Felix Thorne and his wife, Phoebe Huxley, joined forces, each more ruthless than the other. The Golding family stood no chance of fighting back. The other villagers just watched the show, unwilling to meddle. No one wanted to provoke the Thorne family.

Besides, it was a fact that Phoenix Golding had been eating their food and trying to seduce Phoebe’s man, so it wasn’t exactly excessive for Phoebe to slap her around and curse her out. If it were their own husbands being seduced by some slut, they would have beaten her even more mercilessly.

Most of the onlookers were women, and their relationship with Phoenix Golding was far from harmonious. Some even loathed her—after all, their own husbands were constantly showering her with praise. Consequently, they completely understood how Phoebe Huxley felt and could only gloat over Phoenix Golding’s miserable state. There was no way they were going to help her out of this jam.

Felix Thorne was still holding Linden Golding, whose legs were kicking pathetically in the air. In Felix’s grasp, Linden was like a helpless rabbit, completely unable to resist. Felix snorted, and with a casual toss, sent Linden crashing to the ground. There he lay, right next to his sister, Phoenix.

"Your Thorne family is worse than the landlords of old! Are you trying to just walk all over us and shit on our heads? Is there no law anymore? Is no one going to rein in this family of bandits and tyrants... Oh, Heavens... Open your eyes and see! We can’t go on living like this..."

Linden’s mother plopped onto the ground, wailing and crying out to the heavens. She didn’t know what kind of bad luck had befallen them lately. Those thugs from the Thorne family were targeting her family day in and day out. Before, Felix Thorne would always call her "Auntie" when he saw her, but now he was just short of laying hands on her.

This night-and-day difference in Felix Thorne’s attitude made Linden’s mother miserable. But beyond the emotional grievance, what upset her most was the material loss—no more free meat from now on.

"A few days ago, you threw filth all over me! Today, you’re bullying my Yuhai, who’s just a child, and now you’re bullying my Phoenix and Linden! This whole family is a pack of bandits! You’ve done every evil deed imaginable, and heaven will see you punished! Just you wait, the Thorne family will definitely get its retribution!"

The word "retribution" made Tang Xiaonan’s blood boil. ’That old hag is clearly in cahoots with Phoenix Golding, plotting against the Thorne family. I just wonder if Jacqueline Spann knows about this.’

’But she probably doesn’t know. After all, Jacqueline Spann is only ten right now. Still, that doesn’t hide Jacqueline’s malicious nature. With a grandmother and mother who are both such vipers, how could she possibly turn out to be a saint?’

Felix Thorne couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on this family. He rolled up his sleeves, about to get physical. Linden Golding scrambled up in a panic, yanked his mother to her feet, and tried to flee, completely ignoring Phoenix Golding, who was still on the ground playing dead.

"If I’m so evil I’m going to get my retribution anyway, then I might as well slaughter your whole family first and see if it ever comes!"

Felix Thorne strode forward, and his words made Linden Golding’s legs turn to jelly. He silently cursed his mother for her loose tongue. ’Why run your mouth in front of a monster like him? She could have just cursed him behind his back to blow off steam and be done with it.’

’And then there was his sister, Phoenix Golding, acting like she was some great historical beauty. Did she really think every man under the sun wanted to sleep with her? And then she had to go and provoke that couple, a shrew and a monster. Not only did she bring this misfortune on herself, but she dragged the whole family down with her. He wasn’t getting involved in his sister’s messes anymore.’

Linden Golding had finally come to his senses, but it was too late. Before he could even run a few steps, his body was airborne again. This time, he was lifted even higher, and so was his mother. Felix Thorne hoisted the mother and son high into the air, one in each hand. Then, with a mighty heave—WHOOSH!—he sent them flying into a haystack ahead. They plunged in halfway, leaving four legs flailing wildly outside.