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The sea wind blew by. Faced with Madam Huaâs question, Lu Yu Qin flinched and looked away, appearing to be guilty.
Madam Hua snorted, âDo you think you can get away with it by just keeping quiet? There are not many people on this island, so it isnât hard to find out the culprit. I might consider giving you a lighter punishment if you come forward yourself. OtherwiseâŠâ
Yuan Wu immediately said, âMadam, it must be both the mother and daughter who hurt Xiao Hong.â
Madam Hua scoffed, âHow do you know?â
Yuan Wu explained, âJust like what I had said, they were the ones responsible for obtaining Luminous Pearls. Your red carp must have been hurt when it was having fun in the sea. I swear that besides those two over there, no one else had gone into the surrounding waters.â
With her gaze turning glacial, Madam Hua stared at Lu San Niang and demanded, âSan Niang, how will you explain yourself?â
Lu San Niang lowered her head, âElder Sister, please forgive me. I didnât know that the red carp was your pet. If I knew, I wouldnât have the guts to harm it.â
With a furious expression, Madam Hua said through gritted teeth, âSo, youâre really the one that hurt Xiao Hong. San Niang, Iâm so disappointed in you!â
Just then, Lu Yu Qin stepped forward and growled, âMy Mother didnât do it! It was me! The fish suddenly came at us and surprised me, so I hit it by accident. I donât think the fish was severely injured anyway.â
Shocked by her daughterâs move, Lu San Niang quickly pulled her back and chided, âStop talking!â
Madam Hua stared at the sight and put on a cold smile, âWhat a loving mother and daughter! Iâm moved!â Despite what she just said, her expression was ice cold, as though she couldnât wait to kill the people before her eyes.
The woman holding the fish tank bellowed, âWhat do you mean Xiao Hong isnât severely injured? Open your eyes and take a closer look. The scales on Xiao Hongâs back have been damaged! Do you know how much Madam loves Xiao Hong? How are you going to compensate Madam?â
Knowing Madam Huaâs temperament, Lu San Niang understood that this problem couldnât be solved easily. Madam Hua had always been resentful of her, so she wouldnât give up this chance to teach her a lesson. Hence, Lu San Niang hurriedly pleaded, âElder Sister, it was me who hurt the red carp, so please punish only me.â
âSan Niang, do you think Iâm an idiot?â Madam Hua stared sternly at her and parted her lips, âYouâre in the Emperor Realm, but Xiao Hong is just a Fifth-Order Monster Beast. If you made a move, Xiao Hong wouldnât have survived.â
âIt was really me!â
âStop spouting nonsense! I already know who hurt my precious pet!â Madam Hua shifted her attention to Lu Yu Qin, âSince youâve failed as a mother in disciplining your own daughter, Iâll teach her a lesson on your behalf, then. This is something I should do as her Senior, so thereâs no need for you to thank me!â
âElder Sister!â Flabbergasted, Lu San Niang hurriedly stood in front of her daughter.
Lu Yu Qin knew that she had made a huge mistake, so her beautiful face turned pale in an instant; however, she didnât harm the fish on purpose. When she was collecting Luminous Pearl with her mother, a huge red carp approached them suddenly. Shocked, she landed a palm on that fish to chase it away, but she didnât expect that her action would cause her to get into trouble later. If she knew that this would be the outcome, she wouldnât have harmed the red carp no matter what. Although she was terrified, she still yelled, âDonât bully my mother!â
âWhat do you mean, Iâm bullying your mother?â Madam Hua snorted, âA little girl like you shouldnât be so rude. Slap her for me!â
âYes, Madam!â The woman, who had been quiet all the while, stepped forward and glared at Lu San Niang, âMove!â
Certainly, Lu San Niang wouldnât just stand down as she kept shaking her head at Madam Hua, begging for her mercy.
Madam Hua continued, âSan Niang, you know my temperament well. If you step aside now, it will only be a small lesson; however, if you dare to stop me, I will have no choice but to thoroughly punish her.â
Lu San Niangâs expression changed when she heard that.
âOut of the way!â As the woman spoke, she pushed Lu San Niang aside. She was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, which was much lower than Lu San Niang; however, Lu San Niang apparently didnât dare to resist her, so she staggered to the side from the impact as she looked at her daughter with teary eyes. Knowing that her daughter couldnât be spared the punishment, she just hoped that Madam Hua wouldnât go overboard.
âMother!â Lu Yu Qin called out to her.
With a ruthless smile, the woman raised her hand, ready to land a slap on Lu Yu Qinâs face, which resembled that of Lu San Niang. Apparently, the woman didnât intend to go easy on Lu Yu Qin as she circulated her Source Qi around her palm. Lu Yu Qinâs cultivation was so low that she couldnât possibly parry the attack. If she was slapped, her face would be severely injured.
Lu San Niang dug her nails in her palms, but she felt no pain at all. With her eyes turning bloodshot, she forced herself to remain on the same spot. She knew that if she tried to save her daughter, both of them would lose their lives here on this day as Madam Hua wouldnât let them off. However, if she stayed put, there was a chance for her daughter to survive. Not having the heart to see her daughter being punished, she looked away as her tears slipped down her face.
*PaâŠ*
A loud slap was heard, followed by a womanâs scream. At that instant, the entire world seemed to have fallen into silence.
Lu San Niang felt her heart aching terribly. Although having her daughter was an accident, she still gave birth to her after a 10-month long pregnancy. Over the years, she only had her daughter by her side, so her daughter had become the most important person in her life.
She had never had the heart to scold harshly or lay a hand on her daughter before, but on this day, she had no choice but to let someone else slap her daughter right in front of her. She hated herself for being so useless, as well as Madam Huaâs ruthlessness. Thinking that it was all her fault, she started tearing up. At that instant, her tears dropped onto the floor like stringless pearls.
Then, worried that Lu Yu Qinâs face might have been deformed, she turned to look at her daughter. However, the next moment, Lu San Niang was stunned, as her daughterâs face remained flawless.
Although Lu Yu Qin appeared to be terrified, there was no sign of injury on her face. On the other hand, there was a visibly red slap mark on the face of the woman who was about to lay a hand on her. At the same time, blood was streaming out of her mouth. The woman was slapped so forcefully that her face soon became swollen.
[My daughter is fine? That woman was slapped instead?] Lu San Niang was astounded as she didnât know what had happened.
The woman, who had been slapped, was rooted to the spot as she didnât understand how she got slapped instead when she was the one who was supposed to slap Lu Yu Qin.
At that instant, Yuan Wu, Madam Hua, and the woman holding the fish tank were stunned as well. However, Madam Huaâs expression soon darkened as an insidious glint flashed across her beautiful eyes. Staring at the young man, who was standing in front of Lu Yu Qin, she questioned, âIt was you who did it, right?â
Here, only Yang Kai, Lu San Niang and Lu Yu Qin dared oppose her. The mother and daughter pair did not have the guts to disobey Madam Hua, so the person who dared to make a move must be Yang Kai.
Since she arrived at this place, she had never spared Yang Kai a glance, as the latter was only a First-Order Emperor. Although her cultivation was in the same realm, cultivation wasnât the most important thing on Dragon Island.
She had the support of an Eighth-Order Thunder Dragon, so no one other than the Dragon Clan had the guts to offend her. Hence, she didnât expect that this average-looking young man was brazen enough to slap her subordinate, which was akin to slapping her.
[How outrageous!] Madam Hua was burning with fury as she glowered at Yang Kai.
âGood, it was me who did it.â Yang Kai took the blame in Lu Yu Qinâs stead.
Hearing that, Lu San Niang was grateful for what he was doing for her, but at the same time, she was worried about him. She knew that Yang Kai was a powerful man who had taught Yuan Wu a lesson before, but Yuan Wuâs status wasnât comparable to that of Madam Hua.
It was no big deal punishing Yuan Wu, but it was akin to courting death offending Madam Hua. Extremely worried, Lu San Niang wiped away her tears and hinted at Yang Kai with her gaze.
Oblivious to her, Yang Kai waved his hand and said disdainfully, âI never wanted to lay my hand on a woman, but all of you are too disgraceful. Unfortunately, my hand has been dirtied.â
âWhat did you just say?â Madam Hua narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
Straightening up, Yang Kai questioned, âAre you deaf or what? Is that why you couldnât hear me?â
Infuriated, Madam Hua couldnât believe what she just heard. [How dare he talk to me like this!? How could he have the guts to offend me? Iâm basically the Mistress of this island. Other than members from the Dragon Clan, no one else dares to be so arrogant before me!]
With her body trembling in anger, she said through gritted teeth, âBrat, you must be sick of living!â
Yang Kai snorted, âLetâs see if you have the ability to kill me. Youâre nothing but a plaything to some Dragon, so I donât understand how you could be so overbearing. Why are you making a big fuss over a minor issue? Do you know that youâre annoying? If you dare to find fault with us again, Iâll slap you as well. I donât enjoy laying hands on women, but that doesnât mean that I wonât.â
[Iâm just a plaything? A minor issue?] Madam Hua widened her eyes in disbelief and actually started laughing out of anger, âXiao Hong has been hurt, so Iâm just here to obtain justice! And yet, you dare to offend me and injure my subordinate? Are you out of your mind?â
âSo what if I called you a plaything and harmed your subordinate? Elder Sister Lu has apologized to you, so you shouldnât have tried to harm her daughter.â
âIs an apology useful?â Madam Huaâs expression was dark, âWhatever injury Xiao Hong has suffered, Iâll have that brat get the same treatment!â
Hearing that, Lu Yu Qin couldnât help shuddering. The red carp had only lost some scales, but if she were given the same treatment, it would mean that a layer of her skin would have to be peeled off. She was just a young girl, so she couldnât possibly endure this kind of pain. In an instant, her face had turned completely pale.
âIs that how you want to settle this?â Yang Kai scoffed.
âAn eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Thatâs how the world works!â Madam Hua declared coldly, as her chest was heaving. Apparently, she could not stand Yang Kaiâs attitude anymore.
With a frown, Yang Kai nodded slightly and replied, âYouâre right. An eye for an eye is indeed fair.â
Lu San Niangâs beautiful face turned a shade paler when she heard that. She thought that Yang Kai couldnât withstand the pressure anymore and was giving in to Madam Hua. Nevertheless, she wouldnât blame him for this because he had just protected her daughter from a possible injury. It was the right move to give in at this point, but she was worried that Madam Hua wouldnât let him off as well.
As such, she secretly made up her mind. No matter how Madam Hua was going to punish her daughter, she would endure the pain in her stead so that her daughter wouldnât be harmed.