The Mirror Master

"Daoist Li is a Cultivator! How—how dare you!"

Xiaodie was both shocked and furious.

Normally, an ordinary Martial Artist would never dare to provoke a Cultivator.

But this group knew Li Yue’er’s identity as a Cultivator, yet they had gone to great lengths to set such a trap.

The scene just now had been an act put on for them, all to make Daoist Li lower her guard and give that plainly dressed woman a chance to get close and strike.

"It’s Cultivators I’m here to screw over!"

Zhao Wuji’s words revealed an immense hatred for Cultivators. He cursed, "No matter how strong your Flying Sword is, it can’t block a handful of lime."

"Let me go, and we’ll see how you like my Flying Sword."

Li Yue’er tried to provoke him, hoping to find some chance of survival. "Using such vile and shameless tricks—what kind of hero does that make you!"

"Hahahaha! The little lass thinks she can provoke me."

Zhao Wuji roared with laughter. "We’re a crew that makes our living with blood on our blades, never knowing if we’ll see tomorrow. We were never heroes to begin with.

With those piddling skills and your lack of Jianghu experience, you’d fall into my hands every single time, even if we did this all over again.

I’ve prepared plenty of tricks to deal with you Cultivators. The lime was just an appetizer."

Zhao Wuji spat, pulled a porcelain vial from his robes, and smashed it directly onto the Flying Sword.

The porcelain vial shattered, splashing a pool of bright red, bloody liquid.

A sharp blade was held to Li Yue’er’s throat as she watched her Flying Sword rapidly lose its luster.

She completely lost her connection to the Flying Sword.

"Heh heh!"

Zhao Wuji glanced at the plainly dressed woman and cackled. "They say the Red Dragon is extremely yin and foul, capable of corrupting Magical Treasures. It really is true!"

The plainly dressed woman gave a wanton laugh and rolled her eyes at Zhao Wuji. "Good thing it was my time of the month," she said.

In reality, though Li Yue’er was bound, her hands were still free enough to form Sword Formulas.

If the woman had been further away, or if their guard had lapsed for even a moment, she could have directed her Flying Sword with the formulas and killed all these bandits in a few breaths’ time!

But now, that chance was gone.

’If I had known, I should have fought to the death. I might have been able to kill a few more bandits before I died.’

But until the very end, she had clung to a sliver of hope for a lucky break.

For a moment, Li Yue’er’s mind was in turmoil, filled with endless regret.

Although Qi Refiners could refine Flying Swords and kill enemies from a distance, their physical bodies were their weakness.

That was why all sorts of Protective Talismans existed.

’But I’m only at Third-Layer Qi Refining. I just got my Storage Pouch. My only talisman, an Exorcism Talisman, was a gift from my master. I don’t have any Protective Talismans.’

’If Senior Brother Yu were still here, he could have used a Protective Talisman. If we had worked together, we wouldn’t have ended up in this state.’

"How much money do you want? I can give it to you."

Li Yue’er said, "Killing me won’t do you any good."

"Heh heh!"

Zhao Wuji grinned, his eyes roaming freely over Li Yue’er’s body. "I don’t want money," he said. "I want you!"

Feeling Zhao Wuji’s brazen gaze, Li Yue’er’s heart trembled.

"I... We have no quarrel. Why are you..."

Li Yue’er was in a complete panic, her voice trembling.

"No quarrel?"

Zhao Wuji seemed to recall something, and his face instantly darkened. "My woman back in the day ran off with a Cultivator. Eight years we were together, but that couldn’t compare to a single sentence from a Cultivator!"

"That bitch even said that by following a Cultivator, she’d have a chance to give birth to a child with a Spirit Root. With me, she could only be a mortal. Fuck that shit!

This scar on my face was left by that Cultivator’s Flying Sword!"

Li Yue’er composed herself and said, "What does that have to do with me? If you have a grudge against them, go take your revenge on them."

"That guy was way more powerful than you. I’ll never get my revenge in this lifetime."

A savage glint flashed in Zhao Wuji’s eyes. He changed the subject, saying, "But, I did slaughter all eight members of the Xiao Family. That let off some steam!"

Xiaodie frowned and asked, "The eight members of the Xiao Family were just common people. What do they have to do with this?"

"They have nothing to do with it. If you have to blame someone, blame them for having the same surname as that bitch!"

Zhao Wuji’s tone was ice-cold.

Hearing this, Xiaodie and Li Yue’er were horrified.

’No wonder he’d do something like ambush a Cultivator. The man is completely insane!’

"Why should Cultivators get to be high and mighty and steal my woman? I’m going to steal a Cultivator myself and make her my bandit queen!"

Zhao Wuji stared at Li Yue’er, licked his lips, and cackled. "Little lady, from now on, we’ll have our fun day and night. We’ll have a few kids, and maybe one or two will be born with a Spirit Root. Then my old Zhao family will have its own Cultivator, heh heh!"

Li Yue’er’s face turned deathly pale with fear.

’If that’s what’s going to happen, I’d rather he just killed me with a single strike!’

"Boss, what about us?"

The group of bandits was eager.

"Don’t worry, brothers. Stick with me, and I’ll make sure you get your share."

Zhao Wuji pointed at Xiaodie and said, "This girl is for you. When you’re all tired of playing with her, just kill her."

"Thanks, Boss!"

The bandits cheered, their gazes toward Xiaodie changing as they grew eager.

Xiaodie was already suffering from the yin cold that had invaded her body, making her burn with fever. Now, hearing these words, her vision went black, and she nearly fainted.

’If I had even a shred of strength left, I would kill myself right here rather than suffer such humiliation!’

Li Yue’er suddenly looked at the surrounding bandits and said, "Listen up! My father is a Third-Grade Marquis of the Wu Dynasty, and my master is a Great Cultivator from Danding Temple. If I don’t return, Martial Artists from the Government Office and Cultivators from my Sect will come searching for me.

When that happens, there will be no place for you to hide in the entire Wu Dynasty!"

A Third-Grade Marquis!

Hearing this, the bandits’ hearts jolted, and looks of fear appeared on their faces.

Seeing this, Li Yue’er’s spirits lifted. She continued, "If you team up and kill Zhao Wuji now, you can still atone for your crimes. Letting us go would be a way to make amends..."

"Hahahaha!"

Before Li Yue’er could finish, she was cut off by a long laugh from Zhao Wuji.

"Brothers, this little lady has such a powerful background. If we really let her go, would any of us be left alive?"

Zhao Wuji said coldly, "If that Marquis finds out his own daughter fell into our hands, the first thing he’ll do is silence us all to prevent word from getting out and his reputation from being damaged."

The bandits nodded in silent agreement.

Zhao Wuji added, "The world is vast, and Wu Country isn’t the only one. As long as we escape across the border and hide in some Dominator Country, a Third-Grade Marquis of the Wu Dynasty can’t do a thing to us!"

"That’s right."

The plainly dressed woman nodded. "Things have already gone this far. It’s too late for regrets. If we let them go, we definitely won’t live for more than three days."

Hearing this, Li Yue’er fell into utter despair.

Even her last shred of hope was gone.

’The only silver lining is that Young Master Lu isn’t here. I hope he comes back later and doesn’t run into these vicious thugs.’

"Brothers, what are you waiting for? This temple might be run-down, but it’ll do."

Zhao Wuji called out.

The bandits roared with laughter.

Zhao Wuji tossed aside his Long Saber, began to untie his clothes, and walked toward Li Yue’er with a lecherous grin. "Today, I’m going to have a taste of what a Cultivator’s body is like!"

Watching the bandits surround her, Xiaodie’s spirit finally broke. She burst into tears, crying out, "You... you... you’ve done so many evil things! Aren’t you afraid Heaven will strike you down with lightning?!"

KRAK!

At that very moment, a clap of thunder truly did ring out from outside the ruined temple.

It was accompanied by a thick bolt of lightning that tore through the night sky.

The bandits jumped in fright, instinctively glancing outside.

The bandits’ faces changed instantly, their pupils contracting as if they had seen something utterly terrifying!

The flickering lightning illuminated a tall and burly figure in the doorway of the ruined temple. His head nearly touched the doorframe, his black hair danced wildly, and his bare torso was covered in scars that looked like Spiritual Snakes draped over his body!

The newcomer’s gaze was like a torch, and his entire body radiated a sharp, murderous aura.

Like a Demon God descended upon the mortal world, he looked down on them all, his presence as oppressive as a prison!