Chapter 74 Who exactly allowed him to be so willful...?
After saying that, Nezha, looking aggrieved, grabbed Wang Shanzai's neck and gently pried it open.
Click.
Bone fracture.
Before everyone's eyes, the man's head was flipped to the left by an invisible force.
His neck bone pierced through from the right, and blood gushed out.
Like that rat demon that died behind the curtain.
The continuous whispers abruptly ceased. A suffocating silence radiated outwards from the deceased royal chef.
The man who was just bullying others was dead in the blink of an eye.
Nezha casually tossed him down, his head landing in front of Ping Yu. In his line of sight, the boy grinned, displaying his hands covered in crimson. He was like a hyena that had just caught its prey, radiating bloodlust and demanding praise from its master.
"How was it? Did I do a good job?"
He took a step forward, his words full of coaxing: "I will always do very well, so promise me."
“Give me your affection, Pingyu.”
Each peaceful word carried a tactile sensation like octopus tentacles. Pingyu felt a chill creep through her body, a thick, viscous emotion creeping in from all directions, slowly engulfing her like a cocoon, starting from her heels. It was as if only she and Nezha were there; she had to contend with the naiveté of his "equivalent exchange" and the cruelty with which he could so easily take another's life.
The overwhelming amount of information caused Pingyu's brain to overload.
Amidst the blank screen and the system crash, she uttered a single sentence: "Can my parents go first?"
Lin Dong & Xue Yue'e: "Ping Yu!"
The girl raised her hand to stop her parents from saying more. Nezha nodded, then stared at her with a half-smile and asked, "Anything else?"
“Others…”
The guards could barely hold their swords; they stared in horror at the beautiful girl in the middle. Her expression remained unchanged, as if she were discussing whether a few flowers should be picked or how the tea was brewed.
They were also from Chaoge. Either let them go together, or leave no survivors.
The girl drew a circle in the air with her hand and said:
"Kill him."
The next second, Nezha's hand pierced the heart of his nearest slave. He was skilled at killing from birth; leaving a way out was his greatest weakness. Li Jing and Lady Yin had been teaching him to live like humans, but that wasn't what Nezha wanted.
The fierce wind gently swept Lin Dong and his wife out of the main hall, then slammed the door shut. This place became a sealed chamber, where no slave could escape death.
The sounds of flesh and blood splattering all around were so loud that, as if afraid of frightening the girl, Nezha chose the cleanest way to die.
Piercing the heart, a fatal blow.
As he killed the second person, he continued, “It’s just that you’re unwilling to lift a finger; you always order me around. You know best how to use me and are most adept at manipulating my actions. Pingyu, once you’re used to a knife, don’t switch to another. You’ll become rusty, clumsy, and you might accidentally lose your life.”
"So don't replace me, Pingyu."
One, two, three...
Until only the one closest to the girl remained.
The man had been driven mad by the death of his colleague. When he realized that he would be the last one to die, he raised his bronze knife and slashed down at Ping Yu.
"Witch!"
His eyes were like copper bells, almost bulging out.
"Go to hell!"
Under Ping Yu's calm gaze, he realized that his blade was blocked by an unseen demon. Unable to strike, it remained motionless.
Nezha gripped the hilt of the sword, turned his head, and said gently:
"Keep using me."
Amid screams, the boy twisted the man's arm.
The knife, which was supposed to have injured Pingyu, instead severed his own carotid artery.
Blood gushed out like a fountain as Nezha tormented him for the insults he had just hurled at Pingyu.
Pingyu was pulled back a little, and Nezha didn't let a single drop of blood get on her.
Pingyu, her mind a jumble of thoughts, was filled with the words Nezha had spoken. The boy waited quietly for her to sort out her ideas, looking rather docile.
What is a wall hanging?
What does it mean to like?
Looking at Nezha, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity towards him for the first time. The boy had kept his fangs hidden for so long beside Pingyu, and the childhood hero-and-death filter made her instinctively idealize Nezha's image. In Pingyu's heart, Nezha was powerful, awkward, yet gentle, and fundamentally kind. So much time together had almost made her forget how much of a jerk he had been when they first met.
"Those on the wall, you drew them all...?"
She was still persistent and asked the question even though she already knew the answer.
Memories that had been deliberately hidden suddenly surfaced almost instantly.
Pingyu remembered that Nezha was a person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
"It's me."
The boy was completely unaware that he was doing something wrong, or perhaps he knew it but did not repent.
“I am not yet grown up, nor have I achieved anything, so I cannot be engaged yet. However, I asked Zhu You, and he said that when we meet in the future, the matchmaker should bring a painting to propose marriage. I do not want others to paint you; their paintings are not accurate and are an insult.”
"So I'll draw you first."
Nezha said cheerfully:
"Practice hundreds or thousands of times, and you'll eventually find the one that most resembles you."
She imagined herself sleeping in the drawing, and Pingyu hesitated to ask how it was drawn. She was afraid Nezha would tell her that he had been lurking in her room day and night. If this was the price for Nezha catching her nightmares, Pingyu would rather be scared to death in her dreams.
It's better than it is now.
The boy's repeated expressions of "I like you" have already broken through the barrier between them.
There was no way to fix it, and Pingyu could no longer turn a blind eye or pretend to be deaf and dumb.
She was furious that Nezha had torn their relationship apart, diluting their pure feelings with something else. She was even more furious that he knew nothing yet acted as if he was determined to win.
Who exactly gave him permission to be so willful?
Just as she was about to speak, she heard hurried footsteps outside. Many people were talking, and accompanied by the ringing of the Taoist's Three Pure Ones Bell, they were quickly approaching.
In the dim light, Pingyu heard the voices of Li Jing and Lady Yin.
"Tsk."
Nezha clicked his tongue impatiently.
He hadn't even gotten a result yet, but he hadn't expected Lin Dong and Xue Yue'e to act so quickly.
The matter at Chaoge was of great importance, and the general had no choice but to attend.
Besides coming to confront Pingyu, Nezha also had something to discuss with Lady Yin. He glanced at the girl peering outside and pondered for a moment.
When it comes to matters of the heart, being constantly disturbed is always troublesome.
Here, he called out, "Pingyu."
Now, the moment Nezha spoke, Pingyu became extremely wary. She looked back, every strand of her hair standing on end: "What are you doing?"
See you tonight.
After he finished speaking, his figure gradually faded away.
A ghost of Nezha's caliber possesses abilities far surpassing Pingyu's Yin-Yang Eyes. He needs to manifest to be seen; otherwise, no one can see him.
Just as the boy disappeared, the door was pushed open precisely at that moment.
The Taoist priest and Li Jing rushed in together, shouting in unison, "Where is the demon?!"
However, no one answered.
The Three Pure Bells rang violently, clanging and clattering, their sharp sounds like screams. The room was littered with corpses, and amidst the flowing blood, the girl was the only living person. Lin Dong and Xue Yue'e rushed up from behind Li Jing and embraced Ping Yu tightly.
"My goodness!" Xue Yue'e cried, "Are you alright?!"
Pingyu reassured her in a daze, "It's alright, Mother..."
She looked around, but Nezha was nowhere to be seen. Pingyu was certain he hadn't left; Nezha must be hiding somewhere in the room. The Taoist priest, staring at the incessantly ringing Three Pure Ones Bell, broke out in a cold sweat. However, the Lin family had offered too much, so he decided to try again. The old Taoist then pulled out a stack of yellow talismans and shouted aimlessly, "I am from Qingfeng Temple..."
Before he could finish his self-introduction, the talisman in his hand was ripped in half. Nezha seemed to be intentionally showing off his trickery to Pingyu, and the girl saw a fleeting smile on his face in the reflection of the blood.
The Taoist priest looked at the talisman root in his hand and was greatly alarmed.
"This matter is beyond my ability to handle."
He shook his head and turned to leave.
Lin Dong stepped forward to try and stop him, but Li Jing's expression turned grim.
It's not that I don't want to help him! Yin Shi wept inwardly: It's that Li Jing forbade it. He's the pillar of this family! How can a person do something that even Heaven forbids?
Feeling guilty, she followed Li Jing. Even when he went to the military camp, Lady Yin stayed by his side.
She remained silent, waiting for Li Jing to handle the matter.
Just then, a gust of wind brushed past the woman's ear.
The wind blew on the chain hanging from her earlobe, and Madam Yin's eyes widened suddenly.
The nightmare that haunts me day and night is speaking in my ear:
"Mother, Father has gotten into big trouble."
His voice was clear and childlike. The more she used to love listening to Nezha speak, the more terrified she was now.
Nezha appeared before her.
The boy covered her mouth with his hand, pressing his face close to hers. Cold, decaying, and foul odors—all the unsettling smells—rushed up with the ghost's presence. Nezha hooked his arms around his mother's slender neck from behind and whispered, "This man is a favorite of King Zhou, searching for something to please Su Daji. If he dies here, the king will be furious. Guess what Father will do then?"
Yes, yes...
Even she, a woman who had long lived in the inner quarters, knew of King Zhou's cruelty. Lady Yin sobbed silently, her eyes rolling back like those of a fish out of water. Nezha nodded and continued, "If Mother does me a favor, I'll help you solve this problem. How about it?"
Before Lady Yin could respond, Nezha continued, "You helped me build a temple on Cuiping Mountain, and I want you to cast a golden statue for me. You must also spread the word about the temple's efficacy and ensure its incense burns continuously. If you agree, I will help Li Jing succeed. Otherwise..."
The woman dared not think about what would happen after Li Jing's death; she nodded frantically. In her anxiety, she nearly fainted.
Having received permission, Nezha released her.
Although Pingyu was furious at Nezha's actions today, he would not pity the Li family couple.
Seeing Yin's appearance, she knew that it was Nezha causing trouble.
Compared to his own situation, Pingyu felt a subtle sense of comfort.
At least he didn't scare me.
Pingyu, think optimistically.
This kinship has been severed; he has no attachment to his parents.
But children always have an inexplicable affection for their mothers. Nezha felt a pang of pity for Yin Shi's terrified state. He muttered a few words, but then hatred welled up within him.
He told himself he must not be soft-hearted towards her.
This man is no different from Li Jing.
He looked away, preparing to help Li Jing clean up the mess as promised. As he raised his hand, the boy felt his gaze. Pingyu looked up, peeking in like a little mouse.
Nezha suddenly remembered what happened that night, so he put his hand down and turned to Yin Shi again.
"mother."
His shout nearly made Lady Yin lose her mind. Her voice trembled as she whispered when her husband wasn't looking, "My son, what else do you need?"
Nezha frowned when he heard the word "son," but patiently instructed, "Tonight, burn me another nice set of clothes, a bucket of flower petals, and a bucket of wood ash."
Clothes are understandable, but what about the other two items? Madam Yin hesitated and replied, "Alright, Mother will prepare them for you."
Nezha was very satisfied with Yin's straightforwardness; he had long been unhappy with his own slovenly appearance.
Tonight he's going to the riverbank to wash himself with wood ash, soak flower petals in the water, and then change into new clothes.
Ping Yu was fair-skinned and fragrant, and he also needed to be clean and tidy before meeting her!
Author's note: Pingyu: It's good that you're clean, but it's best if you don't come!
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