Chapter 45: Fierce Woman

The elderly woman was past her prime and couldn't stay up late, so she was dozing off in her room.

Ding, dong, ding...

The old grandfather clock struck nine times.

The old woman's heart pounded, and she woke up with a start from her sleep.

It was only nine o'clock; midnight was still a long way off.

But why did she feel such a pang of distress?

Tick! Tock! Tick!

The pendulum of the old clock swung back and forth.

On the gleaming pendulum, shadows gradually began to appear.

The captive room!

A knife!

Blood!

Something had gone wrong at home!

The old woman immediately got out of bed and ran towards the captive room.

Upon entering, she saw that Xiao Yeci and her daughter Lu Chunying were still there, staying put, but Li Banfeng was nowhere to be found.

“Decai! Demao! Come here, both of you!”

The old woman called for her two sons. Soon, her elder son, Decai, arrived.

“Where’s Demao?”

Decai rubbed his eyes. “He went to the backyard to sharpen the knife, I think. Our old knife is difficult to sharpen; it might take an hour. I told you we should buy a new one, but you wouldn’t let me…”

The old woman turned and slapped Decai. “Still talking about knives? Are you blind? The man ran off, and you didn't even notice!”

Decai covered his face, only then realizing that Li Banfeng had escaped.

He stepped forward, grabbed Xiao Yeci’s hair, and demanded, “Where did he go? When did he escape?”

Xiao Yeci shrieked, “I don’t know, I really don’t know!”

Lu Chunying cried out beside her, “Don’t hit my mom! We don’t know anything! He came, but we didn’t talk to him. We fell asleep, and then he left…”

The young girl was more courageous than her mother; she could explain things clearly.

But would explaining make a difference?

None. The young girl didn't understand this, but Xiao Yeci knew it very well.

This family was evil; talking to evil people was useless.

The old woman turned back and instructed her elder son, Decai, “Go get Demao. First, slaughter these two hussies. That Traveler Cultivator certainly won't escape.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yeci’s voice immediately changed pitch. “Oh, please, good lady, have mercy! Do whatever you want with me, but spare my child’s life! I beg you, I beg you!”

Xiao Yeci pleaded desperately, over and over, but the old woman didn't even glance at her. Yet, the elder son, Decai, was genuinely swayed. “Mother, weren’t we supposed to wait until midnight?”

The old woman snapped, “Something has already gone wrong! What are we waiting for?!”

“Mother, such beautiful women, and such a lovely girl, you won't even let us brothers have a taste before you… you just…”

Slap!

The old woman slapped Decai again. “How have I usually taught you? A few lewd words and you forget the rules? Go and get your brother for me immediately!”

Decai dared not say more and quickly left the captive room.

He had long lusted after the mother and daughter, but his mother had never allowed him to touch them.

It wasn't just this time; in the past, whenever they brought back captured women, his mother never allowed them to touch them.

Their family never left survivors. Regardless of gender or age, none of the captives who entered their doors ever left alive.

Yet, they hadn't slept with a single one of the captured women. Not even an extra touch or a word was allowed. His mother always said such actions would violate the sect's rules.

Furthermore, the old woman didn't allow her sons to interact with the women within their own sect either. Whenever women visited, she made her sons avoid them. If the brothers even mentioned women in their daily lives, the old woman would scold them.

Decai patted his cheek, feeling a bit strange himself.

What was wrong today? Usually, even if he thought it, he would never dare to say it to the old woman. But today, why did he blurt it out?

This woman was extraordinary!

Decai glanced at Xiao Yeci and walked away disgruntled.

Xiao Yeci kowtowed to the old woman. “Venerable Lady, dear Madam, we’ve given you all our money. Please, for your own good deeds, release my daughter.

Keep me, make me a servant, a beast of burden, even chop me up for meat — anything is fine! I beg you, dear Madam, I beg you, Venerable Lady!”

This plea echoed repeatedly in the captive room, slowly giving rise to an eerie reverberation.

Before the echoes faded, Xiao Yeci repeated her words, her true voice overlapping with the reverberations. Each word hammered at the old woman's heart.

The old woman grabbed Xiao Yeci’s hair and sneered. “You two hussies, not content with your seductive tricks in front of my sons, you dare to try them on me? Do you think I can’t see through your cunning schemes?

You’re a Mouth Cultivator. A few alluring words in front of men, and their souls are charmed away. Here, with me, quickly put away your seductive talk. I’ll let you die quickly, otherwise, I'll carve your wretched flesh, you and your daughter’s, piece by piece!”

A Mouth Cultivator?

There’s such a sect?

What are the specialties of this sect?

Xiao Yeci cried, “Madam, I wouldn't dare use my meager cultivation on you! What I said was truly from my heart! You can cut me into a thousand pieces, but please, let my child live.”

The old woman sneered, “Just for that remark, I’ll send you, you little hussy, on your way first!”

With that, the old woman grabbed Lu Chunying’s hair.

Lu Chunying cried fiercely, but her hands were not idle; she scratched and hit the old woman.

This young girl truly had some guts.

Xiao Yeci continued to plead, “Madam, I’m truly telling the truth! I beg you, spare my child’s life!”

The old woman sneered, “What’s the point of letting a child live when her mother is dead? Wouldn’t it be suffering to leave her alone in the world? Better she join you on your journey.”

With that, the old woman kicked Xiao Yeci over, added more force to her grip on Lu Chunying’s hair, and turned to shout, “Decai, bring the knife!”

The young girl screamed, “Mom, save me!”

Xiao Yeci lunged at the old woman again, only to be kicked over once more.

“Decai, where’s the knife?!”

“Mother, save me!”

Huh? Who was speaking?

The old woman turned around and saw her son, Decai, standing at the doorway, his face streaked with tears, a knife tip protruding from his chest.

Li Banfeng stood behind Decai, smiling. “Here’s the knife, old woman. I brought it for you.”

Seeing a knife embedded in her son’s chest, the old woman’s eyes immediately turned bloodshot.

Decai was a first-level Poison Cultivator, with cultivation comparable to Li Banfeng’s. However, Li Banfeng possessed the speed of a Traveler Cultivator and the unnoticed traits of a House Cultivator. Decai had been ambushed by Li Banfeng.

“Let my son go!” the old woman roared, grabbing Lu Chunying. “Otherwise, I’ll kill her immediately!”

Li Banfeng didn't understand the old woman’s intent. “If you want to kill her, just do it. You don’t need to tell me; she’s not my child.”

The old woman gritted her teeth. “Do you think I’m joking with you?”

Li Banfeng was even more confused. “What joke did you tell? What’s so funny? Aren’t you going to kill someone? Let’s kill together; I’ll join the fun.”

With that, Li Banfeng gripped the knife and continued to stab it into Decai’s back, the blade tip emerging from his chest growing longer and longer.

The old woman flung Lu Chunying aside and rushed forward to save her son. Li Banfeng raised a leg and directly kicked towards the old woman’s kneecap.

This kick was malicious and extremely effective against an oncoming enemy. If it connected, it could instantly cripple the opponent.

But Li Banfeng didn’t connect. The old woman dodged, then raised her hand and punched Li Banfeng.

The punch landed squarely, and Li Banfeng staggered, nearly falling.

Impossible. What was this old woman’s cultivation level?

Was her speed even greater than that of a Traveler Cultivator?

And her strength was astonishing!

Before Li Banfeng could think further, the old woman pulled a hairpin from her head and thrust it towards Li Banfeng’s glabella.

Li Banfeng barely dodged by squatting down.

The old woman sneered inwardly. This one didn’t know martial arts.

If he knew martial arts, upon seeing the hairpin strike, he would either retreat, lean back, or parry with a weapon.

Squatting on the ground like that – wasn’t he just asking to be hit?

The old woman raised the hairpin and thrust it towards the top of Li Banfeng’s head.

She was wrong.

Li Banfeng certainly wasn't waiting to be hit.

He had faced plenty of bullying since childhood, often getting beaten to the ground.

But being crouched didn't mean he couldn't fight back.

From his crouch on the ground, he punched the old woman’s ankle.

This punch contained skill; under normal circumstances, it would have dislocated the opponent’s ankle.

The old woman took the full force of the punch but did not suffer a dislocation.

She merely stumbled, unharmed.

Thanks to that stumble, the hairpin missed its target and didn't pierce the top of Li Banfeng’s head.

What kind of sect did this old woman belong to? She was fast, fierce in attack, and incredibly resilient.

Was she a Food Cultivator?

Doesn’t seem like it. No matter how much Little Fatty ate, he definitely wouldn't have her speed.

Not only was his speed incomparable, but his strength was also inferior to this old woman’s.

Even more critical, Li Banfeng couldn’t sense any danger or make any predictions whenever the old woman attacked.

Relying on fists and feet was clearly not enough. Li Banfeng circled behind Decai, intending to pull the knife out.

Given the old woman’s skill, she could have killed the mother and daughter without a knife at all.

The fact that she insisted Decai bring the knife proved it must be extraordinary.

Li Banfeng tried to pull out the knife, but the old woman gave him no chance, lifting a leg and kicking him out the door again.

Li Banfeng flew several meters. Before he could get up, the old woman suddenly appeared before him.

Teleportation?

What cultivation level was this ability?

Bang!

The old woman delivered another kick, sending Li Banfeng tumbling in place and landing face down on the ground.

Li Banfeng didn't get up this time.

With such a speed disparity, getting up would only mean getting kicked again.

Instead, he used all four limbs to scramble frantically towards the wall. This time, he didn't hold back at all, unleashing his ability to “create wind on flat ground” to its limit. He reached the wall without pausing, climbing directly onto the top.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to jump outside the wall, a large willow tree in the courtyard swung its branches, slapping Li Banfeng back with a loud crack.

Controlling willow branches to strike people?

This old woman also knew magic!

What kind of sect was this, after all?

Li Banfeng fell heavily to the ground, his consciousness somewhat blurry.

This old woman was so strong, why did she use poison to incapacitate him in the first place? Why didn’t she just attack him directly?

The old woman wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. This fight had taken a heavy toll on her.

She was no longer young. If there were a safer method, she wouldn’t have wanted to take on Li Banfeng head-on.

The old woman squatted down, raising the hairpin in her hand, preparing to deliver the final blow to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng, looking dazed, suddenly lifted his leg and kicked the old woman in the stomach.

If he had aimed for her head, the movement would have been much more obvious, and the old woman likely would have noticed.

But the kick to the stomach was incredibly subtle. The old woman was completely unprepared and convulsed from the impact, instinctively opening her mouth.

Taking advantage of her open mouth, Li Banfeng pulled out a Rusty Pellet and sent it into the old woman's throat.

Within five meters.

Never misses.