“What? That wretched girl is eating meat?!”
Zhang Shi had just returned after hearing the latest gossip. The moment she stepped over the worn-out threshold of the Lin family’s shabby house, the bowl of coarse rice porridge in her hands instantly lost its appeal.
Compared to the rich aroma of meat she imagined, the bland rice soup tasted like pig feed.
“Not only is she eating meat, but I heard she even bought new cotton quilts! They’re made of fine cotton cloth—smooth and soft!”
Zhang Shi’s eyes turned red with jealousy, looking as though they were about to spit fire.
Lin Daqiang, who had been lying on the heated brick bed groaning, unconsciously drooled as soon as he heard the word “meat.”
“Mother, where did they get the money? Didn’t we throw them out with nothing?”
“Where else could it have come from?”
Old Madam Lin slammed her cane heavily against the ground.
“That little bitch must have hidden private savings! Maybe her short-lived mother secretly left it to her!”
Greed gleamed in the old woman’s triangular eyes.
“No, we can’t let this go!”
Zhang Shi slapped her thigh, making the fat on her body jiggle.
“Everything that little bitch has belongs to the Lin family!”
“Come on! Let’s go settle the score with her and take all the meat and quilts back for Daqiang!”
Old Madam Lin had already been unable to contain herself.
The moment she heard that, she immediately stood up with the help of her cane, looking ready to rob someone.
“That’s right! Search the place and find every bit of the money she’s hiding!”
“A worthless girl like her thinks she deserves meat and new clothes? She can keep dreaming!”
Lin Daqiang also perked up, limping off the heated brick bed.
“Mother! Grandma! Hurry! If we’re too late, they’ll eat all the meat!”
The three quickly reached an agreement.
Old Man Lin shrank into the corner, watching his three family members blinded by greed.
He opened his mouth, but didn’t dare utter a single word.
Every time he remembered Lin Wan’s icy eyes, his legs went weak.
But he didn’t dare stop them.
Nor could he.
All he could do was watch as Old Madam Lin, Zhang Shi, and Lin Daqiang charged toward the ruined temple at the end of the village like a pack of starving wild dogs.
Bang!
A deafening crash echoed through the air.
The already crumbling courtyard gate of the ruined temple was kicked completely off its hinges by Zhang Shi.
Wood chips flew everywhere as the broken gate slammed onto the ground.
With her hands on her hips like a victorious general, Zhang Shi swaggered into the courtyard, her large belly leading the way.
But the moment she stepped inside…
She froze.
The courtyard had been cleaned spotless.
Several strings of cured meat and dressed wild chickens hung neatly from a rack in one corner.
Under the late autumn sunlight, they glistened with tempting oil.
The rich aroma of meat came directly from those strips of cured meat.
“My heavens… They really do have meat!”
Lin Daqiang’s eyes nearly popped out as drool streamed from the corner of his mouth.
“Mother! Hurry up and grab it!”
Zhang Shi also snapped out of her daze.
Looking at the cured meat was like looking at piles of shining silver.
Her eyes sparkled greedily, saliva dripping from her mouth as she rushed toward the wooden rack.
As she charged forward, she loudly cursed while trying to justify her actions.
“You little bitch! Get out here!”
“I knew you stole money from the family! Otherwise, how could you afford all these good things?”
“I’m your mother! I gave birth to you! What’s yours is mine!”
“Today I’ll teach you a proper lesson on behalf of your dead mother, you unfilial little ingrate!”
Her thick, rough hand reached straight for the largest slab of cured wild boar meat.
Just as she was about to grab it—
A sharp whistle of wind suddenly sliced through the air from the side.
Bang!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
A solid wooden club as thick as a wrist slammed into the dirt beside Zhang Shi’s feet with tremendous force.
The ground was smashed into a pit nearly half a finger deep.
Broken stones and clumps of dirt exploded outward like bullets.
Several sharp stones cut across Zhang Shi’s rough face, leaving long bloody scratches.
“Ahhh!”
She shrieked in terror, jerking her hand back as though she’d been electrocuted.
Stumbling backward several steps, she collapsed onto the ground and stared ahead in horror.
At some point, Lin Wan had appeared beneath the eaves.
She gripped the same wooden club she had been using to chop firewood.
Her expression was emotionless.
Her eyes were cold.
She looked like a god of death.
“Who gave you the nerve to kick down my door?”
Her voice wasn’t loud.
Yet every word carried a chilling menace that made hearts tremble.
Old Madam Lin was startled by the display, but quickly regained her confidence by reminding herself she was the elder.
She slammed her cane against the ground and shouted,
“You’ve really gone too far! We’re your grandmother and your mother! Do we need permission to enter your broken-down house?”
“Hand over the meat and the money right now, or I’ll make you regret it today!”
Lin Wan let out a mocking laugh.
“Make me regret it?”
She pointed the other end of the club toward Zhang Shi, who was still trembling on the ground.
“You mean like she’s regretting it right now?”
Zhang Shi’s face twisted in anger after being humiliated.
“You little slut! How dare you bring that up! My mother-in-law is here today! Let’s see if you still dare to lay a hand on us!”
She scrambled to her feet and hid behind Old Madam Lin, barking with borrowed courage.
Lin Daqiang also puffed himself up.
“Lin Wan! Don’t be so ungrateful! Hand over the meat now, or once I pass the imperial examinations, the first thing I’ll do is throw you into prison!”
Watching the ridiculous trio put on their little performance, Lin Wan almost laughed.
Only a family like this could gather so many oddballs in one place.
She had no interest in wasting another word on them.
She slowly dragged the wooden club across the ground.
Scrape… Scrape…
Then she began walking toward them one step at a time.
“Are you leaving on your own…”
“…or do you want me to throw you out myself?”
Her gaze swept across the three of them.
She looked at them as though they were already corpses waiting to be disposed of.
The murderous intent in her eyes made Old Madam Lin instinctively take a step backward.
But when she thought about all the cured meat in the courtyard—and the silver that might still be hidden somewhere—
Greed once again defeated fear.
“Y-You wouldn’t dare!”
Old Madam Lin shouted, though her voice lacked confidence.
“I’m your own grandmother! If you so much as touch one finger of mine, Heaven itself won’t forgive you!”
“Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”
“Struck by lightning?”
Lin Wan suddenly stopped.
She tilted her head and glanced at the cloudless blue sky.
Then she smiled.
“Fine.”
She suddenly turned back.
The warmth vanished from her face, replaced by overwhelming ruthlessness.
“Then I’ll send the three of you to the afterlife first…”
“…and wait for Heaven to strike me afterward.”
Before the last word had even fallen—
She swung the wooden club with explosive force.
It tore through the air and swept directly toward the back of Old Madam Lin’s knees.
Fast.
Powerful.
Merciless.
Old Madam Lin was so terrified her soul nearly left her body.
“You lunatic! You really dare hit me?!”
She tried to dodge.
But the club came too quickly.
There was no escaping it.
Just as it was about to strike—
A small figure suddenly shot out from inside the house like an arrow released from a bow.
Throwing himself between Lin Wan and Old Madam Lin.
It was Lin Yulong.
Spreading his arms wide, he used his frail body to shield the grandmother who had abused him countless times.
“Big Sister! Don’t!”
The boy’s face turned deathly pale, his voice choked with tears.
“No matter how bad she is…”
“…she’s still Grandma! You can’t hit her!”
“If we do, the whole village will condemn us forever!”
Lin Wan’s club came to an abrupt stop less than an inch from his back.
The powerful wind from the swing made his worn clothes flap violently.
Seeing Lin Yulong rush in to interfere,
Old Madam Lin immediately grabbed him and yanked him in front of herself like a human shield.
“That’s right! Listen to your brother!”
“Even he has more sense than you!”
She straightened her back proudly.
“If you’ve got the guts, go ahead and hit your own little brother too!”
“You ungrateful little beast! Get out of the way!”
Zhang Shi also reacted, rushing over to shove Lin Yulong aside.
“Don’t stop your sister from sending us to paradise!”
Looking at the absurd scene before her, the coldness in Lin Wan’s eyes deepened.
She ignored the two shameless women.
Instead, she fixed her gaze on Lin Yulong, who was being used as a shield.
“Yulong.”
“Move.”
Lin Yulong shook his head as tears welled in his eyes.
“No.”
“Big Sister, I can’t let you make a mistake. Once they leave, everything will be peaceful again. Don’t argue with them anymore.”
Deep down, he was still a kind-hearted child, shackled by the values of filial piety.
“Am I the one making a mistake?”
Lin Wan suddenly smiled.
But the smile looked more painful than crying.
“Yulong, remember this.”
“When someone points a knife at you, backing down isn’t kindness.”
“It’s stupidity.”
“You protect them…”
“But when have they ever treated you like their own grandson?”
Lin Wan slowly lowered the club and pointed toward the pile of firewood nearby.
“When you were burning with fever and almost died…”
“Who was it that threw you over there?”
Then she pointed toward the empty water jar.
“Who made you carry water under the blazing sun…”
“…but wouldn’t even let you drink a mouthful after you came back?”
Lin Yulong was speechless.
His little face turned pale.
Every one of those memories was a nightmare he had personally endured.
“Yulong.”
Lin Wan extended her hand toward him.
Her voice became calm once again.
“Come here.”
“Today’s lesson is the first one I’ll teach you.”
“When you’re facing wolves…”
“…your kindness only becomes the sharp fangs they use to tear you apart.”
Lin Yulong looked at his sister’s outstretched hand.
Then he looked back at the twisted, triumphant faces behind him.
He hesitated.
Seeing this, Zhang Shi realized she had an opportunity.
As Lin Wan’s attention remained on Lin Yulong—
She suddenly shoved Old Madam Lin aside and lunged toward the hanging cured meat like a fat pig charging at its feed.
“Enough talking!”
“I’ll take the meat first!”
Bang!
Another deafening crash echoed through the courtyard.
Before Zhang Shi’s hand could even touch the cured meat, the wrist-thick wooden club smashed into the ground beside her once again.
This strike was even more powerful than the last.
The flying stones sliced across her rough, fat face.
One sharp rock carved a deep wound, nearly exposing the bone.
Blood immediately poured down her cheek.
“Ahhh! My face!”
Clutching her face, Zhang Shi let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Lin Wan withdrew the club and looked at them coldly.
“Anyone who dares touch what’s mine…”
“…will lose a hand.”
She then turned to look at Lin Yulong one last time.
“Yulong.”
“Come here.”
“Or do you want to stay with them…”
“…and let me throw you out together?”