Chapter 31: A Lethal Blow, Brother's Neck Bleeds Unceasingly

At the critical moment.

Li Kechuan sensed the danger and quickly shoved Li Qingluo's hand away, but the sharp iron pestle still carved a deep gash on his neck!

Unfortunately, it didn't go all the way through.

Otherwise, even if he were a Great Luo Immortal today, he would hardly save his life.

"Vile wretch!"

Li Kechuan cursed loudly, reaching out to strangle Li Qingluo to death, but Li Qingluo's dagger spun in her hand and stabbed toward Li Kechuan again—

Li Kechuan had no choice but to lean back to dodge, and he loosened the hand that was restraining Li Qingluo's other hand.

Taking the opportunity, the now‑free Li Qingluo got up and ran.

Li Kechuan clutched his bleeding neck and roared in furious rage: "Catch her——!!"

"Sever her tendons and bring her back to me!"

Li Qingluo, however, did not continue running forward; instead, she turned and leapt down the slope.

This slope was steep; though not a cliff, descending too fast would make steady walking impossible.

Li Qingluo simply let herself roll down; the servants chasing her, unwilling to risk their lives like she did, sat one by one on the ground and slid down, constantly reaching out to grab her.

Li Qingluo could only clench her teeth, hold her head, and throw herself into rolling faster, though she tried to avoid branches and stones, she still couldn't escape being cut and scraped all the way.

"Stop——stop——"

Seeing that she showed no sign of stopping, the servants each shouted anxiously.

Li Qingluo knew what lay at the foot of the mountain, yet without hesitation she plunged headfirst into the ferocious Qinhuai River.

She would not give herself another chance to fall into Li Kechuan's hands.

Better dead than alive; better to fight to the death.

Li Qingluo could swim.

This was the lifesaving trick she had devised as a child when, while gathering firewood and digging wild vegetables on the hill, the Liu siblings shoved her into a lake and she flailed her way back to survive.

The Liu family never regarded her as one of their own.

In the Li household, Li Qingzhu was the cherished jewel in the palm of the hand, and even in death she remained a white moonlight.

But in the Liu household, Li Qingluo was merely a beast of burden, a slave who had never spent a single day being treated as a person.

Precisely for this reason, in her previous life, upon returning to the Li family, she had longed desperately for even a hint of warmth from true blood relatives.

Yet all she sought in that former life remained unfulfilled.

But in this life, she is determined to turn the tide against the wind—even if it's a dead‑end situation, she will carve out a path to survival!

The turbulent, rushing water, with jagged rocks and branches protruding sharply.

Several servants of the Li family jumped into the water after her, but after just a few strokes they all swam back ashore.

Li Qingluo, however, had long been completely submerged and vanished from sight.

The servants hurriedly crawled back, each pale‑faced and disheveled, kneeling before Li Kechuan to report: "Eldest Young Master, Second Young Lady fears—she may be dead!"

Li Kechuan had already taken in everything; he also saw Li Qingluo's resolute leap into the river.

At this moment, his face turned ashen, and his eyes trembled with shock.

Her temperament was actually so unyielding that she refused to admit defeat or bow her head.

Even if she hypocritically kowtowed and confessed guilt before Zhu'er's grave, merely enduring some hardship, he would today certainly not actually take her life.

Yet she actually chose to jump into the river now, and still refused to bow her head to him.

Good!

Good, that Li Qingluo!

Li Kechuan held his neck; one hand had already been completely stained blood‑red.

He glared hatefully at the turbulent river surface and ordered: "Go find me! If she's alive, bring her back; if dead, bring back her corpse."

Even if she really died, what then?

Dead is dead.

After all, she was someone who ought never to have returned; her death could be considered as settling Zhu'er's life.

Even if the grandmother pursued blame, could they really make him—the Li family's sole legitimate eldest son—pay with his life?

He need only say she accidentally fell into the river and drowned; at worst he would kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days, and the matter would surely blow over.

The grandmother is old; she has never truly been mistress of this household, and mother and father would naturally not let her blame herself.

Li Kechuan's mind settled on that, but as he stared at the river surface, he actually felt a trace of irrepressible irritation and anxiety……

Night fell.

The most prosperous part of Jinling City, whether day or night, is the banks of the Qinhuai River.

Songs and dances, drinking and merrymaking.

Opera and acrobatics, storytelling and gambling houses.

Moreover, the beloved South Pavilion brothel, frequented by men and women alike, has always been the liveliest, most splendid spot at night, as bustling and brightly lit as daytime.

Yet at this moment, in the dark riverside beneath the South Pavilion, a woman clinging to a piece of driftwood silently rose to the surface.

This woman was none other than Li Qingluo, who had resolutely jumped into the Qinhuai River earlier.

At this time, Li Qingluo's face was deathly pale, and her skin, soaked too long in the river water, had begun to swell.

She glanced around, and upon hearing footsteps on the shore, she immediately pressed herself against the riverbank, motionless.

"Nothing here, look over there!"

"Make the torches brighter!"

"Have you checked there——"

Li Kechuan's men, following the river, have traced her all the way to Jinling City.

Li Qingluo naturally wouldn't be that stupid; she didn't want to fall into his hands again.

She had barely kept a breath and avoided drowning; now she must break free completely as soon as possible.

Not far off, a voice from the shore called: "Hey, which household's servants are you? Why are you still searching the river at this late hour?"

The Li family servants, perhaps knowing they'd caused a commotion tonight, replied calmly: "We're from the Li Manor in the South of the City; a criminal slave fled from our home these past two days. Having heard she appeared by this river, we fear she fell in, so we came to look for her."

A passerby even remarked: "Tsk, you really have a conscience, worrying she might drown. Why bother with a criminal slave? She'll be caught sooner or later and handed over to the authorities for punishment."

The Li family servants: "Yes, yes, yes. Isn't this a human life? Our master is kind-hearted..."

Kind-hearted?

This really is the biggest joke Li Qingluo has heard lately.

In broad daylight, Li Qingluo would really have trouble hiding in this river.

After the people walked away, she felt her way in the dark, silently glided across the water, and successfully climbed onto a small boat.

By the time she clung to the gunwale, Li Qingluo had hardly any strength left.

However, before she could climb aboard, she was discovered.

"Who?"

A sword suddenly fell before her brow; Li Qingluo felt her vision go dark, and only when she saw the frost on the blade did she realize she had stumbled into danger.

Someone was on this boat, and by the voice it sounded like a young lord.

On such a dark night, without even a lantern lit, she had thought this was an unmanned boat, which is why she dared to approach.

But now she had no way to retreat.

Any further movement would surely draw the attention of the Li family servants on the shore.

The firelight on the shore grew brighter, and after exhausting herself all day, she had no strength left; now she was merely clinging to life by gritting her teeth.

To save her life, Li Qingluo could only plead with chattering teeth: "Sir, please forgive me; I mean no disturbance to your tranquility, but I have nowhere else to go—I beg you to spare my life."

The other party said nothing, even remaining silent for a long time.

So long that Li Qingluo's hands slipped several times; had she not flailed twice and desperately gripped the gunwale again, she would have fallen completely into the water.

Her whole body began to shake; suddenly she felt bitterly cold, so cold she could no longer control her body.

If this continued, she feared she would truly die.

Li Qingluo couldn't help but feel a resentful sigh: in this life, must she die at the hands of her own elder brother, Li Kechuan, again?