Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Zhao Dafu walked out of the shop to wave Li Guanqi inside. Then, he pulled Li Guanqi to the back of the shop and explained briefly.

Narrowing his eyes, Li Guanqi clenched his fists. “No... It shouldn’t be her... Wanshu has never left the mountain before!”

He looked up at Zhao Dafu and asked solemnly, “Did you see her face? How tall was she?”

Zhao Dafu furrowed his brows. He thought for a long time before gesturing next to Li Guanqi’s ear. “About this tall. She looked decent enough, but I couldn’t see her face clearly. It was only a brief moment.”

Sensing that Li Guanqi might know the girl, Zhao Dafu reassured him, saying, “That girl left a long time ago. She has probably left town by now.”

However, the shop assistant, who was standing at the counter, muttered, “Not necessarily. Gou San is the worst kind of lecher. He obeys his young master like a dog, so I think...”

The shop assistant shook his head. He did not finish his sentence.

Li Guanqi carried the jars on a shoulder pole and left to speak to the old man whose rice cakes had been stomped. He was just outside the shop.

“Uncle Xiao! It’s me.”

The old man looked up slowly with tears in his eyes. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, clearing his vision so he could see Li Guanqi properly. “Oh, it’s you, Xiao Li. Look at this... I... Sigh...”Li Guanqi asked, “Did a girl buy rice cakes from you just now? About thirteen or fourteen years old, a little shorter than me? Wearing a dress with white flowers embroidered on her sleeves?”

The old man recounted the day’s events and recalled Meng Wanshu, who’d bought four rice cakes from him. “Yes, yes! There was a girl like what you described! That girl initially ordered three pieces, then decided to order four instead. I had to repack them. I remember clearly.”

Li Guanqi’s heart sank. He had confirmed that Zhao Yuanlin had set his eyes on Meng Wanshu.

His mind raced as he grabbed the old man’s shoulder and asked, “Which direction did she go?”

But how could the old man remember such a detail? He did not even know that Meng Wanshu was still in the crowd when the commotion broke out.

“To the eastern part of town!” the assistant in the shop called out, pointing toward the east.

Li Guanqi nodded and dashed into the crowd without having time to thank them.

***

Meng Wanshu sighed in relief as she anxiously hurried out of town. She needed to get home before nightfall. If there were any more delays, her parents would be worried sick.

She had not walked far when she saw an old woman lying weakly on the ground by the road. Ignoring the old woman, she clenched her teeth and quickened her footsteps.

Out of nowhere, the old woman clutched the hem of Meng Wanshu’s dress with all her strength. Her lips were cracked and her face was pale, obvious signs of severe starvation and dehydration.

Gripping Meng Wanshu’s dress with a withered and trembling hand, she stuttered, “Miss... s-spare me some... food...”

As she spoke, the old woman even fished out a jade bangle wrapped in tattered cloth from her pocket and handed it to Meng Wanshu. “This bangle is mine... Miss, just give me something to eat.”

Tears welled up in the old woman’s eyes, giving her a pitiful look. Meng Wanshu could not bear to let the old woman starve on the street, so she took out a piece of rice cake from the wax paper wrap.

She had no choice because the old woman was gripping too tightly. If she didn’t give her some food, she would not be able to leave.

Meng Wanshu told the old woman, “I’ll give this to you. You can let go now.”

The old woman grabbed the rice cake and wolfed it down, yet she didn’t let go.

Meng Wanshu tugged hard on the hem of her skirt in a panic and said sternly, “I’ve already given you food. Let go...”

The old woman forced the jade bangle onto Meng Wanshu’s hand.

“Ahh!! It hurts... I don’t want it! Take it back!”

There was a flicker of light in the old woman’s eyes. Then, she finally let go of Meng Wanshu’s hand and spat out the rice cake. “You should keep it, girl.”

Just then, someone yelled from an alley, “Mother! Where are you?”

The rough voices of men emerged from the dark depths of the alley, gradually growing louder.

One of them called out teasingly, “That bangle was supposed to be for my future wife.”

Meng Wanshu immediately realized what was happening, and her expression changed to one of alarm.

She dropped the things she was holding and desperately tried to tug the bangle off. Her wrist turned red from the friction, but it wouldn’t budge.

As she struggled to tug it off, a silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness. It was a group of five men, and the leader was none other than Gou San, the lecher.

Gou San laughed, “Hahaha! Mother, is that the wife you found for me?”

Meng Wanshu quickly stumbled backward as she eyed them with terror. However, a few of the men had already blocked off any possible paths she could take.

Meng Wanshu cried out sternly, “I am not! Don’t say that!”

Gou San crossed his arms and looked at her wrist with a smile. “Oh? Why not? You have our family heirloom on your wrist.”

Gou San walked up to her, and his eyes darted greedily to her chest.

His disgusting behavior made Meng Wanshu turn pale.

Although many local residents peeked their heads out to check on the commotion, no one dared to speak up.

Auntie Mei, who was still pretending to be a poor old lady, addressed the audience in a pitiful tone. “This young lady promised to marry into our family, and she even accepted our family heirloom. But now, she has changed her mind...”

The people around them erupted with discussions.

“Kids these days... She has already agreed to it, so how could she change her mind?”

“Yeah! That bangle on her wrist looks like it’s worth a lot of money too.”

“Sigh... Gou San is an orphan; where did this ‘mother’ come from? The girl has been tricked...”

While many were aware of the truth, her words successfully deceived the majority of the crowd.

Antue Mei hung her head low. Her messy hair covered the sly look in her eyes. She was already contemplating whether she should secretly move away after receiving her payment.

There was a flash of determination in Meng Wanshu’s eyes. Suddenly, she lifted her hand and smashed it hard against a rock on the ground!

Gou San felt a wave of terror wash over him. The bangle was extremely valuable, and it belonged to Zhao Yuanlin.

He yelled, “Stop it! Don’t you dare!”

Meng Wanshu ignored him.

Thud! Crack!

The expensive jade bangle shattered into pieces, the shards slicing deep into her wrist. Blood gushed out, pouring out so quickly it was impossible to tell exactly where the wound was. She got up, panting heavily as adrenaline coursed through her.

Gou San looked at the shattered jade bangle. His face gradually darkened. Then, he took a large step forward and slapped her across her face.

“You stupid bitch! I tried being nice, but you just can’t tell what’s good for you!”

Meng Wanshu fell on the cold, stony ground. The skin on both her hands broke from the friction, and her cheek swelled with a five-fingered mark.

When the crowd saw Gou San hit her, their discussions died down. His menacing aura made many of them take a few steps away from him.

Meng Wanshu looked around with a pained expression. Her lips parted, about to beg for help, but there was no sound.

The cold crowd did not dare meet Gou San’s eyes. He looked around coldly, and many people even walked away from the scene.

He chuckled and squatted down, looking at Meng Wanshu’s reddened eyes. “That jade bangle was worth three hundred taels of silver. Either you pay up, or you become my wife!”

But Meng Wanshu wasn’t the kind to break easily. She refused to show any sign of weakness in front of him. Despite the stinging pain on her cheek and the waves of pain coming from her hands, she lifted her chin defiantly.

“In your fucking dreams! I’d rather smash my head right here and die than go with you!”

Gou San burst into laughter. “Hehe, this little bitch is quite a spicy one. Come, my brothers! Take her away!”

Before they could move, Meng Wanshu picked up the bloodied rock on the ground and swung it at Gou San’s face!

Thud!

Blood flew in all directions, and the bridge of Gou San’s nose collapsed. His face was a mess of blood and flesh.

Meng Wanshu got up and tried to run, but one of the servants, a young man in the Zhao Mansion’s uniform, grabbed her hair and pushed her to the ground. “Still trying to run?!”

The servant turned to look at Gou San. “Brother Gou, are you alright?”

Meng Wanshu struggled as hard as she could. “Let me go! Let me go!”

However, she was too weak to resist the servant who held her down. She could not break free despite struggling as hard as she could.

Someone helped Gou San up. Blood had blurred his vision, and the intense pain coming from his nose made him lose all reason.

“I’m going to kill you!”

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a dagger, but two hands shot out to stop him.

“Brother Gou! Brother Gou! Don’t do it... If you hurt her, we won’t be able to explain it to Young Master Zhao!”

Gou San returned to his senses and glared at Meng Wanshu.

His chest rose and fell as he panted heavily. Licking away the blood on his lips, he said coldly, “You bitch... Just you wait! Once Young Master is finished with you, I’ll have my turn! Take her away!”

Meng Wanshu panicked. Despair filled her.

“Save me! I’m begging you all! Save me! I don’t know them! They’re in cahoots with that old lady! I only gave her something to eat! The old woman forced the bangle on me! Save me!”

Despite her desperate cries for help, no one pitied her enough to save her. Furthermore, no one was brave enough to offend the Zhao Clan.

No one reacted to her cries.

The group of men shoved their way through the crowd brazenly and headed toward the town. Although Meng Wanshu did her best to drag her feet on the ground, she was no match for their strength.

Suddenly, Meng Wanshu spotted someone she was very familiar with...

Her tense nerves instantly unraveled, and her grimace turned into a begging look. Tears poured from her eyes as she pursed her lips, trying her best not to make a sound.

The hearts of the bystanders ached at the sight of this beautiful girl crying so pitifully.

Standing ten zhang away was Li Guanqi, his expression incredibly dark. Rage coursed through him when he saw her bloody wrist and the finger marks on her cheek. His hands and legs tingled, and the surge of blood made the blood vessels in his eyes stand out.

Gou San frowned when he saw Li Guanqi. He took out the dagger from his sleeve and strode forward slowly. “Where did this beggar come from? Get lost. Mind your own fucking business.”

Li Guanqi’s lips trembled. He muttered to himself, “Grandfather, you can scold me later...”

He glanced at Meng Wanshu warmly, forcing a friendly smile.

“Wanshu, close your eyes. Open them only when I tell you to.”

Meng Wanshu nodded vigorously and slowly shut her eyes.

Li Guanqi slowly put the jars of wine down and cracked his knuckles. Seeing Meng Wanshu hurt made a wave of killing intent surge uncontrollably through him.

Although some people in Prosperity Village were annoying, many of them were genuinely kind to him. Meng Wanshu might have scolded him every day, but she always made sure he got a share of the delicious meals from her home.

Gou San looked at Li Guanqi with disgust and waved. “Cripple him!”

The stinging pain from his nose had made him irritable, and Li Guanqi’s timely appearance had given him an outlet for his rage.

Three men swarmed Li Guanqi.

But suddenly, a dull thud rang out.