The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Zheng Fengnian struggled to resist, but his arm was pushed back down by a brute force just as he raised it halfway up the ground.

He was horrified to discover that the girl was several times stronger than him.

He was like a lamb with its limbs bound, his limbs weak, his strength to struggle gradually dissipating, leaving him with no chance to fight back.

A warm sensation came from the back of my head, and a splash of bright red stained the brown earth.

The instinct for survival spread through his blood to every part of his body, and he was finally afraid. It was a fear that went deep into his bones, making his voice tremble as he begged for mercy from the white-haired girl in front of him.

"Please...please stop hitting me! I was wrong, I was really wrong!" His voice was choked with sobs, indistinct yet urgent. "I won't marry the girl anymore, I'll send her to school, please don't hit me!"

Xu Xi grabbed his neck tightly and lifted him up like a chick.

A cold glint flashed in her lifeless eyes.

Whether you marry off your daughter or not has nothing to do with me.

"Even if you beat her to death here, I wouldn't care."

"But...only I can bully my man."

"If you use your left hand to attack him, I'll cripple your left hand. If you use your right hand to attack him, I'll cripple your right hand."

Before she finished speaking, Xu Xi threw Zheng Fengnian to the ground like a dead fish.

A dull thud was heard, and Zheng Fengnian groaned in pain. Just as he was about to get up, he saw the girl bend down to pick up the wooden stick he had dropped on the ground, raise her arm high, and without the slightest hesitation, slam it down heavily on his right hand.

"ah--!!!"

A piercing howl pierced his throat, and Zheng Fengnian's right hand instantly lost sensation.

He was in so much pain that his whole body convulsed, and he rolled around on the ground, clutching his right hand tightly with both hands, his clothes instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Before he could recover, another heavy blow came down, hitting his left hand precisely.

"ah--"

Another heart-wrenching scream rang out, and Zheng Fengnian's hands were completely ruined.

He lay helplessly on the ground, his vision blurred, and could only watch as the white-haired witch approached him step by step.

His legs went weak, and a foul-smelling liquid seeped from his groin.

He disregarded his shame, only a deep-seated fear remained, and he stammered his plea.

"I...I didn't...I didn't hit your man with my left hand, so why did you hit me?"

"You injured my man's left hand; this is blood for blood."

Xu Xi stepped forward and stomped hard on Zheng Fengnian's stomach, raising the wooden stick in her hand again, pointing it directly at his face.

"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I'm going to die, I'm really going to die!"

Zheng Fengnian was completely powerless to resist. His whole body ached as if it were falling apart, and he could only lie on the ground and beg for mercy.

"Those who touch my things never have a good ending."

A hint of madness flashed in Xu Xi's eyes: "In your next life, be more careful."

Zheng Fengnian trembled with fear at the madness in her eyes, and instinctively cried out, "You...you killed me! You'll go to jail! A life for a life, don't you know that?!"

"Hehe... Hahahahahaha..."

Xu Xi suddenly burst into laughter, her laughter full of mockery and sarcasm, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Now you're talking to me about the law."

She leaned down and whispered softly in Zheng Fengnian's ear.

"You said it yourself, that this place is far from the reach of the emperor, and nobody can control it."

"I suppose that in this remote mountain area, a drunkard would die and no one would find out."

Zheng Fengnian was jolted, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

He looked at the girl's grinning face, her lifeless eyes resembling those of a demon straight out of hell.

Overwhelmed by immense fear, he blacked out, his eyes closed, and he fainted completely from fright.

At this moment, Xu Nian, whose arm had finally regained some feeling, finally realized what was happening.

He rushed forward, snatched the wooden stick from Xu Xi's hand, and hugged her tightly.

"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive, if you keep fighting, someone will die."

He was worried that if Xu Xi really managed to seriously injure Zheng Fengnian, he would be in big trouble.

"Tch, I was just trying to scare him, I didn't expect him to be such a coward."

"Xu Xi" then raised his hand and patted the dust off his hands, his tone carrying a hint of disdain, his eyes sweeping over the unconscious Zheng Fengnian on the ground.

"A bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong."

Then, a mocking smile appeared on her lips as she leaned close to Xu Nian's ear and whispered something.

"If you can't even beat this pushover, you should just stay behind me and stop fantasizing about being a hero and saving the damsel in distress."

"If you're bad at cooking, just practice more."

Xu Nian was stunned for a moment, looking at the girl in his arms in disbelief.

"A small flame?"

Xu Xi chuckled softly, and her dull eyes gradually brightened, becoming piercing and radiant, shedding all their hostility.

"elder brother!"

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. She hurriedly reached out to unbutton Xu Nian's shirt, her gaze fixed on the bruises on his shoulder, her fingertips carefully touching them.

"How's your hand? Is it okay? Does it hurt?"

"No...it's okay now." Xu Nian rubbed the bruises on her shoulder, wincing in pain. "It's much better, but it still hurts a little."

"No...it's nothing." Xu Nian rubbed the bruise on his shoulder, the sharp pain making him grit his teeth.

"Much better, it still hurts a little, but it's nothing serious."

Seeing that his arm could still move freely and that no bones were broken, Xu Xi finally breathed a long sigh of relief, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Then, the two of them, along with Zhao Lin, carried the badly injured Zheng Xiaona and her brother down the mountain and drove to the hospital in the county town.

As for Zheng Fengnian, who was lying on the ground, seemingly oblivious to his fate, Xu Xi woke him up with a basin of cold water and left him on the mountain to fend for himself.

Fortunately, after being examined by doctors, both children were found to be fine.

Due to long-term malnutrition, the siblings were extremely weak and lay in the hospital room for a full day and night before gradually regaining consciousness.

Outside the ward, Xu Nian, Xu Xi, and Zhao Lin frowned as they discussed Zheng Xiaona's future.

They unanimously concluded that Zheng Xiaona must not be sent back to her father; that would be tantamount to pushing her into a fire pit.

Although Zhao Lin and Qi Yu can help take care of her, if Zheng Xiaona continues to stay in the village, she might attract Zheng Fengnian's wrath.

After all, they were in the open, while Zheng Fengnian was in the shadows, unable to constantly guard against this person who could only communicate with fists.

After much deliberation, Xu Xi decided to send Zheng Xiaona to the city and entrust her to a Hope Primary School that she had funded.

She knew that sending such a young child away from home to a strange place would inevitably make him feel lonely and afraid.

But she had no other choice. This was perhaps the best way out for her right now, the only way for her to completely break free from her family of origin, escape the shadows of the past, and live a good life.