Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

After saying that, Lin Xiu stopped looking at Zhao Xiaoyu on the kang, turned around and stuffed the medicine bag into her bosom, the coldness on her face gradually disappearing.

"Aunt Xiulan, I've taken the medicine. Sorry to bother you today."

Her voice was soft and calm, like a deep pool, as if the two crisp slaps and the scathing insults that had just been delivered were not from her at all.

Wang Xiulan opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was stuffed with dry cotton, dry and bitter. After a long while, she finally responded with a soft, "...Sigh."

The old barefoot doctor was also taken aback, then nodded subconsciously: "Drive carefully, the snow is heavy outside and the roads are slippery."

"Um."

Lin Xiu gave a faint reply and lifted the curtain to walk out.

With that step she took, the gust of cold wind she brought in was like a steel knife, draining the last bit of life from Zhao Xiaoyu on the kang (heated brick bed).

"sister in law--!"

Zhao Xiaoyu screamed in a shrill voice, then suddenly jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed), not even bothering to put on her shoes. She stumbled barefoot onto the cold ground, rushed over, and hugged Lin Xiu tightly around the waist from behind.

"Sister-in-law, don't go! Please... don't go..."

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, and the gauze on her forehead tilted to one side as she struggled, revealing a hideous scab underneath.

Her already pale face looked even more disheveled as it became red and swollen. She clung to Lin Xiu, her fingers intertwined tightly, refusing to let go.

"I know I was wrong... I really know I was wrong. Sister-in-law, please don't leave me... I beg you..."

Wang Xiulan exclaimed "Oh dear!" and rushed over to pull her up, saying, "Xiaoyu, get up! The ground is cold, what are you doing!"

The old barefoot doctor was also startled and quickly reached out to stop her, afraid that the crazy girl would bump into Lin Xiu.

But Zhao Xiaoyu seemed not to hear at all. She gripped Lin Xiu's old cotton-padded jacket tightly with her ten fingers, crying so hard that her whole body convulsed. She couldn't even stand up straight, and her whole body almost slid down Lin Xiu's back, but she just wouldn't let go of her hand even a little.

"Sister-in-law... I really have nowhere else to go. Please don't abandon me, please don't really abandon me..."

She screamed until her legs gave way, and her knees slammed heavily onto the blue brick floor with a dull thud.

Lin Xiu stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn around or reach out to help, she just stood there coldly at the door, letting Zhao Xiaoyu slump like a rag doll behind her.

"I'm not looking for him anymore... I'm not looking for my brother anymore, I'm not going, okay...?"

Zhao Xiaoyu sobbed uncontrollably, her voice completely hoarse, "I just don't want to die... I don't want Zhao Laizi to ruin me..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiulan paused in her movements of prying her hand away, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes.

The room suddenly became eerily quiet.

Lin Xiu remained motionless. After a long while, she slowly lowered her head and coldly stared at Zhao Xiaoyu's hands, whose knuckles had turned white from excessive force.

"Let go."

The voice was flat, yet it carried an undeniable ruthlessness.

Zhao Xiaoyu's sobs faltered, but her hands didn't loosen; instead, they trembled even more violently: "Sister-in-law..."

"I'll let you go."

Lin Xiu repeated those two words again, neither loud nor heavy, yet they struck Zhao Xiaoyu's heart like a hammer.

Zhao Xiaoyu's lips turned white, and her face was streaked with tears. In the dead silence, she finally managed to slowly move her hand away.

She seemed to have lost all support in an instant, collapsing to the ground with her hair disheveled and her gauze bandages askew, looking exactly like a madwoman.

Lin Xiu then slowly turned around.

She looked at Zhao Xiaoyu kneeling on the ground, her face showing no sign of softening, her tone colder than the snow outside the window:

"If you really want to live, figure it out yourself. Don't come looking for people who don't owe you anything. And don't try to scare anyone with the threat of death. In this world, no one owes anyone another a life."

After saying that, she lifted the curtain without looking back and went out.

Zhao Xiaoyu froze on the spot, her eyes suddenly vacant.

Wang Xiulan stood to the side, her eyes also reddening. She opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't utter a single word to defend her.

Lin Xiu was right; no one has the right to pay this debt for Zhao Xiaoyu.

The room remained silent for a long while. The flickering light from the coal stove cast erratic shadows on the ground, making one feel uneasy.

Suddenly, Zhao Xiaoyu stopped crying.

She kept her head down, tears still falling to the ground, disappearing into the dust and staining the earth with a dark hue.

"Xiaoyu, don't be like this. Let's think of another way. There's always a way out. What hurdle can't be overcome? Tomorrow morning, I'll ask someone to borrow a donkey cart and move you somewhere else. We'll hide in the forest behind the mountain for a couple of days. It's high in the mountains and dense in the forest, so Zhao Laizi won't be able to find you easily. If things take a turn for the better, we'll figure it out again, okay?"

The old barefoot doctor sighed, fastened his medicine box, and came over to offer a word of advice.

"Girl, Xiulan is right. Your life is your own. As long as you're alive, anything can turn around. Zhao Laizi is a scoundrel. He's used to bullying people by relying on his power. As long as you don't let him catch you, he'll stop making a fuss after a couple of days. Your head injury hasn't healed yet, so you absolutely mustn't get angry again. If it leaves a lasting health problem, your life will be ruined."

As he spoke, he reached out to check the temperature of Zhao Xiaoyu's forehead.

Zhao Xiaoyu, however, remained as still as a wooden stake, letting Wang Xiulan support her without struggling or responding.

It took her a long time before she slowly raised her head.

"No."

These three words were spoken very softly, as if they were being ground out bit by bit from between the teeth.

Wang Xiulan was taken aback: "What?"

Zhao Xiaoyu slowly raised her head.

I said, "No need."

Her voice stopped trembling.

"You can protect me once, but you can't protect me forever. I'm not looking for my brother anymore. I'm not asking anyone for help."

Wang Xiulan felt a chill run down her spine and quickly grabbed her arm: "Xiaoyu, don't be stubborn—"

Zhao Xiaoyu seemed not to hear at all, staring only at the thin crack in the ground, and slowly said, "She took the money. He forced her into it. Then I'll go find them. This debt should have fallen on their shoulders anyway."

The moment the last sentence was uttered, the expressions on the faces of the people in the room changed.

Wang Xiulan's hand tightened, her voice trembling: "What do you mean? What are you going to do?!"

Zhao Xiaoyu twitched the corner of her mouth.

"It doesn't mean anything. I've just figured it out. Whoever drove me to this point, I'll go after them."

After she finished speaking, she held onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and slowly stood up.

Her legs were still shaking and her body was swaying a little, but she managed to stand up.

"This time, you don't need to shield me."

Wang Xiulan was terrified by her appearance and clung tightly to her sleeve, refusing to let go: "Xiaoyu! Don't scare your aunt! Explain what you're doing to your aunt!"

Zhao Xiaoyu turned her head and gave Wang Xiulan a deep look.

"I know what I need to do."