A rusty pair of iron scissors slammed onto the stone mill, sending a few sparks flying.
The sun blazed overhead, so fierce that the packed dirt in the Chen family’s courtyard seemed to steam under the heat.
Outside the courtyard wall, villagers craned their necks to watch. Their gossip buzzed like a flock of ducks just released from a pen, making the air even more chaotic.
“Then go die! If you want to die, do it somewhere else! Don’t leave your bad luck in the Chen family!”
Old Madam Chen’s thin lips moved nonstop, her spit flying several feet as she cursed.
Hands on her hips, her sharp eyes were fixed on the woman kneeling beside the millstone. She kicked a worn bamboo basket nearby with the tip of her foot.
A few patched-up old clothes spilled out onto the ground.
The kneeling woman was Madam Li.
Her hair hung loose and tangled, making her look half-crazed.
She clutched the scissors tightly, the blade pressed against her throat. The skin had already dented inward, and thin streaks of blood seeped out.
“Mother… please, I’m begging you… don’t sell Sixth Girl… she’s my flesh and blood…”
Madam Li’s voice was hoarse from crying. Tears mixed with dirt on her face, leaving pale tracks as they flowed downward.
“I’ve already given birth to six children. My body is ruined. I really can’t have another child…”
Only despair remained in her heart.
Looking at her mother-in-law’s endlessly moving mouth, she felt as though she were staring into the jaws of a man-eating tiger.
If she died…
Would she no longer have to hear these insults?
Would she no longer have to watch her daughter be sold as a child bride—or worse?
“If you can’t give birth to a son, you’re a sinner of the Chen family! A curse on the family line!”
Old Madam Chen practically jumped with rage, jabbing a finger toward Madam Li’s forehead.
“The third branch has raised six worthless girls and emptied the family’s grain stores!
“The broker Zhao is waiting at the village entrance today. If you don’t hand over that half-dead sixth girl for some silver, I’ll have your husband divorce you!”
Beside Madam Li knelt Chen Laosan, the family’s third son.
His back was hunched like a shrimp with its shell removed.
The farmer’s face was red with shame and anguish. His rough hands had nearly torn through the fabric of his trousers from gripping them so hard.
Unable to bear the sight of blood on his wife’s neck, he repeatedly knocked his forehead against the hard ground.
“Father, Mother, please… Sixth Girl is only three years old. She just recovered from a fever not long ago. If she’s sent away, she’ll die…”
At last, Old Master Chen looked up.
He had been sitting in a large chair, puffing on his pipe.
His eyes were filled with disgust, as though he were looking at a pile of mud he couldn’t get rid of.
Without saying a word, he raised the brass pipe and smashed it into the back of Chen Laosan’s head.
Bang!
The dull impact echoed through the courtyard.
Chen Laosan’s body lurched sideways.
Blood immediately streamed from his scalp, covering half his face.
He swayed, nearly collapsing, still muttering:
“Don’t sell her… don’t sell her…”
In the corner of the courtyard sat a tiny figure curled up on a broken stool.
Suddenly, she moved.
Chen Zui felt as though steel needles were drilling into her skull.
Her ears rang with crying, shouting, curses, and the sound of that brutal blow.
She abruptly opened her eyes.
A crumbling earthen wall greeted her.
The air smelled of chicken droppings and blood.
Then a flood of memories crashed into her mind.
A medical PhD.
A relentless overachiever.
Death from overwork.
And the memories of this body:
Hunger.
Cold.
Fear.
The memory of hiding behind her older sisters while trembling.
She was Chen Zui.
The sixth daughter of the Chen family’s third branch.
The little girl who had nearly died from illness.
Her vision sharpened.
She saw her father lying on the ground covered in blood.
Her mother trembling while clutching the scissors.
Her grandfather holding the pipe with a cold expression.
And her eldest uncle, Chen Da, rolling up his sleeves and striding forward.
“If Third Brother can’t control his wife, then I’ll do it for him!”
The flesh on Chen Da’s face shook with every step.
Greed gleamed in his eyes.
Broker Zhao had promised five taels of silver.
Tie up the crazy woman.
Snatch away the little girl.
The money was his.
He grabbed Madam Li’s hair with one hand and reached for the scissors with the other.
The movement was as rough as pulling up a weed.
“Ahhh!”
Madam Li screamed.
Her head was yanked backward, and the scissors nearly pierced her artery.
At that moment—
Chen Zui stood up.
She was only three years old.
Years of malnutrition had left her as thin as a kitten.
Her huge eyes looked oversized on her tiny face.
But there was no fear in them.
Only a cold darkness as deep as a frozen lake.
She took a deep breath.
Inside her frail body surged a strange current of energy.
A gift brought by transmigration.
Monstrous strength.
Without hesitation, she pushed off the ground.
Her small body shot forward like a stone launched from a slingshot.
“Let go of my mother!”
The childish voice should have sounded sweet.
Instead, fury sharpened it into something piercing.
Chen Da didn’t even spare her a glance.
To him, she was just a little brat who barely reached his knees.
Until he felt two tiny arms lock around his waist.
Then—
The world flipped upside down.
Chen Zui knew her arms were too short to throw punches effectively.
Instead, she used the momentum of her charge.
She clamped both arms around his belt, planted her feet, and unleashed her unnatural strength.
Like pulling a giant radish from the ground.
A hundred-and-eighty-pound man was lifted completely off his feet.
Before everyone’s eyes, Chen Da flew through the air in a clumsy arc.
BOOM!!!
His back smashed into the massive stone mill in the center of the courtyard.
The sound of bone colliding with stone made everyone wince.
Dust exploded into the air.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The villagers peeking over the wall stood frozen with their mouths hanging open.
Old Madam Chen’s mouth remained open from her last curse, but no sound emerged.
Old Master Chen’s pipe trembled.
Ash fell onto his trousers, burning a hole in the fabric.
Chen Da lay sprawled on the ground.
His eyes bulged.
He wheezed painfully, unable to get up.
It felt as though his spine had snapped and his organs had shifted inside his body.
This…
This was done by a three-year-old girl?
Chen Zui stood motionless.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
She looked down at her filthy little hands.
The greasy feel of Chen Da’s belt still lingered on her palms.
Slowly, she raised her head.
Her dark eyes swept across every person in the courtyard.
There was none of a child’s innocence in them.
Only an icy chill that seemed to freeze people to the bone.
Taking short little steps, she walked to her bloodied father and stunned mother.
Then she spread her tiny arms.
Like a protective cub guarding its food.
She stood in front of them.
“Grandpa. Grandma.”
Chen Zui spoke.
Her voice was deliberately lowered.
Instead of sounding childish, it carried a strange rasp, like a wind blowing from the underworld.
She pointed a thin finger at the old couple.
“Last night, the King of Hell appeared in my dream.”
Old Madam Chen shivered instantly.
A chill ran down her spine.
“Y-you worthless girl! What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“The King of Hell said the Chen family has committed evil deeds and will suffer retribution.”
Chen Zui stared directly into her grandmother’s eyes.
Not retreating a single step.
A strange gleam flickered in her gaze.
“He gave me this strength.”
“He told me to teach a lesson to you black-hearted people on his behalf.”.