Chapter 5 – Counterattack

“Old Fourth!”

Tao Jingjing’s shrill scream pierced the sky, waking up the neighbors.

Liu Ying’s legs gave out, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably. “Old Fourth? What happened to Old Fourth?!”

Her heart pounded wildly with an overwhelming sense of dread.

Tao Jiaxing’s eyes flashed with fear as he trudged down the stairs. He hadn’t even reached the bottom when he saw his youngest son, Tao Ronggui, lying in a pool of blood.

“Quick!”

“Quick, get Old Fourth to the hospital!”

Tao Jiaxing was so terrified his teeth chattered, his voice cracking with panic.

As Tao Ronghua ran down to carry his brother, he couldn’t help but glance into the basement—where was Sang Feiyu? She was nowhere to be seen.

“It must’ve been that damn girl!” Tao Jingjing shouted, full of accusation.

When Liu Ying saw her youngest son carried up, covered in blood, she jumped up like she’d been stepped on.

“Old Fourth?”

“How did Old Fourth end up like this?!”

She’d just seen him before she left—he was fine back then!

Suddenly realizing something, she erupted in fury. “That filthy wretch Sang Feiyu—she’ll die a miserable death!”

“Old Fourth is her own cousin. How could she bring herself to hurt him?!”

Tao Jiaxing’s head buzzed with chaos. “Enough! Shut your mouth!”

“Ronghua, go drive the car.”

As Tao Ronghua went to get the car, several people had already gathered at the door.

“Liu Ying, what’s going on?”

Tears and snot running down her face, Liu Ying sobbed, “It was Sang Feiyu! She beat my son like this!”

“She even emptied our whole house!”

“Waaah…”

Sang Feiyu had lived here before, and the neighbors all knew her.

Granny Zhang from next door looked skeptical. “Feiyu’s just a skinny little girl. A gust of wind could blow her over. How could she possibly beat your youngest son like that?”

Zhang’s daughter-in-law chimed in, “Exactly! If you said someone else, maybe I’d believe it. But Feiyu? She’s always been kind and honest—she even avoids stepping on ants. How could she beat your son like this?”

Liu Ying nearly exploded from rage when no one believed her.

“Believe it or not, we’re not letting her go this time!”

“Once we get Old Fourth to the hospital, I’ll have my eldest report her to the police and have that filthy girl shot!”

Just then, a group of Red Armbands strode up quickly in the distance.

Liu Ying used to be terrified of these people—but now, they looked like her last hope.

She rushed forward like an arrow and wailed, “Help! Please help us!”

“My son’s been beaten, we don’t even know if he’ll live!”

“Our home’s been emptied—there’s not even a strand of hair left!”

Hearing this, the nearby neighbors silently lit a candle in their hearts for Sang Feiyu. Looks like things weren’t looking good for her this time.

As Liu Ying cried out, Tao Yingying caught a glimpse behind the Red Armbands and her eyes lit up. She pointed and shouted, “Sang Feiyu’s right there!”

“Arrest her and shoot her on the spot!”

“She’s the one who tried to kill my little brother!”

The way she yelled, anyone would’ve thought Tao Ronggui was already dead.

Following her daughter’s finger, Liu Ying also spotted Sang Feiyu!

Without thinking, she charged forward, trying to scratch Sang Feiyu’s face. “You little bitch!”

“If anything happens to my Old Fourth today, you’re dying with him!”

Sang Feiyu hid behind one of the Red Armbands, her voice soft but clear enough for everyone to hear, “I knew once my cousin saved me, they’d never let him go.”

Then she shifted her tone, “But… I didn’t think they’d actually try to kill him.”

“He’s their own son and brother!”

“They beat me, abused me, imprisoned me—and now they’re this cruel to him too?”

The words “beat,” “abuse,” and “imprison” struck like a thunderclap among the neighbors!

Everyone turned toward Sang Feiyu. Her clothes were stained with blood, her thin wrists bore glaring bruises from rope burns, and faint wounds peeked out from under her sleeves.

She was clearly a victim of inhumane treatment.

The neighbors’ gazes toward Liu Ying and her family turned cold with anger.

This was clearly bullying an orphaned girl with no one to protect her!

Most people in this neighborhood had some influence. It didn’t take long for them to realize—if Sang Feiyu died, that family could seize everything.

They remembered that Sang Feiyu had once lived here with her parents. It was only after Liu Ying and her family moved in from the countryside that they took over the house, forcing her father to buy another one and move out.

Liu Ying hadn’t expected Sang Feiyu to turn the tables on her. She was so furious her nose twisted.

Pointing at Sang Feiyu, she shrieked, “You filthy little brat! You already cursed your parents to death—now you want to kill our whole family too?!”

She raged on, exposing everything:
“Your mom almost died giving birth to you. It ruined her body so she could never have another child again!”
“She had no milk, and your dad had to work himself to the bone just to feed you—he nearly died doing it!”

“You jinxed your parents, and now you’re trying to jinx us. What are you scheming?!”

The Red Armband leader finally understood—this was the woman they were supposed to arrest.

And with so many of them standing there, she still dared to be so brazen?

If the staff hadn’t held her back, that woman would’ve torn Sang Feiyu apart right there.

It was now obvious to them—Sang Feiyu’s injuries were definitely caused by this woman and her family!

This was blatant bullying, showing no regard for the committee’s authority.

The leader raised his hand. “Men! Arrest them all and take them back for questioning!”

“The rest of you, search the entire house! Flip it upside down if you have to—I want every stolen item found!”

After giving the order, he glanced at the man lying on the ground. “Two of you, get him to the hospital.”

Liu Ying, Tao Jiaxing, Tao Jingjing, and Tao Yingying all panicked at once. Weren’t the Red Armbands here to arrest Sang Feiyu?

Why were they being arrested instead?

Pressed to the ground by two Red Armbands, Tao Jiaxing’s eyes turned bloodshot.
“It was that damn girl who took everything! She hid my second brother’s inheritance—you should be arresting her!”

Tao Jingjing sobbed loudly in fear, but still shouted, “You’re all being fooled by that filthy girl!”

“She planned everything! My brother’s on the brink of death because of her!”

The Red Armband officer scowled. “Do you think we’re fools?”

“We can see who’s telling the truth.”

Tao Jingjing wanted to yell that they were fools—but didn’t dare utter a single word.

Sang Feiyu looked over at the four restrained people, and the one lying unconscious.

But wait—someone was missing.

She suddenly reminded them, “Tao Ronghua escaped!”

In her past life, he was one of the culprits who led to her death—she would never let him off that easily!