Li Hao strongly suspected that Lin Shiyin couldn't see her own toes when she looked down.
After all, he'd experienced it firsthand. He could clearly feel that they were the real deal.
"As long as you can save Xiaoyun, Shiyin is willing to offer herself to you and serve you, despite being a fallen woman." Lin Shiyin gritted her teeth and made a painful decision.
If her cousin were here, why would she have to humiliate herself like this?
"Really?" Li Hao perked up.
"Really." Lin Shiyin spoke with tears in her eyes.
"Really?" Li Hao asked again to make sure he hadn't misheard.
"Really. Please save Xiaoyun, and I'll agree to anything you ask." Lin Shiyin said through her pain.
What was wrong with this man? Didn't he just want to have her? Why was he still beating around the bush?
Li Hao: Tell me, whose thing doesn't beat around the bush?
"Li Hao, don't come any closer, or I'll kill this kid!" Yun Zhonghe protested.
Yun Zhonghe was genuinely aggrieved. He and Five Poisons Child had worked themselves to the bone, yet they'd gotten nothing out of it.
That Li Hao was young, but he had no sense of honor. He didn't understand the importance of taking turns. He only wanted to keep everything for himself—eat the meat and leave not even a drop of soup for anyone else.
And Lin Shiyin was ridiculous too. Wasn't Li Hao just a little handsome? What use was being handsome in this world? Ability was what mattered. Get it?
He and Five Poisons Child were two people. However you looked at it, they were better than Li Hao. Quantity beat quality.
And now she was offering herself to him. She just liked his looks and his youth, and wanted to take advantage of a young man.
Yun Zhonghe was full of grievances, but had nowhere to vent them, because he'd realized he truly couldn't beat Li Hao. He and Five Poisons Child had each had their specialty: one was skilled in lightness skills, the other in poison. When they fought together, their chances of winning were fifty-fifty.
But Li Hao was different. Damn it, he was good with a sword, and people who were good with swords were good at killing.
"I'm not coming closer. Just let him go," Li Hao said with a wave of his hand. Lin Shiyin had asked him to save the boy, not to kill Yun Zhonghe.
If he was going to kill Yun Zhonghe, one time wouldn't be enough. He'd have to charge extra. At least three times—no, at least five.
The later times didn't count for as much, unless they unlocked some new activities, like gymnastics, yoga, or swimming.
Li Hao looked at Lin Shiyin, nearly drooling.
If this woman fell into a river, she probably wouldn't sink. She had her own flotation device!
"No. You have to go farther away. I don't trust you." Yun Zhonghe tightened his grip, giving Li Hao no chance to save the boy.
"Don't push your luck. You—"
"Please, Young Master, step back a little." Lin Shiyin clung to Li Hao, her voice choked with tears, and held him back from moving forward. Yun Zhonghe's emotions were unstable. She was afraid that if Li Hao kept provoking him, he would kill the hostage.
What a thrill. What exactly was thrilling, only Li Hao knew.
"Back up. Farther. A little farther—" Yun Zhonghe finally stopped urging him once Li Hao was two hundred meters away.
Li Hao's face had gone livid. He felt humiliated that Yun Zhonghe actually thought he couldn't catch up from two hundred meters away.
To put it bluntly, I could give you a whole day's head start, and you still wouldn't get out of Jiangnan.
Lin Shiyin beside him was red-faced. She looked at Yun Zhonghe pleadingly, hoping he would keep his word and spare Xiaoyun.
Otherwise, she could only sever her own heart meridian to avoid being disgraced.
She had just used her entire body weight to push Li Hao back. From a distance, the two of them looked as if they were embracing passionately.
And Li Hao's hands had been wandering, grabbing her here and there and calling it interest.
"Little brat, don't blame your Grandpa Yun for being ruthless. Blame your mother for being a slut who refused to give herself to me. When you get down there, if the King of Hell asks, tell him the one who killed you was the utterly wicked Yun Zhonghe."
Yun Zhonghe hardened his heart and flung Long Xiaoyun toward the deep pit beside the road. Just before letting go, he struck Long Xiaoyun in the chest.
Then Yun Zhonghe ran off at the fastest speed of his life. He swore that once he got back, he'd never come to Jiangnan again. Jiangnan was far too dangerous.
"Ah..." Long Xiaoyun cried out, spitting up a mouthful of blood as he shot toward the deep pit beside the road like a cannonball.
"Xiaoyun..." Lin Shiyin let out a scream when she saw what happened, then fainted dramatically.
Li Hao had no choice but to abandon his pursuit of Yun Zhonghe. He hurriedly caught Lin Shiyin and flew toward Long Xiaoyun as fast as he could.
Just as Long Xiaoyun was about to hit the bottom of the pit, Li Hao arrived and caught him. After breaking his fall, he set the mother and son down on the grass at the bottom.
"Xiaoyun..." Lin Shiyin came around at just the right moment, then stroked Long Xiaoyun's face and burst into tears.
Long Xiaoyun's face was covered in blood. He was on the verge of death, breathing in but barely breathing out, and could die at any moment.
"Four ribs are broken. If he didn't have a chest plate, I'm afraid..." Li Hao didn't finish. He simply put a Lesser Rejuvenation Pill in Long Xiaoyun's mouth to keep him alive.
Yun Zhonghe had been ruthless. He'd probably put all his strength into that last blow. Otherwise, Long Xiaoyun wouldn't have been hurt this badly even with the chest plate.
"Please, Young Master, save Xiaoyun..." Lin Shiyin turned and clung to Li Hao's leg.
"There's a way to save him. Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom can cure him. It's just that..."
"Please save Xiaoyun, Young Master. We'll be sure to repay you. My husband is Long Xiaoyun, the master of Xingyun Manor. My cousin..." Li Bai hadn't finished speaking before Lin Shiyin interrupted him.
"Hmph. What does his father amount to? Even if the Martial World Emperor came to ask me to save someone, it would depend on my mood."
"You know Dragon Guard Manor's Iron Gallantry Divine Marquis Zhu Wushi, right? His consort Suxin was half-dead too. Zhu Wushi later gave her a Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom to keep her alive. To wake Suxin, he came to me and offered me whatever I wanted. I couldn't even be bothered with him." Li Hao immediately cut Lin Shiyin off.
It wasn't that he wouldn't save Long Xiaoyun. He was worried Lin Shiyin would reveal that her cousin was Li Xunhuan. Then he wouldn't be able to make a move on her.
After all, Li Xunhuan was his second brother. If he later found out that Li Hao had known Lin Shiyin was his cousin and still threatened her, he would probably turn against him.
"What am I supposed to do, then?" Lin Shiyin sank to the ground, her eyes blank.
"Madam, you understand how I feel. As long as you..." When speaking to others, only say three-tenths, so no one has to feel awkward.
Li Hao gently lifted Lin Shiyin's smooth, fair chin. His meaning was clear: he wanted her.
"No. Please, Young Master, ask for something else. Shiyin is a married woman. If I do this, how will I face him afterward?" Lin Shiyin refused without a moment's hesitation.
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