Chapter 64 The Tragedy of Ru Fang (4) Farewell My Concubine

"Hey." As Er Mazi rode along, he noticed the person beneath him slightly opening his eyes, which amused him even more. "What's wrong? Don't you recognize your grandpa?"

"Brother Long... Brother Long..." Liu Rufang was unable to move, her voice like a sob, calling out her lover's name.

"Heh, still thinking about that bastard." Er Mazi felt a surge of wickedness when he heard him call out for A Long. He buried his head and bit A Long's shoulder, still not satisfied. "Keep calling, the more you call, the more excited your grandpa gets."

"Go ahead and shout, it'll be perfect for letting your good brother come in and see how you're seducing me." As she spoke, her actions became increasingly fierce.

In his dazed state, Liu Rufang felt waves of pain and suffocation surging up, dragging him deeper into the darkness. The rough hands of the person on top of him, the prickly stubble, and the pungent stench made him feel nauseous.

He tried to push him away, but his fingertips were too weak to lift. He wanted to call for help, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and only a few intermittent sobs escaped, which even he could not hear clearly.

This feeling of powerlessness only fueled the thugs on his body, making them even more vicious.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Liu Rufang was on the verge of losing consciousness, the weight on her body suddenly lightened.

Er Mazi collapsed on his own.

After his intense anger subsided and his heavy breathing subsided, Er Mazi sat up, snorted, grabbed his clothes and put them on, then hurried away, leaving only the wide-open door and the deathly silence inside.

Liu Rufang was left alone on the bed, like a fish out of water, her mouth slightly open, struggling to breathe amidst the lingering pain and nauseating smell.

A single, icy tear slid down his cheek without warning, silently disappearing into his hair.

"Brother Long, Brother Long..."

Suddenly, the sobbing abruptly turned into a babbling song:

'I once basked in your favor. In your warm embrace, I served you. Your fragrant hair adorned my temples. Even in the weary morning, my makeup was done. The soft tinkling of your jade pendants. Your crimson skirt fluttered in the breeze… A pitiful woman. A pitiful woman. With the fierce will of a man, she willingly gave her life to perish in an instant at Longquan. Her soul scattered, leaving me utterly helpless…'

The sound of water milling escaped from the door, echoing Er Mazi's curses, which could no longer be heard.

Several claps of thunder struck, but not a single raindrop fell.

Ah Long, carrying his bundle, took a car to the Guazhou ferry. When he boarded the boat and had his ticket checked, he couldn't help but curse the boatman: "This damned heaven is like a steamer."

"Brother, are you heading north? The weather there is cool, unlike the humid climate of this Jiangnan region."

Water droplets clung to the ship's walls, and the sails seemed to have softened. Sweat, just as it seeped from the skin, was caught by the omnipresent dampness and clung stickily to the body.

Upon hearing this, Ah Long raised his arm to wipe his face, tightened the bundle in his arms, responded twice, and then went into the cabin.

"You son of a bitch!" Scarface kicked Er Mazi in the chest. "I told you to go get the money, and you went to sleep with a man. You didn't get a single penny back and he ran off with it!"

"Brother, brother, brother, listen to me, brother, listen to me." Knowing he had gotten himself into big trouble, Er Mazi crawled forward on his knees and hugged Dao Ba's leg. "Brother, that bitch gave that bastard more than two hundred taels of silver that day, he, he can definitely make some more money. This man is in that dilapidated house now, come with me, we can definitely get some more silver."

Seeing that Scarface remained silent, he continued, "Brother, trust me, that slut's skin is softer than a woman's, you..."

"Get the hell out of here!" Scarface slapped him across the face. "I'm straight!"

"Brother, brother, come with me to see. That bitch was drugged by her lover. She's still in that dilapidated house. She can't escape." Er Mazi felt a little more at ease after being slapped. He thought that he had to get Dao Ba on board no matter what to ensure his own safety.

As Scarface cursed, he followed Er Mazi to the dilapidated house. The door was still open. Peeking inside, he saw that the bed was a mess in the dim moonlight. The person seemed to be under the influence of drugs again, and remained motionless despite the noise.

Scarface couldn't help but think that the person on the bed, bathed in moonlight, resembled a hermit in a temple. He swallowed a few times, brushed aside Er Mazi's hand, and walked closer to the bed to examine him more closely.

Liu Rufang's disheveled black hair contrasted sharply with her increasingly pale face. Her body slumped limply in the messy bedding, her snow-white skin covered with bluish-purple marks, and the red marks on her neck and chest were shocking.

It must have been that bastard Er Mazi's doing. "Damn it!" Scarface spat.

Liu Rufang was awakened by a throbbing, aching pain all over his body and a certain hidden stinging sensation. He frowned, his eyelashes fluttered a few times, and he barely managed to open his eyelids.

His vision first vaguely revealed the familiar spiderwebs on the roof, and then he subconsciously turned his head to the side.

An enlarged face, cleaved open by a knife scar, was right in front of him! The man sat casually on the edge of the bed, his clothes disheveled, staring at him with a sticky gaze.

"ah--!"

A piercing scream suddenly broke the silence in the room.

Liu Rufang's blood seemed to freeze instantly, then surged back violently in the next moment, making his vision go black.

He abruptly pulled the tattered quilt over himself and wrapped it around his battered body, trembling like a leaf in the wind. His voice trembled with extreme fear and rage: "Who...who are you? What are you doing here! Get out! Get out!"

The only response he received was a low, mocking laugh that rolled down Scarface's throat. He watched him with amusement, as if enjoying an entertaining monkey show, until Scarface finally spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and mocking.

"Save your energy. Are you calling for Ah Long?" He paused deliberately, enjoying the last trace of color draining from his face, before speaking slowly and deliberately, as if cutting flesh with a dull knife: "If it weren't for your good husband Ah Long nodding in agreement, personally administering the medicine, and opening this door, I, my brother, Er Mazi... wouldn't have had the good fortune to crawl into your fragrant bed and taste the flavor of this fairy."

As he spoke, a fierce glint appeared in his scarred eyes, and he grabbed Liu Rufang's neck with one hand. "Let me tell you, Ah Long has run away now, and you'll pay his debts. Don't even think about escaping. My brothers will be watching you day and night. If you can't pay back the money within ten days..." As he spoke, his wet, greasy eyes swept over Liu Rufang's body from head to toe. "Next time, it won't just be the two of us."

boom--!

Liu Rufang felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in her mind, and the whole world instantly turned upside down, spinning endlessly, and then all was silent.

Ah Long... Brother Long...

It was him who personally poisoned her food?

It was him who personally opened the door for this scoundrel?

It was him who personally pushed him into this abyss of no return.

He stopped screaming and trembling, just sat there stiffly, his eyes wide open, staring at Scarface's terrifying face... yet it was as if through him he could see a more ferocious demon named Ah Long in the distance.

He was the one who pulled himself back from the brink of hell, and he was also the one who pushed himself back into hell.

It turns out that the deepest chill in this world does not come from the violence of strangers, but from the poison that has been sweetened with honey, handed to you by your bedside with a smile.

His tears had long since dried, and with them, the last glimmer of light in his eyes had been extinguished. He was like a jade statue whose soul had been instantly drained away—beautiful, yet lifeless, leaving only a deathly, cold despair.

Seeing her like this, Scarface knew he had taken her words to heart. "Don't blame us. Blame your lover. Once you've raised the money and paid off the debt, find a place where nobody knows you and start a new life."

As he spoke, he bent down to fasten his belt. When he looked up, he finally reached out and tucked the tattered quilt around him. Before leaving, he turned back and closed the door behind him. Er Mazi, who was sitting by the woodpile with a twig in his mouth, spat and rushed over when he saw him come out. "Brother, how was it? Not bad, right?"

Scarface glanced at him sideways. "Send someone to follow him later, don't let him escape again." He paused and added, "Get the money first, don't cause any more trouble." Er Mazi didn't hesitate and followed him away.

Inside the house, only Liu Rufang remained, along with his life, which had been crushed and scattered on the ground by the hands of his closest relatives.

Beneath the hibiscus-scented curtains, love was severed first; a bloodstained neck, cold as jade skin.

Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, the "Overlord" on the stage made his appearance, his posture as imposing as a mountain, his banner trembling slightly. Before he even uttered a sound, an overwhelming aura of heroism filled the entire venue.

"His strength could uproot mountains, and his spirit could cover the world."

The time is not right, and my steed will not go.

My steed will not go; what can I do?

"My dear Yu, my dear Yu, what can I do?"

"Madam, what do you think?" The troupe leader stood below Madam Chen, bowing and scraping with a fawning smile.

In the private room, Chen Zhangshi, who had been listlessly fanning herself with a round fan, suddenly stopped. Behind the edge of the fan, a glint of light suddenly flashed in her phoenix eyes, which had seen countless treasures and curiosities.

She leaned forward unconsciously.

The man on stage had just sung "My strength can uproot mountains, my spirit can cover the world," his voice deep and resonant, striking straight into the depths of one's heart. His eyebrows and eyes, outlined with heavy paint, were sharply defined, flying up to his temples, and his arms under his chainmail trembled as if he truly possessed boundless strength.

This is no longer the defeated general in the play who is at his wit's end; it is clearly a scorching, blazing sun!

Chen Zhangshi felt as if her heart had been lightly burned by that voice and figure.

A smile, unnoticed even by herself, slipped from the corner of her lips. Her eyes were glued to the "tyrant," following his every move, scrutinizing him from head to toe, and then from toe to head, taking in every detail.

All the surrounding noise seemed to recede, leaving only that one radiant figure in the vast courtyard.

If such a person were to remove his attire and lean against her bedside, what kind of charm would he possess?

"Madam, the tea has gone cold."

Chen Zhangshi then snapped out of her daze, lazily humming in agreement, but her gaze remained fixed on him.

On stage, the King of Chu finally committed suicide at the Wujiang River amidst a chorus of mournful sounds. The drums and gongs fell silent, and the entire audience erupted in sighs and cheers. Chen Zhangshi, as if waking from a dream, did not rise, but merely tapped the table lightly with her fan. "Master," she asked, "what was the name of the actor who sang the King of Chu just now? Where was he from?"

"In reply to Madam, that performer's stage name is 'Sai Yunxiang.' He is a newly hired star performer. I heard that he originally came from the north. His skills are extremely solid, and his appearance is also excellent. He has only been here for less than half a month, but he has already become very famous."

“Sai Yunxiang…” Madam Chen pondered the name over and over, feeling that it suited him quite well, possessing a unique charm. After a moment’s thought, she took out a gold and kingfisher feather hairpin from her hair and handed it over, “Please trouble the troupe leader to send this Boss Sai a ‘gift’. Just say… his Overlord singing is excellent, and I really like it.”

In the following days, almost by coincidence, Madam Chen requested Sai Yunxiang's performance every single day.

Finally, after another exhilarating performance of "Farewell My Concubine," the troupe leader personally accompanied Sai Yunxiang to a quiet room backstage.

"Yunxiang, inside... Madam wants to see you and offer some words of encouragement. You must handle this carefully; this is a powerful figure we cannot afford to offend, and it is also a great opportunity for you." The troupe leader lowered his head, frowned, and his tone was full of implications.

Sai Yunxiang removed his makeup and wore a slightly worn blue cloth robe. Upon hearing this, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly on his face, which was pale from years of wearing makeup. His eyes, which were once so imposing on stage, were now as calm as two deep wells.

He paused for a moment, then finally raised his hand and pushed open the door.

Inside the door, Madam Chen was facing away from him, admiring the military uniforms hanging up. Hearing the sound, she slowly turned around. In the candlelight, she had changed into a lotus-colored brocade robe, which made her look even more languid and charming than when she watched the play during the day.

She looked at him, her eyes sparkling, and softly said, "Boss Sai's 'Overlord' really touches people's hearts."