Fish Token Highness

The sounds of fighting in the front courtyard came through loud and clear.

Tan Lao Liu tossed aside the empty wine flask he had drained and looked at Xiaoyu. "I searched for you for so long. So you'd been hiding in Hun City all along. Since that was the case, why show yourself now? To seek revenge?"

Xiaoyu's face was cold as frost. Clenching the sword in her hand, she said, "Were the Jianli who hunted me down sent by you?"

Tan Lao Liu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why would I keep company with the Jianli? Perhaps certain people went to any lengths to cut the Fish Household down to the roots."

Xiaoyu said, "But when disaster struck the Fish Household, you were there."

Tan Lao Liu nodded. "The only blame lies with Fish Token Highness being tangled up with Monsters. The Late Emperor had bestowed immense honor upon him. Wouldn't it have been enough to enjoy wealth and glory honestly? Yet he brought Monsters with him to slaughter the local people. Meeting such an end was simply reaping what he had sown."

Xiaoyu said bitterly, "Was that truly how it happened? Wasn't everything merely spoken from your mouths? Under the banner of subduing Monsters and exterminating demons, what exactly had the Fish Household done to offend you that you struck with such poisonous hands?"

Tan Lao Liu said calmly, "Girl, perhaps you do not know what Fish Token Highness did in secret, but you cannot spout nonsense. The evidence in that matter was conclusive. We were only upholding justice. How could it be called poisonous hands?"

Xiaoyu raised her sword and pointed it at Tan Lao Liu. "How laughable. If my father truly did something wrong and deliberately concealed it from me, you had already slaughtered the Fish Household. Why would you refuse to spare even a little girl who understood nothing?"

Tan Lao Liu fell silent.

Seeing that Akong had already gained the upper hand in the front courtyard, he smiled. "What a bore. These are all old affairs from years ago. It would have been fine if you had continued hiding, but now that you have come to my door to kill me, I cannot simply wait to be killed by you."

Xiaoyu sneered. "You do not know how to defend yourself anymore? That face of yours truly makes one sick."

Tan Lao Liu rose to his feet. "Say whatever you wish. If you obediently withdraw, I can pretend I never saw you. Otherwise, the Fish Household will be completely exterminated today."

Xiaoyu stepped forward. A martial artist's aura surged explosively from her as she said in a low voice, "You certainly know how to say pretty things. How could I so easily retreat from the blood debt of my entire family? You know full well what the outcome will be, so who are these words meant for?"

Tan Lao Liu stood with his hands behind his back and said softly, "Then you cannot blame me."

The moment his words fell—

A Flying Sword shot toward Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu gripped the hilt with both hands and swung.

She had repeated this motion far, far too many times. Even facing a cultivator's Flying Sword, she yielded not an inch.

The Flying Sword streaking straight at her was knocked down by her slash.

Tan Lao Liu raised his brows in surprise.

The instant Xiaoyu knocked down the Flying Sword, she barely paused. Dropping to one knee, she slid a great distance forward, the sword in her hand carving out a half-moon arc as she viciously slashed at Tan Lao Liu's waist and abdomen.

But Tan Lao Liu merely stomped lightly, and his entire body soared into the air, landing directly atop the roof.

Xiaoyu's slash swept through empty air. She immediately pressed her left palm to the ground and leapt after him. A rooftop's height was something even a martial artist could easily reach.

Yet while she was in midair, the Flying Sword attacked again.

Though Xiaoyu twisted her waist with all her strength, she had nowhere to borrow force from. In the end, although she avoided a vital point, the Flying Sword still pierced her shoulder and sent her crashing to the ground.

Tan Lao Liu still stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Xiaoyu from above. "Your courage truly is exceptional. As a martial artist, you actually dared to fight a cultivator. But even if you risk your life, you cannot so much as touch the corner of my clothes."

The Flying Sword nailed Xiaoyu to the ground, leaving her unable to move.

She said nothing.

She merely gritted her teeth, seized the Flying Sword, and forcibly pulled it out.

Blood streamed from both her shoulder and palm.

Watching that scene, Tan Lao Liu felt somewhat shocked. It was not that he had never seen such a sight before, but he had not expected Xiaoyu to be this tenacious. Throughout the process of pulling out the Flying Sword, she had not even made a sound.

He said gravely, "You truly resemble Fish Token Highness. When he was killed back then, that sight was the true definition of unbearable to behold. Yet even so, his knees never bent in the slightest. Even in death, he insisted on standing."

Xiaoyu shakily rose to her feet, bright blood dripping down. "You are unworthy of speaking his name..."

Bang!

A sudden muffled crash rang out.

The Green-robed Cultivator flew in from the front courtyard and smashed directly into the long pavilion.

Akong followed close behind, raising her massive sickle as she prepared to chop down at the Green-robed Cultivator.

But a hand stretched out from the ruins and grabbed Akong by the ankle. The Green-robed Cultivator sprang into the air and began wildly smashing his arm down at her.

When the smoke dispersed—

Akong reached out, grabbed the Green-robed Cultivator's cheek, and tugged hard.

The Green-robed Cultivator, meanwhile, was also pinching Akong's chubby little cheeks.

It was quite a spectacle.

They had nearly started biting each other.

"Xiaoyu... run! Go find Mr. Jiang!"

The Green-robed Cultivator was in a sorry state, shouting indistinctly through his mouth.

Tan Lao Liu raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was a coincidence. So you are one of the Marquis Household's people as well. Fish Token Highness kept company with Monsters, and Princess Qingping also mingles with Monsters. Like father, like daughter indeed. The facts are all laid out before us. What else do you have to say?"

Xiaoyu said in a low voice, "My father was framed by you people. The young master is innocent as well. You are quite adept at doing such things—hypocrites who dare to act but not admit it!"

She had wanted to avoid bringing trouble upon the young master, which was why she had intended to come alone and seek revenge on Tan Lao Liu. But before such hatred, she ultimately could not hold herself back. With the Green-robed Cultivator here, there was no longer any way for the young master to remain uninvolved.

Xiaoyu felt deeply guilty.

Her hatred for Tan Lao Liu grew even heavier.

Whoosh!

The Flying Sword pressed directly against Xiaoyu's throat.

Tan Lao Liu smiled. "I cannot be bothered arguing with you. If you want to learn the truth, go ask Fish Token Highness in the Netherworld."

The moment his words fell, the Flying Sword pierced Xiaoyu's neck.

Her injuries were severe. No matter how she dodged, the Flying Sword remained there.

Even when she swung her sword to strike it, she could no longer shake the Flying Sword in the slightest.

It was because Tan Lao Liu was determined to kill her, pouring all of his Yellow Court Qi into the Flying Sword.

Making the Flying Sword as heavy as a mountain.

Was this how she would die?

How unwilling she was.

Xiaoyu closed her eyes.

She had already used every trick in her arsenal. This time, there was truly no possibility of turning the tables.

Just as Xiaoyu waited for death to draw near—

A voice rang out. "Old dog, have you grown tired of living?!"

That was the young master's voice!

Xiaoyu abruptly opened her eyes.

Jiang Wang stood atop the wall.

The White-robed Cultivator came flying toward them.

Du Yanruo, hiding in the shadows and watching, clenched her teeth tightly.

She watched Jiang Wang leap down from the wall.

The White-robed Cultivator charged straight toward the Green-robed Cultivator, who was tangled up with Akong. He knew full well that Mr. Jiang was the one who had come to save Xiaoyu.

"You again!" Recalling the scene at the Marquis Household, where Jiang Wang had nearly cut him to death with one strike, Tan Lao Liu instinctively shrank back somewhat. He had intended to kill Xiaoyu outright, but the Flying Sword was already beyond his control.

"Young master..." Xiaoyu said, filled with apology. "I still brought trouble upon you."

Jiang Wang looked at her and smiled faintly. "You are my maid. Bringing trouble upon your young master is only natural. Your young master will resolve every last bit of that trouble."

He extended one finger. The Flying Sword that had pierced Xiaoyu's neck quietly withdrew, slowly turned around, and shot toward Tan Lao Liu.

"How can you command my Flying Sword?!" Tan Lao Liu was deeply shocked.

If the gap between their strength was enormous, it would be normal for his Flying Sword to be suppressed. But directly controlling another person's Flying Sword completely exceeded Tan Lao Liu's understanding.

He hurriedly dodged, trying to seize back his own Flying Sword.

Unfortunately, it was all in vain.

Jiang Wang controlled Tan Lao Liu's Flying Sword and toyed with him at will. Before long, Tan Lao Liu was covered in blood, and the new clothes the Du Family had given him had once again become tattered rags.

Tan Lao Liu pressed himself against the wall and cried out urgently, "There is a misunderstanding! The Du Family told me that Monsters were hidden in the Marquis Household. I never intended to make an enemy of you, sir!"

Du Yanruo, hiding in the shadows, hated him so much that her teeth itched.

Was this what a great figure of the Qingxuan Bureau was like?

Could he be a fraud?

She was even more shocked that Jiang Wang was actually this powerful.

It had only been two years since he left Hun City, went to Fish Abyss Academy, and returned.

Jiang Wang had clearly been nothing but trash. How had he become strong enough in such a short time to make even a cultivator at the peak of Insight into the Abyss beg bitterly for mercy?!

She had originally thought that the rumors in Hun City about Jiang Wang defeating Cai Tanggu had some other cause behind them and could not be trusted at all. Though it was true that Cai Tanggu had fled Hun City, Du Yanruo had never believed Jiang Wang was the one who drove him away.

Had she known earlier that Jiang Wang was no longer the useless trash he once was, she would never have chosen the second path, no matter what.

But it was already too late for regrets.

She looked deeply at Jiang Wang once more, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

She needed to take her father and younger brother and flee.

As long as they remained alive, the Du Family would not be completely wiped out.

When Jiang Wang learned that Tan Lao Liu was at the Du Family, he had already guessed as much.

Looking at Tan Lao Liu, who wailed and tried to explain himself, he said gravely, "What the Du Family does, and what you are thinking, do not matter in the slightest. But you injured Xiaoyu, so I cannot spare you."

Jiang Wang handed the Long Night Saber to Xiaoyu. "No matter what you want to do, you must discuss it with your young master. This time, let it go. With your young master here, kill whoever you wish."

Since he suspected that Tan Lao Liu was connected to Xiaoyu being hunted in the past, Xiaoyu naturally had to take revenge with her own hands.

Ever since Xiaoyu came to the Marquis Household, she had practiced swordsmanship day and night. Jiang Wang knew very well the hatred she carried in her heart. He had once felt that Xiaoyu practicing the sword in order to kill cultivators was utterly absurd, but now he felt that it was only right.

Xiaoyu gripped the Long Night Saber tightly and walked toward Tan Lao Liu step by step.

"Her matter was a misunderstanding too!"

Tan Lao Liu swallowed hard and was about to explain further, but Xiaoyu had already reached him and raised the Long Night Saber high.

Though she had dreamed of revenge, this truly was her first time killing someone.

Whether from fear or her injuries, she did not know, but the hand gripping her saber kept trembling.

Jiang Wang watched the scene unfold.

Suddenly, a wave of weakness washed over him.

The Flying Sword pressed against Tan Lao Liu's vital points to prevent him from resisting also lost control and dropped straight to the ground.

"Night Roaming God! What is going on?!"