Crack—!
A silver basin brimming with water spilled across the floor as Sang Nian bolted for the door, yelling over her shoulder, “Where is Xie Chenzhou right now?!”
Chun’er blinked in sheer bewilderment, clutching a wooden comb as she hurried after her. “My lady, what is wrong with you?”
What is wrong with me?
I am about to die.
Sang Nian desperately wished the world would just end this instant. “Why on earth did my brother beat Xie Chenzhou?”
“He’s nothing more than a runaway slave!” Chun’er said, her voice laced with indignation. “For you to take a fancy to him was the blessing of a lifetime. The fact that he actually dared to put on a long face and give you attitude—didn’t he deserve a thrashing?”
She puffed up with grievance. “Besides, after the way he put you through the wringer last night, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out he was doing it out of spite. Of course he needs to be taught a lesson.”
Sang Nian’s footsteps hitched. “…Actually, when you think about it, this wasn’t really his fault.”
“My lady, please don’t make excuses for him,” Chun’er insisted. “We all know the truth.”
Sang Nian: “…”
No, you don’t understand at all!
Spring was at its absolute peak.
The bitter chill of winter had completely faded, leaving a breeze soft as silk that drifted gently across the branches, shaking loose a few delicate petals of pear blossoms.
Sang Yunling adored pear blossoms, so the City Lord had planted an entire courtyard with them—every single one a rare and precious variety. Right now, they were in full bloom, piled high upon the boughs like drifts of white snow.
A few droplets of crimson splashed against the blossoms, tracing two cinnabar-like tear tracks across the pure white petals.
The sun was briefly swallowed by a thick bank of clouds, casting a gloomy, leaden light over the courtyard where everything seemed bathed in cold tones.
Except for one person, draped entirely in a shocking, glaring red.
His wrists were bound and he was suspended from a willow tree, the coarse hemp ropes biting deep into his flesh. Countless lash marks crisscrossed his body, his thin robes torn to shreds, while fresh droplets of blood continuously leaked from his wounds.
“How dare you soil the young mistress’s favorite flowers?” the executioner barked in fury. With a sharp crack that tore through the air, his long whip lashed downward.
Arriving in a frantic rush, Sang Nian caught sight of the scene, her heart leaping straight into her throat. She screamed at the top of her lungs, “Stop right there!”
Hearing her voice, the guards hastily reined in their blows and turned to bow respectfully.
Panting so hard she could barely catch her breath, Sang Nian stammered, “Take… take him down.”
The men exchanged hesitant glances. “The City Lord gave strict orders…”
“I said,” Sang Nian raised her voice, “take him down.”
Ultimately, none of them dared to defy her. In a flurry of panic, they scrambled forward to lower Xie Chenzhou to the ground.
He hit the dirt with a heavy thud, violently coughing up two mouthfuls of blood.
Struggling to lift his head, he cast a gaze toward Sang Nian. A few strands of pitch-black hair, soaked through with either blood or cold sweat, clung to the sides of his pale face. His skin was stark white, and the depths of his eyes held not a single flicker of light—still and dead as a frozen pool.
As their eyes met, Sang Nian felt a sharp jolt in her chest.
Before she had time to overthink it, she moved to check his injuries, but Chun’er grabbed her by the wrist and urged, “My lady, don’t go near him. You’ll only soil your eyes. Besides, his wounds are all bloody and gruesome—what if he frightens you?”
Pulling her arm free, Sang Nian squatted down to help Xie Chenzhou up, only to find not a single inch of unblemished skin to hold onto.
Flayed open and torn to pieces—that was the only way to describe it.
Remembering something, she swiftly dug out the medicinal pills she had stashed in her storage pouch.
“Open your mouth.”
Xie Chenzhou turned his face away, a clear gesture of refusal.
She quickly explained, “This isn’t poison. It’s medicine to heal your wounds.”
Still, he refused to budge.
Without missing a beat, Sang Nian pried his jaw open and shoved the pill straight inside.
The medicine melted the moment it touched his tongue, robbing him of any chance to spit it back out.
“Do you think I want to save you?” she snapped, putting on a fierce front. “If it weren’t for the fact that you’ve got decent looks and it would be a waste for you to die, I wouldn’t bother wasting my time.”
To her utter surprise, Xie Chenzhou didn’t show a shred of anger.
Instead, he actually started to laugh.
He laughed so hard he began coughing up more blood.
Sang Nian: “…Xie Chenzhou, stop laughing. You’re creeping me out.”
Abruptly, his thin lips parted, whispering words so faint they were practically inaudible.
She hurriedly leaned in closer to catch them.
What he said was—
“It’s just a pity… no one in this world can kill me.”
Even on the brink of death, his tongue was still as sharp as ever.
A heavy wave of guilt washed over Sang Nian.
“I didn’t know my brother was going to do this… We were in the wrong here. Just focus on recovering for now, and we can talk about everything else after you’re healed.”
By the time she finished speaking, she realized Xie Chenzhou had already lost consciousness at some point.
With no other choice, she instructed Chun’er, “Take him away. Use the finest medicine—he absolutely cannot be allowed to die.”
Chun’er agreed with a reluctant grimace.
Just as Sang Nian turned to leave with them, a guard stepped forward to block her path—
“My lady, the City Lord, asks that you come see him.”
Sang Nian nodded, turning to make her way toward the main courtyard’s study.
Transforming into a tiny parrot, Liuli fluttered down to land on her shoulder, letting out a yawn before boasting smugly, “Well? Isn’t this new mission a piece of cake?”
“Oh, absolutely. Utterly effortless,” Sang Nian replied with a sweet smile.
The moment she finished speaking, she caught the bird off guard, snatching it into her palm and giving it a ruthless, vigorous squeeze.
Liuli shrieked in absolute terror, “Help! Murder! Someone’s killing a defenseless little chick! Somebody is trying to murder a brilliant, adorable, drop-dead gorgeous little bird!!!”
The guard walking ahead glanced back repeatedly. Pinching Liuli’s tail feathers, Sang Nian warned, “Shut your trap, or I’ll pluck every single one of these out right now.”
Liuli instantly clamped its beak shut, while loudly lodging a formal complaint through the system:
“You can’t do this! This is workplace harassment! I’m reporting this to the Main God! You just wait until you’re reassigned to dig coal!”
“Minus one hundred and twenty thousand favorability points,” Sang Nian sneered. “Is this what you meant last night when you promised there wouldn’t be any difficulty at all?”
Liuli choked for a second. “O—One hundred and twenty thousand is, well… practically nothing, right?”
Sang Nian reached for its tail feathers again.
Liuli dropped to its digital knees with fluid grace:
“I’m sorry.”
Only then did Sang Nian release her grip. Thinking of her utterly bleak future, she couldn’t help letting out a deflated sigh.
“By the way, how did you know his blood would be useful to you?” the system asked cautiously.
Sang Nian poked at the round, rosy blush marks on its cheeks.
“Isn’t this a trope that’s been written to death in web novels?”
“Whenever a character has a special constitution, their blood is guaranteed to have all sorts of bizarre settings. Up in the heavens, it can banish demons and subdue monsters; down on earth, it wards off evil and spirits. When you’re bored, it doubles as a walking medical kit. You can basically use it for anything.”
Liuli had a sudden flash of enlightenment: “Oh, right!”
As they were talking, they reached the study.
Just as Sang Nian raised her hand to knock, a man’s voice drifted from inside:
“Niannian is here?”
This was the original host’s childhood nickname, identical to Sang Nian’s current name.
Sang Nian replied, “It’s me.”
A flurry of hurried footsteps echoed, and the door swung wide open.
A tall, broad-shouldered young man appeared before her, draped in a luxurious purple brocade robe. His features were deep-set and striking, and his aura carried a solemn, sharp intensity that made people hesitant to approach.
The next second, his gaze landed on Sang Nian, and his expression instantly softened into a gentle warmth.
There was even a trace of subtle, almost imperceptible ingratiation.
“Come on in.”
Keeping her head down, Sang Nian stepped into the study.
Noticing the parrot hopping about on her shoulder, he smiled and asked, “When did you start keeping a pet bird?”
Sang Nian gave a vague reply, “Just these last couple of days. I thought it was cute, so I kept it.”
“In a couple of days, I’ll have the disciples from the Beast Taming Sect come and awaken its spiritual intelligence so it can cultivate,” he said. “That way, it can keep you company for a very, very long time.”
Fearing someone might notice anything amiss, Sang Nian quickly declined, “There’s no need for that. It was just a whim.”
A flash of disappointment crossed the City Lord’s face, but he quickly recovered his eager attentiveness. “There’s some sweet soup on the table that you like.”
He watched her with big, hopeful eyes. Unable to bear his gaze any longer, Sang Nian picked up the bowl, took a symbolic sip, and finding it surprisingly delicious, took another.
The City Lord looked utterly flattered.
Watching this unfold, Sang Nian couldn’t help a silent sigh in her heart.
In truth, the relationship between the original host and him had never been particularly good.
Their mother had died of dystocia during childbirth, and the original host was born so frail she should have died as an infant. It was her older brother, the City Lord, who refused to give up, forcefully keeping her alive by feeding her countless rare treasures and miraculous elixirs until she grew up.
Yet, her body remained chronically plagued by illness, leaving her unsure of whether she might lose her life on any given day.
She resented her mother for bringing her into the world, and hated her brother even more for making her endure so many years of suffering. As a result, she had always deliberately distanced herself from him, never giving him a kind look.
Guilt-ridden, the City Lord felt he owed her everything, making him increasingly submissive to her every whim.
Even when she threw a tantrum insisting on marrying Xie Chenzhou—
A man viewed by everyone else as nothing more than a runaway slave—
No matter how dissatisfied he was, he had ultimately agreed.
Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Sang Nian stirred the soup in her bowl. A gentle clink rang out as her jade spoon tapped against the porcelain rim.
“Did big brother call me here because you have something to tell me?”
The City Lord opened his mouth to speak, but his expression suddenly shifted. He reached out and grabbed the edge of her left sleeve.
“Where did this blood come from? Are you hurt?”
Glancing down, Sang Nian answered honestly, “It’s Xie Chenzhou’s.”
Misinterpreting her words, the City Lord released her sleeve and furrowed his brows deeply.
“Are you blaming big brother for having someone beat him?”
Sang Nian gave a noncommittal nod.
“Big brother is only doing this for your own good. That kid Xie Chenzhou looks like the type who won’t submit easily.”
Earnestly trying to talk some sense into her, the City Lord advised, “Listen to big brother’s advice: a man only learns when he’s given a good beating. Blindly pampering and accommodating them is completely useless.”
Sang Nian: “…”
Such an unadorned, rustic philosophy—it left one completely devoid of arguments to counter it.