065 Touched on the Rear

Chapter Title: 065—Her Bottom Was Touched

When positions are opposed, only your death can ensure my survival.

So, when Fang Rulai made her throw, there was a deadly intent behind it, sparing no mercy, her aim targeted precisely at the other’s heart.

The butcher’s knife flew with incredible speed. By Fang Rulai’s own estimate, its margin of error would not exceed an inch radius around that fool’s heart.

Though no inner force was attached to it, in modern times, Fang Rulai was not only a track athlete with top sprint records but also an all-around sports prodigy. She was ninety-nine percent sure of this throw.

Thud—the butcher’s knife embedded itself into the pillar exactly as Fang Rulai had anticipated, right behind where that fool’s heart had been.

But in front of the pillar, the fool’s figure had vanished without a trace.

Fang Rulai stood frozen on the spot. Her eyes had been wide open the whole time, yet she hadn’t seen when he disappeared. What kind of speed was this?

Suddenly, the fool’s voice rang out from above her head, “You’re a bad person! You lied! Sister Wan said that liars must be spanked.”

As Fang Rulai was halfway through raising her head in response to the voice, her body was abruptly lifted and set down again, placed belly-down across someone’s lap.

What was happening? Her vision blurred, and the next moment, her bottom received a resounding slap.

And what a slap it was—each finger, even the fingertips, left a print on her rear! The sound was loud, but the pain that followed was barely noticeable. Fang Rulai suddenly felt it was less a punishment and more an excuse to take advantage of her.

The fool’s aggrieved voice sounded by her ear, “You lied, apologize!”

Uh! Fang Rulai was momentarily out of sorts. Wait a minute, wasn’t this supposed to be a life-or-death duel? If the person before her hadn’t dodged with such profound lightness skill, he’d be a corpse under her knife by now. Now that he’d turned the tables, shouldn’t he be focused on her murderous intent? Why was he fixated on her lying, of all things? Was he truly a fool?

“Brother Erming, what’s the point of an apology now? Hurry and kill her for Sister Wan!” Lin Wan’er ran out the back door into the courtyard, and upon seeing the situation, her first words were a command to kill Fang Rulai.

Fang Rulai’s heart tightened. Judging by the address, the fool behind her was clearly Sun Ming, the second son of County Magistrate Sun Chi. This was truly a hostile position now! And given his display just now, it was clear she was inescapably trapped—was she really going to die here today?

“Wan’er, why are you saying something different than before?” Sun Ming spoke, not in the way Fang Rulai expected. “Last time, you clearly said liars have to be spanked! Are you as silly as Erming now? Remember the night the night-blooming cereus flowered? Erming was just a little late for your rendezvous, and you said so, then took off my pants and spanked…”

Fang Rulai’s eyes widened at the wrong moment. Wow, was this the follow-up to that bodice’s resonance last time?

Lin Wan’er’s face flushed crimson and she hurried to stop him, “Brother Erming! This isn’t the time for that. The person you’re holding is the murderer who killed your elder brother—if you don’t take revenge now, when will you?”

“No…” Fang Rulai began to protest.

At the same time, Sun Ming spoke as well, “Really? She really killed my brother?”

His voice rose sharply, and the muscles in his thigh tensed so much Fang Rulai thought he’d strike her down the next instant.

But once again, her expectations were off.

Her vision spun, her body was hoisted and set down again, this time on her feet.

She looked up quickly, and Sun Ming’s eyes met hers, filled with gratitude!

Gratitude? Fang Rulai was thrown off yet again. What was going on now?

Sun Ming grabbed her shoulders, his voice brimming with excitement and thankfulness, “Thank you! Thank you for killing my brother!”

Eh? Fang Rulai blinked, wondering if this kind of foolishness was contagious. She understood every word Sun Ming said, but put together, they made no sense at all.

While she was still in a daze, Sun Ming leapt away, bounding over to Lin Wan’er, grabbing her hand and, like an excited three-year-old, began to hop up and down, “Wan’er, now it’s finally settled—you’re all mine, no more brother to fight me for you!”

Sun Ming had martial arts, Lin Wan’er did not. With his inner strength protecting him, Sun Ming’s bounding was effortless, but Lin Wan’er suffered for it.

Sun Ming’s speed was too great—when he leapt up, Lin Wan’er felt her mind go blank. Before she could recover, he landed again with such force that her hair still floated in mid-air from the inertia. Upon landing, crack—caught off guard, Lin Wan’er twisted her ankle.

She opened her mouth to scream, but before she could, Sun Ming, still excited, leapt up again, and the blast of cold air filled her half-open mouth.

Sun Ming bounced tirelessly, and Lin Wan’er’s mind was forced to bounce along with him—how could she spare any thought to stop him from saying things that would ruin her reputation? She was too busy clutching her head to keep from vomiting.

Seeing the situation, Fang Rulai turned and fled toward the inner residence. This fool’s brainwaves were clearly not on the same channel as normal people, but by some fluke, he’d resolved her predicament—she would be truly foolish not to seize the chance and run!

As she passed the pillar, she didn’t forget to retrieve the butcher’s knife.

Through the second door, then the third, each time she caught just a glimpse of Zhu Xishi’s robe disappearing past the next doorway.

Fang Rulai’s anxiety mounted as she sped up, running her hand over every object she passed, hoping to glean useful information. But she was moving so quickly that most of the words attached to the surfaces flashed by in an instant, some only half-phrases, making it impossible for her to focus on anything useful.

Worse still, the frequent use of her ability combined with the intensity of her sprint made her feel as if her brain and stomach were about to explode.

Then, as she rounded a corner, her left foot caught her right—bam—she fell hard. The world spun upside down, and internally she told herself: Fang Rulai, get your hands down, get up, keep chasing.

But her body didn’t respond at all, as if it no longer belonged to her.

Her final thought before losing consciousness was: She hadn’t died in the car crash that brought her here; she’d survived several assassination attempts, even orchestrated others’ deaths with borrowed knives. Was this how it would end—tripping over herself, easily captured or killed by her enemy?

This was truly a self-inflicted tragedy!

Unbeknownst to her, as her body hit the ground, the floor beneath her opened like a trapdoor. Fang Rulai, knife and all, fell through, and the ground closed up swiftly behind her.

Who knows how much time passed. When Fang Rulai regained some awareness, her eyes were still closed, but her ears caught voices first.

“Lin Wan’er, you little slut! Aside from Yao’er, now you’ve also gotten involved with Ming’er?”

A crisp slap rang out.

Instead of sobbing, there was the sound of knees hitting the floor.

“Godmother, let Wan’er explain, this isn’t Wan’er’s fault! You know Brother Erming’s martial arts are so much better than Brother Yao’s—when he caught me and Brother Yao together, even Yao couldn’t stop him, so what could I do? It was Brother Yao’s idea for me to give myself to Brother Erming to keep him silent.”

Another slap.

“Wretched girl! Yao’er is dead and you’re still smearing him? What do you mean it was his idea? If you hadn’t seduced Yao’er in the first place, would Ming’er have caught you? In the end, you’re the reason both my sons are ruined! Guards—”

She was abruptly cut off.

“Godmother! How can you say that? Wasn’t it your idea in the beginning for me to get involved with Brother Yao? You said if I could give him a child, you’d let me marry in as a principal wife. You can’t turn your back on me now!”

A third slap.

“Slut! So what if I said it? When Yao’er was alive, I could treat you well; now that he’s gone, why should I keep you? So you can ruin Ming’er too? Don’t think I don’t know your schemes—you’ll never seduce Ming’er after Yao’er’s death! Guards—ugh!”

She was cut off yet again, but this time not by an argument, but by Madame Xu’s muffled groan.

“You… you…” Xu spoke again, her breath thin and weak, all her former authority gone, replaced by Lin Wan’er’s domineering tone.

“Xu Zhaodi, when I tried to reason with you, you refused to listen and forced me to act, didn’t you? Let me tell you the truth: I saw exactly how Sun Yao died—I could have saved him, but I didn’t. Do you know why? He betrayed me first, so why should I act with loyalty? Including you! Today you chose to be ruthless first, so why shouldn’t I strike before you?”

The sound of a dagger being drawn, its blade scraping flesh.

“Xu Zhaodi, don’t look at me like that. Did you really think I’d come here alone without preparation? And don’t bother calling for help—your trusted servants outside were eliminated as soon as the first slap landed. Xu Zhaodi, since you’re about to die, I’ll give you one last secret: not just Sun Ming, even Sun Chi has slept with me more than once.”

A heavy thud as something fell.

Lin Wan’er’s coquettish laughter rang out. “Can’t take it? What if I told you all your schemes were actually orchestrated by Sun Chi himself? You kidnapped Zhu Xishi, you set up Sun Ming to capture Fang Rulai, you planned to claim Sun Ming’s madness in your report to the court to escape justice after your revenge. But while you were busy with this, Sun Chi was already plotting to have you executed to build his reputation and climb to higher office.”

“And me? I’ve been waiting for you to summon me alone—do you think I would’ve said anything otherwise? If you hadn’t called me here, how would the monk you captured have ended up in my hands so smoothly?!”

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