Chapter 5: You Are Truly Too Malicious

Qin Yuyu bit her lip, remaining silent.

However, one of her fair hands subconsciously pressed against a spot on her chest.

That jade pendant—she had fallen in love with it the moment she laid eyes on it!

At the time, she had felt some sort of pull from the pendant, which was why she had taken it.

She could not, in good conscience, say she was innocent regarding what happened that night. Yet, she did not regret it. If not for that grain, Xiaohu, Xiaocao, and the others would have starved to death. The world had always been this way; kind people couldn't survive. She didn't want to be a villain, but the cruel reality had forced her hand.

Du Wan reached out a hand toward her.

Qin Yuyu lowered her head, biting her lip. "I didn't want to either. I'm sorry."

"Save the apologies. Give me back the jade pendant." Du Wan had no intention of being led astray.

She had long expected Qin Yuyu to be shameless, but now that they were face-to-face, the girl had managed to lower the bar even further.

Even now, Qin Yuyu still didn't want to return the pendant.

Du Wan threatened, "Do you want me to announce what you did in front of everyone?"

"No, please don't. I beg you. You are a kind girl; please have pity on us."

As Qin Yuyu pleaded in a low voice, her tone trembled. "We are all orphans without fathers or mothers. Our lives have been too bitter. We waited so long just to finally have the stable life we have now. If word of that night gets out, we won't have a way to survive!"

Du Wan sneered, "What does that have to do with me? There are plenty of people in this world living bitter lives."

"I—"

"You've said so much, but it just boils down to you not wanting to return it, right?"

"No! I didn't!" Qin Yuyu struggled to unfasten the pendant from her neck.

No matter how unwilling she was, she still placed the jade pendant into Du Wan's hand.

Du Wan gripped the pendant immediately.

Was this massive golden finger finally coming back to her?

Du Wan felt not a shred of guilt for snatching the golden finger back from Qin Yuyu. In the novel, Qin Yuyu’s rise to the pinnacle of life was paved with piles of bones and countless vengeful spirits.

Qin Yuyu felt as if a piece of her heart were missing; it was agonizing.

Seeing Du Wan about to pull her hand back, she panicked and grabbed Du Wan’s wrist with both hands.

It gave Du Wan a huge fright.

"What do you think you're doing?" Du Wan held onto the pendant, refusing to let go.

Qin Yuyu wore an expression of grievance and forbearance. "I really like this pendant. Can you sell it to me?"

"Sell? What would you use to buy it?" Du Wan scoffed.

"I have grain. I’ll trade you grain for it."

"Heh. You want to use my own grain to buy back my own property?" Du Wan was so angry she shoved her away. "Do you have any shame left?"

This remark stunned the villagers watching from the sidelines.

Even Hu San was taken aback.

The implications of that sentence were significant!

But even after being pushed, Qin Yuyu refused to let go.

"Bitch! Let go of Yuyu!" A young boy suddenly rushed forward, intending to shove Du Wan.

Hu San stepped in first to block the boy.

The boy, believing Qin Yuyu was being bullied by Du Wan, glared at her with a ferocious, murderous expression.

But this fierce posturing didn't scare Du Wan.

After a bout of commotion, Du Wan still held the pendant tightly. Qin Yuyu was forced to let go of her wrist, switching to grabbing the thin cord of the pendant instead.

Even as the cord cut into her skin and drew blood, Qin Yuyu didn't let go.

Catching a glimpse of the blood dripping from Qin Yuyu’s palm, Du Wan became extremely vigilant. Many web novels often wrote about protagonists with heaven-defying luck who, through some accidental injury, would inadvertently get their blood onto a treasure.

Du Wan wanted to ask Hu San and the others for help.

But as a group of children rushed forward, Hu San and his men found themselves somewhat restricted, though they still easily kept the children from getting near Du Wan.

"Stop! Miss Du!"

A man’s roar thundered out.

The crowd, on the verge of a brawl, froze instantly.

Du Wan followed the sound of the roar and saw two young men in identical attire, carrying swords, walking out one after another from the thatched cottage in the center.

The two men stepped out and stood guard on either side of the doorway.

Following them was a young gentleman dressed in snow-white robes. He had clear, handsome features and an extraordinary temperament. Every movement he made carried the refined, upright air of a scholar, easily winning the favor of passersby.

One look at this entrance, and it was clear his background was anything but ordinary.

Not only was he wealthy, but he also had power.

Ordinary wealthy families couldn't afford to keep guards who carried swords.

However, Du Wan only gave them a faint glance before losing interest.

Whoever you are, don't even think about ruining this perfect situation.

Du Wan decided to strike first and scolded loudly, "Qin Yuyu, you are truly too vicious! I kindly saved you, and not only are you ungrateful, but you also stole my family's money and grain. When the old woman discovered you, you even went insane and killed her to silence her?! If I had woken up that night, would you have killed me too?"

"Qin Yuyu, have you never thought about whether the old woman’s vengeful spirit will come looking for you at night? You murderer!"

She did something evil and still wanted her not to talk about it?

In her dreams!

The surroundings fell silent.

The onlookers present stared at Qin Yuyu in shock.

Qin Yuyu’s face turned pale as she argued, "No! I’m not a murderer, I’m not!"

She never intended to kill anyone; she had never thought about killing anyone!

But she had clearly drugged the two of them—she didn't know how the old woman had managed to wake up...

"When we grow up, we will pay you back for the grain!" a larger child shouted in a panic.

Hearing this, Qin Yuyu felt as if she had grabbed a piece of driftwood in the water. "Yes, we only borrowed your grain temporarily to get through a hard time. We will pay you back."

"Borrowed?!"

*Heh.*

Du Wan sneered, "By your logic, there are no thieves in this world! Because they are all just 'borrowing' things."

"Pfft!"

"Haha..."

People around them couldn't help but laugh and point fingers.

But out of fear of the three strangers, they didn't dare go too far.

Taking advantage of Qin Yuyu’s distraction, Du Wan pulled out a small knife, swiftly cut the thin cord, and retreated behind Hu San.

The two girls were separated.

Hu San and the others circled Du Wan, protecting her in the center.

Du Wan tossed the severed piece of cord to Qin Yuyu and carefully tucked the jade pendant away against her body.

This red cord was brand new.

The original owner’s old one had broken long ago and had been tossed into some unknown corner.

Qin Yuyu was filled with shame and indignation. "What is the meaning of this?"

Du Wan sneered, "Heh, what meaning could there be? Things that don't belong to me—even half a piece of string—I don't want."

"You—"

Beyond her shame, Qin Yuyu was furious and hateful.

Du Wan’s action was like a slap across her face.

One of the sword-wielding youths suddenly mocked, "A spoiled and willful young lady, yet she speaks with such high-sounding righteousness. If the people of the capital heard this, they would laugh for a whole year."

"Indeed, it is quite funny."

"Miss Du, are you planning to abandon evil and follow the path of good?"

The other youth chimed in.

The man in white, however, furrowed his brows slightly, looking somewhat inscrutable.

~

(End of chapter)