"Is that so?"
Zi Linling's icy voice echoed in the hall. "What if this venerable one refuses?"
The fat man and his two companions were stunned. They hadn't expected Zi Linling to refuse so unequivocally.
The fat man's face turned cold. "Since you refuse to be sensible, don't blame me for being rough with you!"
He turned to the skinny monkey and the short, stocky man. "Which of you two will go?"
"I will!"
"I will!"
The skinny monkey and the short, stocky man eagerly flexed their fists.
This was not an opportunity to get close to a beauty that came often.
What's more, this beauty was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Seeing the lust in their eyes, a dangerous glint flashed in Zi Linling's eyes.
The fat man pointed at the short, stocky man. "Xu Feihu, you go!"
Xu Feihu!
Those watching the spectacle heard the name and a flicker of surprise crossed their faces.
Then, they began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Could this Xu Feihu be the deputy leader of the War Tiger Mercenary Group?"
"Impossible! How could the deputy leader of the dignified War Tiger Mercenary Group look like that?"
"He's as short as a winter melon, how dare he have such a domineering name?"
...
Xu Feihu's face darkened. He cast a sinister gaze over each of the speakers. His gaze felt like being targeted by a venomous snake.
He said coldly, "Coincidentally, I am indeed the deputy leader of the War Tiger Mercenary Group!"
Those who had spoken shuddered and wisely shut their mouths.
Xu Feihu's lips curled into a sinister smile, but he didn't let the matter go.
He casually flicked his fingers a few times towards them. Those few people began to foam at the mouth and convulse.
Watching them lying on the ground in agony, it was clear they had been poisoned.
The other onlookers shivered and retreated in fear, their eyes towards Xu Feihu filled with dread.
Someone who poisoned others at the slightest disagreement, who would dare to offend him?
Poison!
Zi Linling's brow furrowed, and her gaze towards Xu Feihu grew even colder.
To use poison in front of her, the Ghost Hand Poison Doctor, was like showing off before a master craftsman!
Although Zi Linling was known as the Ghost Hand Poison Doctor, it was only because she saved people according to her mood, not because she indiscriminately killed the innocent.
Therefore, when she saw Xu Feihu poisoning innocent people, she wanted to step forward and save them.
Xu Feihu noticed her intention and stepped in front of her, grinning evilly. "Beauty, it's best you surrender. Otherwise, you'll know what it's like to be poisoned."
Zi Linling exuded an icy aura. "Since that's the case, this venerable one will gladly experience your poison!"
While keeping her eyes fixed on Xu Feihu, she flicked out a few antidote pills to Xue Ying, saying, "Go and save them!"
These antidote pills were just ordinary ones, not the all-purpose antidote pill Zi Linling had taken before.
Xue Ying nodded. "Yes, Young Lady!"
With that, she prepared to go and administer the antidote to those people.
But before Xue Ying could take a few steps, the skinny monkey, at the fat man's signal, blocked her path.
"Little girl, I advise you not to act rashly!"
Xue Ying's steps immediately halted. She looked towards Zi Linling for help, her gaze pleading.
Zi Linling's eyes narrowed coldly. A ball of fire spiritual energy rapidly condensed in her hand and was hurled at Xu Feihu. "Shorty, take this!"
Xu Feihu never imagined that Zi Linling, who had no spiritual energy on her, would use spiritual energy, and he was momentarily stunned.
And because he was too close to Zi Linling, in that moment of shock, the fire spiritual energy ball reached him, singed his eyebrows, and headed straight for his hair.
Xu Feihu felt a burning sensation before his eyes and finally reacted. A water shield protected him, and he roared, "Bitch, how dare you!"
Even though he reacted quickly, a third of his hair was burned off, leaving his scalp mostly bare.
This made Xu Feihu look utterly ridiculous.
The onlookers wanted to laugh but were afraid of incurring Xu Feihu's wrath and being poisoned, so they lowered their heads.
However, their slightly trembling bodies showed how hard they were struggling to suppress their laughter.
Xue Ying also covered her mouth and chuckled, thinking, "Young Lady's methods of punishment are truly amusing!"
The fat man and the skinny monkey couldn't help but twitch their lips as they watched Xu Feihu's disheveled state.
Zi Linling inwardly sighed, "What a shame!"
If her cultivation were higher, she would have surely burned this shorty bald.
Xu Feihu touched his singed scalp, his heart burning with rage. "Bitch, you've angered me!"
As he spoke, the spiritual energy around him surged, and his peak Gathering Spirit realm cultivation burst forth.
The onlookers couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for Zi Linling.
Everyone has a sense of beauty. Most people, when faced with a bald shorty and a cool, beautiful woman, would choose the latter.
Combined with Zi Linling's earlier action of having Xue Ying save people, it had earned her considerable favor.
This is how people's hearts work. Even though Zi Linling was a stranger to them, in contrast to Xu Feihu's vile nature, their hearts naturally leaned towards Zi Linling.
Peak Gathering Spirit Realm!
Zi Linling's eyes narrowed slightly. She watched Xu Feihu warily, a hint of eagerness in her gaze.
"Shorty, I'll chop you up and make winter melon soup!"
As Zi Linling spoke, her ninth-level Body Tempering cultivation also burst forth.
The fat man and the skinny monkey's expressions turned grim. It seemed Zi Linling possessed something that could conceal her cultivation, which had led them to misjudge her.
Xu Feihu was also taken aback.
Although Zi Linling had used the fire spiritual energy ball earlier, due to the effect of the Hidden Spirit Jade, he had been unable to discern her cultivation.
Therefore, despite his rage, he had been hesitant, as the fire spiritual energy ball had been quite powerful.
Now that Zi Linling's cultivation was fully revealed, he knew he had been toyed with.
So, after a moment of stunned silence, his eyes glinted with malice, and he said coldly, "Bitch, since you're courting death, don't blame me!"
As Xu Feihu spoke, water spiritual energy condensed in his hand into a water wall, which pressed down towards Zi Linling.
Zi Linling sneered, "Who is courting death remains to be seen!"
While retreating rapidly using her Dragon Steps and Dragon Movement techniques, she hurled over a dozen fire spiritual energy balls and then erected an earthen wall in front of herself.
Although Xu Feihu's water wall was powerful, after being depleted by over a dozen fire spiritual energy balls, its height was instantly reduced.
The remaining portion collided with the earthen wall Zi Linling had erected, slowly dissipating into spiritual energy elements and returning to the air along with the earthen wall.
Dual spiritual roots!
The onlookers' eyes widened in shock.
This young girl, no more than twelve or thirteen years old, possessed dual spiritual roots!