Chapter 30

Yun Pianpian heard Zhao Rouyin's cries and rushed into the crowd of onlookers.
“You can't kill her!”
“This is a matter for Jiangjia Village; it's not your place to interfere!” the villagers retorted in unison, glaring at Yun Pianpian. One even reached out to push her away.
But before his hand could touch Yun Pianpian's shoulder, Xiao Changyuan seized it with one hand and twisted it sharply, breaking it with a snap.
The villager let out a pig, like shriek of pain.
Xiao Changyuan's handsome face was icy, his dark eyes blazing with intense killing intent as he stared at the villager.
His thin lips parted, and his low voice seemed to seep blood, sending chills down everyone's spine.
“If you dare lay a finger on her, I'll tear you to pieces.”
The villager, hearing the sound of his bones cracking, turned pale with pain, his legs weakening as he begged for mercy repeatedly.
“Spare me, great hero! Please spare me!”
Xiao Changyuan gave him a cold glance, as if looking at a struggling ant on the brink of death.
His icy gaze held no warmth whatsoever.
He slowly released his grip, indifferently watching as the villager collapsed to the ground.
The villager, pale, faced and clutching his arm, trembled in pain. He hung his head, lips quivering in fear, not daring to utter another word.
Xiao Changyuan raised his cold, indifferent dark eyes and slowly scanned the villagers standing on the shore.
“Who else isn't afraid to die? Go ahead and try.”
His voice was ghostly and bloodthirsty, carrying a bone, chilling coldness.
The aloof and solitary young man in black was like an Asura crawling out of hell, radiating a fierce, murderous aura.
He seemed to be trapped in a living hell, indifferent to everything around him.
The world would turn to ashes in the palm of his hand.
The air instantly froze.
The bleak autumn wind seemed to carry the bone, chilling cold of a frozen wasteland.
The villagers, terrified, stepped back one after another, their faces pale, not daring to meet Xiao Changyuan’s gaze, their eyes filled with fear.
Several elders of Jiangjia Village stepped forward to mediate, politely trying to calm Xiao Changyuan’s icy rage.
“Young hero, please don’t be angry. This is all a misunderstanding. Let’s not let it harm our harmony…”
“Exactly, exactly. Harmony is most important. Why resort to violence over such a small misunderstanding?”
Zhao Mao rushed to Zhao Rouyin’s side, crying as he said, “Sister, I brought Sister Pianpian to save you.”
Zhao Rouyin wiped the tears that had yet to dry on her face, her eyes red as she scolded Zhao Mao.
“What are you crying for? Your sister isn’t dead yet!”
Yun Pianpian glanced around and frowned delicately. “Why haven’t I seen the village chief?”
An elder politely explained, “The eldest son of the Dalang family is celebrating his first, month birthday today. The village chief and his family have gone to town for the celebration feast…”
Yun Pianpian’s frown deepened. No wonder they had dared to stir up such a commotion today.
It was because the village chief wasn’t here.
Yun Pianpian said, “You’ve arrested the wrong person. Miss Yinyin did not commit adultery.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiao'er, the wife of the adulterer, immediately flushed with anger and stepped forward. “I have the adulteress’s handkerchief as evidence, and my husband has identified her. With such solid proof, how dare you still deny it?! Is there no justice in this world?!”
Yun Pianpian looked at Jiang Qiao'er. “Sister, when did you discover their affair?”
Jiang Qiao'er replied coldly, “This morning at Chen hour, my husband went into the mountains to hunt but forgot his bow and arrows. I took them and went up the mountain to find him. Who would have thought that damned scoundrel was rolling around with a woman in the deep woods, committing adultery! I was so furious I rushed forward to strike them, but my husband held me back. I could only watch as that wretched woman put on her clothes and ran down the mountain…”
Yun Pianpian asked, “Sister, did you see the adulteress’s face?”
Jiang Qiao'er said, “She kept her face covered with her hands the whole time. I never saw her face…”
Yun Pianpian pressed further, “Was there a bandage wrapped around the adulteress’s right hand?”
Jiang Qiao'er replied, “The scene was so chaotic at the time. How could I have noticed whether there was a bandage on her hand or not?”
Yun Pianpian frowned and said, “That’s rather strange. Miss Yinyin accidentally injured her arm two days ago, and it’s still wrapped in bandages. Only her left hand is usable. You said she covered her face with her hands and also put on her clothes, but with her arm injured, it would be impossible for her to do both at once. Even if she did cover her face, you would have surely noticed the bandages on her arm.”
Jiang Qiao'er sneered coldly, “Who knows if that slut’s arm injury is even real?”
Yun Pianpian spotted Doctor Zhou in the crowd. “This is Doctor Zhou. You can ask him to examine the injury.”
Zhou Qiren and Chen Fashan had been standing among the onlookers, watching the commotion unfold.
Hearing Yun Pianpian call his name, Zhou Qiren immediately stepped forward and said, “I can attest that Miss Yinyin’s injury is genuine. I personally wrapped the bandages around her arm two days ago.”
Jiang Qiao'er retorted, “So what? I found this slut’s handkerchief on my husband, embroidered with her name. Are you trying to twist the truth now?!” As she spoke, she pulled the handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Yun Pianpian.
Yun Pianpian took the handkerchief. In the lower right corner, a small character “Yin” was indeed embroidered in pale pink silk thread.
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly.
This handkerchief looked remarkably like the one that ugly creature had thrown in his face that day.
Zhao Rounyin suddenly spoke up, “This handkerchief was lost two days ago. I have no idea who your husband is.”
This was the very handkerchief Zhao Rounyin had used to try and seduce Xiao Changyuan. After he left that day, she had searched the hillside for a long time but couldn’t find it. She had assumed it had blown into the river and drifted away.
To think that this scoundrel had picked it up and kept it close to his body.
The thought made Zhao Rounyin’s stomach churn with disgust.
All these ordinary men lusting after her beauty deserved to die.
If he wanted to die, that was his business, but why drag her down with him?
She wished she could slice him into a thousand pieces.
Effective communication must be built upon a foundation of strict order and control.
With Xiao Changyuan, the god of slaughter, presiding over the scene, Zhao Rounyin could finally continue the conversation she had been unable to finish at home.
“If you don’t believe me, ask your husband if he knows where my birthmark is.”
Jiang Qiao'er turned to the man in the pig cage. “Where is this slut’s birthmark?”
The man avoided her gaze and remained silent.
Jiang Qiao'er fumed, “Speak!”
Zhao Rounyin chuckled softly. “Of course he doesn’t know, because he has no idea who I am. He only knows I live in Jiangjia Village.”
Jiang Qiao'er demanded, “If my husband doesn’t know you, why would he slander you?”
“To protect his real lover, of course.”
“His real lover?”
Zhao Rounyin slowly curved her red lips into a smile, her gaze tinged with mockery as she looked at Jiang Qiao'er.
Deliberately using a sarcastic tone to fan the flames, she said, “Your husband is willing to risk his life to protect that bitch. It seems she means more to him than his own life. And yet, you’ve been played for a fool, running around like a monkey.”
Jiang Qiao'er, enraged by Zhao Rouyin's words, flushed crimson with fury. She turned and began punching and kicking the adulterer trapped in the pig cage. “How dare you deceive me for that wretched woman! How dare you risk your life to lie to me for her sake!”
The adulterer in the pig cage desperately pleaded for mercy, “Qiao'er, I was wrong! I truly was wrong! Please forgive me! I'll never do it again!”
Yun Pianpian furrowed her delicate brows upon hearing the man's pleas.
Why did this scoundrel's voice sound so familiar?
A flicker of recognition passed through her mind.
“I've seen this adulterous couple before,” Yun Pianpian said.
That day when she and Xiao Changyuan encountered the illicit lovers in the mountains, the man's voice matched exactly that of this adulterer.
Jiang Qiao'er turned back, her eyes bloodshot as she stared at Yun Pianpian. “When did you see them?”
Yun Pianpian replied slowly, “About half a month ago, when my husband and I went hunting in the mountains, we came across a couple engaged in an illicit affair near the crooked, neck tree. Your husband's voice is identical to that man's.”
Hearing mention of the crooked, neck tree, Jiang Qiao'er already believed most of the story. She had discovered the adulterous pair at that very spot earlier today, never imagining they had been carrying on behind her back for so long.
The thought made Jiang Qiao'er tremble with rage, her blood boiling. She wished she could kill the adulterer with her own hands. Grabbing him by the hair, she screamed, “You beast! You've been cheating on me for half a month! If I don't beat you to death today, my name isn't Jiang Qiao'er!”
The adulterer, his hair pulled painfully, wailed, “Qiao'er, I was wrong! I truly was wrong!”
Xiao Changyuan, who had remained silent until now, finally parted his thin lips and said, “The woman he was with has the character 'Rong' in her name.”
After Xiao Changyuan's martial arts were restored, his hearing and vision surpassed ordinary people's. Many sounds inaudible to common folk were crystal clear to him.
That day, when Yun Pianpian pulled his hand to run down the mountain, he had overheard the couple's conversation behind them.
The man had called the woman “Xiao Rong.”
Xiao Changyuan's voice was deep and cold, like winter frost, piercing everyone's ears.
Jiang Qiao'er froze for a moment upon hearing this. “Rong? Jiang Meirong? So it was that bitch Jiang Meirong!”
Her eyes nearly bursting with fury, she charged into the crowd.
At the same time, a pretty young woman in the crowd turned pale, spun around, and tried to flee. Her attempt to escape only confirmed her guilt. Before she could take two steps, she was seized by a man beside her, his face flushed with rage.
“You wretched woman! How dare you cheat on me behind my back?! I'll kill you!”
The man slapped the young woman hard across the face. She covered her cheek, stumbled to the ground, pushed herself up, and scrambled forward on all fours.
Jiang Qiao'er pounced on them, and the three of them began a chaotic tussle of biting and wrestling.
The crowd on the riverbank descended into chaos.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Mao freed Zhao Rouyin from the pig cage. As soon as she was out, Zhao Rouyin picked up a stone from the riverbank, her face dark with fury, and strode toward the adulterer. The man, terrified and pale, scrambled backward inside the pig cage. “What are you doing? Stay away from me!”
Zhao Rouyin was not one to let a grievance go unavenged. Expressionlessly, she raised the stone high above her head and smashed it down violently onto the adulterer's skull.
“You beast, framing me! You beast, slandering me!”
Blood gushed from the adulterer's head as he screamed in agony, “Help! Qiao'er! Save me!”
Splatters of crimson blood stained Zhao Rouyin's fair, delicate face.
She didn't even blink, as if she weren't taking a human life, but slaughtering a pheasant.
The adulterer's cries grew fainter and weaker.
Finally, Zhao Mao grabbed hold of Zhao Rouyin, sobbing, “Sister, stop! You're going to kill him!”
Only then did Zhao Rouyin snap out of it. She wiped the bright red blood from her face.
Lifting her gaze, she scanned her surroundings.
Frowning delicately, she asked Zhao Mao, “Where is Yun Pianpian?”
Zhao Mao, pale, faced, replied, “Just now, when you were. Xiao, “ He paused, then quickly corrected himself, “Brother Shitou took Sister Pianpian away.”
Hearing this, Zhao Rouyin immediately stood up, gathered her skirts, and chased after them. As she ran, she tidied her appearance, wiping the blood from her face and straightening her disheveled hair bun.
She ran desperately until she finally caught up with Yun Pianpian.
“Yun Pianpian!”
Hearing her name, Yun Pianpian turned around and saw Zhao Rouyin running toward her from a distance.
Zhao Rouyin stopped in front of Yun Pianpian, one hand on her knee as she gasped for breath.
She straightened up and fixed her gaze intently on Yun Pianpian.
“Thank you for saving me today.”
Yun Pianpian had thought the young beauty had rushed over for some urgent matter, but it turned out she just wanted to express her gratitude. Her almond, shaped eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. “No need to thank me. It was nothing.”
Zhao Rouyin bit her red lips, lifted her clear, enchanting eyes, and blushed slightly as she looked at Yun Pianpian.
“Why did you come to save me today?”
Yun Pianpian's bright, limpid eyes curved like crescent moons.
“Because the way you drank yesterday was kind of cool.”
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly upon hearing this, his jade, like, aloof face instantly turning cold.
Zhao Rouyin was stunned. “Cool?”
Yun Pianpian nodded with a smile. “I never thought I'd meet such a cool girl here. If I hadn't saved you today, I would have regretted it forever. I might even have had nightmares.”
Zhao Rouyin stared blankly at Yun Pianpian.
She hadn't expected Yun Pianpian to be a hundred times gentler than she had imagined.
The girl had saved her out of the kindness of her heart, yet she had given her such a tender reason, praising her coolness.
She didn't flaunt her compassion but instead praised her so gently.
When Zhao Rouyin was at her most desperate and helpless, Yun Pianpian had extended a helping hand without hesitation.
Zhao Rouyin had grown up in the cold, desolate palace, surrounded by countless mad concubines and indifferent servants.
But she had never met anyone as gentle as Yun Pianpian.
Xiao Changyuan glanced at Yun Pianpian, then turned his handsome face to look at Zhao Rouyin.
He pressed his thin lips together, his brows deeply furrowed.
Finally, with a dark expression, he grabbed Yun Pianpian’s arm and forcibly led her away.
Zhao Rouyin stood in place, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
It wasn’t until her younger brother, Zhao Mao, came running over, panting and covered in sweat, that she stirred: “Sis, why did you run off so fast?”
Zhao Rouyin snapped back to reality and shot him a disdainful look. “It’s because you’re too slow!”
Zhao Mao wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and asked, puzzled, “Sis, how did you know Pianpian would come to save you?”
“Because she swapped my medicine with a laxative…”
As Zhao Rouyin thought of Yun Pianpian, a faint blush of shyness tinged her exquisitely beautiful face, and her gaze softened considerably.
“Only a woman knows how to be gentle with another woman…”
Seeing Zhao Rouyin speak so highly of Yun Pianpian, Zhao Mao seized the chance to persuade her to give up on Xiao Changyuan: “Sis, since Pianpian is so good to you, why don’t you stop trying to steal Xiao Changyuan? If you take him away, how heartbroken would Pianpian be…”
“Of course I won’t steal Xiao Changyuan…” Zhao Rouyin said with tender affection, “Because I’m going to steal Yun Pianpian…”
Hearing the first part, Zhao Mao breathed a small sigh of relief, but at the second part, his breath caught in his throat again.
“What?!”
Zhao Rouyin curved her red lips, her stunningly beautiful eyes gleaming with a wild, greedy light.
“I want to marry the woman of the greatest man in the world!”
Zhao Mao: “…” It’s over. My sister has truly lost her mind.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qiao’er, Jiang Meirong, and Jiang Meirong’s husband were tangled up in a brawl.
Jiang Qiao’er’s father was one of the elders in Jiangjia Village, and Jiang Meirong’s father was also an elder in Jiangjia Village. In other words, both had influential backing. Seeing the situation escalate, relatives from both sides immediately rushed in to pull the three apart.
Those trying to break up the fight inevitably got hit themselves. With tempers flaring, no one held back.
Soon, the peacemakers joined the fray.
What had started as a private dispute between two families escalated into a full, blown brawl between two factions.
The chaos grew increasingly intense.
Jiang Sheyu stood tall and poised on the riverbank, watching the tangled mass of fighters, a blood, like crimson smile slowly curling on his lips.
This scene of utter chaos is truly delightful.
Jiang Sheyu stood there admiring the mess for quite a while before reluctantly leaving the place.
Xie Yu and Mu Bai exchanged a glance, both seeing the word “leave” in each other's eyes, so the two of them also departed.
Only Chen Fashan remained standing in place without moving. From the beginning until now, he had not moved an inch, his feet never leaving the ground. It wasn't until the crowd of onlookers on the shore gradually dispersed that Chen Fashan slowly lifted his foot.
Beneath his foot lay an exquisitely beautiful pearl hairpin.
Chen Fashan calmly bent down, picked up the pearl hairpin he had been stepping on, and tucked it into his sleeve.
This hairpin had fallen to the ground when Yun Pianpian ran over earlier. At that time, everyone's attention was focused on Zhao Rouyin and her lover; only he had seen the hairpin fall and immediately stepped on it to prevent others from noticing.
Chen Fashan instructed Zhou Qiren, “Let's go.”
Zhou Qiren bowed his head and replied, “Yes.”
When the two returned home, Chen Fashan took out the pearl hairpin from his sleeve.
Seeing the hairpin in Chen Fashan's hand, Zhou Qiren asked in a low voice, “Your Highness, why did we pick up this hairpin?”
Chen Fashan slowly curled his lips, a sinister smile spreading across his pale, sickly face.
“This is not a hairpin, but a sharp blade that can be thrust into Xiao Changyuan's heart.”
Yun Pianpian was forcibly dragged away by Xiao Changyuan.
It wasn't until they returned home that Xiao Changyuan released her arm.
Yun Pianpian rubbed her sore arm, her delicate face scrunched up in displeasure as she glared at Xiao Changyuan.
“Why did you drag me away?”
Xiao Changyuan's handsome face turned cold. “Stay away from that ugly creature from now on.”
Hearing Xiao Changyuan refer to Zhao Rouyin as an “ugly creature,” Yun Pianpian immediately frowned.
“Why do you always call Miss Yinyin an ugly creature?”
The little beauty was clearly very pretty, charming and elegant. In modern times, she could easily play the female lead in a movie.
Xiao Changyuan said expressionlessly, “Aside from my wife, everyone else is an ugly creature.”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
She had no response to that, in fact, she even felt like curling her lips into a smile.
Xiao Changyuan looked at Yun Pianpian with a complicated expression.
He seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
This was quite unlike the tyrant's usual demeanor.
Yun Pianpian looked at his handsome face and proactively asked, “Do you have something else to say?”
Xiao Changyuan furrowed his brows and asked, “Wife, will practicing demonic arts really get you drowned in a pig cage?”
Yun Pianpian, “...” I had almost forgotten about that lie.
Fortunately, when Xiao Changyuan pointed out the adulteress Jiang Meirong earlier, he said “the woman who committed adultery with her lover,” not “the woman who practiced demonic arts with her lover.”
Just thinking about that scenario made Yun Pianpian's scalp tingle.
It felt like a firecracker had exploded in her head.
Thankfully, heaven was on her side, and Xiao Changyuan hadn't discovered the truth.
Thinking of this, Yun Pianpian felt a wave of lingering fear.
She raised her dark, thick eyelashes and looked at Xiao Changyuan with forced composure, stating firmly, “That's right. Practicing demonic arts doesn't just lead to being drowned in a pig cage, it could even result in being tied to a stake and burned alive by the villagers. Demonic arts are evil and terrifying. We must never practice them, and we can't even mention these two words to outsiders. Do you understand, husband?”
I hope Xiao Changyuan never mentions the words “demonic cultivation” in front of outsiders again.
Otherwise, she would really struggle to handle the aftermath.
But Xiao Changyuan was the type who responded better to soft words than harsh ones.
Upon hearing this, his handsome face instantly turned cold, radiating a chilling, murderous aura.
“If they dare lay a finger on my wife, I will make sure they die without a complete corpse.”
His voice was low and bloodthirsty, filled with a fierce and menacing tone, as if he meant every word.
“Please don’t.”
Yun Pianpian hadn’t expected Xiao Changyuan to argue back. She immediately softened her voice to persuade him, “Don’t kill them. Even if they don’t want to burn us alive, I don’t want to practice such evil demonic cultivation either. Husband, please never mention those two words again, alright?”
Only after hearing Yun Pianpian’s gentle and soothing words did Xiao Changyuan obediently nod.
“Alright, I’ll listen to my wife.”
The next morning, when Yun Pianpian woke up, she couldn’t find Xiao Changyuan in the room.
Pushing the door open, she discovered him sitting on a pile of old firewood in the yard, holding a wine jar and drinking from it with one hand.
The faint morning light fell on his cold, jade, like handsome face, softening his slightly unruly features and making him appear more gentle and refined. His pale skin and the white bandage wrapped around his hand holding the wine jar gave off a fragile yet tense sense of strength.
The aloof young man, dressed in dark black robes, had one knee bent with a hand resting on it, the other leg dangled casually.
He appeared entirely lazy and relaxed.
Like an elegant yet dangerous white wolf.
As he tilted his head back to drink, he lifted his distant, cold eyes and gazed faintly at the distant mist.
The sunlight touched his ink, black hair, making him appear pristine and radiant, like cold jade glowing.
The scene before her was so beautiful that Yun Pianpian stared at him for a long while before finally walking over.
“Husband, I’m hungry. Go start the fire.”
Xiao Changyuan slowly turned his head, his dark, cold eyes fixing on Yun Pianpian.
He stared at her for a long time.
After a while, Xiao Changyuan finally said, “Alright.”
Xiao Changyuan picked up the wine jar and walked gloomily into the kitchen, sitting in front of the stove to light the fire. The flames quickly ignited.
His wife hadn’t spoken sweet words to him for twenty, seven days.
Expressionlessly, Xiao Changyuan crushed the piece of firewood in his hand and tossed the powdered fragments into the stove.
His wife would rather whisper sweet nothings to that ugly creature than say them to him.
This morning, he deliberately tied on the bandage his wife likes and imitated the ugly creature’s way of drinking, yet his wife didn’t praise him.
Xiao Changyuan crushed more and more firewood, throwing it into the stove at an increasingly rapid pace. The fire in the stove grew fiercer and fiercer.
Soon, thick smoke began to rise from the kitchen.
Yun Pianpian was holding a cup, standing by the ditch outside the courtyard, brushing her teeth with a willow branch.
Suddenly, she felt something was off behind her, as if smoke was drifting over.
Yun Pianpian turned her head and saw thick smoke billowing from her kitchen.
Her heart sank, oh no, the tyrant was still inside!
Yun Pianpian rushed into the kitchen, intending to put out the fire.
But as soon as she stepped inside, she saw Xiao Changyuan scoop a ladle of water from the water jar and pour it over the blazing fire in the stove.
Xiao Changyuan turned his head and looked expressionlessly at Yun Pianpian.
“Wife, the fire is out.”
Yun Pianpian asked, “What happened? Why was there so much smoke?”
Xiao Changyuan pursed his thin lips, his handsome face cold and his eyelashes lowered as he remained silent.
Yun Pianpian asked suspiciously, “Are you drunk from this morning?”
Xiao Changyuan suddenly raised his dark eyes and said coldly, “Wife, you must praise me.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. “What?”
Xiao Changyuan pressed his lips together and said, “I put out the smoke. Wife, you have to praise me.”
Yun Pianpian was dumbfounded, but you’re the one who caused the smoke, you brat!
She stared at Xiao Changyuan for a long while before finally coaxing him, “My husband looked so handsome putting out the fire.”
Hearing this, Xiao Changyuan narrowed his phoenix eyes with satisfaction.
He looked rather pleased.
He turned back, sat on the stool, his ears red, and lowered his head to continue lighting the fire in the stove.
Yun Pianpian: “...” This guy really is drunk.
Otherwise, why would he be acting like this in broad daylight.