Chapter 28: Restraint
◎ It’s not the right time yet. ◎
Late at night, most residents had extinguished their lights. Shan Cha was so sleepy her eyelids were drooping, and Mu Jiaojiao yawned, preparing for bed.
Shan Cha had been nervous in the past few days, but with nothing happening, her vigilance had relaxed. However, this was precisely the thief’s target.
A man in night clothes, using exceptional light skills, moved through the rainy night, unseen by the patrolling officers. Their raincoats and hats, combined with exhaustion from a long night, prevented them from noticing him.
Cheng Xing Yao easily evaded the officers and headed towards the small courtyard in the south of the city.
His discovery of Mu Jiaojiao’s survival was accidental; he happened to be near the burial site and saw the carriage that picked her up.
He observed it, confirming that she was rescued. After inquiring about the Zhan family, everything became clear.
He had no intention of learning the details but was intrigued, devising a plan.
This way, he wouldn’t be suspected, and Mu Jiaojiao, due to her faked death, wouldn’t dare report it to the authorities, lest she die faster.
Understanding this, he scaled the wall of the Zhan family’s courtyard.
After crouching near the wall for a while, confirming that no one had noticed him, he prepared to proceed.
Just as he stepped out from behind the wall, a sudden thunderclap and lightning flash caused a chill down his neck.
He didn’t think much of it and started checking the rooms. Regardless of occupancy, he blew in a puff of sleeping smoke.
After listening at the doors and finding silence, he entered, knowing only four people lived in the house. He saw occupants in two rooms and proceeded to the last one.
He smelled a woman’s fragrance and saw a maid in the room. He frowned, preparing to drag her out.
As he grabbed Shan Cha’s foot, the sleeping girl mumbled in her sleep, almost making him cry. He quickly changed his mind; the Zhan family were weaklings; what was there to fear? He could always kill them.
He dragged her out, tossed her outside, and hurried back inside to close the door.
“Heeheehee,” he cackled, “No one will disturb us now.” Miss Mu, he was here.
The man removed his mask, took out the medicine from his bosom, and sprinkled it near the bed. The drug took time to work.
But in a flash, he felt paralysis, uncontrollably falling. A large foot landed heavily on his face, causing excruciating pain.
Zhan Qiyu lit a torch, illuminating the man’s face.
It was him.
“Master, what should we do with this scoundrel? Should we send him to the authorities?”
Cheng Xing Yao was somewhat willing to go to the authorities. The women wouldn’t dare report him for fear of jeopardizing their future marriage prospects, and lack of victims might lead to acquittal.
But Zhan Qiyu said, “Bind him first.”
He wouldn’t let the man go to the authorities so easily. Zhan Qiyu wasn’t a vengeful person, but such despicable actions in his home required punishment.
After being bound, Cheng Xing Yao still felt paralyzed and helpless, sensing something amiss.
A Liu dragged him like a dead dog into the rainy night to the vegetable garden.
Zhan Qiyu instructed A Liu before personally digging a shallow pit – just deep enough to bury a person superficially. This was sufficient.
Cheng Xing Yao was covered in blood. Several fingers were cut from both hands. Zhan Qiyu instructed on cutting at intervals. His groin also suffered several blows because A Liu, disgusted, cut blindly. Some skin was still connected; his tendons and ligaments were severed, rendering him completely crippled.
“Enough.”
They placed him in the pit and started burying him.
The city gates were closed, making it impossible to send him out, but Zhan Qiyu didn’t want him lying around, so burying him was convenient.
He liked picking flowers, didn’t he? He’d make good fertilizer for the garden.
Cheng Xing Yao felt paralyzed but no pain initially. He felt the knife, but no pain.
Being buried in the earth increased his fear.
Raindrops fell on his exposed face. He couldn’t move, but overwhelming fear washed over him; the scholar had been waiting.
Unable to speak, he opened his mouth, only to have a toad jump in.
A Liu saw this, finding it more disgusting than cutting him. He used a stick to close his mouth, saying, “Master, rest. I’ll watch him.”
Zhan Qiyu, soaked to the bone, felt relieved and returned under the eaves, intending to bring Shan Cha inside. He heard noises from within.
“So hot…”
“So uncomfortable…”
The flower thief’s drug was taking effect.
The drug was used in brothels to subdue unruly women. It was said to subjugate even princesses, and a princess from the current dynasty had supposedly suffered its effects. It had become a banned substance.
But Cheng Xing Yao, having traveled widely, found and collected some.
He’d planned to use it on Mao Qingqing, but she was too innocent to warrant it.
He used a large dose on Mu Jiaojiao, not considering her physical condition.
Entering, Zhan Qiyu saw Mu Jiaojiao; the covers were kicked off, her clothes loosened, her eyes half-open, seemingly in distress.
He understood the drug’s nature. The book he had read described it and its antidote.
But the sight stirred dark thoughts. If he took advantage of her, would she run away?
His body was more honest than his will. He sat on the bed, softly calling her name: “Jiaojiao, are you… uncomfortable?”
Zhan Qiyu was even more uncomfortable. The dim light heightened his senses.
Hearing him, Mu Jiaojiao rushed to hug him. She felt scorching hot; her body felt like it was burning.
The cool, damp body offered some relief, her light yellow undergarment instantly wet, the water outlining her form. Zhan Qiyu felt a tickle in his nose.
He remained still, letting her do as she pleased, watching her face in the darkness, passively accepting.
The rain grew heavier, the room’s heat intensifying. Mu Jiaojiao, unconscious, clung tighter, seeking coolness.
She apparently bit him, her white teeth sinking into his flesh; he felt a strange pleasure.
Fearing she’d hurt herself, he peeled off his soaked top, letting her bite his skin, allowing closer contact.
That night, Zhan Qiyu had several nosebleeds but remained steadfast.
Early in the morning, A Liu dug up the flower thief and disposed of him outside the city.
Shan Cha woke without feeling anything unusual except for a slightly worn undergarment.
“Miss, wake up. Are you alright?”
Mu Jiaojiao was neatly dressed under the covers. When she spoke, she felt a sore tooth and a faint metallic taste.
“I think I bit my tongue last night.”
Her mouth felt sore, but otherwise, she was fine. She got up to help with cooking.
She didn’t notice the dried water stains on her clothes, quickly changing and going to the kitchen.
A note said that A Liu had gone to buy vegetables, and Zhan Da Ge was sleeping.
They did their chores without suspicion.
“Miss, I wonder where the flower thief went last night.”
“The authorities still haven’t caught him; they’re useless.”
They chatted unaware of what transpired.
A Liu successfully disposed of him, stuffing him into a night-soil bucket and carrying him out of the city. Near a lake, he threw him in.
“You’re the dregs of the Jianghu. I’ll beat you every time I see you.”
Cheng Xing Yao’s life was hanging by a thread; if not for his martial arts training, he’d be dead.
Only now did the pain hit him – worse than death. From the injuries, he knew his life was ruined.
He never imagined this ordinary family would be so cruel. They didn’t kill him but made him suffer more.
A once-renowned Jianghu hero was now crippled.
He was wronged.
A Liu rushed back with the night-soil bucket, needing to buy vegetables. His master instructed soft, easily cooked vegetables; he was diligent in selecting them.
At the market, he heard people discussing the flower thief’s absence, speculating that he had left. The young boy carrying carrots smirked, feeling proud of ridding Yan Hua Town of a great evil.
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