Li Chunhua's wrist suddenly tightened, and when she turned to look, it was actually Bai Xiao, gripping her wrist tightly with one hand.
That gaze was so chilling and venomous that it made her heart skip a beat—what was this damned girl planning to do?
"Bai Xiao, what are you doing?"
Bai Xiao looked at Li Chunhua and said, "Didn't grandma say, if I insist on moving back to my parents' house, she would kill herself for me to see? Didn't she want to force a reputation of being unfilial onto me? Fine, let's go!"
Dragging Li Chunhua along, she barely had any time to prepare for Bai Xiao's strength, her wrist was clamped tightly as she was pulled quickly towards the outskirts of the village.
Li Chunhua struggled, "What are you doing? What do you want to do?"
Bai Jianguo wanted to stop her, instinctively knowing that what Bai Xiao was planning to do was no good; if he didn't stop her today, he might not be able to bear the consequences that would follow. However, Bai Xiao pushed him away with one hand and, grabbing Li Chunhua's wrist, started to run.
The villagers were all baffled, not knowing what Bai Xiao was intending to do.
The village chief Liu Baoguo saw the direction Bai Xiao was heading in and became instantly alarmed—that was the newly repaired reservoir in the village. Usually, no one visited there, and the water was so deep its bottom was unknown. Every summer, some unaware children would come here to play in the water, and every year, there would be lives lost.
"Bai Xiao, if you have something to say, just say it, your uncle will stand up for you. Your grandma can't mess around like this; you must not lose hope!"
With these words, everyone else understood as well—the direction Bai Xiao was heading did indeed lead to the reservoir, and they all ran desperately to intercept her.
This child was about to do something foolish!
By this time, Li Chunhua had been dragged to the dam of the reservoir by Bai Xiao, stumbling along the way. Gazing at the water below made her dizzy; her fingernails digging hard into Bai Xiao's wrist, "Bai Xiao, I'm telling you, don't do anything foolish—murder demands a life in return."
She intended to frighten Bai Xiao, hoping it would deter her from proceeding.
Bai Xiao looked at the tall dam and the distant line of green figures—a nearby school's students were on a march. Squinting her eyes, she turned back to Li Chunhua, "Don't you just want me to never break free from you in this lifetime? Aren't you just expecting me to spend my life slaving away for your son and grandson? Alright then! Didn't you say today that if I dared to move back to my parents' house, you would die before my eyes and make me carry the infamy of being the granddaughter who drove her grandma to death for the rest of my life?"
She pointed towards the dam, "You want to die, don't you? Don't worry, I definitely can't bear the stigma of driving someone to death. If you want death, I'll accompany you. Today will be our day of sacrifice. Since you don't wish for me to live well, then let's die together! We can go meet my parents then—it's just uncertain whether you'll have the face to!" And with that said, her fingers slightly loosened their grip on Li Chunhua, but did not let go completely.
Li Chunhua, terrified out of her wits by these words, had meant her own earlier threats merely to scare Bai Xiao; she certainly didn't want to die. At sixty-five, she wasn't done living yet. This girl must be mad; she could see it in Bai Xiao's eyes—that determination for mutual destruction. She felt it, this girl truly dared to jump today.
Involuntarily, Li Chunhua stepped back, trying to distance herself from the dam. If this girl truly went insane and pulled them both into a jump, judging by the sheer force Bai Xiao exerted while dragging her, she wouldn't be able to withstand it—she definitely didn't want to die here. The only thought Li Chunhua had was that this girl had truly lost her mind.
At that moment, village chief Liu Baoguo had arrived, leading people to them, only about a dozen steps away.
Liu Baoguo shouted desperately, "Xiao, you mustn't do anything foolish. Don't worry; whatever it is, Uncle village chief will take care of it for you. What your grandma said doesn't count. Did you hear your uncle's words? Whatever the issue, whatever the difficulty, your uncle will solve it for you." Right now, Liu Baoguo had only one thought: he absolutely couldn't let this girl jump.
The water in this dam was very deep, and from the top of the dam, it would be too late to rescue them by the time he and the villagers reached the bottom, even if they hurried. It had been many years since someone was forced to their death in their Liupan Village.
If someone indeed died today, Liu Baoguo could already envision the investigation that would follow from above—he couldn't bear that responsibility.
When Li Chunhua saw the village chief and others rushing over,
Seeing Bai Xiao still looking at the village chief and the others, knowing her attention wasn't on herself, she took the opportunity to shove Bai Xiao with all her might and started running towards the village chief and his group while screaming for help.
"Village chief, save me! This girl is an evil ghost! She wants to die with me!"
The old lady's legs suddenly became nimble, and she ran swiftly, reaching behind Liu Baoguo in no time.
Then she noticed that everyone was looking at her strangely.
"Why are you all staring at me? I'm almost scared to death by this girl. She wants to kill me. I need you to stand up for me, village chief. I'm telling you, you need to get the police. I want to sue her, she wants to kill her own grandmother."
Liu Baoguo shouted to everyone, "Quick, go down and save her."
Suddenly, Li Chunhua and all the others followed the village chief and ran down the steps of the dam.
Li Chunhua was a bit slow to react and grabbed her son Bai Jianguo.
"Second son, why are you running with them? Your mom is almost scared to death."
Bai Jianguo forcefully pulled his mother's hand away and stomped his foot, "Mom, what are you doing? You pushed Bai Xiao over."
Then he hurriedly followed the villagers and ran ahead.
Li Chunhua muttered to herself, "Who did I push? I..." Her eyes swept over the dam, where there was no sign of Bai Xiao.
Her heart skipped a beat, and as she raised her hands, she violently remembered that she had indeed pushed Bai Xiao hard.
No... it couldn't be... that she had pushed Bai Xiao over, could it?
And indeed, she had guessed correctly. Everything Bai Xiao did was to kill two birds with one stone. Knowing Li Chunhua, a person who clung desperately to life, Bai Xiao predicted that if she dragged her to death, Li Chunhua would surely struggle with all her might to live.
Jumping was inevitable, whether it was for her own special ability or to break free from the Bai Family; she had to jump.
But she couldn't - not by herself. The entire village was watching.
If she jumped on her own, first of all, the village chief would take a disliking to her. No village chief could be without achievements, and with her gaining the notorious reputation of jumping from the dam, whether the village chief could be re-elected was questionable. Would he not hate her then, and what good could she expect to come of it?
Not to mention the villagers, who were originally sympathetic towards her. If she jumped, they might get talked about by everyone in the neighboring villages. Bad news travels fast while good news stays within the walls.
The story could get twisted in its retelling, possibly turning into some sensational tale, and the entire village could end up with a bad reputation.
When that time came, the sympathy she hoped for would probably be non-existent.
So, of course, this task required Li Chunhua to do it.