Jiang Chen smiled slightly when he saw the other diners retreat. He glanced around, then chuckled. “Look, everyone’s scared of you.”

“They’re just a bunch of gutless cowards. They snuck some looks at me and were scared I’d make them pay for it, so they snuck off instead. However, how can I let them off free of charge like that? You lot, go catch as many as you can and gouge out one of their eyes. Consider it a display of what the White Drake Sect is capable of.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The woman’s followers charged down the stairs like a pack of wolves. Their efficacy was quickly accompanied by a wave of shrieks.

The young heiress of the White Drake Sect seemed to take great joy in inflicting suffering—or that was what her tittering indicated.

Jiang Chen’s face darkened. This woman was utterly malignant.

If she was wearing such exposed clothing, what reason did she have for punishing the bystanders so harshly for their sidelong looks? There were surely those who had laid eyes on her only accidentally. Did they deserve this cruel and unusual punishment too?

“Aw, Sir Zhen, are you taking pity on them?” The woman giggled when she saw his distaste.

“Everyone has a different way of doing things,” Jiang Chen retorted coolly. “I’m not in the business of minding other people’s.”

“You really are taking pity! Well, too bad. That’s how Crimsonwaters is, and that’s how the Taiyuan Plane is too. The fiercer you are, the better off you can be. Weakness is a crime in itself. Welcome back, Sir Zhen!” The witch of a woman made the above declaration with mock seriousness.  

Jiang Chen sighed, but said nothing. To a certain extent, she wasn’t strictly wrong. Strength and ferocity did generally improve quality of life, since they were qualities that prevented one from being hunted or bullied by others.

But, was this really the Taiyuan Plane of eld? Not at all.

There was far too much chaos and pandemonium for his liking. Once upon a time, the celestial emperor of Taiyuan and the laws of the heavenly planes were generally upheld.

Unfortunately, order was sorely lacking in the world in front of him today.

Survival of the fittest was the only remaining law. The food chain ruled over all.

“Heh, you’re not taking me very seriously, Sir Zhen!” Jiang Chen’s disinterest seemed to pique the woman’s ire. She patted the table in front of him. “Are you scared of looking at me? Are you worried I’ll gouge your eyes out too?”

“I’ve looked at you many times already.” Jiang Chen smiled evenly. “Are you going to?”

“That’s the kind of honesty I like. I’ve taken a liking to you, so you’ll be spared that fate for now. If that changes… it’ll be your unlucky day. There’s a way to avoid that from happening, though. You’ll be able to look at me all you like then.”

“What is it?” Jiang Chen frowned.

“Join the White Drake Sect and follow me. If you do that, I might even let you look at me more and more.”

“No thanks.” The young man shook his head.

He was entirely unaffected by the woman’s tactics. To him, she was completely boring to look at. Yes, her figure was nice enough, but such a tantalizing woman was usually far too thorny of a rose to approach.

Anger and rage flashed in the woman’s eyes. Jiang Chen’s refusal struck a nerve.

“You’d rather have it the hard way, eh?”

It was obvious that storm clouds were rapidly gathering. He had found some limited favor in her eyes before, but that was changing fast. Jiang Chen’s blunt response had ruined her day.

It was at this moment that a different voice blasted in from the outside. “What are you trying to do, you hag? If you have a problem, why don’t you come at me?”

Another woman stormed up the stairs. She was very pretty and dressed like a married woman, but the ferocity upon her brow made her look shrewish.  

Though her clothes weren’t as racy as the first woman’s, they showed a fair bit amount of skin too. Past her rolled-up sleeves, two ivory arms resting upon her waist completed the picture.

The young mistress of the White Drake Sect felt her annoyance multiply. “Oh, it’s the little widow. What, are you trying to kidnap a new husband from the street now that your first one’s dead?”

The second woman was none other than the Fiendstar Sect’s head. Her name was Han Shuang, but most called her Madam Han. She was a notorious individual in Crimsonwaters in her own right.

She had once been the fiancée of the last head of Fiendstar, who had died before they’d had a chance to actually marry. Nevertheless, she successfully inherited and expanded his sect through her personal competence.

There was a gap between Fiendstar and White Drake, but the Madam Han wasn’t known for her timidity. She wasn’t just going to stand by and watch as White Drake stole her new talent!

Madam Han strode into Jiang Chen’s vicinity, then placed herself in front of him, a silent declaration that “this big sister will protect you!”. Her arms remained firmly upon her waist. “How about that, you tramp! I’ll take you on any day.”

The young mistress of the White Drake Sect was somewhat wary of Madam Han. After all, she was only the heir to her sect, while Madam Han was the actual head.

Woman to woman, she had no advantage if they happened to go head-to-head.

“What are you shouting about, you hussy? I’m gonna find a thousand thugs and have them enjoy you a hundred times over, until you die from delight!”

Madam Han’s retort only exceeded her in vulgarity. “Why don’t you get your daddy to come too? I’ll happily absorb the White Drake Sect if you’re offering. I’m not sure if I want a stepdaughter like you though!”

The conversation was quickly heading toward an inappropriate zone.

Jiang Chen never expected a catfight to occur over him. He was supposed to stay undercover! He wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide in it until all this blew over.

The young woman from the White Drake Sect was verbally backed into a corner. Her eyes glared at Madam Han, then back at Jiang Chen. “You like married women, huh, kid? Such awful taste. You owe me one of your eyes, and I’ll make sure to make you pay up sooner or later!”

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