spoiled brat

Chapter 15. Eliminating Evil (Part 15)

Zhao Zhao dropped the oil bottle in her hand, walked to a crooked locust tree, wrapped her palms with cloth, and climbed up the tree by stepping on the tree trunk.

This is a skill I honed from stealing bird eggs in the past; I never thought I'd be able to use it here.

She was light and agile, perched on the tree branch without swaying or shaking, her cat-like eyes scanning the inner courtyard.

Last night, red lanterns were lit, but tonight it's pitch black, eerily silent.

Zhao Zhao felt a little apprehensive, but according to the agreement, Xiao Duo and Yun'er would lead Huang Qian here before dawn.

The time was fast approaching, and she had no choice but to act; there was no time to hesitate.

She climbed up the courtyard wall using the branches, but the wall was a bit high, so Zhao Zhao found a soft spot covered with flowers and grass, closed her eyes, and jumped down.

She fell with a thud into the flowerbed, feeling as if her whole body had shattered. Her head was buzzing, and a metallic taste filled her mouth.

Zhao Zhao only regretted that she wasn't a chivalrous hero who could leap across rooftops in a storybook, and that she didn't have martial arts skills to protect herself or internal energy to safeguard her body.

Fortunately, the courtyard remained completely dark and there was no movement.

Zhao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and used her hands to support herself as she got up. Before she could straighten her back, a chilling hissing sound came from all around her.

snake!
At first it was quite far away, but then it grew closer and closer, accompanied by the rustling sound of the flowers and leaves being disturbed.

No matter how much they planned, they hadn't considered this: Zhao Zhao was most afraid of things like snakes.

But she couldn't afford to be afraid now; she dared not make a big fuss, for who knew if Zhao Si was even in the house.

Please don't let it be a poisonous snake, please don't let it be a poisonous snake.

As Zhao Zhao prayed, she rubbed the ground with her hands and picked out a stone that fit in her palm.

She remembered what Xiaoduo had once said: when you encounter a snake, you either have to run faster than it or find the right opportunity to strike its vital spot.

Zhao Zhao smiled bitterly. Her whole body ached, how could she possibly outrun a snake?
She pricked up her ears, trying to pinpoint the direction of the hissing sound, and raised her bandaged arm, her palm hovering in the air, swaying it gently in a seductive manner.

In the blink of an eye, the snake sprang up from the grass and lunged to bite Zhao Zhao's hand.

Zhao Zhao originally thought she could withdraw her hand faster than a snake, but the pain in her hand proved that it was just wishful thinking.

Having already been bitten, Zhao Zhao felt no fear whatsoever.

Ignoring the pain, she swiftly grabbed the cold, slippery snake, raised a stone, and smashed it against the snake's body, not caring where the vital spot was, or where the head or tail was, she kept smashing it without hesitation.

At first, the snake twisted and struggled wildly, but soon its body went limp, and it was unclear whether it had fainted or died.

Zhao Zhao stepped on the snake's head and took a closer look. Fortunately, it was a non-venomous rat snake, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Blood seeped from the tiger's mouth, and Zhao Zhao wrapped it with a cloth again. It's okay, it will only hurt for a few days.

She learned her lesson; next time she climbs over walls and breaks into courtyards, she'll remember to bring realgar to repel snakes and insects.

The moon was setting in the west, and the sky was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn. A few roosters crowed in the distance.

The appointed time was fast approaching, and she couldn't afford to delay any longer.

Zhao Zhao tiptoed toward the northwest corner of the courtyard. The sound of the wind and the chirping of insects drowned out her increasingly rapid heartbeat. Under the cold blue light of the sky, Zhao Zhao got closer and closer to the small wooden shed in the corner of the courtyard.

It was an extremely low and narrow shed. Even Zhao Zhao, who was small in stature, could only squeeze in and curl up like a dog.

Outside the shed were filthy, tattered clothes, damp and stinking, not a single one clean.

Zhao Si didn't treat Xie Shu like a human being at all.

Zhao Zhao felt a pang of fear.

Even though she walked as lightly as possible, the sound of chains rattling could still be heard inside the wooden shed, urgent and hurried, as if desperately reminding her of something.

Zhao Zhao remained silent, quickly walked into the wooden shed, and squatted down in front of Xie Shu, trying not to look at her weathered face and her body wrapped in a tattered blanket and covered in sores. She whispered:

"I understood what you said last time... I'm here."

Suppressed sobs echoed from the filthy, foul-smelling space.

Now was not the time for gentle words of comfort, so Zhao Zhao said nothing. She took off her hairpin and tried to unlock the chains binding Xie Shu's hands and feet. Unfortunately, her unlocking skills were lacking, and she couldn't break them no matter how hard she tried.

Fortunately, at the end of the chain were four not-too-large iron balls, which Zhao Zhao pushed and managed to move with difficulty.

It was almost dawn, so Zhao Zhao will keep it short:
"I'm going to set a fire later. Your place is next to the wall, so it might get burned."

"I can save you, please believe me... Now we have to work together to get you as close to the pond as possible."

Xie Shu had forgotten how to walk. She raised her hand to push Zhao Zhao away.

But her arms were too thin to support the weight of the chains, and she fell to the ground after being lifted halfway.

She was crying and screaming incoherently, nudging Zhao Zhao with her head, as if trying to tell Zhao Zhao something.

A barely audible footstep sounded, and a shadow enveloped the two of them.

A chill ran down Zhao Zhao's neck. She turned her head and, sure enough, saw Zhao Si blocking her way.

"I knew it! That bitch was screaming so loudly last night." Zhao Si's knife gleamed with a chilling light as he chuckled menacingly.

“You little bitch, I’ve seen you before.”

Zhao Zhao felt a chill run through her body; she had once thought she was different from everyone else.

She fears nothing; she breaks through what confines her and overturns what controls her. All the twists and turns are bittersweet, adding fun to her playful life.

Now that she had actually seen the knife that could kill her, she collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Even though she screamed madly in her heart to escape and plotted a countermeasure in her mind, her body was as if it had lost all feeling and was beyond her control. Her bones were cold and her teeth were trembling, and her soul seemed to have vanished.

Zhao Zhao snapped out of her daze when Xie Shu's voice suddenly rang in her ears.

In a flash, Zhao Si's knife came slashing at her. Zhao Zhao dodged to the side, but was slashed on the arm, and blood immediately stained a patch of her clothes.

Taking advantage of her child-like size, she squeezed under Zhao Si's armpits and, gritting her teeth, charged out.

"You bitch! Let go!!!"

Behind them came Zhao Si's angry curses and Xie Shu's painful cries. Xie Shu used all her strength to wrap around Zhao Si's legs, and she still wouldn't let go despite being punched and kicked.

She exchanged a glance with Zhao Zhao, who had turned around, and let out a heart-wrenching scream from her empty mouth.

Zhao Zhao understood what she meant, so without further hesitation, she ran straight towards the gate of the mansion.

However, Zhao Si was prepared and had already locked the door with a heavy bolt.

Zhao Zhao used all her strength, and even with blood seeping from her fingers, she couldn't move an inch.

Xiao Duo's anxious voice rang out from outside the nearby wall: "Zhao Zhao'er, is that you?!"

Upon hearing his voice, Zhao Zhao disregarded everything else and shouted:

"Xiao Duo, set it on fire! Set it on fire now!!!"

*
After chasing the charlatan all the way, Huang Qian had sobered up completely.

He walked from midnight to dawn, from the west of the city to the south, without knowing what he was expecting or what he was regretting.

Should we visit the Xie family's old residence?

As he got closer, he abandoned the idea of ​​rubbing salt into the wound. Things had changed, and there was nothing left to see.

Huang Qian found a breakfast stall, sat down, and ordered porridge and steamed buns.

He had been drunk and had been exposed to the night wind all the way, so his head was spinning and his vision was probably blurry. The porridge in front of him appeared to be a fiery red.

He rubbed his eyes; they were still red.

Just as he was about to ask the owner why he added chili oil to the porridge, he heard the water ladle in the owner's hand fall to the ground.

"Whose house burned down?!"

He followed the boss's gaze and saw a sea of ​​smoke and fire in the direction of the Xie family's old residence.