Chapter 54: Whoever Dares to Touch Me Will Pay Dearly
Cao Daqiang lost his balance and staggered back several steps.
THUD. His back slammed hard against a dead tree trunk.
Dry, cracked bark flaked off, making him choke and cough uncontrollably.
"I will report every detail of this to the chief."
Xiao Zhou stared at him coldly.
Cao Daqiang’s face instantly went pale.
He’d already lost his deputy position.
If Ling Anxun really got angry and kicked him off the team for good...
’How will I survive then?’
’No!’
’I can’t take this risk!’
’And I can’t ruin myself over a moment of impulse!’
He gritted his teeth, staring daggers at Shanshan’s small, retreating back.
Finally, with a fierce stomp of his foot, he turned and ran.
Shanshan curled her lip, her face full of disdain and disgust.
She couldn’t be bothered with him and turned to continue deeper into the mountains.
’Wasting time on someone like him is so not worth it.’
Her dad was getting better day by day, so to maintain the medicine’s effectiveness, the dosage she brewed had to increase.
She needed to gather more fresh herbs.
Especially Dragon Beard Grass; she couldn’t be short on that at all.
Luckily, across the entire mountain, she was the only one who could recognize Dragon Beard Grass.
She gently drew out her Spiritual Power, letting it flow slowly along the mountain’s contours.
Then, with practiced ease, she pushed aside the undergrowth and deftly picked the herbs with her fingers.
Before long, her small cloth pouch was bulging.
"Uncle Xiao Zhou, just help me carry this. I can’t pick any more."
Shanshan stopped and carefully handed him the pouch.
"If I pick too much, the medicinal properties will dissipate. The Spiritual Energy will escape, and the medicine will lose its effect. That would be a real waste."
After she finished speaking, she clapped her hands and started trotting back happily on her little short legs.
Passing by the bag Cao Daqiang had thrown down, her eyes darted, and she suddenly crouched down.
Then she picked up all the snacks and clothes and stuffed them into her own cloth pouch.
Before entering the house, Shanshan made a point to ask Xiao Zhou for her pouch back.
"Dad! Dad! I’m back! Look!"
She held up the pouch, panting, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ling Anxun was sitting in a chair in the main room reading a document. He looked up when he heard her shout.
But his gaze didn’t land on the pouch first, but on her mud-stained pants.
"How did you get so dirty? Did you fall?"
His voice was low, tinged with a hint of worry.
"Nope. I was lying on the ground looking for herbs and got dirty."
Shanshan casually patted her pants.
Then she dangled the pouch in front of his eyes.
"Look! Dragon Beard Grass is most effective like this! The amount I picked is just enough to brew for half a month. Any more and the medicinal potency would dissipate. What a waste that would be."
She spoke with a very serious expression, her little face taught.
But Ling Anxun’s eyes still didn’t leave her grimy little hands and trouser cuffs.
He gently took the cloth pouch from Shanshan’s hands, bent down, and carefully examined her hands and knees.
He was afraid she had fallen and was hiding the pain from him.
Shanshan felt ticklish where he held her, and she pulled her fingers back, squirming with laughter.
"Dad, I’m really okay! Just ask Uncle Xiao Zhou!"
Hearing his name, Xiao Zhou quickly stood up straight.
"She really didn’t fall. It was just dusty on the ground, and Shanshan was playing while lying down, so she got covered in dirt..."
He had wanted to mention Cao Daqiang, but the words died on his lips.
The man was Shanshan’s biological father, an extremely sensitive topic.
If he spoke carelessly, he might upset his boss and damage the father-daughter relationship.
As Xiao Zhou agonized over it, a bead of sweat formed on his temple.
But Ling Anxun misunderstood and thought something serious had happened, his face darkening.
"What exactly happened on the way?"
"Nothing much. Cao Daqiang just showed up and said some nonsense, and Shanshan drove him away," Xiao Zhou quickly explained.
Ling Anxun’s gaze turned cold.
"What did he do now?"
"Dad, don’t worry about him. Look!"
Shanshan held up a small handful of herbs, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.
"I’ve separated out the ones for today’s brew!"
Ling Anxun stared at the herbs but didn’t reach out to take them.
"Why didn’t you tell me about this?"
His tone was calm, but it held a hint of reprimand.
"Why should I tell you?"
Shanshan blinked, her eyelashes fluttering, her face a picture of innocence.
"I didn’t want you to get angry."
She truly didn’t understand why her dad was suddenly unhappy.
In her eyes, driving Cao Daqiang away was the most natural thing to do.
"I’m not angry."
Ling Anxun’s tone softened.
"But if you see him again, you must tell me immediately, you hear? I’m afraid he’ll hurt you."
"But he can’t hurt me!" Shanshan blurted out.
"Because I..."
’I have Spells, and I can understand what animals say,’ she almost said.
’Anyone who dares to touch me will be in for a world of hurt.’
’But I can’t say that out loud.’
’Dad wouldn’t believe me.’
She bit her lip, swallowing the impulse.
She lowered her head and replied softly.
"Mm, I know."
Only then did the expression on Ling Anxun’s face soften.
Shanshan pouted and turned to walk to the kitchen.
He had told her several times that she didn’t need to do it herself, but she simply wouldn’t listen.
She knew that if the heat wasn’t controlled properly for this medicine, its effectiveness would be greatly diminished.
So, as she brewed the medicine, she held her breath and secretly infused a trace of warmth into the dregs.
’It’s all that big jerk’s fault! He just had to pop out of nowhere and scare me! Now Dad’s mad at me!’
Shanshan muttered under her breath as she stirred the medicinal soup.
She gnashed her teeth and swore an oath in her heart.
’When I get the chance, I’ll definitely make Cao Daqiang pay!’
Ling Anxun wheeled his chair to the doorway and stopped, his heart aching with a bittersweet feeling.
He really hadn’t wanted to have a falling out with his daughter.
He was just too worried.
Afraid that because she was young and naive, she’d be tricked or bullied.
He couldn’t understand how a child of only a few years could be so sure that nothing bad would happen to her.
But he didn’t dwell on it. He immediately took out his phone and called Xiao Zhou.
"Arrange for two bodyguards to keep an eye on Shanshan."
He paused, his voice dropping even lower.
"Pick two who are the best at staying hidden. They need to have solid skills and fast reflexes. Wherever she goes, they follow, but they absolutely cannot let her spot them."
"Understood, Chief," Xiao Zhou immediately replied on the other end of the line.
However, before the men were in place, Shanshan had already slung her small cloth pouch over her shoulder and set off with light steps.
She wasn’t going to return the items, but to find Cao Jiajia.
"Well, well, the little wild girl is back?"
Cao Jiajia had been standing in a circle with a few of her friends, chatting and laughing.
But as soon as they saw Shanshan approach, the other kids glanced at each other and slipped away one by one.
"Hey! Where are you going? Get back here!"
Cao Jiajia shouted in frustration and anger.
"Haha, Cao Jiajia, how come all your little followers ran off?"
Shanshan stood on a slope with her arms crossed, looking down at her.
"Looks like I’m the more popular one, huh!"
Cao Jiajia was so angry she clenched her fists.
"You’re lying! They left because they had something to do!"
"Is that so? What a coincidence."
Shanshan tilted her head slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Then she slowly took the items out of her pouch.
The moment Cao Jiajia saw them, her eyes went wide.
"That’s my doll! And my clothes and snacks! Did you steal them? Give them back!"
She pointed at the items in Shanshan’s hands, her voice suddenly rising in pitch.
"Whoa there, don’t go grabbing things."
Shanshan sidestepped lightly, dodging Cao Jiajia’s lunging hand.
She dangled the doll, then casually shook a bag of fruit candies.
"Your dad specially brought these over as a gift to apologize. Since he gave them to me, they’re mine. What right do you have to snatch them?"
Her tone was self-righteous, her eyes filled with a trace of mockery.