“Cough, cough, cough!”
The intruder outside had tried to blow a soporific through the bamboo tube, but Jiang Yueli had blocked it. The drug backfired and ended up hitting him in the face. Coughing violently, he hadn’t even recovered when the door swung open. There stood the “fat sheep” he had targeted—Jiang Yueli—wearing a cold, mocking expression. Before he could react, he collapsed to the ground.
Jiang Yueli walked over and delivered a precise kick to his chest. Seeing that he still hadn’t regained consciousness, she returned inside and poured a basin of cold water over him. The sharp-featured man instantly jolted awake, realizing he had been exposed. He tried to run, but a sudden, intense pain in his chest froze him in place, teeth gritted in agony.
“Mercy, sir! I know my mistake! I won’t dare do this again! Life has been hard, that’s why I stole! Please spare me!”
The man quickly kowtowed, realizing he couldn’t escape. Jiang Yueli, noticing that even the innkeeper hadn’t appeared despite the commotion, guessed that he might be in league with the man. With a decisive kick, she sent the thief tumbling down the stairs. The crash startled the few upstairs guests, as well as the waiter and the innkeeper, who hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
“Sir, what happened here? Why are you so angry?”
The innkeeper, a plump man of well-fed appearance, tried to play dumb, but Jiang Yueli cut him off.
“I had just gone to sleep when someone came to rob me. This inn isn’t a place for rest—it’s a den of the damned!”
Her words turned the upstairs guests pale with shock. They could hardly believe such a respectable inn was actually a black-market trap.
“You must be joking, sir! This is a legitimate business. I never intended anything illegal. The thief snuck in while I was napping. Rest assured, tomorrow I will personally turn him over to the authorities. Please, sir, accept our apologies and your stay tonight is on the house,” the innkeeper said, smoothly laying out his excuses.
Normally, such words might pacify an ordinary traveler. But Jiang Yueli was not ordinary. She had already restrained the intruder, showing the utmost respect for the law by not killing him on the spot.
“Is that so? You think a few words will solve it?” Jiang Yueli said, twisting the man’s arm until he screamed like a slaughtered pig.
“My arm… it’s broken!”
She folded her arms, surveying the scene with a calm, deadly aura. “Three seconds to confess who sent you and who else is involved, or I’ll remove another hand.”
Her cold smile sent shivers down his spine. Trembling, he opened his mouth, only to meet the innkeeper’s icy glare and quickly shut it.
“Three… two… one…”
The countdown rang like a death knell, torturing him further. Ignoring the pain, he kowtowed desperately.
“Please spare me, sir! I know my error! I won’t dare again!”
Jiang Yueli’s expression hardened. “Time’s up.”
Another wail echoed through the night.
The upstairs guests shivered at the sound.
The innkeeper clenched his fists, veins twitching in frustration. He knew that the man could not withstand Jiang Yueli’s pressure much longer and that the truth would inevitably come out.
Sure enough, the intruder quickly blurted, “Alright! I’ll confess! It was…” pointing at the innkeeper.
The innkeeper’s confident demeanor showed he had expected this. Jiang Yueli thought he would panic when exposed, but he remained composed.
“Young man, I suggest you mind your own business and leave immediately, or you won’t get out alive,” the innkeeper warned.
Jiang Yueli’s eyes narrowed. “Who do you think you’re talking to? You dared cross me? You’re courting death!” She delivered a swift, crushing kick to the innkeeper, knocking him into a table and then to the floor.
The innkeeper’s apprentice rushed to help him, but the fat innkeeper could only hack and cough up a mouthful of blood, his anger boiling over. “You dare defy me? Today you’ll know who rules Qianshui Town!”
He clapped his hands, and a dozen burly men stormed out from the back room, all looking fierce and imposing.
“Is that so? My specialty is breaking the heavens,” Jiang Yueli said with a sly grin, drawing her snake whip.
“Seize them! No mercy!”
The innkeeper bared his teeth, but Jiang Yueli’s whip lashed out like a living serpent, striking the men. Despite their size and toughness, they were only capable of basic moves—no match for Jiang Yueli’s skill.
In a few swift strikes, she neutralized them all. The innkeeper tried to flee but was ensnared by her whip and sent crashing to the ground.
“Ouch! Mercy! I know my mistake!” he cried, quickly switching to pleading. Words and pride were useless in front of survival.
Jiang Yueli sneered. “Not so tough now, are you? You call yourself the king of Qianshui Town?” She kicked him again, forcing him to kneel in submission.
She didn’t waste words with the others, merely having them write a confession before sending them off to rest. Other guests, seeing the commotion resolved, went back to sleep peacefully.
It was clear the innkeeper had operated brazenly, likely with backing, perhaps even some official protection. Jiang Yueli anticipated this, so she used her father’s private seal to write to the county magistrate of Qianshui Town, demanding strict action. With the letter in hand, she knew the magistrate would be forced to act and could no longer protect the criminals.