Chapter 103: Drinking Bathwater
[Wait, what?? You’re just throwing away your “Princess Kriksasa and Deep-Sea Witch” backstory like that?]
[And yet somehow it links perfectly with the nonsense you fed that hot guy earlier…]
[Poor Jiashu fell for it again. My conscience hurts for him.]
[Where can I get hawk-eagles that deliver food, give massages, and knead like cats? I need this.]
“Finally, we made it!”
The sound of footsteps approached.
Gu Hua and the others staggered up, panting so hard their legs wobbled.
They had followed the ostrich tracks all the way here before dark, burning through every bit of energy.
“There’s a lake up ahead!” Ling Qian spotted the gourd-shaped lake and let out a huge sigh of relief.
After running so far, their water was long gone. Their throats were burning, lips cracked—without water soon, they’d drop dead.
So when they saw the lake, how could they not be ecstatic?
They rushed to the bank and scooped up handfuls of water to drink.
Chi Qian suddenly remembered something and looked at her uncle.
Chi Fengxiao’s expression flickered wildly, torn between laughter and karmic guilt.
Shen Jiashu shouted without thinking: “Daddy, we just bathed in there—doesn’t that mean they’re drinking our bathwater?!”
Shen Jing flinched and quickly clamped his son’s mouth shut.
Son, you can’t just say that out loud!
But it was too late. They’d already heard.
Ling Qian grabbed a tree and vomited.
Xia Zhenzhen spat the mouthful of water she’d just swallowed and dropped to the ground gagging.
Gu Hua and Xia Xinyue wore different shades of horror, lips trembling visibly.
Luo Fan was lucky—before he could drink, Luo Zichuan yanked him back, sparing him.
Watching his teammates’ misery sent a chill down his spine.
So this was what came of picking the wrong team? Love it, love it.
If he’d known, he never would’ve joined in slandering Chi Qian. Now it was too awkward to switch sides.
“You guys are insane! Wasting precious water to bathe! You think this is your home?!” Xia Zhenzhen yelled furiously.
“Zhenzhen, don’t say that.” Xia Xinyue tried to stop her.
But Xia Zhenzhen ignored her, glaring daggers at Chi Qian.
Chi Qian was speechless. It wasn’t her bathwater they drank. Why dump the customer complaints on her?
“Only an idiot drinks untreated water straight from the wild. And yes, I mean you.” Chi Fengxiao spoke coldly. “Besides, we found this place first. Who said you could tag along?”
“There’s no sign with your name on it!” Xia Zhenzhen snapped.
Chi Qian snapped her fingers.
The hawk-eagle gave a sharp cry, swooped down, and hooked its talons into Zhenzhen’s hoodie, hauling her right out of the woods.
“Zhenzhen!” Xia Xinyue panicked, rushing to Chi Qian. “Qian Qian, she’s just spoiled at home, that’s why she speaks so bluntly. I apologize for her. Please don’t hold it against her, okay?”
“Not happening.” Chi Qian propped her chin on her hand. “This is my turf. You don’t have the right to negotiate with me.”
Xia Xinyue hadn’t expected her to be so blunt, not even bothering with a polite front.
With no other choice, she glanced at Chi Fengxiao for help.
But Chi Fengxiao was busy roasting rabbit for Chi Qian and didn’t even notice her silent plea.
Stomping her foot, Xia Xinyue turned and ran off.
Luo Fan edged closer to Luo Zichuan—he really didn’t want to be forced to sleep outside with so many wild beasts around.
Although Ling Qian and Gu Hua couldn’t stand Chi Qian, they also had no choice but to swallow their anger if they wanted to avoid being kicked out.
They would find a chance to pay her back later.
The small oasis still had decent resources, like plenty of wild fruits.
Ling Qian somehow caught a wild rabbit, and he and Gu Hua roasted it to eat.
But after sharing some with the Xia sisters, there wasn’t much left.
Meanwhile, everyone on Chi Qian’s side had their own whole roast rabbit, several roast chickens on the grill, and even squeezed wild fruit juice. Without many seasonings, the smell alone was enough to make people dizzy with hunger.
They looked like they were on a picnic, eating as much as they wanted without worrying about tomorrow’s meal.
That was the benefit of carrying a takeout hotline in her pocket.
It was hard to imagine what it felt like to eat until you were stuffed in the middle of a desert.
After eating her fill, Chi Qian took her ostrich for a walk nearby.
She had no choice—her uncle said if she didn’t finish five laps, he’d serve her roasted air for breakfast.
As she walked near one of the gourd-shaped lakes, she heard faint voices.
“Hua’er, don’t be sad. Even if my father refuses to help, I won’t give up on you,” Ling Qian’s voice was gentle, full of affection. “I’ll protect you, I promise.”
“Brother Qian, I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do in the future.” Gu Hua wept like a pear blossom in the rain. “My family never treated Chi Qian badly, yet she’s so heartless—sending my parents to prison and leaving me homeless…”
Ling Qian’s heart ached. His hatred toward Chi Qian only deepened.
In this whole mistaken identity mess, technically both Chi Qian and Gu Hua were victims.
But Gu Hua had clearly suffered far more.
Chi Qian hounding her like this was simply bullying.
The more Ling Qian pitied Gu Hua, the faster his favorability rose.
System: “Host, Ling Qian’s favorability is now at 95%. Once it reaches 100%, you can trigger a luck conversion and choose how much of his fortune to extract.”
That was exactly why Gu Hua had staged this sob story with Ling Qian.
The truth was, she had already found a powerful backer and didn’t need the Ling family’s influence.
But among all her targets, Ling Qian’s favorability was the highest, and she couldn’t bear to give him up.
Gu Hua asked: “System, why can I only get Chi Qian’s fortune by suppressing her?”
System: “Chi Qian is the novel’s villain. Her fortune can only be taken that way. After absorbing her fortune, the host can suppress her growth and shorten her lifespan, destroying her from the root.”
Chi Qian, who happened to be passing by, nearly burped out loud.
What the heck???
This broken system not only let Gu Hua steal her fortune, but also cut down her growth and lifespan?
Was that why her one-meter-twenty long legs were gone?!
As if she could tolerate that??
Like hell she was going to let them off easy—today she’d beat the crap out of them till they couldn’t hold it in!
Glancing around, inspiration struck.
Chi Qian picked up a stick and hurled it at the branch above Gu Hua’s head.
“Thud!”
A wild beehive shook loose and dropped straight into the hood of Ling Qian’s coat.
“Bzzzz—” The furious buzzing filled their ears.
When they saw the swarm of dark bees rushing at them, Gu Hua and Ling Qian went pale and screamed, bolting in panic.
With the bees chasing relentlessly, they had no choice but to jump into the lake.
Splash! Water went flying.
Ling Qian came up gasping for air several times, but when he saw the bees still hovering at the surface, he ducked back under.
The two of them stayed submerged so long they nearly turned into soaked prunes.
When they finally crawled out of the icy water, their first thought was to storm over and confront Chi Qian.
Who else but her would pull such a vicious stunt?
But Chi Qian stayed perfectly calm at their accusations. “Got any proof?”
Ling Qian’s handsome face stiffened. “Who else could it be but you?!”
“Oh? So I’m not even allowed to mess with you just because I don’t like your faces?” Chi Fengxiao sneered. “You think too highly of yourselves—like Baby Qian would go out of her way to target you?”
Luo Zichuan added, “Talk all you want, but unless you can prove it, this is just slander.”
Shen Jing chimed in, “Qian Qian was with us the whole time. We can vouch for her alibi.”
Ling Qian and Gu Hua felt like they’d swallowed a fly. Their anger was choking them.
These people were clearly shielding her!
