Chapter 636: Chapter 634: Grief

"Don’t even ask." Speaking of that, Li Huan whined, "Qingqing, you have no idea what I’ve been through this past month. It nearly killed me."

As she spoke, Li Huan looked Su Qing up and down, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Qingqing, this is so unfair! I heard you went to the mountains right after coming back from the coast, roughing it the whole time. How come your skin looks even better than it did before summer break? And... I swear you’ve gotten even prettier!"

Su Qing’s Wood Ability had broken through to the Seventh Rank. After a round of Washing Marrow, all the impurities in her body had been thoroughly expelled. As a result, her skin was now in exceptional condition—flawless, translucent, and as smooth as silk. Su Qing was already gorgeous to begin with, and with this added boost, her beauty had been taken to a whole new level.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I was born beautiful."

"Ah, it’s not fair! So unfair! Why did I get tanned as dark as charcoal!" Li Huan wailed, touching her face, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

"There, there, it’ll go back to normal. If not, I’ll ask Grandpa Gong for some skin-nourishing ointment for you," Su Qing soothed.

"Really? You’re the best, Qingqing!" Li Huan’s eyes instantly lit up, and she hugged Su Qing, cheering.

Watching her granddaughters laugh and fool around, Mrs. Li couldn’t help but smile. "Qingqing just got back. Hurry and let her sit down and rest for a bit."

Li Huan grinned at Mrs. Li. "Grandma, I knew it. You just saw me monopolizing Qingqing and wanted to steal her away from me."

"You silly girl." Mrs. Li smiled and gave Li Huan a gentle pat before turning to Su Qing. "Qingqing, I heard about what happened with the Wu family. Is it really true about that girl?"

Mrs. Li now knew of Su Qing’s abilities and was certain no one could harm her, so she wasn’t worried about her safety. However, she still found the news about the Wu family hard to believe. She never would have dreamed that the death of their eldest daughter three years ago wasn’t an accident, but that she had been murdered by Wu Qiao Ping. The thought of how her own daughter, Li Wan, had also been targeted by Li Yuan and her brother sent a wave of fear through her. She was so grateful that Li Wan had been lucky enough to escape their clutches.

And when she recalled her daughter’s miraculous recovery, she understood that it must have been because Su Qing had been secretly treating her. This made Mrs. Li cherish Su Qing all the more.

"Yes." Su Qing nodded. "The case should have been transferred to the Beijing Public Security Bureau by now. Wu Qiao Ping and the others involved will probably be brought back to Beijing in the next few days."

"Sigh, Mr. and Mrs. Wu are in for a terrible shock," Mrs. Li said with a sigh.

Although the Li family wasn’t particularly close with the Wu Family, Mr. and Mrs. Wu would still visit to pay their respects to the elderly Lis during the holidays, so they were on friendly terms. Everyone in their residential compound knew the Wus had adopted Wu Qiao Ping, but no one could have imagined that simple act of adoption would lead to such a catastrophe. Mr. and Mrs. Wu must be regretting it bitterly now.

Li Huan, who had just gotten back, didn’t know about the Wu family’s situation yet. After asking a few questions, she gritted her teeth. "I knew it! That Wu Qiao Ping is bad news. I never liked her. She was friends with Liu Jiajia, you know. And just as I thought, anyone who’s friends with Liu Jiajia is cut from the same cloth."

Speaking of birds, Su Qing smiled. "Grandma, when I have some free time, I’ll take you to Xiqing Mountain. There’s a Golden Eagle there that’s incredibly beautiful. It followed me the entire time I was in the mountains on this trip."

While on Xiqing Mountain, Little Jin had followed Su Qing everywhere. It only left her reluctantly when she departed from the mountain. If Su Qing hadn’t promised to come back and visit when she had time, Little Jin would have probably followed her all the way back to Beijing.

Su Qing knew that keeping a Golden Eagle like Little Jin in Beijing was unrealistic. A city was no place for an animal like that to live. Besides, she didn’t want Little Jin to become a pet trapped in a cage.

Stroking the little squirrel that had snuggled into her arms, Su Qing casually picked up a hazelnut from the coffee table and fed it to him. Ever since coming back with her, the squirrel had been living with the Li family and was close with everyone, especially Mr. and Mrs. Li. He was the elderly couple’s little bundle of joy.

"Oh, that would be wonderful! I’ll have to go with you to see it then," Mrs. Li said with a cheerful laugh.

At her side, Li Huan, who was as dark as charcoal, piped up, "Me too! I want to go too."

"Alright, everyone can go."

While the Li family home was filled with joy over Li Huan and Su Qing’s return, the Wu family, who lived in the same compound, was reeling from earth-shattering news.

Mrs. Wu stared at Mr. Wu in shock. "Wh-what did you say? Say it again. I don’t think I heard you right."

Mr. Wu sat on the sofa, his back hunched over. With his elbows on his knees, he clutched his head in agony, desperately trying to suppress his rage and grief. After a long moment, he said to Mrs. Wu, "Xiao Yun’s death back then... it wasn’t an accident. It... it was Qiao Ping who killed her."

Mrs. Wu finally registered that she hadn’t misheard, but she still couldn’t believe it. "Why? Why would Qiao Ping kill Xiao Yun? That’s impossible! Weren’t they always so close? Xiao Yun took such good care of Qiao Ping. Why... why would Qiao Ping kill Xiao Yun? You’re lying to me, aren’t you? Have you been drinking? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

With that, Mrs. Wu shot to her feet and began to pace back and forth, completely at a loss. She muttered, "You must be lying to me. This isn’t a funny joke. Don’t say such things."

As she spoke, her eyes began to redden. She knew her husband; he wasn’t a man who spouted nonsense, and he certainly wasn’t one to make jokes. Deep down, she knew that what he was saying must be true. But she couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t accept that the daughter she had adopted had murdered her biological child.

"Calm down." Mr. Wu fought back his own grief and pulled his wife back onto the sofa. "What’s done is done. What we need to do now is get justice for Xiao Yun."

He had truly loved his adopted daughter. He never, ever would have imagined that his sincere affection would be repaid with such bitter betrayal.

"I can’t calm down! I can’t!" Mrs. Wu looked at her husband as tears streamed down her face. "We adopted her! We raised her well! We never treated her unfairly, not even a little! When did she ever have less than what Xiao Yun had? But why? Why did she have to kill my daughter?!"

Mrs. Wu broke down completely, wailing as she threw herself into her husband’s arms. "My Xiao Yun... my poor Xiao Yun... How could this happen? I killed her... It was me!"

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