She desperately wanted to tell everyone that it was the village chief’s doing, but she had no evidence. Just as she opened her mouth, the village chief’s wife lunged forward and pinned her down.
Her mouth was gagged, and she struggled desperately to shout, to call for help, but all that came out were muffled sounds.
She looked pleadingly at her students, but those innocent children had already been indoctrinated by their parents to resent her.
She wanted to appeal to the men who had once courted her, but they all turned their heads away.
She then turned her gaze to the old principal, who had always taken good care of her, but he too did not look at her, perhaps out of unwillingness, or perhaps he also thought it was her fault.
These were the very people she had wanted to save, for whom she had gone to great lengths, finding doors and hospitals for them, yet they did not believe her at all.
She didn’t want to stay here any longer; she wanted to go home. Only her own home felt truly safe, and only her own family would not treat her this way.
The village chief dared not let her leave, but at the same time, he didn’t know how to deal with her. After all, she was officially registered with the government.
So, she was confined to an empty house. That very night, the "prodigy" forced himself upon her.
She tried to make noise and call for help, but what came were not heroes to save her, but another pack of jackals.
Her beautiful face brought her much torment at this moment. She struggled desperately, but what strength could a woman have against several men?
When the village chief came to see her again, he found her lying on the ground in a state of disarray. It was then that he realized she absolutely could not be allowed to leave alive.
If she were to return alive, their village would be ruined. So, he immediately went back to find his wife to tidy her up, then sought out a con artist he knew well. They concocted a false story about her being a witch who brought disaster and absorbed others' good fortune.
She was thus hoisted onto a high platform. Everyone harbored resentment towards her, but no one was willing to bear the responsibility of murder, so no one dared to strike.
Until a child threw a pebble at her head. Then, everyone began throwing whatever they had at her.
She glared hatefully at these people, her usually gentle eyes now filled with venom.
If only she were truly a witch, she would curse these people, she would use her own life to curse them, wishing them an agonizing death.
She endured for days on the high platform before she finally passed away, constantly cursing these people until her last breath.
Someone cautiously approached her and heard her whispering curses against these people, which scared them away immediately.
To prevent her from becoming a vengeful spirit after death, they stuffed her mouth with rice husks and then sewed it shut. They also covered her face with her hair, so she could not lodge a complaint in the underworld.
Furthermore, using some obscure means, they sealed her coffin and finally buried her deep in the mountains.
After her death, the village chief stopped the medication, and everyone’s strange illnesses gradually subsided. This further proved that what they had done was not wrong.
They comforted themselves in this way, unsure themselves if they truly believed it.
Subsequently, the village chief reported to the authorities that the visiting teacher had accidentally fallen off a cliff during a home visit, and by the time they found her, it was too late.
They only found scraps of her clothing. With the testimony of the villagers, the government officials did not suspect anything, informed her parents, and after sending awards and compensation, they did not investigate further.
The government granted her the status of a martyr and provided her family with compensation. But what use was that? It couldn’t bring back their daughter.
When they came to pack her belongings, the old couple wept inconsolably, and thus did not notice that most of the villagers were avoiding them.
Lin Yan looked at the person most severely entangled by black silk, presumably someone from the village chief’s family.
She wondered if the "prodigy" was still in this village, but since she hadn't killed anyone, he probably wasn't.
Lin Yan did not want to deal with these people, so with a wave of her hand, she threw out a sleeping charm, knocking them unconscious and letting them continue their slumber.
She needed to find the mountain spirit to inquire about Teacher Feng’s burial place.
“Yan Yan, how can people be so wicked?” Wei Wanru sighed.
“Sister Wei, some people don’t deserve to be called human; they are merely beasts in human skin. Even calling them beasts is an insult,” this was the first time Lin Yan had spoken such harsh words.
Not only Wei Wanru but even the system was astonished. It had accompanied its host for so many years, and this was the first time it had heard its host speak like this.
It remembered its host as always calm, composed, and in control, and had never seen her curse so directly.
However, a cursing host was also very cool!
“Then how will you help Teacher Feng? Her resentment is not so easily dispelled.”
“I know.” After hearing what those people said, Lin Yan had strongly wished to stop Teacher Feng from seeking revenge.
If Teacher Feng were to seek revenge with all her might, she would completely lose her sanity and become a vengeful spirit driven solely by the urge to kill.
This was too unfair to her. Teacher Feng had already lost her beautiful life because of them; how could she lose her afterlife for these scumbags?
Revenge was permissible, but it should be done through official channels.
Lin Yan and Wei Wanru walked towards the mountain spirit temple together. Along the way, Lin Yan lit the spirit-inviting charm she had drawn earlier.
After a short while, a mountain breeze swept through, and Lin Yan felt that peculiar power again.
“Great Mountain Spirit, I have learned of the incident concerning Teacher Feng. Please tell me where Teacher Feng is buried so I can rescue her,” Lin Yan said respectfully.
“What do you intend to do?”
“After it gets dark, I will rescue Teacher Feng, then help her open the gates of the underworld and seek justice for her. In Teacher Feng’s situation, she can apply for a vengeful spirit’s retribution.
With the permission of the underworld, she can personally exact revenge, and after her revenge is served, she can await reincarnation. If Teacher Feng still wishes to see her parents, I can help with that too.
The disappearances in the mountains this time have alarmed the higher authorities. I will definitely report to them afterwards, and these people will also face earthly punishment.”
“Do you… do you speak the truth?” the hoarse female voice came, and a fleeting figure appeared before Lin Yan.
“It is true. Teacher Feng, I will bring you justice in both the mortal and underworld. So please, do not ruin your future for these scum.
In your next life, you will surely enjoy a life free of calamities and illnesses, and never have to endure such suffering again.”
As she said this, a strand of golden light from Lin Yan’s body separated and floated towards Teacher Feng.
As this strand of golden light touched her, her body solidified a little, and her consciousness became clearer.