SES Chapter 152 Part 1

Chapter 152

Rain pattered against the canvas roof above, a steady, whispering sound.

Cao Yanhua lay on the ground, bound tightly like a bundle of rice dumplings. A wad of cloth was stuffed into his mouth, and rainwater had seeped through from outside, soaking his back completely.

Outside, it was lively—laughter, clinking glasses, and waves of cheerful chatter. He could easily imagine the festive scene, but lying here, he felt no different from being buried alive.

His thoughts swung wildly between extremes. One moment, he thought everyone else must already be dead because of him, and that maybe it’d be better if a flash flood came and buried them all together. Next, he fumed that dying like this would be too humiliating—he should at least drag that woman, Ya Feng, down with him.

Yes—Ya Feng. He’d fallen into her hands.

Cao Yanhua regretted it so much his guts twisted.

He had snuck into the village quietly. Convinced that everyone there was somehow suspicious, he hadn’t even met with Qingshan beforehand. Instead, he used a newly learned wall-scaling trick to slip into a backyard—and the first person he ran into was Ya Feng.

The girl had gone pale the instant she heard him, shrinking into the corner of the bed in fear. Seeing that, Cao Yanhua’s heart softened. He quickly explained who he was—that he was Qingshan’s cousin from the city.

Ya Feng had covered her mouth and begun to cry. Then, she rolled up her sleeve to show him the bruises on her arm. Rage boiled up in him. Any doubts he’d had about her being guarded alone in the back courtyard vanished. Instead, he grew furious at the villagers for treating her so cruelly, breaking her spirit until she didn’t even dare to run or fight back.

Right then and there, he decided to help her escape.

He arranged the bedding to make it look like she was asleep, ensuring no one would notice for a while. The main road by the village entrance was too crowded, so they’d take the back path into the mountains—climb out first, figure out the rest later.

Ya Feng had cooperated completely. She climbed walls, crossed slopes, gritting her teeth all the way. She looked so small and pitiful that he must’ve been blind with pity—he even started worrying about her future. If she had nowhere to go, maybe he could introduce her to Uncle Zheng to work for him…

Then everything changed in an instant.

They’d just reached halfway up the mountain, not far from the cave where he’d later be imprisoned, when Ya Feng stopped and asked, “You came alone?”

The question carried an odd tone, almost like she was blaming him for not planning a proper rescue with others backing him up.

Cao Yanhua didn’t think much of it and explained that his friends were concerned too—he’d just gone in first to scout things out.

Ya Feng’s lips curved slightly. “So if you don’t come out, they’ll come looking for you, right?”

Something in her voice sounded off. Her expression had changed too—her tone no longer that of a frightened girl. Alarm bells went off in Cao Yanhua’s head. Just as he was about to ask what she meant, Ya Feng’s face darkened and she lunged for his head.

Everything went wrong at once.

He threw up a fist to block her, but she didn’t dodge—her small white hand caught his punch midair.

It looked ridiculous, really. He was broad-shouldered and thick-armed, his fists as big as bowls, while her hands were tiny and delicate—but her grip felt like iron.

Pain shot through his arm. He shouted, and in the same instant, Ya Feng released him and slammed the back of her hand against his head. His vision went black, and he hit the ground hard.

He didn’t lose consciousness completely. Through the haze, he saw Ya Feng grabbing him by the leg and dragging him toward the cave.

How could a girl that small have so much strength? When she tied him up, the ropes bit so tightly that veins bulged across his forehead.

She shoved the gag into his mouth and said flatly, “Two more.”

Two more? What two? Cao Yanhua didn’t understand. Even more, he couldn’t fathom why—he had come to rescue her, so why was she doing this to him?

A few days later, Mudai fell right through a trapdoor—right in front of him.

That pit must have been deep. It was a long time before he heard the faint sound of the impact below.

He was furious, sick to his stomach. Ya Feng stepped out of the shadows, smiling and said, “That’s the second one.”

Then she left. Near dawn, she returned, smiling strangely, holding up three fingers. “You’re not as impressive as you think, are you?”

Cao Yanhua’s heart went cold as ice. By then, he had a feeling it all had to do with the Murder Scroll.

Still, he held on to hope. There were five of them in total, after all. He didn’t know who the third victim was yet, but he prayed it wasn’t Luo Ren. As long as his Brother Xiaodao was still alive, there was still a chance.

But the greater the hope, the harsher the fall. Luo Ren fell right before his eyes—just like Mudai. What crushed him completely was seeing that Qingshan was with Ya Feng this time.

Ya Feng clung to the edge of the trap like a lizard, waiting for Luo Ren to step right into it, then climbed out unharmed. Cao Yanhua stared at her blankly.

It hit him then—this was the end. They were all done for.

Was Ya Feng really that powerful? Not exactly. In a fair fight, she probably wasn’t as dangerous as the old hermit, the wild man, or Xiang Silan. But she picked them off one by one—unexpectedly, precisely, mercilessly.

Cao Yanhua’s grief was beyond words. His eyes blurred as he heard Qingshan shouting in shock, “Why is my cousin here?”

Someone lifted the canvas cover outside; he heard the rustle. Cao Yanhua stared at the movement—what, was Qingshan bringing him wedding wine now?

Because of him, Qingshan and Ya Feng had argued at one point. But in the end, Qingshan had given in to her. He still came up the mountain now and then—sometimes bringing food, sometimes talking with him. But the way he spoke, it was as if Cao Yanhua had lost his way and needed moral correction. No matter how Yanhua shouted, cursed, or begged him as family, Qingshan never wavered. When pushed, he only ever said one thing:

“You’re not like the others. Ya Feng’s keeping you alive.”

Was he under the influence of the Murder Scroll? Or had he been brainwashed?

The canvas suddenly flipped open—and it wasn’t Qingshan who entered.

It was a tall woman with short hair, wearing a business suit and light makeup. Ignoring her imposing build, she was actually quite pretty.

One of Ya Feng’s accomplices? Though something about her looked oddly familiar.

When she saw Cao Yanhua, Cao Jinhua froze. She had overheard some things before and had prepared herself mentally, but she still hadn’t expected to see him tied up like this.