Vol 4. Chapter 168: Fleeing in Tears

Faced with Pipi's smug expression, Yuan'er could only squat on the ground, clutching her little head with both hands, and glare viciously at Pipi like a kitten with its fur standing on end.

After raising a hand to wipe the moisture from her eyes, Yuan'er, whose eyes were still brimming with tears, angrily extended a finger and pointed it straight at the purple-haired maid's face.

"You! You actually dared to hit this young lady on the head!"

In response to Yuan'er's accusation, Pipi let out a disdainful snort.

"Tch, so what if I did?! I wouldn't mind hitting you again!"

As he spoke, Pipi, who was feeling considerably better after venting his frustration, raised his right hand once more, assuming the posture of someone preparing to deliver a karate chop.

Seeing this, Yuan'er's eyes immediately contracted. She hurriedly withdrew her little hand, hugged her head tightly, and crouched on the ground, terrified that her poor head might suffer another devastating blow.

Clearly, Pipi's unexpected strike had left an extremely deep impression on Yuan'er.

Besides, Yuan'er was genuinely afraid of injuring her head. After all, according to Mother, suffering repeated serious blows to the head could turn someone into a stupid child.

Yuan'er certainly didn't want to become a foolish child like Sister Limo, who always gave Mother headaches.

However, after crouching defensively with her hands over her head for several seconds, the anticipated chop never landed.

Puzzled, Yuan'er cautiously opened her eyes and raised her head to look at the purple-haired maid beside her.

And at that very moment,

Under Yuan'er's humiliated and furious gaze, the purple-haired maid, who had long since lowered her hand, burst into undisguised laughter. The mockery in her voice couldn't have been more obvious.

"Hahahahaha! A little brat really is just a little brat! What a coward! Haha~ Hahahaha~"

"You! You! How dare you treat this young lady like that!! Bullying a little kid like this, aren't... aren't you afraid of retribution?!"

Trembling with indignation, Yuan'er questioned her from where she crouched on the ground.

Naturally, Pipi couldn't have cared less about the pink-haired girl's threat. He waved his hand dismissively.

He was the mighty Sword Demon King, someone who had roamed the Anqieka Continent for hundreds of years. During that time, the number of people he had bullied or even slapped to death was practically countless. Among them were quite a few renowned Eighth-Tier powerhouses.

Compared to all that, what was the big deal about bullying one little brat?

"Retribution? Like I'd be afraid of that! I'll bully you however I want! So what?! What are you going to do about it, little brat? Lalalalala~"

Without hesitation, Pipi put on his most mocking expression.

What a delicate, adorable face.

Unfortunately, the smile on it was so sleazy and infuriating that anyone looking at it would want to punch him.

The sight caused the anger in little Yuan'er's heart to skyrocket.

"You! You bastard!"

The little girl cursed angrily.

However, this time, Yuan'er didn't recklessly charge forward.

Although she had suppressed the Shadow of Silence Power within her body and couldn't properly sense her opponent's strength, judging from the flick the purple-haired maid had just delivered to her forehead, the other party's true strength was probably unfathomable.

If she really fought her, there was no guarantee she would gain the upper hand...

Besides,

Mother had said that unless she encountered absolute danger, she wasn't allowed to use her powers recklessly inside the academy.

Yuan'er still wanted to be an obedient child.

Thus, the black Shadow of Silence Power that had gradually begun to surge within her body slowly calmed down under the suppression of her will.

However,

Although her Shadow of Silence Power was no longer running wild, Yuan'er's heart was far from calm.

All kinds of negative emotions began battering the little girl's heart, causing her delicate body to tremble uncontrollably.

The more Yuan'er thought about everything that had just happened, the more aggrieved she felt.

She had clearly been running along the rooftop perfectly peacefully when a maid suddenly jumped out in front of her and knocked her over!

And knocking her over wasn't enough! She had even ruined all her candy!

That was a limited edition Grandpa Saiboke had carefully prepared for her! Waaaaah!

And then, not only had she lost her candy, but someone had even hit her on the head!

And after hitting her, that person had actually mocked her...

W-w-was there no justice in this world?!!!

Waaaah...

If she hadn't kept reminding herself that she mustn't embarrass Mother, Yuan'er would probably have burst into loud sobs long ago, pouring out all the grievances bottled up inside her.

However, Yuan'er was ultimately still a child of around ten years old.

Although her body contained an enormous amount of power terrifying enough to make others tremble, she was still a child.

After being bullied like this, the grievances accumulating in her heart were simply too much to suppress.

Finally, the little girl's eyes reddened, and enormous tears began spilling down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string...

Waaaaah...

??﹏??

"You bad woman! You're bullying me! Waaaaah..."

And just like that,

Under Pipi's triumphant gaze, the little girl finally lost control of her tears and began crying.

The pitiful pink-haired girl stood up while wiping her tears, then hurried away on her short little legs.

"Waaaaah, boohoohoo... You're bullying me! I'm going to tell Mother! I'll have Mother teach you a lesson!! Waaaaah..."

The little girl continued making threats between sobs as she picked up speed.

Before long, she had completely disappeared from the purple-haired maid's sight.

And so, this unexpected confrontation finally came to an end.

With Pipi's "complete victory."

Gazing in the direction the pink-haired girl had disappeared, Pipi smugly slipped both hands into his pockets.

His dark-purple eyes were filled with the pleasure of having thoroughly vented his irritation.

"Hmph! Little brat, you think you can compete with me~? Know your place~! Hurry home and cry to your mommy!"

Pipi proudly delivered his victor's declaration, curling his lips in disdain.

Tch.

Running to her mommy?

What a little brat.

Pipi wasn't remotely worried about the little girl going home to complain to her mother.

Back when he had accompanied that young lady as Lingluo's maid while living in the capital of Saint Lomari, Pipi had encountered plenty of spoiled brats.

After receiving a proper lesson from him, those little troublemakers would also run home crying to fetch their parents.

Then, the overprotective elders from their powerful families would take advantage of a moment when Pipi was alone and come to surround and kill him.

Whenever something like that happened, Pipi would unhesitatingly teach those fools a lesson they would never forget.

As far as Pipi was concerned, the pink-haired girl running home to complain to her parents would simply be a repeat of something he had experienced countless times before.

There was nothing worth worrying about.

When the time came, all he had to do was beat up the girl's mother as well.

Hehehe.

Easy peasy~

After snorting a few times, Pipi clapped his hands and prepared to return to Lingluo's dormitory as originally planned.

However,

Just as he calmed down and was about to take his first step, Pipi suddenly raised an eyebrow.

He thoughtfully glanced in the direction Yuan'er had disappeared before shifting his gaze toward his own right hand—the very hand he had used to strike the pink-haired girl's little head.

Hmmmm...

Come to think of it...

That little girl's physical constitution... seemed considerably stronger than that of other children her age, didn't it?

And besides,

That aura...

Why did it feel...

"Why does it feel... somewhat familiar???"

--

Meanwhile,

After escaping Pipi's sight, our little Yuan'er hurried into the garden and began running toward the teachers' dormitories.

The grievances in the little girl's heart continued swelling, and tears poured endlessly from her eyes.

No matter how many times she wiped them with her sleeves, she couldn't stop those crystal-clear droplets from spilling down her cheeks.

Instead, her delicate sleeves became thoroughly soaked and limp.

When the students in the garden saw such an exquisitely adorable little girl crying so pitifully, they couldn't help showing expressions of sympathy and affection.

Although they wanted to approach and comfort her, Yuan'er was running so quickly that they simply couldn't catch up.

Boohoohoo...

Bad woman! Bad woman!! I'm going to tell Mother on you!

The little girl kept muttering angrily to herself.

And just as she was recklessly charging forward while constantly wiping away her tears, paying absolutely no attention to the path ahead, a graceful figure slowly descended from the sky and appeared directly in front of her.

Unsurprisingly, the little girl ran straight toward the newcomer.

?!!

I-I'm going to crash into someone?!

Coming back to her senses and finally noticing the figure ahead, Yuan'er's eyes abruptly contracted.

She hurriedly tried to stop.

Unfortunately, her momentum was too great.

The little girl ultimately failed to control her body and crashed headfirst into the other person.

However,

Unlike her earlier collision with Pipi, Yuan'er wasn't sent flying this time.

Instead, she plunged directly into a soft, warm, and gentle embrace.

After remaining stunned for several seconds, Yuan'er's cheeks suddenly flushed bright red.

After all, it seemed she had accidentally wiped both her tears and her runny nose all over the other person's clothes...

The little girl wanted to raise her head and apologize.

However,

At that very moment, a familiar fragrance suddenly entered Yuan'er's nose, causing her entire body to tremble.

A flash of excitement and delight instantly appeared in her eyes, which had been filled with grievances only moments before.

?!

Hmm?! Th-this scent?!

"S-Sister Youlan!!!"

Raising her head and seeing that familiar face, Yuan'er couldn't help letting out an excited cry.