"Scarface!" Zhang Ergou spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood, wriggling like a maggot as he shuffled toward the courtyard gate. "This is the woman who tried to kill me!"
Scarface stomped on the half-centipede on the ground, crushing it, and spun the machete in his palm in a cold, sharp arc.
Five men behind him stepped forward in unison, the metal sheet covering the end of the carrying pole scraping against the ground with a sizzling sound.
The two henchmen who had been crouching by the wall finally tumbled and crawled to Scarface's trouser leg.
The shorter one, his collar still covered in cobwebs, pointed tremblingly at Lin Cuiying, "It's her...she just said she wanted to carve a tombstone for us brothers..."
Lin Cuiying flipped the axe blade in her palm, the rusty edge pointing directly at the scarred man's brow. "Well, you've got everything."
Scarface suddenly grinned. A piece of chive leaf was stuck in the hole where his front tooth was missing. "This little face is chopped up..."
Before he could finish speaking, the axe grazed his ear and struck the door frame.
Rotten wood chips mixed with spider webs the size of copper coins fell down in a flurry, startling the group into taking a half-step back.
Zhang Ergou sprang to his feet with a somersault, his urine-stained crotch swaying in the wind, releasing a foul stench. "Kill this little wench, and I'll take you to the Drunken Spring Pavilion for three days of fun!"
The two lackeys huddled behind the burly men, nodding repeatedly. The shortest one pulled out a chipped ceramic bowl from somewhere and smashed it over.
The moment Lin Cuiying dodged by tilting her head, Scarface's woodcutter's knife was already aimed at her left shoulder.
She quickly blocked with her axe, the blade colliding with the machete and sparks flying, making Lin Cuiying's hands go numb.
Scarface twisted his wrist, the blade slicing along the axe handle toward her knuckles, while the carrying pole behind him swept toward her spine.
She dodged to the side, and the carrying pole slammed against the edge of the bluestone well with a dull thud.
Lin Cuiying spun around and kicked away the man who was lunging at her. Scarface slashed at her with his wood-chopping knife, sending a stench through the air.
"Take half a step to the right."
The cold, clear voice that exploded deep within her cochlea startled her so much that she deflected her axe by half an inch, just in time to block the woodcutter's knife that was aimed at her throat.
Amidst the sparks flying, she caught a glimpse of oily sweat three inches below Scarface's neck.
"Left knee."
His body moved faster than his brain, and his knee slammed into the opponent's stomach.
As the scarred man's vomit splashed onto her trouser leg, the voice rang out again: "Lean back."
The sound of something cutting through the air brushed past my nose, and the carrying pole smashed into the earthen wall, leaving a dent the size of a bowl.
Lin Cuiying rolled on the ground, picked up a piece of broken tile, and swung it, hitting the short follower right between the eyebrows.
The moment the blood splattered onto her eyelashes, she heard her own heavy breathing mixed with the footsteps of seven people.
"Hold your breath."
In the instant she instinctively held her breath, the lime powder that the scarred man shook off his sleeve fell onto her clothes.
Lin Cuiying used the momentum of her roll to sweep across her opponent's lower body, and the crisp sound of a shinbone breaking mixed with a scream exploded out.
As the remaining five men closed in, surrounding the tree, the voice suddenly took on a mocking tone: "Locust tree."
Lin Cuiying's pupils contracted sharply as she caught a glimpse of a hornet's nest hanging from a branch of the old locust tree.
The moment the axe slipped from his hand and struck the tree trunk, the swarm of bees, like a black cloud, exploded with a deafening roar.
"Squat down."
As she rolled into the well platform's recess with her head in her hands, screams echoed throughout the room.
Zhang Ergou, holding up his belt, tried to climb over the wall, but was chased by a swarm of bees and fell into a stinking ditch.
Granny Wang huddled in the corner, using a winnowing basket to cover her face, while Liu had already crawled into the pickling jar.
After an unknown amount of time, the voice in my mind popped out two more words: "Now."
Lin Cuiying darted out of her hiding place, her blood-stained cloth shoes rolling over the back of the scarred man rolling on the ground.
As the machete was held against the last burly man standing there, the swarm of bees added another bump to his already swollen face.
With a clang, the carrying pole slammed onto the rammed earth.
The buzzing of the bees had lessened considerably by this time, but it was still mixed with intermittent groans.
The pickling jar was suddenly bumped with a loud thud, and Liu emerged with rotten vegetable leaves all over her head, three wasps crawling on the back of her neck.
She had barely opened her mouth to scream when two bees crawled into her collar, their bulky bodies slamming into the rim of the jar and creating a gash.
The winnowing basket that Granny Wang was holding had long been riddled with holes from the stings, and half a bee stinger was still stuck in the gaps between the bamboo strips.
The old man's hands, which resembled withered tree branches, were swollen and shiny with oil, looking like five fermented steamed buns hanging on them.
The worst off was Zhang Ergou, who was half-submerged in the stinking ditch, thrashing about, with the bees specifically targeting his upturned buttocks.
The bloated waistband suddenly burst open, and the exposed skin and flesh swelled up to a dark purple color in the blink of an eye, looking exactly like a bunch of ripe grapes.
The two henchmen were rolling around on the ground, the shorter one with a chipped bowl still on his head, wasps crawling into the hole, his face so swollen that his eyes were squeezed into slits.
Another man's pants ripped down to his lower back, and a swarm of bees chased and stung his white buttocks, his screams sounding like a pig being slaughtered during the Lunar New Year.
The five burly men that Scarface brought with him had long lost their imposing presence.
The strongest man was whipping his own back with a carrying pole, each blow spurting out a clump of yellow and black sap.
Another one had taken off his shirt and wrapped it around his head, but a wasp had gotten into his loose belt. He was now jumping around and pulling at his waistband, looking like a monkey on fire.
Scarface was the worst off; the lime powder he had just sprinkled had gotten damp and stuck to his face, becoming a nest for the bees.
His entire face was swollen, shiny, and purple, and a dead bee was stuck in the black hole where his front teeth were missing. He spat out bloody saliva as he howled.
The tall, thin man who brought Scarface was now crawling on the ground, about to crawl out of the yard.
Lin Cuiying stepped forward and directly kicked the tall, thin man's hand, which was bright red from the wasp sting.
"Grandma, spare me!" The tall, thin man trembled like a leaf, his face covered in snot and tears.
The sharp crack of the axe back striking the shinbone startled the sparrows on the eaves, and the tall, thin man's scream was stuck in his throat, turning into a crowing sound like a chicken crowing.
Lin Cuiying pressed down on the broken leg, the stench of blood mixed with the smell of urine rising up: "I told you to go to town to write the divorce papers, and you actually went to find help."
"Please let me explain... Ah!"
As Lin Cuiying exerted force again, the door creaked open, and two trembling little heads peeked out.
The two little girls had pale lips and looked at Lin Cuiying with worried expressions.
"Are you stinging?" Lin Cuiying turned her head and asked.
The two little girls were shaking their heads and were about to come out when Lin Cuiying stopped them, saying, "Go back inside and wait until your mother has dealt with these people before you come out."
The two little girls, their faces filled with terror, slowly shrank back and gently closed the door.
Lin Cuiying turned her head and glanced at the tall, thin man lying on the ground. "I asked you to do something, and you brought back so many people for me."
After saying that, she muttered to herself, "What should I do now?"
"Tie him up." The voice in his mind suddenly rang out again.
"Who are you?" Lin Cuiying asked herself, her face full of confusion.
The tall, thin man lying on the ground quickly answered, "I...I...am..."
After a long pause, only three words came out. Lin Cuiying stepped forward and kicked him again, saying, "Too talkative!"
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