Rogues Everywhere

Chapter 019: Rogues Everywhere

The two who seemed to be siblings were now tangled together atop the round table in a suspiciously intimate manner. No ghosts? Who would believe that!

The third commander’s voice remained doubtful, but he had already begun to channel his inner strength into his palm. He was ready to strike them both down the moment either of them showed the slightest sign of guilt or evasion—this pair of suspicious so-called siblings.

“Master Daoist, come help me! My sister’s gone mad again—I can barely hold her down!”

Guan Shiyin turned his head and called out, his face the very picture of anxious brotherly concern—so convincing that no one could doubt his sincerity.

The third commander was caught off guard by this utterly unexpected reaction and stood frozen in place.

Guan Shiyin gave Fang Rulai a quick pinch, and she immediately understood, flailing her arms and legs. “How dare you, Ah Xi! You’re bullying the young mistress! I was going to let you play the role of a high-ranking guard in our make-believe game, but not anymore! I’ll tell the young master you’re only fit for the latrine in the back courtyard!”

Guan Shiyin’s elbow gave an involuntary twitch, his eye twitching as well: Of all the roles, why did she have to pick the one cleaning the latrine?

Fang Rulai shot him a sideways glare: Who told you to say she was kicked in the head by a donkey when she was three?

You!

What? Bite me if you dare.

Their eyes locked in a fiery exchange, only adding further credibility in the commander’s eyes.

“Very well, I’ll help,” agreed the third commander, stepping forward, thinking perhaps he really was being too cautious.

Guan Shiyin’s voice chimed in again, “Master Daoist, you hold her down for me. I’ll fetch some rope to tie her up.”

“Oh? Oh.” The third commander followed Guan Shiyin’s gesture, gripping Fang Rulai’s wrist, reminding himself that he still wore his Daoist robes and should keep up appearances. “Boundless Heavenly Honored One, forgive me, miss…”

Suddenly, the third commander fell silent.

For as he approached the table, he finally got a good look at Fang Rulai’s face!

That face—precisely the face the young master had shown him, the one he’d been ordered to kill!

Damn! He’d been tricked!

The third commander realized too late and began to retract his hands.

But Fang Rulai was faster. The moment his hands landed, her legs came up. Seeing him about to escape, she hooked her legs around his waist, and at the same time, twisted her wrists to grab his.

If Fang Rulai had inner strength, the third commander would already be a fish in a barrel.

Unfortunately for her, the one with real power at this moment was her opponent.

The third commander sneered, “You think you can take me?”

With a burst of energy, he wrenched his hands outward. With a mighty surge, his inner energy exploded, sending Fang Rulai, table and all, crashing onto the bed.

Before she could recover, the commander lunged, palm raised to strike.

At that moment, Guan Shiyin’s voice sounded from the doorway, “Ah! Master Daoist, what are you doing to my sister?”

What was he doing? About to deal with these frauds, of course! The third commander glared menacingly over his shoulder—neither of them would escape.

Guan Shiyin, unconcerned, looked back at him with a smile and shouted loudly toward the corridor, “Master Daoist, stop! How could you do something so vile?”

Vile? The third commander froze, turning back to see Fang Rulai on the bed, hands cupped around her mouth as she called toward the door, “Master Daoist, don’t! Brother, help me, I’m scared!”

“Sister, don’t be afraid! Your brother will save you!” That was what Guan Shiyin had been waiting for. He leapt forward, both palms surging with power. “You sanctimonious fraud—take this from Ah Xi!”

The attack was fierce and swift, reaching the third commander in the blink of an eye.

He had no choice but to turn and meet it head-on.

But the gulf in their strength was too vast. Before he could even parry, he was struck down.

Unwilling to accept defeat, the third commander struggled to his elbows, about to call for help, but as soon as he opened his mouth—thud—a table leg crashed into him, accompanied by Fang Rulai’s shrill scream.

“Master Daoist, let go of me—!”

Bang. The third commander collapsed again, a pool of blood forming beneath his head.

He was well and truly dead now.

Fang Rulai tossed aside the shattered table leg, yanked the quilt from the bed to cover her head, and leapt down.

She dashed behind Guan Shiyin just as a crowd of Daoists rushed into the room.

“What happened?”

“What’s going on?”

“Third senior brother, he—”

Before they could finish, Fang Rulai burst into sobs that seemed to shake the heavens. “Is someone dead? Brother, did I kill someone? I really didn’t mean to—he tried to assault me first, I only—”

“Enough, sister, you did nothing wrong!” Guan Shiyin scooped her up, blanket and all, into his arms. “So what if you killed him? Such a sanctimonious scoundrel didn’t deserve to live! He’s a disgrace to Daoist Master Sanfeng! Let’s go find the young master and let him decide for us!”

With Fang Rulai in his arms, Guan Shiyin strode toward the door. A Daoist reached out to stop them, but Xiao Shi blocked his way.

The two of them disappeared down the corridor.

The Daoist stamped his foot. “Brother Shi, why did you stop me? They killed the third commander!”

Xiao Shi gestured to the body. “Look at his wounds. There’s a lot of blood from his head, but the fatal blow was a palm strike to the chest. If I’m not mistaken, it was that servant, Ah Xi, who struck the blow. To kill the third commander with a single strike—his martial arts must be formidable.”

“So what? There’s so many of us—should we really fear one man?”

“It’s not about fear, it’s about caution. We all heard their ‘reason’ for the fight, but we know it was a ruse. But what’s the real reason? Third Commander was a shrewd man—what could have made him fall for such a ploy? We don’t know yet, so how can we act rashly?”

“According to you, does that mean the third commander died for nothing?”

“Of course not.” Xiao Shi pondered for a moment, then gave instructions: “Eighteenth Brother, when you bring tea to Master Sanfeng later, try to drop a hint about what happened. If he says to disregard the reason and act, then tonight we’ll burn those three alive as an offering to the third commander.”

“Brother Shi, clever plan! We’ll avenge the commander and the authorities will have no cause to investigate.”

“Hmph. Since they staged a play to prevent us from investigating, we’ll use their tricks against them.”

Inside the room, the Daoists were itching for the violence to come, while down the long corridor, under the blanket, Fang Rulai was baring her teeth at Guan Shiyin.

“No one’s here—let me go!”

“No.” Not only did he refuse, his big hand slid higher, and cupped her proud curve. Hmm, not bad.

Damn, rogues everywhere! Fang Rulai gasped, and since the blanket made it hard to fight back, she tilted her head, craned her neck, opened her mouth, and bit down hard.

A hint of sweetness entered her mouth—she’d drawn blood.

But Guan Shiyin still didn’t let go, even lowering his face, “Bones in the fingers, not a good bite. Why don’t you try my lips?”

Judging by the sound, his face was right in front of her. Fang Rulai released her bite, drew back her chin, then prepared to headbutt him.

At that moment, a voice called out, “Ah Xi, why are you carrying the young mistress? Is she unwell?”

...Just as things were getting heated, suddenly reminded of Handsome Xi...

By the way, a quick interview (feel free to lie): what’s it like to meet so many meat-loving girls through reading this novel?

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