Volume 5 – A Distance Within Reach, Chapter 73: Imperial Law
Who else apart from Zhao Yuying would dare speak to all those noble ladies in this manner?
Nangong Ling’s maid, however, didn’t stop and continued to push Nangong Xiaoniao forcefully. A faint origin power glow emerged on her palm—apparently, she was planning to launch a sneak attack. But a sudden crack, resembling that of a whiplash, rang out in the air just as her hand was about to touch Nangong Xiaoniao’s chest.
The maid screamed wretchedly and staggered back. The sleeves were torn, and the two bloody traces on her arm were swelling up fast.
No one saw the whip, but knowledgeable people understood that it was an invisible whip formed from origin power, and that the assailant was exceptionally skilled in origin power control.
Zhao Yuying walked through the base gates in a leisurely manner and beside her was Qianye. She gazed at this maid with a cold smile and said, “You dare attempt an attack while this mommy here is talking? You’re simply asking to be disciplined. I whipped your arms this time, but I’ll whip your mouth if you dare repeat this offense! I wonder who raised such an unruly dog.”
Nangong Xiaoniao glanced back—her gaze shot past Zhao Yuying and landed on Qianye. She was completely stunned.
Zhao Yuying walked over. “Xiaoniao, how come you’re here? Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? Come to think of it, how are the old men doing? They haven’t died, have they?”
It was evident that Zhao Yuying was more than just familiar with Nangong Xiaoniao.
Nangong Xiaoniao’s eyes seemed stuck to Qianye and only let out some unintelligible sounds as though she hadn’t heard a word of what Zhao Yuying just said.
Zhao Yuying stood in front of Nangong Xiaoniao with a puzzled expression and said loudly, “Hey! I’m going to harass you if you keep acting mute!”
“Oh, right, okay,” Nangong Xiaoniao replied absent-mindedly. It was apparent that she had no idea what she had just replied.
At this time, the hostile atmosphere had been completely broken by Zhao Yuying. The Red Scorpion soldiers standing close by had heard her clearly and were all dumbfounded. A female Red Scorpion officer near Nangong Xiaoniao wanted to remind her by pinching her arms, but Zhao Yuying’s glare sent her cowering to one side.
Miss Zhao Yuying wasn’t one to be messed around with—she laughed like an evil wolf as she reached out her claws to grab Nangong Xiaoniao’s chest. This grabbing motion immediately outlined the actual size of Nangong Xiaoniao’s chest under the military uniform. Quite surprisingly, its curves rose and fell like the roaring waves.
The sudden assault to her vital part woke Nangong Xiaoniao from her reverie. First, she screamed loudly and only afterward did she remember to slap away Zhao Yuying’s hands.
Zhao Yuying took the opportunity to grab a couple more times and laughed, “What a klutz. This mommy here would’ve finished taking all kinds of advantages by the time you react.”
“You’re acting like this again!” Nangong Xiaoniao glared angrily at Zhao Yuying. The word “again” filled people with imagination. It was a clear indication that such an incident had happened more than once before.
Zhao Yuying laughed mischievously with a rascal expression. “One more time makes no difference.”
Nangong Xiaoniao was fuming as she forcefully swung her little fists at Zhao Yuying. Later on, her gaze turned back to Qianye and was stuck there once again.
Even the insensitive Zhao Yuying had already discovered that something was off. She glanced between Nangong Xiaoniao and Qianye with a puzzled expression. “My brother here is indeed not bad looking, but…”
Qianye also felt odd after being gazed at by this young lady and felt as though he had seen her somewhere. Something flashed through his mind all of a sudden—he blurted out, “Little rookie?!”
“Yes, that’s me!” Nangong Xiaoniao immediately became excited.
Zhao Yuying wore a suspicious expression. “When did your name become Nangong Little Rookie?” [1]
“My name is Nangong Xiaoniao!” She quickly slapped away the hand Zhao Yuying was secretly extending toward her.
At this time, Nangong Xiaoniao turned around completely, allowing both Qianye and Zhao Yuying to see the red palm print on her face. Qianye was only startled slightly, but Zhao Yuying was completely furious. She pulled Nangong Xiaoniao over and asked, “How did this happen? Who hit you?” With that, she scanned the surroundings with vicious eyes.
Nangong Xiaoniao’s lips were shut tight and refused to answer, but the reactions of the surrounding people immediately pointed out the culprit.
Nangong Ling spoke without any pretense, “It is I.”
Zhao Yuying squinted her eyes and asked coldly, “Why?”
Qianye also walked over and, glancing at the little girl whose height only reached his chin, asked with a frown, “What happened?”
Nangong Xiaoniao looked up but immediately lowered her head like a startled deer after realizing she was only an arm’s length away from Qianye. Her face was as red as a big, ripe apple. Her pursed lips couldn’t manage to speak a single word, and her head had been lowered so much that it was about to disappear.
Nangong Xiaoniao couldn’t speak, but Nangong Ling had no choice but to reply. Unwilling to lose out in terms of momentum, she said insipidly, “Yuying.”
“Is Yuying for you to address? Don’t act so familiar with this mommy!”
Nangong Ling’s expression turned extremely ugly. She took a deep breath and forced herself to contain her emotions.
At this moment, a group of people arrived from outside of the gates. Zhang Zixing and the Red Scorpion Brigadier General An Shaonian had arrived. Meanwhile, Song Zining and Wei Potian had also emerged from the base. It seemed all the important characters in Blackflow City were now present.
Nangong Ling found it even more difficult to compromise under such circumstances. Her face was somewhat pale as she straightened her chest and said calmly, “Young Miss Zhao, you also know that our Nangong family has grievances with her.”
Zhao Yuying cut her short once again and said impatiently, “Cut the crap. This mommy here doesn’t understand! Speak directly!”
Zhao Yuying wasn’t giving Nangong Ling the slightest bit of face. The spectators, especially those noble ladies, were all looking on with an expression of schadenfreude.
Nangong Ling clenched her fists under her wide sleeves and said coldly, “Directly it is then. I slapped her because she was blocking my way. It’s just that simple! So what if I strike a person of humble birth? Not to mention a slap, I only need to provide a bit of compensation even if I cripple her. This amount, I can afford! This is the Imperial Law. What? Does the young miss of the Zhao clan have any questions about this? ”
Zhao Yuying laughed languidly instead of getting angry. Contrary to expectations, she said, “Of course not.”
Nangong Ling was greatly surprised, but she understood that she shouldn't stay here for long. “Since you have no questions then I shall take my leave.”
“Wait,” Zhao Yuying called Nangong Ling back and then walked toward her.
“What? Does the Zhao clan young miss have more advice to give?” Nangong Ling hadn’t even finished speaking when Zhao Yuying’s palm swung over. The slap landed squarely on her face with a loud bang.
Half of Nangong Ling’s face swelled up, and fresh blood trickled down the corner of her torn lips. Nangong Ling was petrified and only managed to cover her face with her hand. She couldn’t believe that Zhao Yuying would actually make a move against her, and with such ruthlessness no less.
The maid behind Nangong Ling reacted only afterward as she rushed out and hurriedly stood protectively in front of Nangong Ling. However, she knew very clearly just how powerful Zhao Yuying was and didn’t even dare utter fierce words, to speak nothing of drawing her sword.
Zhao Yuying’s mood improved quite a bit after the slap. “There’s nothing to advise. I’m only teaching you to be obedient and letting you know how the Imperial Law works. This is Evernight continent. Not the empire.”
At this point, a cold light flashed through the depths of Zhao Yuying’s eyes. “I’m indeed in the wrong for slapping you. You can go and report this matter after returning to the empire. There’s no rush. Maybe the verdict will come after eight or ten years. This mommy will do whatever the Department of Justice sentences me to—you’ll be compensated not a penny less.”
Nangong Ling stared fixedly at Zhao Yuying. Her eyes were full of flames, but she spoke not a word in the end and turned around to leave. That maid-guard also hurried after her.
The threat in Zhao Yuying’s words was fairly evident. There wasn’t the slightest bit of advantage in confronting her in such a lawless place like Evernight continent. Moreover, as the granddaughter of Duke You, her identity was much higher than Nangong Ling’s status as the second lineal daughter of a marquis. So what if she returned to the empire? So what if she reported this matter to the Department of Justice?
At that time, those old men from the Department of Justice need only perform their routine duties according to the book, and this matter would drag on for several years. Even if it was ruled that Zhao Yuying had slapped her for no good reason, the law would only require her to pay for medicine and treatment. The commotion would only cause the Nangong family to lose face.
Zhao Yuying was on a completely different level compared to Nangong Ling in making use of Imperial Laws.
Seeing Nangong Ling retreat, Zhao Yuying said with a cold snort, “You sure are quick to run! This mommy here wanted to do another backhand slap!”
Many of the noble ladies felt intimidated after hearing these words and began to disperse in succession. Their identities were all similar to that of Nangong Ling—since Zhao Yuying dared to slap Nangong Ling, she dared slap them too. Zhang Zixing wouldn’t interfere. He had made it very clear that he would only deal with external threats and not internal conflicts.
Wei Potian apparently had no fear at this moment and approached with a face full of smiles. “Sister Yuying, you’ve returned! Oh, Qianye, you’re here too!”
Qianye narrowed his eyes at the halfway point, overcome with the urge to smash this boar’s face—the latter hadn’t noticed him at all.
Zhao Yuying was too lazy to pay the Wei clan heir any attention and dragged Nangong Xiaoniao over to check her wounds. “Does it still hurt? Are you injured anywhere else?” Although she was apparently checking the face for injuries, her hands were quite busy, touching here and grabbing there.
Nangong Xiaoniao, on the other hand, no longer possessed the courage she had displayed while confronting Nangong Ling. She continuously evaded Zhao Yuying’s claws and had almost bunched up into a ball.
Seeing that Zhao Yuying was acting more and more unreasonable in front of the crowd, Qianye couldn’t help but let out a dry cough. Zhao Yuying looked up and rolled her eyes at him, saying, “This mommy here is busy picking up a girl. What’s with that cough? Do you have a cold? Shall I find you a doctor?”
Zhao Yuying still loosened her grip despite the sharp retort, whereupon Nangong Xiaoniao immediately escaped and hid behind Qianye. Her movements were as swift as a sweeping blaze and had far surpassed her usual standards. Zhao Yuying’s brows rose after witnessing this scene and broke into a meaningful laughter.
Moments later, everyone was seated in Qianye’s study.
Qianye glanced at Nangong Xiaoniao and felt a deep headache. Zhao Yuying had already explained this rookie’s identity in full detail.
Qianye hadn’t expected that the little rookie he saved that day would rise from the ashes and soar to the skies after returning to Red Scorpion. Presently, she had become the darling of the Red Scorpion commanders, and they were all afraid of her coming to any harm.
At such a tender age, she had already displayed great talent in two major fields: machinery design and origin arrays. Qianye naturally understood the value of those geniuses from the armored battalion. On the long-term, their value was even higher than a scorpion king, not to mention that Nangong Xiaoniao’s talents were much greater than ordinary geniuses.
Such a person had run over to Evernight Continent with only a small guard squad and a high-speed airship. No one would believe that she hadn’t snuck out.
Nangong Xiaoniao sat across Qianye with her eyes fixed on the table as though there was a rare origin array therein.
“Xiaoniao, did you sneak out?” Zhao Yuying asked after introducing Nangong Xiaoniao’s astonishing background to everyone.
“Yes. Ah! No, no, of course not!” Nangong Xiaoniao was clearly lost in thought and blurted out the truth.
Zhao Yuying and Qianye glanced at each other. “Then are you returning now?” Although Zhao Yuying was usually unresponsible, she was still quite clear regarding such important matters. She understood that Nangong Xiaoniao’s stay in Blackflow City wasn’t a good thing for Qianye.
“No!” The little rookie was no longer muddled and replied without the slightest bit of ambiguity.
“Then how long are you staying?”
“A long time!”
[1] Nangong Xiaoniao = Nangong Little Bird, Rookie/Cai Niao = (Vegetable/weak/unskilled) + Bird. When ZYY said when did your name become Nangong Little Rookie, she only needed to add the character 菜/cai in the middle.