Chapter 26: The Truth of Lin Luodan as a Murderous Fiend Is Uncovered

“You’re talking nonsense, I didn’t—” Lin Luodan looked at the sharp-tongued Lin Luoxi in front of her, who had unveiled the truth about her earlier attempt on Lin Luoxi’s life. Panic began to set in.

Is this fool not really crazy? How did she suddenly become so sharp-tongued?

If word got out in Wutong Village that she’d laid hands on Lin Luoxi, her reputation would be ruined. At that point, Scholar Wang would surely come to annul the engagement.

No, she couldn’t suffer the same fate as Lin Luoxi, being jilted and laughed at behind her back.

What Lin Luodan didn’t know was that the gossip in the village was already focused on her as a shameless girl who stole her sister’s engagement. Whenever people talked about Lin Luoxi, it was always with a tone of pity while Lin Luodan was criticized.

“Wait, Second Sister, you’re saying it was Lin Luodan who pushed you into the river?” Lin Wenqian heard Lin Luoxi’s words, and his demeanor shifted completely. He glared at Lin Luodan, gritting his teeth.

“I didn’t! This idiot is talking nonsense!” Lin Luodan still couldn’t believe that Lin Luoxi had truly lost her wits. Fearing that Lin Wenqian might cause her trouble, she tried to dismiss it as Lin Luoxi’s foolish talk.

“Lin Luodan, enough! You should be thankful that my sister has woken up. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

“My sister may be foolish, but she never speaks carelessly or harms anyone.” Lin Wenqian’s desire to see Lin Luodan punished had reached its peak.

“Get lost! If you appear in front of me again, I’ll make you regret it.” Lin Wenqian pulled out a sickle from his backpack and pretended to lunge at Lin Luodan.

It frustrated him that he hadn’t become strong enough to protect his family; they were always being bullied by the likes of the old Lin family—wolves in sheep’s clothing.

“Hmph! Just wait!” Seeing Lin Wenqian’s sickle coming towards her, Lin Luodan was frightened out of her wits, her legs turning to jelly.

As Lin Wenqian let her go, she hurriedly scrambled away, using her hands and feet to flee.

While escaping, she caught a glimpse of Lin Luoxi’s mocking smile directed at her, but she couldn’t fathom why she felt the need to make such threats while fleeing.

“Stop! It’s supposed to be me who waits for you. Your attempts to harm me won’t just end like this.”

“If you want me to keep quiet and not report you to the authorities, just keep a low profile. Otherwise, if I’m in a bad mood one day, it won’t be impossible to have you had taken to the county office for questioning.”

Lin Luoxi shouted at Lin Luodan, returning her threats intact.

Lin Luodan felt thoroughly humiliated with both Lin Luoxi and Lin Wenqian putting her in a corner. This time, she stood there, glaring at Lin Luoxi with eyes filled with hatred.

“If you don’t want your eyes, I wouldn’t mind helping you…” Lin Luoxi wasn’t intimidated by her glare and even mimicked the action of gouging out her own eyes, with a sinister smile gracing her lips.

The sudden demonic grin from Lin Luoxi sent shivers down Lin Luodan’s spine. She internally regretted stirring up trouble with such a foolish demon, hastily slipping away as if her life depended on it.

Upon returning home, Lin Luodan intended to tell Lin Daguang about being bullied and threatened by Lin Luoxi in the mountains. However, she overheard a conversation between her father and grandfather.

“Father, what should we do now? Lin Dayou has already secured an independent household account and registered it under his deceased second uncle’s name on the battlefield. From now on, we won’t be able to leverage our filial piety against them anymore.”

Thinking about how they wouldn’t be able to extort anything from Lin Dayou’s family in the future made Lin Daguang feel irritable.

Previously, they had managed to gain a lot from Lin Dayou, and thanks to those benefits, their family could lead a much better life.

Now that the ties were severed, future benefits were gone, and he still had to find a way to support the family. Just thinking about it made Lin Daguang’s headache.

He had never done any hard labor since he was young; all the dirty work at home had been done by Lin Dayou’s family. He only knew how to enjoy the fruits of others’ labor.

Now, with no food, no money, and even the pigs, chickens, and ducks they used to keep for meat gone, thinking about eating meat again would be like trying to climb a mountain.

He glared at his wife, Lin Xiaowu, and in a fit of rage, he grabbed a nearby stool and flung it away.

“It’s all your fault, you useless woman! You eat well but don’t work, and you’re always fighting to be in charge. Now look, we don’t have a single copper coin left—how are we supposed to live?” Lin Daguang vented all his frustrations on Lin Xiaowu.

Sitting nearby, Lin Laotou and Lin Laowu remained silent, letting Lin Xiaowu endure the beatings.

Lin Luodi, who had just returned, witnessed her mother being harshly assaulted by her father but didn’t dare say a word. She hid away, feeling resentful toward Lin Xiaowu for failing to manage their finances and allowing the thief to steal everything.

This meant her dowry was gone as well.

Previously, when her father had stolen Lin Luoxi’s engagement to Wang’s family, she had thought it was because her family was wealthy, and she considered herself superior to Lin Luoxi.

Now, if the Wang family found out they were broken, would they also come to annul the engagement?

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Lin Luodi harbored resentment not only towards Lin Xiaowu but also towards Lin Luoxi. To prevent the Wang family from breaking their engagement, she needed to find a way to bind herself to them even more closely.

“Mother! Mother! Save me…” Lin Daguang’s fists hammered down onto Lin Xiaowu, causing her to weep and plead for mercy.

“Aunt! Aunt! Help me…” Noticing Lin Laowu observing their plight with a cold gaze, she could only cry out to her.

“Enough, Old Master! The money has been stolen. Even if you beat her to death, you can’t change the current situation,” Lin Laotou pointed out, immediately recalling her brother from her maternal family and urged Lin Daguang to stop.

Lin Daguang shot a resentful glare at Lin Xiaowu, who lay on the ground in pain, while internally cursing Lin Laotou for forcing him to marry such a useless woman.

“Old Master, do you resent me for having you marry my niece?” Lin Laotou noticed the fleeting resentment in Lin Daguang’s eyes, feeling a chill in her heart as she directly exposed his dark thoughts.

“No! You must know I’m the most filial son!” Lin Daguang, even with no money left, didn’t dare to confront her openly, despite his deep-seated resentment.

“Good, that’s all that matters.” Being his mother, Lin Laotou could sense her son’s thoughts, but she could not let it show.

He was her only child, and she needed him to support her in old age, thus burying any conflict for now.

“Old Master, didn’t you notice anything different about Lin Dayou’s family? For instance, did they suddenly acquire extra chickens and ducks…?”

Seeing Lin Laotou intervene to stop him from hitting Lin Xiaowu, Lin Laotou followed up with a question.

After thinking for a while, Lin Laotou speculated that, although he didn’t have many friends, he hadn’t offended anyone either. There was no reason for someone to storm into his home and steal everything of value.

The only one capable of doing this was that ungrateful wretch, Lin Dayou; Lin Laotou couldn’t think of anyone else.

After all, why would only his family be robbed while those with better circumstances remained untouched?