Officer Zhang signaled for the others to leave first. As they released Gou Dan, he sharply noticed that one of Gou Dan’s arms was in a strange position.
Su Luowan caught the puzzled look on Officer Zhang’s face and smiled as she explained,
“This man tried to attack me with a knife, so I dislocated his arm to protect myself!”
“Dislocated?” Officer Zhang looked up and down at the delicate young girl before him, struggling to associate her with something as extreme as “dislocating an arm.”
Before he could even process it, Su Luowan stepped forward without waiting for his command. She lightly grabbed Gou Dan’s dangling arm with fluid precision. A faint “click” sound followed.
Gou Dan froze, then let out a painful yell. But soon, he realized his arm could move again.
He glared at Su Luowan with fierce resentment, never imagining he would fall to the hands of this seemingly fragile girl.
Officer Zhang stared at Su Luowan, astonished, a flicker of doubt in his eyes:
“Little girl, you know martial arts?”
Su Luowan nodded, modestly replying,
“Yes, a little bit!”
Luckily, she had cultivated some mystical power. Otherwise, no matter how precise her techniques, she would not have been fully confident against a knife-wielding Gou Dan.
At the police station, Su Luowan carefully answered all of Officer Zhang’s questions before finally leaving.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was high—almost lunchtime. She had originally planned to buy some buns at the state-run restaurant, but then remembered her family would have left food for her, so she decided to go home.
As Su Luowan entered the village, she saw some villagers out for a post-lunch rest.
When they noticed her walking with a basket on her back, Granny Liang was the first to speak, curiously asking,
“Su family girl, heading to the town? Did you buy anything?”
Su Luowan smiled sweetly and politely replied,
“Granny Liang, not much. We were out of soy sauce and salt, so I just bought a little to bring back.”
She then greeted the villagers she remembered and continued on her way.
Having lived on the mountain with her master since childhood, Su Luowan was used to a quiet life and not very accustomed to the villagers’ casual chit-chat.
In this era, without mobile phones and with televisions extremely rare, villagers gathered to chat during their free time, passing the hours.
She also knew that the news of her breaking off the engagement with Qin Chengyi would be one of their gossip topics.
Sure enough, as she walked away, she could faintly hear the uncles, aunts, and neighbors starting to talk:
“What a pity! The Su girl is so beautiful, and she broke off the engagement with the Qin family!”
“What do you know? That Qin kid isn’t exactly honest. I think breaking off the engagement now is better than divorcing later after marriage!”
“What’s up with Qin Chengyi’s taste? Xu Zhiqing isn’t as pretty or capable as Su Luowan. Why would he go for her?”
“Who knows! If the Su girl’s father were still around, he wouldn’t even look at the Qin family!”
…
They spoke back and forth, and even though Su Luowan walked quite a distance, she could still faintly hear their chatter.
Her senses were sharper than before, but she didn’t take their gossip to heart. People in this era were mostly simple and honest, with only a few exceptions.
Su Luowan entered the house and saw Su Luonian still tossing small stones around.
She raised an eyebrow—this kid had impressive perseverance.
Hearing the noise at the door and seeing Su Luowan return, Su Luonian immediately ran over, smiling:
“Sis, you’re back!”
Su Luowan nodded with a smile, then reached into her basket and pulled out a large handful of candies, handing them to Su Luonian:
“Here, eat these. I have more. But don’t eat too many every day; they’re bad for your teeth!”
Su Luonian hadn’t eaten sweets in a long time—the last time was during the Spring Festival, just a few pieces.
Excited, he accepted the candies, his eyes sparkling:
“Thank you, sis!”
Su Luowan patted Su Luonian’s shoulder with a smile:
“Where’s Mom?”
“In the room!” Su Luonian said, unwrapping a piece of candy and offering the wrapper to Su Luowan. She didn’t hesitate and popped the candy into her mouth.
“I’ll go find Mom, you keep playing!”
Saying this, she slung the basket over her back and walked toward the main room.
Hearing Su Luowan, Lin Yuzhen quickly came out:
“Wanwan, have you eaten?”
Su Luowan placed her basket in the main room, smiling as she replied,
“Not yet!”
“You child, why didn’t you eat at the state-run restaurant before coming back? Luckily, I saved some for you, or you’d still be hungry!”
Lin Yuzhen said, hurrying to the kitchen to check if the food she had left for Su Luowan had cooled.
Watching Lin Yuzhen rush about, Su Luowan’s face lit up with happiness.
After putting down her basket, she went to fetch water and wash her face. After being out, she felt covered in dust.
By the time she finished, Lin Yuzhen had heated the food and brought it to the table.
Placing the dishes down, Lin Yuzhen urged Su Luowan to eat, and couldn’t help reminding her:
“Wanwan, next time if you stay in town too long, make sure to eat first, don’t let yourself go hungry, okay?”
Su Luowan obediently nodded:
“Mom, I understand!”
Under Lin Yuzhen’s constant reminders, Su Luowan enjoyed her meal with real delight. This was a happiness she had never truly felt as a child.
After finishing, she cleaned up and then led Lin Yuzhen to the bedroom in the back:
“Mom, today I sold a ginseng from my space. Guess how much I sold it for?”
Lin Yuzhen’s brows immediately furrowed, her face full of worry:
“You child, we already have money at home. How could you sell it on your own? What if some bad people target you—what would we do then?”
Su Luowan smiled at her mother’s concern, reassuring her:
“Mom, it’s safe. Don’t forget, I’ve been practicing martial arts with my space. I’m much stronger now than before!”
She didn’t mention the robbery incident—telling her would only worry her for no reason.
Seeing Su Luowan’s carefree expression, Lin Yuzhen continued, scolding lightly:
“That’s not acceptable. Even if your martial arts were perfected, you’re just a girl. Could you really handle those big, rough men? Wanwan, you mustn’t do this again, understand?”
Su Luowan nodded obediently, then changed the subject:
“Mom, here’s the leftover money and tickets from today. Also, the ginseng sold for two thousand yuan. I’ll keep one hundred for myself and leave the rest for household expenses!”
She continued,
“Mom, I have a lot of ginseng in my space. Don’t overwork yourself or be too frugal, okay?”