The underlings clearly hadn’t expected Iron Mask to be so heartless, and all of them exclaimed in shock.
“Gua, boss is so cruel, actually using his brothers as shields.”
“To save himself, he sacrificed his good brothers? Boss is actually this kind of person? We never saw this side of him before. If we see this, will we get silenced?”
Lin Huanhuan seized the chance to add fuel to the fire: “A dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator can’t beat the two of us at the peak of Qi Refining, and even needs to use his underlings as meat shields? Some boss you are.”
Iron Mask was already in a foul mood from his injuries. Not only was he deafened by his subordinates’ noise, he was also publicly ridiculed by Lin Huanhuan. His irritation boiled over and he roared, “All of you, shut up! If you don’t want me to settle scores with you later, you’d better keep your mouths shut!”
Only then did the underlings clamp their mouths shut.
Seeing that her provocation failed, Lin Huanhuan was about to try again to infuriate the suspected cult leader Iron Mask, but he was already a step ahead, bellowing:
“You lot have watched the show long enough. All of you, get in there! Those two have spent a lot of energy—no matter how useless you are, you should be able to hold them back, right? I want them to pay the price!”
Upon hearing this, the underlings perked up, brandishing their bloodthirsty weapons and charging as a swarm.
“Wululu, it’s finally our turn! Everyone, let’s go—let’s teach these two brats a lesson!”
“Hack them to death, chop them into mince! The cult’s running low on human skin portraits, so let’s use their hides!”
“爽爽爽, fighting is fun! To battle with peak Qi Refining experts—even if I die today, it’s worth it!”
Lin Huanhuan’s eyes narrowed. “Heh, looks like we’ve really been underestimated. You think you can bury us with a pile of weaklings? Isn’t that just a bit too wishful?”
Dong Yuner was also upset. “Our strength may not be the highest, but being looked down on like this is just too much.”
As they spoke, the underlings howled closer. One of them hurled a spiked mace straight for Lin Huanhuan’s chest. With the mace’s power, if it hit, her chest would be crushed and she’d be seriously injured.
Lin Huanhuan sidestepped the mace, grabbed the chain to prevent its retrieval, and kicked the attacker hard in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
Iron Mask’s plan seemed sound—though he was gravely wounded, sending in the underlings would at least sap the girls’ strength. Once he recovered a bit, he could take them down himself. But he’d clearly overestimated his own men and underestimated Lin Huanhuan and her companion.
The fight lasted less than twenty seconds. Half of the underlings were already down, and the rest only dared to circle warily, no longer rushing in.
Lin Huanhuan smiled lightly, glancing at the still-recovering Iron Mask. “Yuner, let’s go. No point tangling with them.”
Dong Yuner forced several minions back with a single sword swipe and nodded. “Okay.”
The two of them left without a backward glance. Iron Mask’s eyes burned with fury. “Useless! You lot can’t even stall them. What use are you?”
Some underlings grumbled, “Wow, boss is shirking responsibility again? Is he going to pin the blame on us and kill us all? With a boss like this, what rotten luck.”
“We tracked those girls down, but because boss got an upset stomach this morning, we missed the best chance. Now he blames us? Isn’t that unreasonable?”
“We fought with our lives, but the enemy was just too strong. It’s not our fault! We won’t accept punishment!”
“Gua, it’s a rare treat to witness such a masterful frame-up. Even if boss kills us in a rage, it was worth it!”
Iron Mask’s veins bulged, his fists clenched tight enough to crackle. He nearly spat blood in anger: ‘Damn it, what kind of underlings are these? Why are other people’s subordinates so obedient, while mine are so impossible to manage?!’
“All of you, shut up! Say one more word and I’ll really kill you!”
The underlings instantly went silent, terrified to make another sound.
After a long while, Iron Mask managed to suppress the cold poison in his body and slowly stood up. “Phew, finally recovered a bit.”
A not-so-bright underling stepped forward. “Boss, those two have probably run far away by now. I doubt we can catch them. Should we go back first? I’m starving after fighting all day.”
Iron Mask punched him flying. “No need to worry. I left a hidden trick on them—they can’t get away.”
A shrewd-looking underling came up. “Boss, I suggest we relocate right away. Even if I could take out those two, there’s still one that seems to have escaped. They’re disciples of Lingyun Sect—Lingyun Sect will definitely send their experts to investigate. If that happens, we’ll be in big trouble.”
A very good suggestion—but Iron Mask sent him flying with a punch as well. “Are you all goldfish? Have you forgotten I already sent people after the one who broke away earlier?”
“Let’s go. I’ll use those two women’s blood to wash away my shame!”
*****
Meanwhile, the two girls had flown over a hundred li before their spiritual energy ran out, forcing them to land.
Lin Huanhuan glanced back, confirming there were no pursuers, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Great, we should be safe now.”
Dong Yuner nodded. “We really are safe. This time, it was all thanks to our teamwork, Miss.”
Lin Huanhuan shot her a cold look. “True. Which means it’s time to deal with someone who tried to betray me.”
Dong Yuner wasn’t afraid in the slightest. “So, it’s back to tying Miss up and locking you in the dungeon for life? Miss doesn’t think she can beat me, does she?”
“We’re both out of spiritual energy and can’t use spells. But I practice the sword path, you practice the wind path, and I know you very well. Miss, you’re not planning to win with just words, are you?”
Lin Huanhuan sneered. “Maybe so, but aren’t you forgetting something?”
Dong Yuner looked confused. Lin Huanhuan pulled out a precious spirit-restoring pill and swallowed it. “Now, who do you think has the upper hand?”
Dong Yuner finally showed panic. “Miss, that’s cheating! That’s not fair!”
“Hiss, can we talk this out?”
Lin Huanhuan only gave a cold laugh and charged forward.
Ping-li-pang-lang——
With almost no spiritual energy left, Dong Yuner was instantly defeated, then tied up. Only her head was left exposed; the rest of her body could only squirm like a worm.