Old Lin met the eyes that seemed to see through everything.
As if burned by a hot coal, he instinctively shrank back.
His cloudy eyes darted around nervously, unable to meet his daughter’s gaze.
His dry lips trembled, but not a single word came out.
Lin Wan’s fingers still held his chin.
She wasn’t using much force, yet her grip felt like an iron vise, preventing him from looking away.
“Speak.”
Her voice remained completely flat, yet it carried an irresistible pressure.
Suddenly, a sharp pain twisted through Lin Wan’s heart.
These weren’t her emotions.
They belonged to the final lingering obsession left behind by the original owner.
The farm girl who had spent her life eating rice bran, working from dawn until dusk.
Even in death, she refused to believe that the father who had carried her on his shoulders when she was little would stand by and watch her be pushed into hell.
Lin Wan frowned slightly, suppressing the sorrow that wasn’t hers.
Since she had taken over this body…
And accepted its unfinished karma…
Then she would settle every last debt for its former owner.
She stared directly at Old Lin and slowly asked the question the original Lin Wan had wanted answered most.
“When you sold me to raise the bride price for Lin Daqiang…”
“…did you know about it beforehand?”
Old Lin’s body shook violently.
Panic flashed across his weathered face.
His rough hands rubbed nervously against his patched trousers.
“I… I…”
He stammered for a long time.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
His eyes instinctively drifted toward Madam Zhang and Old Madam Lin as if begging them for help.
The moment Madam Zhang saw how cowardly he looked, she exploded with anger.
Even though her face was swollen like a pig’s head, she still shouted through her missing teeth.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Wasn’t this discussed by the whole family last night?”
“Old man, don’t pretend to be a good person now!”
“Daqiang is the only heir of the Lin family!”
“If you don’t care about him, I, as his stepmother, certainly do!”
Old Madam Lin also climbed to her feet, brushing the dirt from her clothes.
Leaning on her cane, she pointed it viciously at Old Lin.
“Eldest Son!”
“If you dare take the side of this worthless girl today…”
“I’ll smash my head against that pillar and kill myself!”
“Your father died young!”
“I raised you all by myself!”
“Was that easy?”
“Can you really bear to watch the Lin family lose its bloodline because we can’t even afford a bride price?”
The heavy club of moral blackmail came crashing down.
Old Lin’s already bent back immediately stooped even lower.
Like a dog whose bones had been removed, he collapsed limply onto the steps.
Watching the ridiculous farce, Lin Wan curled her lips in mockery.
“Don’t look at them.”
“Look at me.”
Her fingers tightened slightly on his chin, forcing him to turn his face back toward her.
Her piercing gaze locked onto him.
“I’m only asking one question.”
“Did you know…”
“…or didn’t you?”
A gust of wind swept through the dilapidated courtyard.
The air itself seemed frozen.
Even the villagers outside held their breath.
Everyone wanted to hear what the village’s most famous coward would say.
Old Lin’s eyes reddened.
Murky tears welled up inside them.
Looking at the dried black blood crusted on Lin Wan’s forehead, his lips trembled even harder.
“Wan… Wan’er…”
“Your father… I had no choice…”
His voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.
Yet in the deathly silent courtyard, every word was perfectly clear.
“Your cousin…”
“…isn’t young anymore.”
“The Li family kept urging us.”
“If we couldn’t come up with ten taels for the bride price…”
“They were going to cancel the engagement tomorrow.”
He sniffled.
His guilty eyes shifted toward Master Qian lying on the ground.
“You’re a girl.”
“One day you’ll have to marry and serve your husband anyway.”
“Master Qian owns more than ten acres of rice fields.”
“He also has a large brick house in town.”
“If you marry into his family…”
“You’ll never worry about food or clothes again.”
“You’ll even have servant girls waiting on you.”
“Daqiang’s marriage is more important.”
“You’ll be living a life of luxury in the Qian family.”
A life of luxury?
Lin Wan almost laughed from sheer anger.
Becoming the concubine of a disgusting old pervert in his fifties with yellow teeth…
Was that what he called a good life?
The bones of the three women tortured to death before her probably hadn’t even gone cold yet.
To cover up his own selfishness and cold-heartedness…
This spineless coward could actually say such shameless nonsense.
Suddenly, the sharp pain in Lin Wan’s chest disappeared.
The moment she heard those words…
It vanished completely.
The original owner’s final obsession dissolved before this horrifying reality.
Nothing remained.
Not even a trace.
This…
Was the father she had desperately protected.
The blood relative she couldn’t bear to leave behind.
How utterly laughable.
“Good.”
“Very good.”
Lin Wan slowly released Old Lin’s chin.
She stood up and leisurely brushed the dirt from her hands.
The gesture looked as though she had just touched something utterly filthy.
The mockery disappeared from her face.
In its place was an icy coldness that could never melt.
“Old Lin.”
“From the moment you nodded and agreed to sell me…”
“…your obedient, hardworking daughter…”
“…died.”
“She died beside that bloodstained stone mill.”
Old Lin froze.
He slowly raised his head and stared blankly at the unfamiliar young woman before him.
“Wan… Wan’er…”
“W-What do you mean?”
“It means…”
“The one standing before you now…”
“…is the King of Hell here to collect your debt.”
Lin Wan’s eyes darkened instantly.
Murderous intent burst from them.
She suddenly bent down and reached toward the dirty cloth wrapped around her calf.
The original Lin Wan often went into the mountains to gather firewood.
To protect herself from wild animals, she had always hidden a small woodcutting knife inside her boot.
The blade was rusty.
But its edge was polished to a razor’s sharpness.
Shing!
A flash of cold steel sliced through the air.
It happened so fast that no one could even see her movement.
The rusty woodcutting knife was already pressed firmly against Old Lin’s neck.
Its icy blade rested directly over his vulnerable artery.
With the slightest flick of her wrist…
His blood would spray across the courtyard.
“Ahhh!”
The spectators outside erupted into deafening screams.
Old Liu’s legs gave out.
She collapsed outside the bamboo fence, trembling violently.
“Murder!”
“She’s going to kill her own father!”
Madam Zhang and Old Madam Lin were equally terrified.
They scrambled backward on their hands and knees.
Who could have imagined…
This girl would actually draw a knife?
Lin Daqiang was so frightened that he wet himself.
The smell of urine spread down his trouser legs.
Old Lin remained frozen.
He didn’t dare move a single inch.
He could feel the icy chill radiating from the blade against his neck.
Goosebumps covered his entire body.
His Adam’s apple bobbed with difficulty.
He was so terrified he nearly stopped breathing.
“D-Don’t…”
“Don’t be impulsive…”
His voice shook like a broken bellows.
His face had turned deathly pale.
Suddenly, warmth spread through his trousers.
Just like Lin Daqiang, he had wet himself.
The foul smell of urine quickly filled the air, making everyone wrinkle their noses.
Lin Wan frowned in disgust.
Yet the knife in her hand didn’t move even the slightest bit.
It remained as steady as a mountain.
Looking down at the man who had just wet himself, not a trace of sympathy appeared in her eyes.
Only utter contempt.
This…
Was exactly the effect she wanted.
People like this, who feared nothing because they had never faced real consequences…
Couldn’t be reasoned with.
Only when they truly tasted the fear of death…
Would they finally bow their heads.
“I have a bad temper.”
“And my hand tends to shake.”
Lin Wan leaned forward slightly.
Her icy voice fell upon Old Lin’s head like frozen shards.
“Let me ask that question another way.”
She slowly rotated her wrist.
The razor-sharp blade pressed a faint red line into his neck.
A tiny bead of bright red blood seeped out along the rusty edge.
The stinging pain spread instantly through Old Lin’s body.
His eyes rolled back.
His legs kicked wildly.
He nearly fainted on the spot.
Lin Wan’s cold gaze swept across the courtyard, taking in everyone’s terrified expressions.
Finally…
Her eyes settled on Old Lin’s pale, twisted face.
“The family separation document.”
“Will you sign it…”
“…or die?”