Free Web NovelChapter 295: Chapter 295: Scuffle
By now, Su Qing’s Wood Ability had recovered to the Fourth Rank. It was leagues beyond what it had been when she first arrived.
Naturally, her control over her superpower came with far greater ease.
The whip may have been thin, only leaving red welts without breaking the skin, but the Wood Ability infused within it was enough to plunge them into excruciating agony.
"AH!"
When they saw Su Qing lash out with the whip, Su Shengguo’s family of four scrambled to dodge. But the whip seemed to have eyes of its own, striking them from all sorts of impossible angles. And even though it didn’t break the skin, each lash was agonizingly painful.
"Su Qing, I’m your uncle! How dare you strike an elder!" Su Shengguo hissed in pain, roaring furiously as he tried to dodge the whip.
’Su Shengguo felt he had lost every shred of his dignity. He’d been beaten up over the New Year, but at least that hadn’t been in front of the entire village. But today? This was a public humiliation. And to be thrashed by a junior, no less! How could he ever show his face in the village again? They would laugh him into an early grave!’
Su Qing remained silent. One lash after another, none of them wasted, all found their mark on the family of four. Watching from the crowd, Old Su and Su Shunli couldn’t help but shudder, ’thankful they hadn’t been foolish enough to rush out and confront her.’
Seeing Su Shengguo’s family of four getting thrashed, the onlooking villagers made no move to intervene. Instead, they happily watched the spectacle. One person even made a maddeningly cheerful taunt, "Su Shengguo, wouldn’t you say you were asking for this? Su Qing was just minding her own business at home, but you had to show up at her door looking for a beating. Well, look at you now—you got one, didn’t you?"
The comment was so infuriating it nearly made Su Shengguo spit blood.
’Talk about kicking a man while he’s down.’
But no matter how Su Shengguo’s family of four tried to dodge, they couldn’t escape Su Qing’s whip, much less advance for a counterattack.
So, by the time Zhao Youcai arrived after hearing the news, he was greeted by the sight of Su Shengguo’s family of four, tears streaming down their faces, desperately scrambling about but failing to dodge a single lash. Covered from head to toe in red welts, they looked truly pathetic.
Zhao Youcai coughed lightly, concealing the smile at the corners of his mouth. ’If you ask me,’ he thought, ’Su Shengguo’s family had this coming. I heard all about how he’s been ranting at home about settling scores with Su Qing. He lost his job, but instead of reflecting on his own act of bribery, he blames her. Now he even shows up on her doorstep. Who else is she supposed to beat up?’
’They literally walked right into this beating!’
’Still, as the chief of Lihua Village, I do have to stop this violence,’ he mused. ’It’s just that when I heard the news, I didn’t rush right over. I took a nice, slow stroll instead. And looking at things now, my timing is perfect.’
’Excellent.’
"Ahem, Su Qing," Zhao Youcai said, "that’s enough. They’re still your uncle’s family. A small punishment to teach them a lesson will do."
Hearing this, Su Qing smiled and put her whip away. "Village Chief, I’ll do as you say. But you have to back me up here. Their whole family showed up to bully a lone girl like me. That’s unacceptable by any standard."
When Su Shengguo’s family heard Su Qing’s words, they were so furious they could have screamed.
’Who was bullying whom?’
’Who was the one whipping people all over the place?’
’Who was the one covered in red welts?’
’How can she twist the truth like that?’
’Unbelievable!’
’Absolutely unbelievable!’
Sucking in a sharp breath of pain, Su Shengguo quickly said to Zhao Youcai, "Village Chief, you saw it with your own eyes! We’re the ones who got beaten! Look at the welts all over me! Su Qing is still holding the whip! You have to be fair!"
"If you hadn’t come looking for a beating, would Su Qing have whipped you? It’s not like she’s bored," Zhao Youcai snorted. "She had just walked through her door today when you came looking for trouble. Anyone would have whipped you. In my opinion, she went easy on you. She didn’t even break the skin, and you still have the nerve to cry about it."
’What does he mean she didn’t even break the skin?’
Su Shengguo was so furious he could have keeled over. ’My whole body is in agony, I’m literally trembling from the pain, and he calls this *going easy*? That Zhao Youcai’s favoritism is absolutely shameless!’
"Village Chief, we’re the victims here," Zheng Erlian yelped, wincing in pain as she spoke to Zhao Youcai. "Look at us! If you’re not going to do anything about this, we’ll go to the police!"
"Have some shame!" one of the onlookers immediately retorted after hearing Zheng Erlian. "You think you’re in the right after coming here to bully a young girl? You demanded a thousand yuan right off the bat—that’s extortion! You think we’re all blind? If you dare go to the police and try to frame Su Qing, we’ll all testify that you came to her door to blackmail her. We’ll see who gets locked up then!"
The police had recently been holding legal education campaigns, and Lihua Village had already hosted two meetings on the subject. As a result, the villagers now knew a thing or two about the law and spoke with surprising confidence.
Zhao Youcai chuckled. "Go ahead, report it to the police. We haven’t mentioned Su Shengguo’s bribery to them yet. This would be a perfect time to explain the whole situation. Then we’ll see who gets arrested."
The words from Zhao Youcai and the villagers gave Su Shengguo a terrible fright. He spun around and slapped Zheng Erlian across the face. "Who said anything about calling the police? You crazy bitch, are you insane?"
Caught off guard, Zheng Erlian stumbled from Su Shengguo’s slap and fell right onto Su Mei. In an instant, mother and daughter were tangled up on the ground.
Su Mei was already aching all over from the whipping. When Zheng Erlian crashed into her, she was knocked to the ground, landing hard on the right side of her face. The wound there hadn’t fully healed yet, and blood instantly started soaking through the gauze on her cheek.
"AH! It hurts so much!" Su Mei cried out, feeling the sharp sting in her cheek.
Seeing the blood on Su Mei’s face, her own cheek stinging from the slap, Zheng Erlian felt a surge of pure rage. She scrambled up from the ground and lunged at Su Shengguo. "You black-hearted bastard! You’re only brave when you’re picking on your own family! If you’re so angry, go after Su Qing! Why don’t you dare hit her? You hit me instead? You think I’m a pushover?"
Zheng Erlian moved quickly. Before Su Shengguo could even react, she had raked her nails across his face, leaving several bloody scratches in their wake.
"OW! You damn bitch, are you crazy?" Su Shengguo howled in pain and slapped Zheng Erlian viciously once more. Right then and there, in front of everyone, the couple began to brawl, leaving the crowd completely stunned.
’Wait, they’re actually fighting?’
Su Qing smiled faintly. Leaning against her courtyard gate with the whip in hand, she watched Su Shengguo and his wife tear each other apart. ’Nothing’s more satisfying than watching dogs bite dogs.’
