The woman in the long dress sailed across the water in her boat, instantly becoming the most eye-catching figure on the sea.
Du Xiaoqing and the other three Dockmasters were drinking wine in the main hall when they suddenly saw Sanhuang rushing in from outside, flustered and terrified, making them puzzled and confused.
"Sanhuang, did sothing happen?" Du Xiaoqing put down his wine cup and asked.
"My, my, my mother is here. What should I do?" Sanhuang’s face was filled with anxiety.
But unlike his panic, Du Xiaoqing was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "Is that so? Well, that’s great news, Sanhuang. I heard Young Master Qin say that you and your mother have been separated for long. Now that she’s co to find you, it’s a perfect day for a mother and son reunion—don’t worry. I’ll take so people to greet your mother right now and be sure to host her well."
"No, no, it’s not that." Sanhuang shook his head repeatedly. "Run—we have to run. If my mother sees with you, she won’t just tornt , she’ll definitely kill you all. Run, we all have to run!"
Everyone was bewildered after hearing this.
Based on what Sanhuang said, his mother was no kind woman at all—she could be described as venomous as a scorpion or snake.
For a mont, Du Xiaoqing said, "Don’t worry. Let go et her. With here, this woman can’t possibly do anything to you."
Du Xiaoqing prided himself as a master of Inner Strength—if not for running into soone as overwhelming as Qin Yuesheng, even with only four Dockmasters of the Twelve Linked Rings left, it wasn’t a place where just anyone could co and cause trouble.
Sanhuang had lived with them in the Twelve Linked Rings for days on end, was sensible and clever, and was well-liked by everyone. On top of that, he was also the disciple of Qin Yuesheng—no matter what, Du Xiaoqing could never let Sanhuang suffer any harm on their turf.
So he called the other three Dockmasters and led Sanhuang towards the shore together.
...
The small boat was just over two zhang from the shore when the woman in the long dress could no longer hold back; she grabbed the thick rope trailing at the back of the boat, and with a large stride leaped lightly over the sea like a swallow, landing effortlessly on the shore.
She touched down without a sound, her robes steady—clearly she too was a master of Inner Strength.
The coarse rope in her hand, as soon as it hit land, the corpse tied to it pressed wet into the sand, making the sight all the more bizarre.
"You bastard mongrel, where do you think you can run? If I don’t keep you by my side tornting you for life, making you live as a dog or a pig, I’ll never quench the hatred in my heart!" the long-dressed woman muttered coldly to herself, imdiately yanking the thick rope and dragging it toward the Twelve Linked Rings.
At the sa ti, Du Xiaoqing and the others happened to be walking out from within the Twelve Linked Rings, and thus the two parties ran right into each other.
At the sight of his long-lost mother, the psychological shadow branded onto Sanhuang since childhood erupted; terrified, he covered his head, knelt down and hugged his knees, shuddering and spasming, not daring for an instant to look at the woman in the long dress.
Du Xiaoqing and the other three, seeing this, were all dumbstruck—Sanhuang, in their minds, was never a coward.
"Hahaha! You mongrel! You actually dared to co seeking ." Upon seeing Sanhuang, the long-dressed woman laughed to the sky, as if seeing sothing utterly hilarious: "It’s only been a while, and you’ve grown so guts, eh? What? Are these four fellows your helpers? You think you can count on them to deal with ?"
Sanhuang curled tightly into a ball, not daring to make a sound in reply.
On the Twelve Linked Rings’ turf, how could Du Xiaoqing let any outsider woman be so brazen? He imdiately shouted, "Where did this crazy woman co from? Only for Sanhuang’s sake are we not roughing you up—be smart and get the hell out, or you’ll suffer a beating."
A cold glint flashed in the woman’s eyes. "What mangy dog are you, daring to talk to like that!"
She waved her slender arm, and the thick rope swept over. The corpse tied to it had been soaked in seawater for so long it stank to high heaven. With the woman’s strength, she smashed it straight at Du Xiaoqing, raising a gust of stench; Du Xiaoqing’s face changed drastically, he hurriedly drew two iron pens from his waist, leaped aside to dodge the incoming rope, slashed with his pens, and the sharp tip cut the rope, sending the corpses crashing to the ground.
When they could finally see the corpses tied to the rope, Du Xiaoqing’s group was both shocked and furious.
Though the bodies’ features were unrecognizable from soaking, from the clothes they wore, they could see they were brothers from the Twelve Linked Rings.
The Twelve Linked Rings had run rampant near the East Sea for years—every day, many water bandits would set out for fat prey.
Apparently the corpses on this rope were all the crew from so boat that had gone out but hadn’t returned.
"What a vicious old hag! So ruthlessly poisonous!" Du Xiaoqing imdiately brandished his weapon and charged. Jin Haishi and Iron Whistle would never just stand aside either, drawing their own weapons and following Du Xiaoqing to attack the woman in the long dress.
The more seasoned the man of the martial world, the less likely he’d underestimate a woman—sotis, those seeming frail were far more dangerous than a burly Great Han.
This long-dressed woman could swing a rope tied with over a dozen adult corpses—her arm strength was monstrous, her skills truly formidable.
Seeing three n attack, the woman didn’t even move from her spot. She tossed away the cut rope from her hand, shaped her palms into claws and slashed out; instantly, green claw-shadows swept forth in waves, murderous intent surging, claws lashing at the three from head to toe.
You know what kind of master you’re facing as soon as they make a move.
When they saw this deluge of claw-shadows, Du Xiaoqing and the others went ashen, quickly using their weapons to defend their vital points and block as much as they could.
But the long-dressed woman’s Inner Strength was so imnse, the three weren’t even close to her match.
Rip! Rip! Rip!
In a flash, a chunk of flesh was torn from Du Xiaoqing’s thigh—bone showing in the wound; Jin Haishi’s belly was raked open, his guts spilling out between his legs, dead as could be; only Iron Whistle was lucky, scalp torn with five bloody scratches, blood pouring down nonstop.
"Centipede Thousand Claw Hand! You—you’re ’Poisonous-Tongued Lady’, Liu Ruoye!" Du Xiaoqing, in the Twelve Linked Rings, had always been the most learned and worldly.
A few years ago, he’d gone to the Central Plains to look for a teacher. Though he’d co back empty-handed, he’d seen a lot.
The World Rankings was sothing Du Xiaoqing had followed closely at the ti.
Only the most powerful made it onto those rankings—making the World Rankings ant one’s strength was beyond all doubt.
Du Xiaoqing rembered clearly: ranked 156th, ’Poisonous-Tongued Lady’ Liu Ruoye—adept in the top-tier technique "Centipede Thousand-Handed Claw". When she struck, claw-shadows filled the sky, every shadow ford from Inner Strength, awesoly powerful.
Yet even that wasn’t her deadliest move. This woman’s nickna, ’Poisonous-Tongued Lady’, ant her deadliest skill was with her mouth. Just what exactly she could do, Du Xiaoqing didn’t know—all he knew was, those who had seen Liu Ruoye open her mouth, were either experts as fearso as she, or else dead n lying on the ground.
"Sanhuang’s mother is actually Liu Ruoye—how can that be! I’ve never heard of this demoness ever being with a man!" Du Xiaoqing’s face was still and grave—he knew his side’s strength all too well. Not one of them could possibly stand against Liu Ruoye.
Realizing he’d provoked such a demoness, Du Xiaoqing cursed inwardly, fearing his life would end right here today.
"You’ve got so learning, but you still have to die." Liu Ruoye sneered and imdiately lashed her clawed hand toward the top of Du Xiaoqing’s head.
Du Xiaoqing knew the woman would never let him off; he would never kneel and beg for rcy, nor be captured without a fight. He whirled his iron pens into a howling storm—two flashes of silver greeting Liu Ruoye’s palm.
Liu Ruoye’s hand closed like a steel claw, and the iron pens shattered at the tip as if made of tofu.
For masters of deep Inner Strength, crushing rock and iron blocks was nothing—Du Xiaoqing’s iron pens were nothing special, so this end under Liu Ruoye’s grip was only normal.
Smack!
Just as her palm was about to strike Du Xiaoqing’s chest, a dark shape suddenly shot in from the side, squarely blocking in front of him and taking the fatal blow.
Cold sweat pouring, Du Xiaoqing saw it was one of the corpses from Liu Ruoye’s broken rope—Iron Whistle had desperately flung it over. Without it, Du Xiaoqing, unable to dodge, would be dead now.
"You’re bold, aren’t you! No one has ever dared to save those I intend to kill. You spare his life—you’ll pay for it with your own," Liu Ruoye shouted, whirling on Iron Whistle to kill him.
This move carried a surging killing intent; Iron Whistle raised his two knives, slashing frantically like a trapped beast.
But the gap in their strength was far too vast—Iron Whistle barely blocked three claw-shadows before one slamd into his skull, gouging out five holes instantly.
Liu Ruoye seized Iron Whistle’s head, flinging him high; Iron Whistle’s body shot into the air, spraying red and white in midflight.
In Liu Ruoye’s hand, half a skull dangled by the skin and hair.
Smack!
Iron Whistle’s corpse crashed down, kicking up clouds of dust.
All was silent. Even Du Xiaoqing, at this mont, felt a chill crawl through his bones—his will to fight was thoroughly crushed.
The gulf in strength between them and Liu Ruoye was truly as wide as earth and sky—even at their height, the Twelve Dockmasters together might not be her match.
"Mother, mother—it’s all my fault! It—it has nothing to do with them! I’ll go with you, just please spare him!" Sanhuang, who had been groveling on the ground all this ti, couldn’t bear to watch more deaths at Liu Ruoye’s hands.
Though Du Xiaoqing and the others were water bandits, they’d always treated him well. Having been tornted by Liu Ruoye since childhood and, after escaping, captured and enslaved by river pirates, Sanhuang had never once known true kindness.
Du Xiaoqing and the others, though they only cared for him for Qin Yuesheng’s sake, had shown Sanhuang a sliver of warmth in this world.
Now, at last, he couldn’t stand aside anymore. Timidly, he staggered over to beg and plead.
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