The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

As soon as her hand touched the stone, Yi Zhuxuan didn't hesitate for a moment. Gritting her teeth, she raised the stone in her hand and smashed it hard against the man beneath her, while quickly covering the jailer's mouth with one hand.

Blood gushed from the jailer's head. The jailer, who was still in the throes of intense shock, didn't even have time to utter a sound before his head lolled to the side and he was lifeless...

Yi Zhuxuan looked at the dead man beneath her, her chest heaving violently. He was dead. The jailer was dead. She had killed him!

So now she...

Yi Zhuxuan paused for a moment, as if she had thought of something. She tried to calm herself down, quickly stripped off the jailer's clothes and put them on herself. She picked up the key that the jailer had placed aside, took a deep breath to calm herself down, lowered her head, and carefully walked out of the rest room.

At this hour, all the prisoners in the cell had fallen asleep. Yi Zhuxuan came out of the break room and saw two jailers who had drunk themselves into a stupor on the table. Overjoyed, she didn't linger and quickly ran out...

Outside Rongjin City lies Widow Village.

The once peaceful widow's village was now brightly lit, and the atmosphere was eerily unsettling.

All the villagers were gathered together, squatting on the ground, trembling with fear. The person who had caused them this fear was sitting in a chair, his face obscured by a long robe, with only his eyes visible. Yet, his aura instilled extreme terror in everyone present.

"Master, these people..." a subordinate tentatively asked, carefully observing his master's reaction.

"Kill him!" Before the subordinate could finish speaking, the man coldly gave the order.

The subordinate was slightly taken aback. "Master, we came here for the Crown Prince, and these women..."

Upon hearing his subordinate mention the words "Crown Prince," a hint of anger flashed in the man's eyes, and he shouted sharply, "Kill!"

The First Prince? The First Prince actually escaped disaster last night. He's not at the Holy Physician Hall, so he's probably already received the news and is on his way to the capital!

This shouldn't be happening! No one who wanted his life has ever escaped like this! This is absolutely unacceptable!

Does the eldest prince want to return to the capital? Hmph, how could he let him have his way?

"Kill everyone in this village, leave no one alive!" the man said again, this time with an even colder chill that went straight to the heart.

All the subordinates' eyes sharpened. They had followed their master for many years and knew his temperament well. Last night, the eldest prince had escaped, and their master was furious. The lives lost at the Holy Physician Hall were a result of their master's wrath. And these people before them…

They were simply unlucky to have run into their enraged master, and naturally, they couldn't escape his wrath.

The man's command, in the darkness, was like a knife, exceptionally sharp and terrifying. The fear in the women's eyes was even more intense, while his subordinates had already raised their knives against the villagers.

"No...please don't kill us..." one of them stammered, but before he could finish speaking, the man's eyes narrowed, and in the next instant, one of them swung his knife down at the woman...

"Ah..." Blood spurted from the woman's body, splattering all over the ground. The woman collapsed to the ground, and the others were stunned by the scene before them.

"Mother..." The boy threw himself onto the woman's corpse, crying hysterically, "Mother, wake up... wake up..."

The man sitting in the chair merely watched indifferently, a smile playing on his lips, which were partially hidden. Suddenly, his eyes sharpened, as if he had sensed something, and his piercing gaze swept in a certain direction. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Hiding in a secluded spot, Liu Zhan felt a jolt in his heart, his face turned deathly pale, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. He had come here to wait for an opportunity to strike, but he never expected to witness such a scene, with the entire Widow Village under the control of that mysterious man.

Is that man going to kill these people? If so, that would be a good thing for him, as it would save him the trouble of taking action himself!

However, he hadn't expected that the man would discover his presence. What would it mean if he went out? His intuition told him that if he went out, he would be at the mercy of others, suffering the same fate as the people in this widow's village. But…

The man realized he was there. What could he do even if he didn't go out? He would eventually be found!

Taking a deep breath, Liu Zhan was thinking of a way to escape when suddenly, he heard a slight movement from another direction. Liu Zhan was startled and immediately looked over, only to see a woman standing up from the bushes. That woman... seemed familiar...

The man sitting in the chair chuckled softly, "Hmph, I didn't expect there to be one more fish slipping through the net. Guards..."

The woman who emerged from the bushes trembled, then rushed forward, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly. "Spare me, please spare me, young master! I'm not from this village. I was just passing by... just passing through. I didn't see anything. Please spare my life... I will be eternally grateful and never forget your kindness."

The man's eyes flickered, a hint of sarcasm in them. "Why would I care whether you remember my kindness? Aren't you from this village? Yet here you are. You must be out of luck."

The woman's face paled, and the fear and panic in her eyes intensified. No, she had just escaped from prison, how could she die like this?

Thinking of the price she paid for escaping from prison, Yi Zhuxuan bit her lip tightly, her will to live incredibly strong. "Young master, please spare my life! I can't die, I don't want to die, I'm afraid..."

"Afraid? Ha! Who among these people isn't afraid of death? But am I supposed to spare them all?" The man chuckled softly, like a demon emerging from hell, bloodthirsty and cruel.

Yi Zhuxuan's expression froze slightly, and the unease in her heart intensified. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she made a desperate move, "Young Master, I'm useful to you, please don't kill me, I'm useful to you..."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Useful? Hmph, I've seen women far more beautiful than you. You? You're not even worth my attention."

Yi Zhuxuan's body stiffened, and her eyes flickered with unease. Yes, how could this man have taken a liking to her? But... was she really going to die here? No, she was unwilling, she couldn't die, she absolutely refused to let herself die like this!

If she dies, what was the point of everything she did to escape from prison?

Clenching her fists, Yi Zhuxuan gritted her teeth and thought quickly into her mind.

"Guards... kill her first!" The man's voice rang out again, deciding her fate.