TEFSCBSS Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Assassination? Sleepwalking? Haunted?

That’s right—the one bawling her eyes out over there was none other than Su Li, the very person Ge Jiantai had been sent to find.

However, something seemed a little off about her. Su Li sat on her knees in front of a tombstone, eyes tightly shut, wailing nonstop about how tragic this was and how pitiful that was. Each word was laced with sorrow, as if she were mourning the world’s pain itself. Anyone who heard her might tear up; anyone who saw her would probably start crying too.

Unfortunately for her, the one standing behind her wasn’t her loyal servant, but the cold, ruthless Ge Jiantai.

He was startled at first by Su Li’s bizarre behavior, but only for a moment. Quickly regaining his composure, he sneered.

“Putting on a ghost show, huh?”

Disdain flickered in his eyes. Remembering the orders from Leader Su San, he unsheathed his sword with a cold clang. Without hesitation, he lunged, aiming straight for Su Li’s back.

Just as the strike was about to land, Su Li seemed to sense something. Still crying, she suddenly turned her tear-streaked face, her eyes still shut tight. But her reaction was swift, tilting her body to one side and dodging the fatal blow.

With a flick of her right hand, she tapped the blade and sent Ge Jiantai’s sword flying straight to the ground.

“What the—?”

Ge Jiantai was shocked. Could Su Li be… a martial arts expert?

But he couldn’t back down—not with his brother’s death hanging over him. With his sword gone, he quickly drew a dagger from his sleeve and closed the distance, grappling with her hand-to-hand.

Su Li’s eyes remained shut the entire time, but her movements didn’t stop. It was as if closing her eyes helped her sense everything around her even more clearly.

Ge Jiantai was under immense pressure now. She was strong—unnervingly strong. What the hell did the Chancellor feed her at that manor? Even the young ladies were trained like elite soldiers.

As his focus wavered, Su Li struck. One palm knocked the dagger from his hand, the other sliced toward his neck in a precise chopping motion.

Smack.

Ge Jiantai collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

Hearing no more movement around her, Su Li calmly returned to kneeling in front of the tombstone, crying and wailing once more.

“Wuwuwu, you are me, I am you! We died such a tragic death!”
“I will save you! I must save myself!”
“Wuwuwuwu…”

—

Meanwhile, Su San had left Shanshi Village and reset the traps. He was casually making his way toward Huaishu Village when he heard faint sounds of fighting. A thin, icy smile curled across his lips—it looked like Ge Jiantai had found her.

Moments later, before he even arrived at the village, the fight went silent. He heard a body fall. Ah—seemed Ge Jiantai had handled it. Much better than his useless brother, at least.

Hopefully, he’d follow through with the plan and dig out Su Li’s heart. After all, that was what she had scripted during the day.

Pleased with how things were going, Su San didn’t rush. He even glanced at the local script shop as he passed, thinking maybe after Su Li was dead, he could suggest to the Chancellor that they keep the store and let him run it. It might be a nice way to draw in some talented new followers.

Suddenly, several sharp breaths reached his ears.

“Boss, someone snuck into the shop!”
“Let’s move! Protect Miss Su Li!”

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Three large, shadowy figures darted toward Huaishu Village.

Su San froze. He recognized them—retired soldiers.

While he wasn’t afraid of a fight, being outnumbered was risky. If they spotted him, it could ruin the Chancellor’s plans.

After a moment’s hesitation, Su San shot one last look toward the depths of Huaishu Village, then quietly slipped away through a nearby window.

Didn’t matter—Su Li was dead. Nothing else mattered now.

As for whether Ge Jiantai might spill something? Ha! What a joke. Starting today, Ge Jiantai would be “officially dismissed” over some petty incident. Nothing could trace back to the Chancellor’s house.

Mission complete, Chancellor. Just sit back and wait.

—

Hei Yi, Hei Er, and Hei San—three large, intimidating men in black—arrived at the cemetery in Huaishu Village and paused, stunned.

“Holy crap… Did Miss Su Li knock this guy out?”
“Looks like it?”
“Tsk, tsk. We knew she had sleepwalking issues from those night patrols the other day, but all she did was cry in front of tombstones. Who would’ve thought she had combat skills like this? Respect!”

“Cut the chatter. Come on, let’s take this intruder in for questioning. He’s got a sword and a dagger—definitely up to no good.”

Hei Er hesitated.
“Should we… tell Miss Su Li about this?”

“Nah. Let’s question him first, then report to the Princess.”

“Yeah, and besides—everyone says you’re not supposed to wake someone who’s sleepwalking, or they’ll go stupid or something.”

“Right. We’ll wait for the Princess’ reply. Maybe mention it casually during the day so she stays alert at night.”

With that, one brother slung Ge Jiantai over his shoulder, another picked up the dropped weapons, and in a few strides, they disappeared into the nearby woodshed to begin their late-night interrogation entertainment.

The third brother, Hei Er, stayed behind to keep watch over Su Li.

“Wuwuwu, you died so tragically!”
“Wait, no! I died so tragically!”

Hei Er rubbed his ears. Seriously? She’s sleepwalking again? Crying about death every night? Did someone in her family pass away or what?

Sigh. Probably just suppressing all her sadness during the day and letting it out at night. Poor thing.

He gave her a sympathetic look, watched her sob for half the night, then wiped away her tears and crawled back into her little coffin. She even grumbled about being cold and pulled the blanket tightly over herself.

Tsk tsk tsk.

As Su Li peacefully drifted off, Hei Er finally relaxed, sitting on a nearby bench. But the tension in his muscles said it all—if anything happened, he’d spring into action instantly.

—

Caw caw caw!

The familiar sound of the rooster crowing next door ripped through the morning air, and Su Li’s eyes flew open, filled with rage.

One day… one day she was going to die because of that damn rooster.

Death by early mornings. Death by heart attack. Death by chronic fatigue and sleep-deprivation-induced depression.

Damn it all!

Su Li lay in her little coffin like a ghost who had died with a grudge.

Creak—

Chunya pushed the door open, set down the “hearty” breakfast (so-called because Su Li now got an extra meat bun every morning), and left quickly to go work on her script.

The moment that mouthwatering scent of freshly steamed pork buns hit her nose, Su Li’s stomach growled loudly in betrayal.

She slowly reached up, gripping the edge of the coffin to lift herself.

But she didn’t plan on getting up just yet. Instead, she stretched her arm toward the table where her breakfast sat, inching closer bit by bit.

Finally, hunger gave her superhuman strength—her arm extended just enough to grab the tray.

“Meat bun, here comes big sis!”

Three bites later, the whole breakfast was gone, and she still felt a little unsatisfied.

“Weird. Did I talk too much yesterday? Why am I still hungry?”

Mumbling to herself, Su Li climbed out of the little coffin.

“Eh? Why does my back ache? And my arms too?”

She examined her arms. No bruises, no cuts—still soft and fair as ever—but they were sore, like she’d done some heavy lifting.

Su Li fell into deep thought.

“Wait a sec…”

“Was it a haunting last night? Sleep paralysis?”

She narrowed her eyes, glancing around the room. Maybe sleeping in a coffin every night was starting to draw in some unwanted energy…

But with no one else like her, she had nothing to compare it to.

Then suddenly, inspiration struck.

Su Li had just come up with a brilliant solution!