The First Summoner - Chapter 20

A young woman in a green dress strode into the shop, followed by a squad of soldiers.

Her bearing was arrogant, and a mocking smile curled her lips as she looked Shen Yan up and down with open contempt.

“Useless trash. Do you still recognize this princess?”

Hongri and Yinyue’s expressions shifted. Tension seized them, and both wanted to hurry Second Young Miss out of the shop.

Then they saw how calm their mistress remained and froze.

The green-robed young woman frowned. “I asked you a question!”

Shen Yan withdrew her gaze as though the girl did not exist. Turning to the shopkeeper, she said, “Show me the sharpest dagger in your shop.”

Humiliation ignited the girl’s fury.

“Shen Yan! You’ve certainly grown bold! How dare you ignore this princess? Have you forgotten how I used to ride you like a horse?”

She reached out to shove Shen Yan.

Shen Yan moved first.

In one lightning-fast motion, she caught the girl’s hand and twisted.

Crack!

“Aaaaaah!”

“My hand!”

The green-robed girl shrieked. Her face paled and twisted with pain. An instant later, she gathered spiritual power and blasted it toward Shen Yan.

“Miss, look out!”

Hongri reacted at once. She summoned her own spiritual power and blocked the attack.

Shen Yan had already prepared to expose her fire ability. With Hongri taking the blow for her, however, her fingers curled slightly.

The tiny flames gathering in her palm vanished without a sound.

The two bursts of spiritual power collided evenly.

Hongri staggered, and Shen Yan reached out to steady her.

The green-robed girl clutched her broken arm, her face drained white from the pain. She glared at Shen Yan with incandescent rage.

“Guards! Seize every last one of them!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The soldiers behind her drew their swords and leveled them at Shen Yan, Hongri, and Yinyue.

The Shen family guards waiting outside paled and rushed into the shop. Before they could reach Second Young Miss, the opposing soldiers blocked their path with drawn blades.

“Second Young Miss!”

The Shen guards shouted in alarm. They had all been personally trained by the Young Master, and their loyalty to Shen Yan was beyond question.

The green-robed girl was Nangong Ying, the sole princess of Nanxiao Kingdom. The emperor doted on her, and she was a close friend of Shen Xue.

Because of Shen Xue, Nangong Ying had always disliked Shen Yan and bullied her often.

Using the original Shen Yan as a horse had been merely one of the many ways she humiliated her.

The weapons shop’s owner looked both anxious and grave.

Disaster had found his door today.

Cold sweat ran down Nangong Ying’s face from the pain, but murderous rage filled her eyes.

“You useless wretch! You’ve got some nerve, daring to strike this princess! Take her down at once!”

The soldiers were about to move when Shen Yan’s voice cut across the shop.

“Who dares?”

The words came like an icy blade.

Every soldier stopped.

The crowd stared at Shen Yan in shock.

How could a good-for-nothing possess such a terrifying presence?

Shen Yan gave a cold laugh. “Nangong Ying, you insulted and humiliated me first. Now you intend to attack me with great fanfare. Where does that leave the dignity of the Shen family?”

Nangong Ying went blank.

She was so accustomed to tormenting Shen Yan that the question left her without an answer.

Then she remembered how the Shen family rejected and despised Shen Yan. There was no reason to fear that they would avenge her.

Lifting her chin, Nangong Ying declared, “Even if this princess had you beaten to death, what of it? The Shen family might thank me for ridding them of a menace!”

“So you mean…” Shen Yan paused, then raised her cold eyes. “The Shen family is a heartless clan that abandons its own blood?”

Nangong Ying stiffened.

Realization struck, and she glared at Shen Yan.

This useless girl had dug a trap for her!

“No!” she answered through clenched teeth.

Shen Yan smiled faintly.

“Our Shen family is warm and united. The elders are loyal and compassionate. Not only do they treasure me, but they even cherish an adopted daughter like Shen Xue as though she were their own. How could such a family ever abandon a blood relative?”

Nangong Ying’s face changed again.

Since when had this useless girl become so eloquent?

She had fallen into a verbal snare. No matter which way she stepped, there seemed to be no graceful way out.

Nangong Ying drew a deep breath. “Shen Yan, you injured this princess. You will pay the same price!”

She turned to her soldiers. “Break her hand!”

Hongri and Yinyue immediately moved in front of Shen Yan.

With grave expressions, they lowered their voices.

“Miss, if you see an opening, run at once.”

Shen Yan raised a hand and pushed them gently aside.

She took two steps forward.

Hongri and Yinyue’s pupils contracted.

“Miss…”

Nangong Ying assumed Shen Yan had finally recognized her place and intended to submit. A contemptuous smile curved her lips.

Then Shen Yan spoke calmly.

“My father is back.”

The soldiers advancing toward her stopped in their tracks. Fear crossed their faces.

Nangong Ying shuddered.

When she was a child, she had witnessed Shen Tianhao’s rage.

An envoy from another kingdom had once kicked Shen Yan in disgust. Shen Tianhao saw it happen.

In a frenzy, he snapped the envoy’s leg, crushed the bones to pieces, then had his summoned beast swallow the man whole.

Shen Tianhao was a madman.

He was also the most powerful Summoner in Nanxiao Kingdom.

Looking at their bloodless faces, Shen Yan deliberately lowered her voice.

“That’s right. I told on you.”

The original Shen Yan’s mind had been severely impaired. Her memory was poor, and she forgot things quickly. She could not even assemble a complete sentence.

Most of the time, she sat alone in a daze, almost as if she possessed no will of her own.

Only three people had remained fixed in her memory.

The first was Shen Tianhao.

The second was Shen Huai.

And the third was… Shen Xue.

Everyone else vanished from her mind almost as soon as she saw them. Telling anyone about the abuse had been impossible.

Shen Xue and the others were also careful never to leave wounds on exposed skin. Such evidence would have been far too obvious.

Beneath the original Shen Yan’s clothing, however, lay bruises, swelling, and pinch marks.

New injuries had been layered over old ones before they could heal.

Lingyuan—the maid who helped her wash and bathe—and several matrons and maids in Xicui Courtyard had all been bribed by Shen Xue.

Shen Tianhao was frequently away on business or took Shen Huai out to gain experience.

He had once trusted Shen Xue completely. Whenever he left, he instructed her to take good care of Shen Yan.

He had never known that, to Shen Yan, Shen Xue was a ravenous predator—one that devoured flesh and drank blood.

Shen Tianhao had failed to oversee every detail of his daughter’s care because she was a young woman, and there were intimate matters in which a father could not easily involve himself.