Jiang Mu had a terrible headache. An absolutely splitting headache.
He had indeed anticipated that the spiritual entity within Tang Jinxian hadn't been completely expelled, and that it might have some lingering effects on the woman later.
But he hadn't expected her to pull a stunt like this.
She had come straight to his doorstep.
"Seems I underestimated the Tame Mare Ring. Just how am I supposed to completely remove this thing?"
Jiang Mu scratched his head in frustration, racking his brains.
But after thinking for ages, he still had no clue.
His fragmented memories were like knives—the more he dwelled on them, the deeper they cut.
Seeing her "master" in such agony, Tang Jinxian leaned in and nuzzled his cheek with her delicate face. Her breath was warm and orchid-sweet, carrying a hint of sweet, warm fragrance that tickled faintly.
If anyone else had seen this scene, their jaw would certainly have dropped.
After all, Tang Jinxian was the Chief of Yan City’s Patrol Office, with quite a high status. Yet at this moment, she was like a little pet, fawning and cozying up to a mere lowly constable, her posture intimate.
"Forget it, I'll use the same method as last time."
Jiang Mu pushed the woman clinging to him away, got up, and went outside to find a suitable brick.
He took out a dagger and lightly cut his fingertip.
Then, using his finger as a brush, he painted a talisman on the surface of the brick with his blood.
Tang Jinxian squatted obediently at the side, tilting her head, her almond eyes watching his movements with curious charm.
However, when she saw the blood-colored talisman gradually taking shape on the brick, she seemed to recall certain unpleasant memories. She subconsciously curled up and shrank back.
She let out a low "woof woof" at Jiang Mu, her gaze filled with grievance and fear.
"So you still know fear?"
Jiang Mu's expression turned odd. "It seems that brick from last time left quite the psychological trauma."
He waved at her. "Come here."
The beautiful woman looked at the brick in his hand. Not only did she not come forward, she shrank back even more.
Disobedient.
Jiang Mu's face turned cold, his voice much harsher. "Come here!"
The beautiful woman whimpered grievously and finally crawled over. She even actively lifted her face and licked Jiang Mu's jaw in a fawning manner, carrying instinctive fear and flattery.
"I'm saving you. Endure it for a moment; it'll be over soon."
Jiang Mu breathed on the brick.
Aiming at her smooth forehead, he swung it without hesitation.
The result was a swing at empty air.
She had already dodged behind the table, her hands gripping the table edge, only revealing a snow-white, jade-like beautiful face. She crouched there, baring her teeth at Jiang Mu.
An adorably fierce, guarded posture.
Jiang Mu: "..."
He tried putting on a gentle face, coaxing softly, "Good girl, come here. I won't hit you."
Tang Jinxian remained unmoved, still gripping the table edge, her gaze alert.
Jiang Mu tried approaching with the brick in hand.
Like a startled rabbit, she whooshed to the other corner of the room.
Jiang Mu was completely speechless.
This was troublesome now.
But according to his memory, the only way to resolve this was to draw a talisman on a brick or hard object and smash it down hard.
What to do in this situation?
He couldn't think of any other solution no matter how hard he pondered. Angry, Jiang Mu threw away the brick and simply lay back on the bed.
"Forget it. I undid it once before; at most, she should wake up on her own in two hours. Whatever happens, happens!"
Seeing her master suddenly lie down to sleep, the beautiful woman blinked her almond eyes, seeming somewhat hesitant.
She looked at the brick on the ground, then at Jiang Mu on the bed. She tentatively crawled two steps closer to the bed, then warily shrank back one step.
After repeating this several times, seeing that he indeed had no intention of grabbing a weapon again, she relaxed slightly. Mustering her courage, she kicked the brick to the corner of the room.
"Woof~~"
After doing all this, Tang Jinxian finally crawled onto the bed and nestled into the man's embrace.
Perhaps because she had rushed all the way here and broke out in quite a sweat, her intense bodily fragrance mixed with the dampness of sweat wafted from the ample swell of her neckline, causing Jiang Mu to involuntarily take an extra sniff or two.
"Alas, what a sin... When you wake up, you'll probably really draw a blade and kill me."
Jiang Mu continued to have a headache.
After all, just the day before, this woman had specifically come to his home, aggressively trying to keep him firmly in the palm of her hand.
In the blink of an eye, she had turned into such a clingy little pet.
Such an earth-shattering gap—any proud person would probably collapse and go mad from it.
"First, let me make this clear: from beginning to end, I didn't touch you at all, lest you come settle accounts with me after waking up."
Jiang Mu raised both arms above his head, getting his preemptive defense in first. "You were the one who actively came over. I tried to make you sober, but you weren't willing. You can't blame me for this."
He remembered that this woman retained her memories after waking up.
He absolutely couldn't let her seize upon any leverage.
"Wu~~"
Seemingly finding Jiang Mu's body exceptionally warm and comfortable, the woman nestled even closer, letting out a lazy hum from her throat.
Jiang Mu grimaced.
He was, after all, a completely normal man.
With such warm, fragrant softness in his arms, and such an otherworldly beauty with top-tier looks and figure—to say there wasn't a single amorous thought in his heart would absolutely be a lie.
He could only forcefully shift his attention to avoid turning into a beast.
……
Time slowly passed in torment.
The now-quiet Tang Jinxian nestled in the man's embrace like this, her charm-filled almond eyes half-lidded, her breathing gradually becoming even and long. She actually fell asleep.
Jiang Mu tried secretly getting up, wanting to retrieve that brick.
As soon as his body moved, she unconsciously hugged him tightly. She even opened her pearly teeth and bit his sleeve, letting out a disgruntled whimper.
Having no other choice, Jiang Mu could only completely give up and sigh toward the heavens.
"It's also fortunate I don't sleep naked."
Jiang Mu mocked himself.
However, his deduction wasn't wrong.
About two hours later, the sky outside the window gradually showed the white of dawn.
The delicate body of Tang Jinxian in his embrace suddenly trembled lightly.
The strange pattern on her lower abdomen quietly faded, and the coquettishness and confusion suffusing her eyes also rapidly dissipated.
The brand finally temporarily receded.
As the woman fully sobered up, what entered her eyes was Jiang Mu's helpless, handsome face. And she herself was actually curled around him like a little pet.
"Buzz—"
Blood instantly rushed to her head.
Blood pressure spiked.
Tang Jinxian's cheeks, ear roots, and even her neck rapidly took on a sunset glow-like crimson.
This wasn't bashfulness.
Rather, it was extreme humiliation and fury!
She bounced up from Jiang Mu's embrace like a spring.
Her movement was so violent that she even tumbled off the bed, staggering several steps before barely steadying herself.
"Mu! Jiang!"
These two words were practically squeezed out from between her teeth.
The beautiful woman's jade hand shot out, snatching the iron ruler beside the pillow. Its sharp tip pointed at Jiang Mu, who was sitting up in bed.
Memories continuously flooded into her mind, nearly driving the woman mad.
"What did you do, you bastard!?"
Facing the iron ruler pointed at his throat, Jiang Mu's expression was abnormally calm. He even had the leisure to rub his numb arm.
He raised his eyes to look at Tang Jinxian, who wished she could swallow him alive, his tone very innocent.
"Chief Tang, let's speak with our conscience. From last night until now, have I touched a single hair on your head? Hmm? Have I taken advantage of your compromised state? Hmm?"
Tang Jinxian's pretty face alternated between red and white.
"But you—"
"But what?"
"You—"
"What about me?"
Tang Jinxian flushed red, at a loss for words for a moment.
In terms of facts, the other party indeed had not taken the initiative to violate her. Even her memories were full of her own initiative in sticking to him...
And she hadn't let him remove the brand.
But the problem was...
It just felt so aggrieved!
Jiang Mu continued speaking.
"Not to mention touching you, I didn't even have a single thought about you. If you don't believe me, think carefully—wasn't I very disdainful of you? I even tried hitting you with a brick. I'm completely not interested in you. What are you afraid of? There's really no need."
No thoughts... very disdainful... no interest...
For some reason, these few words of comfort sounded to Tang Jinxian like they transformed into little knives, stabbing into her heart with "puff puff puff" sounds.
A surge of inexplicable anger flared up with a vengeance.
Burning brighter and brighter!
Am I, Tang Jinxian, ugly? Or is my figure very poor?
Don't I have even a hint of feminine charm?
Are you even a man?
One had to admit, a woman's thoughts were sometimes so contradictory and unpredictable—both fearing the other's disrespect, yet angered by the other's complete disregard for her attractiveness.
Tang Jinxian's face suddenly turned odd. Her gaze subconsciously swept down to a certain place, carrying a suspicious look.
"Mu Jiang, could it be that you... can't perform?"
Can't perform?
Jiang Mu was stunned for a moment. When he realized what she was implying, he immediately became furious.
This was simply the most vicious slander against a man's dignity!
Jiang Mu laughed in anger.
"Oh, so I should have done something to you to prove I 'can perform'? Has your brain been burned out by that spiritual entity? What kind of twisted logic is that!"
Tang Jinxian was retorted into momentary speechlessness.
The more Jiang Mu spoke, the angrier he got.
"Forget about you not thanking me for being a gentleman—you still doubt me? Truly a dog biting Lü Dongbin."
"Who are you calling a dog!?"
Tang Jinxian sensitively caught onto this word, instantly exploding with anger. The iron ruler was raised again, humiliation and fury intermingling.
Now, it wasn't just hearing the word "dog" that would trigger her.
Even if she saw a dog by the roadside, she would go up and slap it twice.
"Whoever answers is who."
"How presumptuous!"
Tang Jinxian was so angry her willow eyebrows stood on end, and the iron ruler pressed forward another half-inch.
"Kill me then. Anyway, you're an unreasonable woman. Killing me might set you free."
Jiang Mu lay back on the bed, fearless.
Tang Jinxian was burning with rage, her chest heaving violently.
As though the fabric might tear.
Seeing the brightening sky outside the window, realizing that if she stayed any longer she might be discovered, she stamped her foot hard and threw the iron ruler on the ground.
The beautiful woman's eye sockets were completely red.
She forcefully held back her misty tears. She wanted to say something but only moved her pink lips without speaking.
She straightened her clothes and was about to leave.
"Wait."
Jiang Mu called out to her.
Tang Jinxian's steps paused. She turned back and glared at him viciously. "What else do you want!?"
Jiang Mu got up and handed over the paper on the table containing the case analysis and suspect deduction, his expression also returning to seriousness.
"This is what I organized last night—clues and deductions about the murderer. I believe the murderer is most likely Madam Wu's son, Wu. And his maternal cousin, Yan Qingshan, is very likely that left-handed accomplice."
Yan Qingshan!
Tang Jinxian's heart jolted with shock. She took the paper and quickly skimmed through it.
Her expression gradually shifted from humiliated anger to grim severity.
After finishing, Tang Jinxian raised her head and said in a low voice, "I also went to monitor Yan Qingshan last night. That fellow is indeed very suspicious."
She also briefly recounted her tailing of Yan Qingshan last night, as well as her discovery of that mysterious limping person.
"Could there still be accomplices?"
Jiang Mu frowned.
Tang Jinxian shook her head.
"I don't know, but since you've already determined that Wu is the main culprit, I'll have him arrested and interrogated first. Even if his mother is a Fifth-Rank Lady, she can't obstruct the Patrol Office from handling the case.
"As for Yan Qingshan, this fellow is a confidant of the former Chief of Yan City. Now that chief has been transferred to the capital, holding a high and powerful position. Without evidence, it's indeed not easy to touch him.
"But it's fine. As long as we arrest Wu, we have plenty of means to make him talk!"
Seeing the fierce, ruthless look between the woman's brows, Jiang Mu shivered inwardly, thinking that this woman wouldn't want to vent her anger on that Wu fellow, would she?
If so, he could only silently mourn for Wu.
"Chief Tang, now that the murderer has been identified, then I—"
"Come to the Patrol Office in a while!"
Tang Jinxian tossed down these words and flashed out of the room.
"Heh, I simply won't go."