Chapter 16, Section 16: This kind of person deserves to be disliked by his sister-in-law.

While chasing the rabbit, Zhao Zhixue suddenly felt a sharp, cold whistle behind him.

At that moment, the hairs on his back stood on end, and his scalp tingled with an unstoppable chill!

Before he could turn around, a sharp arrow pierced his sleeve with the speed of a piercing dagger, pinning the rabbit running ahead to the tree root. The arrowhead embedded itself in the root, making a resounding clang that sent a shiver down Zhao Zhixue's spine.

He grabbed his left sleeve and looked at it; there was a hole in it.

A cold sweat ran down Zhao Zhixue's back.

If Pei Di's arrow had been slightly off-target, given its speed, it would have pierced his body.

Zhao Zhixue turned around and looked at Pei Duo, who was a hundred feet away.

He was too far away to see the young man's expression clearly.

But even from such a distance, he was able to accurately shoot a running rabbit.

Zhao Zhixue's eyes twitched violently a few times.

Pei Duo's talent far surpasses that of ordinary people; he excels in both literature and martial arts.

He participated in the imperial examinations alongside such people...

There are countless Pei Duos in this world. If he can survive the provincial and metropolitan examinations, but then two more scholars with extraordinary talent like Pei Duo emerge in the palace examination, how will he have any chance?

Zhao Zhixue suddenly clenched his fist, turned around again, and focused his gaze on the sharp arrow on the white rabbit.

if……

If Pei Duo were to disappear.

That means there's one less genius vying with him for the top spot.

The thought flashed through Zhao Zhixue's mind for a moment before being erased. He ran over and used all his strength to pull out the half of the arrow that was stuck in the tree root. A white rabbit that was already dead was hanging on the arrow.

He waved towards the distance: "Brother Pei, excellent archery! You hit the target with one shot!"

Pei Duo calmly watched Zhao Zhixue wave at him, his thumb lightly tapping the bow, the faint tapping sound quickly drowned out by the howling mountain wind.

He doesn't understand.

Why would a married woman disturb my usually calm and peaceful mind?

That was Zhao Zhixue's wife.

That woman was timid, cowardly, and overly honest.

She was just as ordinary as Zhao Zhixue, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

But it was precisely this kind of person who made him once again harbor violent murderous intent.

She wanted to shoot her husband with her own hands.

He took her for himself.

The young man lowered his eyes, his dark pupils falling on the hand holding the longbow.

These hands had taken four lives for that woman.

Those four men deserved to die. They coveted her and wanted to defile her. They hurt her, frightened her, and left her like a lamb to the slaughter, subjecting her to their abuse.

Damn it.

Even being engulfed in flames wouldn't be enough to vent my anger.

—A pair of tear-filled, wet eyes suddenly came into view, and her slender, frail body trembled as she snuggled into his arms. Her trembling hands tightly gripped his waist belt, as if afraid he would abandon her.

She cried pitifully in his arms.

The food she cooked was delicious.

She was very obedient; whatever he asked her to do, she would do obediently.

How could it not have any advantages?

Pei Duo took an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, drew his bow, and pointed the cold, sharp arrowhead at Zhao Zhixue, who was a hundred feet away.

"Duoge'er—"

Pei's father's voice came from afar, followed by a sharp whistling sound.

The arrowhead pierced the bowstring, impaling two rabbits running in the distance on the ground, their thick blood instantly soaking the snow.

Pei's father ran over with another man carrying a wild boar. The man excitedly shouted, "Young Master Pei, your father and I have hunted a fully grown wild boar!"

Pei Duo turned to look at his father.

Pei's father threw the wild boar on the ground and ran over to ask, "I've been following your footprints all the way here. How did you end up taking Xuege into the deep mountains?"

Pei Duo glanced at Zhao Zhixue, who was pulling out an arrow and grabbing a rabbit in the distance. His surging killing intent was hidden deep in his eyes, and his clear, gentle voice was as indifferent as ever: "You've gone too far."

This piece of trash can't die yet.

If he died, his sister-in-law would no longer see him, but he would remain in her heart for a long time.

This kind of person deserves to be disliked by his sister-in-law.

Pei's father looked at Zhao Zhixue, who was carrying two arrows, one of which had two rabbits pierced through it.

He raised his hand and patted Pei Duo on the shoulder: "Good son, you haven't been to the mountains for half a year, but your archery skills are still so excellent, not bad!"

The group that went up the mountain descended together at the beginning of Shen Shi (3-5 PM).

The trip was fairly successful; we hunted a wild boar and ten rabbits, but the rabbits were all dead.

In winter, it gets dark early; by the end of the Shen hour (3-5 PM), dusk has already fallen.

A person stood outside the Zhao family's courtyard, carrying a kerosene lamp. The dim candlelight cast her slender and thin shadow on the ground.

Jiang Ninghui was shivering from the cold, and her fingers were numb and stiff.

Even though the cold wind was biting, she couldn't go back.

Her in-laws told her to wait for her husband to return outside the courtyard, and she was not allowed to enter the house until he returned.

Jiang Ninghui waited for a full hour before she saw a few people coming from the end of the village.

In the cold night, Pei Duo looked up at the lonely figure outside the Zhao family's gate.

Wearing a bulky, thick cotton coat, her hands, which were holding a kerosene lamp, were tucked into her sleeves. Her almond-shaped eyes were covered with a light mist, her eyelashes were covered with frost, and the tip of her nose was red from the cold.

Even though they were hundreds of feet apart, Pei Duo could still see her shivering body.

The young man's dark pupils revealed a hint of inexplicable malice.

My sister-in-law has such deep feelings for Brother Zhao.

The night air grew colder, and she was almost frozen to death, yet she was still waiting for her beloved.

Pei's father also had excellent eyesight. He spotted the person in the distance and patted Zhao Zhixue on the shoulder: "Brother Xue, Sui Sui is waiting for you. Run faster."

Zhao Zhixue focused his pupils and looked closely for a while before recognizing Jiang Ninghui. He ran towards her and saw that Jiang Ninghui's cheeks and nose were red from the cold. He said with heartache, "Why aren't you staying indoors in this freezing weather? What are you doing out here?"

Jiang Ninghui was so cold she could barely speak coherently: "I... I'm worried about you."

Zhao Zhixue felt a warmth in his heart, put his arm around Jiang Ninghui and led her into the house: "Let's go home, you can warm yourself by the fire."

Jiang Ninghui's lips twitched, but perhaps because she was too cold, she couldn't manage a smile.

When Mr. and Mrs. Zhao saw that Zhao Zhixue had returned unharmed, they were finally relieved. Mrs. Li urged Jiang Ningsui, "Suisui, hurry up and bring the food from the kitchen. Let's eat."

Jiang Ninghui said, "I'll go right away."

Zhao Zhixue: "Wife, I'll go with you."

Seeing this, Li grabbed Zhao Zhixue and said, "You've been working hard all day. Hurry up and warm yourself by the fire. Don't catch a cold, or you'll suffer again."

Father Zhao tapped his pipe: "Listen to your mother."

Zhao Zhixue followed Li's lead and sat back down by the fire, telling the two elders about their hunting experience in the mountains that day.

The game hunted on the mountain is all in the Pei family's courtyard. The families will divide the meat together tomorrow morning.

At night, Jiang Ninghui lay on the tatami mat, trying to use the quilt to dispel the chill that seeped into her bones.

She felt that she had become spoiled.

However, having spent his days burning charcoal for Young Master Pei's house in town and craving warmth, he couldn't stand the cold tonight.

Zhao Zhixue lifted the covers and climbed onto the bed, pulling Jiang Ninghui into his arms. His lips rubbed against her neck, and his hands slipped inside her collar, trying to claim her territory. Jiang Ninghui felt that her body was still cold and she didn't want to do these things.

especially……

In particular, the young master Pei from the next courtyard has excellent hearing.

He said that even if the sound is faint, he can hear it if he concentrates within a hundred feet.

Jiang Ninghui felt a deep sense of shame when she thought of what Young Master Pei had said that day. She stopped Zhao Zhixue's hand from going any deeper and bit her lip, shaking her head: "My lord, our parents are here. Let's rest."

Zhao Zhixue refused and forcefully squeezed his hand into Jiang Ninghui's clothes.

He was somewhat displeased: "You refused in town, and now you're still the same at home. I'm your husband, and you're my wife. It's only natural for us to have sex. What's there to hide?"

Seeing that her husband was angry, Jiang Ninghui loosened her grip on his hand, which had been forcefully resisting, and allowed him to take off her inner garment.

A cold wind suddenly rose outside, its sound rustling against the windowpanes.

A charcoal fire was burning inside, but it wasn't burning very brightly. Compared to the warmth in Young Master Pei's room, it was much colder.

Jiang Ninghui was only wearing a small garment that barely covered her two soft mounds.

Zhao Zhixue knelt before her, while she lay almost naked on the couch, hugging her arms tightly from the cold.

"Clang—"

A loud bang shook the tightly closed windows.

The windows were wide open, and a cold wind rushed in.

Jiang Ninghui was so frightened that she lost her voice. She curled up her nearly naked body and turned her head to look fearfully out the dark window.

I don't know why.

She always felt as if an unseen pair of eyes were brazenly roaming over her body in the darkness.

The horrifying feeling of being spied on was like a pair of invisible hands caressing her exposed skin inch by inch.

Zhao Zhixue was also startled by the sudden commotion.

He suddenly turned to look at the wide-open window, and a sharp, tearing pain shot through his lower back, as if something sharp had exploded from his back.

Zhao Zhixue's expression changed several times.

It's over.

His waist looks like it's twisted.

A note from the author:

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There's a red envelope in this chapter!

Pei Duo: She already said she didn't want to, didn't you hear that?

Zhao Zhixue: ...