Qin Li's brow furrowed. He casually plucked a shoddy-looking sword from the wall and held it in his hand.
Qin Hanyue knew who this was. The woman was none other than the wife of the beaten Physician Wu—a typical shrew, infamous throughout the Qin Family's servant circles. She could raise hell over the most trivial matters, and nearly every servant in the Qin Family was terrified of her.
She had always been the one who took the most glee in mocking Qin Li and his mother. As his wife, she was perfectly aware of Physician Wu's intentions toward Qin Hanyue. Because of this, while she didn't dare to be too blatant, she frequently indulged in verbal jabs at Qin Hanyue's expense.
Physician Wu had already been thoroughly berated by his wife at home and was now trailing dejectedly behind her. Beside Physician Wu stood a middle-aged man in a sapphire-blue robe who carried a scholarly air.
This man was a steward of the Qin Family named Qin Yong, who held a respectable position. He had been invited by Physician Wu specifically to back him up. After all, Qin Hanyue was once the eldest young miss of the Qin Family. Without a way to completely overpower her with reason, these people wouldn't dare to do anything to the mother and son without just cause.
But with Qin Yong as a witness, things were different. If Qin Li dared to strike again, it would be a provocation against Qin Yong himself.
The Qin Yong that Physician Wu had brought over was a servant born and raised in the Qin Family; his family had served the Qins for three generations. Such people were usually highly trusted. Though his status wasn't high, he wielded real power—far more than the pitiful mother and son.
However, facing the formerly most favored young miss of the Qin Family, Qin Yong couldn't be too overbearing. He glanced at Physician Wu's wife with a hint of disdain and said lightly, "Qin Li, according to the laws of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom, though you are not an adult, your actions were wrong. Hurry up, kowtow to Physician Wu, and apologize. We'll just let this matter go."
Qin Yong spoke nonchalantly, but neither Physician Wu nor Qin Li could possibly accept such a wishy-washy resolution.
"Kowtow? What a joke! My old Wu just gets two teeth knocked out for nothing? His chest still hurts; his organs might even be injured! Steward Qin, we invited you because we believed you to be impartial, but I cannot accept this!" Wu Clan, Physician Wu's wife, was sharp-tongued and shut Qin Yong down with a single sentence.
Qin Yong frowned. If it weren't for the fact that Physician Wu was usually obedient, coupled with his own fleeting thoughts about Qin Hanyue, he would never have waded into these muddy waters today. But since he was already here, he raised an eyebrow and looked at the placid, unreadable Qin Li. "Qin Li," he said, "what do you have to say?"
A smile suddenly appeared on Qin Li's still somewhat childish face. He ignored Wu Clan, who was muttering incessantly, and instead beckoned to Physician Wu with a grin. "Physician Wu, come over here."
Physician Wu had just had two teeth knocked out by Qin Li. Although the boy looked harmless at the moment, who knew if he would fly into another rage? Physician Wu shook his head like a rattle. "Kid, just say what you have to say!"
Physician Wu tried to sound imposing, but with his two front teeth missing, his words came out in a lisping whistle. Many of the onlookers who had run over couldn't help but chuckle.
Wu Clan smacked her husband on the back of the head and cursed, "Useless thing!" Puffing out her chest, she strode toward Qin Li, her triangular eyes glaring viciously. "I'm here now, you mongrel! You little bastard! What can you do to me!"
*Smack!*
Qin Li landed a vicious slap across Wu Clan's face. The sound was crisp and loud.
What sent a chill down everyone's spine was that from beginning to end, a faint smile never left Qin Li's slightly childish face. Many of the Qin Family servants who knew him felt that after his serious illness, this illegitimate son, whom no one in the family had ever respected, seemed to have changed.
Wu Clan's mouth fell slightly open as she stood there, stunned. She never would have dreamed that Qin Li would dare to strike her in front of everyone. However, something even more unimaginable was yet to come.
*Shhhlick...*
Qin Li drew the broken sword. There wasn't a single glint of light on its surface. It should have been a comical scene, yet not a single person in the crowd dared to laugh.
Drawing a blade over a single disagreement... and from the insignificant little bastard of the Qin Family, no less. The crowd was dumbstruck. Steward Qin, who had been brought in to arbitrate, and the aggrieved Physician Wu were especially shocked, standing frozen like statues, almost incapable of thought.
Only a single thought remained in their minds: *How does he dare to draw his sword?*
Qin Li pressed the rust-spotted sword against Wu Clan's neck and said coldly, "Steward Qin, my mother and I have been humiliated by people in the Qin Family for thirteen years! We endured the mockery, the ridicule, the backstabbing, and the plots both overt and subtle. But today, this bitch dared to insult my mother to my face. Tell me, do you think I dare to slice three-tenths of an inch deeper? Do you want to bet whether this rusty old sword can kill this bitch cleanly?"
"Li..."
Qin Hanyue covered her mouth in shock, her heart leaping into her throat. She had seen her son take the sword from the wall, but had assumed it was just for show, to bolster his courage. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, he would press it to Wu Clan's throat? And though Qin Hanyue's Martial Arts were poor, her eye for them was first-rate. Seeing that Qin Li's sword hand didn't tremble in the slightest, she knew he truly intended to kill.
Another question lingered in Qin Hanyue's heart: When had Qin Li become so calm?
"Trying to scare me? ...Get your broken sword away from me! You little bastard, if you've got the guts, then kill me! You actually dared to hit me? You'd better remember this: either you kill me, or I'm not done with you! And what's that stink on you? Just as expected of a mongrel, you smell disgusting!"
Wu Clan's eyes were wide and round, and her face was badly swollen, but that didn't stop the venomous words from spilling from her mouth.
"Qin Li, you need to calm—"
Qin Yong saw the smile on Qin Li's lips slowly fade, replaced by a murderous glint in his eyes. He realized the boy had truly gone mad. He started to tell Qin Li to calm down, but before the word "down" even left his mouth, he saw a cold, sharp light flash in Qin Li's eyes as his right hand pressed down and pulled.
*Pfft!*
A torrent of hot blood spurted from Wu Clan's neck, spraying all over Qin Li.
Wu Clan flailed, trying to cover the wound with her hands. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but a torrent of blood gushed out instead. An expression of absolute terror flashed in her eyes, but it was too late. Her body went limp and she collapsed. The last thing she saw was the little bastard she had mocked for thirteen years, now standing before her like a Godslayer!
He killed her as if she were a mere chicken. After killing Wu Clan with a single stroke, Qin Li didn't even spare her a glance. He walked straight toward the terrified, dumbstruck Physician Wu. In Qin Li's heart, the one he could never forgive wasn't the foul-mouthed Wu Clan, but this piece of scum, this animal, who had harassed Qin Hanyue for who knows how many years.
The smile returned to his face, but in the eyes of the onlookers, it was the smile of a demon.