Chou Yuan had assumed that with Xu Zhishen arriving in person, he would immediately strike down Yang Kai to avenge the young master. How could he have expected Xu Zhishen to order *him* to fight?
Seeing the young man smiling faintly at him with what seemed to be hidden meaning, Chou Yuan let out a terrified scream. Under the stunned stares of everyone around, he turned and bolted.
He didn't dare face Yang Kai in battle — doing so would mean certain death. So he fled without a moment's hesitation.
Eyeballs practically hit the floor. Of the twenty-odd people who had arrived, there were not only warriors from the Xu family but also some from the Haik family. Everyone except Wuyi, who watched Yang Kai with worry, her mind racing to figure out how to defuse this crisis, was simply here to watch the show.
But now, while they had gotten their show, it wasn't at all what they'd expected — and that was hard to swallow.
Even Xu Zhishen was momentarily taken aback. But his expression quickly turned darker. With a casual wave of his hand, he sent out a stream of saint yuan that condensed into the shape of a rope, swiftly binding the fleeing Chou Yuan.
Xu Zhishen snorted coldly. The rope blazed with brilliant light, and terrifying waves of energy emanated from it. As Chou Yuan screamed in terror, the rope dug deep into his body.
A series of sickening cracks rang out as bones shattered. The stench of blood instantly permeated the air. Chou Yuan's face was frozen in indescribable terror, yet he seemed as though he had found release — the fear in his eyes gradually faded, and with it faded his life force. Then his body collapsed into a heap of mangled flesh.
He had no fighting spirit, only the desire to flee. His cultivation had regressed, and he never expected his own elder to strike so ruthlessly. There had been no time to resist.
"Cowardly as a rat!" Xu Zhishen snarled, humiliated and enraged. He didn't understand why Chou Yuan had acted this way, but to flee without even fighting a young man whose strength was merely at Entering Saint Stage Three had thoroughly disgraced the Xu family — giving the Haik family something to laugh about.
Naturally, he showed no mercy.
"Fine — I'll handle this myself!" Xu Zhishen took a step forward, his gaze cold as ice upon Yang Kai. "I'd like to see who gave you the nerve to oppose my Xu family!"
His words carried a pointed implication. Several of the Haik family elders who had come along frowned. While they were displeased, they had no intention of taking a stance.
If they spoke up, it would mean the Haik family was backing Yang Kai, which could easily provoke enmity between the two families. For the sake of some unknown boy, the Haik family would do no such thing.
"Elder Xu, wait!" The elders remained unmoved, but Wuyi hastily called out.
The Haik family members looked at her with some displeasure. Xu Zhishen sneered at her: "The girl has something to say?"
"Wuyi, this is none of your concern." Before Wuyi could speak, a yellow-robed elder shot her a meaningful glance.
Wuyi pretended not to notice. She looked at Yang Kai with worry, then spoke clearly: "Elder Xu, Yang Kai is my friend, and I know he's not the type to go looking for trouble. Could there be some misunderstanding here?"
"He's not the type to look for trouble? Does that mean my Xu family went looking for trouble?" Xu Zhishen's expression turned vicious. "A misunderstanding? Beating Tianze half to death and turning him into an idiot — that was a misunderstanding? Girl, you explain to me what kind of misunderstanding this is. If you can't give me a proper explanation, then even if you are from the Haik family, I won't let this go!"
"Brother Xu, don't drag my Haik family into this. This has nothing to do with us!" The yellow-robed elder snorted, his displeasure toward Wuyi and Yang Kai growing.
Wuyi gritted her teeth: "Elder, as I understand it, last time Xu Tianze came here with people to harm Miss Yang Yan, and Yang Kai only fought back in self-defense, correct?"
She had already heard the general account from the Xu family's emissaries when she was back at her clan. But there were too many suspicious points, too many holes in the story. Setting aside the question of how a mere Entering Saint Stage Three warrior could have seriously injured Xu Tianze under Chou Yuan's protection — why hadn't Chou Yuan avenged the young master at the time? Instead he had gone back to the Xu family and brought all these powerful reinforcements?
Wuyi believed this was a staged performance by the Xu family itself, though she hadn't yet figured out the purpose.
And Xu Zhishen's decision to kill Chou Yuan had left her even more confused.
But no matter what, she couldn't just stand by and watch Yang Kai be bullied.
"So what if that's the case?" Xu Zhishen snorted coldly. "Tianze is the young master of the Xu family. His interest in some little girl should have been her fortune. She should have been grateful, but instead she dared to resist — practically trampling the Xu family underfoot!"
"What kind of logic is that? Just because the Xu family takes a fancy to someone, they must comply?" Wuyi was getting angry now. Not for any other reason, but because Yang Yan was a woman, and so was she! She despised those rich young masters who abused their power to bully others. In this world, countless innocent girls had their lives ruined by people like Xu Tianze.
Setting aside whether it was Yang Kai who had beaten Xu Tianze into an idiot — even if it was, Wuyi would only be glad he'd delivered justice.
Xu Zhishen's expression turned cold, his brow furrowing as he looked at the yellow-robed elder: "Brother Ba, does your Haik family insist on interfering in this matter?"