Chapter 14
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“Is... is this Han Chuanwu?”
Lu Liang arrived at Han Chuanwu’s company with his subordinates Wei Chaowu and Wei Chaofeng. Chu Tianhe had already left by then, and as soon as Lu Liang pushed open the door to Han Chuanwu’s office, the stench of blood rushed out to greet them.
At the sight within the room, both Wei Chaowu and Wei Chaofeng’s faces instantly changed. Though they were renowned assassins themselves, the grisly spectacle of flesh scattered over the floor and a skeleton kneeling on the ground was enough to churn anyone’s stomach.
What was even more horrifying was that, with all the flesh stripped away, the organs within the skeleton were clearly visible, making one’s scalp crawl.
“This is the punishment of death by a thousand cuts.”
Faced with this hellish scene, Lu Liang remained calm and composed. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly approached Han Chuanwu’s corpse. After a detailed examination, he finally spoke: “The blade work is ruthless—every cut precise, even the pieces of flesh sliced off are uniform in size. There’s not a single knife mark left on the bones. Clearly, this person knows the blade well.”
“With such skill, I fear Han Chuanwu didn’t draw his last breath until the very end. Unless there was a deep-seated hatred, no one would ever go this far.”
As his words fell, a sinister and strange glint flickered in Lu Liang’s eyes. His hoarse, low voice echoed again: “It’s been years since I’ve seen such a master.”
“They dared to kill my godson with the punishment of a thousand cuts. Ruthless—just to my taste. It’s been a long time since anyone dared to challenge me. How interesting.”
“Godfather, you mean...?”
Lu Liang was a man shrouded in malice and mystery. His identity, background, and origins were all unknown. No one ever truly knew what he was thinking, not even Wei Chaowu and Wei Chaofeng, who had followed him for years, dared to guess.
“Go and question the company staff. Find out where this Chu Tianhe went after leaving.”
Lu Liang glanced coldly at the two men, his tone laced with venom.
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, the two gathered all the company’s bodyguards and pieced together the sequence of events.
“Godfather, after Chu Tianhe left, his whereabouts are unknown. He moves too fast—the bodyguards here couldn’t catch up.”
“Couldn’t catch up, or didn’t dare to?”
“Well...”
Confronted with Lu Liang’s chilling question, both Wei Chaowu and Wei Chaofeng could only answer in silence, not daring to utter a word.
“Any other information?” Lu Liang pressed on.
“Yes. It seems this is related to the second daughter of the Qin family. Someone saw Qin Xiaomeng coming out of Han Chuanwu’s room.”
“Qin Xiaomeng?!”
At that name, Lu Liang’s expression shifted slightly, then he said in a deep voice, “Where is Qin Xiaomeng now?”
“She’s at the Qin residence.”
“The Qin family?” Lu Liang’s eyes narrowed. “They used the punishment of a thousand cuts for Qin Xiaomeng’s sake?”
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“Hmph, this matter is certainly not so simple.”
Lu Liang snorted coldly and shook his head, a shadowy gleam flickering in his eyes.
“Godfather, what should we do now? Should I send the brothers to search for Chu Tianhe?”
Wei Chaowu spoke in a low voice, a cold murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
“No need for such trouble.” Lu Liang’s gaze was icy as he looked at Han Chuanwu’s corpse. “Find Qin Xiaomeng, and Chu Tianhe will surely appear.”
“The Qin family has relied on my power, yet has dragged things out for so long. Today, they owe me an explanation.”
“Prepare a dozen fine coffins, gather everyone, and head to the Qin residence.”
“Today, I’ll bring coffins as my betrothal gifts. Qin Xiaomeng will either marry me as my wife, or I’ll bury the entire Qin family.”
At these words, Wei Chaowu and Wei Chaofeng cupped their fists and set off at once. In that moment, a storm swept through Jiangzhou. Countless assassins, lurking in the shadows, surged forth, all converging upon the Qin residence.
...
Bluemountain Hotel.
Chu Tianhe bought medicine and returned to the hotel. After checking on Yao Yao, who was still unconscious, he turned to Tianjiu and asked in a deep voice, “Where is Xiaomeng? Why isn’t she here?”
“Palace Lord, Miss Qin came to see the young master, then returned to the Qin residence. She said she needed to pack her things and cut ties with the Qin family, so she could look after the young master from now on.”
This time, Qin Xiaomeng was truly in despair.
She remembered clearly: her elder sister Qin Xiaorou once knelt at the Qin family’s gates for two days and nights, begging for help to treat Yao Yao’s illness, but the doors never opened.
No matter how she pleaded, the elders of the Qin family remained unmoved. If they had lent a hand, her sister would not have been forced to leap to her death.
Now, for the sake of the family’s interests, they even wanted her to marry a man in his seventies!
Such a heartless family—Qin Xiaomeng had nothing left to hold her back.
She would be like her sister back then: cut off all ties with the Qin family. Even if she ended up wandering the streets, she would never set foot in that house again, and would never be their sacrificial pawn.
“She went back to the Qin residence?”
Hearing this, Chu Tianhe’s brows knit together and his face darkened instantly.
He felt no fondness for the Qin family. Because of their blood tie to Qin Xiaorou, he had spared them so far; otherwise, the Qin family would likely have been wiped out long ago.
“Palace Lord, you should take a look at this.”
At this moment, a woman’s voice sounded behind Chu Tianhe—it was Yue Linglong, who had been summoned to care for Yao Yao.
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She held in her hands an electronic monitor capable of detecting ancient martial energy. The digital map displayed the whole of Jiangzhou, upon which countless red dots appeared, all converging toward one direction—the Qin residence.
“I didn’t expect there would still be members of the Rakshasa Guild hidden in Jiangzhou.” Yue Linglong’s lips curved into a seductive smile as she spoke. “It’s clear now: the leader of this action is a head of the local Rakshasa branch, named Lu Liang—the very same ‘godfather’ Han Chuanwu spoke of.”
The Rakshasa Guild, the number one assassination organization in the Grand Xia, vast in size, with influence everywhere, infamous for its secrecy and ruthless methods.
“Judging by the numbers, the Rakshasa Guild has gathered several thousand experts, all with martial force above 300. This is quite the spectacle—they must be going to force a marriage at the Qin residence.”
Yue Linglong was not her real name; no one knew what she was truly called. She was known by the moniker “Luna,” ranked above the Heavenly Twelve Fiends of the Pantheon, Chu Tianhe’s right hand, a top intelligence and assassination expert, one of the Twin Moons. She rarely showed herself.
Even within the Pantheon, few outside the Heavenly Twelve Fiends had ever seen Yue Linglong. That Chu Tianhe had summoned her to care for Yao Yao showed just how much he valued his daughter.
“The Rakshasa Guild, is it?”
Learning of Lu Liang’s actions, Chu Tianhe’s face darkened, a murderous aura filling the room.
He had failed to protect Qin Xiaorou, and now even her beloved younger sister was in such dire straits. How could Chu Tianhe not be enraged?
Now, whoever dared lay a hand on Xiaomeng or Yao Yao was courting death.
“Linglong, armor me!”
At these words, both Yue Linglong and Tianjiu were stunned.
In their memories, Chu Tianhe hadn’t personally taken action in a very long time. No one had been worthy of his hand, not even after arriving in Jiangzhou. He had never truly fought.
But now, he would don his war armor once more, becoming a god or demon incarnate, slaughtering all who stood in his way!
How terrifying was that? Not just Jiangzhou, but the entire land of the Grand Xia could not withstand the wrath of Chu Tianhe.
“Palace Lord, please reconsider. There’s no one left in this world worthy of your hand. Such petty foes—Tianjiu and I can handle them.”
Both immediately dropped to one knee, cold sweat pouring down. No one understood better than they the terror of Chu Tianhe donning his armor.
“Armor me!”
Yet, ignoring their pleas, Chu Tianhe’s command was law. His voice grew colder, the murderous intent in the room almost tangible.
“Pass my order—summon the Heavenly Twelve Fiends to Jiangzhou, to fight at my side!”
“If this world is unjust to me, Chu Tianhe, then I shall lay waste to mountains and rivers—what of it?”
“Today, Chu Tianhe shall break his vow and slaughter until none remain!”