Chapter 38: Then If You Marry Me, You Must Not Beat Me

In the room, Zhao Qiaofeng sat in a wooden tub, scrubbing her skin frantically.

"It’s clean now, stop scrubbing. You’ll break the skin," Ji Ci said, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Zhao Qiaofeng’s red, swollen neck.

Zhao Qiaofeng covered her face and wept bitterly, "Why didn't you just let me die?"

"You are wrong; it is not you who is at fault. It is they who deserved to die," Ji Ci comforted her.

"Sister-in-law, I am no longer clean. I am an impure woman now; no one will ever want me."

"Nonsense. Your body belongs to you alone; no one can defile it. Once the wounds heal, you will be whole again." Ji Ci held Zhao Qiaofeng gently. "This is not your fault. You do not need to be responsible for anyone else’s sins."

"Sister-in-law!" Zhao Qiaofeng sobbed loudly, clutching Ji Ci as if she were a lifeline.

In the study, Dongfang Jiebai had already begun his deployments, arranging for a compliant magistrate to take office.

"Tonight, leave no one alive in Magistrate Song’s estate."

"Understood."

Magistrate Song, unaware that his doom was imminent, was still entangled with his concubine in bed.

"My lord, Cheng'er did not return to the estate today." His wife knocked from outside the door.

"If he hasn't returned, go find him! What is the use of telling me?" Magistrate Song had only one son, a profligate he was constantly bailing out of trouble, and he was already weary of the boy.

"My lord~ I can give you another son."

"Good, good, good. Let’s make one now."

Inside, the room was filled with lust. Outside, the sky was painted with the glow of fire. The sounds of slaughter and cries for help filled the air, yet they did not reach the magistrate’s ears.

When the men in black kicked open the door, Magistrate Song was still busy with his concubine. A blade flashed, and Magistrate Song’s head rolled, landing on the face of his concubine.

"Ah!"

A moment later, the concubine’s head followed. The heads of Magistrate Song’s entire household were hung at the gates of the magistrate's office. A Northern Di scimitar was deliberately left at the scene.

Dongfang Jiebai, holding Ji Ci in her fox form, went to the magistrate’s estate. "Can you help dispose of the bodies?" he whispered.

"Of course, they happen to be useful to me." Ji Ci collected all forty-some corpses into her spatial storage, stacking them like a small mountain.

Dongfang Jiebai then led Ji Ci through the estate to loot it. They say a clean magistrate earns a hundred thousand silver taels in three years; the people of the Northern Territory lived in such misery, yet the magistrate’s estate rivaled the grandeur of noble houses in the capital. The treasury was walled with official silver, rooms were filled with silks and satins, and pearls were measured by the bushel while coral was hauled in by the cartload.

*Wow, so rich.*

*Wow, so shiny.*

Ji Ci gave a small wave of her hand, and everything disappeared into her space. Having earned another fortune, she felt wonderful.

As she was wagging her tail and preparing to leave, a small, snow-white puppy came wobbling toward them from the distance. Her eyes lit up; she trotted over, bit the puppy by the scruff of its neck, and ran back to Dongfang Jiebai. She set the puppy down and gestured to him.

*Squeak, squeak.*

'Bring this back for Feng'er. She needs someone to keep her company.'

"Fine." Dongfang Jiebai picked up the puppy and scooped up Ji Ci, flying back to their estate.

Zhao Qiaofeng had cried herself to sleep, with Wang Feng keeping watch. In her dreams, she was restless, plagued by nightmares.

"Cousin, save me!"

Zhao Qiaofeng woke with a start. Wang Feng immediately stirred from the table and poured her a cup of water. "Do not be afraid, Miss Feng'er. I am here guarding you."

Zhao Qiaofeng bit her lip, refusing the water, and turned to lie down again. She faced away from Wang Feng, sobbing silently.

"Miss Feng'er," Wang Feng said, setting down the cup and gently stroking her back. Zhao Qiaofeng’s body trembled, and she shifted further away. "Go to sleep, Miss Feng'er. I will check on you tomorrow."

As Wang Feng stood up to leave, Zhao Qiaofeng sat up, her eyes red. "Do you find me dirty too?"

The question tore at Wang Feng’s heart. He rushed back to her side. "I have never thought such a thing! It is my fault for not protecting you. I blame myself enough already; how could I ever blame you?"

Zhao Qiaofeng bowed her head, tears rolling down.

On the roof, Dongfang Jiebai hung there with a dog and a fox. The little fox and the puppy, like two gossip-mongers, leaned their heads together and peered down.

In the room, Wang Feng embraced Zhao Qiaofeng. "Miss Feng'er, you must take responsibility for me. You touched me and saw my body; you will have to marry me for the rest of your life. Don't try to deny it."

Zhao Qiaofeng broke into a tearful smile. "Why are you so eager for me to marry you?"

"Your cousin said he wasn't at ease marrying you off, so I shall marry you instead. That way he can rest easy. I have no dowry, so you mustn't bully me then." Wang Feng continued, his heart lightened as he saw her smile.

"I wouldn't bully you."

"Your cousin said you wield swords and spears and used to beat him when you were young. If you marry me, you cannot beat me; I am just a doctor with no strength to truss a chicken."

"I wouldn't hit you," Zhao Qiaofeng hurriedly explained.

Wang Feng smiled brightly, and she realized she had been teased. Pushing him away, she whispered, "You lecher."

"Miss Feng'er, in this life, you can only marry me."

"Mm..." Zhao Qiaofeng replied softly, a blush rising on her face.

Wang Feng quickly pulled her close. "May I kiss you?"

"Shameless."

Wang Feng leaned down and kissed her small lips, his hands wandering over her, and Zhao Qiaofeng let out a series of startled cries.

On the roof, Dongfang Jiebai’s face was as dark as the night itself. Was he, the elder brother, still here? Could they not be a little more discreet?

Wait, he was the one eavesdropping!

With a dog in one hand and a fox in the other, he dragged the two little creatures away and kicked a pebble against the window frame. The noise caused the two inside to spring apart.

'Why stop watching? They were just kissing, why won't you let me see?'

'Dongfang Jiebai, if Wang Feng takes advantage of the situation, your sister is finished!'

'Let me go.'

Ji Ci chirped and struggled in the air. The puppy did the same. Dongfang Jiebai brought Ji Ci back to her bedroom and tossed the puppy onto the floor.

"No more mischief. Go to sleep."

Ji Ci huffed, turning her backside toward him. She was unhappy; she hadn't gotten to see the end of the show.

Dongfang Jiebai soothed her gently: "When the moon is full, I will let you watch properly. Be good."

The next day, as dawn broke, the city—which should have been bustling—was shrouded in a deathly silence. The people gathered in small groups, whispering in terror. Magistrate Song’s entire household of over forty people had been slaughtered in a single night!

Before the gates of the magistrate's office hung more than forty bloody heads, their faces pale and eyes wide, as if still holding the terror of their final moments. The onlookers were chilled to the bone; some vomited on the spot, and the faint-hearted fainted.

The incident shook the provincial government, and the prefect sent a coroner to investigate that very day. The bailiffs searched the entire city, digging three feet deep and leaving no mouse hole or snake den unchecked, yet they could not find a single corpse. In the vast estate, only the forty-some heads were neatly arranged; the bodies seemed to have vanished into thin air.

The bailiffs found Northern Di scimitars in the estate, and this evidence was quickly presented to the prefect. The prefect stared at the blades, tapping his fingers on the desk. After a long moment, he gave a cold laugh. "Since it was the Northern Di, then hurry up and close the case."

He swung his vermilion brush, seemingly indifferent to the massacre. Having served as an official for many years, he knew the rules of the court all too well. Magistrate Song had died such a brutal death because he must have offended someone he shouldn't have.

The Northern Di? They were nothing more than a convenient cover.

"My lord is wise," the clerk bowed and reported. "It is just that during the autopsy, it was discovered that among the heads, that of Magistrate Song's only son is missing..."

"It matters not," the prefect interrupted, a cold smile tugging at his lips. "Even if that cowardly boy is alive, he would not dare to show his face. He is as spineless as his father."

As he spoke, he suddenly sighed, a flicker of greed in his eyes: "It is just a pity about that vast fortune, which has vanished overnight."

In this world, there is no such thing as a massacre without a reason. Blood debts, in the end, must be repaid in blood.