TTCOTE CHAPTER 20

With a whoosh, the hem of a snow-white robe brushed past her face like a passing cloud. In midair, Gong Yin twisted his long, lean body and landed steadily on the ground.

Jing Hengbo scrambled to her feet, deeply regretting that her one and only skill—an over-the-shoulder throw—had failed to end Gong Yin.

Before she could fully stand up, a white blur flashed before her eyes. Smack! A crisp sound rang out, and she fell flat on her back again.

Even as she went down, she didn’t forget to kick out with all her strength. Her high-heeled shoe flew viciously toward his calf.

The shoe never reached its target. Instead, it was sent flying, landing with a thud against something, followed by a sharp scream. A few colorful feathers fluttered through the air from the hillside.

Er Gouzi stood there, a high heel stuck to his head, spinning dizzily as he cursed, “Who the hell is throwing chamber pots around?!”

Jing Hengbo stumbled as she tried to get up, but even a single flick of Gong Yin’s sleeve could probably send her flying straight to Siberia.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to challenge someone with such an overwhelming advantage. If she had wanted to fight him, she would have done so long ago.

But just now, that glance from Jing Jun before turning away—along with that silent, desperate plea—still echoed in her mind, making her feel like she was losing her mind.

Jing Jun had said: Please, let me go.

Jing Hengbo clutched her forehead, her mind in turmoil. Even with her usual nonchalance, she now understood exactly what was happening.

Was it really okay to force someone to their doom like this, right in front of them?

How could Jing Jun not be shaken?

She cherished her life—Jing Hengbo knew that and even understood it. She never expected that just because she had once saved someone, they should be willing to risk their life in return. Maybe someone like Sister Cui could do it, but pampered and vain Jing Jun? She couldn’t.

That tear-filled, unwilling gaze struck deeper than any outburst or tantrum. Jing Hengbo wasn’t sure how long she could stand looking at it.

A section of pristine white robe hung before her, without a single crease, starkly contrasting her own dirt-streaked and disheveled state. The man in front of her was so immaculate, so noble, as if he had just descended from the clouds.

Jing Hengbo kept her head lowered, stumbling as she got up, holding her forehead in a daze. He simply watched without offering a hand to help.

She seemed genuinely dizzy, swaying as if she might crash straight into him.

Gong Yin reached out to push her away.

Jing Hengbo immediately seized the opportunity to grab his arm and pressed down hard with all her weight.

As Gong Yin pushed outward, she leaned forward, pressing her chest against his hand. “Go on, then!”

Gong Yin froze instantly.

In the next moment, Jing Hengbo wrapped her arms around his waist and slammed her head into his stomach.

Thud! Both of them toppled backward. Gong Yin let out a low grunt of anger and tried to fling her off, but Jing Hengbo had already wriggled her way on top of him, clinging to him like an octopus, locking her legs tightly around his.

Gong Yin froze again.

This position was far too awkward. No matter how much he wanted to keep his distance from her, he was still a man. If they continued struggling like this, it would only stoke a fire in his blood, making things even more uncomfortable.

At this moment, her legs were firmly pressed against his, and the thin fabric of her long skirt did little to shield the warmth of her skin. He could feel its smoothness—softer than fine silk, warm like fragrant satin—or perhaps more like a pair of sinuous, slippery serpents, winding their way into his very bones.

A bizarre thought suddenly flitted through his mind: Is she even wearing anything under that skirt…?

He quickly crushed the ridiculous notion. Looking up, he met her fiery gaze.

For an instant, he saw himself reflected in her large, dark eyes, flickering within their shimmering depths. Or perhaps what wavered wasn’t his reflection at all, but a heart momentarily disturbed.

“Get off!” he snapped, relieved that his voice still sounded as calm and steady as ever.

Jing Hengbo grinned and raised her hand. In it, she held a high-heeled shoe, its ten-inch stiletto heel pointed directly at his carotid artery.

Gong Yin’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He simply turned to Sister Cui, who stood frozen to the side, and said, “Step back. Tell the guards not to interfere.”

Jing Hengbo immediately cut in, “Don’t go! Or he’ll trick you into being a target again!”

“Do you believe I can make her a target right this second?”

Sister Cui bolted without hesitation, completely ignoring Jing Hengbo’s well-intentioned warning.

Jing Hengbo didn’t lose heart. The silver heel of her high-heeled shoe gleamed under the light, and she was certain it could easily pierce the thin skin of this arrogant man.

“Let us go!” She initiated the negotiation.

“Only your corpses.”

The high heel in Jing Hengbo’s hand trembled slightly as she considered whether to stab him a little first—just to let out some blood and deflate his arrogance.

How could he still be acting so superior when he was the one pinned beneath her?

“Then let Sister Cui and Jing Jun go,” she compromised. “I don’t need human shields. They came with me to help, and I’ve already dragged them into this mess. If they get used as shields because of me, how am I supposed to live with that? If you push Jing Jun too far and she does something drastic, what then?”

“That’s your problem.” Gong Yin remained as indifferent as ever, his eyes half-closed, looking as if he were about to fall asleep.

“If I suffer, you’re not getting off easy either.” Jing Hengbo waggled her high heel menacingly. “Next time you try this trick, I’ll just expose my true identity on the spot.”

“Go ahead,” Gong Yin’s lips curved ever so slightly, an almost-smile. “If you think your life is as worthless as an ant’s, by all means, trade it for those two women.”

Before Jing Hengbo could respond, he added, “Personally, I don’t think your life is worth much either. But until we reach the Great Wilderness, until you officially ascend to the throne, I will not allow you to die.”

Jing Hengbo caught the flaw in his words, her eyes narrowing warily. “And after I ascend?”

Gong Yin fell silent for a long moment before finally saying, “If I have to personally see you through this entire journey, then you should consider yourself lucky enough to die without regrets.”

“Screw your ‘die without regrets’—I’ll make you die without regrets right now!”

A cold glint flashed in Jing Hengbo’s eyes as she raised the high heel high, aiming directly at that ever-arrogantly lifted neck of his.

Let him be the first man to fall under the deadly weapon of a high heel!

In the next instant, with a sharp thud, her high heel embedded itself into the tree, and with a whoosh, Jing Hengbo was flung right over Gong Yin, landing precariously on a tree branch.

The tree trunk trembled from the impact, and her high heel promptly fell, smacking her on the head before hanging lopsidedly like a crooked queen’s crown.

Gong Yin had already risen from the grass, dust and leaves slipping off him as if they dared not cling to his pristine form. He still looked as immaculate as if he had just stepped out of a celestial spring.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air—Jing Hengbo’s unique scent. Subtle, yet impossible to ignore. Gong Yin unconsciously paused for a fraction of a second in its presence before abruptly realizing—was he becoming overly aware of her?

“Next time, don’t rub your coarse skin against me,” he said coldly, immediately shedding his outer robe. “Meng Hu,” he called out, “take this and burn it.”

Meng Hu appeared without the slightest hint of surprise, efficiently helping him into a fresh robe before dutifully carrying off the discarded one to be incinerated.

Jing Hengbo blinked, watching the rising smoke from the burning garment, mentally cursing his ancestors back eighteen generations. At the same time, she prepared to use one of her hidden talents to leave a lasting impression on him.

Should she go for the tree branch three meters away? Or the stone at the base of the tree?

The former lacked impact, while the latter was too heavy—she wasn’t entirely sure she could pull it off.

Before she could finalize her decision, Gong Yin casually dusted off his robes and turned to leave.

As he walked away, he remarked, “From this moment on, if you attempt any further disrespectful or hostile actions against me—”

Right on cue, Meng Hu appeared with a large basin of pig fat and held it right under Jing Hengbo’s nose.

The thick, greasy stench hit her like a punch to the gut, making her gag on the spot.

Meanwhile, Gong Yin had already strolled away at his leisure.

“I’ll personally ensure you have five meals a day of rice drenched in lard, bathe you in lard, and serve you lard soup. In short, everything about you will be resolved with lard—until you’re as fair, plump, and round as them.”

He casually pointed toward the hillside, where a herd of fat pigs just so happened to be waddling by.

…

Half a moment later.

Jing Hengbo, finally recovering from the sheer horror of his words, let out an earth-shattering, piercing scream.

“Gong Yin, one day, I swear I’ll make you bend!!”