Chapter 73: It Wasn’t Me, I Didn’t Do It
“Whoa!” Everyone turned to look at Lin Zhi, starting to discuss animatedly. Some didn’t believe it, while others mentioned that Old Man Lin had killed someone before, and Lin Zhi was his granddaughter, so what was strange about her wanting to kill someone.
Lin Zhi’s face was deathly pale as she shrank into a ball, looking at Lin Xin in terror and shaking her head, murmuring, “It wasn’t me, I didn’t, it really wasn’t me······”
Gao Yong and the others arrived at this time. Gao Yong, still unaware of what had happened, teased Meng Yichen, “Yi Chen, did you think it was too hot and go to the riverside to cool off?”
Zhou Qi’s face was extremely ugly as he helped Meng Yichen stand to the side. Ling Qing keenly sensed something was wrong and leaned close to Zhou Qi to ask, “Brother Qi, what happened? Why is Yi Chen soaked, and how did Nan Nan fall into the river for no reason?”
Zhou Qi pursed his lips and shook his head. “Earlier, someone from the house side said there was something they needed to ask us about, so I went over. In just that short time, Nan Nan fell into the river. He woke up just now and said Lin Zhi threw him in.”
Gao Yong, Chu Yu, and Ling Qing looked at Lin Zhi, who had begun trembling, and none of them wanted to believe that this young lady was so ruthless, wanting to harm even the adorable Nan Nan.
“Older sister, it’s true. Older Sister Lin Zhi threw me into the river. I wanted to climb ashore, but she pushed me down with branches. Waa waa waa~” Lin Nan said, bursting into loud cries again.
Lin Xin’s gaze swept toward the riverside, where not far from Lin Zhi was a branch that had clearly been broken off earlier, with many crisscrossing twigs on it, half of the tip submerged in the water.
“Yi Chen, were you at home at the time? What exactly happened?” Chu Yu still couldn’t believe that Lin Zhi, a child not yet ten years old, could have such a vicious mind, so he spoke up and asked.
“I was indeed at home. At that time, Old Cui and I were teaching Nan Nan to recite the Thousand Character Classic when that Lin Zhi suddenly rushed in, grabbed Nan Nan, and ran off, startling us. By the time I came to my senses and chased after them, they had already run far away. Nan Nan couldn’t run fast and was dragged so hard he fell twice.
I chased after them while shouting, all the way to the riverside, where I saw Lin Zhi push Nan Nan into the river and use that branch to push him toward the center. I was so scared I jumped in right away to pull Nan Nan out, but by then he wasn’t breathing.” Meng Yichen had been shocked by Lin Zhi’s actions at the time, and by the time he reacted and chased out, it was already too late.
After hearing his words, a chilling killing intent suddenly burst from Lin Xin’s eyes, her whole body radiating killing intent. Gao Yong, standing closest to her, shivered from it, looking at her in disbelief.
The killing intent on this young lady was too obvious; it couldn’t be cultivated without having killed at least a thousand or eight hundred people. What kind of young lady was she exactly!
“Alright, Nan Nan, don’t cry. Older sister will go avenge you right now. Can you stay with Master for a bit first?”
Lin Nan nodded while sobbing and stretched out his two little hands for Cui Shi to pick him up.
Chu Yu was quite attentive and saw that Lin Nan’s clothes were all wet and still dripping water, so he quickly took off his own outer shirt and wrapped it around him.
Lin Xin stood up and walked toward Lin Zhi step by step. Her steps weren’t fast or heavy, but each one felt like it was stepping on Lin Zhi’s heart. Her face grew even paler, shaking her head while scooting backward on her butt, repeating over and over, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me······”
“Wasn’t it you? If it wasn’t you, why are you so afraid? Oh, right, you just told me that it didn’t matter if Nan Nan died, that you could replace him and stay with me as my little sister, right? So, is that why you wanted to kill him?” Lin Xin looked at her terrified expression and suddenly smiled as she asked.
Looking at her smile, Lin Zhi felt as if she had suddenly been thrown into a world of ice and snow, her whole body freezing to the point of numbness, able only to say, “No, it’s not like that, I didn’t, didn’t think······”
Lin Xin walked toward her while raising her right hand, placing her index finger vertically in front of her lips and pursing them to say “shh.”
When she reached her, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she suddenly reached out to pinch her neck, lifting slightly to raise Lin Zhi’s feet off the ground, still smiling as she asked, “Want to be my little sister? Want to kill my younger brother and replace him? Hm?”
With each question, her face grew a degree colder, and by the end of the three questions, her little face had become utterly icy.
Lin Zhi was pinched by the neck and held in the air, unable to draw a breath, her chest feeling like it was about to explode. Only then did Lin Zhi realize that Lin Xin really wanted to strangle her to death.
This realization finally made her start struggling, her two hands frantically slapping and scratching at Lin Xin’s hand, but to no avail. Gradually, darkness appeared before her eyes, along with countless twinkling stars.
“Xin Yatou!” The Old Clan Leader arrived at the riverside, supported by Lin Jing, followed by Old Man Lin, Lin Laoda, Xu Shi, and Lin Yang hiding furtively.
Lin Xin turned around, expressionless, and called out, “Clan Leader Grandfather.”
“Xin Yatou, put her down first. It’s not worth ruining yourself over a beast like this.” The Old Clan Leader felt deeply ashamed toward this child. Last time, if he hadn’t considered they were all from the same clan, he would have killed Lin Lao Er’s biological father for Old Man Lin’s sake, or at least reported it to the authorities and expelled their family from the clan and driven them out of the village. If he hadn’t been so soft-hearted then, none of this would have happened today.
But what had happened had happened, and regretting it now was useless. The only thing he could do was stop Lin Xin from making the same mistake.
“Xin Yatou, listen to Clan Leader Grandfather. Lin Zhi was wrong in this matter. If you want to report it to the authorities, Clan Leader Grandfather absolutely won’t stop you this time, but she can’t die by your hand. Think about the consequences of killing someone—what will happen to Nan Nan?” The Old Clan Leader earnestly persuaded her.
“Heh, the consequences of killing?” Lin Xin sneered, tilting her chin toward behind the Old Clan Leader. “Look, isn’t that just fine? It even taught his descendants.”
“Xin Yatou, Clan Leader Grandfather knows you’ve been wronged. Put her down first, then we’ll discuss how to deal with her, alright?”
Lin Xin’s face still showed no expression at all. She looked back at Lin Nan, small and drenched in Cui Shi’s arms, wrapped in an outer garment, then at the villagers gathered around, suddenly feeling it all so pointless.
This place was different from the apocalypse. Though it was just a small mountain village, if she killed Lin Zhi today, there would be endless trouble waiting for her afterward, and she hated trouble the most.
She glanced at Lin Zhi again and saw her starting to roll her eyes, her hands limply dangling on Lin Xin’s hand, her face turning blue.
Lin Xin sneered and turned her head away, letting out a long breath before suddenly flicking her hand. Lin Zhi’s body arced through the air in a parabola and plunged into the river with a “plop.”
The villagers all cried out in shock, their gazes toward Lin Xin now filled with terror. For a moment, no one thought to pull Lin Zhi out of the water.
Lin Xin took Lin Nan from Cui Shi’s arms, looked at no one else, and walked straight back to her own home.
It wasn’t until her figure entered her own courtyard gate, and the Old Clan Leader reminded them, that everyone remembered Lin Zhi bubbling in the water and hurriedly fished her out.
