Knocked Out

The five men were tall and burly, with various knife scars on their faces and bodies. Their expressions were vicious; one glance was enough to tell they were nothing like ordinary street thugs.

At the sight of them, Dongfang Minghui instinctively ducked behind Dongfang Wanyu, yet still couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Seventh Sister, are you so beautiful that people keep coming in waves to harass you?"

Dongfang Wanyu's already expressionless face grew colder. She dragged Dongfang Minghui in front of her, pinched her cheeks, and displayed her to the men. "Look. She's prettier than I am. Let me go, and she's yours."

Dongfang Minghui's mouth fell open in shock. Apparently, she had offended The Female Lead far worse than she'd realized. The Female Lead already hated her this much.

Extreme danger alert!

Looking at the lechers, whose eyes practically glowed with lust, Dongfang Minghui's legs began to shake. "Seventh Sister, Sister, I'm your own little sister! How can you give me to them? I'll die!"

The plot was moving far too fast. It had skipped straight to the events leading up to her death.

"Heh heh, boss, looks like they aren't seeing eye to eye. Still, this little sister really is prettier than the older one. How about we grab her first and have some fun?" The man licked his lips, looking as though he was about to drool.

Their leader had a large knife scar running diagonally across his eye and mouth, ruining his appearance. Perhaps because the scar was so conspicuous, his face looked rather repulsive. Whenever his expression shifted, he looked even more ferocious. He nodded slightly, signaling for two men to grab the younger girl first. He didn't believe the older one could escape the lot of them.

"Use your spiritual energy to summon the nearby plants and bind those two. Then watch for an opening and get the hell out. Don't stay here getting in my way," Dongfang Wanyu whispered in her ear.

Those firm words nearly moved Dongfang Minghui to tears. She'd known The Female Lead couldn't be so cruel.

B-but...

"Seventh Sister, I—I can't summon anything when I'm nervous." Dongfang Minghui seemed to feel the air around her grow even colder, especially the embrace behind her.

She was an impostor. How was she supposed to summon anything in such an emergency? Dongfang Minghui wanted to cry, but no tears came.

"What use are you?"

"Aah—!"

Before Dongfang Minghui could prepare herself, The Female Lead shoved her forward—straight toward the two disgusting, drooling men. Without a second thought, she opened her mouth and screamed, "Help—me—!"

Following Dongfang Minghui's earlier instructions, Cui'er had gone back to fetch a large group of helpers, just in case. They were now on the other side of the woods. Hearing the scream, she stopped at once and murmured, "That's strange. That sounds like Miss."

"Ah, no! Ninth Miss is in danger! Hurry, everyone! Hurry!"

That was when Dongfang Wanyu struck. While Dongfang Minghui's screams held everyone's attention, she used a minor skill: Earth Spikes.

Spikes formed from the earth surrounded all five men. Their ankles seemed rooted in place, and for a moment, none of them could break free.

"Aah—!"

Smack! Dongfang Wanyu slapped her hard across the face. "What are you screeching for? Move!"

Dongfang Minghui was stunned by the slap. Sure enough, The Female Lead still hated her very much. Good grief, her cheek hurt. She wondered whether it had swollen.

"I really underestimated you. To think you were an earth-element Spirit User." With a burst of strength, the scar-faced man broke free of Dongfang Wanyu's little trick and darted in front of them.

Dongfang Minghui rolled her eyes at him and snapped, "Are you blind? I'm obviously the Spirit User!"

The Female Lead didn't want anyone to know that her constitution had changed yet, so Dongfang Minghui eagerly tried to cover for her.

The scar-faced man's grin widened. "Who'd have thought I'd run into two Spirit Users at once? Why don't you come home and be my wives? I'll treat you real good."

An opponent with godlike abilities was less frightening than a teammate with a pig's brains.

Dongfang Wanyu gave Dongfang Minghui a pointed look. If she hadn't been too disinclined to waste words on this younger sister, she would have loved to leave the noisy woman right there.

Dongfang Minghui had no idea that her unnecessary intervention had earned her The Female Lead's "idiot teammate" label, pushing her dream of latching onto that powerful protector even further out of reach.

"Looking like that, you still want to marry my Seventh Sister? Find yourself a mirror! Do you think you're worthy of her? You're so disgusting I'm about to throw up my dinner." Dongfang Minghui's smart mouth kicked into gear again, fearlessly adding fuel to the fire.

As her words grew increasingly insulting, the scar-faced man nearly went mad with rage. "You little brat! You won't take the easy way, so I'll make you suffer. Let me show you what I can do!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a fierce wind swept through the previously silent woods. Caught off guard, Dongfang Minghui was blown straight into a tree trunk and knocked out.

Dongfang Wanyu glanced at the distant figure and thought, At last, some peace and quiet. Then she began to deal seriously with the third-rank wind-element Spirit User before her.

By the time Cui'er arrived with the others, all they saw was devastation. A vast swath of trees had fallen, as though struck by powerful lightning. Leaves had been scattered all over the ground, and large patches of scorch marks covered many trunks. The whole place looked as though it had been ransacked.

Unfortunately, there was no one in sight.

When Dongfang Minghui woke, she was already in her own room. A large gauze bandage covered her forehead, and much of her face was swollen. Her injuries looked quite serious.

"Hui'er, my Hui'er, you're finally awake! You frightened your mother half to death." Second Madam Qin Qin had kept watch beside Dongfang Minghui's bed the entire time. As soon as she saw her open her eyes, she ordered Cui'er to fetch the doctor.

Before Dongfang Minghui could speak, Cui'er hurried in supporting an old man, who proceeded to lift her eyelids, take her pulse, and fuss over her.

"Doctor, how is my Hui'er?"

The doctor waved a hand, his beard bristling as he glared at the worried Second Madam. "What utter nonsense! I thought something serious had happened to her. She's fine. A day or two of rest will do."

With that, he left.

"Hui'er, tell your mother who bullied you. Look at you—your forehead is hurt, and so is your face. Oh, my Hui'er, you've never suffered like this in all your life." Second Madam was so distressed that she wished she could suffer in her daughter's place.

Dongfang Minghui pursed her lips and thought, The Female Lead really hits hard. My cheek still burns from that slap.

But she wouldn't dare say so.

"Mother, no one bullied me. I just accidentally ran into a tree and knocked myself out," Dongfang Minghui said quietly. Her face reddened as she finished. It was mortifying. Then something occurred to her, and she hastily asked, "Mother, who brought me home?"

Cui'er came in carrying the prepared medicine just in time to hear her question and immediately answered, "Miss, no one brought you home. You were unconscious outside the gates, and a household servant found you."

Dongfang Minghui wilted further. The Female Lead had done a good deed without leaving her name, clearly wanting nothing to do with her. Her disgust had reached such a level. What was she supposed to do now?

Second Madam had wanted to ask more questions, but seeing how listless she looked, she couldn't help feeling sorry for her. "Although Doctor Murong said you're fine, you did hit your head. Get some more rest, Hui'er. I'll go to the kitchen and arrange something tasty to help you recover."

With that, she tucked Dongfang Minghui in and instructed Cui'er, "Stay here with your mistress and take good care of her."

Once Second Madam was far away, Dongfang Minghui beckoned to Cui'er. "Come here."

Cui'er stood respectfully beside her. "Miss, is there anything you need?"

Dongfang Minghui struggled into a sitting position. "I told you to fetch people earlier, and look what happened. I nearly came to harm. Tell me, does my mother know about this?"

Hearing her words, Cui'er thought she was about to be punished and immediately dropped to her knees. "Miss, Madam knows nothing about it. But when I got there, I didn't see anyone."

This had to be The Female Lead's work. Her powers had been exposed, so she'd destroyed the bodies and erased the evidence.

Dongfang Minghui understood perfectly and asked no further questions about it. "Has Seventh Sister come back?"

Cui'er had been nervous, but Ninth Miss's words didn't sound as though she intended to punish her, so she relaxed. "I don't know about Seventh Miss, but Fourth Miss came by earlier. She was furious. Once she learned you were unconscious, she left without saying much."

Fourth Miss, Dongfang Lizhu, was a wolf in sheep's clothing. On the surface, she played the caring older sister, but behind the scenes, she'd resorted to who knew how many underhanded tricks.

Dongfang Minghui naturally knew why she had come in such a rage. It was because she'd ruined her perfect plan.

"Never mind her. From now on, ask around about Seventh Miss. Let me know if anything happens, but don't be stupid enough to spy on her. Understood?"

"Yes, Miss."

Dongfang Minghui had wanted to rush over and latch onto The Female Lead, her powerful protector, but recalling how she'd been treated in the woods left her trembling. Clearly, her earlier foolish behavior had given The Female Lead a poor impression of her.

Her most urgent task now was to change The Female Lead's opinion of her.

But how could she do that?

As Dongfang Minghui pondered the question, she fell asleep.

When she woke again, she heard Cui'er talking to someone outside. Without listening closely, she called, "Cui'er."

"I'm thirsty. Pour me a cup of water."

"Yes, Miss."

"Ninth Sister, Cui'er told me you were ill. Are you feeling any better? I've only just come to see you. You won't be angry with me, will you?"

Dongfang Minghui took a sip of water, then looked up to find Dongfang Lizhu in her room. She nearly choked on her own saliva. Apparently, she was the person Cui'er had been talking to outside.

"Why would I blame you, Fourth Sister? When I woke earlier, Cui'er told me you'd already visited once, but I was still unconscious then." Dongfang Minghui sat up and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

Dongfang Lizhu got straight to the point. "Ninth Sister, I have something to discuss with you. Send your maid out first."

"Cui'er, stand guard outside. Come back in when I call you."

Once Cui'er closed the door, Dongfang Minghui looked at Dongfang Lizhu with a smile. "Fourth Sister, did you make a special trip here to call me to account?"