Chapter 15: Fighting Off a Villain in the Dead of Night!

As night fell, the wind whispered softly outside. Bai Ruyu lay awake beneath a thin quilt, her eyes wide open, unable to fall asleep.

Just as her irritation grew unbearable, faint footsteps approached outside the room.

Anyone fast asleep would never have heard them.

She recalled the strange expression on Madam Zhang’s face when she had come earlier that day to deliver money.

Bai Ruyu’s gaze sharpened. That woman was ruthless and cruel—coming to kill under the cover of darkness was entirely possible.

She immediately sat up, rummaging through the system’s marketplace to see if there was anything useful.

She didn’t know if the attackers had reinforcements. She was strong, having trained in martial arts for several years.

But this was ancient times—surely there were many who could scale walls and possessed inner energy.

She wondered how her strength and skills would fare against such opponents.

The door bolt was gently tampered with. Bai Ruyu exchanged from her space a packet of extremely spicy chili powder and quietly hid it by the door.

Within moments, the bolt fell with a soft clatter, and the door creaked open.

Two large broadswords glinted in the moonlight, followed by two masked men.

Step by step, they advanced.

Bai Ruyu fixed her gaze on their movements. As they drew near, a fierce gleam flashed in her eyes. She leapt out, grabbed one of them, and viciously scattered chili powder into his eyes.

“Ah—my eyes!” The man’s agonized scream pierced the night.

The man beside him snarled darkly, “You filthy woman, how dare you play dirty!”

A flash of cold steel whistled through the air, the broadsword swinging toward her. Bai Ruyu dodged with a sidestep, then crouched to deliver a sweeping leg sweep.

The man laughed instead of getting angry. “Foolish girl. With your skinny arms and legs, you think you can take me down… ah!”

The mocking laugh turned into a scream. “Impossible! Your strength—ah! My eyes, my eyes!”

Before he could finish speaking, a searing pain pierced his eyes. He couldn’t even open them, tears streaming uncontrollably.

Without wasting a word, Bai Ruyu dragged the two men, wailing and clutching their eyes, to the table and tied them up.

Her voice was sharp and commanding. “Tell me—is it Madam Zhang who sent you? How many are there?”

The two men seemed deaf to her questions, raising their heads and crying instead.

“Ah—my eyes!”

“Am I going blind?”

More hurried footsteps sounded outside. Bai Ruyu’s expression darkened as she smiled coldly, whispering, “If you don’t speak, fine. You’ve been poisoned by me. There’s no antidote. Just wait to die.”

“Please, lady! Spare us!”

“Please, have mercy on us!”

---

Upon hearing their pleas, the two men stopped crying out in pain and quickly begged for mercy.

Bai Ruyu kicked the shorter one hard. “Say something useful!”

The man gritted his teeth. “Lady, it’s Master Feng who sent us. He wants to capture you to perform a ghost marriage with his son. There are ten of us in total.”

Ten people? All like these scoundrels?

“How skilled are they?” Bai Ruyu asked cautiously, just in case.

“Our boss is a third-rate expert. You—you better give us the antidote, or else…” The taller man glared at his bloodshot, swollen eyes, threatening.

Bai Ruyu rolled her eyes and lashed out with her leg again.

“You dare threaten me? Your boss isn’t here yet, but I’ll send you two to the afterlife first.”

She thought for a moment, then exchanged two packets of popping candy from her space, grabbing the tall man’s chin.

“Try my new throat-breaking powder.”

The man struggled desperately. “No, no, cough, cough, don’t—ah—mmph!”

Hearing the crackling inside his mouth, he screamed and cried, but Bai Ruyu covered his mouth.

“Don’t scream, don’t spit it out. Such a good thing must not be wasted.”

One packet cost her a gold coin!

When the man gave up struggling, Bai Ruyu turned to the shorter man and did the same without regard for his pleas.

“Scarface, Ironfist, are you there? Are you still in the room?” a deep voice called from the courtyard.

More cries and shouts followed.

“I—I’m not home, the ones inside aren’t my sister!”

“Yes, yes, they’re relatives’ children. Please, sir, show mercy!”

“What do you want? If it’s for money, I have a hundred taels! Please spare us!”

Hearing her family’s cries, Bai Ruyu’s eyes reddened instantly. A fragment flashed in her mind.

Blood red, blurred—she couldn’t see clearly. Nothing was clear...

She pressed her dizzy head, then yanked the two limp men up.

Her strength was so great she broke the ropes binding them.

“If you bring your boss here, I’ll give you the antidote. Otherwise, wait for your throats and eyes to rot away!”

Her voice was merciless, like an ice spike stabbing the trembling men’s hearts in the dead of winter.

“Boss! Boss, come in quickly! This woman looks like she’s dead!” the short man shouted through gritted teeth.

Outside, the others were stunned. Er Gou went mad, struggling against his bonds. “You beasts, stop lying! I’ll fight you!”

Not long ago, he had promised himself he would protect his sister.

Could she be gone just like that?

---

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

“She’s dead or not, the Feng patriarch is going to die anyway!”

The man frowned and strode toward the room impatiently.

He had seen dead people before.

Why were these two still acting like fools, making such a fuss?

“Ah—ugh!”

The man had just stepped inside when a scream and fearful cries erupted.

Bai Ruyu, seeing him raise his foot to enter, scattered all the chili powder in her hand.

As the man covered his eyes, shouting in pain, she swiftly tore off his mask and shoved the popping candy into his mouth.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

He clutched his eyes and coughed violently, trying to spit out the strange substance.

Some came out, some he swallowed, a strange sensation swirling in his throat, panic rising.

He roared furiously, “You little wretch! What did you make me eat?”

Bai Ruyu tapped the remaining chili powder in her hand, her tone sinister.

“You want to know? It’s something that will rot you from your eyes to your throat and deep inside.”

The man rubbed his eyes hard, but the pain only worsened, fiery and burning.

The crackling in his throat ceased, leaving only a burning coldness and a faint sweetness.

“Bring the antidote! Or the old and young outside won’t live to see another day!”

He glared fiercely through swollen eyes, threatening with clenched teeth.

“If they die, you won’t live either. That’ll be my revenge,” Bai Ruyu said calmly as she returned to the chair in the room.

Her face was unruffled as she poured herself a cup of tea and took a delicate sip.

“Big brother! Scarface! Ironfist! What’s going on?” the voices outside carried a hint of worry.

“No matter! Guard the outside well,” the man snarled through his anger, then turned to face the young, pale, and slender girl.

For the first time, he doubted his own martial skills.

The silence inside was dreadful, not a sound to be heard except four heartbeats and breaths.

After a long moment, the man, unable to bear the pain in his eyes, bit his lip and spoke.

“What exactly do you want for the antidote?”