Chapter 29: This is Sorcery!

“Did you bring sixteen guards? Hmm?” The disheveled young girl’s voice rose slightly at the end, her eyes brimming with laughter.

Xiao Jiuni had never felt such terror. She wanted to find her father; she had to find him. Father would surely protect her, and she would make him kill this hateful woman before her.

“Are you an idiot? You can't even count?” Xin Nian grew impatient. Her grip on Xiao Jiuni’s fingers tightened, and Xiao Jiuni could almost hear the faint *crack* of the bones in her neck beginning to fracture.

She could only let out a few "ah, ah" sounds, her mouth agape in pain as she nodded and shook her head simultaneously.

"Ten, ten, ten... seventeen..." Struggling to force the words out, Xiao Jiuni felt the hand around her neck loosen slightly.

A flash of hatred and malice crossed her eyes as she rasped, "You... you bitch, you're dead. Old Ao..."

A smile flickered in Xin Nian's eyes. She swung her hand back and slammed the girl hard against the edge of the bathtub.

A bloody streak appeared on Xiao Jiuni's forehead, and she fainted on the spot.

At that same moment, a surge of sword qi arrived instantly.

Xin Nian dodged abruptly. The blade grazed the tips of her messy hair, sending a few strands drifting slowly to the ground.

Xin Nian blinked. After another flash of movement, the place where she had previously stood was marked by a deep, jagged rift carved by the sword qi.

The mahogany furniture behind her was also split clean in two.

Looking up, she met the gaze of a dark-faced, burly man standing at the doorway. Xin Nian raised an eyebrow with a smile. "The Princess is hiding an expert by her side."

"Truly deeply favored by the Imperial Family."

The dark-faced man said nothing, merely blocking the doorway to prevent Xin Nian from leaving.

He wielded his iron sword with great proficiency. Sword qi surged in all directions; wherever it passed, wood chips flew, and objects were cleaved into three or four pieces.

The chamber was not large. He had thought dealing with a young girl would be as easy as catching a turtle in a jar.

He hadn't expected that after several strikes, he would miss every time. Only then did he realize that the little girl in prisoner's clothing moved with a speed that was almost a blur.

This was Xin Nian's first time experiencing the internal strength of an ancient person; it was far more formidable than her close-quarters parrying techniques.

They could swing a sword through thin air to generate sword qi that could slice hair.

A gust of sword wind brushed her left cheek. She reached up to touch it, feeling a sting as a thin trail of blood slid down her face.

"You injured me?" Xin Nian was greatly surprised, a flicker of unidentifiable emotion swirling in her eyes.

Little did she know, the dark-faced man was even more shocked.

Witnessing the bloody scratch on the girl's cheek gradually vanish, the man knew his Princess had encountered a formidable opponent tonight!

"Originally, I just wanted you to die quietly, just like those bad people. But now..." The girl tilted her head, a strange smile spreading across her face. "I've changed my mind."

The dark-faced man froze, a sudden sense of dread washing over him.

Just as he raised his sword to strike, he felt the air around him twist inexplicably. His hand suddenly bent backward uncontrollably, reaching an angle no ordinary person could endure.

A *crack* echoed.

The iron sword fell to the ground with a *clang*.

Immediately following this, a sharp stinging sensation erupted in his hands and feet, as if needle-like objects were piercing through his skin.

The spatial distortion lasted only an instant. Once it stabilized, the man hurriedly kicked out and reached for his iron sword with his left hand.

But before he could swing forward, he felt his hands lose control once again.

The hand holding the sword jerked upward, while the other hung limp. His hands and feet felt as though they were being pulled and bound by something invisible, completely beyond his command.

His eyes bulged like copper bells, his mouth agape, as he watched helplessly while his limbs moved in eerie, grotesque patterns.

His feet felt as if they were hooked, forcing him to walk with a clumsy, uncoordinated gait—hand and foot moving in unison—as he marched straight toward the girl.

Sorcery! This had to be sorcery!

Terror surged in the man's heart, but he could no longer control his limbs and could only submit to the movements.

As he drew closer, he saw clearly that the girl was pinching several thin threads between her fingertips. She was manipulating him like a marionette, controlling his every step.

"Have you ever heard of the String Puppet?" She tilted her head slightly, waving her slender fingers, watching him with a deep, lingering smile.

A chill ran straight to his heart.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the man felt that his shoulders and neck were also losing control; every movement produced a mechanical, clicking sound.

"Follow me from now on," Xin Nian whispered near the man's ear, her voice almost tenderly soothing. "Once the threads have completely merged into your body, it won't hurt anymore. Just endure it a little longer, be a good boy."

The dark-faced man was both in pain and in terror. He stared at the girl as if she were a peerless demon.

He realized with horror that he could no longer make a sound. Gradually, his consciousness began to fade into a blur.

"See? Isn't it better this way?" Xin Nian reached out with two fingers, pinched the man's dangling right arm, and gave it a sudden, forceful jerk. With a *snap*, the bone clicked back into place.

"Master will treat you well in the future. Don't worry."

The dark-faced man stood silently by her side, his dull eyes filled with a deathly stillness.

"Go out now. Follow behind me from now on, staying within fifteen zhang."

The dark-faced man turned and vanished quietly.

Xin Nian walked slowly to the bathtub. She suddenly reached out and grabbed Xiao Jiuni's wet hair, smiling. "Stop pretending, big sister. I know you woke up a long time ago."

Xiao Jiuni began to tremble violently. She struggled to open her eyes, her nose twitching and her lips quivering. "Don't... please don't hurt me. I... I'll do anything you want. I'll... I'll tell my father... ah!"

Using the small fruit knife from the fruit platter, Xin Nian sliced a piece of flesh from Xiao Jiuni's nose.

Blood sprayed out.

Xiao Jiuni was paralyzed with terror, her body shaking uncontrollably, her eyes filled with venomous resentment. "My... my father will never let you go. If you... if you kill me, you're dead. You're dead for sure!"

"Let me tell you a story," Xin Nian said, sitting sideways on the small table beside the bathtub, crossing her legs and looking at her with a smile.

"Once, there was someone just like you—someone who thought they were so important. They believed that the suffering, struggling laborers at the bottom were nothing more than lowly ants. They used those ants to feed monsters, letting the monsters grow slowly until they became uncontrollable."

"When I found him, I hung him in the middle of the monster pile and let the very monsters he raised gnaw on him every single day."

Xin Nian couldn't help but giggle at this. "Do you know why he didn't die?"

She tilted her head, wearing a triumphant expression. "Because I treated him. I healed him every day, and then let him be eaten again. Ahahaha! In the end, even though half his body was gone, he was still living a miserable, wretched life."

Xiao Jiuni's eyes widened in horror as she stared at the monstrous girl before her.

She was more of a monster than any monster.

"Later on, he wept and begged for mercy every day. He said, 'Your Majesty, please, just let me die.'"

Xin Nian burst into laughter again, lowering her head slightly to meet the trembling Xiao Jiuni's gaze.

"Big sister, I originally wanted to kill you."

"But now, I've changed my mind."

"I suspect that a high-and-mighty noble like you has never experienced the apocalypse."