The longsword parted the air and reached the black-clad man's chest.

The man, his expression unchanged, reached out and caught the longsword between two fingers. The sword, held between his fingers, froze in front of him. But a flash of silver light appeared on the blade, and an invisible force caused the blade to vibrate, severing the man's two fingers.

The man's expression changed slightly. He raised his eyebrows a little, but still made no move.

The tip of the longsword stopped an inch from the man's chest.

Artemisia tried to stab it further, but she felt that the longsword in her hand encountered an unseen obstacle.

The man chuckled and said, "Little one, you need to practice some more."

Artemisia remained silent. The longsword in her hand shone even brighter, then scattered like snowflakes—the silver light, like a knife, sliced ​​the thin membrane protecting the man's body into pieces.

The man's red pupils narrowed slightly. The next instant, the tip of the longsword touched the man's chest.

In the blink of an eye, the longsword pierced the man's body smoothly. Without that protective layer, the man's body was no different from tofu.

Ai Cao gripped the sword hilt and twirled it halfway around. A faint expression of pain appeared on the man's face. But compared to the people Ai Cao had killed before, the pain on his face was too mild.

The mugwort asked, "Where is your soul?"

The man's smile was contorted with pain, but he still smiled: "I'm different from humans..."

Red and black smoke rose from his body. The smoke enveloped him, and his original face melted away in the smoke, becoming another unfamiliar face.

The man's long, crimson hair flowed like flames, and a dark undercurrent surged in his fiery red eyes.

What attracts the most attention are the golden vertical pupils in his red eyes.

He said arrogantly, "I don't need that kind of thing."

Ai Cao nodded. She had absolutely no empathy for men—since she didn't need to shatter her soul, there was no need for her to poke the man a few more times.

She drew her longsword. The man, having lost his support, staggered, barely managing to straighten up. His spiritual energy had been disrupted by the sword strike from the mugwort, severely damaging his meridians, leaving him unable to use any spiritual energy at all.

Ai Cao dodged and stabbed each of the black-clad followers with her sword.

She didn't know the level of cultivation of these people, so she destroyed their dantian with a single sword strike.

The sounds of men convulsing on the ground continued to rise, and now only the red-haired man remained standing.

The fact that he could stand up straight already showed his considerable strength. The red-haired man secretly tried to justify himself.

Ai Cao, carrying her sword, said to the landlady, "This time we don't need to find someone to clean up the corpses." She opened her skill panel to take a look, and seeing that the landlady hadn't responded yet, she closed the panel and looked at her.

The proprietress stared blankly at the red-haired man.

She was so scared that she could barely stand, but now she took two steps toward the red-haired man and stared straight at his face.

Her voice came out of her mouth uncontrollably.

The proprietress asked, "...Young master?"

Ai Cao glanced at the proprietress, then at the red-haired man who had turned his face away. She subtly detected a hint of shyness on the man's face—or perhaps annoyance at having his pride snubbed; in any case, men only ever showed those kinds of expressions when facing women.

Ai Cao asked, "Does the proprietress know him?"

The proprietress nodded absentmindedly.

“I wasn’t originally doing business in this area.” The proprietress composed herself and said with a sad smile, “I was originally a rich young lady, but… that day, I met my husband.”

"How ridiculous that I was so young back then, thinking that mutual affection would be enough to warm my whole life..." The proprietress raised her hand and gently stroked her belly. "Later, my husband left, and I searched for him for a long time but couldn't find him. I also discovered that I was pregnant."

"...I didn't know at the time!" The red-haired man stopped looking up and hurriedly took a step toward the proprietress. As soon as he took that step, the destroyed meridians began to reverse the flow of spiritual energy.

His face paled, and he turned his head and vomited some golden blood.

The proprietress took a step back, then covered her face and wiped away her tears: "I heard later that you had been here, so I came to this city. Who would have thought that my daughter would grow up so much, but I've never seen you even once..."

"When I saw it was you, I didn't treat you like those other monks!" The red-haired man wiped the blood from his mouth and said angrily, "I also wanted to see my daughter..."

A dark shadow rose from behind Ai Cao. The outer layer of the shadow fell, revealing Yang Lingyao and the little girl covered in dirt in her arms.

She spotted the crying proprietress at a glance, twisted her grip twice, and slid to the ground. She quickly walked in front of the proprietress, blocking her way, and yelled at the red-haired man opposite her, "And who are you, you bastard, daring to mess with my mother?"

The red-haired man stared at her blankly.

Ai Cao and Yang Lingyao briefly explained what had just happened. Yang Lingyao then cast a sympathetic glance at the proprietress, took out her weapon, and sharpened her teeth at the man, ready to take his head at any moment.

The proprietress cried as she gently pulled the little girl's hand and removed a talisman that she was wearing close to her body.

The little girl's appearance suddenly became clear as if the clouds had parted—she had short, stubble-like red hair, one black and one red eye, and looked somewhat like the man in front of her. Her eyes were full of anger, as if she could rush up and bite a piece of his flesh at any moment.

She was a little animal trying to protect her birth mother.

The proprietress cried, "I asked a wandering immortal for this talisman; otherwise, your daughter would have been drowned long ago, mistaken for a demon..."

The little girl frowned. She asked sharply, "Is he my father?"

The proprietress just cried. She had been choked once before, and even with Qingyun's help in healing her wounds, she still felt some discomfort. She cried so hard that she almost couldn't breathe several times.

Yang Lingyao quickly went to her side and patted her back to help her catch her breath.

The little girl frowned deeply. She critically scanned the man from head to toe several times, then said with a sneer, "Mom, were your tastes really that bad when you were young?"

She taunted the landlady, then turned her ire on the man, "You haven't shown up for so many years, and now you want to just pick up a daughter? You wish! You should at least take a look at yourself in the cesspool to see what you're really worth!"

The red-haired man's tenderness faltered. He lowered his voice, threatening her, "Is this how you treat your father?" His hair was practically flying in the air with rage. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't exist!"

The little girl raised her chin and said loudly, "Even without you, I'm still my mother's daughter!" She sneered at him, "What use are you? You came here and my mother cried so much. You might as well stay in some corner and die sooner!"

The proprietress tugged at the little girl's clothes, choking back tears, and said, "Little girl... don't say anymore..."

"I'm going to say it!" the little girl angrily shook off her hand. "All the suffering you've endured over the years is going to be wiped clean?" She raised her voice, as loud as a lark, "You choose him or me!"

"Nannan..."

The proprietress closed her eyes.

A clear look of struggle appeared on her face.

She said, "I choose him."