Li Qingming walked out of the courtyard gate with a long sword at her waist and saw three familiar faces.
The three were all about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with upright postures and distinguished appearances. Although dressed as servants, their blue short shirts were of exquisite material, clean and tidy, clearly from the household staff of a wealthy family.
Li Yuan, Li Li, Li Peng.
The three loyal followers and lackeys of Li Ping, the second steward of the Li Family in QingCyan Cloud yun City.
Second steward Li Ping was a loyal lackey of the Lady of the House, Lu Xin, and Li Qingming was at odds with Lu Xin as fire and water, so these three were naturally enemies, not friends.
Upon seeing these three, the young girl's pretty eyebrows knit slightly.
"Just the three of you? Where's Li Ping?"
The tallest and most sturdy of the three, Li Peng, with an honest face, said, "Brother Ping was found slacking off in his training by the master and was punished to run laps around the city. By now, he should have run to the Cyan Cloud River..."
The skinny tall Li Li kicked him aside, interrupting his act of revealing family scandal, then cleared his throat and said, "Brother Ping is busy working for the master and the lady, handling countless matters every day, where would he have time for trivial matters like the demolition of the old residence. If Miss wants to see Brother Ping, we can arrange an appointment for you..."
Li Qingming immediately flared up upon hearing this, "Do I need an appointment to see Li Ping?"
Li Peng also nodded in agreement, "She is the master's own daughter, Brother Ping is just a second steward, it should be Brother Ping coming to see her."
Li Li was furious, "You fool, whose side are you on!? What were you told before we came? If you haven't memorized your lines, don't interrupt at will!"
Li Yuan then spoke in a tone as if reciting, "Although Miss Qingming is the master's own daughter, her influence index within the family is only 17.3, slightly inferior to Brother Ping's 18.1..."
Li Qingming became increasingly angry, these three fools were so stupid in their provocation that one couldn't bear to look directly at them!
Shen Garden was one of the few inheritances her mother, Shen Yue'e, left her before she passed away. Yet, not long ago, she was suddenly informed that this garden had been included in the family's demolition plan by the patriarch, Li Fengyun!
The scoundrel Li Fengyun was devoted to Immortal Dao Cultivation all his life, indifferent to family affairs, completely hands-off. Such despicable acts clearly could only be carried out by that wicked woman Lu Xin!
While Li Qingming's mother, Shen Yue'e, was alive, she was the only companion by Li Fengyun's side despite her status as a concubine. It wasn't until after her mother's death that Lu Xin entered the Li Family Mansion. Lu Xin was filled with envy and resentment towards this, naturally venting her anger on Li Qingming, often reducing her daily expenses and pocket money due to her unsatisfactory cultivation progress, causing the dignified patriarch's eldest daughter to fall to the pitiful state of having only plain soup and cabbage every day.
The current demolition plot was naturally the result of Lu Xin's greed. Not long ago, Li Qingming submitted a letter of protest, angry at Lu Xin's vicious nature, yet the protest letter sank like a stone in the sea. After a long time, she received a reply bearing Li Fengyun's personal seal, but its content simply returned the complaint on the grounds of non-compliance with grammatical norms in letter format!
Just as Li Qingming's anger was brewing and about to overturn, Wang Jiu's voice rang in her mind.
"Eh, you are actually the patriarch's eldest daughter?"
Li Qingming was startled by this sudden voice, her whole body shivered, then she shouted angrily in her mind, "Wang Jiu! You're mind-peeking on me again!"
"According to the Master-Servant Contract, I have always been watching openly and aboveboard, peeking is a term used to describe..."
"I know! This is none of your business, don't cause trouble here!"
Wang Jiu said, "I just happen to have something to remind you..."
"No time! I'll talk to you again after I deal with these three servants." Li Qingming fiercely cut off the communication with her master, on the other side, calmly facing those three, she said coldly, "I don't care how your plans are designed, I live here and will go nowhere."
Having said this, she turned her back on those three lackeys, but as soon as she did, she felt a slight tingling at the back of her neck. Her martial arts-trained instincts sent a warning signal, prompting her to instinctively lunge forward to dodge the impending malice from behind.
But the attack from behind came too fast, just as her body's center of gravity began to lean forward, someone lightly tapped her shoulder. Then, a dull yet irresistible force spread through her body along her shoulder, paralyzing her, making her unable to move.
"Miss, pardon us."
Li Li's voice behind her was particularly grating and hateful.
"Before Brother Ping started running laps... oh no, before handling numerous affairs, he instructed us that although Miss outwardly soft yet firm inside, she might not hesitate to fall out with the family to hold her ground. To avoid trouble when we commence our work, we must first invite miss back to the family mansion. Unfortunately, the three of us might be full of brute force, but we wouldn't dare lay a hand on Miss, so we asked Brother Ping for a Body-Stabilizing Puppet Talisman. In a while, Miss might have to follow us back to the family for a couple of days. Once the work is finished here, we will definitely arrange a new residence for Miss."
Li Qingming felt a burning rage within, wishing she could execute these three bastards with a thousand cuts, while also feeling an inner panic fearing that if she really left, she might never see this familiar little courtyard again.
Although Li Li, Li Peng, and Li Yuan each possessed considerable martial prowess, enough to be top-notch experts in the Martial Arts world, they were not even worth mentioning in Li Qingming's eyes. At age ten, upon graduating from the Inner Sect Body Refining Class, she was already a transcendent master in the Martial Arts world.
However, the Body-Stabilizing Puppet Talisman was an Immortal Talisman, even though it was just the most basic White Talisman, it easily immobilized Li Qingming. Without mastering Controlling Qi into Wind, she couldn't resist the force of the talisman.
Anxiety, resentment, even shame and regret, all these emotions surged in at once, making the girl's eyes sore and her vision blurred. Just at this moment, Wang Jiu's voice rang out again.
"Ah, I was just trying to warn you earlier that someone wanted to bind you with a Puppet Talisman."
"...And then?"
"Then you said you were too busy, don't you remember your own words?"
"Of course I remember! Are you mocking me now?!"
"No, I just thought you might have some free time now, so I reminded you."
"Don't you think it's too late now?"
"Is it too late already? Well, forget it then. I was going to help you break free, but since it's too late..."
"Wait, you can help me break free?!"
"Of course, it's just a White Talisman, what's so hard about that?"
"Then what are you waiting for?!"
"Waiting for when you have time..."
If Wang Jiu's voice hadn't sounded genuinely sincere, Li Qingming would have rewritten her little list of enemies to put his name at the top!
"Help me break free now, and also, we might have to fight those three idiots later. Although they're not that strong individually, their teamwork is quite troublesome. You must cooperate with my moves."
Wang Jiu said, "A fight? Sure, why not!"
With that, he sent a gentle breeze from the Sword World into Li Qingming's body, and the power of the Body-Stabilizing Talisman was immediately blown away like smog. Li Qingming felt a sudden release, the pressure as heavy as a mountain had vanished without a trace!
The girl was visibly pleased: Wonderful! I never expected this Whiteboard Dull Sword to truly decipher an Immortal Talisman! Just for this, I've already made back my 9 taels of silver many times over! If I took this Deciphering Talisman Sword to auction, I bet hundreds of taels of silver would be fought over for it... No, being able to instantly break a White Talisman, exchanging it for Wind Crystals would be more than enough. I'd never have to eat plain soup again—oh, damn, what the heck am I daydreaming about?!
Next, the plan was to catch those three off guard, subdue one first, then deal with the other two. With my current strength, it should be easier... However, those three are inseparable and work together incredibly well. I only have a fleeting opportunity, but if I were to use the Windchasing Sword's opening move on Li Yuan, there's an eighty to ninety percent chance it would work.
Yet before Li Qingming could finish her thoughts, her arm suddenly moved uncontrollably, grasped the long sword at her waist, and she was pulled forward as if by an invisible rope, stumbling right toward the tallest and strongest of them, Li Peng!
The girl screamed inwardly: Wang Jiu, what are you doing!? Are you trying to get me killed?!
As expected, although Li Peng was slow-witted, his body was unbelievably agile. Just as Li Qingming aimed to thrust her sword at his back, he felt a tingle behind him and reflexively twisted his body, his right arm swelling an entire size. Blue veins twisted like venomous snakes, and his arm, as if an iron rod, swept downward, blocking Li Qingming's sword path.
The sword was too slow to rise, already unable to bypass Li Peng's iron-like arm. The Whiteboard Dull Sword couldn't possibly harm Li Peng's seventh-level Qilin Arm Divine Skill, merely clashing against the skin with a loud clang, causing the sword to veer off course.
Then, to Li Qingming's incredulous gaze, the Whiteboard Dull Sword barely grazed Li Peng's waist, causing him to widen his eyes, silently clutch his waist, and fall to the ground, retching uncontrollably.
At the same time, Li Yuan and Li Li had already become cautious, one drawing two short swords, and the other raising the Qimei Staff defensively in front of his chest. However, what happened next was a replay of the previous scene. The Whiteboard Dull Sword clashed heavily against both men's weapons, the sword path jerking erratically like a loose kite, making single lines across their chests and thighs.
Then those two curled up on the ground like shrimp, retching continually.
Li Qingming was flabbergasted, "What did you do to them!? Is there poison on the sword?"
"Pfft!" Wang Jiu rarely spat out a curse, "Poisoning such a finely crafted and exquisite me? Why don't you try eating carrots with your nose?! I just hit their vulnerable spots. The three of them must have been practicing some kind of Outer Sect defensive skill, but they clearly haven't mastered it. Their vulnerable spots are bigger than your face."
"Hey!?" Petite Li Qingming clutched her blushing face, puzzled inside.
These three's protective skills may not be the highest cultivation technique, but they're secretly passed down in the Li Family's Outer Sect, top tier in Martial Arts, nearly at an Immortal Level. How could it have such large vulnerable spots? Moreover, who's vulnerable spot is located at their waist or legs?
No, this type of Hard Qi Skill that manages Qi Blood, unless practiced to nine levels of small completion, apart from fixed vulnerable spots, would have intermittent points along the Eight Extraordinary Meridians as the Qi Blood circulates. Such fleeting mobile vulnerable points are hard to catch, even for Immortal Practitioners at the Wind-Rising Realm, let alone with a slow sword stance, managing to strike exactly at the Qi Blood discontinuity...
Looking again at the seemingly ordinary Whiteboard Dull Sword at her waist, Li Qingming felt a bit dizzy, vaguely beginning to ponder this question.
Could it be that this Whiteboard Dull Sword...is just incredibly lucky?!
If I let it help me draw a lottery ticket, could I quickly become Wealthy Enough to Rival a Country!?