Yi Hehuan wanted to sever Yan Shouyi's arms?!
Ling Xiaoxiao was greatly surprised, then immediately shouted:
"Don't surrender to this demon! I'm not worth it…"
"Shut up!"
Yi Hehuan moved the Emei dagger a few centimeters closer, causing Ling Xiaoxiao to instinctively close her eyes.
The sharp Emei dagger was already pressed against Ling Xiaoxiao's eyelid; another inch forward would pierce her eyeball!
Lin Zitong watched the scene, still unable to make up her mind.
Yi Hehuan chuckled, "I've already obtained the Luban Shu. I might as well tell you all, I just want to expose your hypocrisy as so-called righteous cultivators! You've never experienced our suffering, yet you only know how to tell us to be good. But when real benefits and life-or-death situations are placed before you, what difference is there between your choices and ours? In the end, you're just luckier than us. What we need to fight for with underhanded means, you get with a mere flick of your fingers!"
Yan Shouyi understood Yi Hehuan's intention. It turned out this woman's mindset was quite profound.
She wanted to force him and Lin Zitong to abandon Ling Xiaoxiao.
Yi Hehuan simply wanted to play with human nature.
"Yi Hehuan, you are mistaken. True righteous individuals uphold great righteousness and are willing to sacrifice at any moment. Even when mired in mud, they never forget to look up at the sky!"
Yan Shouyi shouted loudly, "You wretched girl, sever my sinews! Prove it to her!"
Lin Zitong gritted her teeth, hesitating.
"What are you still hesitating for!?" Yan Shouyi urged.
Although Ling Xiaoxiao had her eyes closed, she could feel the resolute tone in Yan Shouyi's voice. Her eyes reddened, and tears streamed from the corners of her closed eyes. "Senior Brother Yan… I wronged you before… I'm not worth it… I'm truly not worth it!"
"No one deserves to die. If my hands can be exchanged for your safety, I will have no regrets! Zitong, act!"
Yan Shouyi uttered his final command, and Lin Zitong, steeling her heart, cruelly pierced Yan Shouyi's arm with the Red God Umbrella, severing his sinews!
The intense pain made Yan Shouyi cry out in agony. His hands hung limply from his shoulders like deflated balloons, and he couldn't even move a single finger.
Yan Shouyi's face turned pale, but a weak smile touched his lips:
"Yi Hehuan, you are wrong."
Yi Hehuan's smile vanished. She hadn't expected Yan Shouyi to truly be willing to have his hands severed for the sake of Ling Xiaoxiao.
Didn't the heir of Lu Ban value his hands the most?
Without his hands, how could he inherit Lu Ban's skills?
Could Yan Shouyi truly sacrifice himself for anyone?!
For a moment, Yi Hehuan, who had intended to sow discord in the other's heart, found herself in a quandary.
"Aren't you going to release her?!"
Lin Zitong's questioning broke Yi Hehuan's reverie. Yi Hehuan came back to her senses, chuckled, and casually pushed Ling Xiaoxiao off the lighthouse!
Lin Zitong's face changed drastically. She rushed forward and grabbed Ling Xiaoxiao, the two of them dangling in mid-air, almost falling.
"You are so upright and righteous, it would be unreasonable if I didn't act more wickedly."
Yi Hehuan smiled as she walked to Yan Shouyi's side and patted his chest with the three Luban books. She laughed, "You didn't really think that just handing over three worthless books could fool me, did you?"
Yan Shouyi's expression turned grim.
He had to admit that this woman's schemes and depths were truly profound. Even this move was something she had planned in advance.
The purpose was to use Ling Xiaoxiao to hold Lin Zitong back, creating an opportunity for her to be alone with him.
"Where is the real Luban Shu?" Yi Hehuan produced a dagger and pressed it against Yan Shouyi's neck. "My time is running out. If they climb back up before you hand over the Luban Shu, I'll have no choice but to kill you and flee."
At this moment, Yi Hehuan was completely at ease because Lin Zitong and Ling Xiaoxiao could barely save themselves, and Yan Shouyi's sinews were severed, meaning no one was a threat to her.
"Yi Hehuan."
Yan Shouyi sighed and said calmly, "I don't know how deeply you've investigated me, but there's one thing you should have known."
"Oh? What is it?" Yi Hehuan asked playfully, confident that she now held the absolute advantage.
But suddenly, Yan Shouyi, who should have been immobile, spun around abruptly, knocked away Yi Hehuan's dagger, and in the same motion, grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air!
Yi Hehuan's pupils contracted, and she looked at Yan Shouyi in disbelief:
"H-how can you still move?!"
Yan Shouyi smiled, "You should have investigated thoroughly. I am in the form of a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet. Even if my sinews are severed, I will recover very quickly!"
Within the span of a few lines of dialogue, Yan Shouyi's severed sinews had already healed!
Yi Hehuan was already very cunning, but she ultimately lost due to her lack of understanding of Yan Shouyi, allowing Yan Shouyi to outmaneuver her!
Yi Hehuan exclaimed in shock, "So your intention to save that girl was also…"
"No, even if I weren't a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet, I would still be willing to exchange my hands for her life. It's just a pity that I am a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet, and your plan has failed."
Yi Hehuan gritted her teeth in anger.
Yan Shouyi delivered a palm strike to the back of Yi Hehuan's neck, preventing her from spewing more words and directly knocking her unconscious.
He then threw the unconscious Yi Hehuan to the ground and hurried back to pull Lin Zitong and Ling Xiaoxiao, who were still hanging at the edge of the lighthouse, up.
"You were quite brutal just now."
Seeing that the two women were safe and sound, Yan Shouyi teased Lin Zitong.
Lin Zitong gave him a glare, "Do you think you're the only one hurting? I'm hurting too."
Ling Xiaoxiao blinked. Just after escaping death, she was unexpectedly force-fed a mouthful of affection?
Immediately, she recalled what had just happened and couldn't help but lower her head guiltily. "Big Brother Yan, I…"
Ling Xiaoxiao's address to Yan Shouyi had changed from Yan Shouyi to Big Brother Yan, signifying a significant shift in her perception of him.
Yan Shouyi waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing. My injuries have already healed."
"But you still risked your lives to save me."
Ling Xiaoxiao wasn't foolish; she knew who was good to her. Even if Yan Shouyi could recover, the pain of having his sinews severed was something ordinary people couldn't endure.
She still felt indebted to Yan Shouyi and the others.
"I wronged you before," Ling Xiaoxiao gritted out. "After this matter, I will return to Mount Emei and persuade the sect leader and the others to stop opposing you. If the sect leader doesn't agree, then I… I will…"
Ling Xiaoxiao hesitated for a long time, seemingly lacking any leverage to threaten the sect leader. In the end, she became frustrated and defiant, "I'll betray my sect and come follow you!"
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong found it both amusing and exasperating; this little girl truly had a bit of a temper.