Chapter 148: I’ll Bash Your Head In

Chapter 148: I'll Smash Your Head Open

"Ah——!!"

Qing Yi was tackled to the ground and tumbled into a tangled mess with the other person, and soon, crimson blood slowly seeped out, staining the originally clean luminous stones with patches of red.

Snapping back to reality, Qing Yi hurriedly looked at the person who had taken the arrow for him, "Cousin?"

Qing Yi was shocked, and only after a moment's pause did he rush to cover Ning Zhong's bleeding calf, "How could it be you!"

"Cousin?"

Inside the room, Qin Jiao heard Qing Yi's cry of "cousin," looked at Ning Zhong, and his gaze finally settled on Qing Yi's face, which bore a striking six or seven-tenths resemblance to his own.

At that moment, Qin Jiao seemed to understand something.

The hand holding his bow and arrow even trembled slightly.

Just then, Xie Nai and Xiao Baiyu also arrived.

The originally spacious pavilion suddenly flooded with people—Luo Bei, Luo Yue, and Cong Shuang, who was disheveled and being supported by Si Lu.

The river suddenly churned, and turbulent waves crashed against the luminous stones underfoot, producing a loud "whooshing" sound.

Xiao Baiyu stepped right around Ning Zhong and Qing Yi, who were lying at the door, and rushed over to He Zhao, "Zhou Zhou, are you hurt?"

He was just about to pull He Zhao over to check on him when He Zhao suddenly said anxiously, "Perfect timing, Senior Brother, let's find something..."

"Find what?" Xiao Baiyu asked, confused. "Did Zhou Zhou lose something?"

He Zhao didn't answer, instead pulling Xiao Baiyu to scour the pavilion.

"The young master's archery has come a long way."

Xie Nai said as he walked over, casually reaching for the bow and arrow from Qin Jiao's hand.

Qin Jiao tipped his head back to look at Xie Nai. The sunlight happened to fall on his face, making the young man's features especially distinct—especially those deep, bright eyes that seemed capable of seeing into people's hearts.

Xie Nai's appearance eased Qin Jiao's tense mind, and the hand gripping the bow relaxed. He let out a deep breath, "It's all thanks to my teacher's good instruction."

Qin Jiao hadn't known how to shoot arrows at first; it was Xie Nai who had personally taught him how to draw the bow, aim... During those days at the capital's prince mansion, Qin Jiao practiced archery during the day and accompanied Xie Nai to the hot springs at night—his days were quite fulfilling.

But fortunately, the fulfillment bore fruit. For instance, today, Qin Jiao was no longer the frail young master who needed others' protection. The dainty and frail Qin Jiao flower had finally forged its own armor.

"Those two—how does the young master wish to deal with them?" Xie Nai's eyes swept across Ning Zhong and Qing Yi.

For some reason, Qin Jiao felt that beneath Xie Nai's calm expression lay a raging storm.

"I..." Qin Jiao didn't quite know how to put it.

In his daze, Ning Zhong spoke first, his face burning with shame, "Cousin, it's—it's all my fault. Please spare Qing Yi."

If he hadn't let his guard down, Qing Yi wouldn't have colluded with his servant, using his name to trick Qin Jiao into coming here.

"Cousin, I'm sorry..." Qing Yi cried and tried to embrace Ning Zhong, but was gently pushed away.

Ning Zhong's gaze turned to Qin Jiao, "It's because I failed to control my feelings for you. Qing Yi just overthinks things—there's nothing wrong with liking someone... For the sake of how much you two look alike, cousin, please let him go."

Qin Jiao's face was a blank mask as he looked at Ning Zhong, suddenly feeling disgusted.

A face six or seven-tenths similar, the deliberate "cousin" address, using a courtesan as a stand-in for his perverse fantasies... When did Ning Zhong become like this?

Qin Jiao couldn't help but recall that he had once told Xie Nai, "Ning Zhong had someone he liked in his youth, but he never encountered them again after many years, and he's always kept them in his heart."

What a joke! If not for Qing Yi's crazy stunt today, Qin Jiao would never have imagined in a lifetime that he himself was caught in this scheme.

"Ning Zhong, you're truly disgusting."

Qin Jiao stared into Ning Zhong's eyes, spitting out each word.

"How dare you talk about my cousin like that!"

Before Ning Zhong could respond after Qin Jiao's words, Qing Yi was even more worked up than him. He suddenly stood up and pointed at Qin Jiao, cursing, "It's clearly you! You already have such a powerful sugar daddy, yet you're still leading my cousin on with your two-timing ways. If you hadn't given him hope, how could he have..."

"Qing Yi, stop talking!"

Ning Zhong hadn't expected Qing Yi to suddenly "defend him." The moment he thought of Qing Yi calling the Prince of Lingnan a sugar daddy and comparing Qin Jiao to a courtesan, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Sugar daddy?"

A deep chill brewed in Xie Nai's eyes. He repeated those two words as he slowly raised the bow in his hand.

From his position of power, he regarded the people at his feet like ants. Qin Jiao couldn't gauge what Xie Nai was thinking at that moment, but he didn't want Xie Nai to dirty his hands.

"Pay no attention to this lunatic."

Qin Jiao grabbed Xie Nai's hand and shook his head at him.

"Qing Yi, quit being so pigheaded!" Just then, Si Lu rushed out from the crowd to persuade Qing Yi.

"It's you—you're the one who tipped them off!" The moment Qing Yi saw Si Lu, he suddenly snapped back to reality and shoved him hard!

"The Fengwu Tower is closed for repairs today—there's no way they could've found this place this quickly! You plotted against me together with them!"

Si Lu didn't deny tipping them off, "Qing Yi, killing someone is a crime. I can't just watch you die."

Si Lu had noticed something off about Qing Yi earlier, so he had been trailing him in secret. After discovering that Qing Yi and Cao Gui had kidnapped Qin Jiao and He Zhao, and had sent people to intercept Cong Shuang who was delivering the message, Si Lu quickly sent someone to report it while he went to rescue Cong Shuang. The people Qing Yi had hired were hot-headed and impulsive; if Si Lu hadn't arrived quickly, Cong Shuang might have lost an arm.

"Qing Yi, wake up." Si Lu spoke earnestly.

"Get lost, just get lost!" Qing Yi pushed Si Lu away. "You're all in cahoots with them!"

Qing Yi then pointed at Qin Jiao, "Always running around with other people—it's all your fault! That's why I became this damn substitute!"

Qin Jiao: "..."

You've lost your damn mind!

Qin Jiao felt like he'd just swallowed a fly. Just as he was wondering whether to simply knock Qing Yi unconscious, he heard Qing Yi suddenly clutch his head and scream—"Ah!"

"Bang bang bang!" Then came the sound of an object striking a head!

Qin Jiao looked up in shock and saw He Zhao holding a rolling pin he'd found from who knows where, beating Qing Yi's head like a drum.

"You still dare to talk!" He Zhao cursed as he struck, "You're like a damn wild pig—baring your teeth and howling like a banshee! I'll crack your skull open today and see if there's anything in there but sawdust!"

"Wait, Qing Yi... stop, stop!"

"Help! Are you insane? Ah... it hurts!!"

Ning Zhong, his foot injured and unable to help, could only watch as Qing Yi was chased around the room by He Zhao, who kept thumping him on the head with loud *bang* sounds. Qin Jiao subtly glanced at the back of He Zhao's head, then reached up to touch the large lump on his own, ultimately approving of He Zhao's "knock some sense into them" method.

After a round of chasing, Qing Yi ducked behind Cao Gui. Cao Gui, frantic to shield his son, was about to strike He Zhao with his Body Grapple when Xiao Baiyu flicked him to the ground with a mere gesture, allowing He Zhao to deliver a few more resounding thumps to Cao Gui's head as well.

"Almost forgot about you, you old bastard!"

With each sentence, He Zhao gave Qing Yi and Cao Gui a few more knocks on the head—just hard enough to daze them without knocking them out:

"Still daring to demand ransom for a corpse! You and your son are both scum!"

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