"I didn't!!"
I was almost on the verge of tears from anxiety. I reached out and grabbed Granny Bai's sleeve, anxiously defending myself. "I didn't bite people like Lin Shuya!"
"What? Du Xinghe, did you bite people too?"
Suddenly, from the small building behind Granny Bai, Lin Shuya walked out gracefully. Two adjutants followed closely behind her, just like the mistress of this place.
It wasn't too hot yet, but she was already holding a sandalwood folding fan and gently fanning it by her neck, putting on an elegant and noble demeanor.
"I said there was something wrong with that talisman on your head the first time I saw you!"
She bit her lip and sized me up and down. "I knew you were no good yourself! You've always been pretending to be aloof in front of Achen... Humph!"
Saying that, Lin Shuya actually stepped forward to lift my clothes. "You've always been pretending to be seriously injured. Isn't it just to make him feel sorry for you? Why aren't you pretending anymore?!"
"Stop!"
I had no good impression of this woman. I reached out and grabbed her finger.
"Si Jiangchen dotes on you, but I won't!"
I had wandered around for so long that I had learned all kinds of dirty fighting tricks. This woman had made me get shot. I hadn't taken revenge yet, and here she was, rushing right in front of me!
"Oh, so you know Achen dotes on me!"
A shy and proud expression appeared on Lin Shuya's face. "Then why don't you get out of here quickly! What are you doing here, getting in our way?!"
"The real eyesore is yet to come!"
I sneered coldly. "I'm his legitimate fiancée and will be his wife in the future. Who do you think you are? You're just a woman from a brothel. You just happened to save his life once. It's already your good fortune that he recognized you as his adopted sister. What else do you want... Instead of being a decent person, do you want to be his concubine or mistress? Is your face really that worthless?"
"You! You!!"
My words left her speechless.
During this period, I had already noticed that Si Jiangchen only felt grateful to her. If it weren't for Lin Shuya saving his life, this man probably wouldn't even look at her.
This woman actually used Si Jiangchen's indulgence and guilt towards her to threaten me?! And to do those things that killed innocent people?!
"You little bitch, how dare you scold me?!"
It had been a long time since anyone had scolded Lin Shuya to her face like this. Her face, covered with thick jasmine powder, instantly turned red. She raised her hand and slapped at my face.
I had been on guard when I scolded her. I dodged to the side and suddenly exerted force on the hand that was twisting her little finger. With a "snap", Lin Shuya's little finger was bent up. She cried out in pain, "Ouch! Ouch!" and grabbed her hand.
This was a trick I had learned from the little hooligans on the street. They were small and weak, and couldn't beat the adults who snatched their livelihood. So they would use these dirty tricks unexpectedly when pretending to be weak to turn the tables.
"Are you two dead?!"
Lin Shuya's face contorted in pain. She shouted at the two adjutants behind her, "Even two dogs would bark when their master is being bullied!"
"Pah!"
Before the two adjutants could reply, I spoke up, "Who do you think you are! How dare you scold Si Jiangchen's subordinates? They are upright soldiers who fight bandits and kill bad guys. They came to this villa to monitor you! Do you think you're superior? Do you believe that I can have them lock you in a dog cage right now? Let's see you still being so arrogant!"
"You dare?!"
Lin Shuya pointed at me and shouted at the two adjutants, "She broke my hand. Arrest her! Hurry up!"
"..."
The two adjutants glanced at each other. One of them replied to her, "Miss Lin, we're only here to keep you from going out on orders. And... we didn't see the military commander's wife touch your hand."
"Are your eyes blind?"
Lin Shuya glared angrily, holding up her deformed finger for the two of them to see. "What's this?!"
"This must be something you did yourself, Miss Lin..."
The two adjutants were both Si Jiangchen's confidants. They were usually high and mighty. Now that they had been scolded like dogs by Lin Shuya, there was no reason for them to speak up for her.
"I did it myself? Am I stupid?"
Lin Shuya never expected that among the five people present, not one would speak up for her.
"I don't think Miss Lin is stupid..."
The other adjutant who had been silent all this time looked at me and then said, "Miss Lin broke her own finger during the argument with the mistress in order to frame her."
"Chuckle!"
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
So they could also tell lies with their eyes open...
"Sigh...!!"
Granny Bai, who had been silent all this time, sighed and slowly walked up to Lin Shuya. "Miss Lin, let this old woman take a look at your hand."
"Get out of the way, old thing! Who wants you to treat me!"
Lin Shuya gritted her teeth and pushed Granny Bai's hand away. She pointed at the two adjutants and said, "You two wait. When Achen comes back, I'll have him shoot you!!"
"Okay!"
The two adjutants' expressions turned serious. "Then, Miss Lin, please go back to your room now!"
"Ah... right!"
I suddenly remembered that Si Jiangchen had said this morning that someone from the Luocheng Orphanage would come to identify Lin Shuya. I was afraid that she couldn't control herself again last night and went out to do something extremely evil!
One of the adjutants turned to wait for my question.
"Has anyone come to identify her?"
I glanced at Lin Shuya, who had angrily swayed her hips and gone upstairs.
"Not yet." The adjutant shook his head. "But someone just sent a message saying that someone would come this afternoon..."
"People died?" I asked again.
"Yes, three people died." The adjutant replied to me. "They were all little boys around five years old."
"... Mm, call me when the people come. I also want to listen."
The adjutant nodded in agreement and escorted Lin Shuya upstairs.
"Xiaohe, come here."
Seeing that this farce was over, Granny Bai pulled my hand and led me into the sunlight.
"Look up..."
Granny Bai's finger touched my chin and made me look up at the sky.
The blue sky was bright and dazzling under the scorching sun. I couldn't help but squint my eyes.
"Remember, you're a human being and should always be able to stand under the sun."
Granny Bai also looked up at the sky with me. "If someone like Lin Shuya indulges her desires, even if she's protected by the master's Taoism, she'll eventually fall into the evil path. Do you understand?"
"Granny Bai, I understand..."
I instantly understood what she meant. "But at that time, I couldn't control myself!"
Just thinking about the extremely intense vitality of that tomb robber surging into my veins like a river made me shiver.
"... I was also thinking just now why I clearly sealed your acupoints, but you still couldn't control yourself."
Granny Bai grabbed my hand and looked at the dried blood on it. "Xiaohe, don't let yourself get hurt again in the future. I'm afraid that like the master, you'll want flesh and blood to restore your vitality after your body is injured!!"