Chen Yang had assumed it was one of Zhao Yanran's three senior brothers who had given the order — he never could have imagined it was Zhao Yanran herself.
"You're lying!" Chen Yang pressed his foot down hard. Li Baode let out a wretched shriek, his pudgy face flushing crimson. "Yanran — Senior Sister Zhao — why would she do something like this?"
Li Baode howled in agony, his voice cracking: "It's true! Every word of it! How would I dare lie to you?!" His beady eyes were wide with terror, terrified that Chen Yang might crush his ribcage in a fit of rage.
Sweat dripped steadily from his forehead, mixing with dirt and smearing across his face, making him look utterly wretched.
Everyone around them was stunned into silence.
Zhang Sheng and the others exchanged bewildered glances, unable to believe what they had just heard.
Senior Sister Zhao Yanran of Jade Bamboo Peak — a registered disciple of an Elder, and the cultivation partner of three elite senior brothers — how could she have ordered something like this?
The lackey disciples traded shocked looks with one another; some instinctively stepped back, as if they had heard something they were never meant to hear.
Xiaochunhua clapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide as saucers.
She had heard rumors of the unsavory dealings among inner disciples before, but she never imagined that Senior Sister Zhao — who looked every bit the celestial maiden — could be capable of something like this.
Her fingers trembled slightly, her heart caught between shock and fear.
Chen Yang's mind churned like a stormy sea, countless suspicions swirling through his thoughts.
He forced his fury down and asked in an icy voice, "What did Senior Sister Zhao promise you in return?"
Li Baode's eyes darted around; he stammered and hedged, unwilling to say.
Chen Yang pressed his foot down a little harder, and Li Baode immediately squealed like a pig being slaughtered: "I'll talk! I'll talk! Senior Sister Zhao promised — promised that if I beat Liu Yiyi up and then… then humiliated her… she would grant me… A Night of Intimate Pleasure…"
Those words struck like a bolt from a clear sky, sending a shudder through Chen Yang's entire body.
He bore down with his foot. Li Baode spat out a mouthful of blood with a wet splat, his face draining to a deathly white in an instant.
Bloody froth soaked the front of his robe, a pitiful sight.
"Say that again," Chen Yang said, his voice as cold as midwinter ice, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.
His fingers curled involuntarily, knuckles cracking with a faint sound.
Li Baode was scared out of his wits. He trembled as he spoke: "It — it's true! Senior Sister Zhao said her three senior brothers are away from the sect on business right now… She promised to let me into her private quarters for a night — A Night of Spring Bliss…"
Even as he said it, Li Baode was drowning in regret.
He had thought Liu Yiyi was just some ordinary female laborer — rough her up a bit and he'd get to spend a night with Zhao Yanran. How could he pass up a deal like that?
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Who could have known that Liu Yiyi had someone this terrifying watching her back?
His guts were twisted with remorse. He wished he could turn back time and never have taken this rotten job.
Xiaochunhua, hearing all of this, was so shocked she couldn't find words.
She had thought they only meant to beat Liu Yiyi — she never imagined they intended to humiliate her as well!
Thinking about what would have happened to Liu Yiyi if Chen Yang hadn't been there, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Her face went pale, fingers clutching the hem of her robe tightly.
Li Baode, desperate to save his own skin, continued his confession: "The — the last time, I'd been drinking and wasn't in good shape, so I only beat Liu Yiyi up — broke her leg so she'd be stuck in bed and couldn't run… The Century Purple Ginseng was just an excuse to pick a fight… This time I brought the boys along because I was planning to — planning to…"
He didn't dare go on, afraid of getting beaten again.
Xiaochunhua couldn't hold herself back any longer.
She rushed forward and began kicking Li Baode furiously: "You animal! You're all animals! How could you do this to Sister Liu?!"
Her voice broke with sobs. Her kicks weren't especially powerful, but landing on Li Baode's already-injured body was enough to make him howl in pain.
Li Baode didn't dare lash out at Chen Yang, so he turned his fury on Xiaochunhua: "Why are you kicking me?! Go kick Zhang Sheng! That little punk came along too — he was saying he wanted to… wanted to humiliate you as well!"
He grimaced through the pain, shoving the blame onto Zhang Sheng.
Xiaochunhua reeled as if struck by lightning, rooted to the spot.
Zhang Sheng had always given her trouble, but she had taken it as ordinary bullying — she never dreamed he harbored such vile intentions toward her!
Her body trembled slightly, gripped by both fear and fury.
Zhang Sheng, seeing that everything had been exposed, went deathly pale and spun around to flee.
But how could Chen Yang let him get away?
In a flash, Chen Yang's figure blurred and he appeared directly in front of Zhang Sheng, driving a kick straight into his chest.
The kick was not only fast but devastatingly powerful, landing squarely on Zhang Sheng's sternum.
Zhang Sheng flew backward like a kite with a snapped string and slammed into a large tree with a heavy thud, slumping unconscious without even a groan.
His body crumpled limply to the ground and lay still.
Dead silence fell over the scene.
Those lackeys who had still been clinging to hope now stood ashen-faced, not daring to breathe.
Some were shaking so badly they nearly dropped to their knees.
Chen Yang swept a cold gaze over everyone, then let it settle on Li Baode. "Take your people and get out of Butterfly Valley immediately. If I ever catch you coming here to cause trouble again, it won't be as simple as a broken arm next time."
Li Baode felt as though he'd been granted a pardon. He scrambled to his feet and called to his men to help him away.
His arm hung uselessly at his side, his face smeared with blood, a thoroughly sorry sight.
"Wait." Chen Yang suddenly called out to stop him.
Li Baode froze, his voice quavering: "Wh — what else is there?"
Chen Yang pointed at the unconscious Zhang Sheng. "Take this piece of trash with you. Don't leave him here to dirty the courtyard."
Li Baode hastily ordered two of his men to haul Zhang Sheng up, and the whole group fled Butterfly Valley in a sorry state, not daring to look back even once.
They stumbled and staggered as they ran, terrified that Chen Yang might change his mind.
Once they were gone, Xiaochunhua finally let out a long breath — then her legs gave out and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
She looked at Chen Yang, her eyes filled with lingering fear and deep gratitude. "Senior Brother Chen, if you hadn't been here today, Sister Liu and I would have…"
She couldn't finish the sentence. Thinking of the terrible fate that might have befallen them, she couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face.
Her shoulders shook slightly; she clearly hadn't recovered from the shock.
Chen Yang gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. "It's over now. As long as I'm here, I won't let anyone hurt you."
His gaze swept over the Menial Disciples who were still watching from the sidelines. "These sect disciples — polished on the outside, rotten to the core within."
Xiaochunhua wiped her tears and nodded firmly.
After today, she had not a shred of goodwill left for any of these so-called inner disciples.
Her eyes hardened with resolve, as though she had made up her mind about something.
Chen Yang gave a few more instructions, asking Xiaochunhua to take good care of Liu Yiyi and to send word to him immediately if anything came up.
Then he turned and walked away, his expression dark and foreboding, his eyes like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
He was going to find Zhao Yanran right now and demand an explanation!
His fists were clenched tight as he strode with unwavering purpose toward Jade Bamboo Peak.