Chapter 57 : It’s Your Own fault

“Siying, that ungrateful wretch, saw Ruxue injured and didn’t even lend a hand, knowing she had no money. She ate our food, used our things, wore our clothes. I raised her with all my hard work and sent her to school!”

“All of those benefits should’ve belonged to Ruxue, but instead Ruxue suffered in her place for eighteen years. And Siying? Not even a shred of gratitude. If I had known this would happen, I would’ve drowned her as a child.” The more Tang Lingxue spoke, the more her hatred for Yun Siying deepened.

“Don’t even bring up that evil girl. We’ve already cut ties with her.” Shu Guofeng’s face darkened, his heart filled with dissatisfaction toward Yun Siying.

“You don’t know how twisted that girl is. She didn’t even acknowledge her biological parents when she went back to the countryside,” Tang Lingxue continued to complain.

“I never thought Siying would turn into someone I no longer even recognize,” Shu Chengzhi added, clearly disappointed.

“Enough about people who don’t matter. Bring more money and take care of Ruxue.” Shu Zhisheng spoke coldly, deeply disappointed by Yun Siying’s indifference toward Shu Ruxue. Even if Ruxue had schemed against her and slandered her, she was still a child of the Shu family. Having been raised by the Shu family, Siying should have helped. No one expected she would just stand by and watch her die.

—

Yun Siying got up early in the morning and practiced her body-conditioning techniques by the river several times. After that, she returned to the Youth Academy and had breakfast with Nangong Ruochen and the other two. Nangong Ruochen said to her, “Siying, I have to go to the county today. Do you need anything?”

“No.” Yun Siying thought for a moment and shook her head. She really didn’t need anything, she had all she needed in her own space.

“Sorry, I don’t know when I’ll be back today, so I can’t accompany you into the mountains to pick mushrooms like I promised,” Nangong Ruochen said, a little embarrassed.

“It’s fine. We can go into the mountains anytime,” Yun Siying replied without much thought. Everyone had their own responsibilities.

After handing in a basket of pigweed, she felt like eating fish. She grabbed a wooden stick, sharpened one end, and headed to the river not far from the village to try her luck.

But before she had gone far, she sensed someone following her. She heightened her alertness but continued walking forward. When she reached the river, she knelt down and scanned the water for fish. But after searching for a long time, she still didn’t see any.

She decided to head upstream. The person following her didn’t retreat instead they drew even closer. After half an hour of walking, she finally spotted some fish. She stopped, but they were too far from the shore for the stick to reach.

She squatted down by the river and dipped her hands into the water. Vines shot out from her palms, swiftly ensnaring two fish with lightning speed. Just as quickly, the vines retracted back into her hands, leaving no trace after securing the catch.

Suddenly, a man lunged at her from behind. Luckily, she had been on guard and quickly dodged, sending the man splashing into the river with a loud ‘plop’. So he had intended to push her in, was he trying to drown her?

Fortunately, the man knew how to swim and began paddling toward the shore. Yun Siying stood at the riverbank, watching him coldly as if she were looking at a dead man.

She had survived eight years in the apocalypse. There was still some conscience in her heart, but not much. When someone wanted to harm her, if they had a bit of sense, she might give them a little time. But if they didn’t, well, she had plenty of ways to kill.

Now that there was no advanced technology like in the future, Yun Siying had many ways to avoid taking the blame. So today, she had no intention of sparing this man’s life.

When the man swam to the riverbank, Yun Siying pressed a dagger against his neck.

As soon as the man felt the cold blade, his eyes lowered and the moment he saw the gleaming dagger, he shuddered and almost fell back into the river. Luckily, Yun Siying grabbed his collar just in time.

Using a combination of mental power and hypnosis, Yun Siying dulled the man’s consciousness. His eyes slowly turned vacant. Then she asked coldly, “Tell me, who sent you to harm me?”

“It was a woman… about the same height as you. She wore a black scarf. I don’t know who she is.”

“What did she tell you to do to me?” Yun Siying continued to question him, trying to figure out who she could have offended since coming to the countryside.

“She told me to push you into the river… then jump in after to save you… and in return, I’d get a beautiful young wife.”

Yun Siying studied the man’s face carefully. His round face was wrinkled, his hair thinning and balding, his clothes patched and dirty, he looked to be around fifty, clearly an old bachelor from the village. Judging from this, the person behind the plot must really hate her.

Releasing her mental power, Yun Siying quickly sensed Wang Haixia hiding in the distance. She hadn’t expected that woman to have returned to the team and to set up such a revolting scheme. A sharp glint flashed in Yun Siying’s eyes. She changed her mind and decided not to kill the man at least not yet.

She said to him, “Go over to the woman hiding behind the bushes. Sleep with her. She’s the wife you’ve been dreaming about. Remember: she’s your partner, and you’ve been together for a while. You’ve done this many times in the woods.”

With that, she withdrew the dagger, hauled the man out of the water, and flung him to the ground.

Obediently, the man ran toward Wang Haixia’s hiding place. When she saw him approaching, her face went pale with terror. She tried to run, but Yun Siying used her mental power to paralyze her. She was frozen in place, unable to move, helpless and frightened.

“Don’t come any closer!” Wang Haixia cried in panic.

But the man didn’t stop. He lunged at her, pinned her down, and began tearing at her clothes.

Wang Haixia lay there, unable to move. Fear overwhelmed her. Desperately, she shouted, “Get off me! Don’t touch me… Someone help! He’s assaulting me!”

“Ah…” In that moment, she realized it was over. Her eyes stared blankly at the sky, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. It was both painful and humiliating. If she’d known it would end like this, she never would have plotted against Yun Siying.

Yun Siying watched it all unfold with a cold, expressionless face. Then she turned and calmly began gathering pig grass nearby.

When the villagers arrived after hearing the shouting, Yun Siying released the man from his hypnotic trance and also freed Wang Haixia from her paralysis.

“Oh my god! Who are these two shameless people doing this kind of thing in broad daylight? Are they having an affair? Someone call the captain! There’s an assault happening here!”

“Isn’t that Jiang Datuo, the old bachelor from our village? Who’s that under him? Her skin looks so pale and fair…”

Hearing the villagers’ voices, Wang Haixia suddenly realized she could move again and Jiang Datuo also snapped out of his daze. The two scrambled away from each other, climbed up, turned their backs, and hurriedly began to put their clothes back on.