Chapter 28: Already Paid Off

Mrs. Li’s eyes were red with rage, but she had completely forgotten the losses she suffered last night.

Ignoring the onlookers’ amusement, she shouted curses and charged toward Xiang He, not hearing Mrs. Zhang calling out to her, determined to kill Xiang He and get the silver for herself.

Before she could climb a few steps, a tall figure blocked her way, casting a shadow over Mrs. Li. She looked up and saw it was her third son, which only made her angrier. “Get out of the way! It’s all your fault, you bad luck! Bringing back that bitch caused nothing but trouble for this family!”

While cursing, she fiercely struck Xiang Dayong’s injured hand!

Xiang Dayong winced in pain, turning sideways to shield his wounded hand, his eyes flashing with anger as he shouted, “Go away!”

Everyone present was shocked. Since he learned to speak, it was the first time they heard him speak harshly—and the one he yelled at was his own mother.

Everyone knew Xiang Dayong’s nature—always obedient and compliant, never once defying his parents, let alone scolding them. Seeing this today was truly eye-opening and worth witnessing!

Mrs. Li stared at him in disbelief, the harsh words still echoing in her ears like a roaring thunder. Trembling, she pointed at him, “How dare you… dare to yell at your mother!”

Xiang Dayong remained unmoved, holding his injured hand and coldly saying, “Mother, we have already separated families. Don’t come to my house anymore.”

The usually obedient third son was now openly confronting Mrs. Li in front of everyone. Mrs. Su was overjoyed, and the two younger children standing above had excited and sparkling eyes.

Xiang He needed no encouragement, finally, there was hope for their future.

“Did you hear that, Grandma? We signed the family separation papers. Last night you promised you wouldn’t come to the third family’s place anymore, so why are you breaking your promise so soon?”

“Please, Mother, keep your promise.”

Their own most disliked yet most obedient youngest son actually shouted at her in front of everyone without mercy—how could Mrs. Li endure this?

Suddenly she screamed and punched Xiang Dayong again. “I raised you from diapers, spent so much rice and silver on you, and you dare yell at me! You ungrateful wretch! Damn bad luck!”

“So many years working like an ox and horse, it’s already been paid off.”

“How could it possibly be paid off! Your third branch owes me for life! For life, you all have to work like oxen and horses for me, until your filthy lives are gone! Ungrateful things with hearts eaten by dogs!”

Seeing her rant and rave like a madwoman, Xiang He lost her patience. She gripped the handle of the hoe again.

Suddenly, she raised it high. “Grandma, why don’t you look up.”

Her voice was loud and clear. As soon as Mrs. Li heard her, her rage flared. She looked up, ready to curse, only to see something flying straight toward her—

“Thwack!”

The hoe slammed heavily into the ground, and Mrs. Li’s bulky body tumbled backward down the slope.

Seeing her fall, Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Zhang, who had just been enjoying the scene, panicked and rushed over to help her up.

“Mother, are you okay?!”

Mrs. Yu held Mrs. Li’s shoulders and immediately shouted up at Xiang He, “You wicked girl! You really tried to kill your own grandmother!”

Xiang He simply shrugged, “Did I?” Standing higher up, she looked down at Xiang Dayong. Seeing that his expression was still calm and unbothered, she relaxed a little.

Mrs. Su just continued to hold Xiang Dayong, as if waiting to see what new tricks Mrs. Li would come up with.

“Xiang He! How can you raise your hand against your grandmother?” Mrs. Zhang wasn’t as emotional as Mrs. Yu, but still couldn’t help scolding. “If she hurt her back or twisted her leg, how can your family afford to pay for it?”

Mrs. Li stirred slightly where she sat, not even bothering to fix her messy hair. She immediately grabbed her leg and started shouting, “Aiyo, my leg! I must’ve hurt it! Someone, come look at it!”

Mrs. Yu, quick on the uptake, instantly caught on and wrinkled her face into a look of deep concern. Her hands groped around randomly on Mrs. Li’s leg, “Is it here, Mother?”

“Aiyo! Be gentle, hey! You’re killing me!”

Mrs. Zhang also crouched to look at the leg. Unlike Mrs. Yu, she didn’t make a scene—just watched quietly.

The brick-hauling workers paused what they were doing, craning their necks to watch. “That old lady from this house is real trouble. This is gonna be quite the scene.”

“Just look at her—clearly not a good piece of work,” said a middle-aged man as he set down two bricks, eyes never leaving the group around Mrs. Li. “Only three steps, and she’s claiming her leg’s injured?”

A villager watching the commotion nodded. “Exactly! When she ran over just now, she was moving fast and fierce. No way she got hurt that easily. She’s obviously trying to blackmail the third branch.”

“Did the third branch offend her or something?”

“How could they have?”

While the brick haulers unloaded bricks, the village women gossiped about Mrs. Li’s bullying ways. The scene was lively.

Mrs. Li had truly thrown shame to the wind, still crying out, “Oh, what sin! My own granddaughter pushed me down and broke my leg! Heaven, aren’t you going to do something? Heartless! Truly heartbreaking!”

Xiang He didn’t want to listen to her wailing. She raised her hoe and struck the ground again with a loud thud, making Mrs. Li choke back her cry.

“You—you trying to kill me?!”

“Didn’t you see, Grandma? I’m tilling the land!” Xiang He said, calm and relaxed.

Mrs. Li, thoroughly enraged, clutched her waist with one hand and pointed at Xiang He with the other, shouting, “You broke my leg! Compensate me in silver!”

“Oh? And how much do you want?”

Straightforward question. Mrs. Li and the others were momentarily stunned—why was she suddenly so agreeable?

But in just a moment, Mrs. Li raised five fingers. “Fifty taels! My leg won’t heal for three to six months. You owe me fifty taels!”

She named a price just like that. Even Xiang Dayong’s gaze changed, now filled with cold disgust. After enduring this kind of behavior for so many years, he was finally seeing it clearly.

Mrs. Su felt worried for a moment, but after seeing the look in Xiang Dayong’s eyes, she felt more grounded than ever.

Everyone else fell silent, waiting to see how Xiang He would deal with this shameless act.

Sure enough, Xiang He drove the hoe into the ground again. With her face turned downward, her expression unreadable, she said, “I’ll give you fifty taels… to buy your life. How about it?”

Her voice was calm, but those few words sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

Xiang He swung the hoe onto her shoulder, a smile slowly blooming on her face. It looked gentle, but beneath the surface, it was as cold and venomous as a viper.

She walked forward slowly, step by step. Mrs. Zhang had never seen this side of Xiang He before. Although she was smiling, there was no warmth in it at all—and the way the glinting hoe caught the light only made the whole scene more eerie.

Mrs. Li was already drenched in cold sweat. Her legs twitched instinctively. “You… What are you doing…? You dare kill me?!”

Xiang He still wore that serene smile. As she gradually approached, Mrs. Yu suddenly froze as a memory struck her—flashes from her nightmare last night, filled with terrifying ghosts devouring her…

“Ah!!! Stay away from me!”

The plump woman bolted, running faster than anyone expected. The crowd stood dumbfounded, unable to make sense of why Mrs. Yu suddenly ran off like that…

But Xiang He knew exactly why.

She suddenly threw the hoe from her shoulder with a thud, then lifted her skirt slightly and crouched down, both hands free. “A mere ant trying to shake a tree—laughable and delusional.”

Seeing her right hand reaching toward her foot, Mrs. Li scrambled backward again, panicking. “What are you doing?! Stop pretending to be some ghost! Just pay me the silver already!”

“Heh.”

The sudden, eerie laugh made Mrs. Li shudder violently. She clung tightly to Mrs. Zhang’s arm, gripping so hard that Mrs. Zhang cried out, “Aiyah, Mother, you’re hurting me…”

But Mrs. Li couldn’t hear her. Xiang He’s laugh sounded just like the one from the nightmare—the rakshasa from her dreams. Whether the dream had been too vivid or Xiang He’s voice just too chilling, Mrs. Li’s back went cold as fear gripped her completely.

Xiang He suddenly seized her by the right ankle and leaned in close, staring her straight in the eyes. Her face was right in front of her—those eyes, bloodshot and burning—

“Give me back my life…”

“AHHH!!!”