WARNING
Dark theme of child abuse for this story arc. (This and the next few chapters). If this is a trigger/landmine for you, please stop reading now.
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Zhou was spattered with blood as Old Man Chen collapsed to the ground. Crying and cowering, she wiped the stickiness away with trembling fingertips and pleaded, "This has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me... Don't kill me!"
Zhou trembled in fear as she crawled towards Caoyu.
"I'm her aunt, aunt!" Zhou desperately pulled Caoyu into her arms. "We rely on each other! He's usually the one... it's him!" She involuntarily cried out as she pointed at Chen Ren.
"He's the one who beat and scolded her and planned everything! He also wanted to lay his hands on Caoyu. Caoyu, Caoyu is so young, I didn't want to comply... I didn't want to comply! Don't kill me!"
Dong Lin's hand was stained with blood. He moved the blade to his other hand and wiped the blood on his robe. The way he looked at Zhou was just like the kind of gaze you could encounter anywhere on the street. After wiping his hand clean, he beckoned to Zhou.
Zhou's hair stood on end. She gripped Caoyu tightly and refused to go nearer. Caoyu struggled in her arms. The little girl had cried until her voice was hoarse.
She shouted for him, "Uncle Dong." Panic-stricken, Zhou held on to Caoyu as if she was hanging on to a lifebuoy. Caoyu could barely breathe from her tight hold.
"We are as close as a mother and daughter!" Zhou cried herself hoarse. "Please spare me... You can't kill me! If you kill me, what will happen to the child? Caoyu will definitely be frightened. So... have mercy!"
As she wept, she turned Caoyu's head towards Dong Lin and urged her on. "You, you tell him. Tell him auntie treats you well! Caoyu, oh Caoyu, tell him... Tell him!"
Caoyu shook her head in defiance. Zhou clutched Caoyu's arms and wailed. "Say it... Tell him, tell him!"
Dong Lin stepped forward. Zhou was startled and leaned against the wall. With nowhere to run, she pulled Caoyu in front of her to use as a shield.
The woman with disheveled hair and reddened eyes held Caoyu by the neck and said, "Hero... please spare my life! I've never skimped on her meals and clothing! I'm good to her. I treat her well! "
But no matter how hard she wailed, Dong Lin was not the slightest bit moved. He did not even say a word. His shadow obscured the dim light, completely killing off Zhou's last hope. On the verge of insanity, Zhou suddenly tightened her grip around Caoyu's neck.
"Spare me, spare my life! Otherwise, I'll strangle her to death! We will end it all! If I can't live, then she can forget about living too!"
Caoyu burst into tears from the fright and pushed Zhou. She was choking and suffocating, but she could only pound on Zhou's chest with all her might as she shouted, "Uncle Dong, save me!"
Dong Lin gave Zhou a violent kick, and Zhou rolled onto the ground and cried out. Dong Lin picked up Caoyu, and the small scissors in her palm fell to the ground with a clank. She hugged Dong Lin's neck as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Uncle Dong... Uncle Dong..."
