Xue Fu's face turned pale.
Chu Meng's hand was visibly trembling, but she forced herself to stay calm. "I am of the Chu family. You'd better back off now. Don't stir up trouble here."
"Chu family?"
The group opposite exchanged glances. Some of them were clearly starting to hesitate.
"Interesting."
Just then, Chen Mohai sneered. "No need to worry, everyone. This girl's name is Chu Meng. She really is Chu Daohang's daughter. But her mother was just a maid. She has no real standing in the Chu family."
Those around him let out a breath of relief.
Chu Meng's body swayed.
The Chu family had been her only shield. Now that it couldn't scare off the enemy, she truly had no backup.
Yang Cheng, however, didn't show the slightest fear. He looked at the group calmly. "Have you ever stopped to wonder why I'd dare to pull out so many spirit stones so openly?"
"Hahaha, what else? You figured this girl's Chu family name could protect you."
Chen Mohai laughed. "We won't touch her easily, sure. But you? If you don't behave, killing you won't be a problem."
"Enough nonsense, let's just kill him," the fan-wielding man said impatiently.
But Yang Cheng was even more direct. He said calmly, "A bunch of fools who don't know their place. Lin Shu—kill them all."
"Kill us?"
"Hahahaha!"
The group was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Heh, truly ignorant."
The fan-wielding man was the first to strike.
He lunged like a leopard toward Yang Cheng, his iron fan opening mid-air as it slashed straight at Yang Cheng's throat.
But someone was faster.
As he got close, every hair on his body stood on end. From the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that the maid named "Lin Shu," who had been standing beside Yang Cheng, was somehow already next to him.
"You little brat, you're asking for death!"
His expression twisted, and he spun his fan to strike at Lin Shu instead.
"Not good! Yang Cheng, your maid's going to get killed!" Xue Fu cried in shock.
In that split second, Lin Shu moved like a phantom, evading the iron fan effortlessly. A dagger appeared in her hand.
It slashed like lightning.
"Aaagh!"
The man screamed.
His hand had been sliced clean off by Lin Shu.
Panicking, he retreated furiously.
"That yellow-haired girl's a movement expert! Kill her first!" Chen Mohai shouted.
All their auras locked onto Lin Shu.
"This is bad! Yang Cheng, your maid's got skill, but there are too many enemies!" Xue Fu's voice trembled.
"Enemies?" Yang Cheng said coolly. "They're not even worthy of being called that. Just a bunch of clowns."
At the same time, a swordsman next to Chen Mohai burst forward like a gust of wind.
His sword produced a storm of shadows, completely surrounding Lin Shu like a rain of blades.
It looked like she had no way to escape.
But—
In her past life, Lin Shu had been the Empress of the Dark Night.
Now, with Yang Cheng's help, her potential had been awakened further.
At this point, her cultivation was already at the peak of the Martial King realm. Her movements were bizarre and terrifying.
To an ordinary person, that rain of sword shadows would be inescapable. But Lin Shu moved through them effortlessly.
The swordsman hadn't realized it yet.
His eyes lit up—he thought he'd found Lin Shu's fatal opening.
The countless sword shadows suddenly merged, and he thrust his blade at her with all his might.
The sword struck her.
The swordsman's face lit with glee.
But in the next instant, something felt off.
His sword hadn't pierced any flesh.
"Shit—"
He instantly realized it had only hit an afterimage.
At almost the same moment, a sharp pain lanced through his throat.
His windpipe had already been slashed by her dagger.
"I—"
Clutching his neck, he stumbled backward until he collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"This woman's not normal!"
"Careful!" the others cried, their pupils contracting.
They could now feel how terrifying Lin Shu was.
"Attack together!" a blade-wielder shouted.
Whoosh!
A blur of shadow zipped past him. He barely dodged, but his back was ripped open by a deep gash. Blood poured out.
The others around him felt their scalps go numb.
"How is she this scary?!"
Chen Mohai felt it too—things were going very wrong.
By now, Lin Shu had already charged at the next target.
Another elite was killed.
"Run!"
"This woman's a monster!"
Some of the martial artists were already terrified.
"What are you afraid of? Let me handle this."
A monk weighing over 500 pounds, his body all fat, stepped forward.
"Good."
"This is Master Benwu from Zhengde Temple. He cultivates the Meat Buddha Divine Ability—his fat body is practically immune to swords and spears. Even if you stab him, it won't do any real harm."
The crowd's spirits lifted.
Right then, Master Benwu showed no fear of Lin Shu. He charged at her head-on.
Every step he took made the ground tremble.
"Little lady, my Buddhist sect also teaches the path of joy. Once this monk catches you, we'll explore the joyful Dao together," he roared with laughter.
Whoosh!
Lin Shu moved like a shadow of the netherworld, instantly slashing across his body.
Blood spurted from Master Benwu, but the wound healed before their eyes.
His flesh was just too thick. That slash, which would've been fatal to others, only left a surface cut on him.
Lin Shu ignored it and kept attacking.
She grew faster and faster, to the point where no one could track her movements anymore.
It was like in the blink of an eye, she had slashed him over 100 times.
Then people realized—Master Benwu's flesh couldn't regenerate fast enough to keep up.
In the end—
His body was covered in countless wounds.
Boom!
His entire fat body exploded, dying more miserably than anyone else.
In that moment, among the group that had come with Chen Mohai, only two who had run early managed to escape. The rest were all dead.
Only Chen Mohai was left standing.
Chu Meng and Xue Fu stood there, mouths wide open, completely stunned by what they'd just witnessed.
That quiet little maid they'd barely noticed turned out to be this terrifying?
Before this, they thought Yang Cheng was doomed.
Who would've thought that in the blink of an eye, nearly all their enemies would be dead—slaughtered by that little maid?
Thud!
Chen Mohai dropped to his knees. "Young master, spare me! I—I was blinded by greed and acted foolishly. As long as you're willing to spare me, I'm willing to serve you loyally from now on!"
"You? You think you're worthy to serve me?"
Yang Cheng's eyes were cold.
Without a word, Lin Shu stepped forward and slit Chen Mohai's throat with a dagger.
His body stiffened, eyes full of regret.
Outside the alley—
Two figures were fleeing in terror.
One of them was the fan-wielding man.
He'd lost his hand early on and escaped before he could be killed—his cowardice saved his life.
"That yellow-haired maid is a damn monster!"
His face was pale with fear.
The seven elite fighters they'd brought had been utterly crushed by just one person. Five were dead.
"We have to report this to Miss Murong and Young Master Chu—fast!"
The other man urged.
The two dashed into a nearby courtyard.
Inside sat none other than Murong Yun and Chu Xianzhi.
"What happened to you two?"
Seeing their condition, both Murong Yun and Chu Xianzhi frowned.
"Miss Murong, Young Master Chu!"
The fan-wielding man stammered in fear. "That kid's maid is terrifying! She killed five of us—Chen Mohai included. We only managed to escape by sheer luck!"
Murong Yun and Chu Xianzhi were both visibly shaken.
"Looks like we underestimated that boy," Murong Yun said seriously.
Chu Xianzhi didn't look too pleased either but responded, "It doesn't matter. This was just a test. Even if we failed, it didn't cost us anything."
The fan-wielding man suddenly realized something was wrong.
Chu Xianzhi had already made his move.
In the next instant, both the fan-wielder and the man beside him were struck down and killed.
Back in the alley—
Lin Shu returned to Yang Cheng's side, once again appearing harmless and invisible.
"Your Highness, I think those people were just pawns," she said softly.
Yang Cheng replied coolly, "Obviously. In this Hetian Town, aside from the Chu family, no one else has the power to seal off the area this thoroughly and empty out all the nearby streets so quickly."