Chapter 88 Iron Chicken

The sudden dagger startled everyone. Fan Xiaoxiao immediately pulled the old woman behind Ye Niangzi and picked up the dagger, holding it in her own hand.

Meanwhile, Iron Chicken, who had been staring intently at them from the darkness, slowly drew another dagger from his waist. His gaze swept over the faces of the group, pausing when he saw the old woman.

As a result of all this, the old woman's clothes were filthy, her gray hair was disheveled, and her face bore the marks of being slapped hard by Fan Xiaoxiao; even traces of blood could be faintly seen at the corner of her mouth. Seeing him looking over, the old woman's eyes welled with tears; her lips trembled, and her voice was extremely old and weak.

"Iron Chicken... my dear grandson..."

Seeing his great-grandfather so wretched and miserable, his anger flared up from his ribs to his heart, veins bulged on his forehead, and he was about to throw the dagger when Fan Xiaoxiao held it to the old woman's neck.

The sharp tip of the dagger forced the old woman to tilt her head back. Iron Chicken was startled by Fan Xiaoxiao's movement and instinctively wanted to step forward.

"Don't move!" Fan Xiaoxiao's shout stopped Tie Ji in his tracks. The dagger in her hand pressed against the old woman's neck, and a red welt immediately appeared. The old woman's breath caught in her throat, and she was forced to tilt her head back, her cloudy eyes filled with tears. Her lips trembled slightly, and she looked very pitiful.

Iron Chicken paused, fearing the other party might harm Azu, and dared not step forward. He put the hand holding the dagger behind his back, slightly hunching his body and taking a step back. His eyes, however, never left Fan Xiaoxiao's hand holding the dagger. He gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and shouted at Fan Xiaoxiao.

"Put down the dagger! Give Azu back to me, and I'll have the chieftain let you leave."

The little mute boy, who had been listening for a while, gave a cold laugh. His hoarse voice sounded like a duck being choked, the rustling sound hurting one's ears.

“Let you leave? Don’t listen to his nonsense. Everyone in this village knows that Iron Rooster is extremely vengeful! If you release that old hag, he will kill you right away.”

After saying that, the little mute seemed to remember something. She turned her eyes and glanced at Lady Ye beside her.

"Hey! Didn't you say you were looking for my grandfather?!"

Lady Ye raised an eyebrow slightly: "That's right."

The little mute grinned, her eyes filled with malice. Fan Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat; she sensed this girl was up to something!

Sure enough, the next moment the little mute raised his hand and pointed at the iron chicken.

"Kill him, and I'll take you to find Grandpa."

The air seemed to freeze when the little mute said those words. Iron Chicken was stunned for a moment, then, as if he had heard a joke, he licked his lips and revealed a ferocious smile.

"Him?! A blind woman. Ha..."

Before Tieji could finish speaking, he saw Ye Niangzi slightly twirling something in her hand, followed by a whooshing sound, and then he felt a sharp pain on his face. He reached down and touched it, only to find it was bleeding!

"!!!"

With a slight flick of her wrist, Lady Ye sent the deadly silver thread flying back.

"Oh dear, I missed." Madam Ye smirked, her tone somewhat nonchalant, as she toyed with the object tied to the silver thread's end. Fan Xiaoxiao glanced over slightly before she could see clearly that a small, transparent blade was attached to the silver thread's end. The speed was too fast for her to see clearly.

The wounded Iron Chicken's expression hardened, his face darkened, and he no longer dared to underestimate his opponent. He gripped the short dagger tightly behind his back.

He also used concealed weapons. Since the opponent couldn't see, he could kill the woman in one fell swoop if he could seize that advantage! However... Tieji's eyes swept over the old woman, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Watch out!!!" The old woman's terrified shout brought Tieji back to his senses, but it was too late. The ghostly hidden weapon was aimed straight for his vital point. Tieji was startled and ducked to avoid it. Without hesitation, he swung his dagger at the silver thread.

"Clang!"

The silver thread was deflected by his dagger. Lady Ye was not annoyed that she had missed again. Instead, she revealed a hunting smile, as if she was teasing her opponent.

The little mute frowned and glanced at her with some displeasure.

"What are you dawdling about? The cloud ladder made such a big commotion! The people from the village will be here soon!"

With a "whoosh," the silver thread returned to Ye Niangzi's hand. He toyed with the sharp blade for a moment, then suddenly plunged it towards the little mute's throat. Fan Xiaoxiao was startled, feeling her scalp tingle.

Fortunately, the scene of blood splattering did not occur, and the sharp blade stopped at the little mute's throat. Lady Ye, holding the blade, patted the little mute's neck with her sideways movement, her voice still lazy and nonchalant.

"Little one, I hate it when people order me around."

The little mute girl nodded blankly, startled. The cold touch on her neck sent chills down her spine. Then, remembering that the person in front of her was blind, her lips trembled. She whispered, "I...I understand."

When Lady Ye spoke to her, her back was to the iron chicken.

Seeing his opponent's obvious weakness, a cold glint flashed in Tieji's eyes.

Great opportunity!

With a flick of his wrist, Tieji swung his dagger straight at Ye Niangzi's back with a fierce, piercing motion.

"Watch out!!!" Fan Xiaoxiao exclaimed instinctively. Ye Niangzi turned around slightly with the little mute boy, and the dagger flew past them, grazing their bodies.

Then look at the iron rooster, which is now holding two daggers in its hands and charging towards them.

Lady Ye tilted her head slightly and gave a cold laugh. She took two steps forward as if strolling leisurely, her hands stroking the silver strands of hair as if combing them. Seeing this, the old woman suddenly felt a violent unease; she thought of Ah Xiang and Ah Lan!

No, Iron Chicken will die.

The thought, once it surfaced, grew wildly like weeds. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and she muttered, "No, no, I'll die..."

Fan Xiaoxiao, who was nearby, didn't hear what she said clearly and frowned.

What are you muttering about?

The old woman ignored Fan Xiaoxiao. Suddenly, she lunged forward, startling Fan Xiaoxiao, who quickly withdrew her dagger to avoid the old woman accidentally running into it and dying. However, her movements were a little too slow, and the old woman's sudden movement allowed the dagger to graz her neck.

But the old woman didn't seem to care about the injury on her neck; she shouted at the iron chicken with great emotion.

"Iron Chicken! You can't run! You can't beat me!!!"

"What?" Tieji was momentarily distracted by the old woman's voice, and just then, his vision blurred, and the blind woman who had been standing not far away suddenly disappeared from his sight. He was startled, stopped in his tracks, and his expression immediately became alert.

"Oh, too late."

The woman's soft laughter echoed behind him like a ghost, and Tieji felt his blood freeze. Before he could react, a thin silver thread was already around his neck.

"!!!"

With a thud, the head, still bearing a terrified expression, fell to the ground. The Iron Chicken's body immediately lost all support and collapsed like a rag doll. Dark red blood flowed from the severed head, trickling onto the ground and staining Lady Ye's cloth shoes.

"Iron Chicken!!!!"

(End of this chapter)