Chapter 150: [All This Trouble Because of the Love Potion] (Part 2)

Pain can rouse a person's fighting spirit; pain can also make a man temporarily forget cherishing fragrance and jade, instantly turning him into a ruthless iron-heart that forces flowers. Hu Xiaotian lifted his foot and kicked Le Yao's lower abdomen hard. Le Yao, soft and delicate as jade and flower, could not withstand Hu Xiaotian's kick; he sent her flying. Hu Xiaotian then raised his right hand, seized Murong Feiyan's left breast, and squeezed hard. He thought silently, 'I'm not being cruel; you two were the vicious ones. This is just self-defense. If I don't act decisively now, I might even lose my manhood.'

Murong Feiyan felt pain pierce her heart from his grip, yet in that instant she regained a bit of clarity. Seeing Hu Xiaotian's hand still clamped tightly on her chest, she was both ashamed and anxious, raising her fist to smash his nose bridge. Out of shame and anger, the punch naturally held no mercy.

Hu Xiaotian was knocked backward by the punch, his head snapping back; with a thud! his skull hit the ground. He was dazed but fortunately not unconscious—though being unconscious might have been better. Blood bubbled from his nose. This situation fully displayed Hu Xiaotian's superhuman calm and composure under danger. Even if he wasn't unconscious, he had to pretend to be; only by feigning faint could he get through this.

Just now Hu Xiaotian's attack had been dark and vicious enough; his pinch had left Murong Feiyan's left chest in excruciating pain, and she still hadn't recovered. She had been angry and ashamed, wishing she could slash that opportunistic lecher to death, but seeing Hu Xiaotian lying flat on the ground, his head and face covered in blood, she suddenly felt panic. A wave of dizziness hit her; she stumbled to her feet, swayed to the door, pushed it open, and stepped outside. Night rain poured down from the sky, quickly soaking her clothes. She covered her face. An unprecedented confusion and turmoil flooded her mind, numbing everything from her thoughts to her limbs; she couldn't even tell whether the wetness on her face was rain or tears.

A bolt of lightning tore through the dark night, also ripping a crack in Murong Feiyan's troubled heart. She suddenly lifted her head; her beautiful eyes, instead of closing in the blinding light, stared wide open. She murmured, 'Xiaotian…' then turned and ran back into the room.

Hu Xiaotian remained spread-eagled on the ground; this guy's mind was quite clear. The sudden series of dull thunderclaps made him shudder a little, but fortunately Murong Feiyan didn't see it. His nosebleed had stopped, though his head and face were still smeared with blood, looking rather shocking.

Murong Feiyan returned to the room and saw Hu Xiaotian's miserable state. The events just now replayed in her mind like scenes. She knew she had lost her judgment and will because she had accidentally inhaled the flower thief's poisonous smoke. As for what she had done, she couldn't remember at all.

She lowered her gaze to Hu Xiaotian; the blood covering his face was from her own punch just then. Looking further, his body was almost completely stripped bare, his hands still clutching his underpants—the only thing left covering him. Seeing Hu Xiaotian naked, Murong Feiyan's cheeks flushed and her heart quickened. It felt as if a feather were stroking her heart, a strange sensation rising. She instantly sensed something wrong, took a deep breath, closed her eyes to regulate her breathing; the drug's power still hadn't fully cleared from her system, she silently reminded herself to stay calm, confident she could control herself after having opened her eyes earlier. She noticed a clear tooth mark on Hu Xiaotian's left chest; the skin had been broken, blood beads oozing from the wound.

As a constable by background, Murong Feiyan quickly deduced from the clues what had happened. Hu Xiaotian's present state should be blamed on her and Le Yao. Both of them had been bewitched by the drug, losing reason, they tore at Hu Xiaotian's clothes and even bit him. Murong Feiyan felt too ashamed to think further; seeing the tooth mark on his chest, she realized the bite shape was her own. Good heavens! How could I have bitten him there, and with such ferocity?

Looking lower, she also saw a tooth mark on Hu Xiaotian's underpants. Her face flushed red to the base of her neck; she dared not look or think further. 'Done for!' she thought. 'If that bite was mine, even death couldn't clear my name.' Heaven! Why do you toy with me? Crack—another thunderclap boomed. Murong Feiyan was jolted awake by the sound. She checked Hu Xiaotian's breath and felt his pulse; his breathing and heartbeat were fairly steady, so he likely faced no mortal danger. She guessed she had struck him too hard earlier, the punch having knocked him out.

Hu Xiaotian wasn't unconscious; he was awake, but he dared not open his eyes—too embarrassing, too humiliating. Though he was a grown man, two girls had stripped him to this state and even bitten him, leaving black-and-blue marks all over. The facial injury was minor compared to that; Le Yao's bite below had been painful, still burning, and he didn't dare examine the wound, though he felt it probably wasn't serious. If he described this miserable ordeal, nobody would believe him.

Murong Feiyan was certain Hu Xiaotian was still alive; she turned and went to Le Yao's side. She picked up the room's water basin and doused Le Yao with it, head to toe—a somewhat crude method, but it worked. The cold shock made Le Yao open her eyes, draw a deep breath, and sit up. She had been kicked hard in the belly by Hu Xiaotian earlier, clutching her stomach, her face pale as she asked, 'What's wrong? What happened… ah!' Seeing Hu Xiaotian lying on the ground, his face bloody, she screamed in fright. Murong Feiyan hadn't expected her voice to be so loud; she quickly clapped a hand over Le Yao's mouth and snapped, 'What are you shouting for? Do you want everyone to know what happened here?'

Le Yao, her mouth covered, looked terrified. Once her emotions settled, Murong Feiyan released her and said softly, 'Just now a flower thief sneaked into your room, used a bewitching drug to knock you out, trying to abduct you. Fortunately we noticed in time and rescued you from his hands.'

Le Yao tried to stand but felt dizzy, so she could only crawl to Hu Xiaotian's side. Unconcerned about modesty, she shook his bare shoulder and called, 'Young Master Hu, Young Master Hu…'

Hu Xiaotian kept his eyes shut; since he was pretending, he had to go all the way—waking up now would only embarrass everyone.

Le Yao looked at Murong Feiyan, tears glistening, and asked, 'What exactly happened to him?'

Murong Feiyan sighed gloomily, 'I just went after that flower thief, leaving you in his care. When I returned, I found him like this.'

Hu Xiaotian heard every word clearly; he inwardly sighed in admiration. 'Women, women, they lie without even drafting a script.' He had always thought Murong Feiyan was someone who couldn't tolerate a grain of sand in her eye, an upright and outspoken person, but at the crucial moment this girl also knew very well when to distance herself. Consequently, the blame for being stripped, bitten, and humiliated would fall entirely on Le Yao—as long as he stayed silent, that black mark would stick to her.

Le Yao believed it; looking again at Hu Xiaotian, who wore nothing but a pair of underpants, the tooth mark on his chest shocking, she felt both ashamed and anxious, tears pattering down. She trembled, 'But why is he dressed like this…'

Murong Feiyan sighed again, 'His clothes were torn off…' She couldn't go on; a wave of shame flooded her heart. 'It's not that I'm scheming, but today's affair is simply too embarrassing—I can't very well say his clothes were ripped off by both of us together, can I? If I say the tooth mark on his chest is from my bite, the rest shouldn't be linked to me. Le Yao, Le Yao, today you'll bear the grievance.'

Le Yao, overcome with shame, knelt before Hu Xiaotian, at a loss for what to do, and could only silently sob.

Seeing Le Yao weep so bitterly, Murong Feiyan felt a twinge of reluctance. 'If we told the truth, at least someone could share the burden—then Le Yao's psychological pressure would undoubtedly double. But to have an unmarried young lady like me openly admit what just happened… I'd rather be dead.'

Le Yao finally sighed, rose, fetched a copper basin of clean water, and helped Hu Xiaotian wipe the blood from his face. She had calmed down by then; after cleaning his face, she saw his nose swollen and wondered, 'With my strength, how could I have subdued such a strong, burly man?' Looking at Hu Xiaotian's fit muscles, her heart fluttered anxiously; she realized his handsome physique held a strong allure for her.

Murong Feiyan suddenly said, 'Someone's coming!'

Le Yao blinked, having heard nothing; Murong Feiyan pointed at Hu Xiaotian lying on the ground and said, 'Hide him!'

At that moment faint shouts could be heard outside; Le Yao panicked, 'Where should we hide him?'

Murong Feiyan looked around, pointed to her bed, and whispered, 'Hide him under the covers!'

By then knocking sounded at the door; Le Yao didn't have time to think, she and Murong Feiyan lifted Hu Xiaotian and shoved him onto the bed. Murong Feiyan said, 'I'll go open the door; you lie down. I'll say you're ill—Sir Hu sent me to look after you.'

"What?"

"Do as I say, quickly!" Murong Feiyan swiftly tidied the things on the floor and went out the door.

Le Yao saw a tattered outer garment before the bed—it was Hu Xiaotian's collared shirt. She hurriedly picked it up and stashed it under the bed. She had wanted to get onto the bed to hide, but feeling her clothes completely soaked, she realized there was no time to change; she could only lie down in the bedding still wearing her wet garments.

Outside, a thumping knock sounded; Murong Feiyan went to the gate and opened it. Although the rain was still falling, it had lightened. Outside stood Madam Wan with a maid and four servants. Madam Wan hadn't expected the gate to be opened by Murong Feiyan; her expression showed considerable surprise as she exclaimed, 'How come you're here?'