Zi Linling's eyes flashed with dangerous light; she hated it most when people pointed fingers at her.
Hua Ruhai angrily said, "Hmph! Or what? Do you dare to kill me?"
A cold glint flashed across Zi Linling's face. She casually retrieved a sword from her Nine Spirits Ring and swung it towards Hua Ruhai's finger.
A cold flash, and Hua Ruhai felt a chill, but he was, after all, a spirit cultivator at the fifth level of Body Tempering.
He instinctively withdrew his finger, escaping the fate of losing it.
Zi Linling said with a cold face, "Hmph! Killing you would dirty my sword, but chopping off your finger is still a good idea."
As she spoke, her face turned frosty again, and she swung her sword once more.
Hua Ruhai was startled and quickly retreated a zhang, widening the distance between them. As he retreated, he said, "Bitch, how dare you..."
Zi Linling had only intended to scare Hua Ruhai, but his repeated insults of "bitch" ignited her true anger.
Her expression turned grim, and a strong chill emanated from her, making the surrounding air turn cold.
Hua Ruhai clearly felt a presence lock onto him. His internal alarm bells rang, and a trace of fear appeared in his eyes as he looked at Zi Linling.
Zi Linling stepped with the Flowing Dragon Steps, coordinating with the Flowing Dragon Body Technique. In a blink, she was before Hua Ruhai, her sword slashing towards his uninjured arm.
The Flowing Dragon Steps and Body Technique were discovered by an ancestor of the ancient Zi family centuries ago, secretly containing the profound principles of the先天 Eight Trigrams.
In her previous life, Zi Linling had encountered numerous dangers, and it was these techniques that had repeatedly saved her from perilous situations.
Now, she employed them again, signifying her profound fury.
Hua Ruhai felt a gust of wind, and Zi Linling was already in front of him. Strangely, he hadn't sensed any fluctuation of spiritual energy.
He inwardly cursed his bad luck, his spiritual energy surging. He narrowly dodged three sword lights.
Then, he forced himself to gather spiritual energy in his feet, leaping out of Zi Linling's attack range, and once again creating a distance of three zhang between them.
Zi Linling's current body was inherently weak, and she hadn't yet cultivated spiritual energy. After a flurry of attacks, she was slightly out of breath.
Therefore, when Hua Ruhai escaped, she didn't pursue him relentlessly but stopped to recover her breath.
This gave Hua Ruhai a chance to recover. He looked at Zi Linling, his heart filled with wariness.
"Bitch! Are you crazy?"
His voice trembled slightly. Zi Linling's bizarre footwork and body technique instilled a hint of fear in his heart.
Zi Linling raised her sword again, her eyes flashing with ferocity. "Call me a bitch one more time, and I'll ensure you can never speak again!"
Hua Ruhai spat hatefully onto the ground and said, "You lunatic! This young master is done playing!"
Without waiting for Zi Linling's reply, he gathered his men, did not even pick up his dropped folding fan, and quickly pushed through the crowd, fleeing in disarray.
The onlookers watched Hua Ruhai's ignominious departure, their thoughts varying.
"Miss, when did you become so powerful?"
Xue Ying walked up, looking at Zi Linling with adoration, her smile so wide it was almost splitting her face.
Zi Linling looked at her and broke into a bright smile.
"Silly girl, you can be this powerful too in the future!"
"Really?"
Xue Ying's eyes lit up, looking at Zi Linling with anticipation.
"Of course, unless you don't want to be."
"How could I not want to?"
Xue Ying's face was full of longing. "If one can become strong, who would want to be bullied every day?" If she could become strong, she would definitely protect her lady well.
Of course, this last sentence was added silently in her heart.
Zi Linling looked at the determined expression on Xue Ying's face and nodded with satisfaction.
If Xue Ying didn't have a heart that yearned for strength, even if Zi Linling could cleanse her meridians and marrow in the future, it would be in vain.
Xue Ying didn't realize that such a small gesture of hers would bring about such a monumental change in her life.
"Good, then. Now, let's continue collecting our debt!"
Zi Linling's gaze suddenly turned cold, falling upon Mo Qingcheng.
"What? Disappointed that the person you used as a pawn has left?"
Mo Qingcheng's expression was somewhat ugly. She inwardly cursed Hua Ruhai as useless, unable to deal with someone who hadn't even used her full power.
Although she hated Zi Linling's persistence with a burning passion, she forced a smile onto her face.
"You jest, miss. Please, spare Qing'e. Consider it a favor owed to you by Mo Qingcheng, and from now on, we shall be friends, agreed?"
Her words were laced with a clear threat. If Zi Linling spared Qing'e, then she and Zi Linling would be friends. If Zi Linling continued to be relentless, then she would be an enemy of Mo Qingcheng.
Zi Linling was amused by this white lotus flower. Indeed, like master, like servant, relying on their influence to bully others was all they knew.
If the other party had been sincere, Zi Linling wouldn't have been so aggressive, but a threat... Hmph! When had Ghost Hand Poison Doctor ever been afraid?
"What if I say... no?"
Zi Linling's eyebrows tilted slightly. Though she wore a smile, it didn't reach her eyes.
Mo Qingcheng was taken aback, her expression slightly darkening. Her threat was so obvious, why didn't this woman know when to stop?
But she had endured for so long; turning back now would mean her efforts were in vain.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
Despite the smile on Mo Qingcheng's face, it was already very unnatural.
"What do I want? Your maid deliberately injured Xue Ying. Can't you offer an apology?"
Zi Linling's voice turned cold. She emphasized the word "deliberately."
Didn't Mo Qingcheng always maintain her saintly image? Zi Linling wanted to show everyone how the saint's personal maid resorted to bullying.
As expected, the onlookers began to gossip again.
"Fairy Qingcheng never bullies others. How could her maid do something so malicious?"
"Do you think maybe Fairy Qingcheng is like this normally, and that's why her maid is also so arrogant?"
"Nonsense! How could such a good person as the fairy do something like bullying others?"
"That's not entirely true. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked. If the lower beam is crooked, it will collapse. It's common for the lower to follow the example of the upper."
...
Zi Linling listened to the murmurs of the crowd and nodded subtly.
Although these discussions wouldn't significantly damage Mo Qingcheng's saintly image, once a seed of doubt was sown in people's minds, it would gradually ferment.
And Zi Linling's true objective was precisely to sow this seed of doubt.
The smile on Mo Qingcheng's face became even more stiff. She shot Qing'e a hateful glare, wishing she could throw this disgraceful thing into the Misty Forest.
"You jest, miss. Didn't Qing'e already apologize just now?"