Chapter Eighty-Eight: A Startling Surprise

“Zhou Chao, what are you doing?”

Lu Hao’s voice came suddenly from behind the village chief, startling Zhou Chao badly.

At the sound, Zhou Chao frowned and turned around to look at him.

“It’s you!” In the dim lamplight, he recognized Lu Hao’s face beneath that towering silhouette.

“What are you doing here?” Zhou Chao’s face went pale, and he felt as though he had been caught red-handed in the act.

“What am I doing here? I should be the one asking you that. What exactly are you trying to do?”

At those words, Zhou Chao realized his good deed had been ruined and immediately turned fierce.

“Listen here, Lu Hao. If you don’t want anything to happen to your whole family, then stay out of this.”

“Otherwise, I’ll break both your father’s legs.” His tone and expression were those of a cornered dog, desperate and vicious.

Just then, Yun Xiaoyan, lying on the bed, let out a faint murmur.

That sound made both men tense at once.

Zhou Chao grew even angrier. “Lu Hao, get the hell out of here right now. I’m staying to take care of our village official. She’s feeling a little unwell.”

Lu Hao gave a cold laugh.

“You old bastard, do you think I don’t know what you’re up to?”

“What did you put in that fish soup? You know perfectly well.”

Zhou Chao’s eyes changed.

“What do you mean? You know everything?”

Looking into Lu Hao’s eyes, sharp as blades, Zhou Chao began to feel uneasy.

“What do you want?” Seeing that his scheme had already been exposed, Zhou Chao had no choice but to accept the reality.

“Get out. Tomorrow I’ll expose you in front of the entire village for the shameless creature you are,” Lu Hao said angrily, pointing at Zhou Chao’s face.

“Heh, you want me to leave now? Dream on.” Zhou Chao clapped his hands and kept his face calm.

“If you ask me, you came here in the middle of the night because you had your eye on this girl too. We’re both men. Do you think I can’t see your filthy little thoughts?”

Lu Hao’s expression darkened. This damn bastard was actually trying to strike first and turn the tables.

“Don’t compare me to an animal like you. You’re not worthy,” Lu Hao snapped.

“Cut the nonsense. If you weren’t just as eager to have your way with this woman, why would you sneak into her room in the middle of the night?”

“Name your price. How much do you want? I know your family is short on money.”

Lu Hao frowned, not understanding what he meant. “What are you talking about?”

Zhou Chao said, “I’m talking about me paying you to keep your mouth shut. Once you leave, you’re not allowed to mention anything that happened tonight.”

“Also, after half an hour, you can come back. You can have your fun too. Then this whole thing becomes a secret between the two of us.”

“No one else has to know.”

By now, confidence had returned to Zhou Chao’s face. He believed he had offered Lu Hao a condition impossible to refuse.

“Ten thousand yuan. What do you say? And you still get to enjoy such a rare beauty for nothing.” Zhou Chao’s voice was full of temptation, as if he were trying to drag Lu Hao into the abyss.

His gaze fell on Yun Xiaoyan lying on the bed. Seeing her seductive curves and those long, deadly legs, the desire to commit a crime surged within him to the point of bursting.

Unfortunately for him, things did not go the way he imagined.

What he also failed to notice was that Yun Xiaoyan’s eyes fluttered slightly at that moment, as if she had briefly regained consciousness.

Even her ears twitched a little.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Zhou Chao was greeted by a fierce, heavy punch from Lu Hao.

Bang.

After taking that blow, Zhou Chao collapsed to the ground instantly, his head spinning, stars flashing before his eyes, his vision darkening.

“Damn you! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Zhou Chao was nearly knocked senseless by the punch, and in his fury he began cursing wildly.

“You don’t know what’s good for you, and I’m not afraid of you!” Zhou Chao had already been prepared.

Seeing that Lu Hao had no intention of letting him off, he immediately drew a butcher’s knife from his waist, a blade nearly thirty centimeters long.

“Lu Hao, if you know what’s good for you and don’t want to die today, get out of the way! Otherwise, I’ll take your life.”

Knife in hand, Zhou Chao roared in rage, his eyes bloodshot like those of a wild beast trapped in a cage.

But Lu Hao showed the slightest fear.

A silver needle flashed in his hand and shot straight into Zhou Chao’s hand.

Zhou Chao’s right hand, the one gripping the knife, trembled violently, and the blade dropped straight to the floor.

Bang.

Zhou Chao felt half his shoulder go numb.

“Damn you! If you’ve got the guts, just wait. I’ll come back and kill you sooner or later!” Zhou Chao shouted furiously.

Then, using his other hand, he picked up the knife from the floor and hurled it at Lu Hao.

Lu Hao caught the knife cleanly in one hand. In that brief moment, Zhou Chao had already vanished without a trace.

“That bastard ran pretty fast.”

At that moment, Lu Hao turned his attention to Yun Xiaoyan.

After a sigh, the silver needles in his hand were already pinned into her limbs and neck.

Those five points corresponded to five acupoints. With the stimulation from the needles, and with Lu Hao’s right hand pressed against Yun Xiaoyan’s wrist, channeling the power of the Azure Dragon into her body through that point, Yun Xiaoyan regained consciousness in a very short time.

“Aah! You, don’t come near me…”

Terrified, Yun Xiaoyan shot into the corner by the wall like a startled rabbit.

Even Lu Hao had not expected her movements to be so swift.

“You… Yun Xiaoyan.” Lu Hao’s lips moved. He had just been about to say something.

“Get lost! Don’t say another word. You and the village chief are in this together, aren’t you? I heard everything you said just now!” Yun Xiaoyan suddenly cried out, her eyes red with fury.

She glared at Lu Hao, as though a boundless rage were burning inside her.

At the same time, overwhelming fear still clung to her.

Just now, at the moment Lu Hao and Zhou Chao were talking, she had felt danger for an instant and struggled to wake up.

And at exactly that moment, she had heard Zhou Chao say to Lu Hao, “Ten thousand yuan. What do you say? And you still get to enjoy such a rare beauty for nothing.”

That was all she heard before she passed out again.

So she could only assume that Lu Hao was working with the village chief and wanted to violate her.

On top of that, Lu Hao was now standing in her room. No matter how she looked at it, it was impossible to explain.

So from the little information she had, she could only conclude that Lu Hao and Zhou Chao were colluding to steal her innocence.

“You, get out! Get out right now!” Yun Xiaoyan suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.