Nan Shiying discarded the dagger, tidying her ruffled sleeves. Xiao Man's head peeked out from behind Nan Shiying. She released Nan Shiying's hand, bent down to pick up the dagger, and walked over to Peony, squatting beside her. Xiao Man examined Peony closely, her gaze like that of someone appraising a toy. Her eyes sparkled, but when Peony met her gaze, she felt a chill run through her entire body.
Xiao Man turned to Nan Shiying, her voice laced with a playful inquiry, "Brother, can I play with her for a while before killing her?"
Her tone was as casual as if she were asking for a piece of candy.
"Dirty!"
Nan Shiying uttered a single, cold word.
The reason she didn't let Xiao Man play wasn't out of compassion, but because she felt the person before them was unworthy, that she would dirty her sister's hands.
"Oh!"
Xiao Man pouted. The dagger traced its way along Peony's clothing, slowly sliding towards Peony's face. The tip of the dagger was aimed at Peony's eye, hovering for a moment. Then, with a slight sigh, finding it rather dull, she loosened her grip. The dagger slid down, grazing Peony's face. As it fell, it sliced a long wound across Peony's face, from below her eye to her chin.
"Sorry, my hand slipped!"
Xiao Man smiled innocently, as if offering a sincere apology. But seeing her young, pure face, alight with a smile, everyone felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over their heads, chilling them to the bone.
Why had they ever thought this brother and sister pair were like harmless little white rabbits? They were clearly two vipers hidden in a cold, dark swamp!
"My face! My face!"
Piercing screams hammered against everyone's skulls, rolling across their skin like ice. Peony tried to raise her hand to cover the bleeding wound, but her arm was too weak to lift.
With her face disfigured, she had no further qualification to remain by the young master's side. Rather than being discarded like trash, she might as well take the person before her down with her.
Thinking this, she suddenly lunged forward. The surge of blood within her accelerated the spread of the poison. In the eyes of the onlookers, she merely wore a ferocious expression before her body swayed, and she spat out another mouthful of blood.
Xiao Man scoffed. She almost felt bad mocking the foolishness of the person before her.
Poppy raised her head, the malice in her eyes as murky as the mists of a deep abyss. She longed to tear the bastard before her to shreds, but for the safety of the young master behind her, she had to lower her head. "My young master is Gongzi Xun, the楼主 of Wan Ku Lou. What happened today is a misunderstanding. As long as you are willing to hand over the antidote, Wan Ku Lou will certainly treat you as an honored guest. As long as Wan Ku Lou stands in the Jianghu, no one will dare to look down on you in the slightest!"
Nan Shiying looked at the beautiful woman speaking, as if observing a mouse that was rearing up and baring its teeth at humans. She opened her mouth, revealing teeth she considered incredibly sharp. After baring her teeth, she took out a piece of rotten vegetable leaf she'd found in the trash. After flexing her muscles, she displayed her 'formidable' strength. Nan Shiying noticed a hint of envy in the gazes of those around her.
It seemed that being treated as an honored guest by this so-called Wan Ku Lou was considered a great fortune, one that would make one's ancestors' graves glow.
"Pfft~"
Xiao Man couldn't help but laugh out loud. Seeing everyone looking at her, she raised her hand to cover her mouth, feigning a demure appearance of 'I really didn't want to laugh, but I just couldn't help it. But for everyone's sake, I can control myself.'
However, the others felt as if they had been hit on the head by something. It didn't hurt, but it was incredibly infuriating. Yet, after the annoyance, boundless fear arose.
They hoped that the other party would succumb to the deterrence of Wan Ku Lou and hand over the antidote, but they also feared that the other party would kill Gongzi Xun and then silence them all.
Just as they were wracked with anxiety, they heard Poppy's malicious concern once more: "You should really control your sister. The Jianghu is perilous. It's hard to guarantee that one day, with a single lapse in attention, you won't die in a ditch." Even in such a dire situation, her so-called concession was merely bestowing upon them the 'reward' of being an honored guest of Wan Ku Lou.
Nan Shiying's eyes drooped, her eyelids pressing down on her pupils. Her usually gentle and amiable face now showed a cold, sinister expression. She didn't know much about Jianghu powers and couldn't fathom why the other party dared to be so presumptuous when their life was in her hands.
Was it because in the past, merely speaking the words 'Wan Ku Lou' would make others so terrified that they wouldn't even dare to resist?
Nan Shiying slowly stepped forward, picking up the saber from the ground. Without blinking, she swung the saber, bisecting the beautiful, but not-so-bright, woman at the waist.
With a "噗呲" sound, blood shot into the air. Nan Shiying grabbed Peony, using her as a human shield to block the splashing blood. Poppy's face still bore a cold, threatening expression, her lips curved upwards. The shock hadn't fully dissipated this arrogance and malice. Her pupils lost their luster, her upper and lower bodies falling in different directions. Blood stained the ground, seeping towards Gongzi Xun's feet.
His face showed no sign of grief or anger, as if it wasn't his close attendant who had died, but a stray dog by the roadside. As the dog's blood seeped towards his feet, a look of disdain and displeasure flickered across his face.
But he was indeed angry, angry that the person before him had thrown his dignity at his feet and repeatedly trampled it with the soles of her shoes.
He used his arms to prop himself up from the ground, his upper body leaning back slightly. It wasn't a posture forced by poison, but more like someone who had stumbled upon a beautiful landscape in the countryside and couldn't resist sitting down to admire it.
His eyes held a hidden rage, yet his face showed no trace of it. Nan Shiying fell silent once more. She suddenly understood why she found the other party's smile so familiar. Upon realizing it, she felt only annoyance.
Sensing the fleeting killing intent in the other's eyes, Gongzi Xun's expression darkened. He ransacked his memory, reconfirming that he had never heard even a single word about the person before him.
Given her ruthless actions and her seemingly weak demeanor, which was completely contradictory to her methods, if she had appeared in the Jianghu before, she would not be so unknown now.
Therefore, this person must be new to the Jianghu. Perhaps the reason for her unbridled audacity was that she had never heard of Wan Ku Lou.
Having figured this out, Gongzi Xun calmed down once more.
Although he couldn't muster any strength, his face showed no panic. He didn't even glance at the deceased Poppy, nor did he spare a look for Peony, who was being used as a shield. He stared directly at Nan Shiying and slowly spoke, "The Jianghu is vast, filled with countless experts. My Wan Ku Lou gathers all the top experts in the world. Seventy percent of the experts currently active in the Jianghu originate from my Wan Ku Lou. Are you sure you want to make an enemy of Wan Ku Lou?"
Gongzi Xun's tone was calm and devoid of emotion, but his words exuded the overbearing arrogance of supreme dominance in the Jianghu.