Xiao Huang was overjoyed, though he did not know why. In recent days, his mother’s attitude towards him had changed dramatically. She no longer called him “dog demon” at every turn.
Though his mother still spoke little, this was enough for Xiao Huang to feel the warmth of home.
However, this warmth did not last long. The door was suddenly pounded loudly.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…!!”
The knocking was intense, and finally, with a “creak,” the door was fully opened.
“Huh?”
“It wasn’t locked?”
A surprised voice came from the doorway. Xiao Huang frowned slightly, turning to see a group of sturdy young men in grey clothes entering the house.
“Damn!”
“You mother and son are both here?”
“Since you’re both in this rundown house, why bother closing the door?”
“Not doing something shady, are you?!”
The leader, a young man, scanned the room, his gaze landing on Xiao Huang’s mother, who lay on the bed. He grinned, revealing a repulsive, ugly expression.
“Hahahaha…!!”
The men behind him burst into laughter as well.
“Liu Qiao, what do you want?!”
Xiao Huang’s gaze turned cold. He recognised these men.
They were disciples of a town guardian from the town below the mountain, and the leader was the guardian’s own son, named Liu Qiao.
These men were a gang of local thugs, relying on their master’s status as the town guardian to act recklessly. The townsfolk and neighbours were all terrified of them.
“What do I want?”
“Kid, don’t we have some accounts to settle?”
Liu Qiao sneered, reaching into his sleeve and pulling out a thick stack of IOUs, slapping them in his hand with a rustling sound. “Kid, this is the money you owe me over the years, a total of one hundred taels of gold ingots. When do you plan to pay it back?!”
“What?!”
“When did I owe you so much money?!”
Xiao Huang’s face changed, his anger rising.
“What, you dare deny it?!”
Liu Qiao’s expression darkened, then he sneered. “Then let me jog your memory. Six years ago, you came to me to borrow money to treat your paralysed mother. Forgotten so soon?!”
“You’re lying! I only borrowed ten taels of silver back then. When did it become one hundred taels of gold ingots?!” Xiao Huang roared.
“Ha! Good question!”
“You said it yourself, ten taels of silver was six years ago. Six years have passed, can’t I raise the price a bit and add some interest?”
Liu Qiao chuckled, then waved his hand, his voice stern. “Go drag that old thing off the bed. She’s a bit old, but she’ll do. With that face, she must have been a beauty in her youth!
If this dog thing doesn’t pay up today, sell his paralysed mother to the brothel to earn money for me day and night!”
“You’re courting death!!”
Xiao Huang was furious. In his rage, his robe fluttered without wind, and a gust of force shocked the approaching men, preventing them from nearing the bed.
“Enough!”
Just as Xiao Huang could barely contain his killing intent, a low shout came from behind him—his mother’s voice.
He quickly turned to look at his mother, his face full of confusion. “Mother?!”
“Xiao Huang, your name is lovely, but I hope you can be an ordinary person, not someone full of evil…”
At this, the white-haired woman paused, then looked at Liu Qiao opposite her, her voice heavy. “You’re not really here for those IOUs, are you?”
“Hahaha… So the old man was right. You’re no ordinary woman?!”
Liu Qiao’s eyes lit up, and he began to seriously size up the seemingly frail white-haired woman on the bed.
“If you dare speak disrespectfully again, I’ll kill you on the spot!”
The white-haired woman’s gaze turned icy, her eyes flashing with killing intent, startling Liu Qiao, who instinctively stepped back a few paces.
“You dare threaten me?!”
But soon, Liu Qiao regained his composure, his face darkening as he looked at the white-haired woman and the dog thing glaring fiercely at him. He sneered. “No, you won’t kill me!”
“My father said if you kill me, he’ll reveal your secret to the world. Then there’ll be no place for you in this town, or even in the entire Southern Border!”
“My father also said you want to live a simple life with human warmth. Since you’ve endured for so long, you wouldn’t push yourself to a dead end.”
“Your life is short. Even if you don’t care about yourself, don’t you care about this dog…”
“Shut up!!”
Before Liu Qiao could finish, the white-haired woman roared, interrupting him, her voice heavy. “What do you really want? Just say it!”
At this, Liu Qiao’s smile widened, the corners of his mouth curling up. “My father said you studied under a fallen alchemist, so you have the art of alchemy. And you were once seen using sword-control techniques from afar.
Of course, there’s also that extraordinary movement technique!
All of these… I want them!”
“You’re quite ambitious. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you and then go to town to kill your father?” The white-haired woman trembled with anger.
“Aunt Hong, you wouldn’t do that. My master has arrived. He said he misses his former junior sister but doesn’t want to disturb your life. So he sent me, his disciple, to pay respects.
My master said, once he gets those things, he’ll leave the Southern Border and doesn’t wish to create more bloodshed before departing.”
Liu Qiao’s words made the white-haired woman tremble. She seemed to understand everything.
So the one truly scheming against her wasn’t Liu Qiao and his father, but her senior brother, who had already schemed against her once before!
“Hah… Senior Brother… Why do this to me!”
“Is it just because of our master’s legacy?!”
The white-haired woman’s face was filled with sorrow, two streams of tears sliding from the corners of her eyes as she instinctively closed them.
“Huang’er.”
“Mother, your child is here!”
Xiao Huang, feeling his mother’s sorrow, was also in pain.
“You go outside first. Come back in after I hand over the things to them.”
The white-haired woman took a deep breath, opened her eyes again, now devoid of any light, exuding a chilling coldness.
Xiao Huang looked at his mother with concern but obediently walked out of the house.
“Close the door!”
The white-haired woman instructed again, and Xiao Huang complied.
Once he closed the door, the white-haired woman looked at Liu Qiao and his group, speaking calmly. “I indeed don’t have long to live. I wanted to linger a bit longer to watch my son grow, but you insist on forcing me!”
“Aunt… Aunt Hong, what… what are you going to do? I advise you to think about the consequences!”
Liu Qiao was startled by her words, sensing something, and instinctively retreated towards the door, then waved his hand, shouting. “What are you all standing there for? Kill her!”
As his words fell, the group charged towards the white-haired woman.
Liu Qiao turned to flee, but as he did, a dark shadow appeared before him. His throat tightened, and he was lifted off the ground by a tremendous force.
At the same time, the white-haired woman opened her mouth, and a silver light flashed out, disappearing in an instant before returning to her mouth.
“Bang bang bang bang…!!”
The men rushing towards her collapsed, their heads separated from their bodies!
“Huang’er, why did you…”
The white-haired woman looked towards the door, seeing it open, her son holding Liu Qiao by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
“Mother, your child has grown up. I can’t let you handle everything!”
“And I feel my path should be my own. If I’m destined not to be human in this life, then I’ll earnestly be a demon!”
“That way, no one will dare bully us again!”
