Qi Yue stopped obediently, turning around, showing neither fear nor alarm.

“Alright, I know this sounds rather horrific,” she said, holding her hands up in front of her, “but, look…”

She smiled as she said this.

“Everyone sees that my skills are astonishing, almost beyond human capability,” she stated. “In truth, I am no different from anyone else. Just as the scholar in that old tale, The Oil Peddler, said, it is nothing more than practiced skill—wu ta, wei shou shu er. These dazzling techniques I possess were honed through unsavory practice.”

Chang Yuncheng simply watched her, having made no move after tossing the book aside.

“...Performing incisions and eviscerations—I certainly didn’t learn those at birth. It was all practice, practice, practice. It’s just like your warfare: know your enemy and know yourself. I treat illness the same way. First, I must know and be intimately familiar with the body’s structure. And how does one become familiar? By seeing it firsthand.” Qi Yue continued speaking, “So, for Yan’er’s surgery this time, I absolutely needed to practice.”

Chang Yuncheng looked at her and let out a cold sneer.

“Fine, no need for the sneer. I understand. For men like you, this kind of reality is exceedingly difficult to accept or tolerate,” Qi Yue said, spreading her hands. “You don’t need to say anything; I know I was in the wrong, and there’s nothing to explain. I’ll move out immediately. If that’s still not enough, then what I mentioned about a formal separation…”

As she spoke, Chang Yuncheng slammed his hand down on the table.

“Shut up,” he roared.

Qi Yue obediently fell silent.

Chang Yuncheng stared at her, his expression grim.

Silence descended upon the room.

“It shouldn’t necessitate involving the magistrate…” Qi Yue couldn’t help but speak again.

Chang Yuncheng slammed the table again.

“Hey, that’s enough now,” Qi Yue retorted, raising an eyebrow this time. “Different professions require different knowledge…”

Chang Yuncheng stood up, his face dark, and walked toward her. Qi Yue turned and fled.

“Violence is unbecoming of a gentleman…” she shouted.

She hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Chang Yuncheng seized her.

“If you lay a hand on me, I won’t be polite!” Qi Yue yelled, but the words were barely out when her body lifted into the air, spinning her head. Chang Yuncheng held her firmly tucked under one arm.

She let out a startled cry, and the next moment she was being carried back toward the Luohan couch and unceremoniously dumped onto the bed, face down.

Before she could recover from the dizziness, a heavy slap landed squarely on her backside, sending the just-rising Qi Yue sprawling back onto the bedding.

If this were in the army, his large fists would have already been flying wildly, striking anywhere and everywhere.

Chang Yuncheng held his hand up, surveying the area before finally settling it on her bottom. There was ample flesh there; a few smacks wouldn't cause permanent damage.

“Tell me, why did you lie!” he demanded, striking twice more with force.

“I didn’t lie, it’s the truth… Ah… Chang Yuncheng, you bastard! Hit me again! Try hitting me again! Ah! You really hit me!”

Aru, standing outside the door, heard Qi Yue’s genuine cries coming from inside. It was the first time Aru had ever heard this woman weep. She was anxious to rush in, but Qiu Xiang tightly held her back, shaking her head in warning.

The crying gradually subsided.

“Are you done crying?” Chang Yuncheng’s voice boomed from above her head.

Qi Yue refused to get up, instead yanking the quilt over her head.

Chang Yuncheng snatched the quilt away.

“Speak if you’re done crying!” he roared.

“Speak about what?” Qi Yue flipped over and sat up, only to slump sideways again due to the stinging pain in her rear. “What I have to say is what it is. Do whatever you want!”

“You dare justify lying to me?” Chang Yuncheng glared at her and shouted.

“I… I have justification,” Qi Yue huffed.

Chang Yuncheng raised his hand. Qi Yue clutched the quilt and tried to evade, but she couldn't escape his reach. Chang Yuncheng’s long arm snatched her up and brought her forward.

“You lied to me? Why did you lie to me?” he demanded again.

“If I hadn’t lied, would you have let me go?” Qi Yue shot back, eyes wide.

“Why wouldn’t I let you go?” Chang Yuncheng looked at her, his jaw tight as he spoke.

Huh? Qi Yue paused, stunned.

“Because… because, that… that thing is terrifying,” she stammered out.

“You think I’m a coward? That I was scared off by you playing with a corpse?..” Chang Yuncheng asked with a cold sneer.

Playing? How could that be called playing…

Uh… what he meant was…

“You… aren’t afraid?” Qi Yue looked at him, testing the waters.

“You weren’t afraid, do you think I’m less courageous than you, a woman?” Chang Yuncheng shook her slightly.

Qi Yue, already dizzy from the shaking, quickly grasped his arm.

“Stop shaking, stop shaking, I’m dizzy,” she said, looking at him again. “How could you not be afraid? Do you know what I was doing? Did you see it with your own eyes?”

Chang Yuncheng looked at her, recalling what he had seen and heard with his own eyes and ears, and felt a suffocating rage well up in his chest.

“I saw it with my own eyes. You were smiling so happily at that man,” he ground out, enunciating every syllable.

Huh?

Qi Yue stared at him, eyes wide. Had the topic shifted? Were they even discussing the same thing?

“Did you lie to go practice for real, or did you go out flirting with some man?” Chang Yuncheng roared again. “That coffin-dweller, you finally met him, didn’t you? You were thrilled, weren’t you? When did you meet him? Have you known him for a long time?”

The yelling made Qi Yue’s ears ring, and her already spinning mind became more confused.

“Stop shaking, stop shaking, let me think,” she said, embracing Chang Yuncheng’s arm.

“Speak,” Chang Yuncheng commanded with a glare.

Qi Yue swallowed, looking at Chang Yuncheng.

“Are… are you angry because I didn’t tell you the truth? Not because I went to practice on a corpse?” she asked.

“Nonsense,” Chang Yuncheng replied, his face grim.

“Really?” Qi Yue stared at him, disbelieving.

“What’s false about that! You women always think you’re too clever… Hey…” Chang Yuncheng scoffed, but the laugh choked off halfway.

Because the woman before him suddenly sprang up and threw herself onto him.

It was so sudden that he nearly lost his footing.

The woman’s arms wrapped around his neck, hanging onto him entirely, like a monkey clinging to a tree…

Chang Yuncheng felt his entire body lock up, his tongue tied. His outstretched arms remained frozen in their original position.

What is this wretched woman trying to pull now…

“Chang Yuncheng, I like you.”

The woman whispered close to his ear, with a low, teasing laugh.

Chang Yuncheng’s mind went blank.

It’s happening again…

That feeling of almost dying returned…

His stiff arms laboriously moved, reaching out to grip the woman’s shoulders.

“…Stop… stop that cheap trick… it’s useless… you better tell me clearly what’s going on with you and that despicable man…” he stammered, pulling slightly on the woman.

The woman burst into laughter, wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing closer, entwining him tightly like a vine.

Chang Yuncheng felt his throat tighten, and heat seemed to rise from his head.

Her soft body pressed so close, the warm breath from her laughter brushing against his ear and neck…

Chang Yuncheng shuddered violently.

His body immediately reacted; it grew rigid, especially one particular part that felt hard enough to explode.

No, these tricks won’t work on him!

Chang Yuncheng bit down hard on his tongue. The sharp pain momentarily cooled his feverish mind.

“Speak, explain clearly, when did you find that despicable man?” he demanded, his eyes almost bloodshot, as he strained to pull the octopus-like woman away from him slightly. “Did you start thinking of him the moment I mentioned it? Did you find that man right after that?”

He still remembered vividly: back when this wretched woman refused to speak to him, she had only become animated and excited when hearing about the coffin-dweller.

Silently, he had assumed she had forgotten, but unexpectedly, she had tracked him down!

And kept it hidden from him!

And even laughed! Laughed like that!

And what about that comment: ‘See how much I’m worth!’

I think you’re worth a fortune!

What do you want? What do you mean?

Qi Yue looked at him, laughed loudly again, offering no answer. She slipped free of his grasp and lunged forward again, tightly hugging the man’s neck.

“You idiot!” she exclaimed, tilting her head back with laughter. “You utter fool!”

Chang Yuncheng, captured in her embrace once more, felt his hard-won restraint instantly vanish into smoke.

That… that—let’s deal with the urgent matter first!

He guided Qi Yue by the arm toward the interior, pulling the woman into a fierce embrace. The force was so immense that he felt he could hear every bone in her body creak, as if he wished to embed her into his own body, to become one.

Qi Yue choked, her laughter cut off by the sudden constriction.

“Go easy!” she managed to cry out.

That phrase did more harm than good; upon hearing ‘gently,’ Chang Yuncheng was immediately reminded of the almost explicit performance he’d witnessed yesterday between Fan Yilin and that courtesan…

“No…” Qi Yue tried to continue, but the remaining words—don’t squeeze me so hard—were stifled by the man’s suddenly increased pressure.

No meant yes…

Fire seemed to blaze in Chang Yuncheng’s eyes. Feeling his entire body roaring with need, he reached up, turned the woman’s head, his own face flushed, and savagely kissed her breathlessly.

Qi Yue felt as if she were being roasted. The man felt intensely hot, as if on fire, kissing, sucking, and devouring her wildly and roughly.

“Listen to me…” she managed to snatch a brief breath, shouting loudly, but her mouth was quickly sealed again, reducing her words to muffled sounds. By the end, whether from lack of oxygen or something else, Qi Yue drifted, lost in sensation.

When she felt a sudden coolness on her body, she realized she had been placed on the bed. The man, panting heavily, was roughly tearing open her simple, short tunic. Her red dudou undergarment was haphazardly pushed aside, revealing two trembling, perfect mounds of flesh.

Pink and pale, capped with a spot of crimson, they were nearly blinding in the morning light.

“Chang Yuncheng!” Qi Yue shrieked, struggling fiercely to sit up, her hands reaching out to shield the treasures that should never be revealed to anyone.

Calling out the man’s name at this moment was like a war horn on the battlefield. Chang Yuncheng’s blood surged; hesitating no longer, his eyes red, he lunged forward, cupping the deliciousness in both hands and commencing a frantic feast.

This damned, cursed body—Qi Yue trembled, her limbs weakening. Her hands, meant to push the man away, involuntarily gripped his head, her fingers digging into his hair bun amidst low moans.

Chang Yuncheng, stimulated further by the vigorous feasting, let out a low growl. He reached downward, but the angle made it difficult to pull down his trousers. He could only push his large hand inside over the fabric.

“Listen to me!” Qi Yue cried out again, trembling fiercely. “Don’t…”

Don’t meant do…

Patience, perseverance, gentleness…

Chang Yuncheng’s taut muscles trembled with tension. Suppressing the boiling bloodlust, he deliberately slowed his movements.

His touch became softer, and Qi Yue’s tension eased slightly, her body growing more pliant.

“No, listen to me, now is not the time…” the woman said again in a trembling, soft voice.

Not the time meant it is time…

Chang Yuncheng couldn't help but shiver. His lips traced the soft skin, moving from her chest downwards, while his other hand had already found the most secret place.

There, the expanse was thick with soft hair, and his touch met a slick dampness.

“No, I just… I just finished my cycle!” Qi Yue shrieked.

Chang Yuncheng, who had been kneeling up and was about to undo his trousers without bothering with his shirt, froze abruptly.

Finished her cycle?

He raised his hand and saw a streak of bright red on his finger.

She was dead…