Chapter 332 - 320: Revenge

Chapter 332: Chapter 320: Revenge

The short sword tore through the air with a piercing shriek.

Killing intent flooded the cabin.

Faced with this sudden, lethal strike, Chen Li didn’t even raise an eyelid. He remained seated, casually lifting his right index finger and tapping it lightly through the air toward the approaching tip of the blade.

Vein-Severing Soul-Breaking Finger.

A blast of fierce Finger Force, formless, colorless, yet condensed to the point of being tangible, precisely struck the tip of the faintly blue blade.

"DING!"

An incredibly faint, yet exceptionally crisp clang of metal on metal rang out.

The vicious sneer on Nanny Zhang’s face instantly froze, replaced by utter horror.

’How is this possible?!’

"CRACK!"

A series of cracks echoed from her sword arm, running from her wrist to her elbow.

Her entire arm bent back at an unnatural angle as excruciating pain lanced through her.

She lost her grip on the Short Sword. It flew from her hand and embedded itself in the nearby cabin wall with a THUNK, the hilt vibrating uncontrollably.

Nanny Zhang let out a muffled grunt, trying to twist her body to absorb the force and retreat.

However, Chen Li’s second finger strike was already upon her.

This strike was silent, yet it had already anticipated all her escape routes, tapping through the air toward her chest.

Nanny Zhang’s body went rigid. She felt her Inner Breath freeze, its circulation coming to a sudden halt.

The surge of Inner Qi she had just gathered instantly dissipated, and her retreating figure was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.

"Acupoint stimulation?!"

Nanny Zhang was both horrified and furious. She desperately circulated the Inner Qi in her Dantian, trying to force open her sealed acupoints.

But just as her Inner Qi was about to burst forth, Chen Li’s third finger strike arrived.

Enraged and terrified, Nanny Zhang threw caution to the wind. With a piercing shriek, a light flashed between her eyebrows as a mote of Divine Sense, roughly the size of a soybean, shot out from her Divine Hall Acupoint.

The moment it appeared, the Divine Sense transformed into a sharp arrow. With a shriek that could tear apart a Divine Soul, it ignored all physical barriers and shot straight toward the spot between Chen Li’s eyebrows.

His response to this desperate, all-or-nothing attack was another light tap of his finger.

This time, his fingertip was wreathed in a faint, abyssal darkness that seemed to devour all light.

Silent Extinction Finger!

An invisible ripple spread out.

Wherever the Finger Force passed, the Divine Sense dimmed and dissipated in an instant, without even a whimper.

The soybean-sized Divine Sense shot back even faster than it had come, retreating miserably into the space between Nanny Zhang’s eyebrows.

"PFFT..."

Nanny Zhang’s body convulsed. Her eyes rolled back into her head, all color drained from her face, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

Her aura rapidly withered. She swayed for a moment before collapsing stiffly onto the cabin floor with a THUD, completely unconscious.

From her sudden attack to her collapse, the entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nanyue clutched her chest with a slender hand, her face pale. A trickle of dark red blood uncontrollably seeped from the corner of her mouth, staining the lapel of her moon-white robe.

Her eyes, usually so eloquent, were now filled with utter disbelief.

At the exact moment Nanny Zhang had collapsed...

"DONG...!"

...a sound only she could hear, like the toll of a great temple bell, had resounded from the depths of her soul.

The reverberation shook her Divine Soul, causing her blood and qi to surge in reverse. A sweet taste rose in her throat, and she was unable to completely suppress the mouthful of blood that seeped from her lips.

She swayed, steadying herself on the nearby zither table to keep from collapsing.

She raised her head and looked at Chen Li, who remained as still and unshakable as a mountain.

’What was that?’

’Did he attack me, too?’

Jiang Nanyue forced down the churning in her blood and the stinging pain in her sea of consciousness.

Unlike Linglong or Li Yuniang, she didn’t panic and try to break the Seal when she first felt the backlash from the Evil Suppressing Seal.

Instead, she slowly raised a hand and delicately wiped the blood from her lips with a white silk handkerchief embroidered with pale purple orchids.

She spoke softly, her voice slightly hoarse from her internal injuries, yet exceptionally clear. "Senior... what is the meaning of this?"

It wasn’t an accusation, more a request for confirmation.

Chen Li calmly met her gaze. "Now, you’d better give me an explanation."

Jiang Nanyue showed no fear, nor did she offer any excuses. Instead, she picked up the now-cool cup of tea and took a delicate sip.

She swallowed the tea, its flavor mingling with the coppery tang of blood in her mouth. Only then did she lift her eyes to meet Chen Li’s, her voice low. "Rest assured, Senior. Everything... is under my control."

"Control?"

A cold glint flashed in Chen Li’s eyes, and his voice turned frigid. "Is being used by you part of this control?"

Facing his piercing gaze, Jiang Nanyue answered frankly, "Yes. I did intend to use you, Senior, to borrow your strength to get rid of Nanny Zhang. But please believe me, I have absolutely no ill will toward you. To you, this is a trivial matter, but for me, it means freedom from years of servitude. I will be nothing but grateful!"

"Speak."

Chen Li uttered a single, icy word.

A flash of bone-deep hatred crossed Jiang Nanyue’s eyes. "That woman is the Xiang Sect’s Incense Attendant in Jiangzhou. All the sect’s strongholds and businesses in the region are under her jurisdiction. I, of course, am also subject to her control.

"That Nanny Zhang is perverse and cruel, especially to the women under her command who have made a name for themselves, like me. Beatings and humiliations are a daily occurrence. She skims off ninety percent of the silver coins we earn and the resources we need for our Cultivation.

"My younger sister couldn’t bear the humiliation years ago. With nowhere to turn for help, she ended her own life in despair. I have a blood feud with that woman."

Chen Li watched her coldly. "It’s not that simple, is it? It’s more than just a personal grudge. What else are you plotting? Tell me everything."

Jiang Nanyue replied candidly, "You are wise, Senior. You are right. Although Nanny Zhang is strong, it wouldn’t have been impossible for me to kill her if I had planned it properly.

"But there’s someone else behind her, also here in Jiangzhou. That person is the real problem. To truly break free, I need your help, Senior."

"Who?"

Jiang Nanyue lowered her voice. "One of the Xiang Sect’s Twelve Celestial Fragrances: Buried Bone Fragrance."

Chen Li’s brow furrowed slightly. He said coolly, "Miss Nanyue, you overestimate me. I don’t have what it takes to deal with someone like that."

Jiang Nanyue whispered, "Don’t be so modest, Senior. By a stroke of luck, I once learned a special Skill for reading people, and I am particularly sensitive to auras. In my entire life, I have only sensed an aura like yours from two other people. I... am absolutely not mistaken."

"And you’re not afraid you might be wrong?"

Chen Li retorted coldly.

Jiang Nanyue met his gaze. "I trust my eyes, and I trust my judgment. Even if I am mistaken, I will accept it willingly and without regret."

Chen Li fell silent for a moment before asking, "What do you want to do?"

Jiang Nanyue spoke softly, her voice as faint as a whisper in a dream. "If I said I wanted to destroy the Xiang Sect... would you believe me, Senior?"

When Chen Li didn’t reply, Jiang Nanyue added in a low voice, "Buried Bone Fragrance is the weakest of the Twelve Celestial Fragrances, merely a Grandmaster at the Divine Realm. For you, Senior, it would be effortless."

She paused, then added, "Please rest assured, Senior. I will take care of the aftermath myself and ensure it causes you no trouble whatsoever. I will also handle the task you previously assigned me with the utmost care."

Chen Li said coolly, "The Twelve Celestial Fragrances are the leaders of the Xiang Sect. If one of them dies, do you think the sect will simply let it go? How do you plan to escape the ensuing bloodbath unscathed?"

Jiang Nanyue seemed to have expected this question. A faint, coldly confident smile touched her lips. "The Xiang Sect is not a monolith internally. The infighting among the Twelve Celestial Fragrances never ceases. If Buried Bone Fragrance dies, some will celebrate, while others will see an opportunity to take her place. I... am already prepared."

Chen Li remained noncommittal and changed the subject. "Do you know why you just coughed up blood?"

Jiang Nanyue’s delicate frame trembled slightly. She lowered her eyes, her voice becoming soft and gentle. "I have my suspicions. It must be some kind of Divine Soul restriction you placed on me, Senior. But..."

She lifted her head, her gaze burning. "To be controlled by you, Senior, is my honor. I... could not ask for anything more. From this day forward, my body, my heart, and my very life hang on your every thought. I am yours now, Senior. I am at your command, and I would face ten thousand deaths for you."

"Get up."

Chen Li gazed at Jiang Nanyue, who was prostrated on the ground.

’This woman’s scheming, reflexes, and ruthlessness far surpassed any woman he had ever met.’

"Deal with her yourself."

Chen Li glanced at Nanny Zhang on the floor.

"Thank you, Master."

Jiang Nanyue gave a graceful bow, then walked to a curio shelf at the side of the cabin and pressed a hidden bump on its frame.

With a soft "CLICK," a hidden compartment sprang open.

From within, she retrieved a palm-sized Jade Bottle. It was a lustrous, milky white and felt warm to the touch.

She uncorked the bottle, breaking the beeswax seal.

Holding the Jade Bottle, she walked slowly over to Nanny Zhang, who lay on the deck, limp and unconscious.

She tilted the bottle, aimed for Nanny Zhang’s white-haired crown, and began to pour slowly.

"HISS...!"

The moment the liquid touched her flesh, it made a sizzling, corrosive sound.

"ARGH...!!!"

The unconscious Nanny Zhang’s eyes snapped open, and the searing pain ripped an inhuman, bloodcurdling scream from her throat.

She tried to struggle and roll away, but her vital acupoints were sealed by Chen Li’s Finger Force. Unable to move even a finger, she could only lie there like a heap of sludge.

Her scalp and hair blackened, festered, and dissolved at a rate visible to the naked eye.

A pungent stench rose with clouds of thick, yellow-white smoke.

"Jiang... Jing... Yuan! You... you murderous bitch! You venomous hag! I’ll haunt you even in death!"

Nanny Zhang’s face was a mask of agony as she used her last ounce of strength to shriek her curses.

Hearing the dying screams and curses, Jiang Nanyue gave a gentle smile.

The head swiftly caved in and melted under the liquid from the Jade Bottle, revealing the stark white of the skull, which then also dissolved into a gurgling yellow sludge...

The horrific screams gradually weakened, then fell silent.

Jiang Nanyue poured the rest of the bottle’s contents evenly over the corpse.

In moments, all that remained on the deck was a murky, yellow-green puddle of fluid, bubbling faintly as it soaked into the expensive rug, leaving a dark stain.

The foul stench filled the entire cabin.

Jiang Nanyue stood up, walked to the side, and pushed open a porthole window.

The river breeze poured in, sweeping away the nauseating odor.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air, then turned back to Chen Li and said softly, "Master, this place is now fouled, and the smell is awful. It will need some time to air out. Why don’t we move to the bow of the boat? I could play another song for you to alleviate your boredom. Would that be acceptable?"

Chen Li gave her a long, hard look, then stood up and walked out of the cabin.

A faint smile touched the corners of Jiang Nanyue’s lips as she picked up her zither and followed him.