"Be careful, you two!" Zhen Xia shouted, summoning all her strength for a brief moment to increase her speed. She reached out to hold the two girls in each arm, swiftly avoiding the oncoming horses.
Soon, Zhen Xia successfully dodged the horses, causing the horse carriage to come to a halt. The young girl disembarked slowly, her anger evident as she turned to glare at Zhen Xia and ground her teeth in fury. She exclaimed, "You ugly bitch! How dare you interfere in my affairs? Those two little bitches had the audacity to get in my way; they deserve death."
"Who are you calling a bitch? I believe the only one deserving of that title here is you," Zhen Xia retorted, slowly lowering Sese and Xu to the ground and then pointing her finger at the young girl standing beside the carriage.
"Who goes there?" the young girl shouted.
The guards rushed toward her, bowing their backs as they asked, "Young miss, what are your orders?"
"Kill those three commoners," the young girl ordered, pointing her finger at Zhen Xia and the other two girls.
The guards hesitated, their reluctance to follow the young girl's command evident.
"What's the matter? Don't tell me you no longer wish to follow my orders?" the young girl barked, her face contorted in anger.
"We will follow... we will follow..." the guards reluctantly complied and drew their swords from their sheaths, moving toward Zhen Xia.
"How dare you?" Zhen Xia shouted, drawing her own sword with a resounding clang. Like a lioness, she pounced on them, attacking with all her strength.
"Clang... clang…"
"Ah..."
"Ahhh..."
Many guards were injured, and a few of their body parts fell to the ground, staining the area with blood.
*Clap... Clap...*
"Not bad... not bad..." The leader of the guards slowly emerged from the group, some of whom were holding their injured body parts.
"You're quite strong, but not strong enough to take on me. Just surrender, and I'll grant you a painless death. If you resist, you'll meet a graveless one," said the guard's leader, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.
"Hmph, I'd like to see how you plan to give us a 'graveless' death," retorted Zhen Xia, advancing toward the guard's leader with determination.
"Storm Shadow Slice!" Zhen Xia shouted, directing her attack at a vital part of the guard's leader.
"What a powerful sword attack," the guard's leader thought inwardly, using all his strength to narrowly dodge the attack.
"Silver Mist Slice!" the guard's leader countered, launching an attack at Zhen Xia, who had depleted much of her internal energy in her previous move.
Though she managed to evade the attack narrowly, she was severely injured by the guard leader's strike.
*Puff...*
Zhen Xia spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt on the ground, struggling to maintain consciousness.
"Sister Zhen Xia..."
Two little girls rushed to Zhen Xia, extending their hands to support her with worried expressions.
"You two, hurry, run away from here..." Zhen Xia urged them urgently.
"No... we'll stay with you and protect you," declared Xu, positioning herself in front of Zhen Xia.
"What are you doing? You don't have to risk your lives for me," Zhen Xia exclaimed, feigning anger.
"We are family," Xu replied, extending her arms protectively, like a mother hen guarding her chicks.
"Family..." Zhen Xia gazed at Xu's back, tears streaming down her face.
"What a touching family," remarked the guard's leader, aiming his energy slash attack at Xu.
"No..." Zhen Xia struggled to reach Xu before the attack struck, but her injuries slowed her down. Despite this, she managed to use her remaining energy to shield Xu from the brunt of the attack.
Both Xu and Zhen Xia fell unconscious on the ground, leaving Sese to watch them with tears in her eyes. She then turned to the guard's leader with an angry expression.
"Deal with this little girl," the guard's leader ordered before walking away.
"Yes, sir," the guards acknowledged and directed all their attacks at the three of them.
"While I'm still alive, I won't let you hurt Sister Zhen Xia and Sister Xu!" Sese shouted, creating a protective barrier around them. Even though she wasn't fully recovered, her current strength, as a transformed demon beast, allowed her to defend herself.
Swoosh... swoosh...
The guards' attacks relentlessly assaulted the barrier, with Sese exhausting her energy. The barrier teetered on the brink of collapse when suddenly, a young man appeared before her, reminiscent of the previous instance when she was attacked by other cultivators during her tribulations.
At present...
"Let's go. I'll show that wench hell," Ronin declared, a ruthless glint in his eyes.
"Hmm," Zhen Xia nodded in agreement. They both left the room and approached the innkeeper to gather information about the young girl who had harmed Zhen Xia and the two other girls.
Leaving the inn behind, they made their way to the Lin mansion via the rooftop. After a few minutes, they reached the mansion. Ronin kicked open the entrance and strolled inside, hands casually resting on his hips.
"Who dares to cause trouble in the Lin mansion?" shouted Steward Lin Dai, as guards quickly surrounded Ronin and Zhen Xia, glaring at them menacingly.
"Bring that wench out of your damn mansion," Ronin calmly demanded, paying little heed to the guards encircling them.
"Which wench?" Steward Lin Dai inquired, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Your young miss, the one with the big butt," Ronin replied, a sly smile playing on his lips.
"Young miss? Big butt?" Steward Lin Dai nearly choked on his own saliva. He looked around with a fearful expression and pointed a trembling finger at Ronin. "You... you dare to insult and slander our family's young miss? Do you have a death wish?"
Ronin inserted a finger into his ear and shook it, saying, "Fly." He then turned to Zhen Xia and instructed her, "Take care of them. If there are any big flies, leave them to me to crush with my fingers."
"Hmm," Zhen Xia nodded in agreement. She drew her sword from its sheath and swiftly moved towards the guards with lightning speed.
"Ahh..."
Each strike claimed the life of a single guard. She continued her relentless assault, and within a few minutes, she had incapacitated all the guards, leaving them sprawled on the ground. She then swung her blood-stained sword through the air to rid it of the gore.