He Liu lunged at her like a rabid stray dog. Chi Yin’s mouth flew open, her instinct screaming for help.
A louder voice cut through her cries. "Six, what are you doing?"
He Liu hadn't expected Chi Qiang to follow him. He clamped a hand firmly over Chi Yin’s mouth and glared back at Chi Qiang. "Brother Qiang, what do *you* want now?"
Chi Yin kicked and thrashed, struggling to break free from He Liu’s grip. Chi Qiang stepped closer, and seeing the sheer terror on Chi Yin’s face, the pent-up frustration in his heart vanished.
He Liu thought even the farts of Chi Yan were fragrant; Chi Qiang could easily guess why he was lying in wait like this. He crouched beside Chi Yin, the corners of his lips curling in triumph. "Chi Yin, oh Chi Yin, I really didn't expect this. You were playing the high-and-mighty act in front of me just a moment ago, and now, in the blink of an eye, you have to kneel and beg me. For the sake of our sibling bond, just hand over that IOU, and I’ll have He Liu let you go."
Chi Yin looked up and glared at him. "In your dreams!"
Chi Qiang sneered. "Don't be ungrateful, Chi Yin. You’ve spent the last few years as a simple village wife in Xiangshui Village, so you have no idea how capable the people in the Yanhe County underworld are. Let me put it this way: He Liu, this guy, he really *will* take you."
Chi Yin stared at Chi Qiang, her gaze hardening into a silent, icy mockery. A single tear slipped quietly from the corner of her eye.
As it turned out, she had still underestimated the depths of Chi Qiang’s cruelty toward his own flesh and blood.
In her previous life, three days after their father died in a fit of rage, Chi Qiang had secretly stolen all the funeral gift money brought by relatives and friends. Less than three months after the funeral, while land management laws were still relatively loose, he had gone behind their mother’s back and transferred the ancestral land to a creditor.
But those were things from the nineties. In this lifetime, she had returned to a stage where Chi Qiang wasn't quite as rotten yet, yet she never imagined that being forced to write an IOU would drive him to conspire with others to put her in such danger.
Chi Yin had thought that since her rebirth, she no longer felt any kinship toward Chi Qiang, but hearing his words now, her heart still felt bitter and astringent.
It seemed that IOU would have to go back into Chi Qiang’s hands.
However, heaven had given her this chance to live again, and it certainly wasn't so she could resign herself to fate!
Chi Yin lightly felt around on the ground. Once her fingers closed around a sharp stone, she silently tucked it into her palm.
She looked at Chi Qiang, a look of intense derision hooking the corners of her mouth. "Do you really think that if you take the IOU, there's nothing I can do to you?"
"Of course I do. Think about it: everyone at Xingchen saw me personally write that IOU for you. You take it away, and then you come back and say it’s lost—who’s going to testify for you? He Liu? Don't be stupid. For the sake of his own skin, He Liu treats me like his own ancestor!"
Chi Qiang reached out to rummage through Chi Yin’s pockets. When his fingers brushed against the paper, his eyes lit up with an uncanny gleam.
"Oh, look at that. You went to such trouble to track me down at Xingchen to write this, and now it’s all for nothing."
Chi Qiang tore the IOU into pieces, shredding it bit by bit before flicking his wrist. The paper scraps fluttered down onto Chi Yin’s head.
Chi Yin’s face, however, showed not a hint of panic. It made Chi Qiang feel a flicker of unease.
He quickly regained his composure, however, and grabbed Chi Yin by the chin, warning her, "Look closely—it’s not that I didn’t give you an IOU; it’s that you took it and lost it yourself. Even if you drag this to the Police Station, I’m not afraid of you."
"Times have changed since the seventies. The police are strict about everything now. It’s not a matter of you calling everyone from Xingchen to testify that I owe you money. Without the IOU, you could call the Heavenly Emperor himself to testify, and it wouldn’t mean a thing."
Chi Qiang gave Chi Yin’s face a smug pat, but she seemed not to care about his warning at all, nor did she seem afraid of him letting He Liu have his way with her.
Chi Yin was neither furious nor hysterical. She was unnervingly calm.
Seeing the moisture in her eyes, Chi Qiang paused for a moment. *Had he gone too far? Had he scared her senseless?*
Chi Qiang asked, "What are you crying for? Are you afraid?"
Chi Yin turned her head and wiped her tears away against the mud, then began to laugh, a soft, "Heh."
Chi Qiang was confused. "Crying and laughing? Have you gone crazy?"
Chi Yin’s lips curled up slightly. "I’m laughing because you’re a complete idiot."
"I’m an idiot? What are you talking about?"
Chi Yin didn't answer. The look she gave Chi Qiang was now tinged with a hint of pity.
Chi Qiang was terrified that after their divorce, Wei Chengliang would no longer protect him. If he found out tomorrow that she had already had a lawyer draft the divorce agreement, wouldn't he be back here begging at her feet for forgiveness?
Around and around it would go, and in the end, he’d still have to hand her a new IOU. He was a complete fool!
Thinking of this, Chi Yin felt no heartache for the shredded IOU.
Chi Qiang only felt that Chi Yin was far too calm—even after the IOU was destroyed, she remained completely unmoved. He couldn't figure out what she was thinking or what she meant by calling him a fool.
After a moment's thought, he recalled that his underworld associates always believed in leaving a path open for future encounters.
After a brief internal weighing, Chi Qiang looked at Chi Yin, gave a dry cough, and stood up. He turned to He Liu and instructed, "Alright, Six, you should go too. Even the ancients knew you shouldn't mess with sisters. If you really do something to her, Yan’er won't even look at you again."
He Liu said, looking troubled, "But then I can't finish the job."
Chi Qiang glared at him. "You’ve done me a huge favor today; I’ll cover for you on this."
He Liu immediately put on a smile. "Alright, with Brother Qiang’s word, I’m satisfied."
However, after He Liu released Chi Yin and walked a distance with Chi Qiang, he scratched his head sheepishly. "Brother Qiang, it’s getting late. We should head our separate ways. If I don't get home soon, my mom is going to lock the door from the inside."
"Suit yourself." With the task done, Chi Qiang only wanted to get to the hospital for some antiseptic; he didn't want to deal with He Liu anymore.
He Liu saw that Chi Qiang couldn't be bothered with him, which was exactly what he wanted. The moment Chi Qiang walked away, he turned around and sprinted back toward the alley.
The reason was simple: Chi Yin’s figure was too alluring—every curve was in the right place. Even the stray dogs on the road couldn't help but sniff around her.
And he was a healthy, vigorous man.
Chi Yin never expected He Liu to double back. She sped up, but with a heavy thud, He Liu caught up, wrapped his arms around her waist, and slammed her to the ground.
To protect her purity, Chi Yin fought back with every ounce of strength.
Regrettably, she was far too weak. She was a fish on He Liu’s cutting board.
To gain control, He Liu grabbed Chi Yin by the hair. She struggled again and again, but couldn't break free.
She suddenly felt a bone-deep cold, so intense that she couldn't stop shivering.
Tonight, she feared she really wouldn't make it home.
Thinking of her child waiting for her, a surge of unwillingness flared in her heart.
She had lived a second life—was she really going to fall at the hands of Chi Qiang and Chi Yan just like in her past life?
No, Chi Yin did not live again just to resign herself to fate!
She forced herself to calm down, her mind shifting back to a state of cold logic.
Remembering the stone she had picked up earlier was still in her pocket, she pulled it out with trembling fingers, raised it, and swung it with all her might at He Liu’s face.
He Liu let out a howl of agony. A deep, jagged cut opened across his right eye!
It was a shame it didn't blind him.
But it was enough!
This was the moment Chi Yin had been waiting for.
She scrambled to her feet and took off running. He Liu, clutching his bleeding, stinging eye, roared, "You bitch! I’m going to kill you!"
Like a rabid dog, he gave chase with a ferocious expression.
Chi Yin stumbled as she ran. Behind her came the sound of a heavy body hitting the ground, followed by He Liu’s sharp, pained gasps.
He must have tripped.
Chi Yin’s legs felt like noodles. Just as she was about to stop to catch her breath, a *snap* echoed behind her—a dead branch had been stepped on.
Her heart hammered against her ribs like a drum. She sprinted again, but her body finally gave out. She tripped and plunged headlong into the darkness.
The footsteps behind her sounded like a death knell. In the depths of her despair, her hand frantically grasped a piece of wood.
She snatched it up, spun around, and swung it wildly in the direction of the sound.
This was her final chance to fight back in her current state. But the scream she imagined never came. Instead, the club was firmly caught.
There was no cursing, and no foul scent of a tobacco pipe.
Chi Yin was stunned, her movements freezing mid-air.
She looked up and met the gaze of Wei Chengan, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a dark pool.
Wei Chengan held the wood steady, looking down at her intently.
Having served four years in the army, including two in a special unit, Wei Chengan’s senses were sharp, and his night vision was far superior to that of an average soldier. Looking at Chi Yin’s face, pale as a sheet of paper, a strange, indefinable emotion stirred in his chest.
Chi Yin felt as if she had been saved. Her nose stung, and tears began to fall, one after another. "Uncle, it’s actually you—"