Little Taotie looked at Qiaoqiao’s Dad and then to the woman heartless enough to "kill" her own child, anger and a sense of sorrow burgeoned within her.
She couldn’t quite express what this emotion was, but she had never felt it before reading.
After she learned to read, she understood more and her emotional responses began to vary a lot more.
There was a mix of compassion for Qiaoqiao, frustration and immense anger towards Qiaoqiao’s Dad, rage against this woman, and pity for the little baby... complex and ever-changing emotions.
She didn’t know that when her thoughts and emotions became complex, no longer as simple as before, when thinking and expressing became less straightforward and emotions were no longer singular, it meant — growth.
Little Taotie cast her eyes down, the desire to speak up for Qiaoqiao and the baby swelled boundlessly in her chest.
She looked up, her gaze suddenly fixing on the woman; she cracked a smile, her pearly teeth gleaming, dimples shallow, her small face fair and tender, like a harmless and beautiful Little Angel.
The woman, caught in Little Taotie’s smile, was momentarily stunned and subconsciously smiled back, who wouldn’t love such a beautiful little girl? She couldn’t help fantasizing about possibly having such an adorable daughter in the future.
But in her ear the little girl’s voice came softly with a babyish lilt, "Auntie, ’what goes around comes around.’ Heaven gave you the chance to cherish a baby, but not only did you not cherish it, you utterly defiled it. Heaven will never let you conceive again, not in this lifetime."
The words of a devil spoken with an angelic face, the gentle, soft babyish tone sent chills down the spine, making the body go cold.
When people commit guilt-ridden acts, their exterior remains calm, but inside it’s enough to stir up tempestuous waves, especially when their faults are exposed.
The woman’s heart pounded, her eyes locking with Little Taotie’s beautiful eyes, as if in those all-encompassing eyes, she saw a ferocious beast hidden deep within, opening its massive jaws to devour her.
"What are you talking about!" a roar erupted, it was Qiaoqiao’s Grandma rushing down from upstairs.
"You’re cursing me not to have grandchildren! You money-losing wretch, how filthy your mouth is, watch me tear it up!"
Little Taotie had wanted to respect the elder and dodged her violent lunge, but when she saw the vengeful spirits of little baby girls following the old lady, Little Taotie reached out her hand and pushed the old woman away.
With Little Taotie’s formidable strength, this push sent the raging old lady tumbling to the ground.
The old lady was flummoxed by the fall, but she quickly regained her senses and started cursing vehemently.
The cursing was as vile as it could get.
Yet, Little Taotie remained calm.
Since coming down from the mountains, she had heard worse obscenities.
She always found it odd that people who curse think it’s effective when it doesn’t actually inflict any real harm.
She always believed that if you can act, don’t waste words.
Little Taotie clenched her fist and smashed it on the nearby coffee table, a unique and oddly-shaped stump, freely grown and retaining its natural charm without much carving—split into pieces before everyone’s eyes, shattering into four or five parts.
The old lady was shocked into silence, shutting her mouth, not daring to curse any further.
Qiaoqiao’s Dad also jumped in fright; he knew better than anyone the sturdiness of the stump he had brought home.
Even an axe could not have split it into four or five pieces in one hit.
Were this little girl’s fists made of iron?
He stepped in front of his wife protectively but did not bother with his mother who had fallen to the ground.
Little Taotie slowly approached the old lady, who started shivering and looked up at her son seeking help, only to see her son intent on protecting his daughter-in-law. So she burst out, "You unfilial son! You dog who forgets his mother for his wife!"
Little Taotie looked over the old lady’s shoulder at one baby girl after another and lowered her voice, "One, two, three, four, five, you’ve killed five little baby girls."
The old lady’s heart throbbed, her intimidating demeanor belied a fragile core as she yelled, "I don’t understand what you’re talking about!"