Chapter 9: You Don’t Have a Dad Now

The villagers took advantage of the wild boars leaving and dragged the legless, bloodied Xu Yuanlong down the mountain.

His body was placed in the yard. Wang Xiuzhi collapsed to the ground, nearly fainting from grief. Of her three children, she loved Xu Yuanlong the most.

“My son… why didn’t you listen to me? Those wild boars are dangerous. You could never handle them.”

“I warned you before, but you didn’t care about your own life just to let that girl Xu Qingmo have some meat. It’s all her fault—she won’t eat corn cakes or cornbread, only white buns and meat. Who can afford that?”

The more she spoke, the more emotional she became. Her crying drew many villagers to watch.

Some finally saw Wang Xiuzhi’s misfortune and couldn’t resist teasing her.

“Wang Xiuzhi, didn’t you always say your family only eats white buns and meat? Why blame just little Xu Qingmo now?”

“Yeah, you always bragged in the village that even though you live in the countryside, your life is like the city’s.”

“To maintain this fancy life, your son lost his life. Shouldn’t that be your fault, Wang Xiuzhi? How much can a little kid eat?”

The villagers muttered and gossiped, showing little sympathy for Wang Xiuzhi over Xu Yuanlong’s death. Instead, they mocked her.

She had spent years offending the village, and now everyone was waiting for her to fall.

“Get lost! All of you, get lost!” Wang Xiuzhi shouted, throwing a basin of dirty water at them.

The villagers didn’t linger and hurried home.

In the yard, Wang Xiuzhi continued to cry.

Xu Qingmo plugged her ears and walked out of the main hall. Wang Xiuzhi, ignoring fear, pointed at her and cursed, “It’s all your fault! If not for you, my son wouldn’t be dead. You don’t have a dad now. Happy?”

Xu Qingmo glanced at her indifferently. She didn’t bother a woman who had just lost her son.

She deliberately warned, “Xu Yuanlong owed a lot of debt outside. The debt collectors are coming soon. Think about how you’ll handle it.”

With that, Xu Qingmo left. Wang Xiuzhi didn’t dare stop her and cursed her walking away, hoping she would die outside. She didn’t take Xu Qingmo’s warning seriously.

Half an hour later, five or six thugs from a neighboring village pushed open Xu Yuanlong’s door.

They barged in carelessly. Seeing the body in the yard, they frowned. “He really died. Bad luck… where do we get our money?”

A bald man scratched his bare head irritably.

“They heard the family married a city woman and their life improved. There should be valuable things inside. Let’s search and take whatever’s valuable.”

“Hurry up, move fast!”

The thugs rushed inside, tossing valuables into bags and discarding the rest. Clattering sounds of objects breaking echoed from the house.

“Damn it! My son’s dead, and you still come to steal! Is there no law? Someone, come! A thief’s in my house!”

No matter how Wang Xiuzhi shouted, the passing villagers pretended not to hear. Some gathered to gawk, joking about how her family’s fortune had turned.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingmo, smelling blood, climbed the back mountain. She wasn’t seeking revenge for Xu Yuanlong—she was simply hungry.

Almost all the edible food in Wang Xiuzhi’s house had been eaten. Xu Qingmo had no money; she couldn’t buy food or meat.

Wang Jing had left her plenty of spiritual spring water when she left. Xu Qingmo made a drink with it every meal. Her injuries healed, and her body grew stronger.

Although she could only use about 30% of her fire abilities, killing an adult wild boar wasn’t a problem.

Following the blood scent, Xu Qingmo climbed a tree and surveyed the area.

Behind some bushes, she spotted more than ten wild boars of varying sizes.

She picked a medium-sized one, about 100 pounds, broke a stick, and leapt from the tree.

Her small body was agile. She charged at the herd, jumped onto the boar’s back, and thrust the stick into its eye.

The boar shrieked in pain, running fast with Xu Qingmo clinging to its back.

She grabbed its ears and leaned forward to stabilize herself.

The other boars, seeing their companion attacked, charged after her.

A few of them suddenly froze when flames appeared in midair, unseen by the others, causing them to collide with the front boar. Screams erupted behind.

Xu Qingmo pulled the stick from the boar’s eye. Blood splattered everywhere. She plunged the stick into another boar’s eye, even deeper this time.

She grabbed its ears, guiding it to smash into a nearby tree.

Bang! The boar hit the tree, screamed, and collapsed into a pool of blood.

All the boars were blinded, gasping on the ground.

Xu Qingmo jumped down, grabbed the boar’s hind legs, and dragged it down the mountain.

The villagers watched a tiny child dragging a boar as big as a small hill. Even a full-grown man might not manage that alone.

Within an hour, Xu Qingmo appeared at Wang Xiuzhi’s doorstep. The door was ajar, and inside, men were questioning her while Wang Xiuzhi shouted curses.

She set the boar at the door, pushed it in, and dragged it into the yard.

Instantly, all the arguments stopped.

The neighboring thugs were still inside. They hadn’t found much of value and demanded Wang Xiuzhi reveal the valuables.

Annoyed and angry, she scratched one thug’s face. His accomplices restrained her and threatened her: if she didn’t cooperate to repay the debt, everyone would know Xu Yuanlong owed money.

Wang Xiuzhi, fearing the village would hear, planned to default.

The door opening attracted many onlookers. They were stunned to see Xu Qingmo dragging in a wild boar, forgetting how to curse her.

The bald thug, ignoring the pain on his face, stared at the boar, which was two or three times his size. Stars flashed in his eyes.

He hadn’t eaten meat in a long time—and he wanted this boar.