When Su Qing saw the stone hurtling toward her, she narrowed her eyes and dodged to the side. Her current body was frail, but with the green mist supporting it, its weakness was merely an outward appearance.
A closer look revealed the culprit. 'Of course,' she thought. It was Su Tao's younger brother, Su Lihui.
She and Su Tao were the same age, though Su Qing was about three months older. Su Lihui was the only son of Su Shengli and Tian Aixiang, the absolute apple of their eye. He was about fourteen this year and spoiled rotten.
Su Shengguo's family all lived in the county seat due to his job, so they rarely returned. This made Su Lihui the only boy left at the Old Su Family's residence, and he was thoroughly spoiled by Old Su. He had grown into a lawless tyrant whose favorite pastime was bullying the original Su Qing.
Su Lihui had been nowhere to be seen yesterday, which made her wonder if he'd turned over a new leaf. Apparently, he had just been waiting for her today.
"You bitch! You're fast, aren't you?" When Su Lihui saw that Su Qing had actually dodged his rock, he flew into a rage. "How dare you dodge my rock! I'll smash you to death!"
With that, he hurled another rock at Su Qing.
Anger flared in Su Qing's heart. 'What a little punk.' She had known on her way over that there was no one around, so she didn't have to hold back. Dodging the rock again, she strode forward and kicked, sending Su Lihui sprawling flat on his back!
The original body might have been frail, but years of farm work had given it considerable strength.
"OW!" Su Lihui had never dreamed that the normally meek and submissive Su Qing would actually dare to hit him.
Yesterday, Su Lihui had stayed in his room, too embarrassed by what had happened with Su Tao to come out. However, he had witnessed the entire affair of Su Qing splitting off from the Old Su Family.
But Su Lihui didn't think Su Qing had changed all that much. He figured she only dared to demand a separation yesterday because she had those aunties, the brigade leader, and the village party secretary backing her up.
Even after the split, he figured she was still the same worthless girl he could bully whenever he wanted—the one who would never fight back when hit or talk back when cursed. That's why he hadn't hesitated to throw a rock at her just now.
But he had never, ever imagined Su Qing would dare to kick him!
"You bitch! You dare to hit me!" Su Lihui lay on the ground, pointing an angry finger at Su Qing, his eyes blazing with fury.
Su Qing narrowed her eyes, stepped forward, grabbed the finger he was pointing at her, and gently bent it back. "What did you just say? Say it again."
"ARGH—" A piercing pain shot through Su Lihui's finger. "You... you! You bitch! You ugly freak! Let go! ARGH, it hurts so much!"
Su Qing's eyes narrowed. 'Still running his mouth?'
Su Qing applied a little more pressure, and the pain brought tears to Su Lihui's eyes. She let him go, then casually snapped a branch off a nearby tree and began to whip him with it.
Su Qing secretly infused the branch with her green mist. As a result, the welts from the whipping wouldn't look too severe and would fade over time. But even after the marks vanished, the pain would remain, sharp and real, for at least two or three days.
And so, Su Lihui shrieked and wailed as Su Qing whipped him, his whole body wracked with agony. Finally, he was forced to beg for mercy. "Stop hitting me! Stop! I was wrong!"
"What did you call me?" Su Qing lashed him again with the branch. Su Lihui cried out with a yelp and sobbed, "Cousin!"
Su Qing raised an eyebrow. 'That's the first time in six years Su Lihui has ever called me Cousin.' Before, it was always 'bitch' or 'ugly freak.' He had never shown her, his older cousin, an ounce of respect.
Remembering all the ways Su Lihui had bullied the original Su Qing, she struck him again, harder this time. "Are you going to come looking for trouble with me ever again?"
"I won't! I won't!" Su Lihui was only focused on surviving the moment. Su Qing's viciousness terrified him; he was genuinely afraid she might beat him to death right here.
Su Qing arched an eyebrow and struck him again. "And why should I believe you?"
"ARGH—" Su Lihui was overcome with regret. 'I shouldn't have provoked her when I was alone! How could I have known she'd become so violent?' "I'm telling the truth! Really! I'll never do it again!"
"You really won't?" Su Qing hit him again.
"AHHH—I really won't! SOB SOB SOB..." Tears streamed down Su Lihui's face. He was cursing her out in his head. 'I already said I wouldn't! Why is this bitch still hitting me?'
Su Lihui seethed inwardly. 'When I get home, I'm telling Old Su! She'll sort this bitch out for me!'
As a Wood Ability User, Su Qing was highly sensitive to emotions. She could naturally sense that Su Lihui was still defiant at heart and would definitely go tattling to the Old Su Family later.
But she wasn't afraid. She'd deal with them as they came. If anyone from the Old Su Family dared to start something, she would gladly return the favor to each and every one of them.
Beating Su Lihui now was simply a way to vent the original Su Qing's pent-up frustrations.
Ignoring Su Lihui's screams, Su Qing thrashed him relentlessly until he was unable to move. Only then did she toss the branch aside.
Looking at Su Lihui curled up on the ground, trembling in pain, Su Qing felt not a shred of pity. 'This is nothing.' Once, the original Su Qing had been beaten so badly by him that she lay motionless in the snow at the Old Su Family home for over an hour. No one had come to help her. She had nearly frozen to death that day.
She hoisted the basket back onto her shoulders, shot one last cold glance at Su Lihui on the ground, and headed deeper into the mountains. This was just the outskirts of Baihua Mountain, so there was no real danger. She would let Su Lihui get a good taste of what it felt like to be utterly helpless.
Su Lihui lay there for over an hour before the pain seemed to lessen slightly. He struggled to his feet and slowly staggered down the mountain.
Having thrashed Su Lihui, Su Qing felt refreshed and invigorated. She walked through the mountain forest with her basket, reveling in the powerful life force all around her. Periodically, she would absorb some green and gray mist from the plants she passed, giving them a purer aura in return. This exchange helped the plants grow stronger and increased her affinity with them, allowing her to control them more effectively.
Baihua Mountain was a bounty of resources in the autumn. Before long, Su Qing had picked over half a basket of mushrooms and gathered a good amount of tender shepherd's purse.
Just as she finished pulling up a handful of shepherd's purse and straightened up, a gray shadow zipped past her.
Whoa!
A wild rabbit!
Su Qing's eyes lit up. Without thinking, she clapped her hand on a nearby vine. A green tendril instantly shot out—SWOOSH—lashing out in the direction the rabbit had fled.