"You wretched girl, taking so long to open the door. Be careful, or I'll discard you on the streets for the dogs," he threatened.
"Hurry and bring me a basin of water to wash my hands. I'm exhausted from a day of work," he said, walking into the house and spotting the two people lying on the floor.
"Are you dead? Your younger brother has fainted, and you didn't bother to mention it earlier? If anything happens to him, I'll beat you to death."
After speaking, he brushed past Mother Xu and went to lift Xu Dafu. Jun Jiuli followed behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee.
Father Xu fell to the ground but tightly shielded Xu Dafu. It seemed he still cared for his son. These two likely knew the original owner was not their biological daughter.
"You crazy girl, how dare you kick me? If anything happens to Dafu, I will never forgive you."
"You keep repeating the same line. If you're not tired of it, I am."
Father Xu looked at Jun Jiuli, a bit stunned. This daughter didn't resemble him at all. He had previously suspected his wife of infidelity.
After much interrogation, his wife confessed that they had accidentally swapped babies. She clearly remembered her own daughter having a birthmark, a red mole, on her right arm, while the original owner had nothing.
Since she was just a worthless girl, he didn't bother searching. Raising the original owner, who wasn't his daughter, allowed him to be ruthless, treating her as a slave and a savings jar for his son.
Just then, Mother Xu, who was in a daze, woke up. Seeing Father Xu, she exclaimed loudly, "Da Fu's dad, you're finally back! That wretched girl has gone completely wild, daring to hit me and my son. You must teach her a lesson, otherwise, she'll get more arrogant."
Jun Jiuli moved a small wooden board from her spatial dimension and slapped Mother Xu twice across the face. Her cheeks instantly turned red and swollen, rendering her speechless.
"Yes, I've gone wild, and what are you going to do about it? I'll teach you a lesson first." As she spoke, she continued the assault mercilessly, scaring the two figures into immobility.
They've gone mad, possessed by spirits. How else could a six-year-old girl have such strength? Father Xu tried to get up and resist multiple times, but he couldn't budge.
Jun Jiuli picked up a stool and sat down imposingly in front of them, crossing her legs.
"Take out all the money you have in the house, and tell me if I'm your biological daughter."
"I'm not yours, who else could I be?" Mother Xu's face flickered with panic as she tried to maintain her composure.
"Why are you being so guilty? Do you know where your real daughter is?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Even a dog doesn't despise its mother's ugliness, and a son doesn't despise his family's poverty. You're disowning your parents just because our family is poor? Be careful, heaven will strike you down."
"If lightning strikes, it will strike you first."
"You know about the Zhong family in our city, right?"
Mother Xu's eyes darted away as she hastily denied, "How would I know about them? We can't possibly associate with such important people."
"Oh, if you don't know them, how do you know they're important people?"
These words were like a life-threatening incantation. Mother Xu felt as if her heart was being squeezed tightly, and every bone in her body felt like it was shattering, causing her to tremble with cold sweat.
"Answer me."
"Stop it, I'll tell you everything."
"When I gave birth to a girl, I was unhappy. She was also frail and likely wouldn't survive. The nurse who delivered me was a close friend from my youth, so I asked her to swap my daughter for a son."
"She planned all night, and I don't know how she did it. The next day, she brought you to me, saying she had found a good place for my daughter. Swapping a girl for a boy would likely be exposed quickly, so she told me to raise you well."
Shui Wa: "This is truly a masterful 'Li Mao Huan Tai Zi' (a classic tale of replacing a prince with a civet cat). Why didn't the Zhong family discover this past?"
Jun Jiuli: "It happened 22 years ago. That nurse deliberately arranged for the nurse holding the original owner to make a mistake. The mastermind has already passed away, and the nurse who made the mistake was unaware of the full details.
Who would have thought that an inconspicuous nurse, seemingly 'unrelated' to the mistaken identity, would dare to do something so audacious? We can't possibly investigate the relationships they had back then."
"They are truly despicable, ruining the original owner's entire life like this."
"Who says they aren't?"
Mother Xu continued intermittently, "Last year she got sick and passed away not long after. Just before she died, she told me that my daughter was the eldest daughter of the Zhong family."
Jun Jiuli stood up and stomped on Mother Xu's fingers. "Who is the eldest daughter of the Zhong family? You calling your illegitimate child that is an insult."
"I... I... Wuwuwu~ Zhao Di, let go! My hand is breaking!"
Jun Jiuli swiftly placed a pill into her mouth. Mother Xu was instantly silenced, writhing on the ground in pain.
This was the Heart-Devouring Gu she had developed out of boredom. It resided within a person's heart, feeding on blood. Initially, it caused unbearable itching and pain throughout the body, like a thousand ants crawling within.
On the fifteenth of every month, during the full moon, it would consume a portion of the heart. On that day, its host would feel a chilling cold and endure the excruciating pain of their bones breaking and reforming. The torment would intensify with each passing month, until the Gu worm devoured the entire heart, leading to the simultaneous death of the host and the Gu.
Father Xu, witnessing this scene, stared with his mouth agape, unable to speak. How could Jun Jiuli forget him? She stuffed a pill into his mouth as well; couples must share hardships to make life interesting.
Xu Dafu had also bullied and abused the original owner for so many years. However, he was still too young to withstand the pain of the Gu. He would likely die before long.
It was better to keep him alive to deal with the fake daughter who was about to return, though he wouldn't be spared lightly either.
Xu Dafu opened the door himself and walked out. Soon after, a bang echoed, and he tumbled down the stairs, breaking his right leg.
A kind neighbor called 120, unwilling to move him. Upon entering the house and seeing the situation, they didn't know what to say.
His parents were writhing in pain on the floor, and Jun Jiuli, being an ignorant child, simply followed suit and cried. Before long, the entire family was admitted to the hospital.
The doctors couldn't diagnose the problem with Father and Mother Xu. They opened their mouths several times, but no words came out. After several attempts, they both looked at Jun Jiuli with fear.
The doctor found the family bizarre. The child's fall wasn't serious, yet her bones couldn't be set properly; they would dislocate again immediately after being mended.
Though a firm atheist, the doctor was quite frightened. He suggested they transfer to a better hospital for treatment, as they couldn't find the cause here.
The family dejectedly returned home. Jun Jiuli found all the cash in the Xu residence and took Father Xu's mobile phone.
The next morning, after eating her fill and packing a small, worn bundle, she set off pitifully towards the city center of A City.