LoserQueen

Chapter 40 Tit-for-Tat

When Dugu Muyou was in danger, Dugu Zhong seemed to forget that she was his daughter and refused to send people to look for her. Dugu Muyou wondered what made him remember their father-daughter relationship?

Dugu Muyou wanted to roll her eyes at him and disdained her smug father. Liu Pianpian, who was next to Dugu Zhong, shot Dugu Muyou warning glances, meaning she should not run counter to Dugu Zhong. Dugu Muyou sighed and thought she would tolerate it for now for her mother.

"Father, I had a narrow escape owing to the help from a mighty person. If it were not for him, I would be eaten by some monster. In the old days, even a monster at the lowest rank would have killed me. I got lucky this time to escape from all this. Because of all the hardships, I went through, I find it particularly hard to make peace with the past."

Dugu Muyou softened her tone and explained slowly. Dugu Zhong's expression improved for the better, and it seemed he belonged to the type of people who would yield to soft approaches but reject tough ones.

Dugu Muyou looked away and saw Dugu Piaopiao who was staring at her as well as Dugu Yaoyao who was expressionless.

"I was in distress because of these two. If they hadn't tricked me out of the spiritual animal wagon and abandoned me in the Valley of Magical Animals, I wouldn't have encountered such dangers."

The original Dugu Muyou was dead, which meant she was gone for good. Thus, Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Yaoyao killed a person. Dugu Muyou would never let them off the hook.

"You're making slanderous accusations against us!"

Dugu Piaopiao's face reddened with excitement and berated Dugu Muyou.

"You wanted to get out of the wagon yourself and go for a walk because you were curious about the Valley of Magical Animals. We tried every means to dissuade you, but you won't listen to us. You regarded our good kindness as evil intentions and us as bullies. Yaoyao, wasn't that the case?"

"That's right. We came back from our elder sister's home and passed through the Valley of Magical Animals. When the spiritual animal wagon stopped for a rest, Muyou suddenly said that she wanted to go to the Valley of Magical Animals and have a look, because it was rare for her to go out and she had long heard of this place. She said if we missed the chance to visit it, she probably would never have a chance to go here. Sister Piaopiao and I dissuaded her, but she was determined to go out. Thus, we stepped out of the spiritual animal wagon with her. She also refused to bring guards with us. When we were attacked in the Valley, we also got separated."

Dugu Yaoyao was agitated like a person who was slandered and complained with Dugu Zhong, "It was not as what Muyou stated. Muyou, since you made a safe return, why are you framing us up?"

Dugu Zhong listened to their arguments and did not respond.

"You two share a tacit understanding. You said there was a spiritual pool in the Valley of Magical Animals, which would help unblock meridians of my body. You two swore it was real and even made an oath in front of me. You put quite a lot of effort to trick me. It was truly too scheming of you."

The original Muyou was bullied because of her inability to cultivate, so the so-called "spiritual pool" attracted her. Since she was bullied all the time at a young age, she found it hard to believe Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Yaoyao. After they vowed repeatedly and made an oath, she decided to give it a try and got off the spiritual animal wagon with them. She did not expect that would be the end of her life.

Seeing Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Yaoyao calling white black, Dugu Muyou was not angry. She expected these two would lie, but what she really wanted was Dugu Zhong's perspective.

Dugu Piaopiao lifted her tiny face and laughed.

"There are two of us to testify against you. Anyways, it will make our words more reliable than yours. Besides, since you have been insisting that we lied to you, do you have evidence? If you don't, then you're merely slandering us! Dad, please punish this villain who smeared me and Yaoyao."

Dugu Zhong glanced at all three of them.

"You are all my daughters, including Yaoyao. I have always treated her as my own biological daughter. Since we're a family, how could we not stay united? No matter what dispute you got, from now on, don't ever mention it. We are the Dugus. We should love one another and support one another. How could you treat one another like enemies? Muyou, since you have returned safely, just drop whatever happened in the Valley of Magical Animals."

Dugu Piaopiao's eyes widened out of surprise. She blurted out, "Dad, how can you be like this? Muyou bullied Yaoyao and me, and you can't just let it pass!"

Dugu Piaopiao did not expect that Dugu Zhong was not on her side. In the old days, he would take her side, but now...

Dugu Piaopiao suddenly felt so wronged, and her anger and hatred towards Dugu Muyou deepened.

Dugu Zhong said with a darkened face, "Piaopiao, you always heed our advice. What went wrong with you? There is no such thing as bullying among sisters."

Dugu Piaopiao lowered her head and did not speak for a while.

"So, you won't agree with my term?"

The corner of Dugu Muyou's mouth curled up. Dugu Zhong only intended to gloss things over to stay on good terms. She thought he probably was not interested in the truth.

Only the three of them knew what happened, and there was no evidence to prove who had lied. In the old days, Dugu Zhong would have berated Dugu Muyou no matter what she said and consoled Dugu Piaopiao. However, he was curious today about the person who helped her, so he agreed to compromise.

However, that was not what Dugu Muyou wanted. She wanted Dugu Zhong to punish Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Yaoyao.

"Since you don't agree to my term, I won't tell you who helped me."

Dugu Zhong thought he had done a great job with his big speech, and he thought he was being kind enough to Dugu Muyou. He did not expect she would refuse to tell him. It drove him mad right away, and he glared at Liu Pianpian and scolded, "That was a good daughter you raised!"

Having said that, Dugu Zhong left the hall.

There would be a time for the answer. He believed he would find a way to learn it. Anyways, he was not in a hurry to know the answer, and Dugu Muyou would not run away. In Dugu Zhong's view, Dugu Muyou was still a dispensable loser. He did not care for her despite the fact that she was able to cultivate spiritual qi.

Being scolded by Dugu Zhong, Liu Pianpian was not angry. She was amicable in nature and never quarreled with others. She was even more obedient to Dugu Zhong. However, she could not agree with the way he handled the matter. Although she did not say anything, she was discontented at heart. She believed her daughter's word. Since the matter was concerned with her daughter's life, she would certainly have her complaint no matter how tender she was.

Liu Pianpian glanced at Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Yaoyao. Thinking of what they did to Dugu Muyou, she felt depressed.

After Dugu Zhong left, Liu Pianpian came to Dugu Muyou and looked at her up and down while saying, "Muyou, let's go back. Your father is the decision-maker in this house, but we both know the truth. Those who committed crimes will get what they deserve."

"Oh, so you don't agree with Master? Why didn't you say so earlier? If Master knows about it, I'm afraid... "

Dugu Yaoyao said with sarcasm.

Suddenly, a cold light flashed all of a sudden, and Dugu Yaoyao sensed crisis. She dodged instinctively, and a wisp of black hair of hers was cut off and slowly fell to the ground.

Dugu Yaoyao was stupefied and looked up, seeing Dugu Muyou pulled her dagger back.

"You... How dare you!"

With her finger trembling, Dugu Yaoyao pointed at Dugu Muyou and said in disbelief.

Although she witnessed the fight between Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Muyou, she still underestimated Dugu Muyou and thought of her as the same old loser. She could not fully comprehend her transformation.

Dugu Muyou stared coldly at Dugu Yaoyao and did not seem to care about her threat.

"Show respect to my mother when you speak to her. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!" She looked at the wisp of hair on the ground and continued, "Next time you won't be so lucky."

"Piaopiao, look at her..."

Dugu Yaoyao was mad and turned to Dugu Piaopiao for help.

"You didn't learn any lesson from your trip but became rather arrogant." Dugu Piaopiao, pulling out her spiritual sword, pointed at Dugu Muyou, "Let's fight again. I'll read you a lesson this time!"

Liu Pianpian held Dugu Muyou and shook her head. Dugu Muyou patted her hand to show comfort.

"I'm not fighting with you," said Dugu Muyou.

Dugu Piaopiao responded scornfully, "Are you scared?"

"Scared of you? Who nearly got killed by me earlier? You don't have a good memory, do you? If father hadn't stopped me, you would have turned into a cold corpse by now."

Dugu Muyou gazed at Dugu Piaopiao as if she had been gazing at a dead person. She was a killer, and she would take a life when she struck. Because if she failed, her life would have been taken by others. Now that she had come to a strange continent, some old habits of hers remained the same despite the changed circumstances.

Of course, Dugu Muyou wanted to kill Dugu Piaopiao. She made her move, which was halted by Dugu Zhong. Dugu Piaopiao and Dugu Yaoyao killed the original Muyou, and these two persons should pay the price for their actions. Dugu Muyou was not some kind of merciful master, and she got things done without hesitation. At the moment, it was not the best time to deal with them. These juvenile fights in private were meaningless to her.

"Killed by you?"

Dugu Piaopiao stabbed Dugu Muyou with her sword, except her hands, holding the spiritual sword, shook a bit. She never had a near-death experience before. Today she had a taste of what that was like, and she hated it.

Her sword was blocked by someone else.

"Go away! Mind your own business!" Dugu Piaopiao scolded the person who got in the way.

The person who blocked the attack was a capable heeler of Dugu Zhong, whose name was Dugu Jin.

"Master has said that you should support one another and end the meaningless fight. Seventh Miss, please do not disobey Master's advice."

Dugu Jin said flatly but was persistent.

Dugu Piaopiao glared at him and put her sword away. She said to Dugu Muyou, "We'll see!" Then, she left angrily.

Dugu Yaoyao followed afterward and later asked her, "That loser is so full of herself! Are we really letting it go?"

Dugu Piaopiao's expression darkened.

"No, we're not letting it go, but father ordered it. We had to follow the order. Otherwise, none of us can live a happy life. After a few days, we'll have the family competition. I'll make her suffer!"

Dugu Yaoyao listened to her words and thought about them. Then, her resentment dialed down, but she said worriedly as if something came up in her mind, "But what if she is not taking part in the competition?"