"The old man is perfectly aware of the situation."
"As for Mr. Xu’s carriage, I had it prepared for him long ago."
"Right now, I’m heading to Anning County and the Wind and Cloud Association to scout ahead and clear out a decent residence for the old man to lodge in."
"You don’t know shit!"
"The two of you, get lost! Don’t touch my carriage, or you’ll have me to answer to!"
With that, Huang Xiuwen stepped onto his carriage, ready to leave the dock. A light snow fell from the sky. The young man known as the Great Robe Inheritor of the Wind and Cloud Association acted as a guard, his body overflowing with Outer Gang Qi as he followed closely at his heels.
When Qingtuan and Bai Shuo, the two young women who had disembarked earlier, witnessed this, they couldn’t help but frown.
"Pah! What a damn snob..."
"Whether on land or in the water, it’s the same story. They treat you according to your status. There’s no difference at all."
Qingtuan’s face was filled with indignation as she watched the laborers and mortals on the dock, who hung their heads and dared not make a sound after being cursed at. She ground her teeth in frustration.
The woman hidden beneath the veiled cloak, her eyes limpid, also frowned almost imperceptibly at the commotion.
’Practitioners pursue Divine Techniques and great power, a process of gradually growing stronger. It’s not entirely unreasonable for one’s ego to swell with the acquisition of status and position.’
’But to rely on an illustrious family background to sneer at mortals and hurl insults...’
She shook her head, about to grab Miss Qingtuan beside her and signal that it was better to avoid trouble, but...
To her surprise, the round-faced girl rolled up her sleeves and gritted her teeth fiercely.
"Who does he think he’s fooling? His Golden Bone might make him a big shot on land, but he was just stewed in a vat of medicine. That’s nothing to brag about."
"So you like to bark, do you?"
"Young Lord... Xiaobai, you wait here. I’m going to teach this son of a bitch a lesson!"
With a fierce expression on her round face, Qingtuan leaped up. Her slender, clenched fist shone with a green light, and in an instant, she smashed the carriage’s main beam, snapping it in two!
CRACK! SNAP!
The sudden commotion startled the noble young master inside. He leaped out, and seeing the wreckage before him, his anger surged.
At his side, Feng Zhengming—the Great Robe Inheritor of the Wind and Cloud Daoist School, which had established its legacy in Jiangyin Prefecture and originated from the Wind and Cloud Association headquarters—felt his muscles and bones tremble violently.
He then assumed a fighting stance. With a slide of his feet, his Gang Qi hissed as it radiated outwards, and his eyes took on the predatory glare of a tiger watching its prey.
"You dare destroy the carriage of the direct grandson of the Medicine Shop, one of the Jiangyin Thirty-Six Professions..."
"What county are you from? You don’t know the rules, but you’ve got some nerve!"
’The Wind and Cloud Daoist School was newly established. His Master had started his cultivation late in life and had only just broken through the barrier to become a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster. This was the time they most needed to build connections.’
’To gain a foothold in the Prefecture City, his Master was establishing roots in the outlying counties to earn silver coins while simultaneously trying to build connections within the prefecture itself. He had humbled himself completely to get in with these Grand Lineages, and even the major Schools.’
’But the major Schools were far too prestigious; they naturally had no need for help from an aging Qi Cultivation Grandmaster.’
’In the end, to establish a connection with the Medicine Shop, his Master had specifically ordered him, the public face and inheritor of their school, to build a relationship with the treasured direct grandson of the Medicine Shop’s Old Master Huang.’
’The Medicine Shop of Jiangyin Prefecture was one of the esteemed Upper Nine Professions. Among the Thirty-Six Professions and the Hundred Trades and Livelihoods, its name was renowned.’
’Just in the Spirit Medicine business alone, while they didn’t have a monopoly, was there any Qi Cultivation Grandmaster who didn’t have at least some dealings with them?’
’Although his role on this journey was no different from that of a common "guard," which left Feng Zhengming feeling somewhat stifled, he forced himself to endure it for the sake of his Master and the future of the Wind and Cloud Daoist School.’
Then... Seventh Young Master Huang of the Medicine Shop, Huang Xiuwen, leaped down from the wreckage. With a grand wave of his hand, he ordered the servants and guards he had brought with him to swarm forward.
"Seize that little wench for me!"
"I admit I misjudged you earlier, but..."
"My carriage is extremely expensive! Where in this backwater county town could it possibly be repaired? All I did was say a few words to you. What’s the big deal? It’s not like my words could make you lose a chunk of flesh, right?"
In an instant, the scene grew incredibly tense.
’Bai Shuo watched as her "maid," in a fit of hot-headedness, let the situation escalate to this irredeemable point...’
’She couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. If she had known things would turn out this way, she never would have brought this boisterous little Clam Maiden when she snuck out of the Water Mansion.’
’If she were to get serious here...’
’...word would leak out by tomorrow, alerting the "big shots" in Jiangyin Prefecture, who would then respectfully escort her right back where she came from.’
’Honestly, this girl Qingtuan...’
’Once this is over, I am definitely going to settle accounts with you!’
Bai Shuo saw that people in the ship’s cabins had already been alerted by the commotion.
She even saw an old servant at the Peak of the Power Barrier, one of Seventh Young Master Huang’s followers, arching his back and preparing to strike. Feeling annoyed, she nevertheless prepared to intervene.
However—
Just then!
THWIP!
The twang of a bowstring echoed as an arrow, loosed from a Treasure Bow, parted the velvety snowfall. It flew straight and true, embedding itself firmly in the ground right in front of Seventh Young Master Huang Xiuwen!
WHOOSH!
Bai Shuo whipped her head around and stared, stunned, at the silhouette of a deer galloping toward them, its hooves kicking up clouds of snow.
And on the back of this Dragon Blood Jade Deer, a beast with an extremely faint trace of dragon blood,
sat a youth in a large black cloak. His bow was drawn taut, his muscles and sinews thrumming with power. He looked at Huang Xiuwen—who had barely dodged, the arrow having only clipped the corner of his robes—with a look of surprise that quickly turned into a grin.
"Your Excellency, have you never heard the saying that even a mighty dragon struggles to crush a local snake?"
"You just arrive in Anning, and you’re already acting so arrogant and domineering, looking down on the common folk and bullying a young woman..."
"...aren’t you afraid you’ll lose your head one night!?"