The sea wind howled. Madam Hua's voice was ice-cold. Lü Yuqin shrank her neck and averted her gaze, the picture of guilt.
"So staying silent means it's over?" Madam Hua let out a light hum. "Silence means nothing happened? There are so few people on this island — whoever beat Little Red knows exactly what they did. Step forward now, and I may show leniency. But if I have to drag it out of you…"
Yuan Wu immediately spoke up: "Madam, it was absolutely those two, mother and daughter."
Madam Hua snorted. "What makes you so sure?"
Yuan Wu replied: "As I mentioned earlier, the two of them are responsible for diving beneath the waves to harvest luminous pearls. Your goldfish's red carp was most likely injured while playing in the sea. Apart from them, no one else on the entire island has gone into the water — I can guarantee that much."
Madam Hua's gaze turned cold as she fixed it on Lü Sanniang. "Sanniang, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Lü Sanniang lowered her head. "Sister, please calm your anger. I had no idea that red carp was a pet you kept. If I had known, I never would have laid a hand on it."
"Well, well — so it really was you who hurt Little Red. Sister, you have truly disappointed me!" Madam Hua gritted her teeth, her face twisted in fury.
Lü Yuqin suddenly stepped forward and shouted: "It wasn't my mother who hurt it — it was me! It came darting at me out of nowhere, so I just swatted it. I didn't even hurt it, did I?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Lü Sanniang grabbed her and pulled her back, hissing: "Keep quiet!"
Madam Hua watched this scene with cold amusement, letting out a soft laugh. "What a touching display of motherly love. Seeing it, Sister is so deeply moved." Those were her words, but there wasn't a trace of warmth on her face — only a chilling expression, as if she wanted to devour someone whole.
The woman holding the fishbowl also piped up sharply: "Didn't even hurt Little Red? Open those dog eyes of yours and take a good look — the scales on Little Red's back are completely gone! Do you have any idea how much the Madam cherishes Little Red? Look at what she's become now — can you bear responsibility for this?"
Lü Sanniang knew there was no way this would end well today. She understood Madam Hua's temperament better than anyone — the woman never let go of an advantage, and she had always had it in for her. Now that she'd found an opening, she certainly wouldn't let it slip. She hastily begged: "Sister, I'm the one who injured the red carp. If you wish to hit or punish me, I submit completely."
"Sanniang, do you take your sister for a fool?" Madam Hua stared at Lü Sanniang with cold eyes, her red lips parting: "You possess an Emperor Sovereign realm cultivation. Little Red is merely a fifth-stage demon beast. If you had truly struck her, would Little Red still be alive?"
"It really was me!"
"There's no need for further words. I know perfectly well who injured her." Madam Hua's gaze swept past Lü Sanniang and settled on Lü Yuqin's face. "Sanniang, you've failed to teach your daughter properly. So your sister will discipline her on your behalf — consider it a gesture of goodwill. No need to thank me!"
"Sister!" Lü Sanniang cried out in alarm and immediately positioned herself in front of Lü Yuqin. Lü Yuqin's face went pale with terror — she realized she'd landed them in serious trouble.
But she hadn't done it on purpose. Earlier, when she'd been diving beneath the waves with her mother to collect luminous pearls, an enormous red carp had suddenly swum right up to her. Startled, she'd instinctively slapped it. Who could have guessed that single strike would cause all this? If she'd known, she never would have touched the carp.
"Don't you bully my mother!" Despite her fear, Lü Yuqin refused to back down.
"I'm bullying your mother?" Madam Hua let out a string of cold laughs. "A child spouting nonsense — slap her mouth!"
"Yes, Madam!" The woman who had been silent until now stepped forward at the command. In a few strides she was in front of Lü Sanniang, her sharp eyes boring into her. "Get out of the way!"
Lü Sanniang refused to move, only gazing at Madam Hua with pleading eyes, shaking her head over and over.
Madam Hua said: "Sanniang, you know my temper. If you don't interfere, I'll only give her a small lesson. But if you dare to stand in the way, it won't be just a lesson."
At those words, the color shifted on Lü Sanniang's face.
"I said get out of the way!" The woman reached out, grabbed Lü Sanniang, and shoved her aside. Her cultivation was only at the Dao Source Third Layer — far below Lü Sanniang's — but Lü Sanniang clearly didn't dare resist. The shove sent her stumbling to the side, tears brimming in her eyes as she stared at Lü Yuqin.
She knew her daughter's beating was unavoidable now. All she could hope was that Madam Hua would stop after teaching her a lesson.
"Mom!" Lü Yuqin cried out softly.
The woman raised her hand high, a frigid smile playing on her lips, and brought it crashing down toward the face that bore a fifty-to-sixty percent resemblance to Lü Sanniang's.
Origin Power surged through her palm, concealing a vicious undercurrent. Lü Yuqin's cultivation was low — how could she possibly block such a strike? If this blow connected, her skin would split open for certain.
Lü Sanniang's fists clenched until her nails bit into her palms, but she didn't even notice. Her eyes were rimmed red as she forced herself to stay rooted in place, refusing to rush forward.
She knew that if she charged in, both mother and daughter might well die here today. Madam Hua would never let either of them go. But if she held back, her daughter might still have a sliver of a chance.
She turned her head away, unable to watch, tears sliding down her cheeks.
*Crack…*
A crisp, sharp sound rang out.
Then a scream of pain.
The entire world suddenly fell silent.
Lü Sanniang's heart was bleeding, a convulsive agony tearing through her. Her daughter's birth had never been something she wanted, but she was the fruit of ten months in the womb — the crystallization of her own flesh. All these years, the two of them had relied on each other. Her daughter was her very life.
She had never been willing to hit her, never willing to scold her, never willing to let a single strand of her hair be touched by anyone else. And yet today, someone had slapped her face — slapped it right in front of her.
She hated her own powerlessness, hated Madam Hua's tyranny and utter unreasonableness, and felt that all of this was her own fault.
Tears fell to the ground like pearls from a broken string.