Chapter 89: Plum Blossom Joy

Du Ruo only then noticed.

Mei Niang wore a dark male outfit, her crow-black hair bound up, her face like white jade, her body like a pine, her bearing transcendent, like a graceful, handsome young man of the turbid world.

She's indeed good-looking, but…

Du Ruo felt a mix of laughter and tears, "Mei Niang, I like men, not women dressed up as men."

Perhaps looks could turn someone, but she really couldn't.

She was too straight, straighter than a utility pole.

Mei Niang lifted her garment and leaned over, her deep gaze fixed on Du Ruo, "It doesn't matter; if you like women, I can become a woman; if you like men, I can become a man—a true man."

At this moment, she had not a trace of feminine air, only the teasing and allure of a peerless beautiful man.

Du Ruo swallowed her saliva.

If she were an ordinary woman, she would probably have been bewildered into indulgence and offered herself willingly.

But she didn't know which wire was crossed; she just wanted to laugh.

Pfft, then she couldn't help laughing out loud, pounding the bed wildly as she laughed.

"Hahaha, you're killing me, and yet you claim to be a real man—do you even have that thing? You're just for show; essentially you're the same as me, still a woman!"

Saying this, Du Ruo pushed away the exquisitely handsome face before her with her chubby little hand, annoyed, "Enough, enough, stop trying to seduce me—this trick won't work on me…"

She hadn't finished speaking when it was abruptly cut off.

A hand clamped onto Du Ruo's neck, squeezing tight, nearly choking off her breath.

"You don't have that thing? You sure?" Mei Niang curled her lip sideways, "Then I'll have to let you see for yourself."

She released Du Ruo and began to take off her clothes.

Du Ruo gulped air, her face looking terrible.

By now, if she still hadn't realized something was off, she'd be an idiot. No ordinary woman had such strength, and Mei Niang's posture showed she was serious.

Could Mei Niang actually be a man, with a woman as her disguise? But could there truly be a man in this world a hundred times more beautiful than a woman…

Never mind, now's not the time to think about that—I need to escape quickly.

Du Ruo's eyes darted; she flung the blanket in her hands at Mei Niang, covering her head.

Then, with a speed mismatched to her stature, she jumped off the bed and sprinted for the door.

Just as she was about to pull the door bolt, her shoulder suddenly ached, she collapsed, and a pill was shoved into her mouth.

Done for.

Du Ruo's heart turned cold—no way, was her first time going to be lost so miserably?

In her mind she frantically called the system, "Little System, quick check!"

The system was also anxious, immediately replying, "Host, you're screwed, you took that… pill…"

"Never mind saying it." It's just that pill, right? He's so good-looking, yet behaves so shamelessly—"Where's the antidote?"

"The antidote's in the mall, but it's a bit pricey—needs points. Want to exchange?"

"…Exchange!"

Could she not exchange? If she didn't, she'd turn into a she-wolf—a 200‑jin lustful female wolf.

Most importantly, she must not lose her virtue to another man!

Something cool appeared in her palm—must be the antidote.

Unfortunately, Du Ruo now had no strength at all, utterly unable to put the antidote in her mouth.

Damn it!

Mei Niang's strength was indeed great; she lightly lifted Du Ruo and set her back on the bed.

"I didn't originally want to hurt you." She looked at Du Ruo and sighed, "Sexual bliss lies in mutual affection; my beauty agreeing to be with you is already you taking advantage—why do you still run?"

Such fallacious reasoning—Du Ruo, having lived two lifetimes, had never heard it before.

She couldn't help but sneer, "I merely disliked you before, but now I utterly despise you! Self‑important, pretentious, hypocritical, neither male nor female—utterly revolting!"

Neither male nor female?

Mei Niang's expression shifted instantly, her delicate brows and eyes twisting for a moment.

"Fine, very good. Since you don't know how to appreciate kindness, don't blame me for not being gentle." Saying that, her slender white hands, like claws, reached for Du Ruo's collar.

At that critical moment, the door was violently kicked open with a bang.

A flying dagger shot straight toward Mei Niang's wrist.

Mei Niang's expression tightened; she instantly pulled her hand back, but the back of her hand was still sliced, a bead of blood welling up immediately.

The red blood against her lotus‑white skin, in the dim pre‑dawn light, had an eerie, bewitching quality.

"Jiang Li?"

She looked at the man charging in, quickly seized Du Ruo's neck, dragged her up to shield herself, and curled her lip, "I didn't expect you to find this place so fast—too bad you're still a step late."

Jiang Li's eyes were full of cold intent, the flying dagger in his hand poised, he said in a low voice, "Release her."

"Release?" Mei Niang snorted, "You think I'm stupid? If I let her go, could I still escape?"

Not only did she not let go, she even increased the force in her grip.

Du Ruo nearly had her eyes roll back from the choking.

"Little System, immediately scan this big pervert from head to toe—I need to know all her weaknesses!"

She was now a hostage; Jiang Li, wary of hurting her, would surely not act rashly, so she had to find a way to help him.

The system quickly replied, but the answer nearly made Du Ruo's jaw drop.

"Mei Niang's bones are hard and her skin fine to a degree far beyond normal people—likely from long‑term soaking in medicines; her internal organs are all sound, and her healing ability is very strong; however, her constitution is special, what's commonly called a yin‑yang person."

Now it made sense; Du Ruo suddenly understood everything.

No wonder Mei Niang said she could be a man or a woman—this is why!

Could this be Mei Niang's weakness?

Du Ruo recalled how she had just scolded her for being neither male nor female, Mei Niang's sudden burst of anger, and decided to give it a try.

"Mei Niang, the taste of having been soaked in medicine since childhood isn't pleasant, is it?"

"What did you say?"

Mei Niang's face changed dramatically; she lowered her head, looking at her in shock, "You, how could you know......"

The hand on her neck indeed loosened a little; Du Ruo continued, "Mei Niang, do you prefer being more like a man or more like a woman? After all, your body is different from others; if this neither-male-nor-female state were discovered......"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Mei Niang's eyes nearly burst, her mind in turmoil; she had been pinching Du Ruo's hand, but instinctively switched to covering her mouth.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiang Li flung the flying dagger in his hand swiftly.

Only a pained grunt was heard; the flying dagger pierced Mei Niang's palm and nailed to the wooden window lattice behind her.

At the same moment, Jiang Li leapt forward and, with great speed, pulled Du Ruo behind him to protect her.

"My lady, are you alright?"

Du Ruo slumped limply to the ground; the medicine had begun to take effect, and besides having no strength, she also felt other symptoms.

This is life-threatening.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me—hurry up and catch that bastard and give him a beating!" She was furious; it had caused her to lose points for no reason, and she felt she needed to vent her anger by beating him.

Jiang Li didn't hesitate; he went up and started fighting Mei Niang.

Mei Niang's martial arts were not good, barely worthy of a three-legged cat, but her strength was considerable, her lightness skill excellent, and she excelled at escaping.

She naturally knew she couldn't beat Jiang Li, and had already planned an escape route.

She then turned, smashed open the window, and flew out.

"Husband, chase after her quickly!" Seeing Jiang Li not move, Du Ruo became anxious.

Jiang Li smiled, then heard two muffled grunts from outside the window; next, Wang Bujiu's loud voice boomed, "Finally caught you! You big Yin thief, you can really run—see where you can run now!"

Du Ruo breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out Jiang Li had made preparations earlier.

As that tension eased, Du Ruo could no longer hold herself up; a strange surge of emotion welled up, almost overwhelming her.

Jiang Li hurriedly picked her up and placed her on the bed; seeing his wife's odd gaze and her cheeks flushed red, he was startled.

These days he had handled many cases and still had some experience; he immediately understood what was going on.

That Mei Ruhuan truly deserves to die!

Jiang Li strode outside; it was already daylight, Mei Ruhuan had been tied up and thrown into the courtyard by Wang Buda, her hair disheveled, her clothes in disarray, yet her stunning beauty could not be concealed.

Jiang Li had no mood to look; he stepped directly onto Mei Ruhuan's injured palm with his foot, his handsome face icy cold.

"Speak, what did you feed her?"

"You want to know? I'll just refuse to tell you."

Mei Ruhuan seemed to feel no pain, looking at Jiang Li with a gaze full of smugness and provocation, "I never thought the cold-hearted Captain Jiang would be so nervous over a woman; I had assumed you were a monk who had renounced the world, having long severed the seven emotions and six desires."

He closed his eyes, "I won't say what medicine your woman took, but I can tell you that if she doesn't get an antidote within half an hour, she will surely die."

Jiang Li's gaze grew colder; his foot in black boots pressed down harder.

Mei Ruhuan finally couldn't help but let out a hiss.

Wang Bujiu kicked his ribs several times, "Damn, even at death's door you're still stubborn—are you going to talk or not?"

He then drew a horizontal blade from his waist and held it to Mei Ruhuan's face, "Old man gives you one last chance—talk or not? If you don't, I'll slash your face, turning you uglier than my sister-in-law, a real ugly nine-monster!"

Mei Ruhuan was finally moved.

"Alright, I'll talk." He gritted his teeth, "The Du Clan took my homemade medicine; besides me, no one knows the formula. Even if I gave you the antidote recipe now, there's no time to brew it. So the only option is to find a man to sleep with her, letting the medicine's potency dissipate naturally."

Wang Bujiu sheathed his blade, "Just that? That's not hard."

He raised his eyebrows at Jiang Li with an ambiguous smile, "Alright, Junior Brother Jiang, I'll guard this Yin thief here; you go in and detoxify the younger sister. Rest assured, I guarantee not even a mosquito can get in!"

After thinking, he added, "Oh, and don't worry about Jiang Cheng and the others—I've checked, they only got hit with ***, no danger to life, even the dogs are fine."

Jiang Li said nothing, turned and went inside.

At this point Du Ruo's symptoms worsened; she was drenched in sweat.

The system comforted her in her mind: "Host, don't be afraid; in a moment your hands will be able to move, then taking the antidote will be fine."

Du Ruo could only endure.

Jiang Li walked over, looked at her for a while, tossed his side waist horizontal blade to one side, and began to take off his clothes.

Du Ruo: "……"

"No, I think I can still salvage this."

She forced herself to close her eyes with strong self-control; if she didn't look, she wouldn't crave.

Then she tried to get him to leave, "Husband, I'm thirsty."

"Thirsty?"

Jiang Li's eyes flickered; he lowered his head and kissed his wife's lips, "Don't worry, I'll give you the solution right away."

Du Ruo stared wide-eyed: "……??"

"I'm thirsty for water, not lust!" Although… she was indeed lustful, but… oh well, can't explain.

Speaking of, the feeling of kissing was quite nice— a little tingling, a little sweet, and a bit heady…

By the time Du Ruo came to, she had already been clinging to Jiang Li and nibbling on him for a while; his clothes had been torn open by her, revealing his solid chest.

"Um, clinging?"

"Host, you finally realized your hands can move?" the system said in her mind, speechless.

Du Ruo exerted primordial willpower and finally managed to push the man off her.

"Husband, I'm really thirsty, I want water." As she said this, she didn't notice how soft and sweet her voice sounded, like sugar strands dipped in water.

Jiang Li's throat bobbed, and he struggled to his feet. "All right, I'll go pour you some."

After he left the room, Du Ruo immediately threw the antidote she had been clutching in her palm into her mouth and swallowed it.

Being a system product, it's naturally not ordinary.

Soon, her eyes gradually regained clarity.

Jiang Li entered holding a cup of water, then froze.

"Wife, how... you're up?"

Du Ruo stretched her limbs, took the cup from his hand, gulped it down in one gulp, then shoved the bowl back at him, saying, "Mm, I'm not thirsty now."

Saying that, she sprang to her feet and ran out, "Come on, let's go check the situation!"

Looking at the empty bowl in his hand, Jiang Li had a moment of doubting life—how could this be? Wife, how did you suddenly become fine? Mei Ru Xi said only sharing a room could cure it, right?

No matter what, as long as it's resolved, it's fine.

Just...

He lowered his head to straighten his clothes, gave a wry smile, shook his head, and followed him out.

In the courtyard, Wang Bujiu was threatening and intimidating Mei Ru Xi, interrogating him about the details of his prison escape.

Seeing Du Ruo and Jiang Li come out, both were filled with disbelief; Wang Bujiu hurriedly pulled Jiang Li aside, worrying anxiously, "I say, little brother, how are you so fast? Are you sure your sister-in-law is okay?"

Jiang Li coughed awkwardly, ignored him, and turned the topic to the main point: "Have you found out how he escaped?"

Speaking of this, Wang Bujiu was furious: "How else could he have escaped? It's the same old trick—using his face."

At that time, Mei Ru Xi was locked up in the cell; Yang Dian Feng's few constables and some jailers were on duty, bored they drank, got drunk, grew lustful, judged Mei Ru Xi's appearance, and someone even suggested going in to tease him.

Saying that although he's a man, he's better-looking than a woman, it's fine to just grope him a few times.

When Yang Dian Feng took people out on patrol, the other two jailers also went together to the toilet, leaving only the jailer named Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu, lust-addled, was coaxed by Mei Ru Xi into giving up the key, and then he fled.

So, this matter really has nothing to do with Yang Dian Feng?" Jiang Li asked.

Wang Bujiu sighed: "Indeed, it's not really related; at most it's negligence of duty, lax supervision."

Too bad, we didn't catch any leverage on Yang Dian Feng.

Jiang Li smiled: "It's fine, we didn't get him this time, but there'll be another chance—if he makes a mistake, we'll surely find it."

Over there, Du Ruo was also locking eyes with Mei Ru Xi.

Mei Ru Xi stared at her, eyes deep: "How do you know I've taken medicine? And who told you about the secret of my body?"

Those who knew this secret have long since died.

Du Ruo didn't answer, but countered: "And you? Why did you come to Dragon Spring Village? And why get close to me?"

Mei Ru Xi's gaze drifted toward Jiang Li, she gave a self-mocking twitch of the corner of her mouth, closed her eyes and fell silent.

Just then, there was a sudden movement outside the courtyard wall.

More than ten constables, panting, scrambled up the wall top, then jumped down like dumplings being dropped.

"Chief, we've arrived!"

"Wow, Chief, you're amazing, you caught Mei Ru Xi so quickly!"

"Sister-in-law, got anything to eat? The brothers have been rushing all night and are starving..."