Chapter 1

“Mom, stop hitting me! My leg’s broken! If you keep going, I’ll die! Wuuuu… Mom, I’m begging you!!”

Yan Qingqing curled up on the ground, clutching her head in pain as two middle-aged women kicked and punched her, each blow more vicious than the last.

They spat the vilest curses at her, as though she were their worst enemy.

“Selfish little slut! All you care about is money! Don’t you know the family’s starving? Where’s the bride price?! Why did you steal the bride price money?!”

“Beat this bastard to death! I nearly died giving birth to you, and when I ask you for money, you won’t give it to me? Shameless, filthy thing! Money! Hand over the money right now!”

Not until their feather duster snapped in half and the soles of their worn shoes broke into pieces did Yan Qingqing finally stop moving—her body was covered in blood, pain tearing through her like knives.

It hurt—her body hurt, her organs hurt, but her heart hurt even more.

Her hearing faded, her eyes went dull, but she could still see their hands raining blows on her.

Why? One of them was her birth mother, the other her adoptive mother—why did they want her dead?

Yan Qingqing died that night—on her wedding night.

All because she split her bride price: half to her birth mother, half to her adoptive mother. Neither was satisfied, and coincidentally, both halves of the money mysteriously vanished.

The two women lured Yan Qingqing out and beat her to death in a field.

Even after she’d drawn her last breath, they kept hitting her until they were exhausted, then kicked her body, spat on her twice, and walked away.

The northern winter night was bitter cold, but Yan Qingqing couldn’t feel it anymore. Her soul floated up and drifted first to her birth mother’s house.

Her mother, Qin Hongying, returned home still cursing:
“That filthy wretch! I wanted to strangle her when she was born! Good riddance!”

Yan Qingqing’s older sister, Sun Taohua, who had been secretly following Yan Qingqing all along, snarled,
“Mom, is Yan Qingqing really dead? Good! Now we don’t have to worry about her ruining Wanqiu’s future!

She married that dying bully Gu Chi, got a full eight hundred yuan in bride price, and she only gave us four hundred before stealing it back! Serves her right!”

Yan Qingqing’s soul ached. Wanqiu? Who’s Wanqiu? And why would my existence ruin her life?

She remembered: before she was even a month old, the Sun family gave her away, claiming they couldn’t afford three daughters.

They never cared for her growing up. Only when she was older and capable of working did Sun Taohua approach her in secret, crying about how the family missed her, loved her, and cared about her.

Yan Qingqing’s heart softened. She believed Sun Taohua. She thought her birth family regretted giving her away, so whenever she could help them, she did.

She never imagined—they didn’t regret it at all. They hated her enough to want her dead.

Sun Taohua, smiling now, pulled money from under her quilt—the very four hundred yuan Yan Qingqing had given them.

Because Yan Qingqing was marrying into the Gu family as a “lucky bride” to ward off bad luck, the bride price was a full eight hundred yuan. As soon as she got it, Sun Taohua found her, claiming Qin Hongying had terminal cancer and begged her to lend money for treatment.

Yan Qingqing hesitated, but remembering Qin Hongying was her mother, she handed over four hundred yuan without a second thought.

Yet now, the money was in Sun Taohua’s hands. Qin Hongying was perfectly healthy. And everyone believed Yan Qingqing had stolen the bride price!

Yan Qingqing’s soul twisted with rage. She screamed at Sun Taohua,
“You shameless thief! You and Qin Hongying killed me! Aren’t you afraid of going to hell?!”

But no matter how angry she was, it changed nothing.

Her soul drifted on to her adoptive mother’s home.

Yang Zhaodi, who had adopted her because she couldn’t bear children at first, gave birth to two sons soon after taking Yan Qingqing in.

Yang Zhaodi always said, “Even your real parents didn’t want you! I raised you, so you owe me everything! If I tell you to do something, you do it!”

So Yan Qingqing had been doing chores since she was three years old. She raised both her younger brothers herself. She became a skilled cook—but never got to eat her fill.

She tried her best to please her adoptive family, but only got endless abuse in return.

Now she saw her adoptive brother, Yan Dahai, stealing her other four hundred yuan bride price to buy himself a brand-new bicycle.

When Yang Zhaodi found out, she didn’t punish him. Instead, she cursed Yan Qingqing again:
“That jinx! That cheap slut! Selling herself wouldn’t even earn this little! And she dared give half to her birth mother! Beating her to death was too good for her!”

Yan Qingqing’s heart felt like it had been torn open, bleeding endlessly. Why is there not a single person in this world who loves me?

And still it wasn’t over. Her soul floated above the village as Qin Hongying and Yang Zhaodi, the next day, carried her corpse to extort money from the Gu family.

Then they spread rumors—saying Yan Qingqing was caught having an affair in the fields and hanged herself in shame.

The lies spread fast. Her new husband, furious, died suddenly. Her mother-in-law slipped into the river and drowned. Her little sister-in-law was kidnapped and murdered. Her father-in-law starved to death.

The Gu family, who had married her to bring good luck, perished alongside her.

Meanwhile, her birth sister used Yan Qingqing’s bride price to buy fine clothes, meet a good suitor, and marry well. Her adoptive brother used her bride price to take the job she’d just earned.

Her birth mother and adoptive mother thrived off the money they extorted from the Gu family.

But Qin Hongying still wasn’t done. When she received a telegram saying Yan Qingqing’s spirit had collided with a young lady in Shanghai, she even hired a Taoist priest to destroy Yan Qingqing’s soul completely.

They dug up her grave and smashed her corpse with a shovel until it was unrecognizable.

Agonizing pain ripped through Yan Qingqing’s spirit like fire. She writhed in the air—just as her soul began to scatter, she suddenly felt her body again.

She opened her eyes to see that same broken feather duster and shoe sole lashing down on her!

Her mother and adoptive mother’s furious shouts rang out:
“Where’s the money?! Hand it over!”

But this time, Yan Qingqing’s heart burned with hatred.

Through the pain, she groped under her and grabbed a brick—then smashed it into Yang Zhaodi’s head!

Yang Zhaodi howled and fell backward clutching her skull.

Qin Hongying lunged at her again with the feather duster.
“You filthy brat, how dare you hit your mother?!”

Yan Qingqing kicked her hard in the stomach—BANG!—sending Qin Hongying flying.

“I’m your birth mother! I nearly died giving birth to you! How dare you hit me, you little beast?!” Qin Hongying screamed, scrambling to her feet.

Yang Zhaodi roared,
“I’ll kill you, you whore! Even your real parents didn’t want you! I raised you, and you dare hit me?! I’ll beat you to death today!”

Both women charged at her again—
but Yan Qingqing grabbed half a brick from the ground and swung it wildly!

“Come on then! Let’s see if you can kill me today! If you can’t, I’ll smash your brains out!”

She rushed at Qin Hongying and Yang Zhaodi, brick in hand, ready to fight to the death.