The Beauty and the Swordsman

Pei Lingyou's appearance was too sudden.

The officials felt as if they had just been talking peacefully, and in the blink of an eye, a "red-clad vengeful ghost" descended from the sky, brandishing a terrifying large cleaver, ready to claim their lives.

The officials only knew the sham skills taught by government instructors, and were no match for someone like Pei Lingyou. In the blink of an eye, they were kicked off their horses by a series of flying kicks and fell to the ground, vomiting blood.

After dealing with the imperial officials, it's time to deal with the five scoundrels from the martial arts world.

Pei Lingyou, with a sword on her shoulder and a cold, disdainful expression, glanced down at the five people.

"He looks respectable, but behind the scenes he's colluding with the court to do such despicable things! Be careful he doesn't give birth to a baby without a belly button!"

After cursing, without waiting for the five men to explain, Pei Lingyou raised her sword again and attacked, her momentum far more ruthless than when she had attacked the officials earlier.

Of the five, the "scholar" remained calm and unmoved, while his four disciples hurriedly raised their swords to defend themselves, catching Pei Lingyou's large cleaver in mid-air.

The sword and the knife clashed violently, producing a loud "bang".

The four disciples were so shocked that they staggered backward. They quickly circulated their qi and managed to kneel on one knee to steady themselves. They felt something slippery in their hands and looked down to find that their tiger's mouth was bleeding and their hands were trembling uncontrollably.

They never expected that a slender woman could not only wield such a massive weapon with such power and ferocity!

The four disciples were filled with fear and trepidation. They were knocked down in one move and could not stand up. They subconsciously looked at the "scholar".

When the entire audience was wiped out and almost no one was still standing, the "scholar" finally stepped forward unhurriedly.

He slowly raised his hand.

Pei Lingyou immediately raised her sword in front of her, ready for battle.

She could tell that although this guy had a scholarly air about him, his every move possessed the power of surging waves and thunderous force, indicating that he must be a master.

However, the "scholar" did not draw his sword; he merely raised his hand in a gesture of reassurance.

"Miss Pei, please calm down. We are here to rescue people, not to collude with the officials to commit evil. Please take back what you just said, okay?"

Oh, you know me?

Pei Lingyou was a little surprised, thinking to herself that it made sense; her reputation as the "Mischievous Pei" was known to everyone in the martial arts world.

Although she hadn't been out in the world for three years, the lingering influence of her past dominance still remained, so it wasn't surprising that this "scholar" recognized her.

But his tone of negotiation left Pei Lingyou somewhat bewildered.

Especially the last sentence, "Is it okay?", sounds like a sarcastic question, with a serious question and a hint of command.

Pei Lingyou felt provoked:

"What I say, I never take back! I'll call you all hypocrites and scoundrels, so what?!"

"No, no, no." Kuang Ye waved his hands repeatedly and said seriously:

"I meant the last sentence, please take it back, Miss Pei. That sentence is unlucky."

The last sentence? Giving birth without a belly button?

Pei Lingyou looked like she was choking.

She felt that this guy was very good-looking, but he seemed a bit eccentric.

He was hurling threats during the fight, but when he was called a scoundrel, he didn't get angry. All he cared about was whether his future child would have a belly button?

Pei Lingyou was unusually speechless, frowning as she sized up the "scholar" before finally finding a point to counterattack.

She noticed the scabbed cuts on the "scholar's" lips and deduced that he was a lecherous and despicable man in secret, so she cursed:

"What are you pretending for, kid? Did a dog bite your mouth? You're obviously not a decent person. What's your name?"

The "scholar" was slightly taken aback, and clearly fell silent.

Pei Lingyou thought she had successfully insulted the other party and was very pleased with herself.

"Kuang Ye."

That's what the scholar said.

Pei Lingyou snorted disdainfully, deliberately scanning him up and down with her gaze:

"Kuang Ye? Never heard of him. Let me see, besides his name being wild, what else is wild about him?"

After saying that, she brandished her knife and charged forward.

Kuang Ye's expression was quite complicated. He shook his head helplessly and had no choice but to raise his sword to defend himself.

The two quickly became entangled in a fierce battle, fighting fiercely both above and below, like mandarin ducks playing in the water... cough cough, it's more like a dragon and tiger fighting.

But upon closer inspection, Kuang Ye only used the scabbard to respond to the attack, without even drawing his sword, and he only defended without attacking, clearly holding back his internal strength.

This made Pei Lingyou even more upset, and she felt insulted.

Seeing that ordinary moves were ineffective, Pei Lingyou chuckled and slashed at Kuang Ye again. However, as the blade reached Kuang Ye, it suddenly turned and slashed downwards.

"Sizzle—"

Kuang Ye's pants were ripped open, revealing his pale thighs and revealing underwear.

He stared blankly at his lower body, his face showing the bewilderment and helplessness of an honest man who had never seen such a scene before.

Pei Lingyou, having finally succeeded, was overjoyed and beamed with delight.

"This is a move I created myself, called 'Open Crotch Cry.' How about it? Feeling cool?"

After saying that, she continued her attack.

This time, they poked my face, cleaned my ears, gouged my eyes, and picked my nose.

And then every now and then he would swing his deadly cleaver a few times.

This operation can be described as a combination of skill and despicable behavior.

Kuang Ye sighed and tucked his pants in, continuing to defend without attacking.

But the four disciples standing nearby couldn't stand it anymore.

They were deeply influenced by the martial arts teachings of prestigious schools, and had never seen Pei Lingyou so lacking in martial ethics in their lives.

One disciple couldn't help but curse:

"What a shameless fighting style! Where did this female madwoman come from?!"

Pei Lingyou was about to retort when Kuang Ye, still defending himself, spoke first:

"Shoumo, do not be rude. Apologize to Miss Pei."

The disciple who had been cursing refused to back down and cried out in grievance:

"Sect Leader! We're here to rescue people, contributing both money and effort. Why should we apologize to this she-devil?! Do they think our Tongchen Sect is easy to bully?!"

Upon hearing the words "Tongchen Sect," Pei Lingyou was visibly taken aback, and the cleaver in her hand paused.

There's no way around it; the most famous sect in the martial arts world has such a prestigious reputation.

More importantly, the matter that has been making headlines throughout the martial arts world recently was precisely Pei Lingyou's doing.

That day, she was drunk and staggering as she passed the foot of Tongchen Sect Mountain. There she encountered a huge, unreasonable white rock that refused to give way to her and even cursed her as a heretic from the martial arts world.

Enraged, she drew her machete and gave him a good scolding, leaving behind the famous and bold saying, "Since ancient times, good and evil have been irreconcilable, unless it is a man and a woman."

After she finished, she wanted to sign her name and have it engraved, but she was too drunk and fell asleep in a daze.

She has no recollection of what happened after that.

Lately, wherever she goes, she hears people talking about this.

She was secretly pleased with her newfound fame, but she couldn't help feeling a little guilty in front of the Tongchen Sect.

Pei Lingyou calmly sheathed her sword, then quickly glanced at Kuang Ye, her eyes flashing with suspicion, clearly surprised, "There's such a young sect leader?"

She lowered her eyelashes, her face still displaying arrogance and disdain, but her mind was already racing, trying to find a way to save face.

At this moment, Kuang Ye sheathed his sword and timely delivered the words:

"Miss Pei, we are here to save people, just like you."

"Tch, you messed with people on my turf. Since I took their protection money, I'm here to arrest them and hold them accountable. That's all, not to rescue them." Pei Lingyou curled her lip arrogantly and asked again:

"What does 'two ounces for one child' mean?"

Kuang Ye said, "The imperial court has abolished the old decree that children aged fourteen and above must pay taxes. The new decree stipulates that children aged three and above must pay taxes per capita. The children here are all from poor families who cannot afford to pay taxes, so we have come to make up the tax amount for them, and then the officials can release them."

A perfect solution.

They managed to save the children without offending the officials; the only one injured was the Tongchen Sect's money bag.

But the court's lackeys are always the most difficult to talk to, and you might have to give them extra favors before a deal can be made.

Unfortunately, just when they finally reached an agreement and were about to pay, Pei Lingyou suddenly appeared out of nowhere and overturned the negotiating table.

It seems it was indeed a misunderstanding.

Damn it, this is so embarrassing. Pei Lingyou cursed inwardly.

She looked around and saw that the officials were lying haphazardly on the ground.

Three or four were vomiting blood, eight or nine had their eyes rolled back, and two others lay on the ground unconscious, their fate unknown.

The leading officer, clutching his bleeding head, was furious:

"Give me two hundred taels now, it's no use! All the children must be taken to the capital for punishment! You tax-evading outlaws! Obstructing tax collection duties, I will definitely report you to the court and have you punished..."

"Shut your mother's mouth!" Before the official could finish speaking, Pei Lingyou stomped on his face, forcing him to shut up. She was already feeling incredibly embarrassed and had nowhere to vent her frustration.

"What tax would a four-year-old pay?! You'd be better off sending your emperor to his death! I can't collect protection money, and it's all your fault!"

As she spoke, Pei Lingyou unceremoniously snatched the money pouch from the official's body, then glanced at Kuang Ye with feigned disdain, still stubbornly trying to justify herself:

"What's the point of negotiating with these lackeys of the imperial court? Giving them money is pointless; just kill them with a few stabs. What a waste of time!"

This scene left Kuang Ye and the disciples of Tongchen Sect dumbfounded:

Flipping the table is one thing, but stepping on someone's mouth is another?

They even robbed people?

What's the difference between this and simply killing the envoy during a war between two countries?

The imperial court and the martial arts world already had a long-standing feud, and this is truly adding fuel to the fire. Alas...

Kuang Ye pressed his temples in distress and gave Pei Lingyou several resentful glances.

Pei Lingyou pretended not to see, walked straight to the prison cart, kicked the heavy door open with a "bang," bent down and picked up the chubby girl:

"Where are you injured? There's blood on your shoes. Were you beaten by those officials?"

Pei Lingyou tried her best to maintain her arrogant demeanor, still attempting to find a legitimate reason for her table-flipping behavior today.

However, the chubby girl simply opened her small mouth and pointed to the spot where she had a missing tooth, which happened to be the same bad tooth:

"After you stole my candied fruit, I climbed a stool to look for candy and fell down, breaking my tooth in the process."

"..." Pei Lingyou quickly took out a custard chestnut cake from her bosom and stuffed it into the chubby girl's mouth.

She gestured with her chin to the Tongchen Sect disciples: "The rest of the children are yours."

He then pointed to the official lying on the ground, his mouth swollen bigger than a sausage, and said to Kuang Ye with a serious expression:

"He's the one who kicked me, it has nothing to do with me."

After saying that, Pei Lingyou carried the knife in one hand and the fat girl in the other, and swaggered away as if no one else was around, leaving the mess to Kuang Ye and the others.

The voices of the two people, one big and one small, gradually faded into the distance.

"Sister Pei, you were amazing today! You almost helped!"

"Shut up!"

"That fair-skinned guy is so handsome, he keeps looking at you..."

"I don't understand what you're saying. My mom's calling me home for dinner."

"Aren't you an orphan?"

"Never mind that, I just gave birth to her yesterday."

"..."