Chapter 25

Song Xingguo was so furious that his face turned red. Rage surged to his head as he kicked viciously at Song Chunzhi. She had completely turned the world upside down by daring to raise her hand against him. He was going to teach this wretched girl a lesson today.

“Why don’t you see if your leg is tougher than my knife is sharp!”

There was no way Song Chunzhi would stand there and wait to be beaten. She snatched the kitchen knife from the chopping board and swung it hard at Song Xingguo’s leg. She had originally planned to deal with him in a few days, but now she couldn’t tolerate even one more second.

“Dad!”

Song Jiawang’s eyes went wide at the sight of Song Chunzhi wielding a knife. He quickly shouted at Song Xingguo, and it was that call that saved his father’s leg; the sharp blade narrowly grazed it.

Zhao Wanmiao and Song Chunhua instinctively shrank back. The identical expressions of shock on their faces said it all. Song Chunzhi had actually picked up a knife. She had really dared to swing it at someone. The ruthless glint on her delicate face made both women shudder. Fortunately, they had gone along with her today. If they hadn’t, they might’ve been the ones getting hacked.

It was terrifying.

“You damned girl, put that knife down!”

Song Xingguo looked down and saw a long mark sliced into his black trousers. A chill crept up his spine. The worthless girl had actually meant it. He pointed at Song Chunzhi, shouting angrily.

But Song Chunzhi didn’t flinch. She lifted the knife and swung it at his pointing hand. Her almond eyes blazed with fury and resolution. Her chest burned with rage. In her past life, she had ended up in hell because this scumbag had sold her out.

Startled, Song Xingguo snatched his hand back, his arm trembling. He stared at the kitchen knife she now held in front of her with a look that grew darker by the second. Song Chunzhi was completely out of control. He glanced around, then grabbed a firewood stick from beside the stove and swung it at her with all his strength.

“You threatening your father with a knife? Fine! Let’s see if you can hold it up forever!”

“Song Xingguo, do you believe I won’t go straight to the commune right now and tell them you’re trying to beat me to death? Or better yet, I’ll go to the Women’s Federation and accuse you of abusing women. See if they won’t send you off for re-education!”

Song Chunzhi stepped back a few paces to avoid the swing and threw out her threat, then darted out the door into the yard.

The moon hung high, casting silver light across the yard and illuminating her pale face with a cold glow. Her almond eyes were fierce as she stared warily at Song Xingguo, who had chased her out and clearly wanted her dead.

At the mention of the commune, Song Xingguo’s aggressive stance immediately weakened. The firewood stick in his hand dropped. His mind was filled with memories of his last miserable experience at the commune, and the Women’s Federation? Wasn’t that the place that always sided with women? That worthless girl really would go there.

“Chunzhi, calm down. Let’s talk it out, okay?”

Not wanting to risk being re-educated, Song Xingguo quickly tossed aside the stick and softened his tone as he tried to soothe her.

“Don’t even think about laying a hand on me when I’m not looking. I’ve already told Commander Gu that I’ll be going to the base to study every day. If I miss even one day, he said he’ll come looking for me himself.”

Song Chunzhi knew him too well. She immediately pulled Gu Huaishan’s name into the mix to use as her shield, hoping to completely kill off Song Xingguo’s idea of striking again. She couldn’t live every second in fear.

“You’re close with Commander Gu?”

Upon hearing that, Song Xingguo quickly abandoned any lingering plans of retaliation. His eyes lit up as he stared at her pretty face, already scheming in his mind.

“I go there to study with the female soldiers.”

Song Chunzhi shut down his thoughts with one sentence. Knowing Song Xingguo’s nature, he’d really go find Gu Huaishan and beg him to marry her. She only wanted to use the man as a deterrent, not get entangled with him.

Gu Huaishan… he was too dangerous. Better stay far away.

Clang!

Seeing that Song Xingguo had lost his nerve, she threw the kitchen knife to the ground and lifted her chin proudly before turning and walking back into the house. She left behind the stunned members of the Song family in the kitchen hut.

“What are you all staring at? Hurry up and clean this mess. What, I can’t hit her, but I can’t hit you two either?”

Humiliated by Song Chunzhi’s threats, Song Xingguo fumed with suppressed rage. His face twisted as he turned and saw Zhao Wanmiao and Song Chunhua standing dumbfounded in the kitchen. He roared at them.

“You useless woman! I never told you to burn paper offerings! You embarrassed me in front of the whole village…”

He stormed over, grabbed Zhao Wanmiao, and began punching and kicking to vent his fury. That damn girl dared to threaten him. If she weren’t a darling of the brigade right now, he would never let her off.

Song Chunhua, stunned to see Song Chunzhi once again retreat unscathed, finally snapped out of it. Recalling what her sister had said, she tilted her face upward and threatened Song Xingguo as he beat their mother.

“Dad, you can’t hit me! And you can’t hit Mom either! This is domestic abuse!”

But before she could even finish her sentence, a slap landed hard across her face. She immediately covered her cheek and whimpered softly.

Why… why didn’t it work like it did for Chunzhi?

“You dare threaten me, you worthless wretch? She helped the garrison and became the brigade’s favorite, and what the hell are you?” As he shouted, Song Xingguo kicked Song Chunhua hard, redirecting all the rage he couldn’t unleash on Song Chunzhi onto her instead.

Hearing the cries and curses from the kitchen, Song Chunzhi knew someone was being beaten, but she didn’t care; as long as it wasn’t her. After tonight’s scene, Song Xingguo wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her again, at least for now.

Moonlight streamed through the window, the curtain swaying slightly as cicadas chirped in the distance. The night was especially quiet. While sleeping, Song Chunzhi’s soul once again left her body. Glancing at her own form on the bed, she was puzzled. She still didn’t understand the pattern behind these out-of-body experiences.

But since she was out again, she wouldn’t let it go to waste.

Her almond-shaped eyes gleamed with a cold glint. She turned toward the east room, a smirk playing on her lips. Song Xingguo, it’s your turn now!

Her transparent spirit floated straight through the wall and into the east room. She scoffed upon seeing Song Xingguo snuggling with the bruised and battered Zhao Wanmiao. Men were disgusting. Without hesitation, she slapped the snoring Song Xingguo across the face.

Smack!

In the stillness of night, the sound of the slap echoed sharply.

Song Xingguo woke up with a sting on his cheek and instantly struck Zhao Wanmiao’s head in anger. “Stupid woman! How dare you hit me while I’m sleeping!”

“I didn’t! Why would I hit you?” Zhao Wanmiao was stunned. She quickly defended herself and looked around. A chill ran down her spine. Shivering, she whispered, “I swear it wasn’t me… Maybe it’s a ghost?”

“A ghost? What ghost? It was you, you…”

Smack!

Before he could finish, another slap landed on his face. Song Xingguo fell silent, now sure Zhao Wanmiao hadn’t done it. His eyes darted nervously around the room.

“Ghost!” Zhao Wanmiao screamed and jumped, shrinking into the corner of the bed, trembling all over. Despite all the lessons at the garrison’s farm about believing in science, in this moment she couldn’t help but feel afraid.

There was clearly no one there, yet Song Xingguo had been slapped twice. If this wasn’t a ghost, what was it? Those people had never seen a ghost before; otherwise, they would definitely agree with her.

Song Xingguo stared into the dim room. Zhao Wanmiao’s screams beside him didn’t help. His confidence was cracking. Could it really be a ghost?

Still, ghost or not, he wasn’t scared. He had hit people all his life. A ghost? Big deal. Just as he got up to grab a weapon, something dragged him off the bed.

“Ahhh!”

Even as a grown man, Song Xingguo couldn’t help screaming. Sitting on the ground, he looked around in panic. Seeing nothing, his face was full of fear. He shouted at Zhao Wanmiao, “Shut your damn mouth!”

“Ahhh… ow, it hurts…”

Song Chunzhi picked up the door bolt and began beating Song Xingguo without mercy. As a father, he had never acted like one. He valued sons over daughters and didn’t even treat his own daughter like a human being. He fed off her suffering like it was nothing. Today, she was going to give him a proper lesson.

“Ow! Ghost! You’ve got the wrong person! I didn’t do anything bad!” Song Xingguo wailed in terror as he rolled on the floor. He was so frightened he wet himself, the warm liquid seeping through his pants as he begged incoherently.

Zhao Wanmiao, though secretly satisfied to see him being punished, still feared the ghost. She scrambled off the bed and dropped to her knees, pleading, “Merciful spirit, please forgive us! Spare us!”

After giving Song Xingguo a solid beating and venting her fury, Song Chunzhi saw that he had wet himself out of fear. Disgusted, she covered her nose and floated out through the window.

The night breeze brushed against her, but the fury in her heart didn’t subside. She turned and floated swiftly toward the home of the village scoundrel.

That scoundrel was Wang Ergou, nicknamed “Ergouzi.” He had been an orphan taken in by Old Lady Wang. People had despised him since he was a child, and he had angered the old woman to death. He spent his days stealing and doing shady things. Just recently, he had been arrested by the public security bureau.

Song Chunzhi didn’t care that Wang Ergou wasn’t home. She stormed in, glanced around at the room that looked more like a dog’s den, and laid eyes on the place where she had died in her past life. Fury surged straight to her head. Without hesitation, she began smashing the place. The crashing and banging sounds helped calm her rage.

“Waaa… ahhh…”

Suddenly, cries and shouts came from the neighboring house. Song Chunzhi immediately remembered that next door to Wang Ergou lived Li Shanhong. She floated out at once, and what she saw filled her with rage.

Li Shanhong was being pinned down and beaten by her husband. Their two-year-old daughter stood nearby, wailing uncontrollably. The older daughter clutched her little sister tightly, trembling all over.

Song Chunzhi still remembered how kind Li Shanhong had been to her in her previous life. How could she just stand by? She flew in and knocked Song Dapo to the ground, then grabbed a stool and began striking him with it.

“Uwaaah…”

The older daughter watched in horror as her father was suddenly thrown to the floor and hit by a flying stool. Still holding her younger sister, she grew more and more frightened. But seeing that her mother was still moving, she rushed over, collapsed onto her, and began crying softly.

“Who hit me?!”

Song Dapo had been yanked to the ground and hit with a stool. Stunned, he looked around. Aside from the three worthless women in the house, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Furious, he raised his fist toward them. But the next second, with a heavy thud, he collapsed to the floor.