Ger, So Proud

Chapter 44

The person knocking on the door was Liu San. When He Ze opened the courtyard gate, the guy was bent over, presenting his rear.

“Alright, there’s no one around. If you keep standing like that, I’m going to kick you!”

Before He Ze could finish his sentence, Liu San quickly turned around, covering his backside. “Don’t kick, don’t kick! What’s with you? I’m telling you, Da Lang and I have gone all out for your wife. You’re being quite ungrateful!”

“You…”

As soon as Liu San turned around, He Ze’s expression cracked, not paying attention to what Liu San was saying.

“What’s wrong with me?” Liu San looked puzzled, then noticed He Ze’s gaze and realized, “Oh, you’re talking about my outfit? How about it? Made by the tailor in town. This is called nightwear! Feels great! When I wear this, I feel like I could leap over your wall! Just like those heroes in the stories, this feeling…”

Liu San closed his eyes, relishing the thought.

“Hey, didn’t we each get one made back then? And you paid for them! Why aren’t you wearing yours? Go, put it on. It’s safer!”

“…” He Ze felt a headache coming on, ignoring Liu San’s repetitive “one for each of us.”

“One more word and you can pay me back for the clothes.”

“What? He Ze, you must be joking, right?” Liu San’s face fell, looking pitiful. “You know, Da Lang and I just got a beating at home, we’re really broke…”

“Then shut up. Where’s the person?” He Ze interrupted, heading forward in the moonlight.

“We knocked him out and dragged him to the mountain. But it was late, and we didn’t dare go deeper. Da Lang is watching him now.”

“Wu Cui didn’t see you, did he?”

“No! I’m not that dumb! In the morning, we respectfully escorted him to the Lin family gate, and many villagers saw it. Later, we waited until almost evening, thinking he wouldn’t come out. Just as we were about to leave, he snuck out! Guess what… we saw something shocking!”

Liu San draped an arm over He Ze’s shoulder, eyes gleaming.

“You mean…” He Ze paused, then spoke, “I heard the third son of the Lin family is sickly?”

“Impressive, you guessed it!” Liu San beamed, “Given Wu Cui’s behavior today, who’d think he’s the restless one? We followed him to Li Family Village but didn’t get a good look at the man there. The door was open, and the two were hugging… We waited over an hour before Wu Cui came out. Imagine if the elders in the clan knew about this…”

Though not severe enough for an old-style punishment, Wu Cui couldn’t stay in Village, and the Lin ancestors would be furious.

“I understand. I have a plan. Keep quiet about this for now. Thanks to you both.” He Ze pondered, then stopped.

“He Ze, there’s no need to be so formal! We’ve done plenty of sneaky things together, and helping out a brother’s important matter is a given.” Liu San winked.

Hearing Liu San’s usual teasing, He Ze didn’t retort, just patted his shoulder. They quickened their pace and soon reached the mountain path at the village’s edge.

Under the clear moonlight, with the wind rustling the leaves, shadows flickered.

“We went in a bit further, avoiding the main path and circling in from the side of the forest.”

Liu San led the way, He Ze following, weaving through the woods until they finally saw Da Lang. He rushed over, grumbling indistinctly, “You’re finally here. If you’d been any later, Wu Cui would have woken up!”

“Alright, you two can head back now. Leave this to me.” He Ze looked at He Dalang, who was also dressed in black and had his face covered, and hesitated before speaking.

“He Ze, are you sure about this? If he wakes up and starts yelling…”

He Dalang glanced at the tightly bound sack on the ground, his expression uncertain.

“Don’t worry, you guys go back first. Remember, nothing happened tonight.”

“We know… He Ze, you…” Liu San seemed to struggle with his words before finally speaking, “We have Wu Cui in our grasp, but don’t go too hard on him, otherwise…”

“Got it. Just keep this to yourselves.”

“Alright then… Oh, and take this,” Liu San handed He Ze a bag hanging from a tree branch, “There’s nothing poisonous in here, but it should scare him enough to teach him a lesson!”

“Thanks. Tomorrow, let’s go to town. Whatever you want, my treat.” Noticing Liu San and He Dalang’s eyes light up, He Ze added, “Except for the gambling and brothels.”

“….”

The two exchanged glances, and Liu San’s enthusiasm quickly waned. “He Ze, that’s not fair. We’ve been wanting to check those out for ages…”

He Ze remained silent, simply giving them a steady look.

“Heh, fine, no gambling or brothels. But we can still eat and drink, right? Make sure you treat us well tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

Liu San glanced between He Ze and the sack on the ground before finally dragging He Dalang away, reluctantly looking back every few steps.

He Ze leaned against a tree trunk, waiting until he could no longer sense their presence before kicking the sack.

When Wu Cui woke up, he found himself surrounded by trees, densely packed with no gaps. He initially thought it was a dream, but the pain from the scratch on his palm as he brushed against the tree bark told him otherwise.

No, it wasn’t a dream!

He shouted twice, but there was no response—not even an echo.

Plants have sound-dampening effects.

He Ze sat on a branch, hidden among the leaves, watching Wu Cui’s panic and fear. He opened the bag Liu San had given him, and shadows began to fall. In the moonlight, Wu Cui saw clearly that they were… snakes.

Many, many snakes fell on him, his head, his face, his body… Various colors, with red tongues flicking out, cool and slimy, writhing around him, trying to slither into his collar, his sleeves, his pants…

“Ah—”

Wu Cui screamed, desperately trying to shake off the snakes, but the space was too small. A snake he’d flung away one moment would crawl back up his leg the next.

“Help! Help—”

He stumbled, crashing into the walls of trees, even trying to climb up a tree trunk. But the bark was as slippery as a fish. Clinging desperately to a tiny knot, he looked up to see a snake hissing at him.

“Ah—help! Help! Somebody help—”

Wu Cui fell hard, his face streaked with snot and tears from sheer terror.

“Is anyone there? Help! Help me, please!”

No one answered his cries. As he watched the snakes slither toward him from all directions, he hugged his legs tightly and repeatedly banged his head against the tree trunk, utterly breaking down.

“No one here, only ghosts.”

He Ze lowered his voice, adding a faint tremor, making it seem as if the sound came from far away, yet also from right beside Wu Cui.

In this eerie setting and the darkness of the night, Wu Cui was almost scared out of his wits. “W-who…who are you…where is this place?!”

“The eighteenth level of hell, the first level is the Hell of Tongue Extraction. Anyone who slanders and harms others in life will enter here. Since you are here, confess your sins.”

“Hell… Hell… Oh, ghost master, I… I’m innocent! Innocent… Please believe me…”

Wu Cui dropped to his knees and began to kowtow furiously, his head thudding against the ground. He Ze’s gaze remained indifferent as he uttered one word, “Whip.”

Before Wu Cui could react, thick branches, as if controlled by an unseen force, whipped him fiercely across his face, neck, arms… every exposed part of his body.

There was no escape.

“Help, help… ghost master, I’ll talk, I’ll talk…”

After being whipped for what seemed like an eternity, Wu Cui, bloodied and bruised, finally crumbled to the ground and began to stammer out his confession.

He Ze had guessed correctly. Most of the rumors about Lin Yu and Zhang Su were spread by Wu Cui’s mouth. He had also meddled in Lin Yu’s second engagement, causing the suitor to break his leg and subsequently call off the engagement, which fueled the rumors about Lin Yu being cursed.

The slander about Lin Yu started from then on.

But it wasn’t just Lin Yu and Zhang; many other names that He Ze didn’t know also tumbled out of Wu Cui’s mouth. And Wu Cui remembered it all!

“The Hell of Tongue Extraction punishes those by tearing out their tongues. Since you have confessed, I will show leniency…” He Ze’s lips curled into a smile, but his eyes were cold and ruthless.

He played with a sharp-edged leaf in his hand. The image of Lin Yu standing alone in the courtyard, his calm eyes, clenched fists, and Wu Cui’s mocking smile flashed through He Ze’s mind.

Some people deserve to suffer.

His hands had once been stained with blood, both human and zombie. In this world, he wouldn’t kill unless necessary, but a lesson could be taught.

He Ze closed his eyes and flicked the leaf.

Wu Cui, hearing He Ze’s words, was about to kowtow in relief when suddenly… a sharp scream of agony erupted from him.

He could no longer make a sound; his mouth filled with blood. Under the dim moonlight, a small, bloodied piece fell to the ground, and roots emerged, wrapping around and dragging it into the earth.

The trees in front of him suddenly began to spin rapidly, and Wu Cui’s vision blurred before he fell to the ground.

…

The next morning, it wasn’t until sunlight streamed through the window that He Ze was woken up by He An.

His powers had leveled up.

He realized this upon getting up. Although it was a good thing, it came as a surprise.

Since the first time he had gone up the mountain and reached the first level, he had often gone back. He thought that without crystal cores, leveling up would be slow. But unexpectedly, it seemed to happen… Perhaps because this world was so pure? Whether it was the green energy from the plants, the air, or something else.

“Brother, what are you thinking about! Did you hear what I just said?!”

“What did you just say?” He Ze snapped back to reality and stopped overthinking. He bent down to tie his grass shoes. “Next time, don’t rush like this. What if I wasn’t dressed yet?”

“Brother, that’s because you’re too slow… Oh, right,” He An suddenly grabbed He Ze’s arm tightly, his eyes showing a hint of fear. “Brother, something big has happened!”

Author’s Note:
He Ze: Whoever dares to bully my wife, see if I don’t deal with them!

Author: But Little Yu isn’t your wife yet.

Heartbreaking~ Old friend, as usual, haha~