Chapter Fifty-Three: The Official Challenge

“What—what’s going on?” Xiao Fei cried out in shock. Jin Wanyu had never imagined that Xiao Fei would see her disfigured face. She couldn’t bear it; with a scream, she flailed her hands wildly, desperate to drive Xiao Fei away. In the chaos of her movements, the gloves she always wore slipped off.

Only then did Xiao Fei notice something even stranger about Jin Wanyu—she had been wearing gloves, and now that they had fallen away, he was more horrified than ever.

Heavens, what was that? Jin Wanyu’s hands were no longer hands at all, but had shriveled into something like fish fins: hideous, grotesque, revolting. Who could have imagined that the woman once renowned as the world’s greatest beauty could become something so terrifying?

A sharp buzzing filled Xiao Fei’s mind. Ever since Tojo Hideki’s disappearance, an ominous feeling had haunted him, and now it finally exploded into reality.

“Tojo Hideki! It must have been Tojo Hideki’s doing!” His first thought was of Tojo Hideki.

Jin Wanyu had always cherished her beauty. How could she possibly remain before Xiao Fei in such a state? Suddenly, she leapt to her feet and ran madly forward, as if possessed.

“Jin Wanyu! Jin Wanyu, don’t run! Where are you going? Please, don’t go!” Xiao Fei shouted after her, but Jin Wanyu paid his cries no heed, fleeing as if her life depended on it.

“Go away! I don’t want you to see me like this! Go away! You never liked me anyway!” Jin Wanyu wept as she ran, her tears streaming.

What in the world? By her voice and figure, the creature before him was clearly Jin Wanyu, but her ghastly appearance bore no resemblance to the woman she once was.

Damn it! I can’t stand by and do nothing. Xiao Fei sprang into the air, quickly catching up with Jin Wanyu and blocking her path.

Jin Wanyu clearly hadn’t expected Xiao Fei to be so fast. She clutched her coat tightly, wrapping it around her head and face, desperate not to be seen. “Don’t concern yourself with me. I’m a monster now, no longer the Jin Wanyu you knew. Why do you still chase me?”

“Wanyu, please, don’t say that. What’s happened to you? Tell me—how did this…” Xiao Fei asked gently, afraid that his words might wound her further.

“Become this hideous, this terrifying, is that what you mean? I don’t want your concern. I’ll be as I am and that’s that. Leave me!” Jin Wanyu tried to push Xiao Fei away with her only remaining hand, but as she stretched it out, she realized with horror that it, too, had transformed into a fin.

“My hand… my hand… ah!” Jin Wanyu screamed and fainted away.

Seeing this, Xiao Fei rushed to her side and caught her in his arms. “Wanyu, Wanyu, what’s wrong?”

Though Xiao Fei still felt an instinctive aversion to Jin Wanyu’s current appearance, he couldn’t just leave her to die. What now?

He hurriedly gathered Jin Wanyu in his arms and raced toward the Spring Guest Inn. Meanwhile, Qin Tianxiang and the other two women, worried for Xiao Fei’s safety, were waiting anxiously outside. From afar, they saw Xiao Fei returning—and in his arms, a woman.

“Hmph, see that? Our dear husband has brought home yet another sister,” Qin Tianxiang remarked with undisguised jealousy.

“Haha, this has nothing to do with me! I never agreed to marry Xiao Fei,” Li Shishi replied with a coquettish laugh.

“Sister Shishi, give it a rest. I know you better than that,” Tianxiang retorted.

“Hmph, and to think we were all here worrying about Xiao Fei, while he’s out picking up women! Let’s just go inside and ignore him,” Liu Ruyan said irritably, thinking to herself that Xiao Fei would never change his philandering ways.

As the women bickered, Xiao Fei arrived before them. “Quick, open the door!” he called urgently.

“Oh—oh!” The girls, seeing the seriousness in his face, dropped their quarreling and hurried to comply.

Just then, Jin Shaohua and Jin Zhengri arrived at the inn as well. They had sensed something was wrong with Jin Wanyu and secretly dispatched men to protect her. When she came here, their worries grew, so they followed her in person.

When everyone saw what had become of the once-celebrated beauty, they were stunned. Liu Ruyan even let out a cry and hid behind Xiao Fei.

“My daughter, my daughter!” Jin Shaohua wept bitterly.

“Sister, what happened to you?” Jin Zhengri asked anxiously.

“Everyone, please calm down. We still don’t know exactly what’s going on. Leave her to me for now,” Xiao Fei said. Though he was at a loss himself, he believed Xiaoling might have a way to save Jin Wanyu, but with so many people present, it was inconvenient to discuss.

“Brother Xiao Fei, I, Jin Shaohua, have never begged anyone in my life, but today, for the sake of my beloved daughter, I kneel before you. Please, I beg you, save my child!” Jin Shaohua said, falling to his knees.

“No, no, Governor Jin, please get up!” Xiao Fei hurried to help him to his feet.

Jin Zhengri stepped forward, clasping his fists. “Big brother, my sister’s life is in your hands. If you wish to become my brother-in-law, then do everything in your power!”

Good grief, are you trying to tempt me with beauty? Or does this kid know me too well? Xiao Fei thought to himself.

“All right. I’ll do my utmost. Please, everyone, step outside for now,” Xiao Fei said.

Once the room had emptied, Xiao Fei called eagerly for Xiaoling. “Ling’er, you’ve seen what’s happened out there—what’s going on?”

“Master, your guess is correct. The culprits behind this are Tojo Hideki and Tanaki Seiichi. The two of them concocted the world’s rarest poison, the ‘Black Widow,’ and used it on Miss Jin Wanyu—their aim, of course, was to take revenge on you,” Xiaoling replied.

“So it really was those two fiends! Ling’er, tell me—what kind of poison is this Black Widow?” Xiao Fei asked urgently.

“Master, this poison causes a person to regress to their original form. According to five thousand years of Eastern myth, humans were created by the goddess Nüwa from clay taken from the seaside. Sometimes, when she tired of molding humans, she would shape little fish or loaches from the water and the mud. From the perspective of Western evolutionary theory, first there were plants, then animals, first water creatures, then land creatures, and finally humans, whose ancestors can be traced back to fish and shrimp. In other words, those afflicted with this poison begin to de-evolve.”

“What? De-evolve? There’s actually such a powerful poison in the world? Incredible! Ling’er, is there any antidote?”

“Master, at present, the only thing we can do is stop Jin Wanyu from further de-evolving. We have no means to cure her completely,” Xiaoling explained.

“All right, don’t worry about that for now. Just think—there must be a way. For now, let’s stop the progression,” said Xiao Fei.

“To halt Jin Wanyu’s transformation, you’ll need to freeze her. You now have 10,000 energy points—enough to acquire the Frost True Qi skill. Not only will this allow you to freeze Jin Wanyu, but in future battles, you’ll be able to use Frost True Qi multiple times under certain conditions,” Xiaoling said.

“Very well, let’s not waste any more time. Do it now,” Xiao Fei commanded. Then, turning to the unconscious Jin Wanyu, he murmured, “Wanyu, forgive me—I mean no disrespect.” He gently loosened her clothing, revealing her upper body.

Fortunately, her chest was still as flawless and fair as jade, unchanged. Still, Xiao Fei couldn’t help but worry—what if even her breasts had begun to regress? The thought horrified him. If Jin Wanyu lost even that, how terrifying would it be?

His hands shaking, he unfastened her bra. When her tender, jade-like breasts spilled free, the rosy tips shining with a seductive glow, Xiao Fei breathed a long sigh of relief.

It seemed the poison had not yet spread throughout her body.

“I’m sorry, Wanyu…” he whispered, and quickly removed all her clothing. Her pink, smooth, slender legs and rounded hips gleamed with dewdrops. Her full breasts rose and fell gently with each breath… Her beauty, in all its glory, was laid bare before him.

She was stunning, exquisite—Xiao Fei gazed, transfixed, unable to turn away.

Suddenly, a Japanese man’s voice cut through the air. “Xiao Fei, you can hear me, can’t you? Your woman is already poisoned. If you don’t want her to die, come meet me at the mass graves outside the city. This is my official challenge. If you’re a man, come alone! Remember, only you may come—if not, you’ll regret it.”

Tojo Hideki! Xiao Fei instantly recognized the speaker.