Chapter 150: Slaughter the Manor!

Swish swish swish—

The thieves hidden among the guests, unknown in number, all revealed their true forms and launched a slaughter against the innocent.

In an instant, scalding fresh blood spattered onto the bright red silk, onto the joyful 'double happiness' character, staining it with shocking crimson!

People were terrified, their souls fleeing their bodies, screaming and shoving toward the exit, but just as they reached the door, a piercing sound came from above——

On the roof, several black shadows emerged, each holding a curved bow, arrowheads glinting coldly aimed at the crowd. Accompanied by a cold 'Release the arrows!', a dense rain of arrows fell like locusts!

"Puchi! Puchi!"

The sound of arrows piercing flesh rose and fell, and the person at the forefront collapsed instantly.

Even more terrifying, those who had luckily escaped the arrow rain, thinking safety was at hand, collided head‑on with another band of thieves who had stormed in from outside the manor!

These men wielded long blades, their eyes wolf‑like and ferocious, giving no chance to react before bringing the blade down upon them!

People fled back in panic, tumbling and crawling.

The opponents were trained killers, their assault fierce; the manor's martial men were no match, and most of the duke's guards died miserably under their blades.

Miserable cries rang out one after another.

In the blink of an eye, countless corpses lay scattered everywhere—many were laborers who had worked hard for the manor, and also uncles, aunts, and elders who had watched Liu Yu and Shen Shuangning grow up.

They had come bearing blessings to attend her wedding, yet they died miserably at her wedding feast.

This should have been a wonderful day—phoenix crown and rosy robes, her beloved by her side, relatives and friends surrounding her.

But now, the horrific scene before her was like a dull blade, repeatedly slicing her nerves.

Liu Yu's face turned deathly pale; she stared blankly at the horrific scene, her whole person seeming to have had her soul sucked out, leaving her unresponsive.

She could not understand why things had turned out this way.

Shen Shuangning's limbs went ice‑cold; she realized what was happening—Xie Yan was intent on slaughtering the manor!

She looked at him.

"Xie Yan! You're mad!" Shen Shuangning's voice, hoarse with anger and tinged with sobs, cried, "These people have no grudge against you—why must you exterminate them all?!"

Xie Yan stood in the center of the hall littered with corpses, holding the limp Liu Yu, gazing at the horrific scene, his expression terrifyingly cold.

His gaze fell upon Shen Shuangning's resentful face, and he said nothing.

In his eyes, the lives of these people were not worth mentioning—hers included.

At the very moment the incident began, Qing Yun blew the whistle, and the Black Armor Guard rushed to surround the Shen family as quickly as possible.

But Qing Yun discovered that many were missing!

Only the Dark Guard appeared; of the Black Armor Guard who had been at his side, only a handful showed up, the rest having vanished.

"Damn it!"

Qing Yun cursed under his breath, seeing more assassins surging forward from the corner of his eye; the enemy outnumbered them, so he hastily told Shen Lang, 'Sir! We can't be trapped here to die! Let's fight our way out and retreat to the bamboo grove behind the manor!'

Shen Lang, too, had experience suppressing bandits and killing people; even though the bloody sight shocked him, his gaze was far steadier than others'.

He snatched the long sword Qing Yun tossed him and said in a low voice, 'Good! No delay—Qing Yun, clear the way, protect the women and children!'

No sooner had he spoken than he swung his blade, cleaving an assailant lunging at him; fresh blood spurted onto his brocade robe, a shocking sight.

Shen Xiuchi and Shen Er also seized weapons, positioning themselves to guard their mother and sister.

"Ningning, run!" Shen Xiuchi shouted, grabbing Shen Shuangning's arm.

In the chaos, Liu Yu's mother, heedless of fear, lunged at Xie Yan like a madwoman, shouting, 'Release my daughter! You beast!'

But before she could reach him, the bearded brute beside Xie Yan backhanded her with an axe, splitting her chest.

Liu Yu's mother slumped limp to the ground, her eyes still wide open, gazing toward her daughter.

Seeing this, Liu Yu's eyes nearly burst: 'Mother——!'

She struggled wildly, biting Xie Yan's arm with all her might.

Xie Yan winced from the pain, then struck her back with a palm, knocking Liu Yu unconscious on the spot.

Liu Manor Lord never imagined that the marriage he had painstakingly arranged would doom his entire family; he had lived his life doing good, never making enemies, so why would such a cataclysmic disaster befall them?!!

From his aged eyes burst astonishing hatred: 'Beast! Beast! You white‑eyed wolf—I should never have taken you in!'

Liu Manor Lord's body erupted with astonishing strength; he seized the redwood chair beside him and hurled it at Xie Yan.

"An overconfident old fool."

The bearded brute snorted coldly and lifted his foot to kick the chair.

With a 'crack', the chair shattered under his kick, his momentum undiminished as he drove his foot hard into Liu Manor Lord's chest.

Liu Manor Lord flew backward like a broken‑string kite, crashing heavily into the offering table in the hall.

Fruit rolled about and the red candles shattered.

Liu Manor Lord's head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

Shen Shuangning was pulled away by her brother; when she turned back and saw this, her heart turned icy.

The cousins' parents, uncles and aunts, the manor's laborers… in a brief moment, the Liu household was nearly wiped out.

These vibrant lives, who had come bearing blessings to attend her wedding, fell one by one before her eyes—all because of Xie Yan!

Shen Shuangning fixed Xie Yan in the distance with an unprecedented look of hatred.

Xie Yan seemed to sense it, and glanced back at her indifferently.

He wore festive attire, standing amid a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood; the face he turned toward her was half‑god, half‑demon.

Xie Yan withdrew his gaze and ordered the bearded man: 'Among them are members of the Guard Bureau—pursue them, leave none alive.'

The bearded man was named Huang Fei; originally a monk at an ancient temple, his dharma name was Liao Chen. But after a quarrel he accidentally killed an incense‑offerer, incurred killing karma, and was expelled from the Buddhist order.

When he had nowhere to turn, Prince Rui noticed his ruthless skill, took him in as a fierce general, and from then on he became Prince Rui's blade for eliminating rivals, earning great trust.

He year‑round grew a thick beard to hide his sword scars, while his forehead was shaved bald; he always wore a faded, tattered monk's robe, making him look somewhat like a mad monk at first glance.

At this moment Huang Fei's eyes were blood‑red, his face splattered with warm blood droplets, his visage hideous as an evil ghost, blood slowly trickling down his axe blade—utterly horrifying!

"Dogs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Huang Fei licked the blood at the corner of his mouth, gave a sinister laugh, "They certainly cannot be allowed to escape alive!"

Huang Fei made a gesture, and immediately several black shadows flitted past like ghosts, swift and soundless.

The archers hidden on the roof received the order, immediately nocked and drew their bows, a dense rain of arrows shot down like a sudden downpour, bearing down on the fleeing members of the Duke's household.

Qingyun and the others were already outnumbered, and now at a disadvantage; wielding their blades to block the arrow rain, they found it extremely difficult to cope.

"Watch out!" Qingyun had just deflected an icy arrow aimed at Lady Liu, when out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of cold light from the side—it was a feathered arrow flying straight at Shen Xiuci!

He tried to rescue him but it was already too late; Shen Xiuci was unfortunately struck by an arrow, his steps staggering.

"Older brother!" Shen Shuangning cried out, quickly supporting him.

An assassin, seeing the opportunity, gripped his long blade and lunged at the two!

Shen Xiuci broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly pulling Shen Shuangning behind him and turning to shield her with his own back.

He had even braced himself to be pierced by the blade, closing his eyes tightly.

"Puchi!"

It was the sound of a blade piercing flesh and blood, yet the imagined excruciating pain of the body being stabbed through did not occur.

Shen Xiuci turned around blankly.

Only then did they see a man in green robes who had somehow positioned himself in front of them; the blade pierced his front chest and exited through his back, then was violently pulled out.

It stained his plain collar red; the man's body swayed violently, he crashed heavily beside Shen Xiuci's feet, kicking up a swath of blood‑stained dust.

Shen Xiuci had not yet reacted, but Shen Shuangning was the first to recognize the opponent.

"Mister Chen!"

The one who blocked the blade was actually Chen Jia!