While Zhuge Yue, Yan Xun, and Wei Shuye were galloping at full speed toward Zhuge Si’s mansion, the Chu Niang Palace, usually filled with the sounds of music and entertainment, had fallen into a deathly silence.

Blood slowly dripped from the sharp tip of a dagger, falling onto the carpet made of white Western Region camel wool, quickly seeping through and forming a circle of crimson pattern. The night wind blew in through a window in the corner, slightly cool, dispersing the luxurious fragrance that filled the room. In the brightly lit Chu Niang Palace, Zhuge Si clutched his neck with a panicked expression on his old face, looking in disbelief at the child who wasn’t even as tall as his shoulder. The sand in the hourglass slowly trickled down. Finally, with a thud, the old man fell heavily to his knees.

“Are you begging me to spare you?” The child’s voice was soft. She lowered her head slightly, glancing at the old man’s face. The nausea churning in her stomach made her want to vomit. That night, the mutilated bodies of Zhi Xiang and the others had cut into her nerves like knives. The child slowly moved closer, whispering: “So many people once begged you to spare them. Why didn’t you let them go?”

Zhuge Si lay on the ground, blood gushing from his neck like a fountain. The noble master, accustomed to luxury but afraid of death, trembled like sifted chaff, constantly reaching forward with his blood-soaked arms, trying to crawl away from this devil-like child. The blood dragged along the ground, forming a long, striking, and horrifying trail.

“You’ve lived far too long. It’s time you paid the price. Heaven won’t take you, so I will.” With a crisp sound, the knife cut through bone, slicing cleanly. Blood instantly spurted from the cavity, splattering the ground with a dark purple stench.

Chu Qiao held Zhuge Si’s head, his eyes still open in death, and emotionlessly threw it to the ground with a thud. She turned around and walked toward the ten young slave girls cowering in the corner. The children looked at her in terror, huddling together. In their eyes, this child who had suddenly broken free of her bonds and boldly killed Master Zhuge was simply insane, like a demon from hell. Yet they had no awareness that without this child, how many of them would still be alive and unharmed at this moment?

Pulling over a pretty girl of about ten years old, she saw the child’s face had turned pale with fear, her lips trembling, barely able to speak clearly. Chu Qiao lowered her head, her voice cold as she calmly asked: “Are you afraid?”

The child’s eyes were fixed, nodding continuously in terror, fearing she would immediately become the second headless corpse. Tears and mucus streamed down her face, but she dared not make a sound.

“If you’re afraid, then scream.”

Being a child from a poor family, though young, she was already sensible. The child shook her head and cried: “I won’t make a sound. I didn’t see anything. Please spare me.”

Chu Qiao frowned impatiently: “Wasn’t I clear? Scream.”

“Please,” the child incoherently begged, “spare me, I’ll work like an ox or horse… Ah!”

The eight-year-old suddenly raised the dagger and thrust it toward the child’s neck. The child who had been quietly pleading immediately screamed. With a swift sound, the sharp dagger moved past her neck and plunged into the bedpost behind her. The screaming child remained unharmed.

“What’s happening? Master, what’s… Ah! Murder!” The servants standing guard outside heard the noise and cautiously peeked in. Before they could finish speaking, they saw Zhuge Si lying on the ground covered in blood. The young servant was terrified, let out a scream, sat down on the ground, scrambled up clumsily, and staggered away. Chu Qiao weighed the dagger, calculating the time, estimating that all the mansion’s guards would have heard by now. Her throwing knife instantly flew out, covering a hundred paces to strike the back of the young servant’s head, penetrating through to his forehead!

Chaotic footsteps immediately erupted. The child quickly sat back among the group of young slaves. More than twenty burly men charged fiercely into the room and, seeing Zhuge Si’s decapitated body, turned ashen-faced.

“What happened?”

The lead guard was furious, harshly questioning the young slaves in the room.

“Murder!” The eight-year-old child cried out before anyone else, tears suddenly streaming down her face as she shouted in terror: “Someone’s been killed! Wah… Master Zhuge has been killed, and also… it’s so frightening, wah…”

The child sobbed with snot and tears, her little face pale with fright, words trembling as if even her tongue was shaking. The lead guard angrily demanded: “Which way did they run?”

“There!” The child pointed to the slightly open window to the south: “They ran that way!”

“Some of you stay here, the rest follow me!”

The guards rushed out of the room with a whoosh, leaving only three to guard the corpse of the extravagant old Master Zhuge.

The other children all looked at Chu Qiao in terror. They saw this child, who had just tricked the guards of Zhuge’s villa away, holding a crossbow, her face no longer showing any fear or trembling. She smiled slightly at the corners of her mouth as she watched the few servants examining Master Zhuge’s body, relaxed as she blew a loud whistle: “Hey! Stop bothering.”

The three turned their heads, immediately shocked and dismayed, but before they could cry out, three crossbow bolts shot out in quick succession, like shooting stars chasing the moon, piercing the three startled heads simultaneously. Blood dripped profusely, and with three thuds, the three bodies fell at the same time, faithfully following their Master Zhuge to the underworld.

“Ah!” One of the little slaves screamed immediately. Chu Qiao quickly covered the child’s mouth with her hand, pouting as she said: “When I told you to scream, you wouldn’t. Now you’re making trouble at the wrong time.”

All the children turned pale, whimpering and crying. Chu Qiao sighed deeply and slowly said: “What I’m about to say is very important. You must listen carefully if you want to save your lives, understand?”

The children immediately stopped crying and stared at her with wide eyes.

“I am Steward Zhu Shun’s person. This old beast was inhuman and always harmed children. Steward Zhu Shun couldn’t bear it anymore and sent me to kill him. This is eliminating a scourge for the people. None of you are allowed to reveal this or betray Steward Zhu, no matter what torture the Zhuge family uses on you. Don’t say anything. Steward Zhu will rescue you. Do you understand?”

The children nodded hurriedly, each like a terrified rabbit.

Chu Qiao smiled faintly. The net had been cast, now just waiting for the fish to swim in. Even if these children were noble and virtuous enough to endure torture and refuse to reveal her words, or even if they did speak and the Zhuge family didn’t believe them, everyone in Qing Shan Courtyard had personally seen Zhu Shun’s people take her to Zhuge Si’s mansion. Based on this alone, he couldn’t escape responsibility. Death had become inevitable. The only question now was what kind of death he would face.

Looking at the hourglass to check the time, it was just right. There was still time to sneak back and help Little Eight escape through the back door.

Everything was proceeding too smoothly.

Just as she was about to leave through the main door, a hand suddenly gripped the child’s ankle tightly. Chu Qiao looked down and saw it was a guard who wasn’t completely dead.

“Aiding a tiger to do evil—you deserve to die!” Chu Qiao’s eyes instantly shot out cold rays as she pulled the arrow from the man’s forehead. The corpse twitched a few times, then moved no more. Chu Qiao tried hard to pry open his hand, struggling several times but couldn’t free her foot. The child became fierce, pulling out the guard’s long sword, and with a plunging sound, cut off his hand.

“What are you doing?”