had been close!
If she had crawled out even a moment earlier, she might have run straight into them.
Just as she expected, Zhou Jianbin was a petty, vindictive man who couldn’t tolerate the slightest humiliation.
But as her initial fear faded, a bold idea began taking shape in her mind.
They wanted to ambush her at the barn?
Perfect.
She had been looking for a secluded place where she could settle matters with Zhou Jianbin without involving her parents.
Perhaps this was exactly the opportunity she needed.
Without wasting another moment, Lin Wanxia cleared the opening and squeezed through the hole in the wall.
Under the cover of darkness, she slipped silently through the village toward the barn on the eastern outskirts.
The barn was filled with towering piles of straw.
The dry, pleasant scent of harvested grain lingered in the air.
Lin Wanxia searched the dim interior until she spotted an old, rusty sickle lying among some discarded farming tools.
She picked it up.
The blade was worn, but it was still sharp enough to serve as a weapon.
Gripping the wooden handle tightly, she concealed herself behind a massive haystack.
Then she waited.
Before long, the barn door creaked open.
Zhou Jianbin entered with three young men who looked every bit the village troublemakers they were.
“Where is she? Why isn’t anyone here?”
“Brother Jianbin, do you think she might not come?”
Zhou Jianbin’s expression darkened.
He swept his gaze across the barn.
“Impossible! Search the place!”
Lin Wanxia’s heart pounded wildly.
She tightened her grip on the sickle, her palms slick with sweat.
One of the young men began walking toward the haystack where she was hiding.
Three steps.
Two steps.
One.
Just as he reached out to push aside the straw, Lin Wanxia suddenly sprang from her hiding place.
She held the sickle horizontally in front of her chest.
“Stay back!”
Her sharp command startled the men.
For a brief moment, they froze.
Then they burst into laughter.
“Well, look at that! She’s got quite a temper!”
“What’s the matter, girl? You think that rusty old sickle is going to scare us?”
Zhou Jianbin stared at her.
A cruel, twisted smile slowly spread across his face.
“Lin Wanxia, you’ve certainly got some nerve showing your face here.”
He stepped forward.
“I’m giving you one last chance.”
“Come back with me, kneel down, and apologize properly. If you do that, I’ll consider forgetting what happened today.”
His smile grew even more sinister.
“Otherwise, don’t blame us for teaching you what it really means to regret something.”
The three young men behind him exchanged leering smiles.
They began advancing toward her.
Step by step.
Lin Wanxia retreated until her back struck the cold wall.
There was nowhere left to go.
She knew that tonight’s confrontation would not end peacefully.
These men had come looking for revenge, and they had no intention of letting her leave unharmed.
But she wasn’t the same helpless woman she had been in her previous life.
Even if she had to die here, she would make sure at least one of them paid the price!
She raised the sickle higher.
A fierce, desperate determination burned in her eyes.
Then, just as the men were about to close in on her, a voice suddenly came from the barn entrance.
“Stop.”
The voice was deep and slightly hoarse.
It wasn’t particularly loud, yet it carried an authority that made everyone instinctively freeze.
All four men turned toward the doorway.
He leaned on a wooden cane, his tall figure outlined by the moonlight.
Despite his injured leg, he stood with the unmistakable authority of a battle-hardened soldier.
The atmosphere inside the barn changed instantly.
Zhou Yu’an.
“U-Uncle?”
The arrogance on Zhou Jianbin’s face vanished instantly.
His voice trembled as he struggled to speak.
The three troublemakers looked even worse.
Their legs nearly gave way beneath them.
Everyone in the village knew about Zhou Yu’an.
He was the fearsome veteran who had returned from the battlefield, the man the villagers called the Living King of Hell.
Unlike the local bullies who only knew how to threaten people, Zhou Yu’an had truly killed before.
His hands had been stained with blood.
And nobody was foolish enough to doubt what he was capable of.
Yet Zhou Yu’an didn’t even spare his nephew a glance.
His sharp, hawklike eyes went straight to Lin Wanxia.
He saw the sickle clutched tightly in her hands.
He saw the desperation in her eyes.
And he saw the unmistakable determination of someone prepared to fight to the death.
Something darkened in his gaze.
After a moment, he spoke.
His voice was quiet, but every word was cold and unmistakable.
“Take your men and get out.”
“Uncle, I… We were just joking around with her…”
Zhou Jianbin tried to explain.
“I won’t say it again.”
Only then did Zhou Yu’an turn his eyes toward him.
That single look was enough.
Zhou Jianbin went rigid.
He knew his uncle’s temper well enough to recognize that look. Whatever courage he had gathered vanished, and he swallowed the argument rising in his throat.
“Y-Yes, Uncle! We’re leaving!”
Without another moment’s hesitation, Zhou Jianbin turned and fled.
His three companions scrambled after him, nearly tripping over one another in their desperate rush to escape.
Within seconds, they had disappeared into the night.
The barn fell silent.
Only two people remained.
Lin Wanxia.
And Zhou Yu’an.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The moonlight filtered through the open doorway, casting long shadows across the straw-covered floor.
Zhou Yu’an rested one hand on his cane.
Then he began walking toward her.
His steps were slow and measured, but each one carried a quiet confidence.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound of his cane against the ground echoed through the empty barn.
As he approached, his tall shadow stretched across the floor until it completely enveloped her.
Lin Wanxia tightened her grip on the sickle.
He had saved her, but she barely knew him. Zhou Yu’an was still Zhou Jianbin’s uncle, and she couldn’t help wondering why he had intervened.
What did he want from her?
Zhou Yu’an stopped directly in front of her.
He lowered his gaze to meet hers.
Standing this close, his imposing height and broad shoulders made his presence even more overwhelming.
A faint scent of tobacco lingered around him, mingled with the crisp, austere scent of a man who seemed to have brought the battlefield home with him.
Lin Wanxia held her breath.
Neither of them moved.
For a long moment, Zhou Yu’an simply looked at her.
Then he slowly extended his hand.
His fingers closed around the sickle.
He gently but firmly loosened her grip and took the weapon away.
Without another glance, he tossed it aside.
As he did so, his fingertips brushed against her palm.
His skin was rough, marked by the thin calluses of someone accustomed to handling weapons.
Yet his touch was unexpectedly warm.
Almost burning.
Lin Wanxia stiffened.
A strange sensation swept through her body, leaving her momentarily unable to react.
She looked up at him.
His expression remained unreadable.
Then, in that deep, slightly hoarse voice, he spoke the words she would remember for the rest of her life.
“Forget him. Choose me instead.”
His gaze never left hers.
“I’ll take you away from here.”