“To stay alive, you actually sold yourself to those men! You’re not worthy of being part of the Chu family!”
“A shameless woman like you should be drowned in a pig cage!”
“That’s right! Beat this disgraceful woman to death!”
A group of women cursed loudly, glaring at Hua Zhiyun with vicious expressions as they hurled stones at her. They threw them with all the strength they had, each rock as large as they could manage.
Their goal was simple—to smash her head open and stone her to death.
The rocks came flying toward Hua Zhiyun.
Before they could even brush against her clothes—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The stones suddenly reversed direction and shot back toward the people who had thrown them.
The next instant—
“Ow!”
“Ah!”
“Hiss!”
Cries of pain, gasps, and screams filled the air.
Some women were struck in the head and collapsed unconscious.
Others were hit squarely in the chest, coughing up blood from the impact.
Some had their feet smashed and hopped around clutching them in agony.
Wherever they had intended to hit Hua Zhiyun, the attack rebounded onto the same part of their own bodies.
Their wails drew everyone’s attention.
Watching Hua Zhiyun standing there completely unharmed with her arms folded as though enjoying a show, Chu Linzhang quietly let out a sigh of relief.
He hadn’t expected that at his lowest, most helpless moment…
There would still be someone he cared about.
She wasn’t the original Hua Zhiyun.
She was another woman entirely.
“Hua Zhiyun, what are you doing?”
The men saw their wives being beaten and rushed over angrily.
One of them, Chu Shen, picked up a rock.
“Who gave you the nerve to bully your elders? They’re your aunts!”
“I did.”
Hua Zhiyun raised an eyebrow arrogantly.
“What? Want a beating too?”
Chu Shen’s face darkened.
“Bitch! If it weren’t for you bringing disaster to Prince Chu’s Manor, would we have ended up like this?”
His wife chimed in.
“Exactly! You’re a jinx!”
“You deserve to die!”
Chu Shen hurled the rock.
This time, Hua Zhiyun didn’t even need her rebound ability.
She caught the brick-sized stone effortlessly with one hand, tossed it up and down casually, then smiled.
“Finished?”
Chu Shen sneered confidently.
“Did I say anything wrong? Ever since a disaster like you married into the family, Prince Chu’s Manor has been exiled!”
His wife immediately echoed him.
“My husband is right! This shameless slut went into the woods with three guards earlier. She definitely did something filthy. She sold her body just to live a better life!”
Before Hua Zhiyun could respond, a deep voice rang out.
“Third Aunt.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“If you slander my wife again…”
“…don’t blame me for being rude.”
Hua Zhiyun turned around.
An old horse was pulling the prison cart toward them.
Chu Linzhang, whose face was so badly scarred that only his eyes remained recognizable, stared coldly at Madam Li.
Had this been before, Madam Li would have feared the master of Prince Chu’s Manor.
But now?
He was nothing but a cripple.
She rolled her eyes dismissively.
“You treat her like your wife.”
“But she doesn’t treat you like her husband.”
“I wasn’t the only one who saw it.”
“Everyone watched her sneak into the woods with those guards.”
To strengthen her claim, Madam Li turned to the others.
“Everyone saw it, didn’t they?”
The women immediately nodded.
“That’s right!”
“We all saw her!”
“She went in there!”
“She’s shameless!”
“Pah!”
Chu Linzhang looked toward Hua Zhiyun.
She merely smiled faintly.
None of the insults or slander seemed capable of hurting her.
She truly was different.
Hua Zhiyun smiled pleasantly.
“So…”
“You all saw it?”
“Yes!”
Madam Li answered loudly.
“We all saw it!”
Hua Zhiyun’s smile became both beautiful…
…and dangerous.
“Then I’ll reward each of you with an eyeball.”
Before anyone understood what she meant—
A gust of wind flashed past.
The next second—
Their right eyes exploded with pain.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The women instinctively shut their eyes.
Fresh blood streamed down their faces.
One after another, they clutched their injured eyes and screamed loud enough to shake the mountains.
“My eye!”
“What happened to my eye?!”
“It’s bleeding!”
“It hurts! It hurts so much!”
Everyone else stood frozen in horror.
Their faces turned deathly pale.
Only Chu Linzhang raised an eyebrow.
He watched Hua Zhiyun with unmistakable admiration.
The darkness that had weighed on him these past two days slowly disappeared from his eyes.
She took revenge openly and without hesitation.
If she could…
Why couldn’t he?
Hua Zhiyun sensed his gaze and turned toward him.
Her eyes became slightly cold.
Her delicate jaw tightened as if silently warning him.
Meeting Chu Linzhang’s smiling eyes, she secretly clicked her tongue.
How can he still smile?
If all four of my limbs had been crippled, I’d probably be drowning in despair.
Her eyes drifted toward his infected wounds.
Flies buzzed around the festering flesh.
Yet he acted as though he felt nothing.
She had to admit—
He was ruthless.
Unfortunately…
In the original novel, he still never made it to the exile destination.
Hua Zhiyun had the ability to save his life.
She could even restore his meridians.
But…
She wasn’t going to.
She simply felt like making him wait.
It was deliberate.
People only learned the value of salvation after being pushed to the edge of despair.
Since she had already decided he wouldn’t die, she wanted him to remember forever—
That it was Hua Zhiyun who had given him a future.
Her favor would never be cheap.
“Y-you vicious woman!”
Seeing his wife lose an eye, Chu Shen completely lost his mind and charged toward Hua Zhiyun.
A miserable scream followed.
The surgical scalpel flashed several times.
Swift.
Accurate.
Merciless.
She sliced through the tendons in both his wrists and ankles.
With his meridians severed, all strength left his body.
Chu Shen collapsed helplessly to the ground as blood soaked the earth.
Everyone else stumbled backward in terror.
They looked at Hua Zhiyun as though she were a demon.
She casually brushed back her slightly messy hair.
“What were you all saying just now?”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“Want to repeat it?”
“I don’t mind cutting out your tongues and feeding them to the dogs.”
She meant every word.
Everyone knew it.
The crowd hurriedly covered their mouths and shook their heads frantically.
No one wanted to lose their tongue.
As for those who had lost an eye…
None of them dared seek revenge.
Whenever Hua Zhiyun glanced at them, they had the terrifying feeling she’d happily take the other eye as well.
One after another, they fled in panic.
No one dared provoke her again.
The Chu family didn’t dare.
The guards, however, still could.
Chu Shen, now being carried away after having all four limbs crippled, had someone take him to the guard in charge.
He secretly pulled out a hundred-tael banknote.
“Do you have poison?”
“Put it in that vicious woman’s food.”
“Kill her.”
Chen Dali’s eyes lit up at the sight of the money.
Just as he reached out—
Someone coughed behind him.
Chen Dali’s scalp tingled.
He immediately spun around with a flattering smile and declared righteously,
“Princess Consort! You came at the perfect time!”
“This villain actually tried to bribe me into poisoning you!”
The moment Hua Zhiyun appeared, Chu Shen’s expression became priceless.
She took the banknote, smiled, and said,
“A hundred taels in one go.”
“Looks like the confiscation of your property wasn’t thorough enough.”
She turned to Chen Dali.
“What do you think we should do?”
He understood instantly.
“I’ll search him right away.”
Hua Zhiyun nodded approvingly.
She folded the banknote, slipped it into her sleeve—
Actually storing it inside her space.
Chu Shen nearly popped his eyes out in fury.
“So it’s true!”
“You’re sleeping with them!”
“You slut—”
A scream interrupted him.
Everyone turned.
There, lying in the middle of the road…
Was Chu Shen.
Completely naked.
His pale bare buttocks were on full display.
The women shrieked and covered their eyes.
The men looked equally horrified, as though their eyes had been spiritually contaminated.
Chu Wei hurried over, intending to remove his own clothes and cover his younger brother.
Hua Zhiyun’s cool voice sounded behind him.
“Whoever covers him…”
“…will end up exactly like him.”
“Second Uncle…”
“If you don’t mind everyone admiring your naked body instead…”
“…I certainly don’t.”
She had survived an apocalypse where humanity had collapsed and all order had vanished.
What ugly scene hadn’t she seen before?
Compared to that…
These people weren’t even enough to entertain her.
With so many fools eager to throw themselves at her…
The road of exile was bound to be anything but boring.
Unable to save her husband, Madam Li turned furiously toward Chu Linzhang.
“Chu Linzhang!”
“Aren’t you going to control your woman?”
“You’re just going to let her humiliate your Third Uncle like this?”
Chu Linzhang looked at Madam Li with open contempt.
“She did nothing wrong.”
“Why would I stop her?”
“If you feel so sorry for Third Uncle…”
“…then go cover him yourself.”
“Good fortune and hardship should be shared equally, shouldn’t they?”
Madam Li was speechless.
She had only tried to force him because she didn’t want to do it herself.
This husband and wife…
They’d both gone completely mad.