Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 362: You Left My Princess Consort Down There?
On the roof, a man dressed as a scholar stood gracefully against the wind.
A brush and paper in hand, he stood there on the roof, diligently recording something.
Inside the house, Zhang Yu sneered. "So what if he has the Heavenly Kill Slash? His military authority has been stripped, hasn’t it? Sooner or later, he’ll fall right into my hands!"
"Could you maybe stop bragging?" Song Lianhe said with a look of contempt. "What can you do besides send a few useless assassins? My husband is a Prince of Da Cheng, for crying out loud! How dare you thieves from the insignificant little country of Nanchen be so shameless?"
But Zhang Yu didn’t get angry. Instead, he stared at her with a sinister smile. "A Prince? I’m afraid you have no idea how many people in the Da Cheng Court want him dead, do you?"
"What do you mean? No, how could you know that?" Song Lianhe feigned shock. "You have people in the Court?!"
Zhang Yu pressed his lips together, refusing to say another word.
Just then, the man in black guarding the house suddenly shouted, "Who’s there?!"
Zhang Yu’s expression changed instantly. He signaled his subordinate to watch Song Lianhe as he walked to the doorway.
"MEOW~"
A chubby tabby cat was on the roof, its body so plump that it walked a little clumsily, occasionally stepping on loose roof tiles.
"It’s nothing. Just a cat."
Hearing his man’s report, Zhang Yu relaxed slightly, but he didn’t dare to let his guard down completely.
’Why aren’t they back yet?’ he thought, growing anxious.
Song Lianhe, meanwhile, pulled out a bag of peanuts from a corner. ’In the old days, they called these ’longevity fruits’,’ she mused. ’Good stuff.’
Zhang Yu’s hand began to throb, sweat trickling down his cheeks. Yet there she sat, casually peeling and eating her "longevity fruits." Her nonchalance was infuriating.
He gritted his teeth and turned to demand, "Why does it hurt so much?"
"My good man! Do I need to review your diagnosis for you? Your tendons are severed! Your bones are shattered! It’s *supposed* to hurt. If it didn’t, *that’s* when you’d know it was useless!"
After Song Lianhe’s self-righteous tirade, Zhang Yu actually quieted down. After all, if there was still hope for recovery, a little pain was nothing!
"CHIRP—"
A sudden cry echoed through the air.
Song Lianhe paused in mid-peanut, then continued eating as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
THUMP—
Zhang Yu, however, suddenly fell from his chair. His face went deathly pale, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"What? What was that cry? What in the world was that?!"
The cry reminded him of the falcon Zhou Cangyan kept!
’Leave it to a villain to raise a bird that’s just as detestable as he is!’
He would never forget the feeling of that falcon’s sharp talons resting on his shoulder, as if they could rip through his flesh and bone at any second!
The cry overhead continued, at times high-pitched, at times long and drawn out.
’No, something’s not right!’
’My men, gone for so long... the cat on the roof... that piercing cry...’
’It’s all too strange!’
Zhang Yu’s eyes turned sinister and terrifying. "We’re leaving!" he commanded. He turned to look at Song Lianhe. "Take her with us!"
Someone roughly pulled Song Lianhe to her feet. "Move it!"
"Hey, wait, I haven’t finished my peanuts..."
She hastily grabbed a large handful.
Zhang Yu shot her a glare. "Were you a starving ghost in your past life?!"
Unconcerned, Song Lianhe grabbed another handful and stuffed them into her robes.
His subordinate supported him. Instead of using the front door, they went into the kitchen and lifted the lid off a large iron wok. Only then did Song Lianhe realize it was another secret passage! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
She couldn’t help but click her tongue. "I never would’ve guessed. You people really have gone to great lengths to sneak into Da Cheng!"
’With all these tunnels and waterways, you’ve got the spirit of master craftsmen. With this level of professionalism, you could have a bright future in urban development. Why waste it being spies?’
Before she could think any further, she was shoved inside.
Zhang Yu followed close behind. One of the men in black periodically prodded her back with his blade, urging her to move faster.
In the darkness, Song Lianhe narrowed her eyes, annoyed.
’Just you wait,’ she thought. ’Later, I’ll make sure you can’t even crawl!’
"Hurry up! Don’t dawdle!"
She was shoved hard again and, caught off guard, she seemed to trip over something. Reaching out, her hand touched a long, soft object... It was cold and slimy...
’This is...’
Realizing what it was, Song Lianhe shrieked and shot to her feet.
"AHH—"
"What is it?"
Song Lianhe’s hand trembled. "It’s... it’s..."
A snake!
Zhang Yu, still unaware that the secret passage had become a snake pit, could only probe forward tentatively with his feet, his hands bandaged as thick as dumplings.
At the same time, one of the men in black behind him also screamed, "Snakes! It’s snakes!"
Zhang Yu froze, then quickly ordered someone to light a flint.
Once there was light, the scene inside the secret passage was laid bare.
"AHHH!!"
"AAAAHH!"
Snakes. It was all snakes!
Everywhere they looked—overhead, underfoot, on the walls—there were snakes crawling!
It was a true snake pit in every sense of the word!
The screams were panicked and terrified. Humans have an instinctual fear of snakes. These men could face their enemies, they could fight to the bloody end, but in a snake pit, the fear deep in their hearts was instantly and infinitely magnified.
One of his men bumped into Zhang Yu, nearly sending him tumbling into the pile of snakes at his feet. In the chaos, the flint was extinguished, and the tunnel was plunged into darkness once more.
"Aah! I’ve been bitten! AHH!!"
"Help me! Somebody help me!"
With screams echoing in his ears, a terrified Zhang Yu turned and fled.
He abandoned all thought, running for his life back the way he had come.
He scrambled out of the large black wok and finally felt something strange around his neck. Ignoring the pain in his hands, he violently tore a snake from his throat, threw it back down into the passage, and slammed the lid shut, sealing it tight!
Once the terror subsided, his nerves relaxed, and the pain in his hands returned, sharp and excruciating.
He collapsed to the floor in agony. "Song..."
Zhang Yu froze. He scrambled to his feet, rushed to the wok, and yelled at the lid, "Where is she?! Where is she?!"
Just then, the kitchen door was kicked open—
The man who looked like a scholar entered first, then stepped aside. "My Lord."
Zhou Cangyan, still clad in his dark robes, walked in, bringing the heavy stench of blood with him.
His light-brown eyes swept the room. "Where is she?"
When Zhang Yu saw him, he knew he was doomed. His eyes darted toward the large black wok.
’Jump down there, and I’d have a slim chance of survival.’
He glanced back at Zhou Cangyan.
’Fall into his hands, and it’s certain death.’
Zhang Yu’s eyes hardened. He made his decision in an instant, knocking the lid aside and preparing to jump—
"Trying to escape?"
A Shadow Guard closed the distance in a few large strides and grabbed him by the collar. Half of Zhang Yu’s body was already in the passage, his legs thrashing wildly.
Xuan Qi stepped forward and peered into the passage, his brow furrowing. "My Lord, it’s full of snakes."
As he spoke, Zhang Yu began to shriek in terror. "Aahh! It’s crawling up my leg! AHHH! HELP ME!"
A longsword was placed against his neck, the blade pressing forward, threatening to sever his head.
"I’ll ask you one more time," Zhou Cangyan said, his voice low. "Where is she?"
"Aah! She’s down there! She’s down there! Quick, pull me up! I’m begging you!"
Hearing this, Zhou Cangyan’s expression shifted slightly. He let out a low, chilling laugh. "So," he asked softly, "you left my Princess Consort down there? While you came out alone?"
"I..."
Zhang Yu didn’t dare to answer.
Xuan Qi suddenly added, "He didn’t just leave the Princess Consort down there. He put the lid back on and sealed the passage."
