Chapter 351: 111: The lovely Mrs. Shangguan, heavily mistreats the family of Qian Zhaodi_6
But in the next second, a piercing scream of agony echoed through the air.
“Ah!”
Qian Wangcai’s foot was caught in a large animal trap. The sharp teeth of the trap bit tightly into Qian Wangcai’s ankle, and his cotton pants were instantly soaked with blood.
Pain!
Extreme pain!
The air was filled with a strong stench of blood.
Qian Wangcai was in so much pain that he was on the verge of passing out. Crying, he yelled out, “Useless bastard! You little jerk! What are you staring at? Hurry up and help me!”
Qian Zhaodi immediately rushed forward, trying to pry open the trap with her hands, “Wangcai, don’t be afraid, your sister is here to save you.”
Unfortunately, the trap didn’t open, but instead clamped tighter. The pain was unbearable, like being bitten by a tiger.
Unable to withstand the intense pain, Qian Wangcai fainted. Before he lost consciousness, he cursed at Qian Zhaodi, “You bitch! How dare you harm me! Mom! Mom, come save me! Come beat this bitch!”
Unfortunately, no one could hear his cries in the thick forest.
Qian Zhaodi didn’t linger at the place and ran back to the village, “Mom and Dad! It’s bad! Wangcai is missing!”
When she returned, Qian Shengqian and Zhao Xiaoxi had already noticed that Qian Wangcai was missing and were frantically looking for him everywhere.
“I asked you to watch your brother, how could you lose him! What kind of sister are you!” Zhao Xiaoxi slapped Qian Zhaodi across the face.
Qian Zhaodi cried out, “Wangcai said he wanted to go play in the back mountain, I couldn’t stop him, so I went with him. But all of a sudden, Wangcai disappeared while we were playing. I don’t know what happened…”
Qian Shengqian grabbed a flashlight and walked out of the house anxiously, “Xiaoxi, let’s go find Wangcai! Once we find him, we’ll settle the score with this good-for-nothing girl!”
“If something happens to Wangcai today, I’ll skin you alive!”
The couple left the house, cursing and swearing.
Not long after, a huge fire broke out in a small farmhouse, consuming everything inside.
The flickering flames lit up Qian Zhaodi’s dirt-streaked face, and a hint of a smile appeared on corner of her mouth.
She finally took the step.
Before leaving, Qian Zhaodi went to the door of Granny Gu’s house next door and gave a sincere kowtow.
These years, Granny Gu had taken care of her time and time again. Without her, she might have died long ago.
Just then, the tightly closed door suddenly opened.
“Granny Gu?” Qian Zhaodi looked up at Granny Gu, surprised.
Granny Gu shoved a bundle into Qian Zhaodi’s arms, “Child, don’t say anything. Go quickly!”
“Granny Gu,” Qian Zhaodi choked out, “Goodbye.”
Qian Zhaodi’s frail figure disappeared into the dimness of the night.
Granny Gu watched her leave and sighed slowly.
It’s better that she’s gone.
Because if Qian Zhaodi continued to stay in this family, she would eventually face certain death.
By the time Zhao Xiaoxi and Qian Shengqian brought the unconscious Qian Wangcai back from the mountain, the fire was completely out of control, and the beams of the house had collapsed.
“Oh my God! What happened?”
“Help! Somebody help put out the fire!”
Qian Shengqian was quite wealthy, and underneath his bed, he had hidden treasures handed down from his ancestors, “My treasure! My treasure!” Without his treasures, how would his family live the high life in the future?
When the couple shouted out in panic, it drew quite a few villagers to come and watch the excitement.
But they were there just to watch.
In the village, Qian Shengqian and Zhao Xiaoxi were notorious for their domineering, cunning, and evil behavior, frequently abusing their daughter. So when they came to such a state, everyone was almost clapping in joy.
“What goes around comes around! This is their retribution!”
“Right you are.”
“…”
“I beg you, please help us put out the fire. I will pay you a lot.” At this point, Zhao Xiaoxi didn’t care about her son’s injuries anymore. She knelt on the ground, pleading with everyone.
“Even if you give us a lot of money, we can’t act against our conscience.”
“Yes.”
“Three feet above our heads, there are divine beings watching. If we help put out the fire, won’t that just be helping a tyrant?”
“When you two are doing evil things in the village and abusing Zhaodi, didn’t you ever think about this day?”
“You deserve it!”
“Please!” Zhao Xiaoxi knelt till his forehead was bloody, but no one was willing to reach out a helping hand.
Relying on others will not help, Qian Shengqian bravely dashed into the blazing inferno to retrieve his treasure.
“Wangcai’s father!” Zhao Xiaoxi screamed in horror, watching as the raging fire engulfed Qian Shengqian.
Then there is such a question from the crowd:
“Where is Zhaodi?”
“My goodness! The child isn’t still in the fire, is she?”
“Zhaodi is such a pitiful child!”
Once this realization seeped in, the onlookers promptly began to extinguish the flames.
But it was too late.
Because the fire was way too massive!
However, they managed to drag Qian Shengqian out of the burning area, but by then, it was too late. Qian Shengqian was so charred that he was unrecognizable.
He was barely alive, but bedridden for the rest of his life.
Qian Wangcai, on the other hand, had to have his limb amputated because his wounds were not properly cared for in time and thus had become infected.
As for Qian Zhaodi, everyone speculated whether she had been reduced to ashes in the fire.
Everything was lost.
No more people, no more money.
Zhao Xiaoxi sat on the cold ground, crying uncontrollably, and finally, unable to cope with this blow, he turned mad overnight.
At this time, Qian Zhaodi had just gotten off the train.
Watching the rising red sun, her eyes brimmed with endless hope.
A new life.
It had begun!
She would tread along the pathway leading towards her future, slowly but steadily.
…
The next day, when Ni Yang went to the Vegetable Market again, she didn’t see the familiar figure with yearning eyes, clutching a Camellia flower.
It was getting late, and there was still no sign of Zhaodi?
Ni Yang glanced at the setting sun and furrowed her brows in concern.
“Excuse me, are you Sister Ni Yang?” A childish voice sounded at her side.
Looking down, Ni Yang saw a little boy, about seven or eight.
“I am Ni Yang. How can I help you, dear?”
The boy said, “I’m Zhaodi’s good friend. She asked me to tell you that she has gone far away. She will take care of herself and you should not worry about her.”
“Also,” the boy pulled a red string out of his pocket and gave it to Ni Yang, “She asked me to give this to you.”
Before Ni Yang could ask anything else, the young boy scurried off.
Ni Yang lowered her eyes to the red string in her palm.
It was an ordinary red string, with a peach pit in the shape of a basket tied to it. The pit was polished and gleamed brightly, which showed the dedication of whoever crafted it.
Peach pits tied with red strings were considered talismans against evil in folklore. Nevertheless, this was a token from Zhaodi, and Ni Yang carefully tied it around her left wrist.
Soon, Saturday arrived.
Today was the day of Li Yanran’s party. Fearful that Li Ting might not be interested in such a gathering, she had not only invited Ni Yang but also Li Xianxian.
The idea of a party, after all, was to make it as lively as possible with more people.
…