Chapter 78: A Mischievous Pet at Home, A Headache

Seeing Lin Xiaodou fiercely beating Han Guoqiang, Chu Ling immediately screamed, "You vile woman, let go of my Guoqiang!" Perhaps she was too agitated, for her words came out clear and sharp.

She lunged from behind, trying to grab Lin Xiaodou’s hair. With a cold snort, Lin Xiaodou slipped aside with ease, dodging Chu Ling’s attack. Spinning around quickly, she caught Chu Ling’s wrist with her right hand and twisted it sharply. A cracking sound echoed—Chu Ling’s wrist was dislocated.

Chu Ling let out a miserable scream, her face turning as pale as paper. Yet Lin Xiaodou showed no intention of stopping. Taking the opportunity, she kicked Chu Ling in the stomach and sent her sprawling to the ground. Planting her foot on Chu Ling’s chest, Lin Xiaodou said icily, "You dare raise a hand against me? Tired of living, are you?"

By now, Han Guoqiang had struggled to his feet. Seeing his wife beaten so badly, he burned with fury. He charged at Lin Xiaodou, fists swinging. A trace of disdain flickered in Lin Xiaodou’s eyes. She sidestepped his attack and kicked him squarely in the knee. Agonizing pain surged through Han Guoqiang as his legs buckled beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground once more.

Lin Xiaodou gave them no chance to recover—her fists and feet rained down mercilessly. The married couple ended up battered and bruised, clutching their heads and wailing. It was unclear whether the pain was from their injuries or from sheer humiliation.

The commotion drew a crowd of villagers. When they saw Lin Xiaodou attacking, they were all stunned. This girl, with a face like a fairy and a warm, smiling demeanor, had always seemed gentle and agreeable. No one had ever imagined she had such a violent streak.

And when they realized who was being beaten, their eyes widened in disbelief. Good heavens! That was Han Guoqiang, the village’s famed strongman, said to be able to take on three or five grown men at once! How could he now be lying on the ground so disgraced and helpless?

Watching Lin Xiaodou’s every strike, it was clear she was no ordinary girl. They’d only heard she was strong and quick at work; no one had guessed she possessed such skill. At this moment, a chill crept down every villager’s spine. This girl was not to be trifled with.

Soon, the brigade leader arrived and finally managed to separate Lin Xiaodou from the battered couple. Han Guoqiang had already passed out, while Chu Ling still clung to consciousness, her face swollen like a pig’s head. She loudly complained to the brigade leader, "Comrade Brigade Leader, Lin Xiaodou has gone mad! She wasn’t just beating us—she was trying to kill me! I’m going to report her to the police!"

"You two ganged up to bully me. Wasn’t it right for me to fight back?" said Lin Xiaodou coolly. "If you want to call the police, go ahead. In fact, there’s something I’d like to discuss with them as well."

At these words, Chu Ling’s bravado vanished in an instant. Though she knew Lin Xiaodou had no proof about what happened to Zhang Lian, she still dreaded the police finding out.

"Then at least pay our medical bills for injuring us!" Chu Ling tried to make one last stand.

Before the gathered villagers, Lin Xiaodou flexed her fists. "No money, but I do have plenty of fists. Want another round?"

Terrified, Chu Ling cried out for the brigade leader’s help.

"Enough, Lin girl," the brigade leader scolded, glaring at her. "You do love to frighten people. Hurry up and apologize to Comrade Chu Ling."

"Oh," Lin Xiaodou shrugged, then turned to Chu Ling with a bright smile. "Sorry about that. But if you ever mess with me again, I’ll beat you up all the same."

Chu Ling wailed, "Brigade Leader, is that even an apology?!"

The brigade leader retorted impatiently, "What did you expect? Didn’t you two try to hit her first?"

"We didn’t touch her! Not a hair!" Chu Ling stomped her foot, frantic. "And then she beat us senseless!"

The brigade leader looked at Lin Xiaodou. "Lin girl, Comrade Chu Ling claims she didn’t touch a single hair of yours. Is that true?"

"Of course not!" Lin Xiaodou stooped and picked up a few strands of hair from the ground, feigning outrage. "Look, Brigade Leader! Chu Ling grabbed my hair—a whole handful!"

The brigade leader glanced at the long hair in her hand, then at her own short hair. He couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. This girl couldn’t even lie convincingly, telling such blatant fibs. But what could he do? He had a soft spot for her.

With a wave of his hand, the brigade leader declared, "That’s enough. We’ll let it go—both sides suffered injuries."

Chu Ling shrieked, "This isn’t fair, Brigade Leader! It’s…"

—It’s my hair, how did it become Lin Xiaodou’s?

Before she could finish, the brigade leader snapped, "Enough shouting! Don’t you care about your husband’s condition?"

Seeing Han Guoqiang still unconscious on the ground, Chu Ling finally fell silent.

The brigade leader found a cart, loaded Han Guoqiang onto it, and sent him to the town clinic. Chu Ling followed, sobbing all the way.

Thus ended the farce, with Lin Xiaodou securing an overwhelming victory. She became famous throughout the village—not as the beautiful fairy everyone once called her, but now as the wild warrior woman. Stories spread that she looked lovely on the outside but was, in truth, a madwoman not to be provoked.

No one dared cross her again, and Lin Xiaodou was thoroughly satisfied. She’d had two goals in attacking them publicly. The first was to warn others—a show of strength to quell any restless troublemakers. That mission was accomplished.

The second was to test whether fate itself would intervene. After all, she had just beaten up both the heroine and hero of the book’s world.

Would she be punished for hurting fate’s favorites? Lin Xiaodou waited a long time, but nothing befell her—she only tripped on her way home. Was that it? That couldn’t be right. Shouldn’t there at least be a bolt of lightning?

Suddenly, Lin Xiaodou began to doubt whether fate existed at all—or perhaps, by entering this world, she’d stripped everyone of their special protection. If that were true, then how delightful! She could do as she pleased without worrying about the protagonists.

As for the matter of Chu Ling killing Zhang Lian—she had no evidence, and no intention of going to the police. The case was closed; bringing it up again would only annoy the authorities. Besides, she’d said nothing during the interrogation. If she suddenly pointed the finger at Chu Ling now, the police would want to know why. Lin Xiaodou couldn’t answer truthfully—she couldn’t exactly claim they were all characters in a novel. They’d think she was insane.

She could not afford to lie, for one lie would require countless others to cover. It simply wasn’t worth the effort for someone like Zhang Lian, who’d always opposed her.

Lin Xiaodou felt no sense of urgency. Now, it was the heroine, Chu Ling, who was growing desperate. All she needed was for Chu Ling to act rashly and try something foolish—then she could deal with her once and for all. With fate’s blessing gone, she could torment her however she wished.

This thought left Lin Xiaodou feeling much more at ease.

Returning to her cabin in the back hills, Lin Xiaodou shut the door and entered her private space. The little golden monkey bounded over in delight to greet her.

"Ooh ooh ooh!"

The little fellow presented a pink fish in its hands, offering it to Lin Xiaodou like a treasure.

Her eyelids twitched. "Where did you get that fish?"

The little golden monkey pointed at the cabin, grinning wide.

Lin Xiaodou walked over and saw that the big fish tank she’d set up in the living room just days before now held no fish. All the colorful fish had been tossed onto the floorboards.

Nearby, the little brown bear lounged on a chair, its belly bulging round, gnawing contentedly on a fat koi. The tiny jumping spider waved its fuzzy legs, bouncing on the body of a lifeless guppy.

Lin Xiaodou was speechless.

In less than half a day, her home had been turned upside down. To have such mischievous and adorable pets—it was both a headache and a helpless delight!