The Wound with a Different Meaning

Oh no!

The familiar alarm sound now made perfect sense to Ye Feng. It simply meant he was in an extremely dire situation—one so severe it threatened his life. This implied that if he didn’t handle Li Mucheng carefully right now, he might have to expend his last life-saving puppet. And with only one left, the consequences of facing danger again would be unthinkable...

"Mu... Mucheng! I have something to tell you!"

A flash of inspiration struck Ye Feng, and the words spilled out before he could second-guess himself.

"I’m not disappointed, I just..."

"Just what?"

Li Mucheng halted her advance, tilting her head as she waited for his answer. It was clear that if his response wasn’t what she wanted to hear, the next moment would plunge him into an abyss.

"I just wanted to say... this whole thing is pointless, Mucheng."

"Hm? Pointless?"

"Yeah!"

Seeing that Li Mucheng was still engaging with him, Ye Feng seized the chance to buy time with his words. If he could just keep her from turning hostile, there might still be a way to escape this place.

"Then... Teacher, what would make it not pointless?"

Though her words were slow, Li Mucheng’s body had already closed the distance between them. Her fingers traced the bandage on Ye Feng’s abdomen, sticky with dried blood, before she abruptly lifted it to reveal the wound beneath.

"If we’re talking about interesting..."

"Who did this to you?!"

Li Mucheng’s sudden interruption left Ye Feng speechless, his carefully prepared diversion crumbling in an instant.

"This... Mucheng, maybe we should get back to the interesting topic?"

"Teacher, I won’t ask a third time. Who. Hurt. You?"

Her gaze locked onto him, sharp and unyielding, all her focus now fixed on the wound.

"It was... an accident."

"An accident?"

Li Mucheng tilted her head slightly, studying Ye Feng’s expression—unchanged, yet unconvincing—before her eyes dropped back to the injury.

"This wound..."

To Ye Feng’s shock, she leaned in, her nose brushing against the bandage as she inhaled lightly. The warmth of her breath against his skin made him grit his teeth to suppress a shudder.

"...Just as I thought."

After a few more delicate sniffs, Li Mucheng straightened up, satisfaction curling her lips.

"Thought what? Mucheng, I already told you—"

"It was that woman, Xie Yuyan, wasn’t it?"

"!!!"

The name sent a chill down Ye Feng’s spine. Before he could react, Li Mucheng’s fingers clenched around the bandage, her murmurs of denial barely audible. Then—

Rip.

The sound of tearing fabric echoed through the room. Ye Feng gasped as pain flared across his abdomen, forcing his eyes shut.

Before him, Li Mucheng admired the sight—the wound’s scab torn open, fresh blood welling up like vivid paint. But her smile faltered as something else caught her attention.

"Teacher... do you remember how you taught me to analyze wounds?"

"......"

When Ye Feng stayed silent, she continued, undeterred.

"First, check if it’s scabbed. That tells you how long ago it happened and how severe it is. Second... yours is clearly a stab wound. So Xie Yuyan must’ve used a blade. And third..." Her voice turned icy. "The scab’s been torn open. Which means after getting hurt, you were... active."

Her hand, cold as death, pressed against the wound.

"Care to explain, Teacher? I’d love to hear the truth~"

"......."

"Tch. Why won’t you cooperate? Wasting my time like this is so... unworthy of you."

With that, she withdrew her hand. The movement startled Ye Feng, his eyes snapping open in alarm.

"What... are you planning?"

"What am I planning?"

Li Mucheng cupped his cheek, her touch deceptively tender, before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Taking care of my injured teacher, of course. Only my bandages are good enough for you."

She rose from the bed, offered a curt farewell, and strode out of the iron-barred basement...

......

"Keep the perimeter secure! The young mistress ordered—no one gets near this place!"

In a remote villa, black-suited guards armed with weapons patrolled the grounds, their vigilance unbroken. Among them, a familiar voice barked orders: Ah Fu, his expression grim.

"Understood!"

The guards fanned out in groups of three, their footsteps methodical.

"Sigh..."

Once alone, Ah Fu exhaled heavily, his gaze drifting back to the villa. He was at a loss.

Just yesterday, after Li Mucheng returned to her apartment, she’d summoned him. When he learned of her plan, he’d objected immediately—begged her, even. Forcing Ye Feng’s freedom like this would only make him resent her.

But Li Mucheng's face had been shadowed, unreachable. She had coldly instructed him to prepare, then left no room for argument. When Ah Fu tried to call Li Jing, two men in black materialized beside him. These were Li Mucheng's personal enforcers, answerable only to her—a privilege granted by Li Jing himself. Now, under the guise of "assistance," they shadowed Ah Fu's every move.

He knew. This was surveillance. To stop him from warning Ye Feng or Li Jing.

All he could do now was play along... and pray for a miracle.

"Young Mistress... how did it come to this? If you keep going, there’ll be no turning back..."