If it came to a fight, Xue Yue and Shan Qingluo would certainly have loved to put this woman in her place, but she possessed the cultivation of an Emperor Realm master — the two women were simply no match. What's more, she was a personal disciple of Great Emperor Hua Ying…
But so what if she was a Great Emperor's disciple? Getting through the door of the Yang family was no simple matter.
Su Yan suddenly spoke in a flat tone: "Since Sister Li has business to discuss with my husband, we should withdraw for now."
Shan Qingluo and Xue Yue stared at her in astonishment upon hearing this, clearly not expecting Su Yan to yield so easily. But both women were utterly obedient to Su Yan — now that she had spoken, they had no choice but to follow her out, however reluctant they might be.
As Shan Qingluo left, she shot Yang Kai a vicious glare, her face full of resentment.
Yang Kai tilted his head up to study the roof beams, pretending not to notice.
Once the three women had withdrawn, Yu Rumeng waved a hand to shut the door, then fixed Yang Kai with a light laugh: "You ditched me!"
She was obviously referring to the time Yang Kai had left her behind when he went to the Frozen Wasteland. When she had discovered she'd been abandoned, she had nearly exploded with rage. But she was clever enough — she knew to stick with Su Yan and the others, because she understood that once Yang Kai returned, he might not bother visiting anyone else, but he would definitely come looking for Su Yan's group.
The moment she had sensed Yang Kai's aura today, she had rushed over immediately.
Right now, despite the smile on her face, her fury was surging.
Yang Kai said nothing, reaching out to pour himself a cup of tea.
Yu Rumeng strode forward, snatched the teacup from his hand, flung the tea away, then slammed the cup back down onto the table with a loud clunk.
Yang Kai looked up and glared at her. "What's your problem? Have you lost your mind?"
Yu Rumeng ground her teeth. "You actually ditched me!"
Yang Kai replied, "So what? I never agreed to bring you along in the first place — you insisted on following. Besides, ditched is ditched. What are you going to do about it now?"
Yu Rumeng's brows knitted tight. "You're scolding me?"
Yang Kai mumbled petulantly, "What's so strange about scolding you? It's not the first time." As he spoke, he poured himself another cup of tea.
Yu Rumeng snatched the cup away again, this time tossing it straight onto the floor.
Yang Kai's temper flared. He let out a stream of curses: "You shrew, rein it in right now. Keep this up and I won't be so polite!"
Yu Rumeng sneered repeatedly: "Oh, I'd love to see what 'not so polite' looks like. What? You want to hit a woman? Go ahead then — I dare you." She planted both hands on her hips, thrust her chest out, and marched toward him, turning her cheek his way in a brazen you-won't-dare-do-it posture.
Yang Kai was livid. He seized her arm, spun her around, and tossed her across his lap so her back faced him, then raised his palm and brought it down hard.
*Crack!*
Yu Rumeng's body went rigid. Her slender neck stretched straight, her head tilting back as her hair swung several times. For a long moment she didn't react at all, as though her mind had short-circuited. Then, mechanically, she turned her head to stare at Yang Kai, her beautiful eyes wide as saucers, the picture of disbelief: "You dare spank my—"
*Crack!*
Yang Kai delivered another slap, his expression ferocious.
Both blows were delivered with considerable force, but only the second one truly registered — after the first, Yu Rumeng had been so stunned she hadn't even processed what had happened. She had never imagined that one day someone would spank her, and a man at that. Now the pain hit, and her eyes instantly grew misty. Her lips formed a small circle as a strained whimper escaped her throat.
Outside the room, Su Yan gazed up at the bright moon, while Shan Qingluo and Xue Yue had their ears pressed to the door. The moment the two sharp *crack* sounds reached them, Shan Qingluo immediately cackled with glee: "Beat her to death! Beat that vixen!"
Xue Yue looked equally thrilled: "Shameless hussy — she deserves it!"
"Are you going to keep throwing tantrums or not?" Yang Kai raised his palm, poised to strike again, and glared down at Yu Rumeng.
Yu Rumeng bit her red lip and struggled with all her might, but with Yang Kai's Space Law swirling around her, how could she possibly break free? Pinned firmly across his lap in an utterly humiliating position, she snarled with vicious resolve: "Either you beat me to death today, or I swear I'll never let this go!"
"Still got a smart mouth, huh!" Yang Kai landed another slap, so hard that Yu Rumeng's face went white, testament to the sheer force behind it. He cursed between blows: "You shrew — you want to throw a tantrum at me? You want to smash my cups?"
One slap per sentence. One slap per sentence.
At first, Yu Rumeng kept shouting defiant threats, swearing she would drag Yang Kai down with her in a fight to the death — but as the slaps continued, her voice fell silent. Her once-proud head drooped lower and lower until she lay limp and motionless across his lap.
*Drip. Drip.*
The sound of water droplets hitting the floor.
Only then did Yang Kai stop. He looked down and couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
This shrew of a woman had actually been beaten to tears…
He couldn't bring himself to raise his hand again. If she had kept cursing and fighting back, he genuinely wouldn't have held back — but crying was another matter entirely. That was the one thing he couldn't handle.
He scratched his head awkwardly, his anger having long since dissipated. Gently, he poked Yu Rumeng's cheek with a finger. "Let's talk this out properly. What are you crying for?"
Yu Rumeng turned her face away, refusing to acknowledge him, and sobbed quietly — tears streaming down her face and dripping onto the floor as though they cost nothing at all.