Chapter 342

Chapter 342: Nothing but a Shameless Coward

Yu Zhi Yi ignored his nasty, greedy stare and asked: “You stole me on purpose and threw me to that Yu Clan couple with bad character, just so your love rival’s daughter would taste the pain you suffered, didn’t you?”

Ji Guang Dai did not deny it. He said: “Second Master Jiang is truly a dragon among men. He has great talent, strong martial skill, a fine background, good connections, and even looks that are one in a hundred. When I met him, his name was already known everywhere, and I could not make him start over from the beginning. So I could only make his daughter feel what I felt.”

Yu Zhi Yi let out a short, cold laugh and said: “You’re nothing but a shameless, despicable coward. Why dress it up with fancy reasons?”

Ji Guang Dai stopped smiling and said: “You’re just a little girl; what do you know?”

Usually calm and never quick to snap, Yu Zhi Yi still looked at him with open scorn and said: “The strong are called strong because they raise their blades against those even stronger than themselves. Only weaklings like you enjoy bullying the weak. You say you wanted to make my father suffer-there were a thousand ways to do that. Was stealing me the only one? Back then, my dad still had his own father alive, he had a brother a few years older than me, and even my mother could have been used as a tool to hurt him. But my grandfather, though already past fifty, was still strong enough to fight a hundred men. My brother had no fewer than ten experts guarding him year-round. Even my mother was a famous heroine of the martial world. If you hadn’t tricked her into going out alone while she was about to give birth, forcing her to deliver with no one by her side so her body weakened, you would never have been her match then. So among all my father’s kin, only I-a newborn baby-was soft enough to bully. Whether you wanted to throw me away, abuse me, or kill me, I had no power to resist. A coward like you who only swings a blade at those weaker than himself is trash, no matter how high his martial arts are.”

[Trash? She actually dared to call me trash?] Rage flared in Ji Guang Dai. Being scolded by a brat not even half his age-worse, by the very girl he himself had stolen years ago, whose tragic life he planned with his own hands-made him boil over. He snapped: “Don’t think learning a few tricks lets you show off in front of a master. Today I’ll show you how the ‘trash’ in your mouth kills you-an imperial court third-rank official-and your family!”

He stopped hiding and flicked a formation flag to the ground.

At once, wind roared and clouds churned. Countless sabers, swords, arrows, and hidden weapons filled the sky, tearing the air with sharp whistles. From afar they looked like a swarm of locusts. One glance was enough to make hearts tremble.

“Jin’er!” Jiang Yu Chuan didn’t spare his big brother a look; he yanked his daughter behind him and, with a twist of his wrist, drew a long saber. He spun the blade until it howled like a storm, aiming to use the “Windfire Wheel” to block every hidden weapon.

Jiang Yu Wei didn’t comment on his brother’s move; he had the same idea. As long as the two brothers kept their little niece behind them and each took the weapons coming from his own half of the circle, they could hold for a while. But there was a flaw: it would drain strength and focus fast. If even one of them slipped for a heartbeat, the tide of attacks would surge through that gap. At best it would badly wound Yu Zhi Yi inside their guard; at worst it would smash through and wipe out all three.

Luckily, the two were top-tier experts. They couldn’t stand there like machines without rest, but they could block for an hour or so.

Protected on all sides, Yu Zhi Yi was as calm as a quiet lake. She showed no worry. Her gaze locked on Ji Guang Dai at the heart of the formation. He was grinning with excitement, trembling all over, and staring at her as if he couldn’t wait to see panic on her face.

He would be disappointed.

There was none.

Ji Guang Dai’s smile faded. He frowned, confused. [She should be terrified! She should panic! She should kneel and beg! Why isn’t she?]

Instead, she raised one hand. Between her slender fingers lay a yellow slip of talisman paper. Her wrist flicked, and the limp paper snapped upright; tiny arcs of light flowed across it.

Ji Guang Dai felt danger on instinct. But before he could react, Yu Zhi Yi slapped the talisman forward. The talisman paper that should have been soft and weak shot out with unstoppable force, moving at a speed the eye could barely follow.

Ji Guang Dai wanted to stop it, but a sharp wave of dread struck him before he could move. He veered, trying to run.

Too late-no one outruns lightning.

The Heavenly Thunder Talisman covered a full hundred meters in a blink. Ji Guang Dai had barely moved a single meter before the terrifying bolt struck him. At the same time, countless forks of lightning roared toward the spot where he had planted the formation flag. In the blink of an eye, the ground was blasted into a pitch-black crater, and faint white lightning still crawled along its edges.

The Jiang Clan brothers were fully focused on the tide of blades. Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Yu Wei caught the flash and crash; his hand twitched, and a gap opened in his defense. His face changed, and he rushed to fix it-when suddenly the rain of weapons vanished.

They truly disappeared into thin air.

Jiang Yu Wei stared in shock and looked around several times. Seeing nothing left, he finally relaxed. Yu Zhi Yi, noticing him, explained in an even voice: “Uncle, don’t worry. There’s no more danger. Those weren’t real weapons. They existed only because of the formation. Once the formation was broken, they vanished.”

“Formation?” Jiang Yu Wei blurted, still stunned.

Yu Zhi Yi nodded and said: “This is a killing formation. There are many kinds. The best ones hide their killing moves under a calm surface. The kind that starts loud and flashy like this is usually low-level. Break the formation core and you’re fine.”

Ji Guang Dai, struck by lightning, hadn’t fainted at first. But when he heard that, he spat a mouthful of blood. His eyes rolled up, and he died.

Yu Zhi Yi happened to catch the resentful glare he threw her before his last breath and thought: [Huh?]