Chapter 446: Chapter 446: Apologizing Through Tears Chapter 446: Chapter 446: Apologizing Through Tears Little Taotie and Xiao Lingzhi held hands, their backs pressed against a wall, with nowhere left to escape.

Just a moment ago, when the boy’s grandmother, mother, and all his aunts had been chasing Little Taotie, Little Taotie and Xiao Lingzhi had split up and run.

After finally finding each other again, Little Taotie realized that a group of people were chasing after Xiao Lingzhi and had no choice but to keep running while holding onto her hand.

Now the women had left, and were replaced by the boy’s grandfather, father, uncles–the men and several other villagers who loved a commotion.

It was the first time Xiao Lingzhi had encountered such a situation. Her back against the irregular, cold wall, her usually cheerful voice trembled, “What do we do, there’s nowhere to run.”

Little Taotie pursed her lips tightly, her small body trembling, her eyes clouded over with memories…

This wasn’t the first time Little Taotie had experienced such an ordeal.

She had faced similar situations before in the mountain village where she had grown up.

Zhang Cuilian would beat and scold her for no reason, and because of the rumor that she was Broom Star, the other children in the village didn’t like her either. They would mock her, calling her Broom Star, the annoying ghost nobody liked.

There were also mischievous, naughty children in the village who took pleasure in bullying her.

These naughty children would surround her thin, small form, throwing cow dung at her, pelting her with rotten vegetables.

Having seen on TV that released prisoners would beat themselves with pomelo leaves to ward off bad luck, they mimicked this by slapping her with rotten vegetable leaves, shouting that they were purging her of bad vibes.

Although the leaves didn’t really hurt compared to Zhang Cuilian’s slaps, which were but a slight discomfort.

Yet, the mockery, the constant cries of “Broom Star,” left deep, indelible scars on the young Little Taotie.

Smothered in cow dung and rotten vegetables, she would return home in a sorry state, only to be met not with concern from her parents but with curses and beatings from Zhang Cuilian.

Thankfully, her grandfather came in time to stop Zhang Cuilian from beating her to death.

Her grandfather was not like her older brother who had told her to retaliate tenfold if bullied.

Instead, he just sighed and advised her to endure, to avoid going out to play, to take a detour whenever she saw those children, not to provoke them.

Feeling incredibly wronged, Little Taotie asked, “What did I do wrong? Why doesn’t anyone like me?”

Her grandfather did not answer but merely patted her back silently to comfort her.

She cried for a long time in her grandfather’s embrace but heeded his advice, avoiding provoking them, walking away whenever she saw them.

Yet, even if she took detours, even if she endured, those bad children would not leave her alone; they went around the village looking for her, blocking her path, chasing her!

She escaped time and again, but eventually, she would get caught.

This time, it seemed they were angry because she always got away, making them search for too long–this time, they didn’t just throw cow dung at her but ordered her to eat it!

In the village, cow dung was a treasure.

Some people used dried cow dung as fuel to smoke meat, a flavor beloved by many.

After fermentation, cow dung could also become high-quality organic fertilizer, very valuable, fetching a high price from buyers.

In the eyes of the bad children, making Little Taotie eat cow dung was elevating her; she dared not refuse.

So someone proposed prying Little Taotie’s mouth open and forcing it in!

She desperately remembered her grandfather’s words to endure! But this time, she couldn’t hold back; she fiercely pushed the boy trying to pry open her mouth. The boy tripped over a stone, fell, and hit his head on a tree, bleeding immediately!

The bad children scattered, running to the boy’s house to tattle.

Little Taotie was terrified, running all the way home.

It wasn’t long before she heard a harsh banging on the door.

It was the boy’s family members coming to settle scores!

Even though it was the bad children who had forced her to eat cow dung, and he had fallen on his own after she pushed him, those people came accusing her of breaking the boy’s head with a rock.

Zhang Cuilian immediately grabbed her, beating her in front of them to appease their anger.

Her grandfather rushed over to interfere but only told her to apologize, to quickly apologize.

It seemed that only an apology could appease everything, could make those people forgive her.

Meeting her grandfather’s pleading eyes, she felt terrible inside, feeling it was not her fault–why should she apologize?

Stubbornly, she shook her head, her mouth clamped shut, refusing to apologize.

The more she resisted, the more ferociously Zhang Cuilian beat her!

Her grandfather repeatedly urged, whispering in her ear time and again, urging her to apologize quickly. If she did not apologize, Zhang Cuilian would break her head on the spot to pacify those people.

Looking into her grandfather’s tear-filled eyes, she reluctantly bowed her head, crying and apologizing to those people.

The more humiliated she felt inside, the louder she cried, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She shouted until her voice was nearly gone.

Her grandfather also kept apologizing, while Zhang Cuilian’s hand never stopped, her palm fiercely slapping her back.

The physical pain and the emotional torment deeply ingrained in her that she must not fight back against the village children–no matter how bullied she felt, she must not retaliate!

Yet later, her older brother would time and again teach her the opposite, that she must not allow herself to be bullied, that if bullied, she should fight back–pay it back tenfold!

She gradually forgot everything about the village.

But at this moment, surrounded by so many menacing villagers, it felt as though she was back on that day!

Back to the day when she was forced to apologize, the day she was brutally beaten!