Chapter 20: Battle of Wits

Translator: Lonelytree 

“Yes, burn the girl to death!” The voices rose and fell, almost piercing the entire sky and reverberating throughout the entire village.

However, no one dared to take the lead to grab Lin Yuelan. They all had the same thought, which was to wait for Lin Dawei to take the first move.

However, Lin Dawei only placed his hoe on the ground. He placed his hands on the hoe, and he leaned against it. His bushy beard concealed his expression, but his eyes were sharp. He glanced at the excited mob, and his eyes glowed with disdain and mockery. He really had no idea what these people were thinking.

Even though Lin Yuelan was twelve, she looked like a eight-year-old girl because she didn’t have much to eat for the past few years. What kind of harm could such a girl bring to the village? How could they be so vicious to think about taking the life of a child?

The villagers’ voices were hoarse from shouting. However, Lin Dawei was indifferent.

The villagers looked at each other. If Lin Dawei didn’t move to capture the jinx, none of them dared to do it. If the girl was really possessed, how could they capture her? What if she harmed them in return?

Therefore, none of them dared to take the initiative.

They all placed their hope on Lin Dawei. However, Lin Dawei completely ignored them, so they were a little at a loss.

The villagers looked at each other, and then everyone gave Lin Chong a look. Lin Chong was a middle-aged man who was neither fat nor thin. His eyes were not big, and his skin was dark like charcoal. Er Gou Zi inherited the color of his skin from his father.

Lin Chong was not a very smart person, but he was not a fool either. The villagers shot him the look because they wanted him to be the first one to go after the jinx.

To be honest, he did not have much hatred towards Lin Yuelan. His son was now safe and sound. Lin Yuelan didn’t eat his son as the other children said. So, he couldn’t really bring himself to burn the girl to death.

Hence, he looked straight ahead as if he couldn’t see the gazes of the other villagers.

Ying Zi noticed that no one had moved, even if their voices had become hoarse. Only by burning the jinx to death would she be comforted.

Even though Ying Zi was the same age as Lin Yuelan, Lin Yuelan’s growth had stunted. Therefore, Ying Zi was taller and stronger than Lin Yuelan.

She looked at the weak Lin Yuelan in a condescending manner. After that, she bit her lower lip and looked carefully at Lin Dawei with a fearful and nervous look, “Uncle Dawei, why don’t you go and capture the jinx? If we don’t burn her to death, she’ll harm the others. What will you do then?”

Lin Dawei was shocked when he heard Ying Zi. He didn’t expect a child this young to have a heart so vicious.

In fact, he’d rather believe that Ying Zi was the jinx than Lan ‘Er. At least, while she was called the jinx, Lin Yuelan hadn’t done anything to harm anyone. In contrast, Ying Zi had been going around the village saying that Lan ‘Er had turned into a ghost and captured Er Gou Zi to eat. Earlier, she was also the one who claimed Lan ‘Er had been possessed and needed to be burned. Now, when no one stood forward, Ying Zi acted all innocent and pleaded with him to do the dirty work.

No one wanted to be the first to grab the girl because they were afraid that their family might have the next jinx. The reason the villagers pushed him out was that he was a hunter and his family was already a jinx. The women in his family would always die, so he was the perfect person to deal with Lin Yuelan.

Lin Dawei sneered twice. His family didn’t have any women now, but it didn’t mean that his family wouldn’t have any females in the future.

The village wanted to kill the jinx, but no one wanted to bear the consequences. They encouraged him to take the fall instead. They really thought he was a fool.

Lin Dawei narrowed his eyes, stared at Ying Zi, and asked seriously, “Ying Zi, why are you so sure that Lan ‘Er is possessed by a demon? Is it because she can lift up Er Gou Zi? Do you know that some people are born with great strength? Do you intend to burn an innocent girl to death because of a misunderstanding?”

Ying Zi widened her eyes and looked at Lin Dawei incredulously. However, Lin Dawei didn’t look back at her. Instead, he turned to Lin Yuelan, who was as calm as ever, even though the villagers wanted to burn her to death. He asked, “Lan ‘Er, the children saw you close your eyes and lift up Er Guo Er. Can you explain what happened?

“The villagers are saying that you’re being possessed by the demon. I personally don’t believe it, but for the safety of the village, you have to give an explanation, or Uncle Dawei might have to make a move!”

Actually, when the villagers said that Lin Yuelan was possessed, Lin Xinlan was shocked. She was no ghost, but she did possess Lin Yuelan’s body.

However, if the villagers really wanted to burn her to death, then she would have to counter. Even if she had to massacre the whole village, she would not die here.

Self-preservation was the most important!

In this village, other than the village chief and Lin Dawei’s family, there were no kind people. They had all bullied Lin Yuelan before. She wasn’t going to stand there and let them burn her to death. She was no white lotus.

Thankfully, these villagers were too superstitious to make the first move. They all hoped that Lin Dawei would lead the attack. But Lin Dawei was no fool.

Lin Yuelan smiled and said, “Uncle Dawei, it’s easily explainable.

“Earlier, Er Guo Zi, Ying Zi, and the rest kicked me into the Palace of Hell…”

Everyone was shocked.

Kicked her to the Palace of Hell?