Su Mu might be a bit dim-witted, but she could tell from how smoothly Chen Qing was speaking that the villain was clearly making excuses when it came to uttering “Venerable Master.”
“Thirsty. Can’t say it.”
Chen Qing watched Su Mu with an amused gaze. She was rather curious to see what tricks this Silly Shizun would pull to force her.
“You! You’re all tied up and still so arrogant. Looks like I need to teach you a proper lesson today. You want water? I’ll starve you of it instead.”
With that, Su Mu flashed an ‘evil’ grin and hurried out of the room on her soft, slippery little feet.
Before long, Su Mu came bounding back in with a salt jar in hand, placing it right next to Chen Qing’s head.
She scooped up a spoonful of pristine white salt with a porcelain spoon.
“Call me that, or I’ll shove this spoonful of salt right into your mouth.”
Staring at the spoonful of salt in Su Mu’s hand, Chen Qing was somewhat surprised.
She hadn’t expected this Silly Shizun to have a bit of cunning up her sleeve, using such a torturous method to threaten her.
But for Chen Qing, who could snap the hemp ropes at any moment, Su Mu’s threat was utterly useless.
“No.”
Seeing Chen Qing remain calm and cocky as ever, Su Mu ground her teeth in frustration.
This villain was her captive, yet she acted like the boss.
If she didn’t show her who’s in charge, this villain would really think she was a pushover.
Su Mu pinched Chen Qing’s mouth with her cool, slender fingers, ready to force the spoonful of salt in.
To her surprise, Chen Qing didn’t resist much and just let her do it.
Su Mu even started to wonder if this villain had some hidden ability to eat insane amounts of salt that she didn’t know about.
Even if someone was salt-tolerant, a whole spoonful like this should be unbearable.
Though her little head was filled with massive doubts, Su Mu refused to back down.
Whether this villain was faking it or genuinely unafraid of salt, she’d know once she shoved it in.
“Wait.”
“Hah, scared now, huh?”
Seeing Chen Qing call her to stop, Su Mu’s lips curled up smugly.
This villain had just been pretending to be calm after all. Her true colors were showing now.
“You grabbed the wrong one. That’s the sugar jar.”
“The sugar jar?”
Chen Qing’s words stunned Su Mu.
Ever since tidying up the house, it had always been this villain handling the cooking in the kitchen.
She definitely knew better than Su Mu which jar was sugar and which was salt.
But Su Mu clearly remembered checking it before grabbing it—this was the salt jar.
“The sugar and salt jars look alike. You obviously grabbed the wrong one. Can’t even pick the right prop? So silly.”
Deep in Chen Qing’s scarlet eyes lurked the cunning of an old fox as she step by step tricked Su Mu.
Chen Qing’s taunt instantly made Su Mu’s teeth itch with anger.
The sugar and salt jars had indeed been confirmed by Su Mu herself before Chen Qing woke up. But when she dashed out of the room in a hurry just now to grab it, she hadn’t checked again.
Had she really grabbed the wrong one?
Seeing the flicker of confusion in Su Mu’s clear eyes, the amusement in Chen Qing’s gaze deepened.
Before Su Mu could figure it out, Chen Qing kept misleading her.
“With skills like that, get your props straight before trying to threaten me again.”
Seeing how composed Chen Qing looked, Su Mu became convinced she’d grabbed the wrong jar.
Realizing she’d made such a huge fool of herself in front of Chen Qing, Su Mu’s face flushed bright red.
But whether it was salt or sugar, this arrogant villain needed two spoonfuls as punishment.
Su Mu dumped the salt from the spoon back into the jar, but eyeing the residue left on it, something still felt off.
Was it salt or sugar? She could just taste it to find out.
With a mindset of giving it a try, Su Mu licked the porcelain spoon.
The intense salty flavor hit her like a truck, making her feel like her tongue was ruined.
“Ptoo! Ptoo! Ptoo!”
She dropped the spoon, rushed to the water jug nearby, and gulped down several mouthfuls.
Only then did the saltiness in her mouth ease a bit.
Seeing Chen Qing holding back a laugh, Su Mu realized she’d been tricked.
She’d been the one threatening to feed the villain a spoonful of salt, yet under her misleading, she’d tasted it first. So humiliating.
Meeting Su Mu’s annoyed glare, Chen Qing realized that teasing this Traitorous Shizun without using force was just as fun.
“You dared to trick me! Today, I’m shoving this entire jar of salt down your throat.”
Fuming, Su Mu stormed to the bedside on her soft white soles.
No matter what Chen Qing said this time, she wouldn’t believe her. This villain was far too sly.
“Wait, aren’t those hemp ropes about to snap?”
“Hah, you really think I’m that stupid? These ropes are thicker than my thumb. If you can snap them today, I’ll eat the whole jar myself.”
Ignoring her like one ignores a chanting monk, Su Mu defiantly scooped up another spoonful of salt, determined to stuff it into Chen Qing’s mouth.
But just as she filled the spoon, she noticed the ropes binding Chen Qing were indeed starting to fray slowly.
The snapping accelerated, and it looked like the thumb-thick hemp ropes wouldn’t hold much longer.
The absurd scene before her caused Su Mu’s little brain to short-circuit. She knew Chen Qing was powerful and ruthless.
But she hadn’t expected this villain to be this outrageous—snapping such thick ropes with sheer force.
Was this even humanly possible?
But Su Mu knew now wasn’t the time to ponder if Chen Qing was human.
If the villain broke free, she was doomed.
She’d tied her up while she slept—Chen Qing wouldn’t just beat her half to death? Su Mu wouldn’t believe otherwise.
Su Mu’s little head raced through many ideas, rejecting several before settling on the old reliable: run.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, flight is the best. The villain would need some time to break free.
She could use that to escape and maybe have a slim chance of survival.
Having decided, Su Mu quickly dumped the full spoonful back into the jar and bolted without looking back.
Watching the Traitorous Shizun’s swift retreating figure, Chen Qing’s lips curved into a smile.
Truth be told, she had countless ways to break these hemp ropes, but she’d deliberately chosen the most laborious yet most intimidating one.
By snapping them right in front of this Traitorous Shizun, she’d scare her enough to stop her from provoking other women.
How was Su Mu to know Chen Qing had used the most strenuous method? Seeing the door drawing nearer, hope flickered in her heart.
If she could get far away before the villain broke free, and wait until her anger subsided before returning, the punishment might not be too harsh.
Just as Su Mu reached out, her fingertips nearly touching the door, her soft waist was suddenly embraced from behind.
“Venerable Master, where are you off to~?”
