"Don't, don't, please don't do anything rash. I'll leave right away, isn't that enough? And for the last part, there's no need to address me directly as 'your highness'; just referring to me as 'I' is fine. Empress, you need to learn to follow the local customs. Standing out too much is not always a good thing." Shangguan Zifeng hurriedly jumped into the car and floored the accelerator to make a quick getaway before Shangguan Linlang completely lost her temper, but not before he yelled this out to her.
As soon as Shangguan Linlang heard what Shangguan Zifeng said, her face darkened. Had he not left so quickly, the Empress would have dearly loved to give him a good beating. Ever since she could remember, aside from her mother, Lady Shangguan, no one had dared to lecture her like this, especially not in front of her, the Commander of the Three Armies, who held great military power. This was outright disrespect.
Shangguan Zifeng bought the anti-motion sickness medicine as quickly as possible, and then raced back as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he still underestimated the trouble-making abilities of his little ancestral master. By the time Shangguan Zifeng returned, there were already quite a number of people lying on the ground around Shangguan Linlang, including men and women, old and young. The scene was quite disheartening; everyone was groaning and lying askew on the ground, looking not too seriously injured, with no life-threatening concerns. This provided some relief to Shangguan Zifeng—at least he didn't have to watch the Empress being taken away by the police.
"What happened here? What did these people do to you to make you knock them all down?" Shangguan Zifeng ran up to Shangguan Linlang, who was still visibly upset, and carefully inquired about what had happened. But he also didn't dare to provoke this living ancestor, afraid she might give him another cold look.
"Your Highness... uh, I mean, I don't know why these people were looking at me as if I were some kind of monster. I remembered your words and kept my anger in check to avoid direct confrontation, but they just took it too far. They insisted I was from some film crew and wouldn't stop pestering me, trying to make me pose for photos. I completely didn't understand what they were saying and had already warned them to stay away from me. But these ruffians simply ignored my warnings and continued as they pleased. I couldn't help but give them a small lesson. Don't worry, though; I didn't harm their vitals, just pressed a few acupoints here and there. They'll be fine in less than half a shichen. It was just a small lesson I taught them."
Shangguan Linlang recalled how, shortly after Shangguan Zifeng left, she encountered this massive group of tourists claiming to be just visiting. One thing after another didn't make sense to her, which made the Empress feel all sorts of frustration. If possible, she really wanted to return to the Yulong Country she was familiar with. Even when dealing with Han Ziye, known for his ruthless methods, Shangguan Linlang had never felt such defeat.
"Empress, you did nothing wrong. It was these people who were rude first and ignored your warnings afterward. They deserved to be taught a lesson. Nevertheless, could you please unblock their acupoints out of kindness? Let me talk to them, and you go rest in the car. I have bought you anti-motion sickness medicine, and it's on the car seat. You can take it with water and then rest well. Once I've handled this situation, I'll take you back to the Shangguan Family right away."
Shangguan Zifeng had not anticipated that in just a short period, Shangguan Linlang would run into such a gang of idle modern people who brought trouble upon themselves. What else was bothering a person from ancient times for photos if not looking for trouble? Although he knew there was a reason for the incident, he also knew that keeping people immobilized here was not helping. The last thing he wanted was for a small issue to escalate into something bigger. With this in mind, Shangguan Zifeng began to reassure the frightened Empress, persuading her with kind words, hoping the young mistress would release the bystanders' acupoints quickly so that he could then take over and manage the rest.
"Zifeng, are you really not going to be mad at me for acting rashly? After all, I still couldn't suppress the anger in my heart. I have my faults, too."
Shangguan Linlang had thought that Shangguan Zifeng would be unforgiving, but she never expected him to defend her. Not only did he not blame her, but he also stood by her side and spoke well of her. This made Shangguan Linlang feel somewhat guilty, as she felt that she might have also acted poorly, and the Empress began to worry whether she may have caused trouble for Shangguan Zifeng.
"It's fine, Your Highness, please rest in the carriage and take the anti-motion sickness medicine quickly. I'll have this situation under control in no time, so you don't need to worry,"
Han Ziye rarely saw Shangguan Linlang talking in such a subdued tone, but he genuinely didn't feel that the Empress had done anything wrong. Seeing the young lady coyly bow her head, he actually felt she resembled his own little sister more, and emboldened, he reached out a paw to gently touch the Empress's little head. And then, his luck soured. Shangguan Linlang sent him flying with a single slap. Just when Han Ziye thought he was about to face-plant into Mother Earth's embrace, Shangguan Linlang inexplicably sprang forward and caught him with her enigmatic movements, sparing him a grim fate.
"Sorry, I'm not quite comfortable with strangers touching me. Be more careful next time, or the one getting hurt will definitely be you," Shangguan Linlang warned with a grim face the man who had been too presumptuous with her.
"I understand, I'll be more careful in the future. I really didn't mean anything by it, I just saw you as my little sister, that's all. I had absolutely no improper thoughts," Han Ziye assured her once again, emphatically. Geez, this woman is really on par with a fierce beast. He definitely needed to be mindful of his behavior in the future, lest he dies without understanding why.
Shangguan Linlang put down Han Ziye, and after ensuring he was steady, she quickly unblocked the acupuncture points of the people lying helter-skelter on the ground. Then, she left with graceful steps to take the anti-motion sickness medicine Han Ziye had bought and to rest properly.
"Alright, does anyone have anything to say? However, considering you started this disturbance, I hope we can all reconcile and turn hostility into friendship, how about that? You wouldn't want to end up at the police station over such a trivial matter, right? Everyone's time is precious, and since no one is injured, how about we shake hands and make peace?"
Han Ziye said this with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, observing the people in front of him. Initially, Shangguan's boy had planned to compensate each person a hundred bucks if they refused to reconcile, as a form of medical expense, but he hadn't expected Shangguan Linlang's swift and electrifying intervention to completely shock those people into silence. Now, where would they dare to cause more trouble? They were utterly petrified, thinking back on their encounter with a true martial arts master.
"We have no objections. It's said that fights lead to friendship. Let's part ways here, goodbye," a middle-aged man who seemed to be the ringleader of the group spoke up, then hurriedly signaled his people to scram. They moved as if they had a fierce beast on their tails.
This unexpectedly docile attitude from everyone caught Han Ziye off guard, but seeing the issue resolved smoothly, he couldn't be bothered to question it further. Striding with his long legs, he headed towards where Shangguan Linlang was. By the time Han Ziye got in the car, he found that the Empress, having taken her medicine, had already fallen asleep. He smiled indulgently and quietly took off his suit jacket to cover Shangguan Linlang. Then, he started his car and drove steadily towards Demon City.