Master, come here, won't you?

Chapter Title: 039 Sir, Come Here

“Zhang Third!”

With a thunderous shout, the door and both windows were simultaneously kicked open.

Striding in through the doorway, Wei the Great immediately saw the bed, where tumultuous waves of passion were crashing. “Brothers, he’s on the bed,” he announced, charging forward. Yet after only two steps, something tightened around his ankle. Confused for a moment, he was suddenly hoisted upside-down with a sharp whoosh.

“Wei the Great!” The other two constables turned to help.

Wei the Great chuckled, “No need, handle your business. This little ambush is nothing to me.”

Indeed, as far as martial arts went, Wei the Great was the best among the group. The two constables thought as much and didn’t turn back, rushing straight for the bed.

Wei the Great took a deep breath and flexed his waist, arching his body upwards. He reached for the dagger in his boot, but it was too late. As his hand touched the hilt, a sunflower suddenly appeared before his eyes. His eyes widened as the sunflower was thrust hard into his left chest.

Mu Zhijin, clad in black, moved swiftly and without a glint of steel. The other two constables, hearing the silence behind them, felt something was off, but assumed it was just Zhang Third’s lookout keeping watch.

The two exchanged a glance, amused. “Is it Li Fourth or Wang Fifth? Why wear a night stalker’s outfit indoors? Playing at romance? Quick, let Wei the Great down! It’s only a woman—do you need to be so rough?” They thought the silent, dangling Wei the Great had merely been knocked out.

Mu Zhijin stood on the beam, arms folded, silent and unmoving.

One constable grew angry. “This is too much. Your group drew lots to be last, didn’t follow orders, swapped our goods for outsiders’, and now, when we show up, you strike first and hard. Don’t forget brotherhood for the sake of a little fun.”

Mu Zhijin remained silent.

The constable, unable to contain his anger, sprang onto the beam and swung a palm at Mu Zhijin.

Mu Zhijin dodged nimbly.

The constable paused, realizing something was off—the stance and moves were unfamiliar. “Who are you?”

He hesitated on the beam; Mu Zhijin seized the moment, hooked his foot, wrapped the rope around his hand, wound it swiftly, looped it forward, and tightened it. The constable collapsed without a sound.

Mu Zhijin kicked again, sending the rope-bound constable tumbling from the beam, suspended in midair. On the other side hung Wei the Great, bound by the ankle; the two swung back and forth, an oddly matching pair.

The constable who had reached the bedside sensed something was wrong and was about to turn around when the quilt flipped aside, and Zhu Xishi crawled out, hair tousled and cheeks flushed.

Bathed in moonlight slanting through the window, Zhu Xishi, eyes closed as if consumed by passion, was irresistibly seductive.

The constable’s gaze froze; he forgot all else, adrenaline surging, clouding his mind.

Zhu Xishi opened her dewy eyes and beckoned with a finger, “Sir, come here.”

“Me?” The constable seemed lost, as if his soul had drifted away.

“Shh,” Zhu Xishi playfully pressed a finger to her lips, “It’s late and quiet, the perfect time. Let’s do, not say.”

All night, do, not say? The constable was instantly elated, following her gesture onto the bed, eager to mount her.

Zhu Xishi threw him a flirtatious glance, “Don’t rush, sir, let the little lady serve you.”

With that, the constable gladly let her take the lead.

Zhu Xishi tossed another coquettish look, “Sir, close your eyes.”

“All right, ha, ha, ha!” The constable gleefully shut his eyes.

The moment he did, a pillow was slammed over his mouth and nose. He reflexively tried to pull it away, but Zhu Xishi held him down with surprising strength—though she lacked martial skills, years of slaughtering pigs had given her formidable power. The constable could not break free. Soon, his limbs went limp.

The quilt was flipped again; Fang Rulai tossed aside the pillow and got off the bed. “Banxia, time to work.”

Banxia appeared on cue, as deft as snatching buns from a steamer. One hand as a tray, the other as chopsticks, three grabs, three releases, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared again, carrying three corpses.

Zhu Xishi propped her chin in her hands, eyes sparkling with pink stars. “That young man is so handsome.”

Mu Zhijin, lying sideways on the beam, scoffed, “Hmph, long hair, short wit.”

Zhu Xishi glared up at him, “Then show me what’s long about you.”

“Shameless!” Though Mu Zhijin had always been indiscriminate at the Chuguan Tower, somehow Zhu Xishi’s not particularly explicit words left him embarrassed.

Zhu Xishi didn’t care about his expression; she seized every chance to retaliate. If he called her shameless, then he was—“Pretty boy!”

“You—”

Just as the two seemed ready to quarrel again, Fang Rulai interjected coldly, “There’s still another group.” Whether they wanted to argue or not, as soon as the matter was settled, she’d just sit back with tea in one hand and seeds in the other, enjoying the show. Unfortunately, things were not over yet.

Fang Rulai walked to the shattered door and window, asked Mu Zhijin, “Now comes the true test of your not-yet-recovered skills.” The final group of three had to be eliminated in a very short time, but now, with no cover from door or window and six men already missing, the last three would not be caught off guard like the first six.

Zhu Xishi bounced excitedly, “Banxia! Banxia! Banxia, come out, quick!”

Fang Rulai shook her head firmly, “Banxia can’t stay exposed for long.”

“Why not?”

“Because Banxia is responsible for security measures around us.” They had stationed men in the shadows, knowing the enemy must have even more. The poison and hidden arrows along the way were just probes, meant to test how many men they had deployed. Zhu Xishi was exposed, Mu Zhijin was exposed; if Banxia appeared again, they might all be wiped out before reaching their destination.

Only now did Zhu Xishi grasp the gravity of the situation. “If leaving Shengjing City is so perilous, why did you agree to go?”

“Because I want to topple the Crown Prince once and for all.”

A confident accusation, hoping at least to tarnish the Crown Prince’s reputation among the people, if not drag Qitian Daoist Temple from its pedestal. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince arrived in person, and with a single declaration of “martial vendetta” and an order to “investigate externally,” all her efforts were for naught.

She knew perfectly well that this journey meant the Crown Prince intended she never return. Yet she had no right to refuse! She’d heard that the fake “San Fengzi” of Qitian Daoist Temple had been released from prison overnight to publicly apologize to the people, making her realize that in the face of absolute imperial power, without higher authority or status, she would always be the one led to the slaughter.

Ordered out, was it? Danger, but also opportunity. If handled well, her return would be the time to demand payback!

Thank you for the flowers, dear readers, and for your support!

By the way, to buy a new phone, I sincerely suggest you save the money you’d spend on flowers.

This book is exclusively published by...