Volume One, Chapter 12: The Widowed Mother Abandoned by Her Sons in the Year of Famine 12 [Expression]
“Really? There’s such a wonderful place up the mountain?”
“Yeah, yeah, my wife and I come up here every day, but we never found it.”
“It must be the ancestors showing their blessing!”
“Maybe it’s the mountain spirit. My grandmother said our village once had an immortal!”
The village chief tapped the ground with his cane. “Quiet, everyone!”
He relayed the information Mo Mo had gathered to the villagers, then told them to go back and pack whatever they could carry. They should try to make as few trips as possible and settle in today.
Half an hour later, a noisy crowd made their way up the mountain.
“Hey? When I came here to chop wood yesterday, the grass was much taller.”
“Strange, when did this mountain path appear?”
“Good heavens! There really is a mountain spirit!”
When they reached the cave entrance, everyone’s eyes widened. They crowded eagerly inside, exclaiming in amazement.
“My God, what a huge cave!”
“Ah, it’s so cool in here, so comfortable!”
“Wow! Father, there are fish! So many fish! Come see!”
“Everyone, over here! There’s food! I found potatoes right at the entrance!”
In an instant, the place was lively and boisterous, every face lit up with broad smiles.
Mo Mo couldn’t help but smile as well, filled with a deep sense of accomplishment.
Then, everyone split up as the village chief directed, assigning each family their spots.
One person from each household stayed behind to organize and mark their area, while the rest returned to the village to fetch the remaining food supplies.
There was hope for the future now, and everyone was full of energy. Passing by Mo Mo, they didn’t forget to thank her gratefully.
The night in the deep mountains was especially clear.
A gentle mountain breeze carried a coolness, rustling through the dense forest.
Inside the cave, people gathered around the fire, chatting warmly and cheerfully.
Suddenly, Mo Mo felt a malicious gaze fixed on her. She turned to see it was the eldest stepson.
Seeing her look, Chen Qiang quickly put on a smile and nodded in greeting.
“Tsk, that boy definitely has some scheme brewing!”
---
The third child animatedly simulated their plan for her.
“Bingo! You’re right, sister. They’re planning to push you off the cliff here when the chance comes.”
Mo Mo sneered coldly.
“Heh, a black-hearted ingrate is always an ingrate! No matter how good you are to them, it’s just what you deserve. But if you slip up even a little, all the past kindness is forgotten.
“I guessed it, but I didn’t expect them to lose patience on the very first night.”
After everyone had fallen asleep late at night, she quietly got up and slipped outside—after all, one must give others the opportunity to reveal their true colors, right?
The two brothers kept a close watch on the situation. Seeing the signs, they exchanged glances and cautiously got up to follow her.
After a short walk, they reached the cliff a little distance from the cave.
Hearing the crunch of footsteps on fallen leaves behind her, Mo Mo stopped, crossed her arms, and calmly turned to face them.
The two showed no fear upon being discovered and grinned viciously as they approached.
“Mother, where did you hide all the money? You really make it easy for your sons. Could it be you carry it on you?”
“Spill it! Or don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
“If you’re sensible and hand it over, we’ll pretend we never saw tonight and go back to our lives.”
Oh, how perfectly they revealed their true bandit nature!
“Oh? And what exactly is this ‘rudeness’ you speak of? Let me see what you’ve got!”
Chen Qiang suddenly said with an air of profundity, “Mother? You’re not my mother!
“I don’t know what lost spirit you are possessing her, but my mother may be fierce outside, but she never hit or scolded her children at home, let alone beat us brothers like that!”
“Exactly! She never laid a hand on us! Since you’re not our mother, the property naturally belongs to us. Hand it over obediently!”
Chen Zhuang stood beside him, his face full of menace.
“Oh, how marvelous—you actually have some brains!
“Hahaha, if you know I’m not your mother, why do you still dare talk to me like that?
“People should always keep a sense of respect and fear.”
No sooner had she spoken than the brothers’ eyes widened in horror!
Mo Mo smiled as she raised both hands, fingers clawed, and swiftly charged at them!
In the blink of an eye, she was behind them, then gently gripped their necks and said,
“Learn to behave in your next life. Be a proper human.”
---
The next instant, her hands clenched tightly, effortlessly snapping their necks like breaking chips. Their bodies went limp and collapsed onto the ground.
The third child quickly produced a scavenging device shaped like a robotic sweeper.
Only this one was over five times larger, with a deep rectangular iron box attached at the back.
A claw tapped the “start” button.
The device slowly hovered in the air, emitting a green glow that enveloped the two corpses below.
In an instant, two round objects wrapped in cloth floated out and were sucked into the iron box.
On the screen of the device appeared a line of text: Ninety-four taels of silver.
“Goodness, hiding so much secret money—no wonder they were so generous during the family split!”
Mo Mo grabbed one foot and tossed the two like chicks off the cliff.
She waited silently a few seconds until the sounds of impact echoed.
Peering down, all she saw was swirling mist; nothing was clear.
She entered her space to take a thorough bath to wash away the bad luck, cooked a small meal, then headed back.
At the bottom of the cliff, the bodies of the two wayward sons were mangled beyond recognition, their limbs twisted into grotesque angles.
The two who died with eyes wide open could never have imagined this wandering spirit was so formidable. They had underestimated her!
Mo Mo hadn’t wasted all these years. Having flawlessly completed the antagonist’s role across thirty-three worlds, how could she be simple?
As the perfect antagonist, her skills naturally were no joke.
By the time she returned to the cave, it was already late at night. Though it was their first night here, the villagers were sound asleep, snug and peaceful.
Everyone had a comfortable sleep.
When she woke, the villagers were already bustling enthusiastically outside, digging potatoes and cultivating the nearby land.
Though no one knew how long they would stay here, food was always the most important thing!
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside. The villagers gathered in a cluster, murmuring in discussion.
Pushing through, Mo Mo saw Wang Fang lying on the ground, throwing a tantrum, rolling around like a wriggling worm while cursing loudly.
Two-year-old Chen Da sat on the ground, bewildered, thinking his mother was playing games, clapping his hands with a smile.
From the nearby chatter, it seemed Wang Fang suspected her husband and younger brother-in-law had abandoned the family and fled south.
All the family’s money was with them, and before going up the mountain, they had talked about fleeing to escape disaster.
Early that morning, the two were gone, and Wang Fang had broken down in tears and madness.