Huang Wanqiu's reaction had caught everyone completely off guard. Fortunately, there were enough high-level cultivators present to prevent a tragedy.
Qi Peiyu's face turned livid. She stepped forward and raised her hand, about to slap Huang Wanqiu. "You disgraceful, disappointment of a—"
But Mei Qinglian seized her hand tightly.
Qi Peiyu turned to curse at him, but when she saw who it was, her heart inexplicably clenched.
Then she shouted coldly, "I'm disciplining my own daughter. What does that have to do with you? Let go!"
Mei Qinglian spoke expressionlessly. "If you want to discipline your daughter, go back home and do it. This is the Mei Family. Who are you putting on a show for?"
"You!" Qi Peiyu was so furious her eyes nearly split, but the next moment, she sneered. "Feeling sorry for her? She's my daughter!"
"You're truly absurd," Mei Qinglian said, unable to endure it any longer. "So what if she's your daughter? I used to feel somewhat guilty toward you, but now I see... you're completely unreasonable. I can already see the Huang Family falling into ruin in your hands sooner or later."
"No need for your concern." Qi Peiyu had secretly loved Mei Qinglian for years, and all that longing had long since turned into deep inferiority. She did not want him to see her make a fool of herself. "My daughter is mine to discipline!"
When she saw her daughter covered in blood, looking utterly dejected and devoid of any desire to live, her anger surged again. She shouted, "What, you can't live without a man?"
Even as she berated her daughter, she did not spare a thought for the blood pouring from her chest. She knew perfectly well that such an injury... would not kill her.
But to everyone else, this behavior