Xu Shengli rolled his eyes and nearly fainted.
What made him even more terrified was the wolf howl that echoed through the forest, scaring him so badly he nearly wet himself.
“Granny, I was wrong, I really was wrong, please spare me, just let me go like you’d let out a fart, I was wrong…”
Between the physical pain and sheer terror, his face was twisted and ugly in a way that was hard to describe.
Lin Jinghong’s expression was stone-cold. “No can do. I said we’re feeding you to the wolves, so that’s what we’re doing.”
She kept dragging him deeper in.
The forest grew thicker, and Xu Shengli could feel just how serious Lin Jinghong was.
He was scared out of his wits, crying with snot and tears running down his face. “I was wrong, Granny, I really was wrong, please, please, I don’t want to die, wuwuwu…”
“I’ll do anything you say, I won’t resist at all, just let me off this once.”
Lin Jinghong finally heard what she wanted to hear, and the man was scared enough by now.
She finally showed some mercy and stopped.
Seeing this, Xu Shengli quickly continued begging for mercy, spouting all kinds of flattery just to survive.
Lin Jinghong crouched down, a blade of grass dangling from her mouth, looking even more carefree and cocky.
“Actually, I’d prefer it if you didn’t beg. Feeding you to the wolves is better—one and done. Living just means more suffering. How about I end your pain?” She started hesitating again.
Xu Shengli completely broke down.
“Granny, what exactly do you want from me to let me go? I really know I was wrong, I’ll never steal or cheat again…”
“Stop crying. A grown man bawling like that—you’re crying all your luck away. Annoying.”
The moment Lin Jinghong finished speaking, Xu Shengli quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.
Tears and snot smeared all over his face.
Lin Jinghong looked at him with disgust. “Fine. Since you know when to yield, I’ll give you one chance to live. From now on, you follow me. If you dare pay lip service while stabbing me in the back, I’ll beat you to death. Anyway, killing someone with mad cow disease probably isn’t a big deal. And besides, I can just toss your corpse deep into the mountains—no one would ever know.”
Xu Shengli had long since been scared out of his wits, and after getting beaten to the point where he couldn’t fight back at all.
Now that he could survive, he was nothing but grateful.
“Granny, don’t you worry, I’ll listen, I’ll do whatever you say…”
So terrifying, wuwuwu.
If anyone else from the brigade were here, they’d be absolutely stunned.
Even the local bully had a day like this.
Lin Jinghong was about to drag Xu Shengli down the mountain when the sounds in the forest grew louder and louder.
“It’s a wild boar!” Xu Shengli cried out in terror.
In his current state, if a wild boar came charging out and Lin Jinghong just left him there, he’d scream for help with no one to hear.
He’d only be waiting to die.
“I know. My ears work fine.” Lin Jinghong’s face was full of excitement.
A stark contrast to Xu Shengli.
“What are you planning to do?!”
Seeing that she wasn’t running away but instead heading deeper in, Xu Shengli couldn’t believe it.
“Shut up!”
Xu Shengli immediately covered his mouth in fear.
The wild boar was getting closer. Lin Jinghong hid off to the side, leaving Xu Shengli completely exposed.
Xu Shengli was in utter despair.
But he couldn’t move at all.
His heart was in his throat. Whoosh! Suddenly, a wild boar came charging out of the brush, and when it spotted Xu Shengli lying on the ground, its eyes lit up with excitement.
Xu Shengli’s vision went dark. I’m done for.
The next moment, a nimble figure shot in from the side and delivered a direct kick to the boar’s neck, sending the nearly two-hundred-jin beast tumbling to the ground.
Lin Jinghong clenched her fists with excitement and charged in again, raining down blows.
The sound of fists hitting flesh.
Xu Shengli hadn’t even recovered from his fear when he was left dumbstruck by the scene before him.
He felt pain all over—those fists that had fallen like rain had just been on his own body.
The wild boar wasn’t backing down either, squealing as it fought Lin Jinghong.
But in the end, it was knocked unconscious by Lin Jinghong’s ruthless punch.
Shaking out her fists, Lin Jinghong looked at the motionless boar on the ground.
“You said you run with the city crowd, right? Do you know anyone in the black market?”
Xu Shengli was still in a daze of fear when he heard her voice and instinctively answered, “Huh? Know, no, do I know?”
“Do you or don’t you? How do I turn this boar into cash?” Lin Jinghong was getting impatient.
Wild boar meat didn’t taste good, and she didn’t like it.
“I know!” Xu Shengli quickly shouted.
Lin Jinghong nodded in satisfaction, then hoisted the boar up and slung it over her shoulder.
Xu Shengli???
“You can still walk on your own, right?”
Xu Shengli scrambled to his feet. His broken ribs sent pain shooting through him, leaving him drenched in sweat and pale-faced, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through.
Lin Jinghong gave him a look that said “you’re a tough guy.”
Then she gestured for him to follow.
The two took a back road toward the commune. Along the way, Xu Shengli held back again and again, until finally he mustered the courage to speak. “Um… Sister Hong, carrying a wild boar like this might not be the best idea.”
Seeing Lin Jinghong turn around with a frown, he hurriedly tried to explain.
Lin Jinghong gestured for him to stop. “I was being single-minded.”
Then, looking a bit troubled, she said, “Tell you what—go to the commune clinic and get your injuries checked out. Here, I’m returning these five yuan to you first.”
She took out another five yuan from the money she had just snatched. “I’ll go to the city myself.”
Xu Shengli saw the five yuan and felt a surge of gratitude.
“Sister Hong…”
“Stop with the nonsense, hurry up.” Lin Jinghong was annoyed and didn’t want to talk while carrying the wild boar.
She walked ahead, Xu Shengli behind, slowly clenching his fists. This was the first time someone had ever cared about him.
At that moment, he completely forgot that most of his injuries were caused by Lin Jinghong.
Before they even reached the city, the two parted ways.
Lin Jinghong found a secluded spot and tossed the wild boar straight into her Spatial Dimension.
Since there was still time, she decided to check out the city herself.
If there was an opportunity to make money, that would be great. She had plenty of skills for earning money, just not ones she could openly use. Sigh.
The commune had a bus to the county town, running only twice a day. She arrived just in time to catch it, though she probably wouldn’t be so lucky on the way back.
Lin Jinghong boarded and plopped down in the first empty seat she saw.
The person next to her glared. “Young lady, this seat is taken.”
“Oh, by who? Is there a name written on it? Why don’t you call out and see if the seat answers you.” She rattled off without missing a beat.
The older woman beside her was momentarily stunned speechless.
When she recovered, her face darkened.
Lin Jinghong leaned her head against the seat back and closed her eyes. “Whoever sits first gets it. Don’t bother me, annoying!”
“Hey, how dare you talk like that, girl? Didn’t your parents teach you anything? No manners at all, stealing someone’s seat and acting all righteous…”
“Bang!”
The next moment, the spittle-flying woman was lying in the aisle.
The bus fell dead silent.
“Perfect, you don’t need to sit either.” Lin Jinghong clapped her hands. She grabbed the girl who had just boarded and pulled her down into the seat, looking impatient.
The round-faced girl with apricot eyes, wearing a floral dress and braided pigtails, was stunned and confused.
The woman, dazed from the fall, wanted to curse loudly. But when she met Lin Jinghong’s pitch-black eyes, she didn’t dare open her mouth again.