Wei Jun approached slowly, his forced smile like a knife wrapped in silk. "Brother Su, you really didn't give face today, huh?" He sighed theatrically. "I thought you were righteous… but cutting my sister? You've broken my heart."
Su Xiaobai's lips twitched. 'This clown…'
Fine.
"Cut her?" His grin turned razor-sharp. "Your little sister and I were just having fun. She's clever, you know. Adorable, even. How could I even hurt her?"
The sharp dagger vanished with a flick. His hand shifted, fingers brushing her neck. Ling Er shivered, her trembling growing worse.
Her lips moved silently. 'Liar.'
Wei Jun's eyes narrowed. Too narrow.
Wu Jian, however, had had enough. "You dare disobey orders, kidnap the princess, and injure her—then lie to the Grand Elder and Prince Wei!?" His sword glinted, his voice shaking. "You'll pay for this, rogue!"
The guards tensed, but no one moved. Ling Er's tear-streaked, trembling figure held them back.
Su Xiaobai's gaze flicked to Wu Jian. 'Can this idiot read the room?'
His hand lingered on Ling Er's neck, fingers pressing just enough to make her shiver again. She looked as fragile as she felt—like a flower about to wilt.
"So tell ," Su Xiaobai said, his tone light, "where exactly did I injure her?"
Wu Jian snorted. "You drew a blade on her neck—everyone saw it! Even a scratch on her body is worth more than your life!"
Wei Jun stepped closer. "Brother Su, if that's true, even I can't save you."
Su Xiaobai's gaze flicked between Wei Jun and Grandpa Wei.
'Alright,' Su Xiaobai thought. 'Let's turn this circus on its head.'
"What if," he said, "there's no scar on the Little Princess's neck?"
Wu Jian gritted his teeth. "If there's no scar, I'll dig out my own eye!"
"Good," Su Xiaobai said, his grin widening. "Rember that."
With deliberate care, he lifted his hand.
The clearing fell silent.
Ling Er's neck was flawless. No blood. No scar. Nothing.
Wu Jian's jaw dropped. His sword trembled. The guards rubbed their eyes like children trying to wake from a nightmare.
Wei Jun stepped closer, his voice faltering. "This… this is impossible. Were you just… playing?"
Ling Er blinked, her fingers brushing her neck. "Strange," she murmured. "It hurt before, but now…" Her wide eyes locked onto Su Xiaobai.
"Big Bastard!" she chirped, her voice bright with childish wonder. "Teach that! I could scare so many people!"
Su Xiaobai's brow twitched. "Big Bastard?" His grin returned. "At least call Big Brother."
Ling Er pouted. "Big Brother Bastard?"
"Close enough."
Scars from enchanted weapons and spiritual energy didn't vanish so easily. But for Su Xiaobai, a thread of true qi was enough.
A cheap trick—but an effective one.
____
"Big Bastard Brother?" Su Xiaobai repeated, smirking. "Close enough. But if you want to teach you, you'll have to call Big Brother."
Ling Er bit her lip, her face scrunching with frustration. Finally, she muttered, "Big Brother…"
"Good girl," Su Xiaobai said slyly, patting her small, round butt. "I'll teach you. But when? That's my call."
"You…!" Ling Er's cheeks puffed, her eyes shimring like she might cry.
Su Xiaobai chuckled. "Careful, girl. Cry too much, and people might think you like ." With that, he pushed her gently toward the carriage.
"Lower your weapons," Wei Jun said sharply.
Wu Jian stepped forward, his voice cold. "Your Highness, this man dared to kidnap the princess in broad daylight! Letting him go would disgrace Yue Country!"
"Oh, Commander," Su Xiaobai said lazily. "Didn't you promise to dig out your eye if there wasn't a scar on her neck? Don't tell you've forgotten?"
Wu Jian's face twitched. "Why honor promises made with kidnappers?"
Su Xiaobai laughed softly. "Ah, so Yue Country's proud commander is also Yue Country's biggest liar. What's next? Crying to mommy?"
Wu Jian's face flushed red.
"You talk about honor," Su Xiaobai said, his voice turning cold. "But what use is it when you can't even guard your own princess? You let her get kidnapped, humiliated, and nearly killed. Was that honor slapping itself on its knees earlier?"
Wu Jian's sword trembled.
"If I were truly evil," Su Xiaobai continued, stepping closer, "you'd still be kneeling. Or worse, breaking your own bones. Maybe I'd have killed her outright. And what would you have done then?"
Wu Jian's knuckles whitened, but he stayed silent.
"Enough!" Wei Jun interjected, stepping between them. "This is getting ridiculous. Why did this start in the first place?"
Wu Jian opened his mouth. "The princess asked to—"
"Silence!" Wei Zhong's glare cut him off.
Dragging the princess into this would be suicide. Grinding his teeth, Wu Jian corrected himself. "I mistook her for a demon."
"A demon?" Wei Jun frowned. "And even if she were, how could you execute her without cause?"
Wu Jian froze. The truth was clear: we provoked them.
Su Xiaobai smiled. Dig faster, Commander.
"Presumptuous!" Wei Zhong's voice thundered. "Commander! Do you think Yue Country's treaties will survive if word spreads we execute children on a whim? Offer your hand and leg in apology, or leave Yue Country!"
Wu Jian's face darkened, but his guards moved to stand with him.
Wei Zhong didn't flinch. Their loyalty was aningless.
Su Xiaobai stepped forward, smiling. "Let's end this. The commander was just protecting the princess, right?"
Wu Jian's eyes darted toward Su Xiaobai, unsure whether to feel relieved or insulted. "Y-Yes," he stamred.
Wei Jun exhaled. Su Xiaobai, of course, wasn't being rciful.
This wasn't about forgiveness—it was about winning. And Su Xiaobai had already won. Wu Jian's pride was in shreds, and the princess was still alive.
As Wei Jun sighed, Su Xiaobai smiled inwardly. For now, let it go. An ally well-tid is worth more than a hundred dead enemies.
_____
Returning to the quiet camp, Su Xiaobai reclined against a moss-covered rock, watching the river flow as if it owed him answers.
The earlier storm of accusations, guards, and flailing incompetence had finally passed, leaving him with one persistent headache: Ling Er.
Wei Jun had vanished like smoke on the wind. No apology, no excuses—just a flick of princely indifference before he slipped away.
Su Xiaobai wasn't surprised. Disappointed, maybe.
The lack of soone from the Xiantian Sect to aid him stung his pride, but the unexpected boon of having the Yue prince in his pocket more than made up for it. Small kingdoms had their uses, after all.
He let out a breath, the peace broken by a far more imdiate disturbance.
"Big Brother!"
Ling Er's voice rang out, high and clear, sticky with childish glee.
She stood knee-deep in the river, splashing water in his direction. Her soaked robes betrayed every line and curve, clinging so tightly they seed painted on. Droplets slid down her collarbones, vanishing into the valley below—a sight any mortal man would find arresting.
Su Xiaobai, however, sighed. This brat doesn't know when to quit.
"Hey, big scary villain! Why aren't you playing with ?" she called, her voice full of mock indignation.
"I'm busy," he replied flatly, wiping his face as another splash hit him. "Try growing up first. Then we'll talk."
"What?—" Her gasp could've been torn straight from the pages of a cheap lodrama. "Are you saying I'm not a woman?"
He raised an eyebrow, his tone drier than desert winds. "You're a sparrow pretending to be a phoenix. Go chirp sowhere else."
"!"
Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she stomped her foot, sending ripples through the water. "Villains are supposed to be exciting, you boring lump! Do sothing villainous!"
Exciting? She has no idea what she's asking for.
Su Xiaobai's lips curled into a smirk as he leaned forward. "Exciting, huh? Fine. But don't cry later."
His fingers dipped into the river, and a ripple of qi shot outward, slithering through the water like a serpent answering its master's call. The river trembled, currents swirling unnaturally before wrapping themselves around Ling Er's legs.
SPLASH!
The water surged like a coiling dragon, tossing Ling Er skyward. She hit the river with an unceremonious yelp, vanishing beneath the surface before sputtering back to life monts later.
Her glare, sharp enough to carve stone, locked onto him.
"You—!"
"Oops." Su Xiaobai's mock concern dripped as thick as the water running down her face. "Thought you liked playing rough."
Ling Er's lips trembled, caught between fury and humiliation. Her drenched robes left nothing to the imagination, her hair, a tangled ss, clung to flushed cheeks as droplets slid down her heaving chest.
"You bastard!" she spat, her voice cracking as she tried to steady herself.
"Finally, sothing you're right about." He crouched at the river's edge, his grin wolfish. "You wanted attention. You got it. Or did you think villains were here to splash and giggle with you?"
Her fists clenched, her cheeks blazing red. "You're the worst!"
"Not the first ti I've heard that," he said lazily, watching as she stumbled toward him, her wet robes trailing like a siren's trap.
She hissed in return. "Fine! Take this!"
WHOOSH!
A crimson silk ribbon materialized in her hand, twisting to life as if summoned from the ether. She leapt onto it, her form gleaming in the sunlight, her wild hair framing eyes that burned with vengeance.
Oh, shit.
Before Su Xiaobai could react, the ribbon lunged forward.
BAM!
Ling Er slamd into him with the force of a battering ram, sending them both tumbling into the river in a chaotic spray of water.
"Ha! Got you!"
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