Chapter 584 - 503: How Do You Feel?
Chapter 584: Chapter 503: How Do You Feel?
Over on the side, Lin Aizhen came to her senses and began to shout, "Someone, help—"
Before she could finish her cry, Xiao Man flicked a finger. A pinecone from the ground somehow appeared in her hand, then flew weightlessly through the air to strike Lin Aizhen in the throat. It wasn’t thrown with much force—not enough to cause injury—but it was enough to make Lin Aizhen feel a sharp pain. She clutched her neck and began coughing uncontrollably, her face turning crimson.
At that moment, no one was passing by this stretch of path, but there were people nearby. If Lin Aizhen managed to cry out, they would surely be surrounded by onlookers.
Xiao Man hated the hassle; less trouble was always better.
After taking a few blows from Yang Liu’er, Wu Qin finally dropped her act, revealing her sinister and vicious nature without reservation. Yang Liu’er was a few years older and had the strength of someone who’d done farmwork since childhood; Wu Qin knew she couldn’t win a direct confrontation for the time being. Xiao Man had already retreated several steps with Weiwei, and now stood diagonally behind Yang Liu’er, one arm wrapped around the terrified boy who clung to her. She had thought Yang Liu’er could handle Wu Qin completely, but this sudden change was unexpected. Xiao Man quickly reached out, exerting her power from a distance. Her arm seemed to stretch unnaturally as she grabbed the back of Yang Liu’er’s collar and yanked her back, allowing her to dodge Wu Qin’s barrage of kicks.
Wu Qin’s viciousness ignited a towering inferno of rage in Yang Liu’er. Or perhaps it was that her own latent, violent temperament had fully awakened in this life. She knew Xiao Man had just saved her, but she didn’t so much as glance back. Ignoring the pain in her chest, she pounced on Wu Qin, pinned her underfoot, and proceeded to deliver another thorough thrashing!
With Yang Liu’er once again having the upper hand, Xiao Man turned her attention away from the fight and toward Lin Aizhen and Wu Xiaowen.
Wu Xiaowen had just managed to roll over and sit up. Seeing that Wu Qin was busy, she pointed at Xiao Man and opened her mouth, about to ask for a hand. Xiao Man gifted her a pinecone as well, silencing her. Wu Xiaowen’s face contorted with shock and fury, but she finally realized it was useless. She scrambled and crawled over to Lin Aizhen’s side, using the bench to haul herself up. The mother and daughter now sat side-by-side on the long bench, both mute, gesticulating wildly at Xiao Man with bizarre expressions. Wu Xiaowen, in particular, was an absolute mess—hair disheveled, clothes in tatters, her face and head covered in dark bits of soil, some even clinging to the corners of her mouth.
Perhaps because he had been frightened for so long, or maybe because he had just seen Aunt Xiao Man save Aunt Yang, Weiwei seemed to be shaken out of his fear, his nerves suddenly fortified. He abruptly let go of Xiao Man’s hem, snatched up a few pinecones from the ground, and ran to Yang Liu’er’s side to help by pelting Wu Qin.
Xiao Man took a few steps forward to stand before Lin Aizhen and Wu Xiaowen. She looked at them coldly and said:
"How are you feeling now? Do you still think I’m some soft-hearted little girl who cares about saving face? Trying to guilt-trip me, demanding my filial piety and respect? Do you think you’re worthy? Lin Aizhen, you stepped over the corpse of Wu Yu Xuan’s fiancée to marry him and managed to live a peaceful life—your heart must be rotten to the core! Let’s not even talk about the past. Your daughter passed off a fake for the real thing, trying to hide the disfigured ’Mo Xiaoman.’ You knew all about it. Did you stop her? Did you ever show an ounce of grandmotherly love or concern for that disfigured girl? And now, what right do you have to call yourself my grandmother? And you, Wu Xiaowen. For wealth, vanity, and status, you abandoned your own daughter. Letting her be carved up by others would have been bad enough, but you joined in to step on her too! You two, mother and daughter, are both scum. And you raised Wu Qin, who’s even bigger scum! Do you know why this young lady here hates Wu Qin so much? Because Wu Qin slept with Bai Junfan—in this young lady’s bed. And she is Bai Junfan’s current girlfriend. It’s just like Fang Yulan and Lin Aizhen back in the day. Wu Qin wants to be the latecomer who comes out on top. It wasn’t enough to steal her fiancé; she also schemed to completely eliminate her predecessor. When you catch a bitch like that, who would ever let her go?"
Xiao Man glanced over at Wu Qin, who was pinned to the ground by Yang Liu’er and forced to eat dirt, then continued, "At such a young age, Wu Qin already knew how to usurp the identity of the Tang Family Girl. She ordered Liu Fengying and Mo Guoqiang to torture and even destroy me, making me suffer endlessly. The hatred between us is irreconcilable. The only reason I haven’t dealt with her myself is because I wanted to see what she was capable of—to see if she could escape her retribution. She should have been punished long ago, but you, Wu Xiaowen, just had to protect her and bring her to Beijing, letting her offend even more people. Wu Qin’s sins are great, so as her ’good mother,’ you can share some of the burden. In the future, if any mishaps befall the Wu Family, or you personally, just remember—it’s a little surprise from your precious adopted daughter, Wu Qin! I’ve said it before: all ties between us are severed. Why do you insist on seeking me out? That batch of herbs delivered via Hao Hao was the last. I will never give you a single thing ever again. Your greed is insatiable, and you refuse to listen. You’ve provoked me time and again, and now my patience is gone. Today, I only used pinecones to make you mute for a couple of days. If you dare to come back, then depending on my mood, I might give you rheumatic pains, a crooked mouth and a lame leg, or maybe even leave you paralyzed and unable to move! The ancients spoke of courtesy before resorting to force, and I’ve done my part—I gave you the herbs first. Since that wasn’t enough for you, prepare to face my wrath! Was Ms. Lin trying to call for the police earlier? Well, you can go ahead now. This young lady is tired of hitting people. We’re leaving!"
As soon as Xiao Man finished speaking, she turned and walked away without a backward glance. Yang Liu’er had already brushed the leaves and dust from her clothes. She took Weiwei’s hand, and the three of them quickly departed.
Wu Qin had been beaten so badly that she was sprawled on the ground, unable to get up for a long while. Her face was still pressed into the dirt, but she was conscious. When she heard Xiao Man and Yang Liu’er leaving, she struggled to lift her head, spat out a mouthful of grit, and cried out through a bloody nose, "Don’t you go... You, WAHHH... I’m calling the police!"
Lin Aizhen and Wu Xiaowen were speechless, staring blankly at each other like a pair of puppets. Lin Aizhen was the least injured of the three; she hadn’t been beaten or thrown to the ground, and the spot on her throat where Xiao Man’s pinecone had struck no longer hurt. But Xiao Man’s speech had stirred up a tempest in her mind, leaving her dizzy and utterly unable to think. She stared dumbly at Wu Xiaowen as if she were a stranger. It was no wonder. From childhood, this daughter of hers had always been exquisitely dressed and carried herself with elegance. Even during those difficult years when the entire Wu Family was forced to live in a cowshed, she had Tang Qingyun’s protection and had managed to remain clean, tidy, elegant, and composed. But now... her daughter was a mess, filthy and disheveled with a mouth full of mud, looking no different from a street beggar. Where was a single trace of her former beauty and grace?
Lin Aizhen opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Xiao Man’s words suddenly echoed in her mind: ’In the future, if any mishaps befall your Wu Family, that’s also... a surprise brought by...’ She abruptly shot to her feet, strode rapidly out of the wooded path, turned onto the paved road, and left.