Film & TV: Public Enemy of Justice

The moment Lin Yueru drew her sword, Tang Niu Xiaobao rushed in front of Anu. He couldn't understand the actions of this pampered young lady.

"Hey you two, I was fine when I didn't interfere, but why are you getting more and more argumentative the moment I say a word?" Tang Gui Xiaobao turned to the side, now facing two angry women and a sharp blade. "Fine, fine, do whatever you want, just don't..."

Before Tang Niu Xiaobao could finish speaking, Anu had already lashed the whip above his head.

If Tang Niu Xiaobao hadn't been so agile, he probably would have been whipped in two by Anu's whip.

Then, Anu and Lin Yueru were already entangled together. The jade belt sword gleamed with purple light, and the weapons clashed, making a crisp clanging sound.

Lin Yueru had clearly seen through Anu's moves during their previous fight. Anu, in turn, was also familiar with Lin Yueru's fighting style. This time, their conflict seemed even more difficult to resolve.

Tang Xuan, who had stepped aside, was also having an internal struggle: Should I intervene and break up the fight? If I ignored it, one of them might get hurt; if I intervened, it would likely be futile, like before, and I might even be adding fuel to the fire. Sigh.

Tang Niu Xiaobao couldn't figure it out. After the two fought for a while, Tang Niu Xiaobao couldn't sit still any longer. He simply walked to the railing outside the inn and leaned over to watch the endless stream of pedestrians coming and going on the road.

How could the cramped inn room accommodate such an earth-shattering fight between two people? A series of loud crashes and thuds echoed from the room as a wooden round table flew out of Anu's room window on the second floor and landed on the stone-paved road below, making a creaking sound as the wood broke.

The citizens on the street were already stunned. Anu and Lin Yueru jumped from the second-floor railing onto the street, and the citizens immediately made way for them.

Although the fight between the two was fierce, a long shout still came from the crowd of onlookers: "Isn't that Lin Yueru, the eldest daughter of the Lin family!"

A commotion immediately broke out in the crowd. "I heard she has an extremely bad temper and is very skilled in martial arts." "Yes, yes, let's just watch and not try to break it up."

Just as the two were locked in a fierce battle, Lin Yaoxie and Zhao Ling'er, having absorbed the earth's energy contained within the snake cave, returned to Suzhou City. Before they even reached the inn where Zhao Ling'er had left, they saw a large crowd blocking the road ahead.

Lin Yaoxie found it strange and grabbed a street vendor carrying a load of food, asking curiously, "What happened up ahead? Why is everyone gathered there?"

The vendor replied with a smile, "Go and see! Miss Lin Yueru of the Lin family is fighting with someone again!"

Lin Yaoxie gave a light hum with a pleased expression, "This is going to be a good show."

Unlike Lin Yaoxie, Zhao Ling'er wasn't calm and collected. Seeing Lin Yaoxie's disdainful attitude and detached demeanor, she grabbed his arm and pinched it...

"You really enjoy watching the show, don't you? Anu and Lin Yueru have had a grudge for a long time, don't you know why you don't go and break them up? If you don't care about this, I, the princess, will go myself, hmph!"

Zhao Ling'er released Lin Yaoxie's sleeve and hurriedly ran towards the crowd that had completely surrounded Anu and Lin Yueru.

Lin Yaoxie remained standing in place, showing no sign of anxiety. Seeing Zhao Ling'er struggling to squeeze into the crowd, he called out, "Hey, go ahead, go ahead. What's the use of worrying?" He then walked over and parted the crowd to make way for her.

"Oh my, indeed two exceptionally skilled heroines, not bad at all." Upon entering, he saw Lin Yueru and Anu entangled together. Lin Yaoxie said disdainfully.

But it seemed the two were fighting too intensely and didn't hear what Lin Yaoxie was saying at all.

Lin Yaoxie rested his chin on his hand and whistled. A long sword cleaved through the clouds and descended from the sky with the force of tearing apart heaven and earth. It pierced the stone slab between Lin Yueru and Anu without missing a beat. With the sound of the stone slab breaking, fragments flew everywhere, and the century-old bluestone slab shattered into several pieces.

Instantly, the air fell silent. Everyone, including the two main characters in the fight, fell silent, staring in astonishment at Lin Yaoxie, this demonized being.

After another melodious whistle, the longsword shot up from the ground and flew back into the clear blue sky.

After a long while, everyone finally recovered from their shock. Anu, seeing Lin Yaoxie displaying his divine skills, became even more terrified. 5.4 Then she discovered Zhao Ling'er, who was unharmed, beside him, and suddenly felt a complex mix of fear and gratitude towards this man.

After Lin Yueru and Anu stopped fighting, Zhao Ling'er rushed over to question Anu about why she had gotten into another conflict with Lin Yueru. Anu recalled how she had encouraged Zhao Ling'er to leave under the moonlight, which resulted in an ambush by members of the Moon Worship Cult, and how the princess had also gotten lost in the forest. She felt extremely guilty.

He quickly grabbed Zhao Ling'er's sleeve and lowered his head to plead, "Princess, I shouldn't have acted impulsively and rashly took you away. It's all my fault that you've suffered so much."

Seeing Anu's pitiful state, Zhao Ling'er didn't blame her for her rash decision. Instead, she gently stroked Anu's hand and said, "It's not your fault. We only left because I wanted to. Besides, I didn't want to see Lin Yaoxie and wanted to slip away in the middle of the night."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Unable to Refuse the Warm Welcome

Seeing Anu and Zhao Ling'er so affectionate towards each other, Lin Yueru felt a pang of guilt, realizing that her earlier fight with Anu was completely unnecessary. She then sheathed her jade belt sword.

Tang Niu Xiaobao also flew down from the second floor of the inn and walked in front of everyone. He chuckled to himself and said jokingly, "Anu, you should control your temper. I don't think there's any major grudge between you and Miss Lin. Your fight was just to vent your self-blame on others."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yueru quickly said, "Actually, it's not entirely Anu's fault. I was also at fault first. If I hadn't been teasing Anu, she wouldn't have acted so easily."

"The annual Dragon Boat Festival in Suzhou is just a few days away. Since I've caused you so much trouble, as an apology, I'd like to invite you to the festival," Lin Yueru said to the crowd, feeling guilty.

Just as Anu was about to firmly reject Lin Yueru, Zhao Ling'er suddenly tugged at Anu's collar, and Anu immediately understood Zhao Ling'er's meaning. Anu remained silent, looking at Princess Zhao Ling'er.

Zhao Ling'er smiled and said in a slightly polite tone, "Since Miss Lin has so kindly invited us, we can't very well refuse." Then, Zhao Ling'er turned her head and smiled slightly at Tang Niu Xiaobao.

He and Anu nodded slightly.

Anu and her companion, of course, dared not object to the princess's words, and nodded in agreement, saying in unison, "Yes, yes, we have long heard of the Central Plains Dragon Boat Festival. We are truly fortunate to be invited to participate today."

Lin Yaoxie originally only intended to mediate between Anu and Lin Yueru according to Zhao Ling'er's wishes. He never expected the two to apologize to each other so quickly and get along harmoniously. He also felt that the whole situation was completely baffling.

Hearing Lin Yueru's sincere invitation to participate in the Dragon Boat Festival, and recalling that he and Zhao Ling'er had recently absorbed the earth's energy left by Nuwa, and that it would take some time for him to inherit and consolidate the spiritual energy containing the ancient power, he readily agreed to Zhao Ling'er's suggestion.

"So you agree! Let's go sit at Lin Family Fort for a while," Lin Yueru said, seeing everyone agree so readily. Suddenly feeling a bit awkward, she added this sentence.

Zhao Ling'er replied in agreement, "Sure, I was just thinking of going back to visit your father."

Under the bewildered gazes of the onlookers, the five slowly left the inn and headed towards Lin Family Fort.

As they walked, the five of them talked more and more, and the distance between them decreased, as if they had never had any conflicts.

Beneath the seemingly calm surface, undercurrents were already surging. Dozens of meters underground in the Southern Swamp Kingdom's royal palace, the light from torches illuminated Baiyue's terrifying face.

The secret chamber was very spacious, enough to accommodate a small army. Hundreds of torches were stuck diagonally on the walls of the chamber, their dim yellow light flickering with the chilling air that permeated the room.

Bai Yue, dressed in black, sat on a golden dragon throne on a high platform, the back of which was adorned with countless razor-sharp swords. Two attendants, one in black and one in white, stood motionless on either side of the throne, like puppets.

Bai Yue lowered her head, and the surrounding air was unusually quiet, so quiet that only the heavy breathing of the black-clad man kneeling at Bai Yue's feet could be heard.

Finally, Bai Yue raised her head, glanced at the black-clad man kneeling at her feet, and her deep yet hollow voice broke the silence of the secret chamber: "Tell me, how did you all manage to do this?"

Bai Yue's deep voice echoed repeatedly in the vast secret room.

The man in black, lying on the ground, tremblingly raised his head and looked at the burly Baiyue, saying, "Master... we failed to assassinate him."

Immediately afterward, the trembling Moon Worship Cult member swallowed hard. "We had already surrounded Zhao Ling'er, Anu, Tang Yu, and Xiao Bao in the grove outside Suzhou City. Moreover, with our strength, we could have easily wiped them off the face of the earth without a sound. Our eldest brother was afraid that Zhao Ling'er would use some kind of sorcery, so he used mist to move her to another place."

At this moment, Baiyue could no longer contain his anger. He was furious that more than twenty Baiyue followers could say such a cowardly thing as a failed assassination attempt.

The man in black continued, "Just as we were about to get rid of Tang Niu Xiaobao and Anu, these two obstacles, a blinding white light suddenly appeared in the sky, and we were stunned. Before we could react, a man dressed in golden robes walked out of the white light."

"He...he said a few words, which none of us could even hear clearly, and then we saw our brothers' heads fall off one by one from their necks! I only survived because I was hiding behind a tree and holding my breath!"

Bai Yue's face grew increasingly pale, his face contorted from the muscle tension caused by his teeth clenching too tightly.

After hearing the black-clad man's description of everything that happened during the assassination, Bai Yue became furious. She grabbed the black-clad man lying on the ground and slammed him to the ground, instantly causing blood to splatter everywhere.

"A bunch of useless trash!" Bai Yue was still not satisfied after killing that person. He could no longer stand Zhao Ling'er and the Lin Yaoxie who was frequently deified by his subordinates.

Bai Yue frowned, pacing back and forth in the secret room. 020

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Baiyue suddenly looked up and saw that the attendant beside the throne was using his powers to create the shape of a dragon boat above the throne.

Seeing the dragon boats, Bai Yue was suddenly enlightened. He remembered that the Dragon Boat Festival in the Central Plains region, where Suzhou was located, was just around the corner. He figured Lin Yaoxie and Zhao Ling'er must still be in Suzhou. The Dragon Boat Festival had created a perfect opportunity for his plans, and his anger instantly turned to joy.

The attendant finished his work and took out a blue-necked southern border pigeon from a corner of the secret room. This kind of pigeon can travel thousands of miles a day.

Bai Yue's face lit up with pleasure. He strode to the throne, took out paper and pen, and in the dim light of the fire in the secret room, wrote a series of secret words on the paper.

After writing, Baiyue took the pigeon cage offered by the servant with both hands, took out the ferry pigeon she had raised, tied the letter she had just written to the pigeon's leg, walked to the door of the secret room, and with a flick of her wrist, the pigeon spread its wings and flew out toward the light.

"Zhao Ling'er, so what if that brat Lin Yaoxie is by your side? I'll still wipe you out just like I did with your mother back then," Bai Yue murmured to herself, watching the soaring doves. Behind her, in the firelight, the sharp blades stuck in the throne gleamed with a blinding cold light.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Dragon Boat Race

Meanwhile, in Suzhou, the city was bustling with activity. The streets were brightly lit, and the festive atmosphere was palpable in every household.

It turns out that the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Suzhou has arrived. The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival in Suzhou with a long history, and it is the second most important festival after the Spring Festival.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, families with sufficient funds will put their self-built dragon boats into the water to compare with those of other families, and finally determine the winner of the Dragon Boat Festival competition.

However, building a dragon boat requires a lot of time, manpower, and money, and it also needs maintenance after it is launched so that it can be used for competitions in the years to come, which is very expensive.

Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival crown is usually won by families with great power or wealth.

Most of the other participants are just trying their luck or broadening their horizons. For ordinary families, watching a dragon boat race and cheering from the sidelines is a great experience.

However, the competition at this year's Dragon Boat Festival was unprecedentedly fierce. On the one hand, the living standards in Suzhou are rising steadily, so families that make dragon boats are springing up like mushrooms after rain.

On the other hand, it was also due to the addition of Lin Yueru, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, who was full of fiery temper.

Lin Yueru's addition makes Anu's entry even more unstoppable; these two fiercely competitive women are already itching for a fight as the festival approaches.

Lin Yueru is the daughter of the Lin family, so her strategy is very clean and efficient. She is pouring money into it, intending to build an unprecedentedly huge dragon boat.

Therefore, Lin Yueru posted a recruitment notice in the city, as follows:

Lin Yueru, the dignified eldest daughter of the Lin family, feels that the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching and wants to build an extremely luxurious dragon boat to add to the festive atmosphere:

We are now seeking experienced carpenters in the city, with excellent compensation and benefits.

Upon seeing this notice, Anu realized that things were not going well. She was unable to compete with Lin Yueru for the craftsmanship and did not have enough money, so she went to Tang Niu Xiaobao.

Tang Niu Xiaobao looked at the pitiful Anu in front of him. Although he felt the matter was tricky, in order to win Anu's favor, he flattered her and confidently said he would build her a dragon boat that could rival Lin Yueru's.

When Anu and Tang Niu Xiaobao went to the carpenter to buy the wood needed to build the dragon boat, they were told that a high-ranking official had already used up all the wood in his shop before they arrived.

Purchase complete.

When Anu and Tang Niu Xiaobao arrived at the next carpenter's shop, they found that the situation was exactly the same as the previous one, but they assumed that it was because the number of people building dragon boats this year was so large that the supply of wood could not meet the demand, and did not think of anything else.

But this constant occurrence aroused Anu's suspicions. She recalled that the Dragon Boat Festival in previous years was just as lively as it is now, and even the carpenter knew that this was a major festival.

Logically, there should be plenty of timber prepared. So how could there be a timber shortage? One or two shops might be one thing, but the fact that all the craft shops in Suzhou are experiencing the same problem suggests that someone is sabotaging things behind the scenes.

When the doubts in his heart were dispelled, the source of the contradiction pointed directly to Lin Yueru. When he arrived at Lin Yueru's residence in Suzhou, he found that the courtyard was piled with wood.

Upon seeing the timber, Anu was filled with rage and stormed into Lin Yueru's boudoir. Seeing Lin Yueru leisurely sipping tea, her anger intensified.

"You bought all the timber in Suzhou, didn't you?" Anu asked, her tone laced with hostility.

"What's wrong? Yes! I'm willing to buy, they're willing to sell, there's nothing wrong with that," Lin Yueru sneered.

"Have you thought about others? What if others also use this timber to make boats? Wouldn't you be ruining their dragon boat festival?" Anu said bitterly.

"That's none of my business. I have money, so I can buy whatever I want. On the contrary, you want to build a dragon boat that can rival mine? You'd better go buy some wood before the next dragon boat festival!"

“You…” Anu cried out.

Seeing that the battle in the room was about to erupt, Tang Niu Xiaobao, who followed Anu into the room, quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "It's just wood, it's not worth getting angry about. But Miss Yue Ru has accumulated so much wood, she probably doesn't need it. How about selling some to us?" Tang Niu Xiaobao pleaded.

"I won't do that. I'll just leave it there if I don't need it. I'll use it next time for the Dragon Boat Festival." This assertive and unforgiving personality was fully displayed in Lin Yueru at this moment.

"Hmph! Who wants your stinking wood? Xiao Bao, let's go, let her see! We can build a wooden ship without her wood, and it'll be bigger and more luxurious than hers!" Seeing Tang Niu Xiao Bao get the short end of the stick, Anu said threateningly.

"Then I'd like to see how you manage to conjure up an even bigger and more luxurious dragon boat out of thin air, but I guess you're out of luck. I'm just telling you, anyone who goes against me will end up badly. Show them out!" Lin Yueru said smugly.

"I don't want you to see me off, I'll go by myself!" Anu angrily pulled Tang Niu Xiaobao away.

Anu and Tang Niu Xiaobao, who had just left the Lin residence, had completely different feelings. Anu was burning with anger, thinking about Lin Yueru's usual arrogant young lady temper, and that she could not back down this time no matter what. She had to fight to the end and not let her look down on her.

Tang Niu Xiaobao was preoccupied with how to fulfill the bold promise Anu had just made. Suzhou City was now out of usable timber, and the next batch of timber to be delivered to Suzhou City would take some time. All of this was causing Tang Niu Xiaobao considerable distress.