Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

As dawn broke, the cries of vendors began to echo from the streets outside the inn.

Cheng Ying sat in front of the dressing table, looking at herself in the bronze mirror.

There was a faint dark circle under her eyes.

The noise from the next room last night lasted for a long time; the wooden wall couldn't block out the sound at all.

Lu Wushuang's unrestrained, sweet voice reached her ears clearly with every utterance.

She picked up the cold water from the table and splashed it on her face.

The water was cool, which suppressed the jumbled thoughts in her mind.

She changed into a light green long dress, adjusting the neckline tightly so that not an inch of skin was exposed.

The door was pushed open.

Yang Guo walked in front, and Lu Wushuang followed behind.

Lu Wushuang's cheeks were flushed, and she looked radiant, her steps light and quick.

She walked in and immediately took Cheng Ying's hand.

"Cousin, did you sleep well last night? You still don't look quite right."

Cheng Ying pulled her hand away, took a half step back, and subtly created distance between herself and the outside world.

"I'm fine. I rested overnight, and my internal energy has stabilized."

Yang Guo walked to the round table in the center of the room, pulled out a long bench, and sat down.

He bent one leg and placed it on the crossbeam, in a casual posture.

His gaze fell on Cheng Ying, and he looked her up and down.

"Now that Miss Cheng's internal energy has stabilized, please pour me a cup of tea. I've been talking with Wushuang all morning and I'm thirsty."

The room fell silent.

Lu Wushuang paused for a moment. Accustomed to serving Yang Guo, she turned to fetch the teapot. "Husband, let me pour it. My cousin is a guest after all..."

"Let her fall." Yang Guo interrupted Lu Wushuang, his tone not harsh, but carrying an undeniable air of authority.

He looked at Cheng Ying and said, "Miss Cheng, you used up so much of your inner energy to save me last night. You need to move around a bit now to loosen your meridians. A cup of tea won't hurt you."

Cheng Ying stood still.

Her hands were tucked into her sleeves, her nails digging into her palms.

On Peach Blossom Island, she was Huang Yaoshi's last disciple; she had never done any servant's work, such as serving tea and water.

Yang Guo was breaking Lu Wushuang's bones bit by bit right in front of her.

"What? Miss Cheng won't even give me this much face?" Yang Guo leaned against the edge of the table and tapped his fingers on the surface twice.

The two knocks, when they reached Cheng Ying's ears, carried a strong warning.

She remembered the two words she had uttered while kneeling on the floor in this room last night.

She closed her eyes and swallowed the anger that was rising in her chest.

She walked to the table and picked up the teapot. The tea was leftover from last night and had gone cold.

She took an upside-down teacup, filled it to about seven-tenths full, and held it with both hands, handing it to Yang Guo.

"Please have some tea."

Yang Guo didn't reach out to take it. He looked at Cheng Ying's slightly trembling wrist. "Miss Cheng, you're not holding this tea steadily. Your hand is shaking so much, is it because the coldness in your body hasn't completely dissipated?"

As he spoke, he raised his right hand and grasped Cheng Ying's hand that was holding the tea.

The moment their skin touched, the true energy of the Qiankun Technique in Yang Guo's palm penetrated through.

The domineering yang energy surged along Cheng Ying's wrist, rushing straight into her meridians and accurately striking the remaining mark near her dantian.

Cheng Ying's knees buckled, and the hand holding the teacup suddenly sank downwards.

Half of the tea spilled out and splashed onto the back of Yang Guo's hand.

Yang Guo steadily supported her hand, preventing the cup from falling to the ground. He lowered his head, brought his lips close to Cheng Ying's ear, and whispered something that only the two of them could hear.

"Call me master."

Cheng Ying tensed up. The heat surged through her body, draining all her strength. She gritted her teeth and forced out a very low sound.

"Owner……"

Yang Guo withdrew his inner energy with satisfaction, took the teacup, and drank it all in one gulp.

He stood up and clapped his hands.

"The tea is good. Go pack your things, we need to get ready to hit the road. We have to reach the ferry crossing ahead today."

Lu Wushuang watched from the side, unaware of the undercurrents between the two.

She assumed that Cheng Ying was too weak to even hold a cup steadily, so she quickly ran over and supported Cheng Ying's arm.

"Cousin, are you alright? Should I carry you downstairs?"

Cheng Ying straightened up with Lu Wushuang's help and shook her head. "No need. I can walk."

Half an hour later, the three of them led their horses out of the inn.

They did not take the wide official road.

Yang Guo led the two into a secluded dirt road. The road was uneven and full of potholes, with waist-high weeds growing on both sides.

Yang Guo rode at the very front, followed by Lu Wushuang, who trailed behind by half a horse's length, and Cheng Ying, who brought up the rear.

"Husband, why don't we take the main road?" Lu Wushuang asked, looking at the desolate wilderness ahead, somewhat puzzled.

"The official road is blocked." Yang Guo didn't even turn his head. "Last night we killed Wang Jian's personal guard commander outside the city. The Wang family must have sent men to block the checkpoints ahead overnight. Taking the official road would be like walking into a trap. This dirt road leads to a wild ferry crossing thirty miles away. Once we get on the boat and go downstream, the Wang family's cavalry won't be able to catch up."

The three of them rode horses on the dirt road for most of the day.

As the sun began to set, a commotion arose ahead.

It was a ferry crossing built at a bend in the river.

The river is wide and the current is gentle.

Two dilapidated passenger boats were moored at the ferry dock, and the shore was packed with people.

They were all refugees who had fled from Guanzhong.

They were dressed in rags, with their families in tow; some sat on the ground crying, while others clung to the wooden posts of the pier, trying to push their way forward.

A thick hemp rope was strung across the ferry crossing, and a dozen or so men dressed in rags and short jackets, carrying sheathed single-edged swords, kept the refugees outside.

The leader was a burly man with a face full of scars and a long knife scar on his left cheek.

He was holding a broad-backed machete and was kicking an old man who was trying to crawl through a rope to the ground.

"You old bastard, you're asking for death!" Scarface spat on the ground. "This boat is for rich gentlemen. You poor wretches, if you can't come up with ten taels of silver as a toll, you'll just wait to die on the shore!"

The old man lay in the mud, clutching his chest and groaning. A woman rushed over and hugged him, kowtowing to the scarred man.

"Sir, please have mercy. My whole family hasn't eaten for three days. Please let us on the boat. We'll give you the rest of our half-bag of mixed noodles."

Scarface sneered, walked over, grabbed the woman's hair, and dragged her up.

"Half a sack of mixed noodles? You think you can fob me off like that! I think your daughter is alright-looking. Leave her here for the brothers to have some fun with for a few days, and I'll let you all board the ship."

Scarface reached out to grab a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl next to him. The girl screamed in fright and clung tightly to the woman's leg, refusing to let go.

Lu Wushuang, watching from horseback, was furious. With a flick of her wrist, she had her willow-leaf scimitar in hand.

"Husband, these people are awful!"

Yang Guo raised his hand and pressed down on the back of her blade, pushing it back down. "Don't rush. Let's assess the situation first."

The three men rode their horses to the edge of the crowd. The sound of hooves caught Scarface's attention. He abandoned the woman, picked up his machete, and walked over.

Scarface's gaze swept over the three tall horses before finally settling on the three people on horseback.

He saw that Yang Guo was wearing an inconspicuous blue robe, and that Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying, although wearing veils, had graceful figures and wore clothes of the finest material.

Scarface's eyes lit up. He waved his hand, and a dozen of his men immediately surrounded Yang Guo and his companions with knives, blocking their escape route.

"Oh, so we have some distinguished guests at this wild ferry crossing today." Scarface slung his machete over his shoulder and blocked the way for the horses. "The three of you want to cross the river? The rules need to change. The horses stay here. As for the men, the men need to come up with one hundred taels of silver. These two young ladies need to take off their veils so I can have a good look at them. If they're pretty, they can stay on the boat tonight and have a few drinks with me."

The surrounding refugees were so frightened that they all retreated, making way for a large open space.

Lu Wushuang turned pale with rage. "You old dog, are you blind? You even dare to rob us!"

Scarface laughed loudly. The men behind him joined in the commotion.

"This little wench has quite a temper. I like women with big tempers, they're more exciting in bed!" Scarface took a step forward and reached out to grab Yang Guo's horse reins.

Yang Guo sat on his horse, not moving an inch. He looked at the scarred man, his tone calm.

"Who gave you the audacity to set up a checkpoint here and collect money?"

Scarface glared. "I'm the law of this area! General Wang of the Tongguan General's Mansion has ordered a crackdown on passersby these past few days. We, the Fierce Tiger Gang, work for the government. Who do you think you are, daring to meddle in my business!"

Yang Guo understood. These river pirates were dogs kept by Wang Jian and his son, who specialized in skimming profits at remote ferry crossings and also acted as spies.

"Since they are the Prince's dogs, then there's no need to keep them."

Before he finished speaking, Yang Guo raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers joined together.

The red and black primordial energy bead in his dantian suddenly spun. A stream of pure innate true energy flowed along his meridians to his fingertips. Golden light shot out from his fingertips.

One-Finger Divine Skill.

A flash of golden light passed by. Scarface didn't even see how Yang Guo made his move; he only heard a muffled "thud."

A bloody hole appeared between his eyebrows. The back of his head was pierced directly by a finger strike, and red and white substances sprayed onto the muddy ground behind him.

Scarface's laughter abruptly stopped. The machete in his hand fell to the ground, and he fell straight backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The surroundings were deathly silent.

The dozen or so men from the Fierce Tiger Gang were all stunned. They stared at the corpse on the ground, then looked up at Yang Guo on horseback, completely bewildered.

Yang Guo gave them no time to react. He leaped off his horse and charged into the crowd.

He unleashed the Serpent's Leap and Leap Technique from the Nine Yin Manual. He glided along the ground at incredible speed, specifically targeting the most densely populated areas.

A man raised his knife and slashed. Yang Guo dodged to the side, then turned his left hand into a palm and struck the man's ribs.

Nine Yin Heart-Destroying Palm.

Two opposing forces of true energy converged in his palm, penetrating deep into his bones. The man's ribs snapped cleanly, the broken bones piercing his internal organs. He didn't even have time to scream before spitting out a mouthful of blood and collapsing to the ground.

Yang Guo kept moving, his right hand fingers flashing. The One-Finger Divine Skill is designed to strike vital points.

Throat, temples, chest.

Every time a strike is made, someone is bound to fall.

He didn't use any fancy moves; it was all about killing.

These bandits from the Fierce Tiger Gang are good at bullying refugees, but when they encounter a top expert at the Innate Realm, they can't even withstand a single move.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, all thirteen men lay in pools of blood. Some were dead, while others were still convulsing on the ground.

Yang Guo walked up to the last surviving man. The man, terrified, dropped his knife and knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically. His crotch was soaked and reeked of urine.

"Hero, spare us! Ancestors, spare us! We were just following orders, it has nothing to do with me!"

Yang Guo looked down at him. "How many boats are there at the ferry crossing?"

The man answered tremblingly, "Two...two boats. The largest one is used by our gang leader, and it's clean inside. The smaller one is loaded with miscellaneous goods."

"Is there an ambush on the ship?"

"It's all gone! It's all here! Please spare me, hero!"

Yang Guo raised his foot and stepped on the man's chest. He released a slight burst of internal energy.

The man's sternum caved in, his eyes rolled back, and he died.

Yang Guo turned around, walked to the rope blocking his way, drew his short knife from his waist, and cut the rope in one stroke.

He looked at the trembling refugees hiding in the distance and threw his dagger on the ground. "I won't kill the sailors on the ship. Whoever can row, get on board. How far you go depends on your own fate."

The refugees were stunned at first, then burst into deafening cries. They surged frantically toward the small cargo boat.

Yang Guo ignored them. He turned and walked to Cheng Ying's horse.

Sitting on horseback, Cheng Ying witnessed the carnage clearly. Yang Guo hadn't even blinked when he killed. This ruthless decisiveness chilled her to the bone.

"Miss Cheng, dismount," Yang Guo said.

Cheng Ying dismounted and stood in front of him.

Yang Guo pointed to the largest passenger boat on the riverbank. "Go and clean the cabin. Throw away all the bedding, and wipe down the tables and chairs. We're going to board."

Cheng Ying bit her lower lip. She, a disciple of Peach Blossom Island, was now being assigned to do such menial work. And in front of so many refugees and Lu Wushuang.

She stood still.

Yang Guo took a step forward, getting closer to her. He didn't make a move, but just stared at her with an extremely imposing gaze.

"You've already forgotten the rules I taught you at the inn?" Yang Guo lowered his voice, making sure Cheng Ying could hear him. "Should I remind you again right here?"

Cheng Ying froze. She remembered the humiliation on the inn floor and the irresistible heat.

She lowered her head, avoiding Yang Guo's gaze.

"Yes... Master."

Cheng Ying turned around, dragging her tired legs, and walked step by step toward the passenger ship.

Lu Wushuang led the horse over, looking at Cheng Ying's retreating figure with a pang of heartache. "Husband, my cousin isn't fully recovered yet, let me do this heavy work."

Yang Guo reached out and put his arm around Lu Wushuang's waist, pulling her into his embrace. "Don't mind her. She just needs some discipline. A little more work, and she'll know her place. Come on, let's get on the boat."