5 The Bug in Purple Silk

Dou Luyi sneered when he saw the crowd's fearful gazes. He looked over to Xinyu, but what he saw took him by surprise.

The freckle-faced girl across from him just stared into empty space in a daze, not seeming to care an ounce about what he had said!

He was a subordinate of the Immortal Liu House. Upon hearing his words, the girl should be shaking in fear and begging for forgiveness at his feet! Why was she not even batting an eye at him?!

His face of mockery quickly twisted into rage.

"Are you deaf? Can you not hear me?! I am of the Immortal Liu House! How dare you offend me!" Dou Luyi screamed, spit and blood flying out of his dirty mouth.

Did Xinyu hear him? Indeed, she heard him. In fact, Xinyu was certain that everyone within a hundred steps could hear his repulsive voice! She just simply did not know how to reply.

Aunt Yanfei always told her to stay away from mortal affairs, and she did a pretty good job at it for seventy years until today. Xinyu did not know what overcame her. Was her age finally showing its effects?

"If only I listened to Aunt Yanfei earlier," Xinyu grumbled inwardly. Getting hit by Aunt Yanfei would've been much better than listening to this bug in purple silk spatter nonsense all day!

Now, Xinyu could only sigh with regret.

When the girl only responded with a puff of air, Dou Luyi's face turned into an ugly shade.

Was this girl that strong, or was she just an ignorant child?! She looked to be only fourteen years old at most. He couldn't even sense an ounce of Qing energy from the girl! Surely, she must be an uncultured fool. Judging from her plain robes and her unrefined looks, she could never be an immortal!

"It seems you do not know what's good for you! I will teach you a lesson today!" Dou Luyi spat and released his Qing energy all at once. A smoke of red radiated from his body as a two-petal lotus glowed in the center of his forehead.

An apprentice-level immortal disciple with a Sole-Fire Affinity?!

The crowd shook in terror. They were all only mortals. Even if it was just an immortal disciple, to see such power before their eyes, they could only pray that they would not incur the wrath of someone with the unearthly power they could never attain.

Dou Luyi sneered at their reactions and unsheathed the small sword from his belt—successfully this time—before throwing a strike toward Xinyu. A swirl of fire engulfed his blade.

Finally, Xinyu moved her head to meet Dou Luyi's gaze.

His heart snickered when the girl finally moved. Too bad it was already too late for this girl! Don't blame him for being ruthless!

Despite his confidence, Xinyu's eyes were unwavering. Grabbing ahold of the jade flute she was playing with, Xinyu reacted quickly and parried his attack with a swift twirl of the instrument using her good hand as she tucked the injured one into the crevice of her robe.

Dou Luyi gasped along with the crowd.

The little girl actually dodged his attack? Impossible! He was an apprentice-level immortal disciple! His blade was even infused with Qing energy, how could she have parried his attack without even releasing any Qing energy? No! It must be an accident!

Dou Luyi clicked his tongue and lunged forward again with a sloppy swing of the blade.

Xinyu easily dodged his messy attacks.

What was the point of having Qing energy if one didn't even hone their physical abilities?

Unlike this mortal with seemingly no knowledge of swordsmanship whatsoever, Xinyu actually learned a thing or two about self-defense from Old Deng. The old man wasn't only into telling stories, he was also skilled in martial arts. He used to always preach that one should be able to fend for oneself—and luckily for Xinyu, she was not a slacker—at least in this aspect.

After a few more failed attacks, Dou Luyi grew tired and his movements became slower and slower. He could not believe he was losing to a mere girl. She was so fast! To add to that, she wasn't even attacking him. She was simply dodging his attacks. It was he himself that was making him tired!

Once again, the crowd grew with hope. Even though they could not clearly see what was happening, they could feel that the girl was gaining the upper hand.

"Yes! Teach that scoundrel a lesson!" They cheered silently in their hearts.

With newfound confidence, several people decided to make themselves useful and helped the woman from the ground. They called upon some doctors to tend to her wounds.

Xinyu noticed the growing crowd surrounding them.

This was not good. What if people recognized her? Although she didn't have a noteworthy face, Xinyu has lived in this area for decades; it would not be unusual if someone recognized her. She was always careful not to attract attention, but now everyone was looking at her. In their eyes was an emotion Xinyu could not comprehend.

As worry grew in the pit of her stomach, Xinyu finally knocked down the man's sword with a quick swoop; it fell to the ground with a loud rattle. Dou Luyi's face twisted with humiliation.

"Men!" He called out before several armed men dressed in light armor came to his defense. Xinyu counted seven heads. "Kill her!"

Simultaneously, all seven men unleashed their Qing energy and unsheathed their swords. A beautiful array of different-colored smoke flowed from their bodies. In the center of all their foreheads, two-petal lotuses glowed brilliantly.

Dou Luyi smirked evilly upon the order.

All his bodyguards were also apprentice-level immortal disciples. No matter how fast this girl was, she wouldn't be able to fend off seven of them at once!

A hint of a smile finally graced Xinyu's lips when she saw the bright colors.

Kill her? She would like to see them try. She didn't live for seventy years in vain! Just seven people? Easy!

She'd heard of these colored smoke from Old Deng's stories before. In fact, it was not smoke, but materialized Qing energy! Each different color symbolized the person's Elemental Affinity. The lotuses on their foreheads signified which level of cultivation they had reached depending on the number of petals it had—with nine being the highest.

Although she'd never practiced cultivating before, Xinyu was still able to fight head-to-head with Old Deng in her self-defense lessons, and he had a six-petal lotus!

Xinyu grasped her jade flute and was just about to summon an attack when large roots thrust out of the earth between her and the men.

Dou Luyi and the seven men stumbled back in surprise.

The wood was decorated with lovely pink peonies that released a light but enchanting fragrance. Everyone looked toward the origin of such unearthly beauty.