The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: That’s More Like It

Jue Zhou immediately pledged his loyalty: ”That’s necessary. In life, I’m the Second Young Master’s person; in death, I’m his ghost.” He chuckled, ”Miss, could you help with my blocked acupoint...”

”Understood!” Xia Wenjin tapped a few points, and Jue Zhou felt his stagnated breath become smooth. He was overjoyed and leaped up from the ground, his heart brimming with happiness.

He was finally free!

Jue Zhou felt exhilarated at this moment.

As a first-class middle-tier expert, he had always been the one doing the killing; when had he ever been a prisoner?

Earlier, he had just exhausted too much energy on a woman and felt a bit weak, which allowed a young pup to capture him—such a mistake he would not make again.

He respectfully cupped his fists towards Xia Wenjin and said, ”Miss, I will forever remember your great kindness and virtue. I will definitely repay you in the future! Please make sure to deliver that roster to the Second Young Master, I beg of you!”

Xia Wenjin smiled leisurely and said, ”Certainly!”

Seeing her smiling face, Jue Zhou tested the waters, ”Then shall I... take my leave?”

Xia Wenjin replied, ”Mm!”

Jue Zhou was elated; being one of the Four Beauties by the Second Young Master’s side allowed him to leave so easily, without worrying about explaining to the outside world. Fortunately, he had bargaining chips like the roster and thirty thousand taels of silver, either of which were significant stakes.

He walked towards the window. Those people were guarding the courtyard, but no one was guarding the window. Once he got out of the window, it would be like a dragon entering the sea, an eagle soaring the sky—who could capture him then?

Xia Wenjin stood in place, her smile radiant, without any intention of stopping him.

Truly a beauty that could topple cities, Jue Zhou thought with admiration, yet he dared not entertain any wicked thoughts. Freedom was right before him; Jue Zhou took a breath, flipped his body, and was about to leap through the window.

However, midair, everything turned black before his eyes, and it felt like thousands of steel needles piercing his body simultaneously. The pain was unbearable, and he let out a shrill scream before crashing heavily to the ground.

Xia Wenjin asked with a gentle laugh, ”What’s the matter?”

Jue Zhou tried to gather his breath, but as he did, the needle-like piercing sensation seemed to travel along his bloodstream, causing intense pain wherever it went.

He couldn’t even sit up, let alone stand; his whole body lay limp on the floor as sweat poured down from his forehead.

As a first-class expert with deep inner strength, his ability to endure pain was significant, but this was too much; he simply couldn’t endure it.

He said with a pale face, ”I... my whole body hurts...”

Xia Wenjin walked over leisurely, crouched down in front of him, and asked, ”Does your whole body hurt as if being sliced by countless tiny knives?”

”Y-Yes...”

Xia Wenjin laughed and said, ”That’s exactly right!”

”W-What do you mean?” Jue Zhou curled up in pain; Xia Wenjin’s smile seemed ethereal and distant to him, yet her words felt off somehow.

With a kind demeanor, Xia Wenjin explained, ”Did you know? Hundreds of years ago, Poison Venerable Wu Li was known all over the world for his poisons, capable of killing invisibly, taking lives from miles away. But his skills were not limited to poisons; he had a method that truly left people in despair, wanting neither life nor death. That method is called ’Severing Meridian,’ akin to feeling the pulse being severed inch by inch, often used for interrogation.”

Jue Zhou’s pupils contracted as he looked at Xia Wenjin like a venomous snake, both frightened and terrified, and stammered, ”W-Why?”

He understood now; when she supposedly was unblocking his acupoints, she must have used this method instead?

This strange method remained inactive if inner strength was not used, but once activated, like his attempt to jump out the window, activated it.

Xia Wenjin spread her hands, ”In this world, does everything need a reason?”

”M-Miss, I... I am still useful... Please don’t kill me, I... I can still serve... the Second Young Master...”

”What Second Young Master or whatever?” Xia Wenjin laughed, ”The one who wants to kill you is me!”

”Miss, you can’t... My silver notes...”

”Mm, I will gladly accept your silver notes!” Xia Wenjin said with a smile, ”After all, to make you suffer such a painful death requires some effort on my part, so consider it a hard-earned reward!”

”You... you aren’t one of the Four Beauties?” Jue Zhou felt his vision darken, seized with terror that seemed to drag his entire heart to the ground.

”You guessed right!” Xia Wenjin maintained that pure, innocent smile, ”I never said I was one of the Four Beauties; that’s just you talking to yourself.”

”W-Who are you?”

”My name is Xia Wenjin. In your next life, feel free to seek revenge!” Xia Wenjin waved at him with a friendly smile.

”W-Why...”

Xia Wenjin’s sweet smile suddenly turned cold and fierce, ”What did those poor women do to deserve this? Did you ever consider this day when you took lives?”

”Wretch...” Jue Zhou realized, from the beginning, she only wanted to extract information from him. A mouthful of blood spurted onto the ground; enduring the pain to finish speaking, he couldn’t help but scream again.

As the screams carried on, Jue Zhou’s voice grew more and more hoarse and miserable, as if the screams could alleviate the pain somehow. But the more he screamed, the worse the pain became, and the worse the pain, the louder he screamed.

Those outside the courtyard heard the pig-slaughtering cries and looked at each other in astonishment.

How could it have been so quiet a moment ago and now sound like a slaughterhouse inside?

The door opened, and Xia Wenjin came out.

Kong Chan asked, ”What’s the situation?”

Xia Wenjin spoke softly, ”It’s clarified. Many girls on the mountain were either bought with silver or abducted by them after descending the mountain. The entire back mountain was their pleasure ground; some girls were from brothels, while most were from nearby villages.”

She paused, speaking heavily, ”Others, unwilling to comply, were killed, their bodies thrown off a cliff at the back of the mountain; they probably can only be found as bones now.”

Kong Chan angrily said, ”Hateful, extremely hateful! I really want to tear them apart!”

Ming Cheng quietly murmured, ”Amitabha Buddha!”

Xia Wenjin said, ”Those in the front courtyard, eight or nine out of ten, have likely also harmed those girls in the back mountain. Take them over for identification and send people to report to the authorities at dawn!”

Ming Cheng said, ”We will do as the benefactor says!”

Xia Wenjin paused and said, ”The Prefecture of Qu’an Prefecture has dirt held by Jue Zhou, and the officials below are colluding; I fear reporting it would be useless!”

Upon hearing about the situation in Qu’an Prefecture, Kong Chan said, ”Then what do we do? This area falls under Qu’an Prefecture’s jurisdiction, but should we report directly to the Jiazhou Governor? That’s too far!”