Chapter 297 - 293: Spring Night
The rooster crowed three times.
Liu Siye of the Criminal Court panted heavily, pushing himself up from the bed, drenched in sweat.
He clutched his aching back, feeling as if it might snap, and shuffled on weak legs to the round table in the room.
Grabbing the teapot from the table, he didn’t bother with a cup, instead raising the spout directly to his lips and chugging down several large mouthfuls of cold tea. GLUG, GLUG.
The cool tea slid down his throat, washing away some of the heat and fatigue.
The red candles had not yet burned out.
He turned his head and glanced at the figure on the bed, unconsciously licking his chapped lips. A mix of smug satisfaction and lingering fear stirred within him.
’Damn, a woman her age... she’s too much to handle!’
After last night’s banquet, he had returned to his inn room with a girl arranged by the Xingyun Garden.
On his way back from relieving himself, he saw a man dressed as a Tea Master standing at his door.
The man bowed and scraped, his face a mask of apology, explaining that the young lady serving him had unexpectedly gotten her monthly visitor. He was terribly sorry and wanted to arrange a replacement.
Liu Siye magnanimously agreed.
He never expected the replacement to be such a massive surprise.
Soon, a stunningly beautiful woman was helped into the room.
The woman was no longer young, with fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but she was exquisitely beautiful.
She had willow-like brows, phoenix eyes, a delicate nose, and cherry lips. Her skin was as fine as porcelain, and she exuded the unique charm of a mature woman.
When she was brought in, her cheeks were flushed an unnatural red. Her eyelids were lowered, her long lashes trembling slightly, giving her the appearance of being overcome with shyness.
A woman of such beauty and grace was a rare sight, even in Liyang Commandery City.
’This trade was worth it!’ he had thought at the time.
He sat on the edge of the bed and gently placed a hand on the woman’s Chest Acupoint, carefully channeling a thread of Inner Qi into her. He wanted to help regulate her breathing and ease her fatigue.
The Inner Qi flowed like a small stream, entering the woman’s acupoint and slowly coursing through her meridians.
At first, everything seemed normal. But as his Inner Qi neared the woman’s Qi Sea, it suddenly stalled, as if it had hit an invisible barrier.
"Hm?"
Liu Siye’s brow furrowed in surprise.
’Why would a woman from a brothel have a blocked acupoint? And the Qi Sea, of all critical points?’
’Could she have some hidden illness?’
Though puzzled, he didn’t withdraw his Inner Qi. Instead, he increased its force and gave the barrier a gentle push.
To his surprise, the barrier was incredibly weak. It offered almost no resistance before breaking open.
But the moment the barrier was breached...
BOOM!
A torrent of Inner Qi, as powerful as a bursting dam, erupted from her now-unblocked Qi Sea.
The sheer power and density of this Inner Qi were far beyond anything Liu Siye could have imagined. It instantly overwhelmed the feeble thread he had sent in, roaring through the beautiful woman’s meridians.
Liu Siye’s face paled in horror. He snatched his hand back as if electrocuted and stared, dumbfounded, at the woman on the bed before scrambling to his feet and stumbling back several steps.
He had felt it with perfect clarity.
The strength and quality of that Inner Qi far surpassed his own cultivation!
’This woman... who is she?!’
All his previous smugness and lustful thoughts vanished without a trace, replaced by a bone-chilling dread.
’How could a powerhouse at the Spirit Realm Third Level, at least, appear in a brothel in Jiangkou?’
’A Spirit Realm Powerhouse running a flesh trade in a place like this? That’s... absolutely impossible!’
’No, wait!’
’Her acupoints were sealed just now. Could she have been coerced?’
’But the Seal wasn’t very strong... Was it intentional?’
’Is this some kind of plot? Is it aimed at me, or...’
Liu Siye’s mind reeled, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
He stared intently at the woman on the bed, his heart hammering so hard it felt like it would leap from his throat.
Just then, the beautiful woman’s long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Her stunning eyes were no longer hazy, holding only the momentary confusion of one just waking. That confusion was quickly replaced by an icy coldness.
Her gaze slowly swept across the room, over the disheveled bed, over the messy state of her own clothes, and finally landed on Liu Siye, who was clad only in his undergarments.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
What had happened was self-evident.
There was no scream as he might have expected, no crying, not even much of a change in her expression.
The beautiful woman merely gave Liu Siye a quiet look, then silently began picking up her scattered clothes, one piece at a time, and putting them on.
Her expression and movements were frighteningly calm.
Watching her dress in silence, Liu Siye, amidst his terror, felt a ridiculous sliver of hope.
’She didn’t lash out immediately. Could it be... she wasn’t forced?’
’Does she have some sort of special kink?’
’Or maybe someone who wants a favor from me sent this peerless beauty to my bed?’
Once the thought took root, it was hard to suppress.
After all, last night had been too wonderful to forget.
Clearing his somewhat dry throat, he tested the waters. "Last night, I was a bit rude in my drunkenness and acted rashly. Tell me, my dear, were you satisfied?"
He hadn’t even finished speaking when the beautiful woman, who was tying her sash, froze.
She slowly turned her head. All warmth was gone from her phoenix eyes, leaving only icy killing intent and a rage that could burn everything to ash.
"Wait! This must be a misunderstanding!"
Liu Siye was scared out of his wits and shouted desperately, trying to explain.
But the beautiful woman wouldn’t listen, nor did she want to.
Though right now, her own heart was also filled with shock, anger, and confusion.
’How did I end up here?’
’Who plotted against me?’
’But those are questions for later.’
Right now, at this very moment, she knew only one thing.
’The man before me, and anyone who could possibly know what happened tonight, must die! Every single one of them!’
’Only then could my innocence, my reputation, my everything, possibly be preserved.’
’Otherwise, I will be utterly ruined, a fate worse than death.’
"Die!"
A cold snarl escaped her lips.
Her figure blurred, disappearing from the bedside and reappearing in front of Liu Siye an instant later. Her slender, jade-like hand, now containing terrifying Inner Strength capable of shattering stone tablets, struck straight for his heart.
The move was simple and direct, yet lightning-fast and utterly ruthless.
Liu Siye was scared witless. He was merely at the Spirit Realm First Level; how could he possibly be a match for this Spirit Realm Third Level beauty?
At the brink of life and death, his only option was to desperately mobilize his Inner Qi, crossing his arms to block while rapidly retreating to try and diffuse the force of the blow.
BANG!
CRACK!
The palm met his arms with a dull thud.
The distinct sound of bones breaking rang out.
"Ah..."
Liu Siye let out a wretched scream. Excruciating pain shot through his arms as the bones fractured, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
With a crash, he smashed through the room’s wall and fell into the small courtyard, spraying blood from his mouth.
"What was that noise?"
"Lord Liu?"
"Liu Siye!"
The loud commotion instantly alerted the officials and clerks from the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office who were staying in the other rooms of the small courtyard.
Shouts of alarm and the sound of frantic footsteps immediately came from other parts of the courtyard.
Soon, the officials and clerks of the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office, who were also lodging in the courtyard, rushed out in disheveled clothing.
"How dare you! Who dares to commit murder in an inn? To attack a Court official!"
Seeing Liu Siye lying paralyzed on the ground spitting blood, and a strange, breathtakingly beautiful woman with a frosty, murderous expression standing in the room, they were both shocked and furious, and began to curse at her.
’Dean?’
Hearing this title, the killing intent in the beautiful woman’s icy eyes intensified.
’Government Office people. Then what happened last night can’t be revealed at all.’
’These people... not a single one can be left alive!’
"You will all die!"
With no more hesitation, her figure turned into a whirlwind and shot toward the paralyzed Liu Siye on the ground.
Her jade-like palms flew, creating a flurry of afterimages.
With both arms shattered and internal organs injured, Liu Siye could only watch as the palm strike descended upon him again. His eyes filled with boundless fear and despair as he croaked, "No..."
THUMP!
The palm shadow swept past, easily broke through his defense, and landed squarely on the crown of his head.
The sound cut off abruptly.
Liu Siye’s eyes bulged. His body twitched twice, then fell silent.
Without a glance at the corpse on the ground, the beautiful woman’s cold gaze slowly swept over the seven or eight Commandery Magistrate’s Office officials under the eaves.
"You damn witch! How dare you..."
"Run!"
Some tried to shout defiantly to bolster their courage, while others screamed and tried to flee.
But in the face of absolute power, it was all futile.
The beautiful woman’s figure transformed into a pale green afterimage and charged into the crowd.
Palms rose and fell, as fast as a phantom.
Most of these Commandery Magistrate’s Office officials had low cultivation; how could they be a match for a Spirit Realm Powerhouse like her?
A series of screams rang out as blood splattered everywhere.
The beautiful woman struck with ruthless cruelty. Every palm strike aimed for a vital point, and anyone hit died on the spot.
In the span of a few breaths, the veranda was littered with bodies. Blood stained the stone tiles, and the thick stench of iron filled the air.
After slaughtering everyone in sight, the violent rage and killing intent in the beautiful woman’s chest did not subside in the slightest. Instead, they burned even hotter, driving her to the brink of madness.
Her phoenix eyes were bloodshot. She whipped her head around, her gaze falling on the other inn guests and staff who had been startled by the noise and were now peeking out.
’No witnesses!’
’Not a single one can be left alive!’
’Everyone who saw me must die!’
The thought echoed like a curse, reverberating madly in her mind.
"Murder!"
"Run!"
The inn immediately descended into chaos.
...
「Early morning.」
「Jiangkou County Magistrate’s Office.」
DONG! DONG! DONG!
The frantic beating of the Petition Drum startled Feng Zijing from his drowsy state in the back hall.
"Who’s striking the drum?"
He sat up straight, all sleepiness gone, a sense of foreboding flashing through his mind.
No one would strike the Petition Drum this early in the morning unless it was for a matter of grave injustice or extreme urgency.
He subconsciously lifted his head and looked across the desk.
There, Zhou Chengkai, a Hundred Households of the Liyang Martial Bureau, was hunched over a mountain of case files, his brow slightly furrowed as he carefully examined them page by page.
Seeing Zhou Chengkai, Feng Zijing couldn’t help but feel a surge of helplessness.