He was buying her time!

This was the first thought that flashed through Yan Sanhe’s mind.

The moment the thought arose, her hands and feet reacted.

She slid down from the tree in one swift motion. Her hand reached behind her neck to retrieve the packet of poison, clutching it in her palm as she took off running wildly toward the other side of the estate.

All of Yan Sanhe’s martial skills had been taught by Li Buyan.

Li Buyan had taught her two moves: one was to kick people’s knees to make them kneel, buying time to escape; the other was to run.

Xie Zhifei had said that if she ran south, she would encounter the people coming to rescue him.

Faster!

Even faster!

Right now, Yan Sanhe truly wished she had wings so she could fly.

Another “crack”—her foot stepped on a scattered tree branch and her whole body slid downward.

In her panic, seeing a large tree ahead, Yan Sanhe pushed hard with her left foot and barely managed to stop her downward slide.

Her body stopped, but a sharp pain shot through her left ankle.

Yan Sanhe had no time to worry about the pain. She braced herself with her hands, quickly scrambled up, and continued running south.

Passing through the small path onto the main road, Yan Sanhe’s speed noticeably slowed.

There wasn’t a ghost in sight on the main road. Yan Sanhe looked back at the estate growing more distant behind her, gritted her teeth, and picked up speed again.

…

At that very moment, on the estate.

Brother Liu delivered a brutal kick straight to Xie Zhifei’s chest.

Damn bastard, that really hurt.

Xie Zhifei cursed inwardly, struggled to his feet, and spat out saliva mixed with dust onto the ground.

“Xu Sheng, I’ll say it one more time—your matter wasn’t my doing. Don’t act rashly.”

Xu Sheng sat in his grand armchair, his gaze cold and sinister as he looked at the Third Master Xie before him.

He had to admit, that face with its sharp angles was damned good-looking.

He smiled coldly.

“Whether my matter was your doing or not, you let that stinking whore escape and ruined my good time. Tell me, do you deserve to die or not!”

“Xu Sheng!”

Xie Zhifei roared.

“I advise you to think clearly before you act. My surname is Xie. After you move against me, what will the consequences be? Can your Xu family bear it?”

“Xie Laosan.”

Xu Sheng didn’t even blink.

“Right now I don’t care about any Xie family or Xu family. Since I dared to move against you, today I want you dead. Beat him! Beat him to death!”

The attendants immediately surrounded him.

Xie Zhifei hadn’t expected this grandson Xu Sheng would start out wanting him dead.

If I die, you should go die first!

He loosened up his muscles and bones, took a deep breath and exhaled it all. “Grandsons, if you’ve got the guts, come at me all at once. Don’t waste Third Master’s energy coming one by one.”

The attendants all froze in surprise.

Brother Liu laughed. “Master, this Third Master Xie is soft everywhere except his damned mouth is hard.”

Xu Sheng’s interest was immediately piqued. “Then I’ll see just how hard his mouth is. Come at him one by one.”

Killing him right away would be no fun—torturing him to death bit by bit would truly satisfy his hatred.

Brother Liu waved his hand, signaling the others to step back.

But before his hand even came down, Xie Zhifei lunged forward like a leopard, swinging his fist.

This punch was both fierce and swift, hitting Brother Liu so hard he staggered back several steps.

Before he could steady himself, Xie Zhifei’s fist came crashing down again.

“Brother Liu, can you handle this or not!”

“Brother Liu, don’t hold back!”

“Go on, beat him to death!”

Being hit twice in front of everyone’s eyes, Brother Liu’s eyes shot out cold light like a wolf’s.

His killing intent had been aroused.

…

The main road was terrifyingly quiet, without a single sound.

This made Yan Sanhe’s footsteps seem especially loud.

Her throat had long since gone dry, and a bloody taste surged up, which she forcefully swallowed back down.

Where are they? Why haven’t they come yet?

If they don’t come soon, Xie Zhifei will be in danger.

Just as she was getting anxious, she saw several horses galloping toward her in the distance.

Yan Sanhe’s heart leaped with joy. Her body suddenly gave out and she collapsed, falling to sit on the ground. Even so, she desperately waved both hands.

Shen Chong spotted Yan Sanhe from afar, squeezed his legs hard, and the horse ran even faster.

Reaching her, he dismounted in one swift motion.

“Miss Yan, are you alright?”

“Quick, quick…”

Yan Sanhe panted heavily, pointing at her throat, then turning to point at the distant estate, her expression agonized.

“Third Master is at the estate?”

Yan Sanhe nodded forcefully. “Mm… mm.”

“Is Xu Sheng already there too?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Miss Yan, get on the horse first.”

“I… I… can’t get up!”

Shen Chong supported her. The moment Yan Sanhe’s foot touched the ground, the intense pain made her cry out “Ah!”

Shen Chong crouched down to look and was shocked.

Her left ankle was swollen red like a rising steamed bun.

“Miss Yan, your foot…”

“Never mind my foot, hurry and save him, quick…”

Shen Chong stood up, his hand rose and his palm fell.

Yan Sanhe’s eyes suddenly widened, disbelief flashing through them. Then her body went limp and she collapsed.

Shen Chong caught her around the waist and said coldly, “Circle back via the small road. Retreat!”

“Yes!”

…

On the estate.

The fighting continued, except the one lying down now was the boastful Brother Liu.

Xie Zhifei spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned. “Xu Sheng, remember this—Third Master’s mouth is hard, but my fists are harder!”

“Good, good, good. Third Master is truly impressive.”

Xu Sheng’s eyes were red with excitement. A strange and intense thrill surged through his blood, almost breaking through his skin.

This thrill was more exciting than playing with hundreds of women.

He licked his lips and smiled. “Next—who’s going?”

“Master, I’ll go!”

A tall, burly man rushed out and, copying Xie Zhifei’s preemptive strike, swung his fist straight at Xie Zhifei’s head.

Xu Sheng shouted excitedly, “Smash him to death!”

Xie Zhifei tilted his head, flicked his hand, and a thin blade fell into his palm.

A cold gleam flashed.

The blade slid across the burly man’s neck. Blood spurted out, splashing all over Xie Zhifei’s face and body.

The burly man’s eyeballs bulged grotesquely, his throat gurgled a few times, and his massive body crashed to the ground.

Everyone stared with shocked, wide eyes.

Rumor had it that the Xie family’s third son had been sickly since childhood, spending three hundred out of three hundred and sixty-five days soaking in medicine jars—a famous short-lived ghost in the capital.

His position was bought with his father’s money just to maintain the Xie family’s reputation. How could his skills be this good?

Could it be…

Was it all fake?

Xu Sheng shouted in alarm, “Everyone attack together!”

Xie Zhifei wiped away the blood and suddenly veered, charging toward Xu Sheng.

Xu Sheng screamed in terror, “Quick, stop him, stop him!”

The attendants swarmed forward.

A dozen fists rained down. In the chaos, Xie Zhifei was finally beaten to the ground. He covered his head and let them pummel and kick him.

Damn it!

Where are those beasts from the Embroidered Uniform Guard? If they don’t come soon, Third Master is really done for.

Seeing Xie Zhifei being beaten by the crowd, Xu Sheng began excitedly dancing about again. “Don’t kill him, leave him with one breath.”

At the master’s command, the attendants beat and kicked him dozens more times. Seeing Xie Zhifei curled up motionless, they finally stopped.

“Help me up!”

Two attendants on either side supported Xu Sheng as he walked to Xie Zhifei. Xu Sheng lifted his foot and stomped hard on Xie Zhifei’s face.

“Grandson!”

Xu Sheng laughed triumphantly. “In front of Grandfather Xu, you’re nothing but a damned dog. Bark for me, come on, bark!”