Immediately following, was the sound of a whip cracking down, over and over.
The woman cried out in pain, unable to suppress her groans.
I didn't dare to hesitate for a moment, and took out the key to unlock the door.
The sight that greeted me was a woman, covered in wounds yet extremely frail, kneeling on the ground.
"Lin Huan, I need to let you know that if you start hitting people the moment you wake up, I will never save you." I rushed over and hugged my mother's frail body, glaring at Lin Huan as I spoke in anger.
Lin Huan's pupils trembled, his face an unnatural shade of iron blue.
His hand holding the whip shook violently, with fresh blood trickling down the soft leather, drop by drop onto the ground.
It was clear that the pain inflicted by each lash of his whip must have been immense.
One strike would probably take half a person's life.
Yet he kept beating my mother, despite her frail body.
With a "slap" sound, I received a heavy slap on my face.
My mother, furious, heaved with short breaths, "How can you speak to your grandfather like that?"
"He is not my grandfather." I could not tolerate anyone hurting my mother.
Cold frost filled my mother's eyes as she raised her hand again, "Su Wan, you have truly disappointed me, apologize to your grandfather."
"I won't, I refuse to acknowledge a cold and unfeeling old man as my grandfather."
I looked deeply at my mother as she trembled with rage.
Her hand came down hard, aiming to slap me again.
I defiantly closed my eyes.
The loud sound of a slap rang out, yet there was no pain on my face.
After a moment, I hesitantly opened my eyes, "Yu Longting..."
Before I knew it, Yu Longting had already moved to shield me from the blow, and his handsome, almost arrogantly beautiful face now bore five red palm prints, "Tsk, the people of the Lin family are really the sort who bully the weak and fear the strong, huh? It was I who took Wanwan, and yet you don't trouble me but choose to bully the vulnerable? What's that about?"
My mother had never expected that her slap would land on Snake Lord Yu Longting.
Her arm involuntarily jerked, and her pupils dilated in shock.
Lin Huan, too, furrowed his brows and stood there dumbfounded.
"Why are you so foolish, why did you take the hit for me? I'm my mother's daughter, it's only right for me to bear her hits."
Not caring about the others, I touched the spot on his face that was hit, feeling indescribably annoyed.
Yu Longting simply smiled, not minding the slap at all, "You're my wife, and it's only right for me to shield you. Besides, I have a thick skin; I'm not afraid of being hit."
"Your face is all reddened, yet you say you have thick skin." I glanced at Lin Huan, harboring a surge of anger deep inside, detesting Lin Huan more than words could say.
Yu Longting had yet to fully recover from the injuries he sustained when breaking the lock, and had now, because of Lin Huan, taken a solid slap from my mother.
"It'll be fine in a while, look how worried you are, as if I've been seriously injured."
Yu Longting tousled my long hair carelessly and looked at Lin Huan, "Old man, if you're angry, take it out on me. If you dare vent your anger on someone else... there might no longer be a Lin's Exorcist Family in the world."
Lin Huan's expression darkened, and he turned to leave.
"Father."
My mother struggled to rise, using a chair for support, but collapsed back down from sheer weakness.
"Mom, take it slow, let me help you." I tried to help my mother.
She pushed me away, "I have no daughter like you, Su Wan. In this world, filial piety is the basic line to toe."
I staggered backward from the push, nearly falling over.
Yu Longting came forward and steadied me, his eyes filled with a chilling light.
My mother stubbornly pulled herself up, clasping her bleeding shoulder wound as she limped after Lin Huan, "Father, it's my fault for not teaching her properly, for not raising Wanwan right. Please don't take a child's... a child's actions to heart..."
With a thud, my mother lost her balance and fell outside the door.
Her back was covered in horrifying lash marks...