Have you learned your lesson?

Sun Wu flipped through the ledger under the oil lamp, his joy growing with every page.

"This scholar surnamed Chen actually has some talent. This story he wrote... oh my, ten taels, thirty taels, fifty taels..."

As his joy mounted, his expression gradually turned grim: "Such a large sum of money, one-tenth of the profit, is more than my ten months' salary. How can he, Chen, a poor, pedantic scholar, deserve this?

I worked hard to plan for this book, flattering him to the employer, and racking my brains to promote it in the Prefectural City, yet he reaps the rewards, only needing to write a few words to get so much money.

This Chen fellow is simply shameless!"

Thinking of this, Sun Wu slammed the ledger in his hand heavily. After slamming it, he picked it up again and shoved it into the bottom shelf of the bookshelf next to him.

Then Sun Wu took a blank booklet, picked up his brush, and began to write with great flourish.

"Thirteenth day, printed one thousand copies, sold one hundred, the rest are unsalable."

"Twenty-first day, the bookshop in the Prefectural City suffered from dampness, all books were ruined by moisture, reprinted one thousand copies..."

"Losses calculated at three hundred and twelve taels..."

The more Sun Wu wrote, the happier he became, and the more the frustration in his heart was relieved.

"A mere pedant, giving him three taels of writing fee is already my mercy. Hmph! Not making him pay back three hundred taels is our employer's kindness.

I don't believe he dares to complain to the employer!

Not only will he not dare to complain, but with this three taels of writing fee, he'll have to obediently write a sequel for me!"

His voice fell crisply, and Sun Wu chuckled under the candlelight.

The night was drizzly, and from afar, it seemed to carry the sound of a watchman's beat, as if saying, "Beware of leaky roofs."

Sun Wu thought disdainfully: Would his house ever leak? Leaky roofs were things only those poor scholars in the south of the city experienced.

As he was thinking, a sudden gust of wind blew in from outside the window, carrying a fine mist of rain that hit him squarely in the face.

Sun Wu was stunned, what was going on? He remembered closing the doors and windows tightly.

He quickly turned to look at the window, when the oil lamp on his desk suddenly blew out with a whoosh.

The small study plunged into darkness, and Sun Wu couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh, my lamp."

He was actually worried about raindrops getting into the oil lamp, fearing the rainwater would affect its use.

Sun Wu hurried over to touch the oil lamp, but somehow, due to a wrong move, he kicked something under his foot, and he fell forward with a bang.

"Oh, my lamp oil!"

Sun Wu cried out a second time in alarm.

With a clatter, the oil lamp was knocked over by his fall.

Sun Wu's heart ached so much he was twitching. He quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to rescue the oil lamp, when suddenly an icy pair of tongs stretched out from somewhere and clamped onto his cheeks.

"Ah—" Sun Wu's scream was choked in his throat by the tong-like object.

The next moment, a fine, powdery substance was poured into his mouth.

"Mmmph mmmph mmmph..." Sun Wu didn't know what it was, struggling and shaking his head, desperate to spit it out.

Unexpectedly, another pair of tongs reached out and struck his back heavily.

No, that wasn't tongs, it was clearly an iron hammer!

Sun Wu cried out in pain, his body leaning forward, but his mouth was tightly covered.

He was desperate and choking, coughing several muffled coughs with his mouth covered, and finally swallowed the strange powder.

As soon as he swallowed, his head suddenly felt a sharp pain.

Sun Wu groaned in pain, clutching his head and wailing, his mind feeling as if something heavy and sharp was constantly pounding within it.

His vision was black, he could see nothing, his ears heard the dense, viscous rain outside the window, his head felt like it was about to shatter from the pain, and his body felt a wave of cold.

This series of blows came too suddenly, with no warning whatsoever.

Sun Wu wanted to shout for his wife in the other room to save him, but the cry for help was stuck in his throat, only a faint whisper like a mosquito's hum.

He usually feared his wife entering his study and discovering his hidden silver, wishing she would stay as far away as possible.

Now, wanting to call for help, he only wished his wife was closer, so she could notice the abnormality here immediately.

"Ah, ah, ah, who, who is it?" he managed to make a faint sound in his throat.

"Who harmed me?"

"Help, help—"

"Ah!"

No one answered him; all Sun Wu heard was the whistling wind and the continuous rain.

In the dark world, the pain in his head felt like a damp, clammy hand, passing through his brow, reaching into his brain, and grasping his soul.

"Ah!"

Sun Wu finally broke down and shouted, "Miao Chao, is it you? Is it you come to get revenge?"

"Let me go, I didn't mean to harm you! I didn't mean to..."

"It's you, you blocked my path to becoming head shopkeeper. I can't help it. If I don't kill you, the employer will never see me!"

"No, it wasn't me who killed you. You insisted on venturing to that temple yourself. It's not my fault, not my fault... Help!"

In his breakdown, Sun Wu's tears flowed uncontrollably.

Until a certain moment, he lost control of his bladder.

Then, a soft voice finally sounded from the darkness, laced with disdain: "Ew."

Sun Wu was kicked hard, landing face down in his own filth.

A voice by his ear spoke again: "Want to stop the pain? If you want the pain to stop, shut up first. If I don't tell you to make a sound, you can't make the slightest noise."

Sun Wu shivered all over, finding the voice by his ear chilling and terrifying.

Having just gone through that ordeal, he didn't dare to resist at all. He could only trembling respond, "Yes."

But who would have thought that just this utterance would cause the pain in his head to surge like a tidal wave once more.

Sun Wu couldn't bear it.

He cried out twice before finally realizing he needed to shut his mouth tightly.

This time, Sun Wu proactively covered his mouth with both hands, afraid that if he made even the slightest sound, he would be bullied again by this mysterious person who seemed to come from nowhere.

The mysterious person then said with satisfaction: "Good."

Sun Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

The next moment, he heard a soft sound, like the crackling of fire.

Immediately after, the tilted oil lamp on the table was righted, and its dim light flickered to life.

With the oil lamp lit, Sun Wu, who had been trembling on the ground, finally regained some ability to see.

He endured the lingering pain in his head, cautiously raised his head, and widened his eyes, only to see a person standing by the table.

A slender figure, with handsome features under the lamplight. It was actually an acquaintance.

"Chen, Chen..." Sun Wu pointed at Chen Xu, about to shout his name in shock and anger.

But as soon as he spoke, another wave of intense pain hit him.

Sun Wu shivered all over, finally truly realizing that his pain was controlled by the person before him. As long as he showed the slightest disobedience, disaster would surely befall him in an instant.

Sun Wu panted, looking at Chen Xu in terror.

He saw the young man standing by the lamplight, half his profile illuminated by the fire, the other half in shadow. He seemed to be smiling as he asked, "Have you learned your lesson?"