Chapter 65: Go Back

Upon hearing this, Zhu Fenglan's body trembled with icy yin energy, churning up the soil, scattering fragments of white bone among the dirt.

She yanked her foot free from the sunken ground, while the old nurse and two maids stood guard beside her, watching warily as the Marquis of Cangyuan approached.

"You think you can kill me?"

Zhu Fenglan suddenly sneered, gazing at the man who had long been trampled beneath her feet—yet she felt no fear.

At the same time, two elderly figures suddenly burst forth from somewhere within the Hou Fu.

Their movement was swift, piercing the silent night air with a shrill whistling wind.

The Marquis of Cangyuan halted and turned, sensing two powerful qi signatures closing in on him.

"Don't rush, bitch—I'll kill that bastard first, then you."

The Marquis of Cangyuan abruptly spun around, his body surging with putrid corpse qi as he lunged toward the courtyard where Cang Yuning was.

In this situation, killing Zhu Fenglan had become difficult; he chose instead to slaughter Cang Yuning first to vent his rage.

Yet at that moment, a heart-wrenching scream erupted from Cang Yuning's courtyard.

Immediately after, Cang Yuning staggered out of the room, his crotch drenched in blood, with fragments of torn flesh dangling loosely.

Behind him, inside the room, a woman with a stern, masculine beauty gripped a blood-slick dagger and chased after him.

Her eyes brimmed with murderous intent as she hurled the dagger with full force—it became a streak of silver cold light, striking straight for Cang Yuning's lower back.

But unfortunately, he gritted his teeth through the agony and barely twisted aside, avoiding the fatal blow by a fraction.

The cold-light dagger pierced Cang Yuning's back, piercing clean through to his chest.

At that moment, seeing the Marquis of Cangyuan approaching, Cang Yuning seized him like a lifeline and desperately cried out for help.

But what met him was a palm wreathed in stinking corpse qi—flung straight at his face, sending him flying through the air, spinning several times before the Marquis of Cangyuan snatched him mid-flight and clamped his throat.

"Take one more step, and I'll kill this bastard right now."

The Marquis of Cangyuan whirled around, glaring at the two elderly men and Zhu Fenglan, who had now closed to within several zhang, his gaze icy and lethal.

Seeing this, Zhu Fenglan hesitated, instantly halting—and urgently gestured for the two elders to stop.

The stern-faced woman with her hair tied in a tail also stopped, her dark, ink-like eyes scanning the scene before her.

Sensing the powerful martial qi radiating from the Marquis of Cangyuan and the others, she narrowed her gaze but ceased her attack on Cang Yuning.

"Release Yuning, and I'll spare your life."

Zhu Fenglan stared coldly at the Marquis of Cangyuan, who glanced at the weakly struggling Cang Yuning in his grasp, then down at his crotch—and suddenly burst into laughter:

"This bastard's been castrated—he'll only be fit for the palace as a eunuch now. Why the hell do you still want him?"

Hearing this, Zhu Fenglan's expression darkened like a storm about to break. She looked at Cang Yuning, then at the stern woman—her eyes instantly filled with murderous rage.

"Rong the nurse—kill her!"

She ordered the old nurse behind her, who said nothing, moved instantly, and charged without hesitation toward the stern woman.

In response, the Marquis of Cangyuan's expression remained cold as he stared at Zhu Fenglan and the two elders, his voice low and firm:

"Stay right where you are!"

As he spoke, he rapidly retreated, hurling Cang Yuning toward the three, then spun and fled beyond the Hou Fu's gates, erupting into sudden, loud laughter.

"No!"

At that moment, Zhu Fenglan screamed in shock and fury.

The Cang Yuning she had been reaching for suddenly exploded midair into a burst of corpse qi—his body ripped apart, blood and flesh spraying everywhere.

Seeing this, Zhu Fenglan froze, her hands suspended in midair, her whole body trembling.

"Kill him!"

"Kill that dog!"

Zhu Fenglan's face twisted in madness as she shrieked hysterically.

Hearing this, the two elders' expressions changed drastically.

They were from the Taiyin Yuan Zong, trusted subordinates of the sect's Fourth Elder, sent to protect Zhu Fenglan and her son—and they knew the hidden truth.

Now that the Fourth Elder's son was dead, they were equally enraged and horrified; without a word, they unleashed their full power and chased after the Marquis of Cangyuan.

Meanwhile, seeing the old nurse charging at her, Shangguan Qingqing had already fled desperately toward the Hou Fu's outer gates.

"Died too easily—he deserved worse!"

Shangguan Qingqing glanced back at Cang Yuning's mangled, exploded corpse, muttering bitterly.

She was not from the imperial capital—she came from the Tianhedao Sect in Qingzhou.

In Qingzhou, a female disciple she knew had been raped and brutally murdered, her body abandoned in the wild.

Upon hearing this, she was filled with grief and fury, believing the local Liùshànmén would swiftly solve the case and capture the rapist—but days passed with no results.

Eventually, she decided to track the rapist herself and avenge her sister-disciple.

Through persistent investigation, she discovered the rapist had committed crimes not only in Qingzhou but across multiple provinces, his methods identical each time.

Thus, Shangguan Qingqing followed his trail across the land, finally tracking him to the Great Li imperial capital.

Along the way, she had also noticed certain patterns in his crimes.

Before each attack, he would scout the location, leaving a unique mark on the victim's doorstep.

This time, she was lucky enough to spot his mark in advance, outside a certain mansion.

She then convinced the young lady of the household to stage a switcheroo with her.

But an unexpected twist occurred involving Guan Shanxue and Rong the nurse—so she held off acting immediately.

Only after being brought into the Hou Fu did she seize her chance and, with lightning-fast blade techniques, sever his manhood.

"Old woman, the rapist's already dead—my wounds to him mean nothing now. Why keep chasing me?"

Shangguan Qingqing frowned and called out to the old nurse behind her.

If Cang Yuning had been her kill, she'd accept pursuit—but this clearly had nothing to do with her anymore; chasing her now made no sense.

However, the old woman did not speak, only her figure swiftly closing in, murderous aura billowing.

Shangguan Qingqing was a bit speechless, and at the same time, a sidelong glance of hers swept toward Cangyuan Hou, who was fleeing not far away.

The next moment, her eyes suddenly went wide.

She only saw Cangyuan Hou—his whole body shrouded in corpse Qi, nearly transformed into a streak of dim-yellow afterlight as he fled—how on earth did it happen?

Suddenly, at a speed several times faster than his escape, he flew backward, like a cannonball fired from the barrel, slamming into the two old men in pursuit.

The two old men did not even have time to react before they were swept up by the terrifying force on Cangyuan Hou's body, plunging toward Hou Fu like meteors falling from midair, and just happened to crash into the courtyard where Zhu Fenglan lived.

This scene happened too fast, and was too shocking; when a thunderous boom rang out, only then did Zhu Fenglan and the others come to their senses, and they all froze on the spot.

And at this moment, a young figure in an instant drew from far to near, appearing within everyone's line of sight.

(End of this chapter)