Chapter 116: A Fierce Battle Against Aunt Rong

Yu Mu had just finished hiding when the sound of soft footsteps echoed from outside the door. Moments later, someone lifted the curtain and stepped in—it was Auntie Rong, who had left only a short while ago.

She walked inside, muttering to herself, "I forgot to... Wait! Where did those two wretched slaves run off to?"

Suddenly, a piercing glint erupted in her eyes. She stared at An Shu and demanded, "Your slave colla—"

Before she could finish, she spun around abruptly. The first thing that met her eyes was a terrifying ghost, which gave her quite a fright. Immediately after, she saw the heavy club Yu Mu swung at her.

In her haste, she tilted her head to dodge. *Thwack!* The wooden club struck her left shoulder, shattering her shoulder blade into pieces.

Auntie Rong let out a shrill scream of agony. Yu Mu was alarmed; if this alerted the people in the mansion, not only would he fail to save An Shu, he would likely lose his own life as well.

Just as Yu Mu was about to call out for An Shu to flee, he realized she had already cast a series of incantations, erecting barriers that prevented any sound from escaping.

Overjoyed, Yu Mu immediately wielded his club and attacked Auntie Rong again. An Shu did not fall behind; she tied a bedsheet around herself and let out a piercing shriek. The humiliation she had endured made her loathe those who sought to harm her.

Auntie Rong prepared to use her only functional hand to bat away Yu Mu’s green wooden club, but suddenly, a wave of intense headache and tinnitus washed over her. She instinctively reached up to hold her head, only to realize too late that she had left herself open to Yu Mu’s attack.

In a panic, she could only raise her hand to parry. Little did she know, the green wooden club in Yu Mu’s hand was equivalent to a mid-grade spirit weapon—hardly something her flesh and blood could withstand.

With a loud *crack*, Auntie Rong’s wrist bones shattered, and her delicate hand hung limply by her side. She let out another agonizing scream.

Auntie Rong was at the late stage of the Golden Core realm. Under normal circumstances, Yu Mu’s abilities would not have been enough to injure her so easily and repeatedly. However, she never expected anyone to dare infiltrate the City Lord’s mansion to ambush her. Secondly, the fear-inducing spell had rattled her, disrupting her normal reflexes. While the spell lacked offensive power, it was devastating for ambushes, especially against women. Furthermore, she had not anticipated that the enemy’s weapon was a mid-grade spirit weapon, which had cost her an arm in the very first strike.

The double assault of An Shu’s sudden sonic waves caught her completely off guard, and just like that, at the start of the skirmish, both her hands were already crippled.

*Clatter!* Along with the shattered wrist bones, a bracelet fell, spilling out a flowery spear and a storage pouch. It turned out the bracelet was actually a spatial storage artifact.

Seeing the storage pouch, An Shu was ecstatic. With a flick of her hand, the pouch flew into her grasp, and a long flute appeared in her hand. It turned out that the pouch belonged to her! Having retrieved her equipment, An Shu immediately put it on.

Despite suffering repeated heavy injuries, Auntie Rong was no ordinary person to be able to stay by the City Lord’s side. As soon as the flowery spear appeared, she let out an angry shout and manipulated it to strike at Yu Mu.

Yu Mu hurriedly raised his club to meet it. Auntie Rong, knowing the power of his green wooden club, used her flowery spear—a top-grade Daoist weapon—only to graze the club with the tip of the spear rather than striking it directly.

First, a surge of converted wood-attribute spiritual energy poured into Yu Mu’s body. This was followed by a torrent of raw, destructive spiritual energy that had yet to be converted.

*Bang!* Yu Mu was sent flying, crashing hard against a massive pillar and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"So powerful!" Yu Mu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself. Auntie Rong’s strength was far beyond his own; his spirit weapon could not bridge that gap.

To his surprise, Auntie Rong was even more shocked. She had expected this strike to kill or at least severely wound him, but he had only spat out a bit of blood, his combat ability seemingly unaffected.

During this brief exchange, An Shu waved toward the bathroom, and several tornadoes, like water dragons, surged out, dancing and roaring.

Seeing this technique, Yu Mu was overjoyed. Having experienced it personally, he knew exactly how potent it was.

Auntie Rong was also startled by the overwhelming momentum. She immediately brandished her spear, refusing to let them get close. Auntie Rong’s skills were indeed superior to Yu Mu’s; the tornadoes that had once ravaged him could not even get near her.

An Shu remained calm and composed. She placed the flute to her lips, parted her crimson lips, and a beautiful melody drifted out. Immediately, one of the tornadoes expanded rapidly, transforming into a massive horn that funneled the music into its vortex.

Auntie Rong, trapped inside, was struck as if by a heavy blow. Her face turned deathly pale, and she clutched her head in agony. Unable to maintain her defense, she was swept into the vortex.

"A sonic loudspeaker!" Yu Mu stared, dumbfounded. "You can do that?!"

Auntie Rong, now inside the tornado, ended up in the same state Yu Mu had once been in. However, she possessed her own means of self-preservation, relying on her spiritual energy, which was a cut above An Shu’s. She projected her spiritual energy outward, forming a protective layer that shielded her from physical damage, leaving only the sensation of dizziness.

This method consumed a massive amount of spiritual energy and was merely a temporary fix that could not last long. But she was in the City Lord’s mansion; she didn't need to hold out for long, as she knew the two intruders dared not linger.

Indeed, seeing their opponent use such a stubborn tactic, the two grew anxious. If they didn't finish her off, they would never escape.

Watching Auntie Rong trapped in the water ball, struggling against the spiritual pressure, Yu Mu had a sudden inspiration. "Open a hole on my side!"

An Shu was puzzled to see Yu Mu pull out a gourd and begin gulping down wine while speaking. However, as they were allies for the moment, she obeyed.

The moment the opening appeared, Yu Mu spat a mouthful of fire into the sphere.

Inside the tornado, a strange sight occurred. The wine-fueled fire Yu Mu spat out reacted with the water-attribute spiritual energy, creating blue flames that intensified in power several times over.

Water and fire are naturally opposing elements, but here, they had formed a symbiotic cycle. This was the scientific knowledge Yu Mu had brought from his previous life—using the oxygen within the water molecules to fuel the combustion.

The intense flames instantly engulfed her. Inside the tornado, Auntie Rong let out a scream, becoming a fireball.

Driven to desperation, Auntie Rong decided to gamble her life. She stopped defending and abandoned all hope of survival. Ignoring the injuries the two inflicted upon her, she focused all her remaining spiritual energy into a single point. With a *pop*, she shattered the barrier.

As the barrier broke, her agonizing screams echoed throughout the entire City Lord’s mansion.

The two were alarmed; they hadn't expected her to be so volatile. Given their abilities, it would have taken a long time to kill her, so they had intended to wound her and flee. Her suicidal resolve was entirely unexpected.

Realizing that if they didn't leave now, they might never leave at all—especially with her paramour likely in the mansion—they ignored the struggling Auntie Rong, leaped down from the floor, jumped over the mansion wall, and fled at high speed.

"Fire! Come and put out the fire!" Cries erupted behind them.

Yu Mu looked back to see thick smoke and soaring flames rising from the bedchamber. It seemed Auntie Rong’s struggle had ignited the surroundings, causing a rapid blaze. The chamber was filled with flammable materials, and the fire was spreading too quickly to be contained. The two were delighted; this accident had bought them the time they needed to escape.

Following the directions previously given by the slaves, they crossed two streets and arrived before the government-run teleportation array. Yu Mu did not hesitate and pounded on the door.

A moment later, an angry roar sounded: "Who is it? This is a government office! Do you have a death wish, pounding on the door in the middle of the night?"

With a creak, the door opened a crack, revealing a face heavy with sleep. The man saw a person and a bear standing outside, didn't recognize them, and was about to curse again when Yu Mu handed him a leather pouch. The pouch was already open, filled to the brim with spirit crystals.

"Brother, my wife and I have an urgent matter and need to get home immediately. I hope you can do us a favor."

Seeing that the bag contained at least two thousand spirit crystals, the man forgot to curse. His eyes lit up, he became instantly sober, and he hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes! Please, come in!"

Hearing Yu Mu’s words, An Shu blushed, but she couldn't make a scene now. She could only glare at him fiercely in secret.