Chapter 13, the Thirteenth Face: Barbarian
Seeing the heatwave rushing towards Jiang Linzhi's face, Lu Huantang was terrified. But before he could stand in front of Jiang Linzhi, he saw Jiang Linzhi casually pick up a knife from the ground and block the crimson sword.
The red-hot sword, which seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, slowly faded in color from the point of contact with the blade. Not only was Jiang Linzhi's body burned away, but even his hair remained unharmed, fluttering freely in the cold wind.
Everyone was shocked.
Jiang Linzhi coldly repeated, "I'll ask you one more time, what's your name?"
The man hadn't expected his Zhu Rong Palm to have no effect on a little girl. Shocked, he lashed out, intending to kill Jiang Linzhi directly.
With a sword cry that seemed to pierce through one's internal organs, Lu Huantang's sword suddenly began to rotate around its core, shooting out and condensing powerful sword energy.
Caught off guard, the man's sword was knocked away by the sudden surge of sword energy. He felt his blood churning in his chest, as if the hot blood was about to evaporate from the top of his head, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Without hesitation, Lu Huantang seized the opportunity of the sword's momentum to kick the man's knee. The force was so great that the knee snapped backward, breaking the leg.
The man still knelt before Jiang Linzhi, his legs twisted in a bizarre way, like a shadow puppet with its strings cut. The anger in his eyes was as hot as the palm of Zhurong, as if he wanted to burn Jiang Linzhi to ashes.
Lu Huantang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, swallowed the taste of blood in his throat, and placed the sword against the neck of the person who was forcing himself to sit up straight. "The young lady is asking you a question."
"Witch! I can't kill you, and no one else will be as cowardly as me! One day, you will have to atone for your crimes of preying on the people and letting your beauty harm the world!" the man laughed loudly.
Jiang Linzhi had seen many people who wanted her dead. She squatted down and looked him in the eye, saying, "Liu Zhong is from Runan County. His ancestors were local gentry, but because they did not have the right to cultivate Zhuyan trees, they were oppressed and their family fell into decline." Jiang Linzhi tilted his head in confusion, "Local affairs are managed by people from the imperial court. I find it strange. What does this have to do with me?"
"What does it have to do with you? You're just a merchant, ignorant of politics, short-sighted, only seeing profit. You control the planting of rouge and the sale of snuff bottles, hoarding all the money in your own pocket. What does it have to do with you!"
Jiang Linzhi was unwilling to argue, nor was there anything to argue about. She wanted money, and the Sui Kingdom could not perish. The students of the Wu Kingdom wanted to get promoted and make money. They hit it off immediately. She said, "Someone, pour me a glass of water."
A servant stepped forward and poured a cup of tea.
Liu Zhong stared at the servant, his eyes wide with shock, but he said nothing.
Jiang Linzhi keenly noticed his expression and smiled, "When you ran away from home back then, your younger brother was still young, right? If you recognized him, why didn't you say hello?"
The servant looked over, somewhat bewildered. Seeing the assassin who was like a mad dog, he immediately shook his head to distance himself, saying, "My parents said that my two older brothers died long ago. This is not my brother."
He wanted to protect his younger brother, but his brother didn't acknowledge him at all. Liu Zhong angrily cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! You're treating a thief like family! She's the one who ruined our family!"
The servant Liu Xiaoping said calmly, "Miss gave all the able-bodied men in the village a way to make a living. Only with a job could I support my parents. If you really are my brother, then where were you when my parents were starving to death? Where were you when my sister-in-law was being humiliated? Where were you when my little niece was switched and used as a human sacrifice? What do you mean by harming the world? You can't even protect your own small family, so what are you saying here?"
Liu Zhong joined the Jianghu gang with the sole purpose of bringing prosperity to his family, but now he is speechless when asked this question.
Thinking of the past tragedies, Liu Xiao became more and more agitated as he spoke, "If you kill the young lady today, the people in this village who have finally managed to make a living will become refugees again. Will your justice and righteousness be enough to feed us? Will your so-called organization provide shelter for those of us who don't know martial arts?"
Jiang Linzhi sipped his tea, kicked Liu Zhong's sword back in front of him, completely unconcerned about the threat, "Whether you stay or leave is up to you."
He then ordered the guards, who had just fought a bloody battle, to collect the corpses.
With the person he wanted to kill right before him, completely unprepared, he didn't need the Zhu Rong Palm technique; a simple, ordinary sword strike would sever the very source of snuff bottle production. Liu Zhong looked at his sword, at his hands, but he couldn't lift it. His voice trembled as he said, "Nannan was...switched?"
Liu Xiao wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Five years ago, on the fifth day of the twentieth month, Old Li replaced her."
Whether you're bought to be eaten or sold into slavery, neither will end well.
Upon hearing the devastating news of his loved one, Liu Zhong's eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Jiang Linzhi with a look of utter fury. "It was you! It was you who caused this. If your family hadn't sold snuff bottles in the first place, none of this would have happened."
“My family didn’t sell snuff bottles back then, so we didn’t earn enough for the military expenses. Now we are all slaves of a conquered nation. Or to put it another way, even if my family sold snuff bottles, the flowers would still be there, and other families would sell them too. Even if my family is destroyed and these things are taken away by the court and used as tools for power struggles by noble families, they will still forcibly take away the people’s land to cultivate flowers and force the people to work for them. What’s the difference? It’s just a change of masters.”
Jiang Linzhi lifted his robe and sat down opposite Liu Zhong, his eyes clear and piercing. He added the final fuel to the fire with each word: "Everyone wants to get the snuff bottle and become a new nobleman. Those who don't get it turn around and curse me. Tell me, is this my fault or yours?"
Liu Zhongyu had no way to defend himself. If his family had not fallen into ruin, would he really have wanted to destroy the Crimson Flower?
But if what he's persisted in for so many years, and the people he's hated for so many years, are wrong, then he'll have nothing left!
Therefore, it can't be wrong!
Absolutely not!
The immense shock compelled Liu Zhong to pick up his sword, pitifully defending his beliefs. He pointed the sword at Jiang Linzhi, shouting hoarsely, "You've all been deceived by her! Deceived by her!"
The sword didn't fall in the end, but landed on Liu Xiao's shoulder, who was blocking Jiang Linzhi's way.
In that instant, Liu Zhong's expression was complicated. He finally sheathed his sword, forced Lu Huantang and the others back with a palm strike, and limped towards the village entrance as if fleeing.
Jiang Linzhi stopped Lu Huantang, gave the guards a wink, personally wiped away Liu Xiao's tears, and said softly, "I wanted to reunite you brothers, but I didn't expect it to make you sad. Don't cry, go and rest."
"Miss, you're letting him go. He'll come back for revenge." Liu Xiao grabbed Jiang Linzhi's arm, ignoring her own injuries, and pleaded earnestly.
Liu Xiao and Liu Zhong were separated at a young age and didn't have much affection for each other. In addition, he witnessed Liu Zhong kill many people, so he probably hated Liu Zhong from the bottom of his heart.
Jiang Lin said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Miss, you're very lucky! Even if you encounter danger, you'll definitely be able to turn it into safety!" Liu Xiao was excitedly led away by the doctor to have her wound bandaged.
After Liu Xiaoyi left, Jiang Linzhi helped Lu Huantang walk back, saying, "I told you I was useful, didn't I?"
"Why isn't Miss afraid of Zhu Rong's palm strike?"
“My witchcraft is the most orthodox witchcraft, how could I be afraid of his low-level little witchcraft?” Jiang Linzhi said proudly.
For someone like Lu Huantang who knew no witchcraft, Jiang Linzhi's skills were just rudimentary. But after what happened just now, Lu Huantang finally believed that Jiang Linzhi's witchcraft was indeed quite effective.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but the burning pain all over his body intensified.
Jiang Linzhi, holding the medicine box, pressed him down onto the bed, feeling inexplicably excited, and said, "Take off your clothes."
His amazing fight just now had piqued Jiang Linzhi's interest. At this moment, she looked at him like a perverted old man, a playful smile on her lips, her eyes burning with desire, making Lu Huantang feel unusually embarrassed.
The clothes fell to the ground, revealing a muscular, wasp-waisted, ape-backed man. Jiang Linzhi, under the guise of applying medicine, reached out and touched him. The powerful muscles and smooth skin were perfect in every inch. She laughed and said, "If you work hard for a few more years, your martial arts will definitely surpass Jiang Jinyi's. Besides, he will be too old to fight in a few years."
Her slender fingers gently caressed his body, seemingly a bold attempt, yet never crossing the line of applying the medicine. It was as if moss was creeping up his back, silently engulfing his entire body. Lu Huantang felt an unbearable itch from her touch, but remembering her words that night, he ultimately restrained himself.
The cool ointment was applied to the burn, and Jiang Linzhi blew on it while bandaging it. "You can't get it wet for the next few days. It's okay if it gets dirty. You can wash it after the skin peels off, otherwise the scar won't look good."
"Miss is clearly doing good deeds, why does she have to use the guise of making money?" Lu Huantang asked, pretending to sincerely submit, as he watched Jiang Linzhi carefully apply medicine to him.
"Ha, you've got it all backwards. Look at this outfit I'm wearing, do you know how much it costs?" Jiang Linzhi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"One hundred taels?" Lu Huantang didn't know much about these things, but seeing that the embroidery and accessories were of the highest quality, he casually guessed that it was expensive.
“I don’t know either,” Jiang Linzhi shrugged, looking at Lu Huantang’s depressed expression, and said slyly, “Lingjun is in charge of things in the mansion, but I know that a hundred taels of silver can’t even buy the embroidery on my clothes. This is made of peacock feathers and moonlight silk thread. A female worker can only gather a little finger length of this stuff in a day. It’s so troublesome.”
"Miss has gone to great lengths to support the refugees," Lu Huantang flattered.
She intended to show Lu Huantang how extravagant and dissolute she was, but instead, Lu Huantang discovered another measure for resettling refugees. However, this was only done to satisfy her personal desires, so let him think what he wants.
Jiang Linzhi bandaged his wounds with displeasure and said, "Say what you will. I need people to work for me, and they need to support themselves. It's a win-win situation. And you, stop with the flattery. If you really admire me, tell me the truth. If I'm not mistaken, you've already thought about my escape route after I die."
As expected, his words hit the nail on the head. Lu Huantang didn't feel a chill run down his spine, but seeing Jiang Linzhi's still angry face because he had hit the nail on the head, he knew that her questioning him was just a protective facade of shyness, so he said, "The truth may not be something Miss likes to hear."
"Then let me see you in person. You're just faking it all now, aren't you?"
Perhaps it was the excitement of the killing that made him so captivated. When the alluring eyes peered through his mask and caught sight of his true face, he hooked onto the alluring thread and pulled her into his arms.
"I'm afraid Miss won't like it."
Lu Huantang was always clear about his advantages. When it came to women, his looks were a magnet, his tenderness was a hook, his passivity was a weapon, and coupled with his guarded respect for women, he was always successful.
His deep, aggressive gaze, coupled with his alluring physique, should have been an aphrodisiac, but Jiang Linzhi suddenly burst into laughter, shattering the ambiguous atmosphere between them. She laughed so hard she almost fell over, unconsciously pushing Lu Huantang away, "Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I just suddenly found it funny, hahahahahaha."
Lu Huantang sighed, not embarrassed at all, "I already told you that Miss doesn't like it."
Jiang Linzhi wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, "No, no, we're both injured, hahaha, we'll talk about this later. It's just that, hahaha, I just didn't realize it yet, hahaha."
“Miss,” Lu Huantang suddenly said in a deep voice.
"Hmm?" Jiang Linzhi laughed so hard that she pulled at the wound on her back. "I'm not laughing anymore. Really, I'm not laughing anymore. Help me apply the medicine." Before Lu Huantang could even go find a maid, Jiang Linzhi had already reached out and loosened her belt.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
