Qin Qin nodded in Xiao Fong's direction before turning her head to face the tiger not far in front of her. The tiger immediately crouched, poised to pounce towards Qin Qin.
Qin Qin dodged somewhat awkwardly and gasped for breath, not daring to underestimate the tiger formed of Spiritual Energy.
With her current strength, she was completely unable to deal with the tiger, nor could she flee. To grow stronger, she had to confront the tiger head-on.
With gritted teeth, Qin Qin seized the opportunity to attack the tiger from the side but was easily evaded by the creature, and her right arm was even harshly scratched. Even though there was no wound, she could feel the pain. Qin Qin fell to the ground, gasping for air, while the tiger gave her no time to catch her breath and attacked again...
She didn't know how much time had passed, how many times she had been clawed, or how often she had fallen, until exhaustion brought an end to the ordeal.
Qin Qin felt pain all over her body as Xiao Fong dispersed the tiger in front of her. She looked at Xiao Fong flying toward her and couldn't help but wryly smile, "In the end, my strength is still too weak!"
"Master, don't push yourself too hard. You've already worked very hard. Although you came up short, you also gave that tiger a good beating. Next time, Master, you'll surely defeat that damn tiger," Xiao Fong quickly comforted Qin Qin.
Qin Qin struggled to her feet and nodded, clenching her fists and silently vowing to defeat that damn tiger next time.
"Master, why not soak in the Spirit Creek Pool? The pain in your body will disappear after a while."
Qin Qin walked towards the Spirit Creek Pool; her body immediately slumped into the pool. She had depleted all her strength and was utterly exhausted.
After soaking for about an hour or so, Qin Qin finally regained a good amount of energy. Seeing that it was about time, she left the space and returned to bed to rest with her eyes closed.
In the early morning, Qin Qin still jogged slowly by the roadside. Her body was noticeably lighter after undergoing the Marrow Cleansing, and she didn't feel tired even after running for two hours.
"Qin Qin, you're up so early!"
"Yes, Aunt Wang."
"Qin Qin, why did you get up so early today?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I got up to run for a while."
After greeting the passersby, Qin Qin slowed her pace and her gaze was drawn to a fruit tree orchard on the roadside.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman was discarding a pile of unwanted fruit trees to the side. When she turned around and saw Qin Qin, she said, "Qin Qin, you're up so early. Why are you all sweaty, did you go for a run?"
Qin Qin approached with a smile, looking at the pile of discarded fruit trees, "Aunt Chen, good morning. Are you not keeping these fruit trees?"
"Yeah, they're too dense; need to get rid of some."
"Then… could Aunt Chen give me some?"
Her space was empty; it would be good to transplant some things into it.
Aunt Chen was surprised but then smiled and said, "If you want them, just choose. Just know these discarded fruit trees are small. They might not survive easily if you take them."
Qin Qin nodded, "No problem, I'll give it a try."
"Sure, let Aunt Chen help you pick which fruit tree." The familiar people of Guanyin Town were generally kind to both her and Qin An.
"Okay, thank you Aunt Chen."
Qin Qin squatted down and together with Aunt Chen, picked out more than ten trees, including grape vines, apple trees, pear trees, and citrus trees...
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"Thank you, Aunt Chen!"
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Qin Qin stood holding the branches in her hand and thanked Aunt Chen after a good while.
"What's there to thank me for!" Aunt Chen waved her hand and suddenly scrutinized Qin Qin carefully. "Eh, I haven't seen you for a while, girl, but you seem to have become much fairer and healthier. You've really blossomed into a beauty."
"Is that so? Thanks for the compliment, Aunt Chen!" Qin Qin knew that it was all because of the Marrow-Cleansing Technique, and after saying goodbye to Aunt Chen, she walked toward her home.
She took the chance when no one was around to throw the dozen or so fruit trees into her space, planning to plant them when she had some free time.
She hadn't reached her front door when Qin Qin heard a commotion not far away.
Her brows furrowed tightly, and she quickened her pace toward her house.
What she saw upon arrival was Lee Shuhua and a woman of a similar age standing at the door arguing with Qin An, surrounded by quite a few onlookers.
"Qin An, if you don't pay back the money today, I'm not leaving!" Lee Shuhua cursed unabashedly, even nearly falling to the ground wailing.
"Elder brother, you should repay the money you owe to your sister-in-law!" The woman standing next to Lee Shuhua had a mean look and a sharp tongue: she was Qin Qin's Fourth Aunt, Zhang Jine, a woman who was no less fierce than Lee Shuhua.
Qin An's expression remained unchanged, his temper, usually mild, couldn't withstand being cornered by two relatives.
"Big Aunt, I..."
"What 'I'? Qin An, what did you say the day before yesterday? Are you planning not to repay? Oh dear, why is my life so miserable, having a relative like you is just like having vampires!"
Lee Shuhua simply collapsed to the ground wailing in pain, providing the onlookers with quite a spectacle. When it comes to being fierce in Guanyin Town, Lee Shuhua and the woman at her side, Zhang Jine, took the top spots.
"Elder brother, it's just five hundred yuan, why must you let your sister-in-law down!" Zhang Jine added fuel to the fire; her favorite pastime was stirring up trouble, unafraid of bringing trouble upon herself—she was a typical bully who preyed on the weak but feared the strong.
Qin An's face, looking somewhat ugly, sighed. He did not want to shortchange his elder brother and sister-in-law. Yesterday, even after selling fruit and adding up the cash he had, it was just over three hundred, not enough to repay. Qin Qin had been ill recently and also needed money to buy things for her health.
"Big Aunt, how about I repay two hundred to you first, and you give me a couple more days?" Qin An pulled out two hundred yuan from his worn clothes and handed it to Lee Shuhua.
Lee Shuhua slapped the money out of Qin An's hand, relentless, pointing at him, "You think you can fob me off with two hundred yuan? I don't care whether you borrow it from someone else or what, but you must repay me today."
Qin An looked at the money that had been knocked to the ground and gave a helpless wry smile. Just as he was about to squat down and pick up the scattered two hundred yuan, his motion was stopped by a slender and beautiful hand.
Qin An looked up in surprise at the person holding his hand, "Qinqin, how come you..."
"Dad, let me handle this." Qin Qin spoke gently, pulling Qin An behind her and looking coldly at Lee Shuhua and Zhang Jine.
"Big Aunt, Fourth Aunt, my dad said he wouldn't shortchange you a cent, so there's no need to go this far."
Qin Qin's tone was cold, giving Lee Shuhua and Zhang Jine an involuntary shudder. Since when did this kid become so intimidating?
"Too far?! It's you and your father who are going too far! I'm just here for the money that belongs to me, how am I going too far?" Coming to her senses, Lee Shuhua pointed at Qin Qin and yelled, "You insolent girl, is there even a place for you to speak here?"
"Yeah, Qin Qin. Children have no place speaking when the adults are talking. Didn't your dad ever teach you that?" Zhang Jine smirked and looked down on Qin Qin with disdain, as if a girl without a mother had no right to speak up.
"Fourth Aunt, my dad only taught me to be polite to polite people, but it seems that Big Aunt and Fourth Aunt are… not quite polite." Qin Qin's eyes emanated a chilling glow, finding the two women intolerable.
"You…" Zhang Jine glared furiously at Qin Qin and turned to Qin An. "Elder brother, look at your Qin Qin, is this how she should speak to her elders?"