Chapter 8: Call Back

Enduring the pain in her body, Xi Qiu supported herself with both hands on the ground, exerting a great force to lift the more than 150 pounds Tong Shi off her frail body.

Tong Shi, off balance, was pulled back by Xi Qiu, who grabbed a handful of her hair. The sharp pain made her frown, and she could see some strands of hair left in Xi Qiu's hand.

With a cold smile, Xi Qiu quickly sat on top of Tong Shi, facing her, and delivered several hard and precise slaps in succession.

The crisp sound echoed in the snowy night sky, and the onlookers, who had been discussing, were now stunned and silent.

This was too unexpected and strange. After all, this was the girl who usually avoided people. How did she suddenly become so aggressive?

After slapping Tong Shi, Xi Qiu adjusted her disheveled hair and spoke in a cold voice, "Tong Madam, I have hit you and scolded you. Now it's time for me to go home. You should know that I still have younger siblings at home!"

After saying this, she stood up and turned to leave. However, Tong Shi refused to let her go and stood up, shouting, "You can't leave, you little slut! Come with me to the village head to settle this!"

"Hmph!" Xi Qiu snorted, "If Madam Tong wants to settle this, then go ahead. While you're at it, tell my uncle that my siblings and I are ready to leave the village at any time!"

With these words, the onlookers, who were wide-eyed and incredulous, saw Xi Qiu push through the crowd and head towards the edge of the village.

Seeing this, Tong Shi ran over, wanting to grab her hair as she had done before.

But Xi Qiu was prepared this time. As Tong Shi reached out to grab her, Xi Qiu gritted her teeth and forcefully collided with her. Caught off guard, Tong Shi was once again knocked to the ground by a great force.

Unlike the previous fall, this time she was sitting on the ground. Although there was snow cushioning her, the ground beneath was frozen hard. The force of the impact caused sharp pain to shoot through her entire body.

Tong Shi immediately cried out in pain.

Xi Qiu, seeing Tong Shi on the ground, didn't even look back as she pushed through the crowd and walked towards the village. She didn't care about the inkstone that had fallen to the ground after being knocked by Tong Shi. Even if it was lost in the crowd, it was her own fault.

The onlookers, one by one, looked at each other, some even whispering, "When did this girl become so fierce? Am I seeing things?"

"How could it be? Didn't you see Mrs. Lin still sitting there screaming?"

Indeed, the onlookers realized that Tong Shi, in pain, was unable to get up for a while, and could only curse Xi Qiu with tears and snot.

When Xi Qiu returned home with a swollen face, her siblings, Xi Chun and Yan Qing, were shocked and tears immediately welled up in their eyes.

Yan Qing was crying and wailing, "Second sister, second sister... What's wrong with you? Are you going to die like elder sister? Second sister, please don't die. I don't want you to die..."

Xi Chun wiped her tears and coughed, "Second sister, what happened? Weren't you just going to get ink and paper?"

Xi Qiu took a deep breath and saw Yan Qing still crying and wiping the blood from her mouth gently. She also blew on it from time to time, showing her talkative nature.

Xi Qiu couldn't help but smile at his words and patted his head, feeling speechless.

"Stop it. If you keep crying like this, I might really die."

"Sniff... Don't... "

"..."

Giving Xi Chun a look, she understood and quickly pulled Yan Qing away, coughing, "Stop crying. Second sister won't die. You're just causing trouble by crying like this."

Xi Qiu scooped water from the tub in the main room, wet a cloth, and gently wiped the swollen corners of her mouth. Due to the wound, the touch almost made her explode in pain.

Under Xi Chun's scolding and coaxing, Yan Qing finally stopped crying. Seeing Xi Qiu holding a cloth to her mouth, he quickly ran over, grabbed her skirt, and said, "Second sister, you go to the kang first. I'll apply it for you."

"Okay." As long as it stopped him from crying, Xi Qiu lay down on the kang, and saw him gently wiping the bloodstains from her mouth, occasionally blowing on it, all the while displaying his chatty nature.

Choking back sobs, he said, "Those bad, bad people, when I grow up, I will definitely, definitely defeat them all. Second sister, don't worry, I will protect you..."

Smiling wryly, Xi Chun lay down beside her, hugged her arm, and rested her head on her shoulder, softly sobbing, "Second sister, I don't want to stay here!"

Sighing, she reached out and pressed his little head against her neck, "It's okay, I'm here!"

"Yes, with second sister here, and me, I will definitely grow up quickly. In the future, those bad people won't have it easy. I will definitely defeat them all..." These sincere and childish words made Xi Qiu smile and feel warm inside.