Chapter 237: You damned killer! Give back my Yan'er!

Mandara Mountain Manor

In the spacious and elegant hall, the windows were bright, the tables clean, and the lanterns glowed red.

In the hall, a beautiful woman of elegant bearing lounged lazily beside a sandalwood table.

She wore a splendid goose-yellow silk robe, her luxuriant black hair coiled into a cloud-like bun, which set off her skin, white and smooth as snow, making her appear even more coldly noble.

She was none other than the current mistress of Mandara Mountain Manor, Madam Wang, Li Qingluo.

Outside the hall, the heavy rain poured down with a splashing sound, its force undiminished, disturbing Li Qingluo's thoughts.

She lightly rested her left hand on her head, her slender fingers slightly curved, as if casually placed on her brow; her almond eyes half-lidded, her gaze hazy, lost in her own thoughts.

After a long while——

From the rain came the hurried sound of splashing footsteps, and soon a group of old women and maidservants wearing straw cloaks and bamboo hats, carrying knives and swords, hurried over.

Upon entering the hall, they had no time to remove their wet bamboo hats; they set down their weapons, knelt before the dais, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Madam!"

Li Qingluo glanced over lightly, her tone quite cold, and she said softly:

"Where is that little slut?"

A silence fell below.

Seeing this, Li Qingluo's face instantly turned ugly.

The leading old woman removed her bamboo hat, revealing a head of white hair, and cupped her fists, saying, "Madam, after being struck by a blade she fell into the lake; the rain outside is too heavy, and with the darkness of night, we searched everywhere but could not find the body."

Beside her, a fat old woman with a face full of flesh took up the conversation, cupping her fists with a grim smile, saying, "Madam, rest assured, that little slut suffered grave injuries; she fell into the water in the middle of the lake, far from shore. With such a heavy rain tonight, that little slut will die..."

"Bang!"

Before she could finish, Li Qingluo suddenly snatched the teacup from the table and smashed it; tea and shards instantly splattered all over the floor.

She sprang to her feet, her almond eyes flashing with anger, pointing at the crowd below and burst out scolding:

"You bunch of useless good-for-nothings! I demand to see the person alive or the corpse dead, yet you can't even catch a little girl—what use are you to me?"

As she raged, her chest heaved with anger, the ample bosom wrapped in her pink collar trembled, about to burst out.

Just as she was about to fling the vase on the small table in her fury, she suddenly heard light footsteps and a gentle voice from the eaves:

"Mother, did Granny Rui and Granny Ping make you angry again?"

Hearing the voice, Li Qingluo quickly set down the vase, the anger vanished from her face, and she resumed her former dignified and composed appearance.

The next moment, a girl dressed in lotus-color gauze entered; her face resembled Li Qingluo's by ninety percent, dignified yet with a childish air.

Behind her followed a maidservant, her head lowered, too afraid to look at Li Qingluo.

"Miss!"

The leading Granny Rui, Granny Ping, and the other maidservants bowed to the girl.

Li Qingluo straightened her chest, walked gracefully up to the girl, took her hand, lightly furrowed her brows, and said, "It's so late already; why aren't you asleep yet, Yan'er?"

A flicker of worry appeared in the girl's eyes as she whispered, "I heard from Xiaomiao that assassins have entered the manor; I wanted to come see Mother."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingluo immediately glared at the maidservant behind the girl, her face stern, and said:

"What assassins? Just a petty thief greedy for wealth. You little minx, if you dare to wag your tongue in front of the miss again, I will cut out your tongue!"

The maidservant shrank her head back, her face turning deathly pale from fright.

Li Qingluo snorted, released the girl's hand, her tone tinged with some indulgence, and said:

"It's not early either; hurry back to rest—I need to sleep as well."

The girl said nothing, glanced at her mother, looking as if she wanted to speak but held back.

Li Qingluo's eyes flickered with suspicion as she scanned the girl's face and asked, "Anything the matter?"

Upon hearing this, the girl slightly lowered her head; a faint blush rose on her fair, delicate cheeks as she whispered, "I wish to go to Canhe Manor to see my aunt; please grant me permission, Mother."

Li Qingluo froze, almost jumping up, and shouted loudly, "No way!!"

"Why?" the girl lifted her head, face full of grievance, and urged, "My aunt is unwell; last time Ah Zhu said she couldn't even get out of bed. As her niece, I want to go check on her."

"No matter what, you're not allowed to go!" Perhaps recalling some hateful matter, Li Qingluo gritted her teeth and snapped furiously, "That old hag had better die; it's just retribution for her wagging her tongue!"

Tears welled in the girl's eyes as she demanded firmly, "She is your father's own sister—why do you hate her so much?"

Having mustered the courage to say that, her heart began to pound wildly the moment the words left her mouth.

"Are you looking to see your aunt or your cousin? Who are you trying to hide this little thought from?"

Li Qingluo snorted coldly, her gaze mocking as she swept it across the girl's face a few times.

The girl felt both ashamed and angry, but hearing her mother's icy tone, she dared not retort; she bit her lip and tears streamed down.

Li Qingluo's tense face suddenly relaxed, her tone softening somewhat, and she said:

"Mother is doing this for your own good; the Murong family constantly obsesses over their endless dream of restoring the nation, and sooner or later they'll lose everything in it."

"There are too many bad people in the world, and human hearts are treacherous; as a young lady, you'd better not go out, not see… not see…"

As she spoke, Li Qingluo's pupils suddenly contracted; her almond eyes stared blankly at the outside of the hall, wide open.

"Ah!"

She screamed in terror, her footing gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Madam!"

"Madam!"

Granny Rui, Granny Ping, and the maidservants hastily rose and gathered around her.

The girl, not understanding why, forgot her sorrow and hurriedly knelt to support her, saying, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"

"Ghosts! There are ghosts outside!" Li Qingluo trembled, pointing her shaking hand toward the hall's exterior, burying her head in her daughter's embrace, her voice quavering, "They've come for me! They've come for me!"

"Who? Come out!"

Granny Ping shouted sternly.

Her belly protruded, extremely obese, as if she were seven or eight months pregnant.

Moreover, his voice was rough, his face full of sagging flesh, and even a ghost would be frightened of him a third.

Just as everyone was tense and on guard, a figure slowly emerged from the heavy rain.

His black clothes were barely discernible in the rainy night; without close inspection, it seemed only a calm, pale face floated in the darkness—none other than Niu Dingtian, who had just arrived at Manto Villa.

"Mother, he's a human, not a ghost."

The girl's tense body instantly relaxed, and she whispered to Li Qingluo.

It was, apart from her cousin, the first time she had seen a stranger, and in her tear‑filled eyes she couldn't help but be somewhat curious.

She stepped into the hall.

Niu Dingtian surveyed the interior; on the four‑sided tables were various camellias competing in brilliance, exuding a faint, elegant fragrance.

He glanced at the girl, his gaze landing on the plump, beautiful woman in her arms, and apologetically said, "Sorry to disturb you so late; I didn't expect to frighten the lady. Please forgive me."

Li Qingluo seethed with hatred; that damned wild man had made her look disgraceful! Without a hint of hesitation, her pretty face hardened with murderous aura, her almond eyes fixed on Niu Dingtian, she snarled, "Cut off his legs, gouge out his eyes, slice his tongue, and toss him out as fertilizer for the flowers!"

"Mother!"

The girl hurriedly tugged Li Qingluo's sleeve, trying to reason.

"Shut up!"

Li Qingluo glared.

"Sure enough, a willful woman," Niu Dingtian couldn't help but sigh lightly.

At his words, Li Qingluo's murderous gaze and Ping Po Po's blood‑stained twin blades slashed forward together. Niu Dingtian shifted his steps lightly, dodging while saying, "I came only to borrow a bottle of Gold Boil Medicine from the lady; once I act, it won't be just the medicine that's simple."

Seeing that Ping Po Po's three strikes hadn't even brushed the hem, Li Qingluo's face darkened, and she shouted to the surrounding, "Why are you all just standing there?"

"Cut this wild man to pieces!"

"Attack!" Rui Po Po didn't dare hesitate, bellowing, and together with a dozen sword‑wielding maidservants, charged forward.

Niu Dingtian's eyes turned cold; he drew an Asura Blade, surged forward, slashing anyone he met.

"Ding!"

"Ding!"

"Ding!"

In a flash of blue light, three deafening clangs rang out, blood spurted, and three severed sword fragments whizzed past, skimming Li Qingluo's cheek.

The girl beside them cried, "Watch out, Ping Po Po! He's using the Shaolin Breaking Vows Sword Technique—ruthless, precise, and fierce; every move is an attack!"

As soon as the words finished, a wail rose from the crowd; Ping Po Po's twin blades clanged and fell to the ground.

Rui Po Po was about to strike when a streak of blue light slashed straight at her face; as she raised her blade to block, a sudden excruciating pain struck her abdomen, and her body was instantly flung backward.

At that moment, seeing the four corpses on the ground and the weak, moaning Rui Po Po in the distance, no one dared to advance.

Niu Dingtian slowly sheathed his treasured blade, glanced at the pallid Li Qingluo, then fixed his gaze on the girl beside him and asked, "Are you Wang Yuyan?"

The girl nodded dazedly, still seeming shocked by the lightning‑fast swordplay.

"Your words smile like a lingering bloom, soft and celestial, marvelous, marvelous!" Niu Dingtian couldn't help but laugh and praise.

Then, shifting his eyes from the girl's flushed face to the more poised Li Qingluo, he smiled lightly and asked, "Madam, do you still recall what you just said?"

"Huh?"

Li Qingluo was momentarily stunned.

She gently raised her left hand, slender fingers slightly curved, weakly resting at the temple as if straining to recall something.

After a long thought, she suddenly understood, looked at Niu Dingtian, and smiled coquettishly:

"Sir, you wish to borrow the Gold Boil Medicine?"

She sat there, her goose‑yellow silk robe spread flat like blossoming petals, enclosing a pink core and a snow‑white heart.

A flicker jumped in Niu Dingtian's eye corner; he shifted his gaze lightly and said calmly,

"The finest Gold Boil Medicine, immediately."

Li Qingluo smiled, glanced at the recovering Rui Po Po in the distance, gave a subtle signal, cleared her throat lightly, and ordered, "Haven't you gone to fetch it? Bring the Gold Boil Medicine that Father sent this year to this gentleman."

Rui Po Po didn't dare delay; stumbling away, she soon returned with a blue porcelain bottle and handed it to Niu Dingtian.

"Father?"

Niu Dingtian stared at the bottle in his hand, murmuring to himself.

He unscrewed the cap, leaned in slowly, took a light sniff, then, expressionless, walked toward Li Qingluo.

Li Qingluo gasped, hurriedly exclaiming, "Wrong one! Wrong one!"

She then shouted at Rui Po Po, "Who told you to bring this out?"

Saying that, she hurriedly rose, took quick, broken steps, and vanished like a wisp of smoke.

A moment later, a white porcelain bottle was brought before Niu Dingtian; the carrier's beautiful jade face bore a hint of pride as she said, "This is the finest Gold Boil Medicine from Manto Villa. Though many such medicines exist in the world, none compare to mine."

Niu Dingtian took it expressionlessly, replying calmly,

"Madam is the first to want to chop off my legs, gouge my eyes, cut my tongue, use me as flower fertilizer, and also the first to call me a wild man."

Li Qingluo's complexion froze for an instant, but she could only force an awkward, forced smile, for a shrewd person knows the times; these were words spoken by Duan Lang.

"I'll settle the score with you once I get in touch with Father and that cheap nephew!" she thought to herself.

"Those who roam the jianghu all value face," Niu Dingtian suddenly smiled lightly and said,

"If I were to stop here, and someday my name spreads across the jianghu, people will learn of today's incident and I would become a laughingstock, wouldn't I?"

"So..."

"So what?"

Li Qingluo wore a wary expression.

"So please, Miss Wang, stay at my place for a couple of days and also tend to the wounded for me."

Niu Dingtian looked at Li Qingluo, said meaningfully, "Madam, if you don't want to bear a grandson next year, prepare the Little Formless Skill. In three days I'll come to collect it; then today's matter will be erased."

"No way!!" Li Qingluo refused loudly without even thinking.

Just as he was about to step in front of his dazed daughter, he felt a gust of wind brush past, and Niu Dingtian snatched someone up and floated away.

"He knows the Lingbo Microstep?"

Upon seeing the familiar footwork, Li Qingluo couldn't help but be stunned.

This Lingbo Microstep, she had seen her mother perform it more than once when she was young.

"Bad person, let me go!"

From outside came Wang Yuyan's angry shout, her voice growing fainter.

After regaining her senses, Li Qingluo was greatly startled, hurriedly chased out, reaching the eaves, gazing at the pouring rain in the night, she couldn't help but wail: "You murderer! Return my Yan'er!"

……

Next-door courtyard.

In an elegant, spacious side room, the furnishings were all a young lady's boudoir items.

Niu Dingtian stood by the window lattice, gazing calmly outside.

Hearing the rustling sound behind him, he said without turning: "Miss Wang is changing; she'll get wet either way, just wrap a few sets of clothes in silk cloth."

Inside the curtains—

Candlelight swayed gently, casting a glow on a clean, graceful figure.

Wang Yuyan's cheeks flushed slightly; after thinking, she still changed into a new set of clothes.

After changing, she took out several sets of clothes, wrapped them in silk cloth, and also pulled out a raincoat to drape over herself.

Stepping out of the warm inner chamber, seeing the black silhouette standing still by the window lattice, Wang Yuyan bit her lip and whispered:

"Will you really let me go back?"

Though she is simple, she is not stupid; she knows that even if she shouted, she couldn't escape, and it would only bring trouble to the people of the manor.

"Naturally, just now I was only scaring your mother; even without the Minor Formless Skill, I will safely send Miss Wang back in three days; you only need to look after my wounded for two days."

As he spoke, Niu Dingtian slowly turned around, seeing Wang Yuyan draped in a raincoat, his eyes lit up—truly like a hibiscus flower hidden in a haystack.

"Then I believe you."

Wang Yuyan smiled faintly.

"Your cousin is the renowned Southern Murong; I dare not offend him." Niu Dingtian chuckled lightly.

Hearing this, Wang Yuyan sighed softly, murmuring: "Your cousin is no match for you; though he also practices the Broken Saber Technique, he cannot exert your power."

Niu Dingtian smiled, said no more, flashed his figure, and immediately embraced Wang Yuyan, leaping out through the window lattice. (End of chapter)