It had been one week since Rin revealed her hunting skills to the siblings. Since then, they had traded the spare meat to stall and shop owners in the market, earning more than enough money to support them for a year.
While the three were happier than ever, some villagers weren't pleased with the sibling's new lucky charm.
With reluctance, Aiguo finished his chores for the day and was going home, carrying a load of folded clothes in a basket. At the same time, three young village boys a few years older than him were heading to the cove to go fishing.
When they noticed Aiguo, who was going in the direction of the mountain trail to his home, the snickering boys surrounded him.
A boy grabbed Aiguo's collar and yanked it downwards. Caught off guard, Aiguo's neck felt like it was going to snap from the sudden boy's attack. He staggered a few steps backward to avoid falling.
Regaining his balance, Aiguo noticed the basket of clothes had fallen flat on the dirt snow ground. He shot a glare at the three boys.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Aiguo bellowed angrily as he stared fiercely at the three.
"What? Did you say something?" One of the boys sniggered. "We don't understand dirty blooded bastards like you."
They laughed and looked at Aiguo, muttering things he could not hear. Deciding to ignore them, Aiguo stepped to the fallen basket and placed the clothes back inside.
When he saw the clothes, he had cleaned were now covered in black dirt, his eyes dimmed. He was extremely angry now.
Just when he wanted to beat the boys up for ruining his hard work, he recalled the pretty emerald-eyed girl's words.
Use your words, not your fists.
Aiguo's hand squeezes the clothes, his knuckles pale. He stood up with the basket in his hand. He turned to the teenage boys who were now looking back at him.
"These clothes, I just washed them." He started calmly.
The boys raised eyebrows, looking at the boy as if he was dumb.
"So? Are you going to cry about it?" One snorted coldly.
"No." Aiguo hesitated slightly and then his gaze turned resolute again. His next words were full of control. "I want you three to clean them. It was your fault they got dirty, so clean them as compensation."
At that moment, the boys stared at Aiguo with stunned gazes, completely caught off guard by his words. They looked at his serious and calm gaze. Inexplicably, they felt much more annoyed seeing this rather than his usual raging face.
"You have dogs' blood, now you're talking like a dog! Stupid bastard." One walked up to the small boy and struck him directly in the shin.
An intense pain shot through Aiguo's leg. His knees buckled and he started to fall before another foot slams into his stomach. Back and forth. Right leg, left leg. Each boy begins to kick him, forcing him to remain fallen on the ground – hands covering his head.
Even if he tried standing up, he would most likely suffer some damage to his head. However, if he got up quickly enough he could…
No. He couldn't use violence! He promised Rin he would not.
"Dirty bastard! You think because you have that pretty little slut with you that you can be cocky now?"
"Haha, hunting meat. What kind of woman could do that? I bet she's using that excuse while she tastes all the men in town!"
"You and your bastard sister should just die!"
With his eyes closed, breathing, and knotting his eyebrows in pain, Aiguo quickly dispelled those violent thoughts. However, hearing them speak about Rin and Jia, he suddenly opened his eyes, which were so terrifyingly filled with rage.
The moment he was about to grab one of the boy's legs to knock him down on the ground, Aiguo saw a girl standing behind the tallest boy.
The girl gripped the short hairs on the back of the boy's head with one hand and clamped the boy's mouth with her free hand.
It almost doesn't register, so smooth and fast - inhumanly fast.
"Don't move." Said the calm girl's voice.
The other two stare at their friend held by the girl, eyes wide open in terror. The girl's beauty was breathtaking, except her eyes, which emanated merciless murder.
"I don't care if you're little kids, I can kill you now, and no one would do a thing. Who would believe a woman would kill something, let alone a person?" Rin was smiling as she was saying this. "If I wanted, I could have you caught, tortured, then killed. Today, I am offering you a warning because I'm gracious and it's the ladylike thing to do."
The boys remained silent, watching their friend's eyes bulge.
The petite, pretty girl in the furred coat and boots pulled the boy's hair harder and harder. The boy didn't even try to scream or fight the girl back. He could already feel the terrifying power of the girl's unyielding force.
He and his friends didn't dare doubt her threats.
"Apologize," Rin's ordered the boys in an icy tone.
The biting cold from her eyes was felt by the pair who hung their heads, as those eyes swept across the two guilty faces.
"We're very sorry." The two boys bowed formally to the now standing Aiguo.
Aiguo stared at them, too shocked to speak. Rin stared coldly at the boys and did not say a word, appearing as if she could not be bothered to waste her breath on them.
She let the tall boy go and stepped to Aiguo's side. Rin stole a glance at the dirty clothes and narrowed her eyes. Collecting the clothes from his hand, she hurled them at the boys.
Rin lifted her lips into an unexpected smile. The strange smile didn't complement her cold, delicate features at all, sending chills down the backs of those present instead.
"Rewash all of these by tomorrow and don't miss a single stain. When you're done, leave them by this tree. After that, never come around here again. Do you understand?" Her voice and face were gentle as if she was a big sister providing caring advice.
The boys bowed again to Aiguo while holding the laundry tightly. The tallest one held by Rin peed a little in his pants. They left in the direction of the village.
Rin watched them leave with indifferent eyes. After a while, she turned to look back at the quiet boy beside her. He was silent and his head was lowered. Rin frowned slightly as she looked at the boy's silence.
Aiguo was bathed in a cold sweat, unable to believe what he witnessed earlier. When he perceived the girl's eyes on him, he stiffened even further.
At that moment, Rin took a handkerchief from her pocket and gave it to him.
"Wipe your face," Rin said. "We should go home. Your sister will worry."
When Rin turned to walk back home, she felt a sudden tug pull on her coat. Glancing down, she saw the boy clutching tightly to the edge of her coat, his head still lowered.
Rin stared at the boy with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to speak. When it was clear he wasn't going to say anything, she sighed softly.
"Let's clean you up a bit before going home."
Aiguo silently bobbed his head, hand still clutching tightly to her coat.
READ RIN'S LATEST CHAPTERS ON PAT RE ON! https://www.pat re on.com/paramyis
Chapter 182 - Strict Authority
Chapter 183 - Fate Demands
Chapter 184 - A Heart's Foolish Choice
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