Chapter 20: Taking the House

Liu Xinghe wielded the rolling pin with speed, precision, and force—one strike hit Old Lady Shen on the forehead, another on her waist.

Old Lady Shen didn’t even have time to cry out before collapsing onto the bed. Of course, Liu Xinghe had controlled her strength and used proper hitting technique.

The three other people in the room were busy with their own tasks and didn’t notice anything unusual—they had no idea Old Lady Shen was already out cold.

Watching the others in the room, Liu Xinghe’s lips curled into a slow smile. She squeezed the rolling pin in both hands, got off the bed, and with shining eyes, quietly approached Old Master Shen from behind. The rolling pin in her hands landed squarely on the back of his head.

Thud. Another person went down. After extinguishing the candle, she took revenge with a few extra strikes and kicks before moving on to the next target—the daughter-in-law of Old Master Shen, who was sitting by the wardrobe sorting clothes.

Finally, she dealt with the family’s core figure: Old Man Shen, the mastermind behind everything.

For fairness, each family member was knocked out with one strike to the head and another to the body, followed by a little payback.

One, two, three, four—done!

When a flashlight rolled across the floor, Liu Xinghe patted her rolling pin with satisfaction. This solid rolling pin really was perfect for hitting people.

She turned on the lights and glanced at the four people lying on the floor with a mischievous smile.

Since they had all sneaked in here, they couldn’t blame her for wiping out the entire Shen family without mercy.

Liu Xinghe took a bunch of keys from Old Lady Shen, looked at the four people once more, locked the door, and walked out.

In the yard, she noticed a rolled-up straw mat. Curious, she unrolled it to find the chubby little kid fast asleep inside.

This truly surprised her. No matter what the Shen family did, they never forgot to bring the child along. Did they love the kid—or not?

Liu Xinghe gave the child a wordless glance, locked the main door, returned to her space to change disguises, and then headed to the Shen household.

The Shen family had always been dirt poor. The house they lived in now had once been a shed for keeping mules, barely over ten square meters. This had only been purchased with money after Shen Qiang married in; otherwise, they’d probably still be living under a bridge.

Although small, the house contained a lot of things, including some familiar objects.

For example, the old-fashioned clock and the cane in the middle of the room—Liu Xinghe had seen them in her grandfather’s room when she was brought home. After her mother’s death, they had disappeared, supposedly cremated with her mother as burial items.

So they were “burial items,” huh? Turns out they ended up here.

This family had even sneaked into her house in the middle of the night to take her things.

Move them all—today, she would empty the house completely.

Liu Xinghe showed no mercy. Everything went into her space—clothes, pants, even useless junk that could be burned for firewood. Nothing would be left for the Shen family.

She knew many of the items in the house had been bought or subsidized with Shen Qiang’s money.

So today, nothing would remain.

The more she moved, the more familiar items she found. The original owner had been back home for less than a year, yet almost half the items in this small house were familiar. The rest must have been stolen from her family long ago.

Anger surged. Emptying this house felt less like clearing out the Shen family and more like clearing out her own family’s belongings.

Looking at the tiny house purchased with her family’s money, Liu Xinghe had an idea.

Her space only required touching an item to store it—but what about an entire building?

It was worth a try.

She stepped out, rubbed her hands, glanced at the empty space inside her storage, and finally fixed her eyes on the area behind her apartment’s backyard.

Concentrating, she placed her hands on the house’s walls and silently commanded it into her space.

Suddenly, the ground shook and the house trembled. A sharp pain ran through her head. In a few seconds, to Liu Xinghe’s astonishment, the entire small house, including its foundation, lifted from the ground and was absorbed into her space.

Where it had stood, only a large, empty dirt pit remained.

Even better, this attempt strengthened her control over her space: she no longer needed to touch items. Anything within thirty meters that she focused on could be absorbed directly.

Liu Xinghe almost laughed out loud—her treasure space had just gotten even more amazing.

Back home, she returned Old Lady Shen’s keys, changed out of her disguise in the space, slipped back into her pajamas, picked up the rolling pin, let her hair down, and began shouting.

“Ah! Who are you? What are you doing? Help! Thieves! Ah!”

She ran outside while yelling, apologizing internally for disturbing the neighbors so late at night.

Nearby neighbors heard her screams, quickly turned on their lights, threw on clothes, grabbed whatever they could, and rushed over. Everyone was eager to catch thieves—no family could afford to be robbed.

Soon, people willing to help had arrived, along with the police.

Liu Xinghe, trembling, led them inside while explaining:

“After an incident earlier, I kept a rolling pin by my bed. When I heard noises, I panicked and hit randomly—but luckily, I actually hit someone in the dark. Officer, I was terrified, sobbing!”

“Don’t worry, we’re all here now. You’re safe.”

The police turned on the lights, tied up the people on the floor, and removed the cloth covering their faces—revealing the Shen family. The room erupted in commotion.

One person said, “The Shen family probably failed during the day and came back at night to continue their mischief.”

Another agreed, “Exactly. I heard Liu girl is going back to the countryside tomorrow. They must have been planning to steal her family’s property tonight.”

Someone laughed, “Stealing chickens and losing rice—now they’ve trapped themselves. Serves them right.”

Others worried about Liu Xinghe: “Good thing she thrashed them earlier. Otherwise, it could have been her lying there.”

The chatter continued until the police took the family away. Liu Xinghe thanked the helpful neighbors, giving each a candy as a token of gratitude. Smiling, they yawned and returned home, satisfied and ready to sleep.