Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 225: Kill a Prince? What Nerve

「Two hours ago.」

「Outside the city. The stables.」

"You... begging me? HAHA... Are you really begging me?"

Kong Yu laughed, wild and arrogant.

Song Lianhe sat across from him, propping her chin on her hand and watching him lazily.

Zhong Shimin leaned against the door behind her, head bowed as if he were dozing.

Watching the madman across from her leap about, Song Lianhe sighed in exasperation. "So, you really plan to stay here and raise horses forever?"

"Bullshit! I’d never..."

A silver gleam shot straight toward him.

Kong Yu froze, then dodged. With a SWISH, a dart embedded itself in the wooden wall behind him.

Kong Yu’s eyes widened. He roared furiously, "Zhong Shimin!! Were you trying to kill me?!"

Zhong Shimin remained in the same posture, as if he weren’t the one who had just taught the man a lesson for his foul mouth.

Song Lianhe switched hands, propping up her chin with the other as she leisurely regarded the man across from her. "I’ve heard your followers are on the verge of staging an uprising. When that happens, the Fengming Gang will surely shatter into pieces. By the time you return, there will be no place left for you."

Kong Yu gritted his teeth and glared at her hatefully. "And whose fault do you think that is?"

"Heh, you can only blame your own incompetence, of course!"

"..."

Kong Yu was so angry he was hopping on his feet. "Is this your attitude when asking for a favor? I’ll tell you what, I’m not helping you!"

Song Lianhe remained unhurried. She smiled faintly, and a porcelain vial appeared in her hand as if by magic. "This? Just a little trinket I whipped up in my spare time."

Kong Yu froze, watching her warily. Who knew what kind of trick this woman was pulling now?

"What is that?"

"Like I said, you’re immune to all poisons, not invincible. A severe enough injury could still kill you!" As she spoke, she tossed the porcelain vial to him. "This can stop the bleeding and temporarily seal any wound, no matter how serious. In a critical moment, it can give you a fighting chance."

The expression on Kong Yu’s face finally softened.

’This woman is wicked!’

’She can always read my mind and knows exactly what I need most!’

He clutched the vial and said slowly, "I want the formula."

"No problem."

Song Lianhe agreed readily. "The formula is yours, but you have to help me trap him. As for the final step..."

The masked man, his eyes slightly closed, spoke slowly. "I’ll do it."

Song Lianhe smiled. "So? It’s a good deal, isn’t it?"

Kong Yu stared at her and suddenly asked, "What grudge do you have against him that you’re so intent on his death? If you don’t make it clear, you can take this back."

He tossed the vial back to her.

Song Lianhe knew perfectly well she couldn’t hide the truth if she wanted his help.

"He is Prince Ling, Zhou Junlin."

Kong Yu’s gaze tightened. "Heh, killing a Prince? You’ve certainly got nerve!"

Zhong Shimin slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at him. "You should be well aware of who you’ve been relying on to survive all these years. Without the Luo Family, you’d have been annihilated by the combined forces of Nanchen and Wu Qi long ago."

Kong Yu snorted. "That’s right. And if they crossed the Genosa River, they could team up and destroy Sui Bei! It’s only because I’m here as a shield that your precious Sui Bei has remained unscathed!"

A corner of Zhong Shimin’s mouth lifted. "You’re not wrong. But this shield could be you, the Fengming Gang, or any other pack of wolves. In short, if you’re unwilling to cooperate, we can just find someone else."

"Are you threatening me?!"

"Don’t be angry, Kong Shaoxia. I’m merely stating some unpleasant facts."

Song Lianhe let out a snort of laughter and secretly gave Zhong Shimin a thumbs-up.

’Leader Zhong is a master of sarcasm.’

She concealed her smile and added with feigned thoughtfulness, "And Kong Shaoxia, you shouldn’t even think about siding with him. Though he is a Prince and the future emperor, it’s only a matter of time before he abandons the Luo Family and reclaims the Tribal Land to secure his throne. When that happens, Sui Bei will be absorbed by the Court. Do you think he’ll send a trusted minister to take charge, or will he use a bandit chief like you? After all the trouble he’d go through to take back Sui Bei, why would he allow a second Luo Family to emerge? So, if you were to pledge allegiance to him, only two endings await you. First, you get killed once you’ve served your purpose. Second, you’re used for all you’re worth, sent to the battlefield, and then given a glorious posthumous title after your death—fulfilling a lifelong wish, I suppose."

Kong Yu’s face remained grim. For once, he was calm and lost in thought.

Song Lianhe tossed the vial to him again. Startled, he caught it out of reflex.

"We can work with you, or we can work with someone else. You aren’t essential to this plan."

She stood up and glanced at Zhong Shimin. "We’re leaving."

Zhong Shimin nodded.

Just as they turned to leave, Kong Yu suddenly called out, "Wait!"

Song Lianhe pressed her lips together. She knew he would agree. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"After this is done, you’ll be free. You won’t have to wait the full year."

Kong Yu gave her a cold look, then glanced at the man behind her. "Can I trust you people?"

Song Lianhe said earnestly, "It’s a treacherous world out there. If you can’t trust us, you can’t trust anyone!"

Zhong Shimin said nothing, but nodded.

Kong Yu scoffed. "The way I see it, you’re the most vicious ones here! Always scheming to use me for your own ends!"

Song Lianhe waved her hand dismissively. "Look on the bright side. This is mutually beneficial. You make your living on the edge of a knife anyway. If you’re outmatched, you just have to accept it."

Kong Yu snorted, his breath heavy. "So what if I live dangerously? You can still get tricked by petty schemers."

Song Lianhe was quite amused that he was painting himself as such a noble hero.

"Why, thank you~"

"Are you done? Then get out! Go, go, go! Just looking at you gives me a headache!"

"That won’t do. For safety’s sake, we need to rehearse our parts. Zhou Junlin is no ordinary man; we can’t let anything seem off when we’re in front of him."

Kong Yu was not happy. He mainly didn’t want her leading him around by the nose. He, the great leader of the Fengming Gang—when had he ever been so controlled by someone else?

"Why should I listen to you?"

Like a petulant child, he turned his head away and ignored her.

Zhong Shimin glanced over again. His eyes were unreadable, but he never stopped fiddling with the dart in his hand.

Song Lianhe didn’t press him. "If you don’t want to give us away, you’d best listen to me. I know him much better than you do."

’I’m a loyal reader, of course I understand the male lead!’

But to Zhong Shimin’s ears, her words held an entirely different meaning.

Song Lianhe continued, "He knows you’re from the Fengming Gang. If he wants revenge later, he can just go after your useless followers. It would save you the trouble of cleaning house yourself."

Kong Yu held his breath, his expression focused. The look he shot her was a mixture of resistance and frustration.

The Fengming Gang had an unwritten rule: internal affairs were to be handled internally. No matter how chaotic things became, outsiders were not to interfere.

Therefore, something like cleaning house was a matter Kong Yu would have to handle personally.

But in the meantime, if someone decided to seek revenge, they would become an enemy of the entire Fengming Gang. As its leader, Kong Yu would never bring such a danger upon his own people.