"Please, don't take my sister away... let her go..." A thin little boy humbly lay on the ground, tightly gripping the burly man's trouser leg, his eyes filled with sorrow and his voice pleading.
Beside the boy was a girl, equally thin and frail. At that moment, she was clinging tightly to her sister, fearing that her sister would be taken away by the strong man.
The older sister, Qiu Yan, whom she was holding, was already sobbing uncontrollably; she was unwilling to accept that her fate was so miserable.
Enraged, the burly man kicked the boy hard, sending him flying backward and hitting the back of his head on the stone bench.
His eyes were red from the pain, and he almost lost consciousness.
Then, the burly man slapped the girl's delicate cheek with his thick, muscular hand, causing her to fall face-first to the ground.
"Pfft..." The little girl spat out dirt from her mouth, along with two baby teeth. She covered her bloodshot cheek, wailing in terror. "It hurts... Sister, brother, it hurts so much, it hurts so much... Waaah..."
Unfortunately, their stepmother, Madam Yang, acted as if she didn't see anything and even verbally abused the two children. "If you cry and make a fuss again, I'll sell you both too. Humph, what bad luck!"
She then winked at the burly man in front of her, signaling him to quickly drag the person away.
Seeing her younger brother and sister-in-law being humiliated like this, the older sister immediately stepped forward to help them up, but at that moment, the strong man grabbed her body tightly and lifted her up by the waist.
A cold wind blew in gusts, and the sky was overcast, as if pitying the girl's plight.
Helplessness and despair filled the older sister's heart. Overcome with anger, she suddenly felt a metallic taste in her throat. She coughed heavily, covering her mouth, her palm turning bright red.
The blood trickling from the corner of her lips mingled with the bruises around them, adding to the scene's poignant beauty.
Her consciousness was somewhat scattered. She took one last look at her younger siblings in the courtyard, and with great reluctance, slowly closed her eyes.
Suddenly feeling her body lighten, Qiu Yan was thrown onto the donkey cart by the strong man like livestock with a thud.
At this moment, Qiu Yan was unable to describe her pain in words.
The pain ignited her fury!
She suddenly opened her eyes, glanced casually at the dilapidated and impoverished farmhouse, and was stunned for a moment.
The shouting around her, mixed with the crying cries of her younger siblings, gave her a splitting headache.
She slowly raised her head, staring coldly at the burly man in front of her. The man was slightly startled and took a step back, accidentally bumping into Yang, who was cursing behind him.
The burly man snorted and looked at Qiu Yan with disdain, "Spring Breeze Pavilion doesn't cater to just anyone. If it weren't for your looks, I wouldn't even look at you with your stick-like body."
Having said that, he led the donkey away.
Two children stumbled over, disregarding their own safety, and stood sideways in front of the donkey, blocking the strong man's path.
The burly man lost his patience and wanted to beat the child again, but he was afraid of getting into a murder case, which would be a greater loss than gain.
"Old woman, are you going to sell your granddaughter or not? You've wasted my time, can you afford to compensate me!"
"Sell, of course sell!" She's just a money-losing commodity. Luckily, this wretched girl is pretty; she can fetch twenty taels of silver. In Madam Yang's eyes, that's a huge sum of money.
To allow the strong man to leave smoothly, Yang found a broom in the corner, picked it up, and angrily strode towards the donkey.
As she walked, she continued to berate the two children.
"If we don't sell her, how will our family survive? Who will pay for your fourth uncle's tuition? You dare to ruin my plans? I'll beat you to death!"
Qiu Yan's head was buzzing, and her temples were throbbing with anger.
She rubbed her aching forehead, trying to control her swaying body.
She... seemed trapped in a nightmare, but the aches and pains in her body told her that this was not a dream.
She found it incomprehensible that these things were nothing compared to Qiu Yan's past experiences of going through thick and thin in recent years.
Instinctively, she jumped up, but dizziness caused her to lean forward instantly.
At this moment, she was like a demon crawling out of hell, full of malevolence.
She watched as Yang swung the broom at her younger siblings, and taking advantage of the strong man's momentary lapse in attention, she snatched the donkey whip from his hand and lashed it against Yang's knees before getting off the donkey cart.
"Ah..." Yang screamed in agony, feeling as if her knee was about to break. The trouser leg where she had been hit was torn, revealing her swollen and bleeding knee.
The pain was so intense that her knees were forced to bend, and she knelt stiffly on the ground. With another thud, her forehead hit the ground, and she ended up with a mouthful of mud.
Her face contorted with rage as she turned and glared fiercely at Qiu Yan, her hands trembling uncontrollably. "You little bastard, how dare you hit me!" She rose and lunged at Qiu Yan, as if to tear her to pieces.
But as soon as she got up, she was grabbed tightly by her two children.
"She's got a fiery temper, I like that!" the burly man thought to himself. With such beauty, he was determined to enjoy her beforehand, so that his trip today wouldn't be in vain.
After he finished speaking, he pulled out a short knife from his waist, preparing to intimidate the girl who had suddenly gone mad.
His specialty is disciplining women.
The burly man's action terrified the two children.
"Watch out!" the boy warned, seeing the burly man brandishing his short knife.
Qiu Yan took a step back, picked up the low stool from the ground, aimed at the short knife in the burly man's hand, and smashed it straight at him.
With a snap, the knife and wood met.
In an instant, the already shaky stool was chopped into pieces, with stool legs scattered everywhere.
The broken stool accidentally landed on Yang's plump buttocks. She cried out "Ouch!" and, having just managed to stand, fell again, straining her aching back. "You damned jinx..."
The burly man was furious and about to explode when he suddenly felt a tight grip on his wrist, as Qiu Yan held it firmly.
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, Qiu Yan subtly used her strength to twist and pull the burly man's wrist, forcing him to turn back.
The burly man felt a chill run down his spine and trembled twice. Suddenly, a short knife pierced his lower abdomen, but Qiu Yan forcefully pulled it out. Blood spread out, and he turned pale with pain.
Then, the dagger fell precisely into Qiu Yan's hands.
The burly man stared at Qiu Yan in disbelief. He... had actually lost to a girl? What a disgrace!
"roll!!!"
Qiu Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the burly man in front of her to hear clearly.
After she finished speaking, she casually tossed the dagger into the gap between the strong man's ribs and arm. The younger brother's eyes widened suddenly, and the younger sister's fair and red face froze instantly.
Yang's breath hitched for a moment, then she scoffed disdainfully. "You can't even use a knife, yet you want to kill someone? You're overestimating yourself!"
She thought to herself, Qiu Yan must have gone mad just now. Luckily, this man was quite skilled; otherwise, he might have really been stabbed through the chest by Qiu Yan.
The burly man was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, wet his trousers, and it took him a long time to recover.
Looking into Qiu Yan's fierce eyes, he felt a chill run down his spine; his previous arrogance was replaced by shame and indignation.
This woman is no ordinary woman; he can't touch her! Oh well, his life is more important.
Before leaving, he spat at Yang, "Pah, you old hag!"
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