“Guests, please—fighting is forbidden inside Qinghe Tower.” The maidservant hurriedly tried to mediate.
“Get lost! I want someone dead. That’s none of your business!” The girl in red’s eyes flashed with venom.
Ning Shiyue moved Feng Qingran behind her, her own gaze turning cold. “Little Senior Sister, protect yourself.”
She raised her wrist, pointing her sword at the girl in red. “If you want to fight, let’s take it outside. I’d rather not destroy someone else’s property just for a brawl.”
“You!” The girl in red glared. “And what gives a mere late-stage Golden Core cultivator like you the right to act so high and mighty?”
Boiling with rage, she wished she could tear Ning Shiyue limb from limb.
“And you’re only at peak Golden Core. Isn’t that just as arrogant?” Ning Shiyue’s eyes held open mockery.
She truly didn’t understand where this girl’s sense of superiority came from.
They had been shopping peacefully, not bothering anyone.
Then this girl storms in, tries to take what they wanted, and even aims her whip at their faces…
“How do you know I’m at peak Golden Core?” The girl in red was genuinely startled.
A late-stage Golden Core cultivator shouldn’t be able to see through someone at the peak.
“I didn’t, until just now.” Ning Shiyue stood in her yellow dress, skin like luminous jade, face radiant as morning light, her whole presence lively and graceful.
The girl in red blinked, then flushed with realization. “You tricked me!?”
“Oh, you caught that? Guess there’s a little less water in your head than I thought.” Ning Shiyue’s voice was light and cheerful.
Seeing the girl rendered speechless with fury, she continued, “Anyway, are we fighting or not? If we are, hurry up. You’re wasting my shopping time.”
Feng Qingran stood behind Ning Shiyue without intervening.
Fifth Senior Sister had spent so long at Lingyun Sect. Now that she was finally out, letting her vent a little was fine.
All she needed to do was keep her safe. Everything else, she’d leave to her senior sister.
The maidservant watched the tense standoff, growing more anxious by the second. Where was the manager?
The girl in red was seething. Still, she forced an arrogant tone. “Do you even know who I am, daring to fight me?”
Ning Shiyue dismissed her sword with a flick of her wrist and crossed her arms. “Who you are? What does that have to do with fighting me?”
The girl in red: …
What was she even supposed to say to that?
“My uncle is Baili Yuanmo—the head of Scholar’s Pavilion!” She threw out the name, waiting to see fear flash across Ning Shiyue’s face.
“Oh. How impressive. But your uncle being the head of Scholar’s Pavilion… what does that have to do with you? Did his position somehow make your brain rot?” Ning Shiyue asked, genuinely curious.
Playing the fox by borrowing the tiger’s might. Nothing to fear.
Her First Senior Brother was the future heir of the Liu family.
Her Second Senior Brother was the head of the Dugu family.
Her Third Senior Sister was an eighth-grade alchemist.
…
Was she arrogant about any of it?
Ning Shiyue’s eyes sparkled, her voice like ringing silver bells. “Judging by your face, probably nothing. My guess is, when you were reincarnated, you just forgot to bring your brain along.”
“You—you—you!” The girl in red jabbed a trembling finger at Ning Shiyue, barely restraining herself from lunging forward and strangling her.
She flipped her wrist. Another whip appeared. Her eyes sharp with cruelty, she struck directly at Ning Shiyue.
There was no way Ning Shiyue had another talisman!
Ning Shiyue raised her jade-like hand, tracing a floral pattern with her sword.
As the whip coiled around the blade, she pulled it taut, spun swiftly, and withdrew the sword.
Thud!——
The girl in red landed flat on the ground, face blank—all her earlier arrogance gone, almost cute in her shock.
Shhhhk!——
A flush spread from her cheeks down her neck.
Soft, muffled laughter rippled through the crowd.
The maidservant lowered her head, nearly choking on suppressed laughter.
What a pity.
Qinghe Tower had rules: no matter how embarrassing a guest’s blunder, you couldn’t laugh. Otherwise, they’d deduct your pay.
Ah!——
The girl in red finally snapped out of it, shrieking—half from shame, half from fury.
She had planned to intimidate them first. Wait for them to beg and tremble. Then kill them.
How had it come to this?
At least no one here recognized her…
Otherwise, how could she ever show her face again?
Her expression shifted rapidly. She couldn’t bear this humiliation.
“Uncle Zhong, kill them. Leave no souls behind.” Her eyes locked onto Feng Qingran and Ning Shiyue as if they were already corpses.
The moment she spoke.
The temperature plummeted. A suffocating pressure descended.
Terror spread through the onlookers. Some regretted not fleeing earlier. Others feared the girl might turn her wrath on them.
The maidservant’s face went pale. Her voice trembled. “Guest, this is Qinghe Tower. Killing is not permitted!”
The girl in red glanced at her. “Hmph. Insolent dog. Uncle Zhong, kill her first. The other two—slowly. I want to watch them die in terror.”
As her words fell, an invisible blade sliced toward the maidservant.
Her whole body stiffened. Her face froze in shock. Her pupils dilated. The brush with death robbed her of the ability to flee.
But just as the blade was about to reach her, a figure in blue moved fast—pulling the maidservant aside, dodging the fatal strike.
Shhhhk!——
Behind her, the hanging garments shattered into pieces and scattered across the floor.
