The air temperature dropped to absolute zero.

"Shut up," Wangchen whispered.

The Princess recoiled, startled by the sudden wave of killing intent. "What did you say to me?"

"I said," Wangchen looked up. His eyes were no longer dark. They were glowing with a faint, demonic red light deep within the iris. The frost on the bamboo turned into jagged spikes of ice. "Shut your mouth. Before I freeze it shut permanently."

[System Alert: Blackening Value: 88%... 90%!]

[Villain Status: Unstable. Ice Spirit Root resonating with Killing Intent.]

"You dare threaten me?!" The Princess shrieked, hiding behind her guards. "Kill him! Teach this slave a lesson! Break his legs!"

The four guards, all Foundation Establishment cultivators, drew their weapons and charged.

Wangchen didn’t retreat. He drew Winter’s Sigh.

’She insulted Him. She called Him trash? When the real trash here is herself? How dare she?!’

The voice in his head was screaming.

Kill her. Kill them all. Paint the bamboo red. No one should dare to hurl insults at him.

He raised his sword. An Ice Dragon phantom began to manifest behind him, its roar shaking the very air.

He was going to use a forbidden technique. He was going to massacre everyone here, regardless of the consequences.

’Let the world burn,’ Wangchen thought, his sanity slipping away. ’As long as He is clean.’

Just as the first guard’s saber was about to clash with Wangchen’s ice blade, a gray blur exploded out of the rhododendron bushes.

"STOP! IT’S HAMMER TIME!"

CLANG!

A black iron object spun through the air like a shuriken. It struck the lead guard’s saber with the force of a cannonball, knocking the weapon clean out of his hands.

The spatula embedded itself in a bamboo stalk, vibrating ominously.

Everyone froze.

Wangchen’s killing intent faltered. He blinked, the red glow in his eyes receding slightly.

"Young... Master?"

Lin Ji’an stumbled onto the path.

She looked... catastrophic.

Her gray robes were soaked through, clinging to her frame in a way that would have been scandalous if not for the gender artifact masking her curves.

Her boots squelched loudly with every step. Her hair was a dripping, tangled mess of black ink, plastered to her pale face.

She was panting, her chest heaving, and she smelled faintly of lavender soap and pond water.

She looked like a drowned water ghost seeking vengeance.

"Who..." The Princess stared, horrified. "What is that?"

Ji’an ignored the Princess. She marched straight up to Wangchen, ignoring the three armed guards who were still pointing weapons at him.

She grabbed Wangchen by the lapels of his pristine white uniform with her wet, cold hands.

"You idiot!" she shouted, shaking him. "What are you doing?! I leave you alone for five minutes, just five minutes! And you try to commit regicide? Do you want to be executed? Do you want me to be executed as an accessory?"

Wangchen stared down at her. He felt the cold water seeping from her hands into his clothes. He saw the water dripping from her nose.

"Young Master, you, you’re wet," he stated, his brain rebooting.

"Yes! I am wet! Because I had to run here naked, well, almost naked, to stop you from turning the Princess into a popsicle!" Ji’an released him, spinning around to face the threats.

She walked over to the bamboo stalk, yanked her spatula out, and pointed it at the Princess.

"And you!" Ji’an barked.

The Princess flinched. "Me? You dare point that greasy tool at me?"

"Greasy? I cleaned this yesterday!" Ji’an scoffed. She stepped forward, water dripping from her robes, creating a puddle around her. "I heard what you said. ’Leech.’ ’Parasite.’ ’Mud.’"

She tilted her head, giving the Princess a look of pure, unadulterated disdain.

"Listen here, Your Highness. I might be a cook. I might have a trash root. But at least I don’t go around begging other people’s disciples to be my servants because I’m too incompetent to pour my own tea."

"You—!" The Princess’s face turned purple.

"And as for Wangchen," Ji’an stepped back, placing herself physically between the guards and the Villain. She raised her spatula in a defensive stance. "He isn’t a slave. He isn’t a servant. He is the genius of the Eternal Cloud Peak. If you touch a hair on his head, you aren’t just insulting me. You’re insulting Elder Qin. You’re insulting the Sect Leader. You’re insulting the concept of meritocracy!"

She looked at the guards.

"Do you four want to explain to the Sect Elders why you attacked a Flawless Ice Spirit Root disciple inside the sect boundaries? Do you think the ’Third Princess’ title will save you when Elder Qin comes down from his mountain?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The guards hesitated as they lowered their weapons.

They knew Elder Qin’s reputation; that guy was another lunatic.

"We... we were just following orders..." one guard muttered.

"Orders to bully a junior?" Ji’an sneered. "Pathetic."

She turned back to the Princess.

"Your Highness," Ji’an said, her voice dropping to a dangerously calm register. "Take your gold, take your guards, and go back to your palace. If you want a pretty boy, go buy a doll. But this one?"

She reached back and grabbed Wangchen’s hand, interlacing her cold, wet fingers with his warm ones.

"This one is taken. He’s busy. He has a very important job."

"What job?!" The Princess shrieked, close to tears from the humiliation.

"Eating my dinner," Ji’an declared. "Now, get lost before I report you for... loitering."

It was a weak threat, but the sheer audacity of it, combined with the fact that Wangchen’s killing intent was starting to rise again behind her, was enough.

"I... I will remember this!" The Princess gathered her skirts. "You will regret this, Lin Ji’an! You damned wet dog!"

She turned and fled, her guards scrambling after her.

Silence returned to the Cyan Bamboo Path.

Ji’an held the pose for three seconds longer, just to make sure they were gone. Then, she deflated like a punctured balloon.