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Butcher Hu was in such agony he was on the verge of fainting. His painful groans grew weaker, and his eyes were half-closed.
But when he saw Su Qingqing’s furious gaze, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in fear. His cries abruptly stopped.
In a strange burst of clarity—like a dying man’s final flare—he suddenly became alert. Flailing with arms and legs, he tried to crawl off the ground.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get up. He just kept spinning in circles, panicking as Su Qingqing slowly approached him.
Sweat poured down his face. The more he panicked, the harder it was to move.
When Su Qingqing was just about to reach him, a sharp smell of urine filled the air.
She immediately held her breath and took a few steps back to escape the stench.
Her brows furrowed so tightly it could pinch a fly to death. Her expression was full of disgust, and her lips twitched uncontrollably.
Zhang Ping’an and his wife also covered their noses and stepped away. Though they lowered their heads and didn’t show their expressions, inwardly they were beyond pleased—like they’d just found a thousand taels of silver.
Who would’ve thought that the tyrant of Xihe Town—Hu the Hell King—would be so frightened by a young girl that he’d soil himself.
Realizing he couldn’t escape, Butcher Hu began to tremble and stammered,
“D-Don’t come any closer…”
“You know… my brother-in-law is a constable at the county yamen. If you kill me, he will come after you!” A trace of smugness flashed across his eyes. Ah! Why didn’t I think of my brother-in-law sooner?
Su Qingqing clicked her tongue in his direction. This fool thinks I’m trying to kill him?
She had never intended to take his life.
Sometimes, the best punishment wasn’t death—but forcing someone to live in humiliation.
For someone like him, death would be an easy escape.
She had no interest in dirtying her hands with blood unless absolutely necessary.
Zhang Ping’an and Zhao Cui exchanged uneasy glances. They’d forgotten about Butcher Hu’s brother-in-law in the county office.
It’s long been said—civilians should never go up against officials.
Butcher Hu relied on his powerful in-law to do whatever he wanted in town.
Now they feared Su Qingqing would be retaliated against.
“Miss,” Zhang Ping’an said nervously, “you should leave town for a few days… maybe don’t come back for now.”
Su Qingqing frowned slightly. “I can hide out in the countryside for a while… but what about you two?”
She had done this—how could she just run and hide like a coward?
“So many people saw me beat up Butcher Hu today. Where could I possibly hide? Am I supposed to live in fear for the rest of my life?”
She looked at them sharply.
“If he bullies you again, are you just going to keep taking it? Never fight back? Live like cowards forever?”
Her piercing questions made Zhang Ping’an and Zhao Cui flush red in shame. They couldn’t even match half of this young girl’s courage.
Zhang Ping’an clenched his fists. What a disgrace. A grown man, yet all he knows is how to back down.
The couple looked at each other, and then back at Su Qingqing with newfound resolve.
“Miss, we’ll do as you say. We won’t be cowards anymore.”
Su Qingqing gave them a satisfied nod. Good. There was still hope for them.
If they continued shrinking back, things would only get worse.
She understood that their earlier warning was out of concern for her. But that wasn’t why she had stepped up and taught Butcher Hu a lesson in the first place.
Meanwhile, now that Butcher Hu had remembered his constable brother-in-law, he grew smug again. He glared at the three of them coldly, as if he were staring at corpses.
If it weren’t for the pain in his lower half, he’d have run to town already to fetch his brother-in-law to deal with them.
Growing impatient, he sneered:
“What? Scared now? Weren’t you all so brave a minute ago? After all this talking, have you figured out how you want to die yet?”
Su Qingqing, however, wasn’t in the mood to waste more time on this pathetic clown. She told Zhang Ping’an and his wife to fetch Hu’s family and have them bring twenty taels of silver to take him home.
Tsk. That kick had used about eighty percent of her strength. He didn’t look bad on the outside, but who knew what was going on internally…
From now on, he’d probably have to be called Eunuch Hu.
Su Qingqing grabbed a basin of water from Zhang Ping’an’s pork stall and splashed it onto Butcher Hu’s lower half, finally clearing the air of the stench.
His face flushed deep purple with shame.
“You—you little tramp! How shameless can you be at your age?”
Su Qingqing rolled her eyes. Breathing through her nose finally felt better.
“Whether I’m shameless or not is my business. Now—what’s your brother-in-law’s name?”
“Afraid now, are you? Fine, I’ll tell you. My brother-in-law is Sun Qiang, a constable at the county yamen. Just wait, you’ll rot in jail!”
Su Qingqing shot him a look of disdain. Idiot.
Doesn’t he know that people fear the unknown? He just handed me exactly what I needed.
She now had a name—Sun Qiang—and she planned to investigate what kind of man he really was.
Know thyself, know thy enemy—only then can you win.
Soon enough, Zhang Ping’an and his wife returned with a bruised and battered woman.
“Miss,” Zhang Ping’an said, “this is Butcher Hu’s wife.”
Seeing his wife arrive, Butcher Hu’s eyes lit up with hope.
“Lan’er! You’re here! Help me up—we’ll go to the county and get your brother to take revenge for me!”
His wife approached, a flash of hidden delight flickering in her eyes as she looked down at her groaning husband.
Then she turned to Su Qingqing. “Miss, may I take my husband home?”
She already knew what had happened on the way there.
Su Qingqing had been watching her closely. That trace of delight hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Rather than answering, she asked, “Sun Qiang, the constable—is he your brother?”
The woman’s eyes reddened slightly. “Yes. I’m Sun Lan. He’s my elder brother.”
She had failed him—she hadn’t listened to his warnings.
Now that Su Qingqing had confirmed her identity, she said, “Leave twenty taels of silver, and you can take him.”
Butcher Hu’s face twisted in rage.
“If you dare give that little tramp twenty taels, just wait till we get home—see what I do to you!”
Sun Lan had long grown numb to her husband’s threats. Calmly, she handed over the twenty taels she’d prepared in advance and dragged her husband away down the alley.
Su Qingqing didn’t think Sun Lan was the unreasonable type. She actually felt inclined to help her.
She glanced at Butcher Hu’s lower half and said, “He won’t be able to move much for the next few days. You don’t need to worry about him hitting you. Best call a doctor.”
“Thank you, miss,” Sun Lan replied quietly.
Back home, she fetched a physician to examine her husband.
Butcher Hu was too overwhelmed by fear to yell at her. Looking hopefully at the doctor, he asked,
“Doctor… will I still be able to… you know…”
The doctor frowned and shook his head. “I’ve practiced medicine for years, and I’ve never seen such severe trauma. I’m afraid… it’s unlikely.”
Butcher Hu’s world collapsed. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he roared,
“Get out! Quack!”
Then, turning toward the door, he bellowed with hatred:
“You damn girl—I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
Sun Lan stood nearby. Upon hearing this news, she smiled coldly.