Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Her mind was made up. She threw her entire weight into breaking free from Yan Xue.

But Yan Xue wasn’t someone you could just shake off.

A few seconds later, Yan Xue easily disarmed Xiao Cui and tossed the knife aside.

“Xiao Cui, calm down. You have your whole life ahead of you. And they might not even be making this up to ruin you! Your relatives probably already took their bride price. That’s why they’re being so brazen.”

That struck a nerve. Xiao Cui collapsed to the floor, sobbing in absolute despair.

She didn’t have much schooling, but she knew how the world worked. If her family took the money, she was bound to the debt.

Her relatives had sold her out behind her back. How was she supposed to escape now?

Yan Xue sighed and glanced out the window. After a while, she decided she was going to help this girl. Eighteen was too young to give up.

She quickly formed a plan. She told Xiao Cui and the two kids to stay put in the room.

Xiao Cui clung to her leg, refusing to let go.

“Yan Xue, you can’t go out there! What if they hurt you? I should be the one to go.”

“Don’t worry. There’s a crowd out there, they won’t try anything.” Yan Xue pried her leg free. “Just watch my two babies. Do not let them out. You can do that, right?”

Xiao Cui wasn’t as quick-witted as Yan Xue. It took her a few seconds to process the logic, but she finally gave a solemn nod.

Creak.

The door opened.

The thugs outside took one look at Yan Xue and swallowed hard. She was gorgeous…

They had spent a lot of time in the county town with Wang’er Ge, but they’d never expected to find someone this stunning out in the village. She looked to be in her early twenties.

Good thing Wang’er Ge wasn’t here to see her, or he’d drop that scrawny Xiao Cui in a heartbeat.

They sized Yan Xue up. She sized them right back.

Four guys. Only two of them actually looked strong; the other two were just carrying extra weight. She could take them.

She gave them a cold smile. “Xiao Cui isn’t coming out. She didn’t take your bride price. Go collect it from whoever did.”

The men exchanged glances. They’d been looking for an excuse to get their hands on her, and she had just handed them one.

“Who the hell are you to make the rules?” The lead thug gave a sleazy grin.

“Her family took the money. They agreed to marry her off to our Wang’er Ge. Plus, she cut one of our brothers today. We’re here to settle the score.”

“Our guys saw her run in here. You’d better be smart and hand her over, or else… heh.”

He closed the distance. Still wearing that sleazy grin, he reached right for her chest.

Yan Xue’s lips curved into a breathtaking smile. The thug stared, completely mesmerized.

A split second later.

The thug’s mouth fell open in a silent scream. All the color drained from his face.

This tiny woman had grabbed his wrist and snapped it clean in half!!!

Bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle!!!

His hand dangled limply, completely useless!

The watching women, elders, and children stared. This felt awfully familiar. Yan Xue was definitely possessed by a ghost. She hadn’t just beaten up Liu Hui; she was taking down grown men!

The entire crowd silently took several steps back.

The other three thugs couldn’t believe their eyes. One of them threw a tentative kick. Yan Xue dodged it effortlessly and planted her foot right in his chest.

The six-foot-tall thug was slammed to the ground and forced into a brutal split. He let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

When Yan Xue let go, he collapsed, clutching his crotch. His face was beet red. He wasn’t getting up anytime soon.

Yan Xue stood up, brushing herself off. She looked at the two tall, heavy-set men still standing by the door.

They still refused to back down. There was no way a woman this skinny could take them all on.

Yan Xue raised an eyebrow.

The remaining two charged her together. Yan Xue dropped them both with two clean, ruthless kicks.

The villagers watched in absolute shock. This woman was terrifying!

The crowd silently took another few steps back.

By now, a few people at the edge of the crowd had noticed a line of sleek, black luxury cars driving toward them. The high-end vehicles immediately drew their attention.

The four thugs groaned on the ground. Yan Xue dusted off her hands and turned around, ready to kick them off the property.

She didn’t see the four men exchange a vicious look behind her back.

They scrambled up from four different directions, boxing her in. They refused to believe she could win a four-on-one fight.

Yan Xue had barely turned around when they lunged. Two of them grabbed her arms, pinning her from the left and right.

Her eyes went wide. She launched a high kick, dropping one of them, but her heart sank. This isn’t going to be easy.

Then, the second man suddenly collapsed in front of her, out cold.

Yan Xue blinked. Xiao Cui was standing behind him, clutching a wooden club and shaking like a leaf.

Wei Siao and Wei Sixiang came running out of the room, their faces pale with worry.

“Mommy! Mommy, are you okay?”

The last standing thug lunged for Xiao Cui. She dodged, but another thug kicked her hard into the corner. Spotting an opening, that thug snatched Wei Sixiang up off the ground and hoisted him into the air.

Little Xiang burst into terrified cries, dangling from the man’s grip.

“Mommy! Mommy, save me! Mommy!”

Yan Xue’s arms were pinned. She could only watch helplessly as Little Xiang wailed in the air.

It was the dead of winter, but cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Is this fate? Was Little Xiang destined to suffer this disaster today, whether we left the house or not?

A sharp, agonizing pain seized her chest. Little Xiang’s terrified screams were tearing her heart to pieces.

The villagers were screaming, the courtyard erupting into chaos, but it all faded to static. All Yan Xue could hear was Little Xiang’s crying.

After everything they’d been through, these two weren’t just cold characters in a book anymore. They were her babies. They protected her. They clung to her.

The thug hurled Little Xiang toward the brick wall.

Yan Xue let out a raw scream. She ripped her arms free, lunged forward, and caught Little Xiang mid-air. She wrapped her body around him, taking the brunt of the impact as they crashed to the ground.

A sudden commotion broke out at the edge of the crowd.

A line of highly trained bodyguards cleared a path for a man with a cane.

He leaned heavily on a black, dragon-headed cane, but his towering frame and innate, icy arrogance kept everyone at a terrified distance.

Wei Heng’s dark eyes were freezing cold. Fighting through the throbbing pain in his left leg, he strode up to the courtyard gate.

Just in time to see Yan Xue catch Little Xiang.

And then, the very same Yan Xue who had always played the frail victim back at the Wei family estate grabbed a six-foot-tall thug with one hand and hurled him aside. The two boys clung to her legs, clapping and cheering.

The bodyguards: “…”

Wei Heng: “…”