Seeing the scholar's appearance, the crowd burst into laughter. Their mocking chuckles, along with the woman's suggestive movements that spread to her neck, were like a resounding slap to the scholar. His face, initially flushed with shame, now burned with anger. He felt disgusted and enraged by the woman's blatant promiscuity. He hadn't expected her to be such a shameless hussy.
"You are utterly shameless!" the scholar exclaimed, his face contorted with rage as he pointed at the woman's nose.
Her eyes were full of desire, and she leaned against the man beside her, weak as if boneless. Hearing the scholar's outburst, she spoke with a seductive gasp, "You scholar, how rude you are! This is merely earthly pleasure, yet you condemn it so severely. I never asked for your rescue, so why are you meddling in such petty affairs and insulting me for no reason?"
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
The men beside her felt a pang of sympathy. While gently wiping away her tears, they turned their angry gazes towards the scholar.
"Get lost!"
One of them pointed at the scholar's nose, telling him to scram.
But the scholar stood his ground, "I've already reported you to the authorities. If you don't want to..."
"To hell with you!"
Upon hearing that the scholar had reported them, the men's brows shot up in anger. Their pent-up rage, unable to be vented elsewhere, was unleashed upon the scholar. They surged towards him, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks.
Only the man the woman was leaning on remained still. He continued to caress the woman in his arms, watching the scholar being beaten, completely oblivious to the woman's gradually ceasing breaths and her slowly chilling gaze.
"Sigh~"
The woman suddenly sighed and pressed down on the man's hand.
The man froze slightly, looking down at the woman in his embrace. "My beauty, what...?" He suddenly clutched his throat, the unspoken words swallowed by blood.
His throat had been completely slit. Blood flowed through the gaps between his fingers. His wide, startled eyes were filled with shock and terror. He stumbled back a step, unable to resist the grip of death, and collapsed to the ground.
The men who had been beating the scholar turned their heads, their mouths falling open as they gasped in shock at the scene. The woman's décolletage remained bare, the blood splattered on her skin making it appear even fairer and more translucent. The firelight cast a glow on her face, revealing a smile that bloomed at the corners of her eyes.
The woman reached out, her finger smearing the blood on her chest, then she brought her finger to her lips and sucked on it. She parted her cherry-red lips slightly, revealing a soft, rosy tongue that traced her finger, lapping at the blood.
This intensely striking scene, however, could no longer stir any impure thoughts in the onlookers. All they felt was profound fear.
"You..."
The words caught in their throats.
The blood seemed to freeze in the biting wind, leaving them with an overwhelming sense of cold.
They looked at the woman's other hand. In it, she clutched a dagger, its tip pointing downwards. Blood dripped from the dagger onto the ground.
She had killed someone!
She had killed the man who had come with them.
The men were only momentarily stunned. The moment they recovered, they turned and fled.
But the woman moved like a phantom, appearing instantly before them and blocking their path. She asked with a smile, "Where are you all going?"
She stood by the doorway, her body enveloped in darkness, like a malevolent spirit from a deep mountain forest, now merely shedding its skin to reveal its sharp teeth.
The men instinctively took a few steps back, only stopping when they felt the warmth of the fire.
"You, if you know what's good for you, let us go quickly. That scholar just said he reported us to the authorities. Murder is a capital offense. If you're captured by the constabulary, you'll only meet death. But if you let us leave, we can pretend we were never here."
"Yes, we didn't see anything!"
"Let us go."
"The constabulary?" The woman let out a peal of laughter, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. She tilted her head back, her laughter wild and unrestrained. Her entire being radiated a dangerous yet captivating allure, like that of a poppy.
"The constabulary dares to apprehend me?" Her expression turned cold, and she suddenly covered her mouth, stifling a giggle. "Originally, I wanted to play with you for a while, to let you experience extreme pleasure before you die. Unfortunately, this scholar appeared. Seeing his delicate skin, I suddenly found you all… wanting."
"Alas, it's because you don't have handsome faces~"
As the woman spoke, she suddenly moved.
She was like a wolf entering a sheep pen, slaughtering all the men in an instant. Before her, they were utterly defenseless.
The woman turned and walked towards the scholar.
The scholar was already trembling with fear at the scene before him. He stared at the approaching woman, his eyes wide with terror.
The woman grabbed the scholar and lifted him, using the dagger to slash open his outer garments.