Chapter 14: Yundong, the Godfather
“Say that again, I didn’t catch it the first time.” With a smile, Gu Yundong gestured with her knife at the little girl facing her.
The girl’s eyes were fixed on the blade in horror, her face paled instantly, and she couldn’t help swallowing hard. “What are you going to do?” she stuttered.
“Oh, relax, sweetheart, I’m not planning to use it. Just repeat yourself, that’s all. No need to be scared, I won’t cut you…” Gu Yundong reassured her.
But before she could finish, the girl was so terrified that she stumbled backward, lost her balance, and fell to the ground with a loud clatter.
Gu Yundong took a step forward, the knife gleaming menacingly like some ghastly specter. The little girl let out a pitiful wail, scrambled to her feet, and ran off, tears streaming down her face as she cried out for her mother.
“You’re as timid as a mouse, yet you have the audacity to ask me to serve you,” Gu Yundong muttered, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Big sister, what should we do?” Gu Yunshu asked anxiously.
“What do you mean?” replied Gu Yundong.
“Fu Lanzhi said that our little auntie told her to deliver the message, and she’s our elder,” he explained hesitantly.
Gu Yundong raised an eyebrow, gently patting his small shoulder. “Do you treat her as a sister-in-law, and does she see you as a nephew? Whenever she sees us, all she does is hit or scold. She doesn’t even respect your elder brother. What kind of elder is that? Has Father ever taught you ‘return evil with good, but what about returning good’? We treat others the way they treat us. Remember, Yunshu, we don’t start trouble, but if someone dares bully us, we can’t just stand there and take it. Understand?”
Yunshu nodded, his grasp of the concept initially unclear, but as he pondered, clarity dawned. “This little girl doesn’t act like an elder, and Fu Lanzhi doesn’t behave subordinate to our parents. I know what I should do.”
Satisfied, Gu Yundong watched as he clenched his small fists, vowing, “Next time she comes, I’ll spit on her.”
Gu Yundong’s mouth twitched, and she cleared her throat. “That’s too impolite, Yunshu. There are gentler ways to handle this.”
“How can we be gentler?” Yunshu blinked in curiosity.
During their conversation, Gu Qiuyue arrived, dragging Fu Lanzhi and looking furious. She began berating Gu Yundong from afar, “Gu Yundong, how dare you bully Lanzhi?! You think just because your grandmother isn’t here, you can disregard me? I’ll teach you manners on her behalf and make sure you don’t disgrace our family by lacking basic filial respect!”
Gu Qiuyue swung her hand, aiming a slap at Gu Yundong’s face.
But as her hand was mid-arc, it halted, freezing as she stared at the dagger lying between them. She shivered, suddenly unable to carry through with her slap.
“Gu Yundong, you…” she stammered.
“Do you recognize this blood?” Gu Yundong lifted the dagger in her hand, the blade stained with crimson turned dark. “It was fresh red just yesterday, but now it’s turned this dark, almost black, though it’s not too smelly. You can still tell what it is up close, can’t you?”
“What are you trying to do?” Gu Qiuyue demanded, her voice laced with fear.
“I’m not planning anything,” Gu Yundong replied coolly. “I just wonder why the world has so many fools who think too highly of themselves. I came across a couple yesterday, trying to take my stuff and sell my siblings off. I took out this dagger then, and let’s just say it wasn’t pointed at the ground…”
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
