"..."

Baiyi’s gaze turned glacial as he stared at the Ghost Lady. Veins corded along his hand gripping the Curved Saber.

He’d clearly reached his limit.

Baiyi was never the patient type—striking back was his nature.

He knew exactly why this woman called Ghost Lady had spoken those words.

Years ago, when Baiyi’s formidable strength shone on the battlefield, the Ghost Lady had already set her sights on him.

Back then, she’d just seized control of the shadowy Beast Rat Street. Her rule was fragile, her grip on the territory still unsteady.

Not yet powerful enough, she desperately needed strong warriors to join her ranks.

Her eyes locked onto Baiyi—a soldier expanding the Great Empire’s borders, not yet the Grand General he’d become.

She saw his raw power and boundless potential, eager to recruit him.

But Baiyi? He was Queen Ellyria’s adopted son, destined for greatness.

How could he ally with a shadow organization lurking behind the Empire?

He refused her offer and remained loyal to his mother’s empire.

The arrogant Ghost Lady never expected rejection.

The underworld queen of the Great Empire, spurned by a mere foot soldier?

Humiliation burned through her. Furious, she resolved to seduce him—offering her body and virginity as bait to win his loyalty.

She’d already seen his true worth.

Yet even after swallowing her pride, Baiyi rejected her again. He drove her away with violence, hurling insults about her lack of self-respect.

*Insults*, she thought bitterly.

"Ugly hag!"

Qiu Qiu suddenly snatched a pebble from nowhere and hurled it at the Ghost Lady advancing toward Baiyi.

The crowd froze. No one expected a wet-behind-the-ears girl to dare attack Beast Rat Street’s boss.

To the Ghost Lady, it was pure insult.

She barely dodged, bewildered eyes scanning the pale child perched atop Baiyi’s head.

"Who is she?"

"None of your business, old hag."

Watching the Ghost Lady flustered by his daughter’s stone, Baiyi felt a flicker of satisfaction. His lips quirked up slightly.

"Get lost, you old hag. Don’t bother me!"

He drew his Curved Saber and slashed.

The Ghost Lady stumbled back.

"Baiyi! You’ll regret this—"

She frantically checked her skimpy outfit for cuts, then glared at him. Her hand slashed through the air, twisting space into rippling rings. From the distortion, she pulled a Magic Staff crowned with a massive purple crystal.

She was ready to fight.

"Shut it, trash. Run while you can—unless you want me using your head as a ball."

Baiyi could crush them all. But protecting his two companions while only knocking out enemies? Impossible.

He needed to scare her off with sheer force.

Reality proved stubborn.

Seeing no retreat, Baiyi prepared his favorite solution:

Cut a bloody path.

Kill them all. Then no one could harm those beside him.

"Seize him!" the Ghost Lady shrieked.

"Come at me, trash!"

Gunpowder tension filled the dark alley.

Her armored thugs emerged from the shadows, encircling Baiyi.

Black armor. White blades. Helmets hiding faces.

Eyes glowed with eerie red light—like puppets controlled by magic.

"Controlling others with magic? Disgusting."

Baiyi despised sorcery. Their mindless obedience deepened his loathing for her.

"Hmph!"

The Ghost Lady bristled at his disgust.

*These were scum*, she thought. *Criminals exiled to darkness—traitors with broken limbs, gamblers with severed hands, child-killers rotting in regret. Vermin surviving in Beast Rat Street’s filth. I gave them new life. I’m their savior.*

How dare Baiyi judge her with such contempt?

He was a soldier basking in the Empire’s sunlight. He knew nothing of suffering in its gutters.

Calling them *disgusting*?

A sharp ache pierced her chest.

*I thought a general who’d seen war’s horrors might understand pain. Might show mercy.*

*But you? You’re no different.*

"Same goes for you!"