A kitchen knife naturally doesn't care whether it's beautiful or not.
But passing pedestrians can see, and the woman herself can see, so every day before setting up her stall, this beautiful woman would apply a bit of makeup to style herself—of course, her superb makeup skills are not noticeable to most pedestrians; they only marvel at her beauty, and even bare-faced she can be so radiant.
Therefore, in order to get closer to this beautiful woman, even if only to say a few more words, they are willing to stop in front of her stall to buy a bowl of tofu pudding to take away.
And this is precisely why the woman deliberately dresses up; a lovely appearance always keeps people lingering longer in front of her breakfast stall.
The breakfast stall doesn't only sell tofu pudding, but also soybean milk and sesame seed cakes. If one wants to eat meat, there's a big pot next to her with stewed marinated meat; cut a slit in the sesame cake and chop the tender marinated pork into it, making a meat sandwich that provides a mouthful of delicious flavor with each bite, and pour the broth over steamy soft tofu for a warming bowl early in the morning, energizing the body.
Such a large stall couldn't possibly be handled by this beautiful woman alone. While the woman sells breakfast in the front, her husband takes care of baking the sesame cakes in the back—this business model left an impression on Du Chengfeng; even in the peaceful times he once lived in, such husband-and-wife-run small businesses were quite common.
With good skills and customer traffic, this family soon became prosperous without any financial disputes. The woman and her husband quickly became wealthier.
There was no dramatic break-up between them; after all, being able to live normally in these troubled times was decent enough, and both of them were down-to-earth people focused on making life better, avoiding any conflicts.
However, as their income grew, the woman's husband still found time to talk to her.
"In the future, such public appearances should be left to me."
The woman's husband said so.
"It's not that I hold any opinions against you, but I'm considering safety. You're so beautiful, it's easy to attract trouble. Previously, with limited fame, the danger was smaller. Now that your fame is growing, it's better to suppress it to prevent any disasters."
Although the words were a bit crude, the wife understood her husband's meaning. Indeed, in these chaotic times, danger lurks everywhere—carelessness could lead to family ruin. Still, she couldn't do much about it.
Ultimately, the woman knew why their breakfast stall attracted more customers than others. If she switched to the background and let her husband handle things up front, would there still be so many people coming to eat breakfast?
Thus, despite her worries, she wanted to maintain the current way until they accumulated more money and wealth.
"Moreover, if we really do encounter any thugs, I'm not afraid."
She talked while raising her hands to demonstrate a few moves, surprisingly adept.
"Back in the day, I learned some martial arts with my mother. While not an expert, I could handle three to five ordinary men."
Listening to this, her husband considered it a joke, after all, with her frail limbs and seemingly lack of strength, she likely couldn't even beat him, the sesame cake vendor.
But since the woman insisted, the husband didn't press further. After all, they'd already communicated; they just needed to wait for some time, earn more money, and accumulate some savings before quitting the challenging breakfast stall business and pursuing more profitable ventures.
But while waiting, trouble came.
In Ji County, there was a notorious bandit known as Ximen Yuan, nicknamed Living Yama, who, with several henchmen, lurked near Ji Town, committing all kinds of evil deeds. Governor Liu, who oversaw Ji Town, had sent people to encircle and suppress them many times, but Ximen Yuan always managed to evade by leveraging his familiarity with the area. When Governor Liu was tied up with official duties and couldn't focus on the bandit issue, Ximen Yuan would brazenly come out, sometimes even daring to stroll the streets.
It was on such a day that the breakfast stall had just opened when Ximen Yuan happened to bring some minions along.
Hungry Ximen Yuan came to the breakfast stall, and upon seeing the woman selling breakfast, who was stunning beyond words, he found her skin fairer than the tofu in the bowl.
Having never seen such a beauty, Ximen Yuan immediately lost interest in breakfast, grabbed the woman's wrist, and tried to drag her away on the spot.
The terrified woman protested loudly, and hearing the commotion, her husband rushed out from behind with a weapon to intervene. The local patrons gathered around. These regular customers couldn't just stand by and watch the woman being snatched away, but some recognized Ximen Yuan's face and hesitated, not daring to step forward.
Upon hearing the whispering among neighbors, the woman's husband understood Ximen Yuan's infamous identity and shouted out.
"Governor Liu has already sent people! The Capturers will be here any moment! You foul bandit, let go of your grip!"
This loud shout should have frightened ordinary bandits, as the Capturers, though an official force, were notoriously ruthless when handling criminals, and anyone with an ounce of sense would flee in the face of imminent capture.
Yet Ximen Yuan was the one lacking common sense.
"Oh! You still dare to call the authorities?"
Speaking such, Ximen Yuan pulled out his knife, slashing it down on the husband.
With a powerful strike, it nearly cleaved the person in half. Witnessing this bloody scene, the previously outraged patrons suddenly scattered like birds—can they be blamed for being timid when Ximen Yuan's bloodstained knife was pointing at them? Running was their only option to avoid becoming the next corpse.
Once the crowd dispersed and the path cleared, Ximen Yuan called out to a few of his henchmen, took a rope, and tied up the woman, carrying her back to the mountain stronghold.
Even when she was thrown into the dungeon, the woman remained in shock, unable to grasp what had happened. She only remembered blood, blood everywhere, her husband being chopped into two with a single strike, half of his body falling onto the breakfast stall.
That was supposed to be their hope for a better life for the couple.
But now, only blood was left.
Blood everywhere.
A night of madness.
Early the next morning, Ximen Yuan felt thoroughly satisfied, not only because he had taken the beauty, but also because she hadn't given in to despair due to his forceful abduction. In fact, she even got up early on her own to prepare soup for him.
Compared to conquering a person, conquering someone's heart provided even greater satisfaction, and Ximen Yuan couldn't help but feel elated.
But he still remembered the basic safety measures.
"Madam should eat first."
As he looked at the tofu pudding and braised meat the woman served, Ximen Yuan had no intention of picking up his utensils.
Yet the woman picked up the bowl and took a couple of bites without any hesitation.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes and confirming that the woman showed no signs of poisoning, Ximen Yuan then boldly lifted the bowl, ready to taste the beauty's culinary skills.
Just at that moment, a sharp kitchen knife pierced through his chest and abdomen.
One stab in, swiftly withdrawn, followed by a second, a third... In just a few breaths, Ximen Yuan's chest and abdomen had been stabbed over a dozen times, his neck slashed to shreds.
Just as Ximen Yuan used his last ounce of strength to try to grab the damned woman for life exchange, the woman holding the kitchen knife had already nimbly retreated three steps away.
Only three short steps, yet for Ximen Yuan in this moment, it was a distance he could never reach.
Having killed Ximen Yuan, the woman didn't stop moving, for the henchmen had heard the commotion and rushed in, with gleeful hopes of climbing ranks now that the boss was dead.
But the woman's speed surpassed that of the henchmen.
Just as the first henchman raised his weapon, the woman with the kitchen knife had already lunged into his arms. Before he could feel any joy from this gesture, his chest and abdomen were already searing with seven to eight stabs of pain.
The second henchman just raised his blade when the bloody kitchen knife slit his wrist, easily slicing through the tendon as effortlessly as cutting braised meat. Following that were over a dozen stabs aimed at his neck, rendering it into battered flesh, his head nearly falling off.
Within an instant, two companions lay dead on the spot, leaving the remaining henchmen terrified, but the woman gave them no chance to escape, swiftly chasing them down and cutting them to shreds.
Subsequently, covered in blood, the woman staggered back to her breakfast stall.
On the way, neighbors who saw her were frightened by her bloody appearance and quickly avoided her. Facing their fearful gazes, the woman merely shook her head with a bitter smile. She had never blamed the neighbors for not coming to her aid in the face of danger; after all, they were only breakfast acquaintances. How could she expect them to risk their lives to save her family?
She only harbored some resentment for herself.
If she hadn't been stubborn, hadn't sought a small bargain, she and her husband might not have ended up like this.
One was dead, and the other...
"Husband, I'm coming to join you."
With that, the woman slit her throat with the knife right in front of their breakfast stall, sacrificing herself out of love.
Having witnessed all this, Du Chengfeng finally obtained something that could be considered a martial art.
It was the technique used by the woman when she slaughtered Ximen Yuan and the others.
A martial art known as the "Red Needle Technique."