Chapter 215| Chapter 216| Chapter 217
Chapter 215: I Am Cui Shishi
Strangely, while jailers would normally rush to suppress any loud commotion, today they seemed to have vanished entirely. Despite the roaring shouts and violent thuds echoing through the cell block, not a single guard came to investigate.
Lu Yunxi’s lips curled into a cold smile. She understood the meaning behind the guards’ deliberate negligence. Without wasting another breath, she spun around and thoroughly thrashed the inmates in a few swift, fluid movements.
A few minutes later, the sixteen female prisoners lay groaning on the floor, their faces bruised and swollen as they glared up at her with a mixture of burning resentment and terror.
She offered them a nonchalant smile. “What? Looking for another beating?”
The inmates quickly lowered their heads, thoroughly chastised. The ringleader felt a suffocating wave of humiliation. She had carefully observed the group beforehand, convincing herself they were helpless targets before launching her assault. Who could have anticipated that this fragile-looking girl would be such a terrifying monster? These women had been thrown into various prison blocks over the years and had never lost a fight, yet they had been utterly crushed.
Defiant but completely outmatched, they finally quieted down, not daring to cause any more trouble.
Across the corridor, Shen San was pacing like a man with burs under his saddle. He sat down for a moment, only to bounce right back up, shifting uncomfortably as he paced the length of his cell.
The watching Cui men were bewildered. “Master Shen, what is making you so restless?” Locked in this dreary place, they felt utterly drained of energy, yet Shen San seemed to have boundless vitality.
“I’m bored out of my mind just sitting here doing nothing,” he grumbled. Turning around, he caught sight of Lu Yunxi casually weaving a straw mat and tapped restlessly against the iron bars.
Seeing his plight, Lu Yunxi thought for a moment before retrieving the thick stack of secret family recipes the Cui family had gifted her. “I’ve already memorized these. You can pass the time by reading them.”
Flicking her wrist with a precise burst of strength, she launched the folded parchment across the corridor, sailing it perfectly through the bars to land neatly in Shen San’s hands. He paused, finally settling down to pore over the pages. With Shen San pacified and the Cui men drifting back to sleep, Lu Yunxi calmly resumed weaving her straw mats.
The silence in the block grew so profound you could hear a pin drop, until the heavy echo of boots signaled the guards’ approach. Lu Yunxi hadn’t toured the rest of the facility, but the jailers here seemed to operate without any strict routine, patrolling at random intervals with a rotating staff.
Based on the approaching footsteps, two guards were walking past.
“Did you hear? Several prisoners are scheduled to be dragged out and beheaded in a few days.”
“Yeah, the ones in the rear cells. It’s that disgraced Cui family… and those rowdy women who are always starting brawls, right?”
“When is it happening? The sooner the better; that block is the loudest section in the entire dungeon. We’ll finally get some peace.”
“Shouldn’t be long, probably a matter of days.”
As their voices faded down the corridor, a heavy panic gripped the Cui family. Hearing the name ‘Cui,’ the inmate ringleader’s eyes widened in fury, and she began pacing her side of the cell like a caged animal.
Lu Yunxi paused briefly, eyeing her half-finished mat, before continuing her rhythmic weaving. Watching her absolute composure, the trembling Cui family gradually found their own panic subsiding.
“Ah, whatever. Life and death are dictated by fate,” Mrs. Cui sighed, gently resting a hand over her swollen belly with a complex look. Following Lu Yunxi’s lead, the others silently picked up loose strands of straw and began weaving to distract their minds.
The inmate ringleader stared at them, her expression warping with disbelief. “Are you people completely insane? You’re facing the executioner’s block, yet you aren’t even afraid?”
“What is there to fear? What must come will come,” one of the aunts replied quietly.
The cell fell silent once more, filled only with the soft rustling of dry straw.
While the prisoners managed to find a strange peace, the Prefect’s grand estate was once again ringing with the sound of smashing porcelain. His primary confidant watched in silent dread as the magistrate shattered cup after expensive cup in a towering rage.
The local artisans of Wuzhou were skilled warriors, but they were terrible at crafting delicate dinnerware. Every single one of these exquisite porcelain pieces had been imported from the imperial capital at an exorbitant cost. Over the past few days, the Prefect had practically emptied the estate’s storerooms, and the city’s lone luxury boutique had yet to receive new shipments. At this rate, they would be eating out of wooden bowls.
“Useless trash! A horde of absolute failures!” the Prefect roared, his beard trembling as he glared at his subordinate. “I went to the trouble of transferring an entire gang of thugs into that cell, and they didn’t even manage to break their spirits?!” He paused, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Did their tempers suddenly improve?”
The confidant swallowed hard, carefully choosing his words. “Of course not. In fact, they started fighting on the very first day, just as ordered. But we didn’t go to investigate because we were following your instructions. Judging by the noise, it was a fierce brawl.”
However, he didn’t dare utter a single syllable of the truth. When the jailers had checked the cell later, the Cui family was completely unscathed, while the sixteen ruthless women they had planted were black, blue, and cowering in the corner. It was blindingly obvious that the Cui family—or rather, the strange girl with them—had thoroughly beaten them into submission. He kept his mouth shut, terrified that the explosive revelation would push the Prefect over the edge.
The Prefect gradually leveled his breathing, taking a tense sip of water. “Tell me, did the guards drop hints about the impending executions? Are they terrified yet?”
“My Lord… they appear completely unchanged from their usual demeanor,” the confidant whispered, subtly taking two steps back. Sure enough, a split second later, another expensive porcelain plate shattered violently against the wall.
“They aren’t even afraid of death?! Fine… splendid! Go drag every single member of the Cui household out of their cells and bring them to the grand tribunal immediately!”
Lu Yunxi and the Cui women were abruptly hauled back into the courtroom. As they gathered before the bench, they looked up to see the Prefect’s heavily bandaged, furious face.
The young Cui Sanniang paled slightly, her body trembling despite her best efforts to remain stoic. “Are they going to execute us right now?” she whispered.
Before anyone could answer, a loud, chaotic commotion erupted from the entrance, sounding like a crowded marketplace.
The Prefect banged his gavel, roaring, “What is that racket?! What is happening out there?!”
The confidant rushed over, bowing frantically. “My Lord, the guards discovered an extra person inside the men’s cell… He insists he isn’t part of the Cui clan and was merely a passing traveler. Should we release him?”
The Prefect let out a vicious sneer, waving his hand impatiently. “Idiot! Release him? What if he’s a core member of their family trying to slip through the cracks? It is far better to execute a thousand innocent men by mistake than to let a single enemy escape! Drag them all up here!”
The confidant nodded quickly and relayed the command.
Within minutes, every single prisoner associated with the case was brought before the court, surrounded by a massive crowd of whispering spectators.
The Prefect glared down from his high seat, his eyes dripping with malice. “I’ve come up with an excellent game… since you dared to humiliate me in my own court, don’t blame me for what comes next!” He let out a dark, booming laugh that echoed through the hall. When he finally composed himself, he pinned the prisoners with a cold stare. “Bailiffs! Prepare the torture implements for these women.”
“Force the Cui men to stand right there and watch every single second of their agony!” his cruel voice echoed.
Lu Yunxi quietly glanced up at him before lowering her eyes, completely unfazed by the guards drawing their weapons. With a subtle manipulation of her skills, she deployed dozens of invisible, human-shaped protective shields, sealing them seamlessly over the skin of every Cui family member and Shen San.
As the executioners stepped forward with their iron tools, the Prefect barked, “Stop! Start with that ‘Cui Shishi’ first!” He pointed a vengeful finger directly at Lu Yunxi.
The guards immediately shoved the other prisoners aside, seizing Lu Yunxi to drag her toward the center of the floor.
“Stop right there!” a fierce shout shattered the courtroom’s tension. “Who dares lay a hand on her?!”
The Cui family and Lu Yunxi snapped their heads toward the entrance. Standing at the threshold was the real Cui Shishi. Her frame was trembling slightly and her eyes were rimmed with red, but she glared at the Prefect with unyielding defiance.
“I am Cui Shishi! Why are you making things difficult for an innocent stranger?!” she declared, tears welling in her eyes even as her voice rang out with absolute resolve.
The courtroom erupted into utter chaos. The stunned crowd instinctively parted down the middle, carving a wide path straight toward the magistrate’s dais. Clutching her hands to hide her trembling, Cui Shishi took a deep breath, forced a mask of composure onto her face, and marched resolutely into the hall.
Chapter 216: Crime
In truth, after her family had been arrested, Cui Shishi had secretly followed the officials all the way to Wuzhou. Since she didn’t dare get too close and had to travel on foot while the guards rode in carriages, the grueling journey had taken her a long time. Upon finally slipping into the city, she was horrified to see the officials dragging Miss Lu into the courtroom.
What was worse, the Prefect was calling Miss Lu by her name. They had clearly mistaken her savior for herself.
She couldn’t let her benefactor suffer such an injustice on her behalf, so she stepped forward without hesitation.
The Prefect sat in his high chair, staring down at Cui Shishi for a long moment before letting out a cold sneer. “I see. It seems you are just a servant of the Cui household. How fiercely loyal.”
Cui Shishi’s chest heaved violently. “No! I am the real Cui Shishi! I’m not lying to you!”
“Oh? And how do you plan to prove that?” The Prefect waved a dismissive hand, looking thoroughly amused. He turned to his confidant. “Drag her away… Wait!”
Pausing, a malicious smile crept across his face. “Never mind, throw her in with the rest of them! Since she’s so desperate to serve the Cui family, I’ll grant her wish and let her be buried alongside them!”
Once the guards had shoved Cui Shishi over to Mrs. Cui, the courtroom fell silent again.
“Let the execution begin!” the Prefect ordered impatiently, pointing straight at Lu Yunxi.
Furious, Cui Shishi shouted, “I told you, she isn’t—”
Before she could finish, the confidant caught sight of the Prefect’s darkening expression and realized things were about to go south. He quickly stepped forward and shoved a gag into her mouth, silencing her. Restrained by the guards, Cui Shishi could only let out muffled, desperate grunts, her eyes rimmed with red.
Meanwhile, the guards hauled Lu Yunxi over to a massive wooden post that was at least a foot thick and stood a head taller than her. It resembled the thick load-bearing pillars from the hotels in her previous life. Bound tightly against such a sturdy post, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to break free.
Honestly, Lu Yunxi was quite confused. She had no idea what this dramatic setup was for. Were they just going to leave her tied up outside in the wind and rain?
Right at that moment, a child’s curious voice piped up from the crowd, asking the exact same question.
“This punishment is known as ‘pounding rice,'” an older bystander explained loudly to the boy. “It involves cutting off the criminal’s nose, then exiling them to the harsh borders to do grueling manual labor like drying grain and pounding rice.”
The surrounding crowd let out a collective gasp of realization.
Hearing this, Lu Yunxi actually felt a wave of relief. She watched calmly as the executioner raised a gleaming knife and brought it slicing down toward her face.
Swish! The blade flashed through the air.
Even though Lu Yunxi had repeatedly assured the Cui family to stay calm after leaving the cells, the women still subconsciously squeezed their eyes shut and screamed in horror. Nearby, the Cui men struggled furiously, their veins bulging in absolute rage as they were pinned down by the guards.
However, the agonized shrieks they expected to hear from Lu Yunxi never came. Instead, it was the Prefect who cried out in shock.
“Impossible! This is impossible!”
He stumbled down from his platform, staring wide-eyed at Lu Yunxi’s perfectly intact face. When the heavy blade had struck her nose, it hadn’t left so much as a scratch!
He stared at her for a long moment, cold sweat beading on his forehead. With a blank, bewildered gaze, he muttered, “I don’t believe it! How can a person’s flesh be harder than iron?!”
The confidant frowned, trying to rationalize the impossible. “My Lord, is it possible the blade simply missed her? We were watching from a distance; it was hard to see clearly!”
The Prefect nodded frantically. “Yes… yes, that must be it…” He kept repeating the words, though it was unclear whether he was trying to convince the crowd or delude himself.
Meanwhile, the executioner standing directly beside Lu Yunxi was drenched in sweat. He was the one holding the knife. The onlookers might not have realized what happened, but he knew exactly what he had felt. The blade had struck the girl with a sharp clang, the brutal recoil nearly throwing him off balance. It was only because he had a sturdy, practiced stance that he hadn’t fallen flat on his back.
Remembering the bizarre local superstitions of Wuzhou, a deep, creeping dread filled his eyes. Shuddering, he subconsciously took a step back, desperate to put distance between himself and the girl. Seeing his terrified reaction, several nearby guards frowned and also began inching away.
Completely oblivious to the growing panic around him, the Prefect snatched the knife from the executioner’s hand and began wildly hacking at Lu Yunxi himself.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rapid succession of sharp, metallic strikes echoed through the courtyard.
The Prefect swung blindly, losing count of how many times he struck her until his arms ached with exhaustion. Panting heavily, he finally stopped and looked up—only to see Lu Yunxi’s utterly nonchalant expression staring back at him.
His initial fury instantly evaporated into sheer, icy terror.
“You… are you a human or a ghost?!” he stammered. If she were human, how could she take so many direct blows without a single drop of blood being shed?! Paralyzed by fear, he stumbled backward.
As the highest-ranking official in Wuzhou, the Prefect’s sheer panic was infectious. If he was terrified, the commoners had no hope. The crowd outside the court immediately fell into an agitated frenzy. The guards tightened their grips on their weapons, quietly retreating into the shadows while no one was looking.
“A ghost!”
Someone in the crowd shrieked. That single cry was like a lit match dropped into a powder keg. In an instant, terrified screams tore through the air, echoing across the streets. The massive crowd of onlookers scattered, fleeing in a chaotic stampede.
Backing away blindly, the Prefect tripped over a heavy wooden chair and crashed to the floor. Scrambling frantically to his feet, he pointed a trembling finger at Lu Yunxi and shrieked, “Quickly! Arrest them! Throw them back in the dungeons! Lock them all up!”
His confidant tried desperately to maintain a shred of composure. “Don’t panic, My Lord! Even if she is a ghost, she clearly can’t harm us physically. Otherwise, she would have fought back long ago instead of letting us tie her up! Why else would she go to the dungeons so obediently?!”
“Y-yes! Arrest them quickly!” the Prefect stammered, gripping his confidant’s arm with a vice-like hold, his heart hammering against his ribs in sheer terror.
Bound to the pillar, Lu Yunxi turned her head to check on the Cui family before subtly shifting her gaze toward Shen San. The master and disciple exchanged a swift, knowing look, nodding slightly before turning their eyes away.
Chapter 217: Not as Good as Lengshui Town
The imperial envoy launched a swift investigation into the matter, uncovered undeniable evidence, and forwarded a formal report to the capital.
When the emperor read the letter, his fury was so intense that he slammed his hand against his desk, reportedly injuring himself in the process. The scandal even alarmed the Empress Dowager.
The gravity of the situation could not be overstated.
Liu Yi, the true Prefect of Wuzhou, had graduated from the imperial academy. Countless scholars and officials had crossed paths with him over the years and knew exactly what he looked like. Yet, the man currently occupying his seat bore absolutely no resemblance to him.
The imposter was originally a petty thief who made a living through back-alley larceny. One day, he chanced upon a wealthy young noble lying intoxicated and abandoned on the ground, his body covered in minor grass cuts.
That wealthy noble was Zhuang Lu.
Noticing the premium fabric of the man’s robes, the thief deduced he came from a powerful family. Hoping to profit from playing the savior, he dragged the unconscious noble back to his hovel.
When Zhuang Lu woke up the next morning, he offered no immediate reward, but he kept the useful thief in mind.
Sometime later, Zhuang Lu’s father intercepted a confidential report: the newly appointed Prefect of Wuzhou had fallen severely ill on his journey to take office and had perished. The province was requesting a replacement.
Because Zhuang Lu’s father was the first to receive the document, he covertly suppressed the news, keeping the rest of the court entirely in the dark.
Learning of this, Zhuang Lu summoned the thief and dispatched him to Wuzhou under the guise of the deceased official. To ensure the fraud could secure absolute control, the thief was provided with his own band of loyal cutthroats alongside a private faction of high-level guards supplied by the Zhuang family.
From that moment on, the petty thief reigned as the local tyrant of Wuzhou, levying exorbitant taxes and driving the region into absolute chaos.
The Cui and Zhuang families had long been locked in a bitter blood feud. When the Cui clan was stripped of their titles and sentenced to exile, Wuzhou just happened to be designated as their destination. Overjoyed by the coincidence, the Zhuang family immediately sent a secret missive to the imposter, commanding him to construct a fatal trap to wipe out the Cui line.
This was the true origin of the conspiracy.
Once the full scope of the treason reached the capital, the imperial court erupted into an uproar. The emperor stripped Zhuang Lu’s father of his official title and ordered a ruthless, comprehensive audit of every regional official across the empire to ensure no other imposters had usurped the throne’s authority. Even the lowest-ranking municipal clerks were subjected to intense scrutiny.
To everyone’s horror, the investigation unearthed quite a few secondary frauds.
This aggressive, sweeping purge consumed nearly an entire year before the empire finally stabilized.
Of course, that political fallout unfolded over the months to come.
At this moment, the Cui family was simply drowning in relief. For them, this brush with death had turned out to be a profound blessing in disguise. Perhaps driven by imperial guilt over the massive oversight, the emperor explicitly instructed his envoy to ensure the family’s absolute safety and well-being.
The imperial envoy approached the clan, asking if they had any specific requests to alleviate their hardships.
Cui Da pondered the offer for a long time, but unable to pinpoint their immediate needs, he bowed politely. “My Lord, may our family discuss this privately and offer our response to you at a later date?”
“Take all the time you require,” the envoy replied smoothly. “However, the legitimate replacement Prefect is already traveling to the province. Once he arrives to assume command, I must return to the capital.”
The Cui family offered their deepest thanks and returned to their small residence in Beizhen.
Lu Yunxi stared down at the massive table groaning under the weight of exquisite delicacies, feeling entirely helpless.
She and Shen San had intended to offer their formal farewells to the Cui family, but the grateful hosts had fiercely insisted they remain in the stone forest to celebrate for a few more days. Given everything they had survived together over the past week, even the chronically timid young aunt, Cui Sanniang, had begged her to stay.
Lu Yunxi had relented, agreeing to delay their departure by forty-eight hours.
She never expected their compliance would be rewarded with such an incredibly lavish feast. She could only assume the family had utilized their connections with the imperial envoy to secure the premium ingredients.
“Please, Miss Lu, Mr. Shen, eat your fill!” the family urged eagerly, beaming around the table.
Once everyone had feasted and drank to their hearts’ content, night fully blanketed the canyon. Lu Yunxi and Shen San announced they needed to step out to tend to an errand, smoothly deflecting the family’s attempts to keep them inside the house.
The reality was that the Beizhen hovel was incredibly cramped. The men were forced to huddle into one narrow bedroom while the women squeezed into another. If the two travelers remained overnight, it would place an awkward burden on the family, who desperately needed privacy to process their shared trauma.
The master and disciple simply walked into the quiet stone forest, located a massive, flat boulder, and drifted off to sleep under the stars.
The next morning, assuming the exhausted family would sleep late to recover from their ordeal, Lu Yunxi and Shen San intentionally bided their time. They casually prepared breakfast out in the woods before finally walking back to the Cui residence.
However, the moment they stepped through the threshold, they found the entire family huddled together with profoundly bleak expressions, the atmosphere stiflingly depressed.
The travelers froze.
Logically speaking, they had just been cleared of all fabricated charges and released from a corrupt dungeon. They should have been ecstatic.
Lu Yunxi’s gaze swept across the room, her eyes pausing as she noticed the state of the interior. While the house was structural and humble, the aristocratic family had previously kept the rooms meticulously clean. Today, however, the place looked completely ransacked, as if a whirlwind of thieves had torn through the walls.
“What happened here?” she asked, keeping her tone measured.
Shen San scanned the wreckage in grim silence.
Both of them quickly realized that aside from massive, unmovable items like the heavy dining table, every piece of functional furniture had completely vanished—even the basic wooden benches were gone. Left with nowhere to sit, the travelers were forced to remain standing.
Cui Da snapped out of his daze. Forcing a strained, sheepish smile, he blurted out, “Please, sit!”
But looking down, he realized there wasn’t a single stool left to offer. The few surviving chairs were already occupied by the frail aunts. His face flushed with intense embarrassment, and he rubbed his nose, completely unsure of how to salvage his hospitality.
The aunts sitting near the front reacted quickly, immediately standing up to surrender their seats to Lu Yunxi and Shen San.
Once the guests were settled with freshly brewed tea, Cui Da finally detailed the horrors of the previous night.
“We had only just turned in for the evening,” he began, his voice tight. “We were still half-asleep when…”
In the dead of night, a thunderous, violent pounding had rattled the front door. Having only just escaped an imperial cell block, the sudden racket struck the family like a physical blow, triggering a wave of sheer panic. For them, a violent knock on the door was synonymous with chains and dungeons; the trauma ran deep.
After a long, agonizing struggle to master his fear, Cui Da drew a ragged breath and pulled the door open.
The exact instant the latch cleared, a heavy fist collided squarely with his face.
“Ah!” Cui Da shrieked, collapsing backward onto the dirt floor as he clutched his blooming eye.
The terrified family looked past him, horrified to see dozens of local Beizhen residents crowding the entrance. Every single villager held a massive hemp sack, their eyes gleaming with a predatory, feral light.
Before the family could demand an explanation, the mob surged into the narrow home like locusts. They snatched up every loose item in sight, throwing blankets, clothes, utensils, and stools into their sacks with practiced, terrifying speed.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” the family shrieked in horror. “Why are you robbing us?!”
In the chaos, the pregnant Mrs. Cui was violently shoved aside. The shock nearly triggered an immediate miscarriage. Panic-stricken, the family abandoned their attempts to protect their property, focused entirely on carrying the weeping woman back to her bed. They scrambled to administer the emergency remedies Lu Yunxi had left behind, barely managed to stabilize her condition and save the unborn child.
Meanwhile, the mob of villagers thoroughly stripped the house bare, leaving nothing but structural timber before vanishing back into the night.
That was the grim reality.
Hearing the explanation, Lu Yunxi immediately rushed into the bedroom to evaluate Mrs. Cui. Fortunately, the woman’s vitals had leveled out, and the residual medicine had done its job. She simply required absolute bed rest for the next few days.
Once the medical emergency was handled, Lu Yunxi stepped back into the main room, her brow furrowing. “I don’t understand. Why did the villagers suddenly launch a coordinated raid on your home?”
Cui Da let out a bitter, helpless laugh. “From what we gathered, when the imperial guards marched us away days ago, the locals assumed we were doomed. They believed that even if we somehow survived the trial, we would return as broken, defenseless outcasts who would constantly be tormented by the regional factions. They targeted our home because they figured that as disgraced exiles, we wouldn’t have the courage or the standing to report the theft to the local authorities.”
Lu Yunxi frowned, finding the situation incredibly thorny. “So what do you intend to do now? Do you want me to go out and beat those thieves into submission?”
The family members stared back at her blankly, entirely lost. Even if Miss Lu utilized her immense strength to retrieve their belongings today, she couldn’t remain in Beizhen to play their bodyguard forever. The moment she departed, the hostile community would simply descend upon them again.
Cui Shishi slumped onto the floorboards, letting out a long, ragged sigh. “The life here… it isn’t nearly as peaceful as the days I spent back in Lengshui Town.”
“Lengshui Town?” Cui Da repeated, his brow raising.
The rest of the family looked equally surprised by the unfamiliar name. When Cui Shishi had first reunited with them amidst the sandstorm, the clan had been too busy weeping and celebrating to hold a detailed conversation regarding her survival. Aside from learning that Miss Lu and Mr. Shen had brought her to the border, they knew nothing of her time in exile. Hearing her mention a specific town piqued their curiosity.
Noticing their collective interest, Cui Shishi quietly recounted her lonely months in the desolate border settlement.
“Thank the heavens…” the aunts whispered, clutching their chests as tears welled in their eyes.
For a sheltered, beautiful young lady of high birth to survive entirely alone in the brutal border wilderness was nothing short of a divine miracle.
The revelation plunged the family into a complex, exhausting emotional whirlpool—veering wildly from terror and grief to profound gratitude. The sheer whiplash of their fortunes over the past few weeks had left them physically and mentally spent.
Though they did their absolute best to maintain their warm, hospitable demeanor toward Lu Yunxi and her disciple, they could no longer mask the profound sorrow weighing heavily on their faces.
