Chapter 17: Eliminating Evil (7)

Chapter 17: 17. Eradicating the Sin (Seven)

Zhaozhao was hung from a tree. Before her eyes, the world was upside down; wild grass pressed against her head, tree bark clung to her face, and bare branches pierced the bleak sky.

In a daze of numbness, she watched pairs of inverted legs circling around her head, occasionally kicking her.

She swayed helplessly, eyes open and ears straining, yet she could neither see clearly nor hear anything. Her head throbbed, and even the pain felt blurred.

She shouldn't have.

She shouldn't have given that push.

When she acted, she hadn't actually thought that much. Even a cornered rabbit will bite, let alone someone who wasn't even a rabbit.

The fault lay with that man surnamed Zhao for not treating her like a human being. He wouldn't sit down and negotiate with her properly with real silver and gold, yet he wanted to catch her like a cat or a dog in broad daylight. So many gazes were playing with her flight, burning her with a hatred that stirred a murderous intent, leading her to help him up to a high spot and give him a forceful push.

She truly shouldn't have.

That sudden burst of rage from before seemed entirely without reason now that she thought about it.

No matter how much of a scoundrel Squire Zhao was, he was still a living person with parents, a wife, and daughters. His persistent badgering was merely because he wanted to sleep with her. His crime did not warrant death; why had she been so heartless, striking to take a man's life with a single move?

An aged pair of legs appeared before her, propped by a wooden crutch, stumbling toward her. With a vacant expression, she watched this person's dragging footsteps, feeling they were familiar, yet unable to remember who it was. Her confusion lasted only a moment before the newcomer raised the wooden crutch high, swinging it toward her with a whistling wind.

Zhaozhao did not want to dodge, nor did she have the strength to. She closed her eyes blankly.

She did not wait for the expected pain; there was only a loud crash. The hemp rope suspending her snapped, and she fell heavily to the ground.

Someone lunged forward to protect her, crying out loudly in plea. From the voice, she recognized it was Xiaoduo, and then she heard continuous cursing from the surroundings, along with countless feet kicking at him. He whimpered in pain, yet held her tightly without letting go; this airtight embrace made her feel suffocated.

She wriggled out of Xiaoduo's embrace, but before she could catch her breath, a wooden pole as thick as a wrist lashed out. She remained too numb to dodge. The pole struck her head squarely, and accompanying the pain came darkness before her eyes and a deathly silence in her ears.

When light finally returned to her vision, she saw Xiaoduo's bruised and swollen face. He was crying so hard his face contorted, shouting questions at her with such force—why could she not hear a single word?

Dully lifting her hand, she touched the side of her face. Her palm was covered in a wet, sticky redness. It turned out the blood was flowing from her ear. No wonder, no wonder.

Even at this stage, Zhaozhao remained numb, a single thought churning repeatedly in her heart—*I killed someone.*

It turned out killing someone was so difficult; relying solely on hatred, she could not bring herself to treat human life as if it were grass without distraction.

But since things had come to this, she would take responsibility for her own actions; there was no need for others to shield her.

She wanted to push Xiaoduo away, but she had no strength. Her limbs and mind were both stagnant. She could only watch helplessly as Xiaoduo knelt and kowtowed to those people, and watched as Mother Yu bowed and scraped while weeping.

Why bother begging for mercy? She would just pay with her own life.

She did not know what Mother Yu and Xiaoduo said, but they somehow managed to persuade the Zhao family steward not to kill her immediately. He stepped forward to deliver a kick to her chest, spat on her, and then led the servants away.

Once they were far off, Mother Yu did not let her off either. She beat her while crying, using every trick of scratching, biting, and pulling. Unfortunately, Zhaozhao was still in a stupor; the pain wasn't very intense, and the insults were unintelligible.

Finding no satisfaction in venting her anger on a living corpse, Mother Yu locked her in the woodshed.

She was locked in for three days. During that time, there was neither rice nor water. Zhaozhao felt neither hunger nor thirst; before death arrived, she experienced a final surge of clarity.

Lying on a pile of firewood, staring at the narrow strip of sky through the window, she thought her life was effectively over.

It was finally over.

She had done no good in this life, so she did not hope for a good reincarnation in the next; she only prayed for a birth that allowed her to be human—with intact limbs and an ordinary appearance.

She would rather work hard for her food, make a fortune with her wits, and live uprightly through her own abilities.

She did not want others to see her and immediately drag her to a bed to sleep; she could not live such a life.

If she were to be reincarnated as a prostitute again, she would still charge ahead recklessly until her head bled.

Three days later, the woodshed door creaked open. A bruised and swollen Xiaoduo limped in. He held a bowl of egg custard steady and carefully squatted in front of Zhaozhao, his voice weak and hoarse: "Zhaozhao, time to eat."

Zhaozhao's gaze was hollow, her dim eyes reflecting the narrow strip of sky, as if she still could not hear.

Xiaoduo waved his hand, and only then did she look over slightly. On one side of her face, a patch of dark red was visible—it was dried blood.

Xiaoduo cupped her head to look; seeing that her ear was no longer bleeding, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then took out a clean handkerchief, dampened it with water, and wiped the blood from her face bit by bit. As he wiped, he gave a bitter smile. Zhaozhao was someone who loved beauty and cared for her dignity, yet now she had become a disheveled, ghost-like "painted cat." It was truly frightening.

"Don't be afraid, it's over now." He rubbed her cold hands to warm them, breathing on them as he spoke, "Even though the Zhao family is powerful and our lives are cheap, everything must follow reason. They cannot just treat human lives like grass."

Hearing the phrase "treat human lives like grass," Zhaozhao withdrew her hand and said hoarsely, "Xiaoduo, I killed someone..."

"You killed someone?" Xiaoduo had just been happy that her ears weren't deaf, but he was startled by her words. "Who did you kill?"

"Squire Zhao..."

"He's not dead! That old fellow is tough; even with his head covered in blood, he didn't draw his last breath. His steward invited every doctor in the county, using every means possible to save his life. Truly, a menace lives for a thousand years!"

"He's still alive?" Zhaozhao lifted her head, and bits of straw fell from her hair. "Then why didn't he come to kill me?"

"He was saved, but he's still unconscious. How could he come to kill you? Besides, why would he kill you? It's not like you harmed him!"

Xiaoduo patted Zhaozhao's head; it was warm but not hot, unlike someone with a fever-damaged brain. "Were you just terrified that day? The Zhao family's lackeys tied you up from Ruyi Pavilion and hung you up to beat you, blaming you for not holding him steady and causing their master to fall nearly to death. They even said if he died, you'd have to pay with your life... I was scared to death back then too, fearing something terrible would actually happen... Fortunately, he was saved! It shows that Mother Yu's praying to the gods and Buddhas these past few days was actually useful!"

Zhaozhao was stunned for a long while before saying in disbelief, "Are you saying... the Zhao family thinks he slipped on his own?"

"What else?" Xiaoduo was stumped by her question and said amusedly, "The news has spread all over the county. So many people saw him acting drunk in public, and saw him staggering while leaning on you as you walked up the stairs! He slipped, couldn't hold on, and rolled down like a sack of meat—dozens of eyes were watching!"

"The Zhao family originally wanted to blame you, but fortunately, the current Mistress is a decent person. She heard you are young and your bones don't weigh much, so she said that failing to hold someone steady isn't your fault. She said if there were any real connection—if Squire Zhao had pulled you down with him—that would be a sin! She knows you were beaten for no reason, so she had someone send a basket of eggs today for you to eat to nourish yourself!" Xiaoduo pointed to the egg custard on the table. "Look, I just went to the kitchen to steam it."

Zhaozhao felt as if she were in a dream, stammering, "I was framed?"

"There's no greater frame than this!"

(End of Chapter)