As for Lin Jiao Jiao, she was utterly incredulous at this moment.
She had always looked down on Ling Xiao, repeatedly mocking and provoking him. Yet, in the end, it was this very person who saved her. Otherwise, if she had fallen into the hands of that lecherous Hua Hua Tai Sui, she would have wished for death.
Her face immediately displayed an extremely complex expression.
Self-mockery?
Shame?
Shock?
Probably a mix of all these emotions, but the disdain and contempt were gone for good.
Thinking back on her past actions, she realised they were like a childish tantrum from someone who hadn’t seen the world, utterly embarrassing.
“Thank you for saving me,” Lin Jiao Jiao said.
“Saved you? Oh, don’t get the wrong idea. I just found you in the way, so I tossed you aside casually. It wasn’t about saving you, so don’t feel indebted. I dealt with him for other reasons,” Ling Xiao said, truly not kind enough to save someone who had mocked him. Throwing her to Zhan Lei was just incidental.
“You!” Lin Jiao Jiao wished she could crawl into a hole.
She thought she was a heaven’s chosen, but it turned out he didn’t even care about her.
Her face paled, and she lowered her proud head. The boy who seemed so insignificant before now appeared towering in her eyes.
On the other side, Hua Hua Tai Sui, amidst his agonised screams, came to his senses.
“Scoundrel, you dare attack me? Do you know who I am?” Pain made speaking difficult, his face filled with torment and rage, “I’m Hua Hua Tai Sui! You dare touch me, I’ll slaughter your entire family!”
“Tch, if I didn’t know who you were, I wouldn’t have bothered,” Ling Xiao said, plopping down on Hua Hua Tai Sui’s body, continuing, “Linglong Fairy’s face, Wang She’s lackey, heh, take a good look at who I am.”
At that moment, Ling Xiao removed his disguise, revealing his true face.
“Ling Xiao!” Hua Hua Tai Sui and Zhan Lei’s group shouted the name almost simultaneously.
“Heh, seems I’m quite famous,” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
“Impossible! You fled into Thousand Ghost Forest; how could you still be alive?” Hua Hua Tai Sui shouted in terror.
Zhan Lei and the others were equally stunned. It was said that no martial artist, not even Heavenly Human Realm experts, had ever come out of Thousand Ghost Forest alive. How could Ling Xiao, with his mere early fifth-level Mortal Realm cultivation, still be alive?
“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m very much alive. What can I say? Even the heavens don’t want me dead,” Ling Xiao said, shrugging.
“Kill him! Hurry up and kill him, you useless fools!” Hua Hua Tai Sui yelled at the men he brought.
But not one of them dared approach Ling Xiao.
In the minds of Sand Family Fort’s martial artists, Ling Xiao was practically a demon god!
He had killed Linglong Fairy and two Moonflower Sect experts, then fled into Thousand Ghost Forest.
They thought this demon god was done for.
Yet today, the demon god reappeared, alive and well, subduing Hua Hua Tai Sui with a single move.
This wasn’t human!
“Looks like your men don’t dare make a move,” Ling Xiao said with a soft chuckle.
“If you don’t act now, none of you will live when we get back!” Hua Hua Tai Sui roared in fury.
Ling Xiao looked at them leisurely, saying, “I’ll give you a chance to live. Each of you, come over and stab this guy once, then you can leave.”
“Hero Ling, are you serious?” one asked.
“Of course. Don’t you want to kill this villain?” Ling Xiao replied.
“We do! Of course we do! This Hua Hua Tai Sui is utterly despicable. We’ve wanted him dead for ages, but we’re too weak to fight him,” another said.
“Then it’s simple. I’m giving you that chance now. Don’t waste it,” Ling Xiao said, standing up and stepping aside, gesturing for them to proceed.
Hua Hua Tai Sui tried to struggle, but strangely, no matter how he moved, he couldn’t break free from the four swords.
“Don’t waste your energy. Those aren’t ordinary swords; they’re part of a small confinement array. Unless you have ten thousand jin of strength, forget it,” Ling Xiao said calmly.
The men following Hua Hua Tai Sui approached with their blades.
“Hua Hua Tai Sui, you have this day too! Remember my daughter you sold to a brothel?”
“And my wife!”
“Everyone here has a deep grudge against you!”
“Kill!”
“If you dare touch me, Beast King Palace won’t let you off!” Hua Hua Tai Sui, in a panic, finally brought up Beast King Palace.
“Heh, Beast King Palace won’t care about a filthy rapist’s life. As for Wang She, I’m heading to Sand Family Fort to take his,” Ling Xiao said.
Hearing this, the men hesitated no longer.
Pfft!
Pfft!
…
In moments, Hua Hua Tai Sui’s body was pierced by over a dozen swords, leaving him barely clinging to life.
“Remember this: justice is clear, and retribution is swift!” Ling Xiao said, slicing off Hua Hua Tai Sui’s head with one stroke.
Looking at the thoroughly dead Hua Hua Tai Sui, Zhan Lei and the others felt a chill run through them.
This boy was terrifying.
“Demon god!” Zhan Long exclaimed.
“Are you talking to me?” Ling Xiao asked with a smile.
“Please, Brother Ling, spare my cousin,” Zhan Lei said, quickly pulling Zhan Long and Zhan Hu to their knees.
“Relax, I’m not a bloodthirsty killer. Demon god, huh? I rather like that title. Alright, you’re done here. Sand Family Fort is just ahead, and you don’t need my protection anymore. Head back yourselves,” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Lin Jiao Jiao, now emotionally overwhelmed, kept kowtowing to Ling Xiao in apology.
She was likely terrified by Ling Xiao’s decisive, ruthless style just now.
“Goodbye!” Ling Xiao didn’t glance at Lin Jiao Jiao. With a flash, he vanished into the dense forest.
“Xiao Jiao, now do you understand why I told you not to be so arrogant outside?” Zhan Lei sighed, slumping to the ground, “Thank goodness he’s not the type to slaughter innocents. Otherwise, with the things you said to him before, he’d have every reason to kill you!”
“Cousin, I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again,” Lin Jiao Jiao sobbed, tears streaming down her face. She was truly shaken. Growing up sheltered in her family, pampered by elders, she was used to bullying others and acted the same outside.
She was lucky to have met Ling Xiao. Someone else might not have been so lenient.
“Alright, stop crying. Knowing your mistake is enough. Remember, when you get back to Sand Family Fort, none of you say a word, or you’ll bring disaster on yourselves,” Zhan Lei said to his two cousins behind him.
“Got it, Cousin,” Zhan Long and Zhan Hu replied. At this moment, their hearts held not fear but excitement. They had become worshippers of this demon god.
