A look of panic appeared on Shen Qing's face. She knelt at the feet of Erhu's wife and grabbed the corner of her clothes.
"Auntie, I can do work. Please don't send me to that old cripple's house. I'm begging you. I can go up the mountain to pick matsutake mushrooms. I can do all the housework!"
"Don't... don't drive me to that old cripple's house!"
Tears streamed down Shen Qing's face as she cried, but it didn't arouse the slightest bit of pity from Erhu's wife.
She shook off Shen Qing's hand in disgust, lifted Shen Qing's chin with the tip of her shoe, and scanned her with her mean eyes. "Do you know what your biggest and only use at home is?"
"It's to exchange for silver."
"The betrothal gifts that old cripple gave our family are more than you could earn by picking matsutake mushrooms for a lifetime."
"Come on, stop pretending to be pitiful. Don't stay at home after you've recovered from your injuries."
After saying that, Erhu's wife wiggled her hips and walked out of the door.
All her last hopes were shattered. Shen Qing collapsed on the ground and couldn't help wailing.
The despair and helplessness in her heart buried her deeply. Whenever she thought of the old cripple's yellow teeth and the way he looked at her, Shen Qing couldn't help shivering.
Although she was still young and didn't understand the ways between men and women, she knew that it wasn't the look a senior should give a junior.
She knew that once she fell into the hands of that old cripple, endless nightmares awaited her.
Shen Qing clenched her fists tightly. Her fingernails left crescent - shaped marks on her palms.
No, she mustn't sit back and wait for death!
She endured the pain and rummaged around the room several times. She found a stinking piece of cloth. Shen Qing spread it out, then found a few eggs and cakes in the kitchen cabinet and put them on the cloth.
She carefully wrapped up these provisions with the cloth and hid them in a corner.
Fortunately, Erhu's wife never went into the kitchen on weekdays and didn't notice that some food was missing. So Shen Qing took some food every day and hid it in the corner, making plans to escape.
Three days later, the old cripple came to ask Erhu's wife for the girl. Erhu's wife impatiently took the remaining silver and said that she would personally send Shen Qing to his house in two days.
Shen Qing knew that she couldn't stay any longer. Taking advantage of the dark and windy night, Shen Qing put on the small bundle on her back. She also rummaged through the place where Erhu's wife hid the silver and grabbed a sachet and a handful of silver coins and hid them on her body.
Under the cover of night, she opened the door and planned to escape from the village along the small path to the legendary Kunlun Immortal Mountain.
The only sound on the road was the chirping of insects. The moonlight wasn't covered by clouds, and Shen Qing could clearly see the road out of the village.
It was her first time leaving home. Her heart was pounding like a drum, but she wasn't afraid. She was only excited.
Because she could finally escape from the home that made her feel desperate and helpless.
But before she could enjoy her happiness for long, she saw Erhu's wife and the old cripple with gloomy faces waiting for her at the village entrance.
And Erhu, Shen Qing's father, was holding a thick wooden stick in his hand, glaring at Shen Qing menacingly.
Fear and panic instantly filled Shen Qing's whole body. She instinctively turned around and ran, but was quickly caught up by the adults.
Erhu's wife grabbed Shen Qing's collar and without saying a word, slapped her hard.
The palm with thick calluses from years of hard work made Shen Qing see stars. Her cheek immediately swelled up.
The old cripple glared at Erhu's wife discontentedly. "Why did you hit her so hard? Be careful not to hurt the girl for me!"
Because she had received the silver, Erhu's wife was still quite friendly to the old cripple. She spat at Shen Qing and then let the old cripple come forward to take Shen Qing away.
Shen Qing tightly grabbed Erhu's wife's trouser legs and pleaded repeatedly. "Auntie, I was wrong. I'll never try to escape again. Don't let this old cripple take me away. Please, I'll die if you do!"
The old cripple tightly grabbed Shen Qing's thin wrist and tried to pull her away.
The old cripple bared his big yellow teeth and laughed. "Don't call me old cripple. You should call me husband. Come, go home with your husband."
"No! I don't want to. Let go of me!!"
There was deep fear in Shen Qing's round eyes. She kicked and flailed her limbs trying to fend off the old cripple, but Erhu hit the hand that was holding Erhu's wife's trouser legs with the wooden stick.
Shen Qing cried out in pain and couldn't help but let go of her hand.
"Father! I'm your daughter too... Why..."
Erhu glared at Shen Qing menacingly. "Daughter? You're just a good - for - nothing who wastes our family's food. You almost made me lose the gambling money to turn my fortune around."
"Fortunately, that fairy told us when she left that you would definitely try to escape and told us to keep an eye on you secretly. That's why we didn't let you get away!"
"You little slut, you're really restless!"
Shen Qing was stunned.
The image of Lin Yibai immediately appeared in her mind.
Although there was no evidence, Shen Qing still knew that the fairy was Lin Yibai.
She endured all the pain and saved Lin Yibai's life, but Lin Yibai repaid her kindness with enmity. She secretly told Shen Qing's parents to watch her closely, ruining Shen Qing's only hope of escaping from the village.
Suddenly, an inexplicable anger welled up in Shen Qing. She suddenly turned around and bit the old cripple's hand, almost tearing off a piece of his flesh.
The old cripple grimaced in pain. Without thinking much, he grabbed Shen Qing's hair. Shen Qing's scalp was torn painfully, but she didn't loosen her bite at all.
Finally, Erhu hit Shen Qing on the head with a dull blow of the wooden stick, and Shen Qing fell to the ground dizzily.
The old cripple covered his wound and looked at Shen Qing sinisterly.
"Such a fiery - tempered girl. Let's see how I'll discipline you after I take you home!"
After saying that, he grabbed Shen Qing's feet and dragged her towards his home.
Shen Qing tightly dug her fingers into the soil on the ground, trying to stop the old cripple, but even when her fingers were bloody and left streaks of blood on the muddy ground, she couldn't stop herself from being taken away.
The whole night, Shen Qing's shrill screams echoed in the village.
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Shen Qing gathered up her loose collar. Enduring the pain between her legs, she numbly opened the door of the old cripple's room.
The old cripple was sleeping soundly in the bed. Shen Qing's eyes were blood - red. She looked back at the old cripple.
There were bright red marks on her wrists. She was trembling so much that she didn't even have the strength to pick up a knife to kill the old cripple.
After a moment, she walked step by step along the small path to the stream in the village. There was blood dripping from her body on the path behind her.
The stream was sparkling. A ray of sunlight shone on Shen Qing, making her feel warm, but it couldn't drive away the coldness from her body.
Shen Qing closed her eyes and jumped into the stream without hesitation...
Li Xian had been brought to the Qingyun Sword Sect for several days. Because he was worried about Shen Qing, he pestered his senior brother to take him to the Qingyun Sword Sect so that he could see Shen Qing.
But he accidentally learned that there was no Shen Qing among the newly recruited disciples. His heart panicked.
Li Xian pleaded again and again before a senior brother agreed to take him back to the village to have a look.
It was already more than half a month later when he finally returned to Xiaolin Village.