“This…”
Hearing Han Rubing, the Palace Master of Chaoque Palace, speak with such a cold tone, Li Tianlu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then we admit defeat.”
“Oh? Is admitting defeat all you intend to do?”
Han Rubing’s tone remained icy.
“What more do you want?”
Wang Mazi, who was sitting beside him, responded.
“Nothing much, just that both of you apologize to the little one in front of all the Jianghu heroes by kneeling down,” Han Rubing said, glancing at Meng Xiaoyu’s left shoulder, which had already been treated and bandaged by her sister.
“Injuring someone from my palace—do you think you can just walk away so easily?”
“Isn’t this demand a bit too much, Palace Master? And besides, she hasn’t even demonstrated this so-called ‘Divine Sword Finger.’ Isn’t your condition rather excessive?”
Li Tianlu quickly stopped Wang Mazi, who was about to curse out loud.
He frowned slightly, but his voice remained polite.
He didn’t want to become an enemy of Han Rubing, for doing so would mean opposing the entire Chaoque Palace, and the forces behind it, Mo Wuyou and Baili Changhong.
These were not people that he and Wang Mazi, two barely second-rate martial artists, could afford to offend.
“Whether I can perform the ‘Divine Sword Finger’ or not is beside the point. What’s important is whether you accept Sister Rubing’s condition. If you agree, I’ll demonstrate the ‘Divine Sword Finger’ for you again. If you don’t agree, then we’ll stick to my original demand. Both of you must kneel and admit defeat; otherwise, we can continue fighting. I don’t mind using you two as practice dummies,” Meng Xiaoyu said with a smug look at Li Tianlu and Wang Mazi.
She thought to herself, “Sister Rubing truly cares for me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t demand that those two toothless fools kneel and apologize to me. This is clearly a case of protecting her own!”
“You… you…”
Now it was Wang Mazi and Li Tianlu’s turn to be so angry they couldn’t speak.
“What about me?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked, clearly delighted as she saw the two men glaring at her furiously.
“Brat, don’t go too far,” Wang Mazi said venomously, glaring at Meng Xiaoyu from where he sat on the ground.
“I’m going too far?”
Meng Xiaoyu bristled at his words.
“Who is really going too far here? Who was shameless enough to gang up two against one? And who used those underhanded sneak attack tactics to injure me?”
She pointed to her injured left shoulder and continued, “And now you dare accuse me of going too far? Don’t make me laugh!”
Meng Xiaoyu grew more and more infuriated as she spoke.
Hearing her words, those in the Jianghu who had initially thought Meng Xiaoyu was being too harsh reconsidered their stance.
They recalled the actions of Li Tianlu and Wang Mazi earlier and began to feel that the two men deserved what they got.
“You… you…” Li Tianlu and Wang Mazi, flustered and red-faced, could only sputter, pointing at Meng Xiaoyu, unsure of what to say.
“What? Are you going to agree to Sister Rubing’s demand or not? We don’t have all day to waste with you,” Meng Xiaoyu continued, but her rant was interrupted by a light pinch on her ear from Han Rubing.
“Sister Rubing?”
Meng Xiaoyu turned in confusion to look at Han Rubing, who was smiling.
Han Rubing gently pinched Meng Xiaoyu’s small earlobe twice more and then said softly but loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Little one, don’t go too far. Having them apologize is enough; they don’t need to kneel.”
“But…”
Meng Xiaoyu started to protest, but a glance from Han Rubing silenced her.
She could only mutter to herself, “You were the one who asked them to kneel and apologize. Now you’re telling me not to go too far? How could you!”
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s sulking face and her slightly pouting lips, Han Rubing shook her head inwardly, thinking, “The little one is still too naive, unaware of how treacherous the Jianghu is and how unpredictable people’s hearts can be.”
Though she had initially said they should kneel, she never actually intended for them to do so.
Her earlier words were just to curb the unreasonable arrogance of those two men.
After all, “It’s better to offend ten gentlemen than one petty man.”
Since Li and Wang were the most petty of petty men, making them kneel would likely lead to future trouble.
Given that both she and her sister, Shuang’er, had many responsibilities as the leaders of Chaoque Palace, they couldn’t always be around to protect the little one.
The little one was too innocent to deal with such scoundrels, so she couldn’t allow their enmity to deepen unnecessarily.
After all, the world is full of uncertainties.
“Fine, if the young lady indeed demonstrates the so-called ‘Divine Sword Finger,’ we will admit defeat and apologize to her for what happened earlier. What do you think, Brother Wang?”
Seizing the opportunity presented by Han Rubing’s words, Li Tianlu quickly spoke up, then gave Wang Mazi a meaningful look.
Although Wang Mazi was reluctant, he nodded, understanding that continuing the fight was impossible given his current condition.
Seeing both Li Tianlu and Wang Mazi agree, Han Rubing signaled Meng Xiaoyu to display her unbeatable skill.
Although a bit unhappy, Meng Xiaoyu reluctantly stepped forward, used her right thumb, and fired a Sword Finger at a sturdy tree trunk not far to her left.
With a “pop,” a thumb-sized hole suddenly appeared in the thick trunk, followed by the tree breaking in half as if chopped by a giant axe.
A loud crash ensued, and the tree lay felled, its life cut short.
Seeing the tree break in half, everyone around opened their mouths in shock.
Only our little Meng Xiaoyu was still sulking, staring at her toes in frustration over her dissatisfaction with Han Rubing.
Han Rubing was momentarily stunned by the sight of the tree breaking in half, then smiled a beautiful yet dangerous smile at Meng Xiaoyu, who stood with her back to her a short distance away.
“Little one, are you showing your discontent toward me?”
Meng Xiaoyu, still sulking, suddenly shivered, rubbing her injured left arm and muttering to herself, “Huh? Why did it suddenly get cold?”
“Palace Master, all the Jianghu guests have gathered in the martial arena. The second Villa Master Zhao has sent me to inform you and Master Zhao to preside over the assembly,” a young boy in gray hurriedly approached Tie and Zhao and announced, bowing.
The boy’s arrival brought everyone out of their shock from Meng Xiaoyu’s remarkable display, also sparing Li Tianlu and Wang Mazi from the awkwardness of having to apologize to a newcomer like Meng Xiaoyu.
After all, even if she possessed extraordinary skills, she was still just a young girl starting out in the Jianghu.
For Li Tianlu and Wang Mazi to apologize to her, it would be a blow to their pride, despite the fact that they were clearly in the wrong from the start.
But the boy’s sudden appearance might help them avoid this disgraceful apology.
Thus, they gratefully cast thankful glances at the boy.
“Since everyone is here, let’s head to the martial arena, shall we?”
Zhao Tianyu, recovering from his shock at Meng Xiaoyu’s feat, said with a light smile.
He then led the way toward the martial arena, followed closely by Tie Zhenhu, the Iron Fan Sect’s leader, who had also snapped out of his daze but still looked incredulous.
The rest of the onlookers followed Zhao and Tie’s lead toward the martial arena.
Seeing the crowd move, Li Tianlu quickly helped Wang Mazi, whose knee was injured, to keep up with the group.
“Hey, you two haven’t apologized to me yet!”
Meng Xiaoyu finally snapped out of wondering why the weather had suddenly turned cold and shouted at Li and Wang, who were walking away, supporting each other.
However, her shout did not stop Li and Wang, who were already far away.
Instead, they quickened their pace even more.
“Little one, be good. Let’s go watch the Heroes’ Assembly first. There will be time later to make them apologize, alright?”
Han Rubing gently pinched Meng Xiaoyu’s soft cheek, seeing her angrily staring at the two men who were walking away.
Before Meng Xiaoyu could protest, Han Rubing grabbed her hand and led her toward the direction where everyone was gradually moving.
A chilling smile hung at the corner of her lips.
“Do you really think you can escape so easily? You underestimate the two of us.”
“Don’t worry, they won’t escape,” said Han Rushuang, who was holding Meng Xiaoyu’s other hand, in a cold tone.
