Chapter 9: Explanation

The air seemed to freeze.

Inside and outside the courtyard, everyone who had been preparing to watch Chu Liuyue's joke was stunned on the spot!

Chu Liuyue must have eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall to actually dare to slap Chu Liansheng twice in a row!

In this cold and embarrassing atmosphere, it was Chu Liansheng who reacted first.

The stinging pain on his face and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth were both reminding him of everything that had just happened!

"You little wench, you dare hit me!"

Chu Liansheng's eyes bulged with extreme rage. He immediately drew the saber from his waist and charged toward Chu Liuyue with aggressive momentum!

It looked as if that sharp blade was about to cut Chu Liuyue in half at the waist!

If this blow landed, Chu Liuyue would be crippled if not dead!

However, Chu Liuyue did not move at all. Instead, she raised her head, stared straight into Chu Liansheng's eyes, and said word by word

"Chu Liansheng, do you intend to publicly slaughter the Eldest Miss of the Chu family?!"

This single sentence immediately exploded in Chu Liansheng's ears like a bolt of thunder!

The words "Eldest Miss of the Chu family" acted like a curse, forcing him to halt his movement!

The tip of the blade was barely an inch away from Chu Liuyue!

He subconsciously looked at Chu Liuyue, meeting those dark, calm eyes!

At this moment, he inexplicably felt a trace of powerful, heart-stopping pressure!

Chu Liuyue's gaze was like a sharp sword, scraping over his body inch by inch!

*Swish!*

Chu Liansheng snapped back to his senses!

That's right!

The young girl standing before him, though her clothes were ragged and her frame thin, was... indeed the legitimate Eldest Miss of the Chu family!

And he was merely a servant riding on Chu Xianmin's coattails!

"This first slap was to punish you for failing to recognize status and hierarchy!"

Chu Liuyue took a step forward.

Chu Liansheng instinctively took a step back.

"This second slap was to punish you for insubordination!"

Chu Liuyue pressed closer again!

Chu Liansheng's hand gripping the saber trembled slightly.

"Even if I am a natural-born cripple, the blood flowing in my body is still the blood of the Chu family's direct lineage! For all these years, I have kept to myself and never sought trouble. But what about you? One by one, you all find different ways to bully and humiliate me! Have you ever thought... where do you get the right!"

Chu Liuyue's interrogation finally made Chu Liansheng unable to hold back, and he managed to retort

"Chu Liuyue! You are nothing but a complete cripple! You are the shame of the entire Chu family! What face do you have to say such things? This world is ruled by the strong! What you have today is exactly what you deserve!"

Though his words were forceful, Chu Liansheng's voice was already trembling slightly.

He knew that bullying Chu Liuyue in private would go unpunished, but if it involved the entire Chu family, things would get ugly!

He had always been cautious in his dealings, but this time, the unknown fates of Song Lian and the other two had made him anxious. Combined with Chu Liuyue's subsequent series of unsettling actions, he had acted on impulse by bringing people here.

But he had never expected that the habitually timid and weak Chu Liuyue would actually dare to resist!

Hearing this, Chu Liuyue's lips suddenly curled into a smile.

"It is true that I am a cripple, but it seems you have forgotten—who is my grandfather? And who is my fiancé?"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Chu Liansheng's forehead!

Chu Liuyue's grandfather was, naturally, the current head of the Chu family, and her fiancé was even—His Highness the Crown Prince!

Even though in the eyes of the crowd there was no possibility of Chu Liuyue marrying the Crown Prince, the engagement still existed!

They could discuss this in private, but no one dared to say it to her face!

"You just called me a little wench?"

Chu Liuyue's smile grew even more gentle.

"Then, are you also insulting my grandfather and the Crown Prince by extension?"

*Clang!*

Chu Liansheng's saber suddenly dropped to the ground! His legs went weak, his face turned deathly pale, and he nearly collapsed!

Chu Liuyue naturally looked down upon the original owner's so-called grandfather and fiancé. If they had shown her even a shred of pity or care, the original owner would not have fallen into such a state!

However, using them now wasn't out of the question.

"I... I didn't..."

Chu Liansheng stammered.

If word of this got out, whether it was the Chu family or the Crown Prince, they would not let him off the hook, even if only for the sake of face!

Chu Liuyue said leisurely

"Now, will you sever your own right arm to atone for your sins, or... shall I invite my grandfather and the Crown Prince to uphold justice?"

Chu Liansheng was shocked: Chu Liuyue actually wanted him to pay such a heavy price!

If he severed his own right arm, wouldn't his entire cultivation career be over?!

He gritted his teeth and secretly shot a glance at the people beside him.

Right now, the only way was to stall for time and let the Third Miss step in—

"Since you cannot bring yourself to do it, then this Young Lady will do it personally!"

But Chu Liuyue gave him no time at all. She picked up his fallen saber with extreme speed and slashed without hesitation!

Chu Liansheng was a third-stage martial artist; logically, he should have been able to dodge Chu Liuyue's strike.

But for some reason, as the blade light flashed, he failed to see exactly how Liuyue had moved!

*Slash!*

Chu Liansheng's right arm was brutally severed!

Blood splattered everywhere!

"Ah—!"

As the excruciating pain hit, Chu Liansheng let out a piercing, wretched scream!

Everyone's hearts jolted, and they couldn't help but look at Chu Liuyue.

The thin young girl stood there with her back straight, holding the saber, her expression calm.

It was as if she had merely cut off a tree branch rather than severing a person's arm!

This made people even more terrified!

—Chu Liuyue had truly become a different person!

Even those who had originally surrounded Chu Liuyue abandoned any thought of dealing with her upon seeing this.

What a joke!

She had just brought up the Family Head and the Crown Prince; who would dare to touch her in public now?!

Some hesitated, wanting to go and support Chu Liansheng, but they couldn't move their feet.

What if Chu Liuyue went mad and cut them down too?

At this moment, under the immense shock and fear, no one even thought about how a natural-born cripple like Chu Liuyue could have dealt with Chu Liansheng.

Chu Liuyue casually tossed the saber down, where it rolled next to Chu Liansheng's severed arm, a bloody and gruesome sight.

"Get out!"

With that, she turned around and walked toward the medicinal herbs still piled in the courtyard.

Everything today was merely killing a chicken to warn the monkeys.

The suffering and grievances the original owner had endured, she would make these people repay a hundredfold!

What did a debt of two hundred thousand taels matter?

What did a severed arm matter?

Compared to Chu Liuyue's life, these were far from enough!

Inside and outside the courtyard, the crowd looked at each other in bewilderment.

They had intended to watch Chu Liuyue's joke, but they never expected...

However, just then, the familiar sound of footsteps came from outside.

A woman's startled cry suddenly rang out.

"Liansheng! What happened to you?!"

Everyone turned to look, and their expressions became quite colorful.

The newcomer was none other than Chu Liansheng's master—the Third Miss, Chu Xianmin!

Having suffered such a great loss earlier, Chu Xianmin was unwilling to let it go no matter how she thought about it. Naturally, she wouldn't let Chu Liuyue live in peace, so she had sent Chu Liansheng.

On one hand, she intended to see what those medicinal herbs she bought actually were; on the other hand, she wanted to take the opportunity to teach her a lesson.

But she hadn't expected that halfway through, her subordinate would send word that something had changed!

She rushed over only to see Chu Liansheng lying on the ground screaming incessantly, his right arm already severed!

Chu Liansheng crawled over, wailing and weeping

"Third Miss! Third Miss, you must get justice for this lowly one! That little wen—the Eldest Miss severed my right arm!"

Fury instantly erupted in Chu Xianmin's heart!

Everyone knew Chu Liansheng was her man; Chu Liuyue's actions were undoubtedly equivalent to slapping her hard in the face!

She looked at Chu Liuyue, forcing herself to suppress the hatred in her heart.

"Sister, what exactly is going on? Don't you think you owe your sister an explanation?"