Li Si, having reached this stalemate, naturally refused to back down. Although he was somewhat afraid, especially since he felt, perhaps it was just his imagination, that Shen Xi possessed the aura of a superior, even more imposing than any county magistrate he had ever seen.
Despite his inner fear, he remained defiant: "I'll say it again, if you don't give me food, I won't recognize you as village chief, let alone leader! Bah!"
Shen Xi's face was ashen. It had been so long since anyone had dared to provoke her like this. In her previous life, her brothers and sisters, relatives, and company directors had all been dealt with by her and kept in line. Who would dare to make a fuss?
Shenxi turned his head and asked the old village chief, "According to the village rules, how are villagers who provoke, insult, or disobey the village chief dealt with?"
The old village chief was also furious. Li Si hadn't behaved himself the whole way. If he were still in the village, he wouldn't be allowed to act like this!
“If this happens repeatedly, he shall be expelled from the village and shall not be allowed to return to the clan.”
Repeatedly? In the current situation, not even once. Since she wants to make the decision, we must completely obey, otherwise it will become increasingly difficult in the future.
“Alright, but the situation is much worse now than in the village. If we can’t work together, we will definitely have a hard time surviving. Li Si’s actions cannot be tolerated.”
With that, she put on a stern face and beckoned Zhao Rong over: "You, cripple his hands and drive him away. If he comes near again, kill him without mercy."
Zhao Rong was taken aback, but quickly understood and clasped his hands in agreement.
Li Si got angry: "Why? What right do you have to cripple my hands? What reason do you have to drive me away? Bah, you brat!"
"Fellow villagers, are you just going to look at me like this? I, Li Si, am the first, and you will be next!"
After the initial shock, some whispered that Chen Xi was making a mountain out of a molehill, while others felt that such punishment was justified. The old village chief, however, felt a pang of pity: "Xiao Xi, just drive her out. There's no need to cripple her hands." Losing her hands, under such difficult circumstances, was tantamount to a death sentence.
Shen Xi remained unmoved, but she still smiled at the old village chief: "Old village chief, it's not that I'm ruthless, but if we don't intimidate people now, it will be difficult to control them when there is enough food later. You must know that a temporary food supply does not guarantee future stability. In such chaotic times, if we cannot always be united, we will suffer even greater disasters sooner or later."
The old village chief understood perfectly well, but he just couldn't bear to do it!
But at this point, he knew it was best not to say anything more, so he shut up.
At this moment, several of Li Si's companions, who were on good terms with him, along with Li Quan, stopped Zhao Rong, who was holding a hunting knife and trying to approach Li Si: "You're not from our village. If you really want to do something, it's not your place!"
Shen Xi, his earlier friendly demeanor towards the old village chief vanished, and he roared, "Anyone who dares to obstruct me will be punished the same as Li Si!"
These few people only intervened because of their usual relationship and kinship, and they also felt uncomfortable with Zhao Rong, an outsider, getting involved in village affairs.
But seeing Shen Xi so angry, Li Quan felt a pang of fear and whispered, "Xiao Xi, please spare him this time!"
Li Quan's wife pulled him back a step: "You idiot, don't you know who Li Si is? Why bother with him? Besides, Xiao Xi can lead us to find food and help us survive. Can he do that?"
With that, he ordered his two sons to drag Li Quan away to a distant place, so that he could not say anything to Shen Xi.
Upon seeing such a display of force, Li Si's companions also backed down, as they did not want to offend Chen Xi at this moment.
No one stopped Zhao Rong. He stepped forward and grabbed Li Si. Li Si tried to struggle, but he was no match for Zhao Rong. Zhao Rong had been hunting for a long time and had also learned martial arts. He originally intended to sever Li Si's tendons, but Li Si struggled fiercely. Zhao Rong made a ruthless move and slashed at Li Si's arm with his hunting knife!
A forearm was cleanly severed. With Li Si's scream, not only did the villagers fall silent, but Shen Xi was also shocked. "Zhao Rong's strength is incredible!"
Zhao Rong's hunting knife was not very sharp or heavy. To cut off an arm would require considerable strength in the shoulder and arm, especially since Zhao Rong was using only one hand.
Li Si tried to use his good hand to cover his bleeding arm, but Zhao Rong was holding onto that hand and arm, and he couldn't break free no matter what he did.
Seeing that Li Si was about to faint from the pain, he could only scream and no other sound came out.
Without hesitation, Zhao Rong severed the tendons in Li Si's intact hand. This time, he didn't use a knife, probably because he was bleeding too much.
The commander said he would cripple both of his hands, and so he would cripple both of them, no matter how they were crippled. Only severing the tendons in his hands was considered merciful.
Li Si completely fainted.
Shen Xi nodded in satisfaction and called Fang Chenyan over: "Go and stop his bleeding."
Although Fang Chenyan was only twelve years old, he was very calm and composed, as if these things had nothing to do with him. He went forward to stop Li Si's bleeding.
Shenxi didn't really want to spare Li Si's life, but showing appropriate ruthlessness at this moment was enough. There was no need to go too far, otherwise everyone would think she was cruel, which would sow bad seeds for the future.
Only then did the villagers realize what was happening, and none of them dared to utter a sound. It would be a lie to say they weren't afraid. Although many people had died along the way, this was the first time they had ever seen their own people sever their own arms.
Zhao Rong wiped the hunting knife clean, his face expressionless.
Chenxi patted his arm and smiled, "You did a great job."
She needs obedient people, and at this time, having such supporters is like adding wings to a tiger.
Seeing that Li Si slowly regained consciousness, Chen Xi called over a few young men: "You follow Zhao Rong and throw him out of the trap. I must never see him again!"
"yes!"
These young men were among those who had come to this remote mountain with Shenxi for the first time. Their admiration and respect for Shenxi came from the bottom of their hearts, and they hoped even more that Shenxi could help them live a good life.
Although Li Si was still in excruciating pain, upon hearing that he was really going to be thrown out, he shouted with all his might, "Clan Chief Wang, help! You said during the day that even if I didn't work, this girl wouldn't dare not give me food, and that if she didn't give me food, I would make a scene. She would definitely give me food."
It was that royal clan leader again. Shen Xi's eyes sharpened.
When Chief Wang met Chen Xi's eyes, he shuddered. This girl was too ruthless.
"I didn't say that, Li Si, don't pin everything on me!"
Li Si was naturally unwilling to be thrown out like this. If he could drag the clan chief along, he might be able to stay: "It's not like I'm the only one who listened to you and didn't do any work. Ask the others who didn't do any work if they all listened to you."
Those who hadn't done any work shrank back; they didn't want to end up like Li Si.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
