Chapter 42: Used as Fertilizer

After a while, the tightly closed gates of the manor swung open, and half a head poked out from within.
It was Iron Fan who opened the gate. She eyed the visitors with curiosity and asked, “Who are you looking for? We’re not open today. Come back another time.”
With that, she was about to shut the door when, suddenly, her gaze caught Su Qingyi.
Iron Fan had met Su Qingyi before and recognized her at once. “Oh, it’s you! Qingyi? Is there something I can help you with?”
Su Qingyi’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she hurriedly waved her hands. “Please, just call me Qingyi. I don’t dare claim to be your elder. Miss Iron Fan, is the master in? My companions wish to…”
“Enough with the pleasantries. We’ll just go in directly.”
Zu Xingyu and Yun Feiyang paid no heed to Iron Fan, pushing the gates wide open and barging in without so much as a by-your-leave.
How rude!
Who were these people? She’d never seen anyone so brazen and overbearing.
Hmph!
If it weren’t for the strange aura of this manor that rendered her celestial arts useless, she would have taught those two reckless brats a lesson they’d never forget.
“Hey! You two, stop right there!”
Outrageous!
How dare they ignore her, the Princess Iron Fan of Emerald Cloud Mountain? Did they think she was invisible?
Face puffed with anger, Iron Fan blocked the two men with a sweep of her arm. “Who do you think you are? What are you here for? I just told you, our manor isn’t open today, and the master is resting. Please…”
“My, my, young lady, you’re quite the beauty. May I ask if you’re betrothed? I must say, I fell for you at first sight.”
Noticing Iron Fan dressed in ancient robes and strikingly beautiful, Zu Xingyu and Yun Feiyang decided to tease her.
So, they were just a pair of shameless rascals!
Iron Fan grew even more incensed. “Scoundrels! I warn you, no more noise here. If you wake the master, you’ll be in for more trouble than you can handle.”
“More trouble than we can handle? Ha! Feiyang, did you hear that? I’ve never had such a taste—what kind of taste do you suppose that is?”
“I’m curious myself! Miss, how about we play a little game?”
“You—!”
Infuriating!
Iron Fan was fit to burst with rage.

“Who’s making all that racket outside?”
The sudden appearance of Chu Xiaoyu took them by surprise.
Dressed in casual clothes, he exuded an air of languid indifference.
Iron Fan marched up, fuming. “Sir, it’s them—they’re making a scene. I don’t know where these ruffians came from, but they’re driving me mad.”
“Sir? That’s a new one. Rather modern, I must say. But I wonder…”
Suddenly—smack!
In the middle of his sentence, Yun Feiyang was struck hard across the face by an unseen force.
Chu Xiaoyu remained as relaxed as ever, eyeing the two intruders. “Who are you? What brings you to my manor?”
“Was that you who hit me? How… how is that possible?”
He’d been slapped out of thin air, without a single movement from the man before him.
How could such a thing be done?
Yun Feiyang’s cheek burned from the inexplicable blow.
Zu Xingyu was equally stunned.
“I hit you because, frankly, you needed it,” Chu Xiaoyu said, his tone unhurried.
Yun Feiyang exploded in anger. “Bastard! Do you know who I am? I’m from the Wolong Clan of Lingnan—”
Another sharp smack resounded, and Yun Feiyang was struck again.
To everyone’s shock, Chu Xiaoyu hadn’t moved an inch, yet the slap landed loud and clear.
How could such a thing happen? What sorcery was this?
Terrifying!
“Hee hee, sir, that was a splendid slap! Magnificent!” Iron Fan couldn’t help but clap her hands in delight.
“Bastard! Boy, we come from the Wolong Clan of Lingnan—how dare you mock and insult us? Are you not afraid we’ll raze this petty manor of yours to the ground?”
Zu Xingyu bellowed.
“What? Wolong Clan of Lingnan? Never heard of it. Iron Fan, have you?”
Iron Fan shook her head. “Never. All I know is that above there’s the Celestial Palace, below the Underworld, in the west the Buddha, in the east… um, what was in the east? I forget.”
Celestial Palace? Underworld? Buddha? What nonsense was this girl spouting? None of it made the least bit of sense.
“Fatty Niu, come out here.”

At Chu Xiaoyu’s call, Fatty Niu hurriedly appeared.
What on earth—?
A man with a pair of horns on his head?
Was he some kind of cosplay enthusiast?
“Sir, you called? What can I do for you? Haha, I was just in the backyard working on something. Huh… who are these people?”
Fatty Niu, always a step behind, only just noticed the strangers after asking his question.
He wasn’t at all worried about revealing his true identity as the Ox Demon King—he could always explain it away as cosplay.
“Fatty, these two are quite the nuisance, disturbing my nap. Take them to the orchard in the backyard and use them for fertilizer.”
Chu Xiaoyu’s words sent Zu Xingyu and Yun Feiyang into a panic.
What? Use them as fertilizer for the fruit trees?
Did he really think so little of the mighty Wolong Clan of Lingnan?
After being slapped repeatedly, Yun Feiyang finally lost his composure and shouted, “You think you’re God? Or maybe Jesus? Who are you to act as you please?”
“Exactly. People like you—lowly insects with foul mouths and insufferable arrogance—well, I’m sorry, but you’ve interrupted my peace.”
With that, Chu Xiaoyu snapped his fingers. Instantly, the world around them fell silent.
It was then that Zu Xingyu and Yun Feiyang realized, in abject terror, that their bodies were bound by a terrifying and evil force—they couldn’t move a muscle.
Now, they truly felt fear—fear unlike anything they’d ever known.
Behind them, Su Qingyi collapsed to the ground, her face ashen.
She had warned them before never to be presumptuous or disrespectful before the master.
But they hadn’t listened, and here was the price.
There’s a road to paradise, yet they chose not to take it; instead, they forced their way through the gates of hell.
Now, only death awaited them.
Fatty Niu, having received his orders, said nothing more. He grabbed them both and dragged them off to the orchard in the backyard...