Chapter 16: No Mercy

The old Lin family house echoed with a scream of utter agony.

Lin Qingyou was running around like a mad dog, half his life nearly gone from the pain.
His hand—his hand!

They say the most vicious thing in the world is a woman’s heart. Lin Qingyou had finally met someone crueler and more ferocious than his own shrewish wife!

Lin Xiaqing had actually grabbed his hand and pressed it straight into a pot of boiling oil. That was a whole vat of scalding hot oil! Tossing dried fish into it was like throwing it into a Taoist alchemy furnace—it would melt to the bone, flesh and bone indistinguishable in the end.

Lin Qingyou shrieked, “You bitch! They say you’ve gotten capable, that you got your own aunt and cousin arrested and detained by the police—haven’t seen them since. I didn’t believe it. You used to just cry when something happened. Who knew you’d turn into something this vicious? Lin Xiaqing, if my hand is ruined today, I’ll make sure you die with no grave to be buried in!”

Lin Xiaqing’s face was indifferent. She didn’t even bother sparing this trash another glance.
As for his loud threats? She scoffed coldly, “Idiot. Haven’t you heard? The dog that bites doesn’t bark.”

Lin Qingyou was stunned, and after a second, realized she was mocking him—calling him a dog who only barked but couldn’t bite.

The rage nearly burst his lungs, but even that couldn’t compare to the burning agony of his hand—he swore the flesh was falling off the bone like slow-cooked pork ribs, stewed until soft and falling apart.

Tears poured down Lin Qingyou’s face like waterfalls. He was in so much pain he almost cried out for his mother—what pride, what dignity? He didn’t care anymore. He just wanted his hand to survive.

Lin Xiaqing clicked her tongue in disgust. “What, your whole family dead or something? You gotta come wail at my house? Mangy stray mutt. You thought I’d stay cowering and silent my whole life? Every debt you’ve ever laid on me—starting today, I’ll repay every single one!”

When it came to human scum, Lin Xiaqing would show no mercy. She only hoped the soul of the girl whose body she now inhabited could finally rest in peace.

Lin Qingyou, furious and in pain, couldn’t even fight back. And the more composed Lin Xiaqing stayed, the more venomous her taunts became. It was like she was trying to anger him to death, make him bleed from every orifice on the spot.

Desperate, Lin Qingyou finally located the water vat in the house—as if he’d found an elixir from the gods. He wanted to dunk his entire arm in there and get relief. But then, Lin Xiaqing walked over, slowly and deliberately, carrying a basin full of chili powder.

Lin Qingyou went white. His knees almost buckled.
No—she wasn’t going to pour that into the water, was she? Was she going to destroy his last chance of saving his hand?

He started bawling like a baby, trembling and begging for mercy.
“Please, ancestor, spare me! If I don’t get some water on this soon, it’ll really be done for! Aunt Qinchun’s still in the hospital, right? I’ve got money—just got paid. Eighteen yuan! Take it, all of it! Buy her something good! Please, don’t pour the chili powder in the water!”

Oh look. Turns out beasts can talk like humans. In all her years married into the Lin family, Qinchun had never heard Lin Qingyou call her “Auntie” even once. Today, miracles were happening—pigs were flying, and a dog actually coughed up ivory.

Lin Xiaqing raised the chili powder, smirking.
“Pour it into the water? Lin Qingyou, you disgusting beast—you think people are as kind as you imagine? You trash. A disgrace to even scum like you.”

Lin Qingyou stared in disbelief. If she wasn’t pouring it in… then what was she doing?

He didn’t know, only that this woman in front of him was terrifying—like a demon risen from hell. Anyone who crossed her would end up pulverized and scattered to the wind.

“Put your money on the stove.”

Was this… a way out?

Lin Qingyou, half relieved and half suspicious, obeyed. He dug out his hidden stash, the pain in his heart almost worse than his hand. But survival came first.

Lin Xiaqing put the money away and warned, “Don’t move. Who told you to dip your filthy hand in my water tank?”

He had only just touched the cool water when she snapped at him.

He gritted his teeth in frustration. “But I gave you the money! Why aren’t you keeping your word?”

She shot him a cold glare. “Your dirty hand doesn’t deserve the water I carried back and forth from the village well eight times.”

Lin Qingyou was nearly losing his mind. He felt like a dying leech that couldn’t even die properly without water. He needed it—needed it so badly.

She pointed. “Use the ladle. It’s on the table.”

Cursing her to hell in his mind, Lin Qingyou shuffled over to grab it.
What kind of person makes you ladle out water just to rinse your burns?

Lin Xiaqing figured she’d toyed with the idiot long enough. Her jars of pickled vegetables in the courtyard were done drying. If she played around any longer, she’d be wasting time she could use making money.

Lin Qingyou was trembling with anticipation. At last, he could pour a little cool water over his burning hand. His every move was reverent—like some sacred rain ritual, as he tilted the ladle to pour.

Just a little more. Just a little more— relief was coming.

And then—
CRASH.
Lin Xiaqing kicked the ladle from his hands. Cold, ruthless, cruel.
“Despairing yet?” she asked.

He was still reeling when he saw something even worse.
Lin Xiaqing dumped the chili powder—all of it—into the water vat.
In seconds, the entire vat turned a spicy, stinging red.

He was done. Doomed. His hand—executed.
She never meant to let him go from the start.

But it still wasn’t over.

Lin Xiaqing advanced on him again, the fire in her eyes terrifying. She reached into the bowl and grabbed another handful of chili powder, and with chilling precision, flung it straight at his injured hand.

The Lin house exploded with another scream—this one deeper, more broken, more hopeless than before.

Lin Qingyou’s already burnt hand was now coated with chili powder. The pain was so intense, his body seized. His hand—was finished.

Lin Xiaqing felt a flicker of satisfaction. At last, she had truly become one with the girl whose life had ended so tragically in this body. The revenge had been served, and the spirit could rest in peace.

Now, Lin Xiaqing was truly Lin Xiaqing.

And in her mind, she heard the faint echo of a smiling voice departing:

“Kindness invites bullying. Mercy is the most useless thing in the world. In the end, the only one you can rely on is yourself. Even if life is unfair and fate is cruel, once you stand up, you can find a way to survive. Thank you… for living the life I never could.”