Sever family ties?
Those two words struck the Lin family courtyard like a bolt of lightning.
The entire courtyard fell into dead silence.
Even Master Qian, who had been rolling around on the ground in pain, forgot to scream.
The Great Xia Dynasty ruled the nation through filial piety.
Parents were considered heaven itself.
Even if parents beat their own children to death, it would merely be dismissed as “disciplining them too harshly.”
What daughter would dare declare that she wanted to cut ties with her family?
It was simply unthinkable!
“This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!”
Old Madam Lin was the first to recover. Her skinny finger trembled as she pointed at Lin Wan.
She slapped her thigh and dropped onto the dirt with a loud thump, immediately beginning her favorite performance.
“Heavens above! Are you blind?”
“What sin has our Lin family committed to raise such an ungrateful, heartless wretch?”
She raised her shriveled voice until it screeched like a saw cutting through wood.
“If I’d known you’d grow up to be such a curse upon this family, I should have drowned you in the urine bucket the day you were born!”
“I fed you! I clothed you! Now that you’ve grown wings, you think you can sever ties with me? Keep dreaming!”
As she cursed, her wrinkled triangular eyes glared viciously at Lin Wan.
She clearly intended to crush this rebellious granddaughter beneath the authority of an elder.
Madam Zhang, clutching her swollen pig-like face, mumbled through her injuries.
“Mother! Stop wasting your breath on this little bitch! She’s gone mad! She’s lost her mind!”
Lin Daqiang, who had been hiding behind Old Madam Lin, finally felt his pride had been wounded.
He was the eldest grandson of the Lin family.
One day he planned to earn an official title and become an important government official.
If word spread that he had been frightened by a worthless girl, how could he ever hold his head high in the village again?
“Lin Wan!”
“Stop pretending to be some kind of ghost!”
Straightening his back, the tall, six-foot Lin Daqiang stepped forward.
He reached out to grab Lin Wan by the hair.
“Sever family ties? I’ll beat that rebellious streak right out of you today!”
Lin Wan didn’t even bother dodging the hand reaching toward her.
She merely raised her head slightly.
Her dark pupils contracted instantly.
A suffocating aura of killing intent exploded from her body.
It was true murderous intent, tempered through countless life-and-death battles amid gunfire in her previous life.
Without a trace of warmth.
Without the slightest hint of mercy.
It felt as though if Lin Daqiang took even one more step forward…
She would snap his neck without hesitation.
His hand froze in midair.
The moment their eyes met, he seemed to see mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
An icy chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
He knew with absolute certainty—
If he touched her…
He would die.
“Y-You…”
His legs began trembling uncontrollably.
His teeth chattered loudly.
The hand he had stretched out shook like a dead branch caught in a storm.
A mocking smile slowly spread across Lin Wan’s lips as she took one step closer.
“Go on.”
“Why did you stop?”
Her voice was as light as a feather.
Yet every word struck Lin Daqiang’s heart like a hammer.
“Move one more inch toward me…”
“I guarantee this hand of yours will stay on the ground forever.”
“Ahhh!”
Lin Daqiang screamed as though he had seen a ghost and stumbled backward.
His left foot tangled with his right.
He crashed beside the slop bucket in the corner of the courtyard, ending up covered in vegetable scraps.
“Pathetic.”
Lin Wan spat out the two words coldly.
By now, the courtyard entrance was packed with villagers watching the spectacle.
Old Liu, the village’s most notorious gossip, stood on her tiptoes against the bamboo fence and spoke in a mocking tone.
“Oh my, young lady, now you’ve gone too far.”
“There are no parents who are truly wrong.”
“Even if your grandmother and your mother made mistakes, they’re still your elders.”
“You’ve beaten and cursed them, and now you’re talking about cutting family ties.”
“After today, who would dare marry such a shrew?”
As soon as she finished speaking, several other gossiping women outside immediately chimed in.
“Exactly.”
“She’s just a little girl. Does she really think she can overturn the heavens?”
The tide of public opinion seemed to shift instantly toward Old Madam Lin, who was still wailing pitifully.
Seeing this, Madam Zhang’s eyes flashed with satisfaction.
Her crying grew even louder.
Lin Wan slowly turned around.
Her sharp gaze swept across the circle of spectators outside the wall.
The noisy discussions stopped instantly beneath her cold stare.
“There are no parents who are truly wrong?”
She let out a cold laugh.
Her voice rang loud enough to pierce everyone’s ears.
“Old Liu.”
“If you’re so righteous…”
“Why don’t you sell your own granddaughter to Master Qian?”
“Ten taels of silver.”
“Enough to buy yourself a fine coffin.”
Old Liu’s face immediately turned green with embarrassment.
She pursed her lips and didn’t dare utter another word.
Lin Wan wasn’t finished.
She pointed directly at Master Qian, who was still twitching on the ground, and raised her voice.
“Everyone here has eyes.”
“Today, they tried to sell me for ten taels of silver…”
“…to this pervert who beat three wives to death.”
“Do you call that marriage?”
“This is selling someone to their death!”
She suddenly yanked up the sleeve of her coarse linen shirt.
Her arms were as thin as sticks.
Every inch of skin was covered with bruises, whip marks, and burn scars.
The horrifying sight made several kindhearted women outside gasp.
“Aunt Wang.”
“Two winters ago, during the coldest month, the river at the village entrance had frozen solid.”
Her gaze landed precisely on a kind-faced woman.
“You watched me break through the ice…”
“…to wash Lin Daqiang’s filthy pants covered in urine and feces.”
Aunt Wang’s eyes reddened.
Unable to bear it, she turned her face away.
Lin Wan continued.
Every word struck the Lin family like nails being driven into a coffin.
“For the past three years…”
“The five acres of fertile land belonging to the Lin family were farmed entirely by my younger brother and me.”
“We worked from dawn until night.”
“The grain we harvested.”
“The meat it bought.”
“Every bit of it went into the stomachs of Lin Daqiang and Madam Zhang.”
“And what did my brother Yulong and I eat?”
“Rice bran meant for pigs.”
“Moldy leftovers.”
“Last month…”
“Yulong developed a high fever.”
“He burned with fever until he lost consciousness.”
“I knelt on the ground and begged Grandma for just two copper coins to buy medicine.”
“What did she say?”
Lin Wan’s piercing gaze shot toward Old Madam Lin, who was still sitting on the ground.
“You said…”
“‘A short-lived brat dying would save us food anyway.'”
Those blood-soaked accusations completely ignited the emotions of the watching villagers.
The people who had moments ago believed Lin Wan had gone too far were now furious.
“My heavens…”
“How could anyone be so heartless?”
“That’s not raising a granddaughter.”
“That’s raising livestock!”
“Selling your own granddaughter to pay your nephew’s bride price…”
“Shameless!”
Public opinion reversed in an instant.
The villagers’ angry condemnation nearly drowned the Lin family.
Old Madam Lin’s wailing caught in her throat.
Her face turned the color of pig’s liver.
She never would have imagined that the quiet, submissive girl who normally couldn’t get a word out…
Would suddenly become so sharp-tongued, every sentence cutting straight to the heart.
Madam Zhang also shrank backward guiltily, covering her swollen face and avoiding everyone’s eyes.
Lin Wan lowered her sleeve again.
She looked coldly at the shameless family whose ugly secrets had all been exposed.
She didn’t need the sympathy of the crowd.
What she needed was a legitimate reason to establish herself in this feudal world.
Now she held the moral high ground.
No one could accuse her actions today of being unforgivable or unfilial.
“I have made my decision.”
“I am severing all ties with this family.”
Her tone was firm and left no room for negotiation.
“From this day forward…”
“I, Lin Wan, have nothing to do with the Lin family.”
“Our paths end here.”
“If any of you dare claim to be my elders again and try to disgust me…”
“…this wooden hairpin in my hand won’t care who you are.”
She flicked her wrist.
The bloodstained wooden hairpin sliced through the air, leaving behind a cold arc.
Everyone in the courtyard instinctively shrank back.
Even Master Qian painfully dragged himself another half meter away, terrified that the mad girl would attack him again.
Having dealt with these clowns, Lin Wan slowly turned around.
Her gaze crossed the chaotic courtyard, passed Madam Zhang and Old Madam Lin lying on the ground…
…and finally settled on the person hiding beneath the shadows of the eaves, desperately trying to make himself invisible.
Her biological father.
Old Lin.
From the moment she fought back, beat people, and stood against the entire village…
This man, her father, hadn’t said a single meaningful word.
He had simply crouched on the steps with his head buried in his hands, acting as though none of this had anything to do with him.
A trace of deep disgust flashed across Lin Wan’s eyes.
She would rather face someone openly vicious like Madam Zhang…
Than someone who hid behind the excuse of being “honest” while silently allowing evil to happen.
The true executioner…
Was often the one who handed over the knife.
Lin Wan kicked aside a broken bamboo basket blocking her path.
Step by step…
She walked toward the eaves.
The sound of her shoes scraping against the ground echoed eerily through the silent courtyard.
Old Lin sensed the shadow falling over him.
His entire body trembled.
He lowered his head even further.
He didn’t even dare look his own daughter in the eye.
Lin Wan stopped half a step in front of him.
Looking down at the spineless man, she slowly crouched.
With the hand still stained with dirt and blood, she gently lifted Old Lin’s chin.
Forcing him to meet her abyss-like eyes.
“They’ve all finished talking.”
“They’ve all finished fighting.”
The corners of Lin Wan’s lips curled into a cruel smile.
Her voice was soft, almost like a whisper beside his ear.
“Now…”
“…it’s your turn.”
“I’ll ask you one last time.”
“Will you sign the family separation document…”
“…or not?”