Chapter 30: Seeking Death

In the past twenty-odd years, Murong Ze, who had been inconspicuous and seemed almost transparent, underwent an earth-shattering transformation overnight! He suddenly changed from his usual low-profile demeanor, taking charge of various cases handled by the Dali Temple with a group of subordinates.

It was as if he had become a completely different person, his face cold and unfeeling. He showed no mercy in handling every case, using harsh methods. Whether dealing with high-ranking officials or royal family members, as long as he uncovered irrefutable evidence of corruption, he showed no leniency. Even if faced with pleas or pressure, he showed no mercy, strictly following the law to punish those involved.

Murong Chen had been helping wholeheartedly, and for the first time, the two brothers worked together with perfect coordination, making their efforts twice as effective. He finally understood what Zhuang Xiaoyu meant when she said they were “like wearing the same pair of pants.”

Although the emperor was busy, seeing the brothers working so well together made him feel a sense of comfort. However, when he heard that Murong Xuan had returned, he suddenly felt uneasy.

Murong Xuan had returned to the capital but didn’t enter the palace, nor did he attend court. Every day, he followed Zhuang Xiaoyu around like a shadow, more intimately than a personal guard.

“Brother, stop following me. In times of peace, you don’t need to fight. You should make more money, after all, you’ll need to support a wife and children in the future!”

After hearing this, Murong Xuan began to take care of the business of the royal residence. Zhuang Xiaoyu was right—the royal residence didn’t have many business dealings, and if they didn’t manage it better, how would she live a comfortable life in the future?

Old Zhuang still thought Murong Xuan had returned for his daughter, but after a few visits, he stopped coming. This made him anxious.

Now that Zhuang Xiaoyu was almost nineteen, it was very rare for a girl in the Great Zhou Dynasty to be unmarried at twenty. He had a heart-to-heart talk with his daughter, and Zhuang Xiaoyu, helpless, promised that she would marry before turning twenty.

Murong Xuan had returned to the capital and sought the help of several imperial physicians, but none of them knew how to cure the Gu poison. They had only heard of it, but had never seen it in person.

Jian Yi complained that the old man had been too hasty in killing Gu Na, and now, what were they to do?

“Isn’t there the Miao Tribe’s saintess? She should be able to cure Gu Na’s poison.”

“Your Highness, you killed her sister. Do you think she will save you?”

“She should, right?”

If she doesn’t save him, he would just kill her.

“When should we go to find the Miao Tribe’s saintess?”

“No rush. If we still can’t find a way to cure the poison next month, we’ll spread the news that Gu Na poisoned me, and she’ll come looking for me on her own.”

Zhuang Xiaoyu was nibbling on an apple while listening to Jiang He play the guqin. It was rare for him to show his face in public, and he even wore a veil.

Someone sent a letter to Zhuang Xiaoyu, brought by a child holding a sugar-coated hawthorn stick. The letter only said that she must go to the local land temple alone, or else they would only bring back Zhuang Xun’s corpse.

Zhuang Xiaoyu hurried off. These pests just couldn’t leave her alone and let her live peacefully.

The land temple wasn’t far from the academy. Zhuang Xun had been kidnapped from the academy.

When Zhuang Xiaoyu arrived nearby, she immediately sensed an ambush. It seemed that many experts had come this time. She didn’t alert anyone hiding in the shadows and took a detour around the back of the land temple. Inside, she saw Sun Yulan and two men in black, with Zhuang Xun curled up on the ground, his hands bound, his face swollen and red, clearly having been beaten for not cooperating.

Three leaves flew out, and without a sound, the three men fell to the ground.

Since Sun Yulan wasn’t going to be obedient, she didn’t deserve to live. If you don’t remove the root, the spring wind will bring it back. Who knew when she might harm Zhuang Xun again? Zhuang Xiaoyu hated to waste time with people and detested those who targeted weaker family members.

“Wuwu…”

Zhuang Xun saw her and couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. He tried not to make a sound, but couldn’t help it.

“How pathetic. A man should bleed, not cry. Hold it back.”

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the tears.

Zhuang Xiaoyu untied his ropes and pulled her frightened younger brother into her arms to comfort him.

“Are you scared? Let’s go home and practice, and no one will dare to bully you in the future.”

Zhuang Xun nodded vigorously.

In the end, it was all her fault. If it weren’t for her, Zhuang Xun wouldn’t have suffered, including the time he was beaten by the Xue brothers.

“There are a lot of people outside who want to kill me. Do you want me to kill them or let them go?”

Sun Yulan should know that she couldn’t deal with Zhuang Xiaoyu alone. There were plenty of experts outside.

Zhuang Xun was a little confused. With so many people outside, how did his sister manage to get in?

“Does sister have confidence in killing them?”

“Yes, I’m confident that I can take you out safely without alerting them.”

“Whoever is coming to kill sister is definitely not a normal person, but I’m afraid you’ll be at a disadvantage.”

Zhuang Xiaoyu patted his head. “Sister understands.”

This kid was even more ruthless than Zhuang Xiaowan. He wanted to see them dead.

“Just watch how sister kills them.”

The siblings walked out of the broken temple with great confidence, and the hidden people were stunned. When did she get in?

“Everyone, you’ve been hiding for so long, freezing to death, right? Come out now.”

It was already winter, and the northwest wind was blowing coldly.

The hidden people started to emerge one by one. Zhuang Xun was able to stay calm at first, but as more and more people showed up, he started to feel uneasy.

“Sister, sister…”

Like Zhuang Xiaowan, when nervous, he began to stutter.

I originally thought there were only a few, why are there so many? Where did all these people come from?

“Indeed, it’s quite strange. Even though Sun Yulan is no longer favored, she can still mobilize so many hidden guards from the Sun family?” Zhuang Xiaoyu’s voice was not loud, as if she were talking to herself, and only Zhuang Xun could hear her.

“They don’t quite look like hidden guards. They seem more like bounty hunters from the martial world, each one of them skilled.”

The more she said, the more afraid Zhuang Xun became. His hands and feet began to tremble. He regretted it, thinking he should have asked his sister to take him and escape from the back.

“Zhuang Xiaoyu, how did you get in here? Where is Miss Sun?”

The leader of the black-clad men spoke.

“She’s inside, already dead. Do you want to go inside and take a look?”

“You killed Miss Sun?” The man looked very surprised.

“Is this surprising? She caused trouble for me. If I didn’t kill her, would I leave her for the New Year? Not only did I kill her today, but I’ll kill all of you as well.”

“Die, little girl. You have such a big mouth. Just you alone?”

“No, and my little brother too.”

Zhuang Xiaoyu tilted her head and noticed Zhuang Xun was trembling.

“Sister, is it still possible to escape now?”

“Useless. How can we run without fighting first? If we can’t win, then we run.”

“What if we can’t run later?”

“Hahahaha… Zhuang Xiaoyu, you and your brother kneel down and kowtow to me, and I’ll make it quick for you. How about that?”

The leader of the black-clad men didn’t take these two people seriously. A weak woman and a half-grown child—he could kill them with a single slap.

“Oh? How do you think you should die to make it quick?”

“How about I slap you to death? Don’t worry, it will be a quick death, not painful.”

“So you’re still quite kind.”

“Flattering me now won’t help you. Hurry up and kowtow.”

“Miss Sun sent you here, didn’t she tell you about my abilities?”

“She did, but it was too exaggerated. She said you could slap someone so hard they’d fly into the sky. Isn’t that nonsense? Hahaha… ah…”

The man didn’t finish speaking before he was flung out, and everyone followed his direction as he flew, hearing him ‘plop’ as he landed.

Zhuang Xiaoyu had quite a bit of strength. She could throw Murong Ze onto the roof without him falling to his death, and she could also not send someone flying out of the door to be slapped to death. In this case, it was special—he didn’t fly far, but he was badly injured.

“This young lady isn’t very kind. I won’t let him die painlessly. He will live for a few more days, but he will die in extreme pain.”

“……”

“You can choose to be like him, or you can kneel and beg for mercy. If you kneel and beg for mercy, I will let you go.”

The remaining black-clad men looked at each other. They were on orders, and the deputy leader was nearly dead—were they really a match for her?

Seeing everyone hesitate, Zhuang Xiaoyu couldn’t be bothered to drag it out: “Forget it, I don’t want to add more killing to my sins. You can go.”

She gathered her strength and waved her hand. More than a dozen black-clad men were sent flying out the door, disappearing from sight.

She didn’t want to kill them all, as everyone had their fate. As for broken arms and legs, that was just a small lesson.

“Sister, how are you so powerful?” Zhuang Xun stared wide-eyed.

“Don’t you think I’m a monster?”

“How could that be? Sister is so powerful, number one in the world.”

“Keep a low profile, low profile. I can’t claim to be number one in the world. Killing these pests who act tough is just a small thing.”

“Sister, I don’t want to go back to the academy. I want to go back to the mansion and train with you.”

“We still have to go back…”

“I don’t want to go back. I absolutely don’t want to go back.”

“We still have to go back…”

“I won’t go back. I can study at home and won’t fall behind in my training.”

“We still have to go back to pack. Don’t you need your books?”

“…… Oh, hehe… you didn’t say so earlier.”

“Did you let me speak? You keep interrupting me, you little brat. You’re becoming more and more rude.” She slapped Zhuang Xun’s head, and he covered his sore head, not daring to speak. His eldest sister was very kind to him, but her temper was not good