So he hired a detective to investigate, and sure enough, they discovered that she was the one small “fish” who had accidentally survived.
Naturally, she became the sole heir of the wealthy family, and the old man even gave her an unlimited black card.
This provided the perfect convenience for her to stockpile supplies.
She would often sneak out by climbing over the wall of her so-called biological father’s luxurious villa and go on wild shopping sprees.
Fortunately, when her “bargain-bin” father later discovered this, he simply assumed that she was indulging in retaliatory spending after suddenly coming into money, like a nouveau riche, and chose not to interfere.
Ending her recollection, she glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. Then she took a dagger from her storage space and slowly slid the door bolt aside.
She gently pushed the door open and walked to the bedside. An emaciated old woman was sleeping soundly, snoring.
This old woman was no good either. More than half a month earlier, while washing clothes, she had pushed a female educated youth into the water and then called out to her son, who was hiding nearby, to “rescue” her.
As a result, the young woman was saved, but her reputation was ruined. Since her family was ordinary and she still had to remain in the village for an unknown period, she feared being reported for improper conduct. With no other choice, she reluctantly accepted her fate and registered her marriage with Zhang Shuner, without even holding a wedding banquet.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Lu Miaomiao slapped the snoring Old Madam Zhang several times, waking her up.
Old Madam Zhang sat up and touched her burning, aching face.
She was about to start cursing when she suddenly noticed a shadowy figure. Illuminated by the faint light coming through the window, she realized that Black Impermanence (a grim reaper figure in Chinese folklore) was standing beside her bed.
“Ah! Lord Black Impermanence, please don’t take me away!” Her eyes rolled back, and with a loud thud, she collapsed onto the bed and fainted.
In the darkness, Lu Miaomiao frowned, her face sour.
She’s far too easy to scare. I haven’t even started my performance yet!
That wouldn’t do.
Smack! Smack! Smack! After several more slaps, which left the old woman’s face swollen, Old Madam Zhang finally regained consciousness.
As soon as she opened her eyes and saw the disguised “Black Impermanence,” she nearly fainted again.
Lu Miaomiao quickly lowered her voice and threatened in a rough tone:
“If you don’t want to see your son one last time, then go ahead and faint again.”
Just as the old woman was about to lose consciousness, she immediately sat upright upon hearing this and began kowtowing beside the bed.
“Please, Lord Black Impermanence, take me instead! Spare my son! He’s my only child!”
Seeing that she was about to wail loudly, Lu Miaomiao reacted swiftly. She grabbed a filthy sock from the table and stuffed it into the old woman’s mouth to silence her.
“Quiet! Not a sound, or I’ll take both of your souls away. The two of you have committed many evil deeds over the years—you deserve to climb mountains of knives, be thrown into boiling oil, and suffer in the eighteen levels of hell!”
Her cold, intimidating whisper made Old Madam Zhang tremble. She dared not move, nodding repeatedly with tears streaming down her face, appearing oddly pitiful.
However, Lu Miaomiao was utterly merciless toward evildoers. Beginning her “performance,” she produced a stainless steel dog chain from thin air and swung it in her hand.
“Your son is about to be killed by your village captain’s family. He’s hanging on by his last breath. I was on my way to take his soul, but considering your bond as mother and son, I came to inform you so that you could say your final goodbye.
He’s by the river near the dilapidated thatched hut beside the cowshed. Hurry there! If you’re too late, they might destroy the body, and you won’t even get to see his corpse.”
With that, Lu Miaomiao did not linger and disappeared into her storage space.
Old Madam Zhang was stunned for a moment, but she quickly recovered. Pulling the foul-smelling sock from her mouth, she didn’t even bother putting on her shoes. She rushed next door to summon her cousin’s entire family, and together they hurried toward the riverside.
After the old woman left, Lu Miaomiao looked at her hands with distaste while inside the space. She washed them by the spring pool before reappearing in the room.
Standing inside, she watched as the group ran off noisily with hoes and sticks, loudly cursing. A beautiful smile curved her lips. With such commotion, the entire village would surely hear!
Sure enough, the neighboring household soon emerged to see what was happening. One by one, more villagers joined in, and before long, nearly the entire village was heading toward the riverside to watch the spectacle.
“Come on, come on! It seems someone died by the river—let’s go take a look!” said one villager.
“What? Someone died? I thought it was spies!” another exclaimed.
“It sounds like Zhang Shuner is dead! I heard his mother wailing. Serves him right, if you ask me—he never did anything decent!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Be careful, or it’ll come back to haunt you!”
“Stop guessing and just go see for yourself!” someone urged.
Like spectators heading to a grand show, the villagers chattered among themselves as they rushed toward the river.
That Old Madam Zhang is quite clever, Lu Miaomiao thought. With such a public commotion, Captain Liu won’t be able to settle the matter privately even if he wants to.
Excited, she swiftly followed, like a weasel that had stumbled into a melon patch, brimming with anticipation.
Lu Miaomiao ran quickly and arrived before Old Madam Zhang and the others. She hid once again in the bushes, discovering that this spot offered the best vantage point—she could see both the thatched hut and the riverside.
To get a clearer view, she took a pair of binoculars from her storage space. Noticing that no one remained near the hut, she muttered softly, “Oh? Have they all moved to the riverside? I wonder if that hooligan is really dead. If he is, that would be quite interesting!”
Looking again, she saw an elderly man with a head full of white hair checking Liu Xianhua’s pulse. Lu Miaomiao casually plucked a leaf and flicked her wrist; the buzzing mosquito nearby was instantly sliced apart. Unmoved, she continued eliminating mosquitoes while searching her memory. This man was likely the village’s only doctor—Doctor Zhou Deren.
With a solemn expression, Doctor Zhou said to Captain Liu, “Zhang Shuner is beyond saving—he’s already stopped breathing. Even if he were sent to the hospital now, it would be too late. His lower leg is also fractured.
Liu Mazi is luckier. He was drugged, but some of the effects have already worn off after being submerged in water. The medicinal effect has likely passed.
Xianhua was also drugged, but the effects have subsided. She just needs to go home and rest.”
“What? He’s really dead? Then what should we do?”
“Captain Liu, you should make a decision. We didn’t do it on purpose!”
“That’s right—it was all following your orders!”
“How about calling the police?”
Several men and women discussed anxiously.
Doctor Zhou glanced discreetly through the torchlight at Captain Liu, who remained expressionless and silent. Unwilling to get involved in unnecessary trouble, he shouldered his medical kit and prepared to leave.
“Elder Zhou, please wait! You’re a respected elder in the village—what do you think we should do?” Captain Liu’s dark eyes fixed steadily on Zhou Deren, betraying no emotion.
“I don’t know the full story, so what advice could I possibly give? Besides, I’m just an old man who treats illnesses. You’re the village captain—you should decide for yourself. I’ll be heading back now. At my age, being dragged out in the middle of the night has nearly worn me out.”
“Elder Zhou, please wait a moment. It won’t be too late to leave after the matter is resolved.” Liu Dashan had not yet come up with a perfect solution and certainly couldn’t let him go.
“Liu Dashan, you’ve gone too far! Do you really think Huai Tree Village belongs to your family?”
Elder Zhou was furious. Being dragged out in the middle of the night at his age was bad enough. Now, after coming to treat the injured, he was being detained—truly an intolerable situation.