The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

"Where did you hide it?" Ling Heping finally spoke. "Let's go find it."

The old woman shook her head: "You won't find it. Only I know that place. And..."

She paused, then put on a pitiful expression.

"I still have to feed the pigs. I live alone; what will happen if the pigs starve to death? Boss, please stop tying me up like this. I'm just an old woman; do you think it's easy for me?"

As she spoke, she actually started crying, tears and snot streaming down her face, looking utterly miserable.

But Qi Weiwei knew that it was all an act.

In her past life, she had seen too many people like this—seemingly pitiful on the surface, vicious on the inside, and adept at playing dumb to take advantage of others.

Ling Heping and Qi Weiwei exchanged a glance. He lowered his voice and said in a volume only the two of them could hear, "Unfortunately, we are soldiers and cannot use torture to extract confessions."

As he said this, he blinked, a sly glint in his eyes.

Qi Weiwei understood immediately.

After Ling Heping finished speaking, he turned and left, as if he were going to consult his superiors.

The door creaked shut, leaving only Qi Weiwei and the old lady in the room.

Under the glaring light of the incandescent bulb, the old lady squinted as she looked at Qi Weiwei.

Seeing Ling Heping leave, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but was still somewhat wary—who was this woman?

Qi Weiwei stood up and slowly walked to the old lady.

Her footsteps were light, but exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

The old woman looked up, squinting at her: "Young lady, you are...?"

Before he could finish speaking...

Qi Weiwei's hands suddenly gripped the old lady's neck tightly!

Swift, accurate, and ruthless!

The old lady was completely unprepared and was caught off guard by the pinch.

Her eyes widened instantly, she made a "hoarse" sound in her throat, and her face quickly turned red, then bluish-purple.

She struggled desperately, but her hands were handcuffed to the chair, and she couldn't exert any force.

He kicked his legs wildly, knocking over the stool next to him.

Qi Weiwei pinched hard, her fingers digging deep into the old woman's neck.

Her eyes were icy cold, without a trace of hesitation, filled only with boundless hatred.

Ten seconds or so.

For the old lady, it felt like a lifetime.

Just when she thought she was going to die, Qi Weiwei let go of her hand.

"Cough cough cough... Heh... Heh..."

The old woman was gasping for breath, her face covered in tears and snot, and ten clear finger marks on her neck, which had turned purple.

She looked at Qi Weiwei in horror, as if she were looking at a demon.

Qi Weiwei stood in front of her, looking down at her with a fierce gaze that seemed to want to kill.

"Boss...who is this crazy woman?" the old lady shouted hoarsely toward the door, her voice like a broken bellows.

There was no sound from outside the door.

Qi Weiwei sneered, leaning closer to her, her voice low but each word sounding like it was being squeezed out through clenched teeth: "You almost sold my daughter last night, so who do you think I am?"

The old lady was taken aback and squinted as she carefully examined Qi Weiwei.

The lights were too bright for her to see clearly, but she vaguely felt that the woman looked familiar...

—Sister Chen's makeup skills are truly amazing; it hasn't come off at all all day.

"You're so old, how can you still have children?"

The old lady blurted it out and immediately regretted it—that was practically asking for trouble.

But she quickly remembered Su Cuilan's words and mustered her courage to say:

"Su Cuilan told me that you gave birth to a bastard!"

I've taken care of it for you, isn't that exactly what you wanted?

Girl, why are you repaying kindness with enmity?

"Tit for kindness?" Qi Weiwei laughed, a cold laugh devoid of any warmth. "What a fine example of tit for kindness."

Before she finished speaking, she raised her hand and slapped the old lady more than a dozen times with both hands!

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The crisp, loud sound of a slap echoed in the room.

Qi Weiwei struck with extreme force, each slap delivered with full power.

Her palms quickly became red and swollen, burning with pain, but she didn't stop.

The old woman was stunned by the beating; her face quickly swelled up, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

She cried and sobbed, trying to hide, but she couldn't escape.

"Where's your little notebook?" Qi Weiwei stopped, panting, her eyes fixed on the old woman. "Tell me! If you don't, I'll beat you to death!"

Extreme fear flashed in the old woman's eyes, but she remained defiant.

She kept her mouth tightly shut, not uttering a sound, only staring at Qi Weiwei with her eyes swollen to slits.

Qi Weiwei stopped talking nonsense, raised her hand, and continued to hit.

This time it's heavier.

"Snapped!"

With one slap, the old woman's head tilted to the side, and she spat out a mouthful of bloody water, mixed with a bloody tooth.

The tooth fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and came to rest in the corner.

Qi Weiwei's hands were swollen like steamed buns, her palms were burning with pain, and her skin was broken and bleeding.

But she seemed oblivious to the pain, her eyes fixed solely on the old woman.

She leaned closer again, her face almost touching the old woman's, her voice as low as a whisper, but every word carried a chilling intent:

"The one you call 'leader' is my nephew."

The old lady froze.

"He said," Qi Weiwei continued, her voice eerily calm, "that if I beat you to death, I'll just remember it as 'dying from a fall while trying to escape,' so I can beat you without worry and vent my anger."

She paused, looked into the old woman's terrified eyes, and said, word by word, "Old woman, your life is now in my hands."

This belongs to Grandma Meng.

Ling Heping never said that, nor could he have said that.

But the old lady didn't know.

She looked at Qi Weiwei—this woman's eyes were terrifying, cold, crazed, and filled with a resolute determination that disregarded everything.

She believed it.

Finally, she completely broke down.

"I'll talk... I'll talk..." the old woman cried, her voice hoarse, "My little notebook, it's in a small box buried under that broken stone trough in the northwest corner of my pigsty..."

She cried and spoke incoherently: "The stone trough was broken, a corner was missing... right below that corner... dig a foot deep... there was a tin box... wrapped in tarpaulin... don't kill me... I was wrong... let the government try me..."

She thought that because she was old, even if she confessed, she wouldn't be sentenced; at most, she would be detained for a few days and then released.

Qi Weiwei got the answer she wanted, immediately turned around, opened the door, and rushed out.

Outside the door, Ling Heping was leaning against the wall, waiting.

Seeing Qi Weiwei come out, he immediately stood up straight: "You got the answer?"

Qi Weiwei nodded and quickly repeated the address the old lady had given her.

Ling Heping's eyes lit up, and he immediately wrote it down. He said to a young soldier waiting nearby, "Xiao Zhao, take two men and go to her house immediately. Search according to what's written on this note! Be quick!"

"Yes, sir!" Xiao Zhao stood at attention, saluted, and ran off.

Ling Heping then looked at Qi Weiwei.

Her face was very pale, but her eyes were frighteningly bright, and her hands were red and swollen, and were trembling slightly.

"Your hand..." Ling Heping frowned.