Chapter Sixty-One: Tumultuous Passions, Ecstasy Beyond Mortal Bounds

On the other side, Yun Ruoyi hurried back to the magistrate’s daughter's boudoir at incredible speed.

Magistrate Bai had three sons, but only one daughter, named Bai Shuzhen. Just fifteen years old, she was as beautiful as a flower and the apple of her father’s eye. Raised with care and affection by her parents and elder brothers, Bai Shuzhen was accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and could compose poetry and verse at will. Yet she had little enthusiasm for martial arts; indulged and spoiled by her family, she had learned only the basics of self-defense—a mere smattering of skill.

Bai Shuzhen’s ideal husband was a scholarly and talented gentleman, not a man who only wielded swords and spears. Thus, she remained unbetrothed, her beauty yet unclaimed.

Yun Ruoyi burst through the door and saw her cousin facing off against a man dressed in white.

Bai Shuzhen held a dagger, its tip pressed to her own throat. Her face was set with resolute defiance, determined to die rather than submit.

“How dare you, vile villain! Do you know where you are? How dare you act so brazenly here!” she shouted angrily, glaring at the man in white.

The lascivious intruder leered at her, his face twisted with a lustful grin. “Little beauty, why so fierce? Surely you don’t want to summon the Bai family’s guards and servants, do you? Even if nothing happens between us, your reputation would be ruined.”

He paused, then smiled even more salaciously. “Why not indulge in pleasure with me? Experience the delights of womanhood—I promise you’ll find it irresistible, beyond your wildest dreams!”

At his words, Bai Shuzhen’s face flushed with shame and fury, her features clouded with despair.

Just as she was about to end her own life to preserve her honor, a voice as cool and pure as an orchid in a secluded valley rang out.

“I’m afraid it’s you who will die tonight.”

Seeing the youth who had suddenly appeared in the room, the man in white’s expression changed at once.

With a swift movement, he darted behind Bai Shuzhen, seizing her by the throat with his right hand. The dagger was already in his grasp, leaving her defenseless. Bai Shuzhen’s limited skill was no match for this predator; he had been toying with her all along, savoring her fear.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her!” he snarled, the dagger’s point hovering a mere half-inch from her jugular. One push was all it would take.

Yun Ruoyi’s expression remained cold and detached, unmoved by the threat. “You’re welcome to try,” she replied icily.

Enraged and humiliated, the villain raised the dagger to strike Bai Shuzhen. In that instant, his pupils dilated in shock and his body collapsed backward.

With a dull thud, he fell to the floor, lifeless and gone to meet his maker.

Seeing that the scoundrel lay dead and silent, Bai Shuzhen patted her chest, her heart still racing. She quickly regained her composure and smiled as she approached Yun Ruoyi. “If not for your timely rescue, cousin, I would hardly have escaped with my life tonight. Had that fiend succeeded, not only would my honor have been lost, but my parents and brothers would have suffered shame and ridicule…”

To think that this delicate, beautiful youth was in fact a young woman disguised as a man. Such is the way of the world—one misstep leads to another, yin and yang in confusion.

Some people are mistakes from the very first meeting; no amount of effort can change that.

Yun Ruoyi smiled. “As long as you’re unharmed, cousin.”

Even knowing the youth before her was a woman in disguise, Bai Shuzhen was still momentarily dazed by her smile, staring at Yun Ruoyi in a daze.

Yun Ruoyi did not notice her cousin’s distraction. She stepped forward, hoisted the villain’s corpse onto her shoulder, and said, “What happened tonight is known only to the two of us. You needn’t worry about anyone else finding out. The scoundrel is dead by my hand; you can rest easy and pretend nothing ever happened.”

Bai Shuzhen nodded, returning a gentle, beautiful smile.

Yun Ruoyi carried the body out of the Bai residence to a secluded place. There, she set the corpse down, drew a bottle of corpse-dissolving liquid from her sleeve, and poured it over the body. Soon, the villain vanished from this world, leaving only a damp patch on the ground and a small, exquisite throwing knife.

That knife had been Yun Ruoyi’s weapon, striking the villain dead center in the brow—so swift and deadly that not a drop of blood was spilled. Though the body had dissolved completely, the knife remained untouched, proof of its extraordinary make.

Having completed her task, Yun Ruoyi gazed into the endless night and suddenly remembered Luo Changning, whom she had left incapacitated in a dark alley.

After a moment’s hesitation, lips pressed together, Yun Ruoyi returned to the alley and released Luo Changning from her paralysis.