"Why didn't you call for help?"
Grandma Shi looked at him sternly. "One shout would have brought help, yet here you were, a mere little Embryonic Breath Realm cultivator, thinking about so much! Yes, you could win, but wouldn't your true ability to fight above your level be exposed after today?!"
Zuo Xiaoduo rubbed his head. "Hehe... wasn't I just afraid..."
"Afraid of upsetting me?"
Grandma Shi rapped his forehead with her finger again. "You little monkey. Too many tricks up your sleeve, and too many thoughts in your head."
Zuo Xiaoduo gave another cry of pain.
Grandma Shi's finger was like a steel rod, knocking against his scalp with a resounding clonk. It was as though the pain could amplify itself, making it utterly unbearable.
After just two knocks, Zuo Xiaoduo was almost in tears from the pain and hurriedly begged for mercy. "Grandma Shi, I won't do it again."
Zuo Xiaoduo was a professional at backing down.
Those brimming eyes, paired with that guilty expression of sincere repentance, could absolutely convince any stern teacher or parent of his sincerity!
Sure enough, Grandma Shi fell for it and gave a soft snort. "Good, as long as you know you were wrong."
Then she strode forward, neither fast nor slow, neither hurried nor leisurely.
Zuo Xiaoduo hurried after her like a lackey, fussing over her all the way, solicitous beyond measure.
Behind them, only the villagers remained, their faces filled with complicated distress.
They watched helplessly as Grandma Shi left.
Leaving behind nothing but a large, perfectly square pit!
Neither Ye Changqing nor Grandma Shi nor any of the others had spared these people another glance throughout the entire move.
Every last trace of affection tied to the ancestral home had long since been exhausted by their repeated, conscienceless persecution.