Chapter 95: May I Ask the Way to the Black Market?

When the window was opened, a bone-chilling blast of wind howled into the room.

Along with it came a faint, icy voice.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that just now. Who did you say you wanted to take away?"

A stranger's voice suddenly sounded inside the room.

Han Guoqiang and Chu Ling were both startled half to death.

Han Guoqiang looked on guard. "Who is there? How did you get in?"

He remembered fastening the courtyard gate with a wooden bar before going to sleep.

Could this person have climbed over the wall?

Whoever it was, sneaking over in the middle of the night to frighten people like this, he would not let him off!

With a grim face, Han Guoqiang threw off the quilt, pulled on his coat, and strode over.

At the window stood a quiet figure.

Han Guoqiang let out a cold snort. "Playing at ghosts and tricks!"

He grabbed a stick from the corner and swung it at the figure.

But the person before him not only evaded the blow, he actually snatched the stick away.

Then he brought it down on Han Guoqiang in a flurry of ruthless strikes.

"Ah!" Han Guoqiang dodged too late and took a hit to the shoulder.

"Brother Guoqiang, what's wrong?"

Hearing that her husband sounded off, Chu Ling hurried out of bed and ran over.

Just in time to see a shadow leap in through the window.

The sparse moonlight outside shone into the room.

Chu Ling made out the face of the intruder.

It was a man, a very oddly dressed man.

He wore a hat, his face pale as glowing paper, his eyes long and narrow, and a thin mustache stretched beneath his nose.

He stood there looking at her, the corners of his mouth curling into a strange smile.

Chu Ling shivered despite herself and clung tightly to Han Guoqiang's arm.

"You... who are you? Why are you in our house in the middle of the night?"

The strange man gave a hoarse, rasping chuckle deep in his throat.

Without a word, he swung the stick in his hand again with violent force.

"Ah!"

A vicious mark was struck across Chu Ling's face.

Just as she was about to curse, a kick slammed into her chest.

Her whole body flew out like a broken kite, smashing hard into the wall before collapsing unconscious.

"Wife!" Han Guoqiang roared, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the culprit. "You're dead!"

With that, he clenched his fists and charged forward in fury.

The strange man sent him sprawling to the ground with a spinning kick.

Then came a storm of iron fists, beating Han Guoqiang so badly he could no longer tell north from south.

"Poof! Who the hell are you... I won't let you get away with this..."

Even while coughing up blood, Han Guoqiang was still throwing out threats.

The strange man smiled faintly, his voice like a demon's.

"You won't let me get away with it? Heh. It should be me saying that to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sharp crack.

Han Guoqiang's left wrist was snapped cleanly in two.

"Aaaah!!!"

The pain tore from Han Guoqiang's chest as he howled miserably.

But it was not over.

The man applied the same method and broke his right wrist as well.

Han Guoqiang collapsed on the floor, gasping, his whole body trembling in pain.

Even then, he still tried to act tough.

"...Just you wait... sooner or later... I'm going to kill you..."

"Heh. Fool who doesn't know death when it's coming."

The strange man stood up and viciously ground his foot into Han Guoqiang's chest.

At once, several ribs gave way with a crack.

"Hng!" Han Guoqiang let out a muffled groan.

His chest felt as though it had been run over by a heavy truck, the pain drilling straight into his bones.

This time, he could not even make a sound.

Sweat poured down his face in large beads, and his complexion turned deathly white.

"Brother Guoqiang! Brother Guoqiang, are you all right!"

Chu Ling woke from unconsciousness, crying as she crawled over.

When she saw his miserable state, she was so frightened she burst into wails herself.

"Help! Is anybody there? Come help us!"

The crying was so loud that Han's mother in the next room, and even the neighbors across the courtyard wall, were woken up.

Seeing that someone was about to come over, the strange man leaped back out through the window.

Soon, he vanished into the courtyard.

He sprinted along the path all the way to the foot of the back hill, where that figure finally stopped.

With a whoosh, he tore off the human skin mask.

Beneath the moonlight, a strikingly beautiful face came into view, clear and unworldly.

That’s right, the one who had raided the Han household that night was Lin Xiaodou.

Tonight's beating was only an appetizer.

She had no intention of letting the male and female leads off so easily.

According to her original plan, Lin Xiaodou had meant to go report them to the public security bureau, expose everything they had done, and see them brought to justice.

But after overhearing the two of them talk, she changed her mind.

She decided to repay them in kind.

Since Chu Ling so desperately wanted to ruin her, then she might as well let Chu Ling experience the feeling of being ruined firsthand.

As for Han Guoqiang, since he liked humiliating women so much,

then she would let him see with his own eyes the miserable state of his dear wife being humiliated by someone else.

Of course, Lin Xiaodou would not spare him either.

When the time came, she would send him a crippling kick to ensure he had no descendants left!

Han Guoqiang, stripped of his manhood, paired with Chu Ling after she had been defiled.

Could these two still remain as loving as before?

Most likely they would only come to loathe each other, torment one another, and suffer through life together.

Such slow, lingering revenge was far more satisfying than a mere beating.

Lin Xiaodou did not think herself cruel.

These two had already been dancing around in front of her several times.

At first she had worried about heaven's will, and later she had to consider the laws of this era, so she had never struck a fatal blow.

But the male and female leads had become more disgusting with every move they made.

If she still did not deal with them now, even the readers would be calling her a coward.

After returning to the wooden hut on the back hill, Lin Xiaodou rested for a while.

When the sky was only just beginning to brighten, she set out.

She planned to go to the black market and find the gang of lawless thugs Han Guoqiang had mentioned.

Since Chu Ling wanted so badly to find them, Lin Xiaodou would grant her wish.

The black market usually opened late at night or very early in the morning.

At this hour there were few people around, so there was no need to worry about patrols noticing.

Lin Xiaodou did not know the exact location of the black market.

But after reading so many period novels, she roughly knew how to find it.

After dressing herself in disguise, Lin Xiaodou wandered around near the clinic.

Very soon, a burly man carrying a basket on his back came sneaking over.

"Comrade, want some pork? Just slaughtered, fresh as can be!"

Lin Xiaodou asked, "How much a jin?"

The man said, "Pork at the supply and marketing cooperative is eight mao a jin, and you still need a ration coupon, not to mention you might not even get any.

Mine doesn't need coupons. I'll give it to you for three yuan a jin."

Things sold on the black market were usually much more expensive than at the supply and marketing cooperative, often three to five times the price.

Lin Xiaodou had plenty of meat in her spatial stash, so she was not eager to buy any.

Seeing her hesitate, the man said again, "If you think pork is too expensive, you can buy bone meat too. It's heavier, but cheaper. Four mao a jin!"

Lin Xiaodou looked at the bone-in meat in his basket and thought it looked pretty good.

It would be perfect for a pot of braised pork spare ribs.

"Can you make it a little cheaper?"

The man shook his head. "Can't go any lower. Buying bone meat in these times isn't easy. You need a hospital fracture certificate to get it.

This price is really a bargain. Lots of people want it and can't get it."

"All right then. I'll take all your bones. But I need you to do me a small favor."

At that, the man's eyes lit up.

Those bones weighed ten or so jin altogether. Selling them all at once would earn him five yuan!

This was a big customer; he had to catch this opportunity.

So the man agreed heartily. "Sure, what help do you need? As long as I can do it!"

Lin Xiaodou smiled faintly. "It's nothing else. I just wanted to ask you... which way to the black market?"