"You!"

"What are you doing here?"

When Li Aiguo and Li Yuan saw Su Qing, they were stunned, then spoke with fury.

As for Zhao Li’e, she clenched her fists. If not for the guards standing by, she would have lunged forward to tear Su Qing to pieces. She had always believed that Su Qing was the reason her face was disfigured.

So, seeing Su Qing made Zhao Li’e’s heart burn with hatred. Thinking of her scarred face, which could never be beautiful again, and the way people looked at her now, she wanted nothing more than to kill Su Qing.

Besides, her family had been sent here because of Su Qing and her mother.

"It’s me." Su Qing smiled faintly and pointed to the three chairs across the table from her, raising an eyebrow. "Have a seat. I came to see you. Aren’t you happy? You should be. Weren’t you always looking for me and my mom? Now I’ve come to you on my own. You got your wish."

Li Yuan glared at Su Qing, her eyes like daggers. "We’re here because of you and your mother. How could you? You’re so ruthless, taking things to such an extreme. Aren’t you afraid of retribution?"

Li Yuan knew in her heart that with the Li family’s influence, the three of them were likely stuck on this farm for life. The thought of this fate made her tremble. She had lived a pampered life with the Li family for twenty years; the work on this farm was driving her insane.

"If you aren’t afraid, what do we have to be afraid of?" Su Qing’s faint smile remained, making Li Aiguo and the others grit their teeth in frustration.

Su Qing continued to provoke them. "You’ve done every evil thing imaginable, but unlike you heartless beasts, I specially came all this way to see how you’re doing. Look how magnanimous I am. Aren’t you happy?"

Li Aiguo stared grimly at Su Qing. ’Happy my ass!’ he thought. He wanted to curse her out, but with the guards nearby, he could only say in a low voice, "Su Qing, stop pretending to be so gracious. Just admit you came to gloat over our misfortune."

"You’re right. I did come to gloat." Su Qing smiled and leaned back in her chair, raising an eyebrow. "I came to see your downfall."

Su Qing was smiling, but under the table, her fingers twitched. A small pile of grayish-brown powder appeared in her palm. It was something Su Qing had concocted from plants in the mountains before she came. Now that she was a Fourth Rank Wood Ability user, her control over plants was even more precise. She willed the powder to disperse, becoming as fine as dust motes in the air. It slowly drifted toward the faces of Li Aiguo, Li Yuan, and Zhao Li’e. No one noticed anything unusual. The powder was colorless and odorless, so naturally, the three of them were completely unaware.

Su Qing’s smirk widened. This grayish-brown powder wasn’t lethal, but it could cause illness.

Or, to be more precise, the powder was a slow-acting poison. It wouldn’t kill Li Aiguo and the others, but it would torture them slowly, like a dull knife sawing through flesh, forcing them to feel every moment of their agony.

A life worse than death was the gift Su Qing intended to give Li Aiguo’s family this time.

For the sake of wealth and status, Li Aiguo and his family had done unspeakable things to Li Wan and the original owner of her body. Simply taking their lives would be letting them off too easily.

With every breath Li Aiguo, Li Yuan, and Zhao Li’e took, the grayish-brown powder was completely absorbed into their bodies. Su Qing just smiled without saying a word, watching until every last particle was gone.

But the three of them had no idea of the hellish agony that awaited them. Seeing Su Qing’s provocative smile, Li Yuan was the first to snap. She shot to her feet, pointed at Su Qing, and cursed, "What are you so smug about? Everything you and your mother have, you stole from me! What’s there to be proud of? Are you happy picking up my cast-off scraps? Do you really think the Li Family members will treat you with genuine kindness? Hmph, you weren’t raised by them. Do you really think they have any real affection for you?"

"What are you doing? Sit down." Seeing how agitated Li Yuan was, a nearby guard said sternly, "If you don’t follow the rules, your work hours will be doubled later."

Li Yuan froze, shot Su Qing a hateful glare, and sat back down, gritting her teeth.

Li Yuan’s words had no effect on Su Qing. She just kept smiling that infuriating smile. "Those ’scraps’ you mentioned are what you schemed so hard to steal back then. As for how my mother and I will fare with the Li family, or what our relationship with them is like, you don’t need to worry about that. You should worry more about whether your body, pampered for twenty years, can handle the work here. Labor is glorious, you know. You’d better perform well, right?"

"You!" Li Yuan was speechless with rage.

Zhao Li’e stared gloomily at Su Qing and said hatefully, "You, Su! You won’t meet a good end. You said those who harm others will face retribution, well you’re the one who ruined my face! You’ll get what’s coming to you sooner or later!"

Su Qing beamed at Zhao Li’e. "Let me give you a kind reminder: This is Hongxing Farm, where you’re undergoing labor reform. It’s not a wishing well for turtles."

"You... you’re calling me a turtle!" Zhao Li’e was so furious she could have exploded. Her eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets, which, combined with the burn scars on her face, was especially terrifying. Even the guard nearby couldn’t help but shudder.

But this was Su Qing, someone who had struggled and survived for years in the apocalypse. She had seen zombies far more terrifying than this, so why would Zhao Li’e’s face scare her? She raised an eyebrow. "You’re the one who admitted it, not me. Of course, if you want to be a turtle, I have no objection."

In the end, the meeting concluded with Zhao Li’e fainting from rage.

The staff member escorting Su Qing out of Hongxing Farm glanced at her and couldn’t help but comment, "Not bad, young lady. You managed to make someone faint from anger. That must be some serious grudge."

’If it were a small grudge, would she have come all this way just to piss them off?’

Su Qing smiled and slipped a few packs of cigarettes to the staff member. "They came here to strive for progress. I can see you’re a dedicated man. I’ll have to ask you to supervise their progress well."

The staff member glanced around. Seeing no one, he grinned, accepted the cigarettes, and quickly stuffed them into his pocket. "Don’t you worry, young lady," he said with a smile. "I’ll be sure to supervise their progress properly."

Never mind that these people had been sent here for their crimes in the first place—for the sake of these cigarettes alone, he would make sure to properly ’supervise’ Li Aiguo and the others in their labor and progress.

"I’ll be counting on you, then." Seeing they had reached the entrance of Hongxing Farm, Su Qing smiled and bid farewell to the guard, leaving with a broad grin on her face.

After returning to Sui County, Su Qing called the Lihua Village branch office to ask if there was any news about Wang Xuehong from Yun Province.

The person who answered was none other than Zhao Youcai. When he saw it was Su Qing calling, he said, "Su Qing, what a coincidence. A man with the surname Fang came looking for you today. He said if it’s convenient, you should give the An Family a call."