Seeing that Lin Wan ignored her, Old Madam Liu assumed she had struck a nerve.
Her beady triangular eyes rolled around before settling once again on the strings of glistening cured meat hanging in the courtyard.
Jealousy gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.
Why?
Why should a girl who had been kicked out of her family be able to eat meat every day?
Meanwhile, her own family barely smelled meat a few times a year.
It wasn’t fair.
A wave of bitter resentment surged from the bottom of her heart.
She cleared her throat and deliberately raised her voice so the villagers who hadn’t yet left could hear every word.
“Oh my, Big Girl. Buying land, buying meat… You must be doing pretty well for yourself.”
Old Madam Liu curled her lips into a mocking smile.
“But if I remember correctly, when you left the Lin family, you didn’t even take a needle or a spool of thread with you.”
She paused, then revealed a malicious smile full of hidden meaning.
“So where did a girl who left with absolutely nothing get the money to buy meat and flour?”
“Could it be… that you did something shameful in town and sold your body?”
Her words were as vicious as they could be.
In an era where a woman’s chastity was valued more than her life…
Those three words—“sold your body”—were enough to ruin a young woman’s entire future.
She would never again be able to hold her head high in the village.
People would point fingers at her for the rest of her life, calling her a prostitute.
The moment those words left her mouth, the nearby villagers who had stayed to watch exploded into whispers.
Their murmurs buzzed like a swarm of mosquitoes.
“Now that you mention it… it really is possible.”
“Exactly. How could a young girl suddenly come up with dozens of taels of silver?”
“Tsk, tsk. You really can’t judge a person by appearances. She looks so innocent, but who would’ve thought she was so shameless?”
The filthy gossip became increasingly unbearable.
Even the way they looked at Lin Wan changed.
Their eyes were filled with contempt and ugly insinuations.
Although Lin Yulong was still young, he knew “selling your body” wasn’t something good.
His little face flushed bright red with anger, and his whole body trembled.
Pointing at Old Madam Liu, he shouted,
“You’re lying! My sister would never do something like that! You wicked old woman! If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll… I’ll fight you!”
The little boy clenched his fists and was about to rush forward.
But a cold hand gently rested on his shoulder.
“Yulong.”
“There’s no need to get angry over a barking stray dog.”
Lin Wan’s voice was calm.
Calm enough to be frightening.
She gently rubbed her brother’s head, signaling for him to step behind her.
Then she slowly turned around.
Her gaze was as sharp as a blade as it locked onto Old Madam Liu, who was leaning over the wall.
There was no anger.
No humiliation.
Only an icy killing intent.
Old Madam Liu felt her heart skip a beat under that gaze.
She instinctively shrank back.
But realizing there was still a wall between them, she quickly regained her courage.
“What? Did I hit the truth? Feeling guilty now?”
Old Madam Liu puffed out her bony chest and arrogantly lifted her chin.
“If you’ve got the guts, come out! I’ve lived a long life. I’ve seen everything.”
“I can see through the little tricks girls like you are hiding.”
“I’m telling you, if you’ve really done something so shameless, don’t think you’ll dirty the soil of Xinghua Village!”
“We’ll invite the clan leader and have you drowned in a pig cage!”
The more she talked, the more excited she became.
She acted as though she were the embodiment of justice.
Looking at the old woman’s twisted face, flushed with excitement…
Lin Wan suddenly smiled.
She didn’t say a word.
She simply walked straight toward the courtyard gate.
“Big Sister!”
Lin Yulong hurried after her nervously.
When Old Madam Liu saw Lin Wan actually coming out, not only was she unafraid—
She became even more arrogant.
“Oh? You actually dared to come out?”
“Come on, everyone! Take a good look!”
“This is the shameless slut who traded her body for meat!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs, afraid someone might not hear.
Expressionless, Lin Wan walked out of the courtyard and stopped directly in front of Old Madam Liu.
Less than half a meter separated them.
“Say it again.”
Her voice was soft.
But it carried an unquestionable pressure.
“I’ll say it again! You think I’m afraid of you?”
Old Madam Liu relied on her age, convinced Lin Wan wouldn’t dare touch her.
Standing tall, she pointed a finger right at Lin Wan’s nose, spittle flying everywhere.
“I said you’re a shameless whore who sold—”
Slap!
A crisp, thunderous smack exploded through the air.
Before Old Madam Liu could finish saying “sold your body”—
Lin Wan’s palm landed squarely across her wrinkled face.
She hadn’t held back at all.
Fast.
Precise.
Ruthless.
The blow snapped Old Madam Liu’s head to one side.
Her ears rang violently.
Stars burst before her eyes.
She spun halfway around like a top before crashing onto the ground.
Before she could even recover—
Lin Wan stepped forward.
Slap!
Another backhand struck her opposite cheek.
It was louder.
Harder.
Even more merciless.
“Pfft!”
Old Madam Liu spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with several loose yellow teeth.
Streams of fresh blood flowed from both nostrils, covering her face.
She was completely stunned.
Holding her rapidly swelling face, now puffed up like a pig’s head, she sat frozen on the ground.
She had even forgotten how to cry.
The surrounding villagers watching the scene were equally dumbfounded.
Every one of them stood frozen, hardly daring to breathe.
Who could have imagined that this young woman would dare strike the village’s fiercest gossip?
And hit her so brutally.
She wasn’t some ordinary village girl.
She was practically the King of Hell in human form.
Lin Wan looked down at Old Madam Liu lying on the ground.
Her eyes were colder than ice.
“My money…”
“…was snatched back from the King of Hell himself.”
“It’s clean.”
Her voice wasn’t loud.
Yet every person present heard her clearly.
“I, Lin Wan, stand upright with a clear conscience.”
“I neither steal nor rob.”
“I won’t tolerate a rotten old woman like you slandering me.”
She lifted one foot.
Her cloth shoe, stained with dirt, gently stepped onto the back of Old Madam Liu’s hand.
Then she slowly applied pressure.
Crack.
A soft snapping sound echoed.
It was the unmistakable sound of a dislocated joint.
The noise alone made everyone’s scalp go numb.
“Ahhh! My hand! It’s broken! It’s broken!”
Old Madam Liu finally came to her senses, letting out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Lin Wan didn’t even blink.
Her gaze swept across the villagers whose faces had turned deathly pale.
Her voice was as cold as a blade.
“Listen carefully.”
“You can watch my business all you want.”
“But if anyone dares wag their tongue again…”
“…or spread lies to ruin my reputation…”
She pressed her foot down even harder.
Old Madam Liu’s screams became even more miserable.
“This…”
“…will be your fate.”
Her thunderous display completely intimidated everyone present.
The villagers who had just been whispering and pointing fingers…
All lowered their heads in fear.
Not a single person dared look Lin Wan in the eye.
They were terrified they would be next.
Lin Wan withdrew her foot.
Without sparing Old Madam Liu another glance as she rolled around on the ground in agony—
She took Lin Yulong’s hand and walked back into the courtyard.
Bang!
The battered wooden gate slammed shut behind them.
The door completely cut off the cries outside…
And the prying eyes.
Outside the courtyard, the villagers looked at one another in silence.
Too frightened to stay any longer, they scattered like startled birds, hurrying back to their own homes.
At last…
Peace returned.
Leaning against the wooden gate, Lin Wan let out a long breath.
Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys might have been a crude method…
But it was the most effective way to deal with villagers who only bullied the weak and feared the strong.
She believed that after today…
No one would dare come looking for trouble anytime soon.
“Big Sister…”
Lin Yulong tugged gently on her sleeve.
His little face was filled with admiration…
And a trace of worry.
“You hit Grandma Liu…”
“Will… will her son come to make trouble for us?”
Old Madam Liu’s son was one of the village’s most notorious troublemakers.
“If he dares come…”
“I’ll break his other leg too.”
Lin Wan ruffled her brother’s hair.
Her tone was relaxed.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“As long as your sister is here, the sky won’t fall.”
She turned around and looked over the piece of land that was still run-down…
Yet completely belonged to her.
A light unlike anything before shone in her eyes.
“Come on, Yulong.”
Holding her brother’s hand, Lin Wan walked toward the rocky wasteland.
“Starting today…”
“We’re going to build the grandest house in the entire village.”