"You were too impulsive."
Zhou Qing glanced at the woman struggling to stand up and turned to Xiao Wu beside him.
"Impulsive?"
Xiao Wu didn't look pleased. "Didn't you also take action?"
"But I didn't throw her outside," Zhou Qing reminded her. The woman was in the wrong first, so a lesson was fair, but going too far wasn't. There had to be a limit.
"She's not seriously hurt anyway," Xiao Wu pouted.
Initially, the woman only took a punch from Zhou Qing that bruised her eye—resting for a day or two would've sufficed. But then Xiao Wu landed another punch and flung her out from the second floor. Now, her scalp was torn and bleeding. If she didn't find a good healer, she'd be left with a scar.
This wasn't just any injury it had disfigured her.
Even though there was no damage to her bones or muscles, for a woman especially a soul master who relied on her looks as her weapon such a scar could ruin her livelihood.
Still—
At the root of it, this woman was the one who used a charm-type soul skill on them first. She started it, so their counterattack wasn't unjustified.
Moreover, her current identity was just that of a woman brought in from outside by Xiao Chenyu. She wasn't a maid or part of the Xiao household, and she was even concealing her true strength.
That last part left her with no excuse.
So Zhou Qing merely gave Xiao Wu a reminder—not to be so impulsive next time. A warning was fine, but overreacting wasn't wise. Especially since the woman clearly intended to cooperate with them later by showing up to talk in the first place.
When Zhou Qing struck her earlier, he didn't go all out it was just a light punishment, meant to display his strength and secure a dominant position for any potential future cooperation.
Who could have expected Xiao Wu to suddenly act on impulse, use a soul skill, and launch the woman outside...
At that moment—
Other servants of the Xiao household had been drawn by the commotion.
Now things were getting troublesome.
"You just wait!"
"I'll make you regret being born into this world!"
The woman glared at Zhou Qing, Xiao Wu, and Tang San with hatred in her eyes, as if burning their faces into her memory for future revenge.
"Steward Xiao! Stop her!"
Zhou Qing jumped down from the balcony, spirit possessed, his first soul ring glowing yellow. He sprinted after her and shouted toward the butler and others at the door, "She's a one-ring Soul Master! She tried to infiltrate the Xiao residence using your young master to collect intelligence and plans to steal the soul bone that'll be auctioned off in three days!"
Though Xiao Wu had indeed gone too far and thoroughly offended the woman, the situation had already escalated. Zhou Qing wasn't about to throw Xiao Wu under the bus. Since the woman had threatened them with revenge, he might as well go all the way and use the Xiao residence's authority to capture her.
"Quick! Catch that woman!"
Steward Xiao was surprised at Zhou Qing's yellow first soul ring, but as a seasoned household manager, he responded swiftly and ordered the guards and servants to intercept the woman.
Though most of the servants and guards were ordinary people merely trained and physically strong some did possess five or six levels of soul power. With over twenty of them, they managed to form an effective blockade against the woman, whose soul power was only at level eighteen.
Still, she was a soul master. With her soul power activated, her physical capabilities surged. She didn't clash with them directly but dashed to the side, aiming to scale the wall and escape.
But someone was faster—
Tang San!
As soon as Zhou Qing had leapt down, Tang San had followed. Using the dynamic vision granted by his Purple Demon Eye, he tracked her movements and, with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, darted to the spot she was heading toward.
"Out of my way!"
The woman shouted. Her first soul ring glowed again First Soul Skill: Charm.
But Tang San had already braced himself. His mental strength was far beyond ordinary soul masters and easily resisted her charm.
Still, he pretended to be charmed—his eyes showing a hint of daze.
"Now's my chance!"
Delighted, the woman accelerated like a fox, nimble and agile.
But just as she closed in on Tang San and reached to swat him aside, Tang San's hands turned jade-like and grabbed her clawed hand.
"What?!"
The woman was shocked. It felt like she had hit cotton, and suddenly, she lost control of her body as a force pulled her forward, lifting her off the ground.
She had been flung into the air by her own momentum!
Tang Sect Technique: Controlling Crane, Catching Dragon!
It was the first time Tang San used this force-redirecting technique against a soul master in this world, and it worked brilliantly.
"Brother Qing!"
Tang San forcefully struck the woman's back, sending her flying toward Zhou Qing's direction!
"Hah!"
As Zhou Qing charged forward, his blood and qi surged. With his left fist clenched, crimson energy took the shape of a ghostly Moo Spring Ox above his arm.
He punched!
Boom!
The air roared!
The woman had no time to dodge. She could only frantically circulate her soul power to boost her defense under the soul possession.
But—
Even though Zhou Qing used only one fist, his soul skill Wing Chun came from the Moo Spring Ox. When attacking mid-charge, the power naturally gathered.
Such a strike could hardly be blocked even by a high-level soul master with a top-tier martial soul how could she stand against it?
The punch exploded like a cannon. The woman was sent flying, crashing into the wall by the Xiao residence gate.
Boom!
The wall collapsed. Debris and tiles rained down, burying her.
Steward Xiao was stunned.
He had thought Zhou Qing and Tang San were merely accompanying Su Yuntao to broaden their horizons—who would have expected them to be so powerful, taking down a soul master infiltrator with such ease?
But Tang San knew this wasn't even the full power of Zhou Qing's first soul skill. The complete Wing Chun technique used both fists to focus all inner strength, merging blood and soul power into the form of the Moo Spring Ox, launching a devastating charge.
This punch just now was only half-finished.
(We must stay on good terms with them!)
That thought immediately took root in Steward Xiao's heart. He quickly ordered the servants and guards to clear the rubble and capture the woman.
"What happened here?"
The loud commotion had drawn the attention of Su Yuntao and Xiao Chenyu from the backyard.
But at the moment, Xiao Chenyu's face was bruised and swollen, his clothes torn, and he was covered in injuries clearly the result of Su Yuntao's "special treatment."
Still, Zhou Qing and Tang San could tell it was only superficial nothing too serious. Su Yuntao had held back.
"It's like this..." Steward Xiao, relieved that his young master was finally enduring some hardship, explained how the woman turned out to be a soul master, mainly addressing Xiao Chenyu.
Xiao Chenyu's expression darkened.
The household steward and servants had all seen it with their own eyes the woman he brought home was a soul master, and with a hundred-year soul ring, no less...
There was no way to deny it.
She definitely had ulterior motives!
"Thank you, Zhou Qing, Tang San, Xiao Wu. If you ever need help, come find me. I'll do everything I can."
After a long silence, Xiao Chenyu calmed himself and bowed to them, showing the decorum befitting a noble.
(Xiao Chenyu isn't completely rotten... In fiction, people have fixed roles—but in real life, they're multifaceted...)
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix