CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: THE CRIME OF GENDER 53

Today, everyone in Qin Family Village was extremely excited, having had a good meal. Though they couldn’t eat to satiety, the meat, which even in good years wasn’t easy to come by, filled their bellies. Thinking about the room full of dried meat, everyone was filled with hope! Groups of three or two laughed and chatted as they headed home, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

The village still looked desolate, but the oppressive, suffocating feeling that had lingered there vanished.

Qin Shuangshuang was in a great mood today. Although Old Chen had disgusted her once again, over the years whenever she encountered Old Chen, she was sure to hear a heap of unpleasant words. Qin Shuangshuang had become accustomed to ignoring her.

After returning home, the family continued talking excitedly for quite a while before going to sleep.

At night, Qin Shuangshuang slept well, but she was startled awake in the middle of the night by shouts and cries from outside. Opening her eyes, she saw flames rising outside, accompanied by the loud clamor of many people.

Qin Shuangshuang was shocked, quickly got up, dressed, and ran outside. Her sudden movements woke Mrs. Bai, Qin Miaomiao, and Fang Yaoyao. Without needing Qin Shuangshuang to explain, one look at the fire outside, and the three knew what was happening.

Qin Miao and Fang Yao were trained in martial arts and brave. They dressed quickly, intending to go out with Qin Shuangshuang, but Qin Shuangshuang stopped them directly, "You two stay in the room with my mother and protect yourselves. I’ll go out alone; if there’s any trouble, I can handle it by myself. If I can’t, you two take my mother and quickly go find my master!"

After saying that, Qin Shuangshuang went out. The scene outside made Qin Shuangshuang’s heart leap! Many ragged individuals, armed with clubs, clearly not from Qin Family Village, were setting fires randomly, while others were fighting with the villagers wielding farming tools!

Many people were already injured, both from Qin Family Village and these club-wielding outsiders. An arrow swiftly flew past Qin Shuangshuang’s eyes, heading straight for the back of a villager!

Fortunately, Qin Shuangshuang was quick and caught the arrow in her hand just as it flew under her nose! Then she noticed that among the intruding outsiders, besides those with clubs, there were seven or eight carrying bows and arrows!

"Ah!"

A startled scream sounded not far from Qin Shuangshuang. It was a girl’s voice, very familiar. Qin Shuangshuang’s heart tightened, and she looked over, finding it was Aunt Hao’s daughter, Qin Qiao’er!

At that moment, Qin Qiao’er was crawling frantically on the ground. Behind her, an outsider held a large stone high, his face bearing a malicious grin mixed with some indescribable pleasure. He aimed the stone at Qin Qiao’er’s head, ready to strike.

Qin Shuangshuang was not just too far to reach Qin Qiao’er in time. Fortunately, she had brought her bow and arrows when she came out, quickly stringing an arrow. Qin Shuangshuang’s accuracy with a bow was as good as her master’s!

In this emergency, Qin Shuangshuang instinctively used her hunting tactics, aiming the arrow at the man’s fatal points and letting it fly. The arrow went straight into the outsider’s left eye, powerful enough to exit through the back of his head!

The outsider’s body shuddered, his face frozen in a twisted smile of malice and pleasure. The stone in his hand rolled to the ground, creating a small pit. His body fell with the stone, eyes wide open, staring towards Qin Shuangshuang, dead without closure.

"Ah——"

Qin Qiao’er screamed with her eyes closed, her voice filled with terror and despair. Her legs kicked as she tried to crawl backward, tears streaming down her face!

Qin Shuangshuang paused, not intending to kill, but instinctively aiming for the eye in her haste. In hunting, animals’ pelts were often valuable, so Qin Shuangshuang had learned from Fang Zhongyi to aim directly at the eyes.

In the pressure of the moment, she instinctively aimed at the eye, with the inevitable result.

Never having killed anyone, Qin Shuangshuang felt uncomfortable and a bit frightened. She had taken a life, even though she had seen many things and witnessed many tragic deaths; this was different from personally killing someone.

The dead person’s gaze, staring at her even after falling, instilled a primal fear in Qin Shuangshuang! But there was no time for panic.

Who knows where these outsiders came from, but despite their ragged clothing, their complexions were ruddy, not like starving people, each very strong. The villagers of Qin Family Village had been starving for a long time, having just had a decent meal today, they were no match for these outsiders.

The outsiders with arrows were even more threatening, though their accuracy was far from Qin Shuangshuang’s, there were many of them. Qin Shuangshuang saw that three or four villagers had been hit by arrows. Though no one died, it was clear two were severely injured!

In the moment of her shock, several people’s farm tools were seized. Compared to clubs, farm tools can kill, and with them in hand, the outsiders aimed for the villagers’ vital points without hesitation, clearly intending to take lives!

Suppressing her discomfort from killing, Qin Shuangshuang quickly strung an arrow, shooting at those trying to kill. This time, she aimed for their legs instead of the eyes.

Besides targeting those armed with killing intent, Qin Shuangshuang first disabled the hands of those carrying bows and arrows among the outsiders, ruining their ability to shoot. As for those without bows, she shot at their legs.

Qin Shuangshuang was strong, her bow heavy, and her arrows powerful. Her accuracy was excellent, often piercing the legs of the outsiders, rendering them immobile and easily subdued by the villagers.

With Qin Shuangshuang’s intervention, more and more outsiders fell, and the arrows in her quiver quickly depleted. The outsiders soon noticed Qin Shuangshuang, the most troublesome presence.

While she had arrows in hand, they dared not approach. Once her quiver on her back was empty, several outsiders exchanged glances and rushed at Qin Shuangshuang, planning to overpower her with brute force!

Running out of arrows suited Qin Shuangshuang perfectly, turning and punching, kicking, grabbing ankles, and tossing them aside, she quickly subdued several outsiders!

With Qin Shuangshuang’s involvement, the outsiders were soon subdued. The villagers, filled with righteous anger, gathered the attackers together, with several red-eyed villagers discussing killing them!

Several houses were burned, and seven or eight people were injured. Emotions were running high; many echoed the suggestion to kill, seeing it about to happen, when one outsider, in desperation, shouted, "Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, we were called here by people from your village! We didn’t come on our own!"