Chapter 7: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth

Mrs. Lin lunged forward with a vicious glare. Lin Xiaodou happened to be standing beside the wooden table, cluttered with bowls, chopsticks, and plates. She grabbed a plate, smashed it, and hurled the jagged shards at Mrs. Lin’s face. The fragments, as sharp as a boning knife, slashed a deep, bone-baring gash down her cheek.

In an instant, blood and flesh churned, and a bright red torrent spurted out.

Screams of agony tore from Mrs. Lin’s throat, chilling and raw.

“Wife!”

“Mom!”

Mr. Lin and Lin Dawei rushed over. Mrs. Lin collapsed to her knees, clutching her bloody face with both hands, howling and writhing in pain.

“It hurts… it hurts so much… so much blood… help!”

Seeing his mother in such misery, Lin Dawei was consumed with rage. Clenching his fists, he charged at Lin Xiaodou.

“You ugly freak! How dare you hurt my mother? I’ll beat you to death!”

But before he could reach her, Lin Xiaodou sent him flying with a single kick.

Crash!

Lin Dawei slammed into the wall, bounced off, and landed in a heap on the floor, leaving a dent in the plaster.

Lin Xiaodou raised an eyebrow. She had only used a fraction of her strength—just one percent—and it was already this powerful. If she went all out, she might shatter the entire house.

“Lin Xiaodou, what do you think you’re doing? Are you insane?!” Mr. Lin roared.

He had only frowned when Mrs. Lin was injured, but seeing Lin Dawei knocked to the ground, his anxiety flared. That was his precious son—no one was allowed to harm him.

“That’s right, I am insane. You all drove me to it!” Lin Xiaodou sneered, picking up the broom at her feet and stalking toward Lin Dawei.

She stood over him and, without hesitation, began to rain blows down on him.

Lin Dawei wailed and screamed under the assault.

“Stop it! You ugly freak! You lunatic!”

Lin Xiaodou ignored his cries and kept beating him.

Ever since childhood, Lin Dawei had delighted in hitting the original Lin Xiaodou with brooms and sticks, sneering that he was beating a dog—a drowning dog at that.

“Well, today I, Lin Xiaodou, will show you what real dog-beating technique means!”

Her gaze was icy as she wielded the broom like a lightning-fast blade, striking Lin Dawei from head to toe.

Each blow stung like a knife scraping scales off flesh, sharp and searing.

At first, Lin Dawei kept shouting, but soon the pain overwhelmed him. He curled up on the floor, sobbing and begging for mercy.

“You’re mad! Completely mad! Stop it right now!”

At last, Mr. Lin could no longer endure it and hurried forward to intervene.

He was, in truth, somewhat afraid of this wild and furious Lin Xiaodou, but with his cherished son under attack, he had no choice but to step in.

Before he could get close, Lin Xiaodou sent him sprawling with another kick.

“Get out of my way! Aren’t you usually content to stand by and watch? Go back to your corner—I'll deal with you later!”

In this household, every one of them was guilty.

Whenever Mrs. Lin and Lin Dawei cursed or beat the original Lin Xiaodou, Mr. Lin would merely look on coldly, never once offering protection. He played the part of a gentle, nonviolent father, but in truth, he was the most selfish and indifferent of all.

Just days ago, when the original Lin Xiaodou tried to escape and broke her leg, it was his relentless pursuit that drove her to it.

“You… you dare kick me?!”

Mr. Lin crashed to the floor, his face a mask of shock.

In this family, Lin Xiaodou had always relied on him most, obeying his every word. He never imagined that his obedient daughter would one day raise a hand against him!

He’d heard his wife complain about the girl’s strength but never believed it—until now, as pain flared in his ribs and chest.

“Aaah! You wretched girl! I’ll beat you to death!”

Mrs. Lin, after a bout of howling on the ground, had finally regained her composure and her bleeding had stopped. Seeing Lin Xiaodou relentlessly attacking Lin Dawei, she rushed over, eyes wild with fury.

Without a second thought, Lin Xiaodou swung the broom at her.

Thud!

The blow landed on Mrs. Lin’s shoulder, knocking her back to the ground. She stared up, wide-eyed, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

If the earlier cut to her face could be seen as an accident, now she was certain—her timid, cowering daughter had gone mad.

Mrs. Lin began slapping her thighs and wailing.

“What evil have I done to have given birth to such a bringer of misfortune—she even dares lay hands on her own mother! Oh, Heaven! Come and see—this crazy girl is going to kill us all!”

Her shrill, piercing cries grated on Lin Xiaodou’s nerves.

She tossed the now-unconscious Lin Dawei aside like a dead dog, then strode toward Mr. Lin and struck his legs with the broom.

She had only used a trace of her strength on Lin Dawei, not wanting to kill him, but this time, striking Mr. Lin, she used a bit more force.

The crack left both his legs broken.

“Lin Xiaodou! You really are insane!” Mr. Lin gasped, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes red with fury and pain.

Mrs. Lin fell silent, shrinking back in terror.

At last, peace.

The effect of making an example of them was clear, but it was not enough.

A smirk played at Lin Xiaodou’s lips as she tossed the broom to the floor.

Noticing this, Mrs. Lin’s eyes flashed with hope—perhaps her deranged daughter was tired, and she could escape for help.

But before she could move, Lin Xiaodou approached.

“What are you doing? What are you doing?!” Mrs. Lin shrieked, crawling backward.

Lin Xiaodou grabbed her hair and dragged her toward the cupboard.

“What am I doing?” she echoed, coldly. “You’re wounded. I’m just treating you.”

With a chilling sneer, she grabbed a bag of salt and poured it onto Mrs. Lin’s bloody wound.

The coarse white grains burned against raw flesh, a torment like fire searing the heart, like ten thousand ants gnawing the bone.

Mrs. Lin writhed on the floor, shrieking like a creature thrown alive into a furnace, her body twisting in agony, her cries echoing off the walls.

Watching this gruesome spectacle, Lin Xiaodou felt a surge of satisfaction.

When the original Lin Xiaodou was only three, she’d been scalded and disfigured by boiling water. She’d rolled on the floor, screaming for help, her face blistering and oozing, yet not a single soul came to her aid. That tiny child had been utterly helpless and desperate.

Mrs. Lin could have carried the water herself, but she made the child do it—clearly intending for something to go wrong.

“Since you ruined my face back then, today I’ll ruin yours.”

Lin Xiaodou’s gaze was as cold as ice.

In her previous life, in the modern world, she had known parental warmth, but it was snatched away in a heartbeat when she was twelve. Her parents died in a car crash, and she was sent to an orphanage.

Overnight, she was forced to grow up, to become strong and independent. The orphanage taught her to harden her heart, to rely only on herself. Only by becoming powerful could she escape being bullied and scorned.

Though she was not the original Lin Xiaodou, the memories were etched deep in her bones—she felt it all as if it were her own.

And the only thing she could do now was take revenge.

Mrs. Lin had disfigured her—so she would taste the pain of disfigurement.

Mr. Lin had driven her to break her leg—so he would experience the agony of shattered bones.

Lin Dawei had beaten her for years—so now he would know the misery of being beaten.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.