Chapter 661 - 659: Deterrence

Su Li couldn’t see Mrs. Tang’s expression, but she could perfectly imagine what she looked like and what she was thinking.

She never thought Mrs. Tang would push her boundaries like this, time and time again.

She had originally thought the Mrs. Tang from her past life was the craziest and most terrifying version possible. But as it turned out, in this life, the longer Mrs. Tang managed to stay alive, the more eye-opening her behavior became.

’There was no crazier, only the craziest.’

Su Li exhaled, swallowing to moisten her dry throat, and began to speak in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Yes, you’re so clever, aren’t you? So imaginative. For someone in your condition, you might never have to go to prison for this. But in all your excitement, there’s something you should probably understand."

Su Li’s voice turned cold. "A life for a life. Besides prison, there’s also the death penalty. Did you forget about that? Or are you so old and crippled that life has lost its meaning, and you don’t mind dying?"

Upon hearing this, the excited flush on Mrs. Tang’s face froze. She began to grit her teeth.

’Who wouldn’t want to live? If it were possible, who in this world wouldn’t want to live forever? Even clinging to a wretched existence is better than being dead.’

’Living like this was hard, so hard, but she still wanted to live. She didn’t want to die!’

The moment Mrs. Tang thought of death, she shivered uncontrollably, and a familiar wet warmth spread beneath her.

Previously, this would have flustered Mrs. Tang, but right now, she couldn’t care less.

She had grown used to her sudden incontinence.

Su Li heard no rebuttal, but she could imagine the ugly look on Mrs. Tang’s face.

A cold smile touched her lips. Just as she was about to speak again, a faint, acrid stench drifted toward her.

Su Li frowned, confused at first. But soon, a look of sudden realization dawned on her face.

’The last time Mrs. Tang was sent to prison, she developed not only hemiplegia but also incontinence.’

’Su Li had heard about this. So, that smell was from Mrs. Tang?’

The corner of Su Li’s mouth twitched. The thought that she had scared Mrs. Tang into wetting herself was deeply satisfying. She continued.

"A death sentence doesn’t take into account whether the convicted is paralyzed or not, or whether they’re old or not. Once the sentence is passed, it’s passed."

A faint smile played on Su Li’s lips. "And after you’re sentenced to death, there’s more than one way to die. There’s hanging, the firing squad, and even lethal injection."

"You probably don’t know what hanging is, do you? With hanging, they put a hood over your head and string you up... You struggle and struggle until you finally choke to death. Some people struggle so hard their necks practically snap right off. Rolling your eyes back and having your tongue hang out is getting off easy."

"As for lethal injection, that’s just being poisoned. They say it’s quick, but it still takes time. Your internal organs have to rot and corrode away, you start bleeding from your eyes and ears and nose, and only then do you finally die. I hear you die with your eyes wide open... unable to ever close them..."

Su Li rambled on and on. Mrs. Tang, unable to tell fact from fiction, felt her blood run cold.

"Shut up! Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting?!"

"I’m not spouting nonsense; everything I’m saying is true. With a firing squad, you’re shot dead. The bullet isn’t free, you know. Your family has to pay for it. That means Tang Yuanxiao would have to buy the bullet for you. He’d also have to tip the executioner to make sure they get you with the first shot."

"If they miss, or something goes wrong, and you don’t die right away, you’ll just have to suffer through it. And your family will have to buy another bullet for them to try again."

Mrs. Tang shrieked, "Shut up! Don’t think you can scare me!"

A smirk played on Su Li’s lips as she suddenly let out a sharp "BANG!"

Mrs. Tang jolted violently, nearly tumbling headfirst out of her wheelchair. Her face turned ashen, and another familiar wave of wetness spread beneath her.

Besides the dampness, there was also...

Mrs. Tang’s expression froze.

Su Li’s expression also faltered slightly.

She had been trying to ignore the smell in the air and picturing Mrs. Tang’s terrified expression, when another, indescribable odor drifted in.

A mixed, overwhelming, and nauseating stench.

Besides the acrid smell of urine, there was... something else.

Su Li couldn’t suppress a gag. She covered her nose and took two steps back.

Mrs. Tang’s face was filled with humiliation, but a glance at the sturdy lock on the door made her grow surprisingly calm again.

"Su Li, let me tell you, don’t think you can scare me! I’m not afraid! All that talk about the death penalty is just you trying to frighten me!"

Hearing the tone of Mrs. Tang’s voice, Su Li’s heart sank. She quickly spoke again.

’The whole point of saying all this was to provoke Mrs. Tang, to break down her psychological defenses and get some kind of useful reaction.’

’Maybe it would scare her into letting her go. Or maybe it would make her slip up, creating an opening for Wu Sheng to find and rescue her. Or maybe she would say something that Su Li could use to save herself.’

’Su Li was certain that Wu Sheng must be looking for her. She just hoped he would find her soon.’

’Mrs. Tang had finally shown her face. Faced with the true culprit, Su Li had to do everything she could.’

’If Mrs. Tang was truly the mastermind, Tang Yuanxiao definitely didn’t know about it. If he came back from his assignment, visited his mother, and noticed something was off, maybe that would lead to her rescue.’

A thousand thoughts flashed through Su Li’s mind. She paused for a beat before pressing her attack on Mrs. Tang.

"Fine, you’re not afraid of the death penalty, and you’re not afraid of prison. But in your arrogance, have you forgotten about paying compensation instead of serving time? Have you forgotten about the four thousand yuan for Qin Shanshan?"

Su Li’s voice, tinged with amusement, reached Mrs. Tang’s ears. "If you commit a crime but can’t serve time, you have to pay compensation. Do you want to saddle Tang Yuanxiao with a debt he can never repay, and ruin his entire life?"

"Tsk, tsk... Who knows how many years it will take to pay off that last four thousand yuan. And I’m a reasonably influential reporter. If something were to happen to me, if I were to die... if they don’t demand a life for a life, they’ll demand a lifetime of payments. How much compensation do you think that would be?"

"Will Tang Yuanxiao even be able to pay it off in his lifetime? Or will it take two? Your husband, Tang Yuanxiao’s father... if he knew what you were doing, don’t you think he’d be angry enough to climb right out of his grave?"

’Tang Yuanxiao was one of the few people Mrs. Tang cared about. Su Li didn’t want to keep dragging his name into this, but she had no other choice.’

Su Li steeled herself and continued, her voice a mix of tsking sounds and cold sneers. "You tell me, what terrible deeds did Tang Yuanxiao commit in a past life to deserve a mother like you?"

Mrs. Tang was profoundly shaken, and an unavoidable panic began to set in.

"You... you’re spouting nonsense! You bitch, shut up! SHUT UP!"

Mrs. Tang screamed hysterically. The image Su Li painted—of her dead husband climbing from his grave—was enough to drive her mad.

"Shut up! I’m telling you, Su Li, I’m not afraid! You can try and try, but you can’t scare me! I’m not afraid! It’s not like I’m the one who kidnapp—"

Mrs. Tang snapped her mouth shut, as if realizing she had let something slip.

Su Li’s eyes narrowed instantly. She pounced on the slip-up. "It’s not like *you’re* the one who kidnapped me?"

Her eyes were fixed on the window. A moment later, Mrs. Tang’s voice came again, this time in denial.

"Did I say that? Hmph. I just said I’m not afraid of you. No one will ever be able to trace this back to me!"

After only a brief pause, Mrs. Tang’s voice was much calmer.

Su Li’s eyes narrowed. She let out a soft chuckle. "So confident no one can trace it back to you? Why is that? Is it because you’re not the mastermind? Or because you weren’t the one who physically kidnapped me?"

Su Li’s voice suddenly rose, and she snapped,

"Tang Guihua, let me out of here while you still can! Otherwise, neither you nor Tang Yuanxiao will get away with this."

Mrs. Tang’s hand trembled uncontrollably.