Yue Linglong was not her real name, nor did anyone know what she was truly called. People only knew her by the moniker Divine Moon Linglong. Ranking above the Heavenly Constellation Twelve Assassins within the Pantheon, she was Chu Tianhe's right hand and a top-tier expert in intelligence and assassination. As one of the dual gods of the Shadow Moon, she rarely showed her face in ordinary times!
Even within the Pantheon itself, very few people outside the Heavenly Constellation Twelve Assassins had ever laid eyes on Yue Linglong. The fact that Chu Tianhe had recalled her specifically to take care of Yaoyao showed just how much importance he placed on his daughter!
"The Rakshasa Group?"
Learning of Lü Liang's actions, Chu Tianhe's expression grew dark, and killing intent surged instantly!
He had failed to protect Qin Xiaorou, and now even Xiaorou's beloved younger sister was trapped in mortal danger. How could Chu Tianhe not be furious?
Right now, whoever dared to lay a hand on Xiaomeng and Yaoyao was simply courting death!
"Linglong, arm me!"
At these words, Yue Linglong and Tianjiu froze in place!
In their memory, it had been a very long time since Chu Tianhe had last taken action himself, and there was hardly anyone left in the world who warranted his personal intervention. Even after coming to Jiangzhou, he had never truly made a move!
Yet today, he was donning his battle armor once more, transforming into a god of war to slaughter all before him!
What terrifying prospect was this? To say nothing of a mere Jiangzhou, even the vast expanses of the Great Xia Country could not withstand Chu Tianhe's wrath!
"Hall Master, I beg you to reconsider! There is no one in this world left who deserves your personal intervention. Tianjiu and I can easily handle such petty villains!"
Both of them hurriedly dropped to one knee, cold sweat pouring down like rain!
No one knew better than they did just how terrifying it would be if Chu Tianhe were to put on his battle armor!
"Arm me!"
Yet, facing their pleas, Chu Tianhe paid them no heed. His command carried the weight of law, his voice growing increasingly icy. The palpable, almost physical aura of killing intent filled the entire room!
"Transmit my order: summon the Heavenly Constellation Twelve Assassins to gather in Jiangzhou and follow me into battle!"
"Since this world treats me, Chu Tianhe, with injustice, what does it matter if I shatter these mountains and rivers?!"
"Today, I, Chu Tianhe, shall break my vow against killing and cleanse this place entirely!"
***
Chapter 15
At high noon, the Qin family residence!
"Slap!"
Old Master Qin delivered a crisp, resounding blow directly across Qin Xiaomeng's face, leaving a burning, stinging pain!
"Cut ties? Have you lost your mind?!"
"The blood flowing in your veins is that of the Qin family, and you should make sacrifices for the rise of our family!"
"Don't forget who raised you to this age, and who sent you to a top-tier university!"
"Your marriage to Mr. Lü was decided by the Qin family long ago. You have no right to refuse!"
Leaning on his cane, Old Master Qin pounded it fiercely against the floor, shaking with rage as he watched Qin Xiaomeng, who was holding her luggage and preparing to leave!
The elders of the Qin family also began to point fingers at Qin Xiaomeng, lecturing her without a shred of mercy. In their eyes, Qin Xiaomeng was born to be used as a resource for the Qin family to trade. It was a cold, heartless family utterly devoid of human warmth!
"Mr. Lü? Grandfather, do you even know that this Mr. Lü is the same age as you? I will never marry a seventy-something old geezer!"
"I have someone I love!"
Looking at the surrounding Qin family elders pointing and hurling abuses at her, Qin Xiaomeng's eyes turned red, tears welling up in her sockets!
Her heart had long since turned completely despairing; this time, she would never compromise with the Qin family!
"Impudent!"
"You're just as foolish as your sister—all because of that Chu Tianhe?"
"What kind of bewitching poison did he feed you two sisters?!"
"You are a daughter of the Qin family, and matters of marriage are not for you to decide!"
Old Master Qin rebuked her sternly. Of course he knew the man in Qin Xiaomeng's heart was Chu Tianhe, and precisely because of that, the old master was exceptionally furious. Because of Chu Tianhe, the Qin family had already lost Qin Xiaorou as a resource, and now Qin Xiaomeng was stepping out to defy them as well!
In his anger, Old Master Qin raised his hand to strike Qin Xiaomeng again, but at that moment Qin Xiaomeng's mother, Yang Huijuan, hurried forward to shield her daughter!
"Slap!"
The old master's heavy blow landed squarely on Yang Huijuan's face with such force that a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth!
"Get out of my way!"
Seeing this, Old Master Qin widened his angry eyes and shouted harshly.
"Dad, Xiaorou was already driven to her death by the Li Family, and now I only have this one daughter left. Are you trying to drive her to her grave as well?"
The normally timid Yang Huijuan burst forth with unprecedented courage, shielding Qin Xiaomeng tightly behind her and refusing to yield an inch!
"You... you foolish woman!"
"Don't forget, these past few years you've only been barely surviving thanks to the money from the Qin family!"
"Without the Qin family's support, the two of you would have starved to death on the streets long ago!"
"You want to cut ties with the Qin family? Fine! Once you step out this door, you can drink the northwest wind and live in a dog kennel!"
"Don't forget, even the house you live in belongs to the Qin family, and I have the right to take it back!"
Qin Xiaomeng's father had passed away early due to illness, leaving her mother to raise the two daughters through untold hardships. Their status within the Qin family was extremely low; had it not been for this, how could her two daughters have been treated as mere bargaining chips by the Qin family, tossed back and forth at will?
Hearing this, Yang Huijuan's face filled with grievance and helplessness as tears welled up and spilled over. Over the years, she had pulled her two daughters through every obstacle and hardship, enduring endless cold stares, making her deeply aware of just how important money was!
Even a hero can be stumped by a single penny, and in this society, walking anywhere without money was impossible.
That was why Yang Huijuan had compromised with the Qin family over and over again!
Now, the old master was using money as leverage once more, striking right at Yang Huijuan's fatal weakness!
"We don't want your Qin family's money!"
At that very moment, Qin Xiaomeng stepped forward resolutely, taking her turn to shield her mother behind her!
"I, Qin Xiaomeng, have hands and feet. I won't spend your Qin family's money, and I won't starve to death either!" With a hysterical roar, Qin Xiaomeng unleashed all the pent-up negative emotions in her heart, then turned to her mother Yang Huijuan and said, "Mom! In the past, I was still young and lacked the ability to make money, so we had no choice but to live under someone else's roof. Now your daughter has grown up, I can earn money, and from now on, I will support you!"
With that, Qin Xiaomeng turned around, her sharp gaze locking once more onto Old Master Qin. This time, she straightened her back and spoke with absolute confidence: "When my sister knelt outside the gates of the Qin family for two days and two nights, you remained completely indifferent, and even locked my mother up so she couldn't offer my sister a helping hand!"
"This is what your Qin family has done!"
"As for me, I am different from my sister. I will not kneel down and beg you! I, Qin Xiaomeng, am not a soft persimmon for anyone to squeeze as they please!"
"I will make you watch. Watch me, Qin Xiaomeng, walk out of the Qin family gates, watch me rise step by step, and watch me step your Qin family beneath my feet, becoming a woman far beyond your Qin family's reach!"
Qin Xiaomeng's words were sonorous, powerful, and brimming with dominance. Though she had a woman's form, she possessed a heroic spirit completely contrary to her sister's gentle nature!
She was never a woman who would simply submit to adversity. If born like an ant, one must still harbor the ambition of a swan; if life was as thin as paper, one's spirit should be all the more unyielding!
The more cold-blooded the Qin family was, and the less they treated the two sisters as human beings, the more Qin Xiaomeng was determined to make something of herself!
"Cough, cough, cough... You..." Old Master Qin was choked with rage by Qin Xiaomeng's words, coughing violently as he raised his cane to smash it down upon her. But Qin Xiaomeng caught the cane in her grip, snatched it away, and smashed it fiercely onto the ground!
"Mom, let's go. Let's leave this cold-blooded home!"
Turning around, Qin Xiaomeng grabbed Yang Huijuan's arm, and the two of them prepared to leave the Qin family villa. But right at that moment, the front gates of the Qin family villa were suddenly smashed open!
"Boom!"
A dozen black lacquer coffins were thrown straight into the courtyard! Seventeen coffins, neatly lined up in a row, hit the ground with dull thuds!
"Qin Xiaomeng, you aren't going anywhere today!"
The newcomer was none other than Lü Liang!
Outside the Qin family villa, thousands of fierce Rakshasa Group assassins wielding short blades radiated a menacing aura of death!
Lü Liang had made his move!
In an instant, the entire city of Jiangzhou was shaken, winds and clouds shifting dramatically. His influence was far more powerful than that of the Li Family, and the assassins under his command were all notorious, ruthless veterans bearing countless blood debts!
Such an overwhelming aura directly terrified the members of the Qin family out of their wits!
The Qin family knew that Lü Liang was a powerful faction hidden in the shadows of Jiangzhou City—even the Li Family had to bow their heads to him—but they had never imagined that Lü Liang's might would be this terrifying!!
***
Chapter 16
"Mr. Lü, what... what are you doing? Our Qin family..."
"Slap!"
Seeing Lü Liang appear, Old Master Qin panicked instantly and hurried forward to explain. Before he could finish, however, Lü Liang struck him across the face with a heavy slap!
The blow knocked Old Master Qin flat onto the ground, leaving him with not a shred of dignity!
"Qin Wanxiong, I have given your Qin family plenty of face. You can't even handle your own granddaughter, forcing an old man like me to step in personally. You old thing are truly useless!"
Lü Liang raised his foot and stepped directly onto Qin Wanxiong's chest. Seeing this, the entire assembly of the Qin family turned pale with terror, not daring to draw a single heavy breath!
"Mr. Lü, this matter, I..."
"Do you still have the right to speak?" Lü Liang lowered his head, looking coldly at Qin Wanxiong pinned beneath his foot, and shouted sternly, "Men, bring over what has been prepared!"
Following Lü Liang's command, someone behind him brought out the phoenix coronet, ceremonial robes, and red silk candles required for a wedding—a complete set of wedding supplies!
At this moment, on the left side of the Qin family villa were the red silk candles, phoenix coronet, and wedding robes, while on the right stood seventeen grim, ominous black coffins, creating an exceptionally bizarre atmosphere!
"On the left, a wedding; on the right, a funeral!"
Lü Liang narrowed his eyes, sweeping a sinister, malicious gaze toward Qin Xiaomeng as he said coldly, "Today, either you put on this attire and obediently become my woman, or you will be buried in the coffins alongside your mother and sixteen members of the Qin family. As for that extra coffin, it's reserved for Chu Tianhe!"
Lü Liang could certainly have used brute force to take Qin Xiaomeng by power, but doing so would have been far too uninteresting; otherwise, he would not have tolerated the Qin family for so long.
He wanted Qin Xiaomeng to put on the wedding garments of her own accord, marry him openly, and watch herself grow aggrieved and resentful yet completely powerless to resist, ultimately forced to yield to fate. Only then would it be interesting—only then would it be truly satisfying!
"Qin Xiaomeng, don't say I didn't give you a choice!"
Faced with such a display, the Qin family members were utterly terrified. Their gazes all converged on Qin Xiaomeng as they cried out, "Qin Xiaomeng, you heard everything! Why aren't you going to change clothes right now?!"
"Qin Xiaomeng, even if you don't care about the Qin family, you have to think of your mother!"
"And what about Chu Tianhe? Haven't you always had a secret crush on him?"
"Could it be that you don't care about his life either?!"
"Stop standing there stunned! Go change your clothes! Did you not hear Mr. Lü?!"
In an instant, angry curses surged like the violent waves of an ocean, crashing frantically toward Qin Xiaomeng!
Qin Xiaomeng was like a lone boat tossing in the tempestuous sea, swallowed over and over by the giant waves!
"Mom..."
At that moment, Qin Xiaomeng's eyes turned red. She was strong-willed and determined to change her destiny, but the person she could never let go of in her heart was her mother!
Lifting her beautiful eyes, Qin Xiaomeng looked toward her mother Yang Huijuan, her voice choked with emotion, her gaze complex, gathering every ounce of bitterness into that single moment.
"Xiaomeng, don't worry about Mom. Choose the outcome you want!"
"Mom has spent her whole life wronged, living a life worse than a ghost, and she's long since had enough of days like this. Mom doesn't want you to walk down the same old road!"
"Whatever you choose, Mom supports you!"
At this juncture, faced with such a cold-blooded and ruthless Qin family alongside the aggressive Lü Liang, Yang Huijuan felt a sense of release. If one could only live on like a walking corpse, dying a clean death would be far better!
"I'd rather die than marry!"
Her mother's words seemed to instantly grant Qin Xiaomeng immense courage. Biting her red lips with her teeth and hardening her gaze, she uttered those four words with absolute resolve!
"Good!" Yang Huijuan seemed to have made up her mind as well, declaring, "If we die, we die! Dragging these people from the Qin family down with us means the two of us won't lose out!"
Seeing the mother and daughter display such resolute attitudes, the Qin family members panicked completely and rushed forward to persuade them, shouting, "No! Today you will marry whether you want to or not!"
"Our Qin family..."
"Pfft!" Before the two Qin family elders could finish, the blade in Lü Liang's hand flashed, striking down with a single slash to execute them on the spot!
"Since this is how you choose, don't blame this old man. If I don't let your Qin family see some blood, you really think I, Lü Liang, have no teeth!"
Fresh blood spurted, splashing directly across the faces of the surrounding Qin family elders, staining the clothes of Qin Xiaomeng and her mother crimson!
"Hiss!"
As Lü Liang's icy voice echoed, the members of the Qin family all sucked in a sharp breath of cold air in unison!
Realizing that Lü Liang truly dared to kill, several of the older Qin family members went weak at the knees and collapsed directly to the floor!
Even Old Master Qin turned ashen-faced with terror. Throwing all dignity to the winds, he dropped with a thud to his knees before Qin Xiaomeng and her mother, pleading, "I'm begging you! For the sake of the Qin family, Xiaomeng, please agree!!"
"Huijuan, persuade Xiaomeng! She listens to you the most, please talk some sense into her!"
Seeing Old Master Qin kneel, Qin Xiaomeng felt not a shred of fear; instead, the corners of her mouth curved upward into a look of mocking, contemptuous cold laughter!
"Hahahaha... Grandfather, I honestly never thought there would come a day when you knelt!"
"Just half a month ago, when my sister knelt outside the gates of the Qin family, did you ever imagine today?"
"How the Qin family treated my sister is something I will never forget in this lifetime!"
"And now, you come begging me? Don't you find that pathetic?"
"Even our lives as mother and daughter are cast aside—do you think we care about the lives of your Qin family?"
Qin Xiaomeng's words plunged Old Master Qin into the depths of utter despair, cold sweat instantly soaking through his back. The lives of everyone in the Qin family were tied entirely to Qin Xiaomeng!
"Men, take her down! Strip off her clothes and force her into the wedding attire!"
"Today she marries whether she's willing or not! Even if you have to hold her head down, make sure she marries Mr. Lü!"
Unable to care about anything else, Old Master Qin hurriedly ordered the Qin family members to take action and forcefully strip Qin Xiaomeng in public to change her into her wedding garments!
Seeing this, Lü Liang grew interested. Narrowing his eyes slightly as they fell upon Qin Xiaomeng, a sinister, evil smile curled the corners of his lips.
"Whoever dares to touch her shall be executed without mercy, and their entire nine clans annihilated!"
Just as the Qin family members were stepping forward to force Qin Xiaomeng into the wedding clothes, a voice like a rolling thunderstorm swept through—powerful, majestic, and deafening!
In an instant, everyone trembled, their gazes snapping toward the direction from which the voice came!
"Swish!"
A cold flash cleaved through the air!
The power of a single blade carved a path of blood, instantly cutting down and slaughtering all the Rakshasa Group assassins blocking the entrance of the Qin family villa. Severed limbs littered the ground as a bloody path was forcibly hewn open!
Only then did the crowd clearly see the appearance of the newcomer!
"B-Brother-in-law!"
Seeing the newcomer's face, tears instantly blurred Qin Xiaomeng's vision!
"You finally came to save me!"
***
Chapter 17
Chu Tianhe was clad in the Nine-Star Silver Dragon battle armor. Beneath the sunlight, his silver radiance shone with ten thousand beams, resembling a heavenly god-king descending into the mortal realm. At his waist, the Pantheon Fierce Blade was already unsheathed, fresh blood dripping down its edge. The sword pointed forward with the spirit to swallow ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers like a tiger, its blade capable of shattering the very earth!
Behind Chu Tianhe, the Heavenly Constellation Twelve Assassins of the Pantheon stood in a neat row, their killing intent soaring into the sky like twelve roaring dragons entering the world, looking down upon the land with absolute disdain!
In a flash, their overwhelming aura surged like a tidal wave, swallowing everything in its path!
"Auntie, I have come to take you and Xiaomeng away."
With the terrifying might of a single strike, the assassins of the Rakshasa Group watched in absolute terror as Chu Tianhe, armored and blade in hand, stepped forward toward Qin Xiaomeng and Yang Huijuan. Not a single person dared to step up and block his path; driven by sheer terror, they all involuntarily retreated several steps!
"Tianhe, is it really you?"
"Good boy, you've finally returned."
"Xiaorou didn't misjudge you. She always said that if you went off to join the military, you would certainly make something of yourself!"
"It's good that you're back, only... Xiaorou, she..."
Seeing Chu Tianhe, Yang Huijuan's voice choked. A sour lump formed in her throat, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. The once impoverished young man was now clad in battle armor, radiating boundless glory—how heroic a sight it was! It was only a pity that Xiaorou was no longer around; had she lived to see this moment, how happy she would have been.
Yang Huijuan wept profusely, completely sobbing!
She was a simple and honest person. Though married into the Qin family, she never shared their snobbery. From beginning to end, Yang Huijuan had never looked down on Chu Tianhe. Even when Chu Tianhe was a poor young man struggling just to put food on the table, Yang Huijuan had never shown him a shred of dissatisfaction, treating him with great care instead!
That kindness was etched deep into Chu Tianhe's heart, never to be forgotten!
When he was destitute and subjected to endless mockery, Auntie Yang had treated him like her own mother, always standing up to protect him. Even when she was targeted by thousands of fingers pointing in blame and swallowed by malicious gossip, she had merely smiled and never once treated him coldly!
She was one of the very few people who truly believed that Chu Tianhe would eventually make something of himself!
In Yang Huijuan's words, the man her eldest daughter chose could not possibly turn out badly. Though Chu Tianhe was somewhat poor, his character was good, and he was not lazy—he was merely cursed by bad fortune, and sooner or later, his time would come!
And today, that day had finally arrived!
"Auntie, you and Xiaomeng get in the car first. I will handle the matters here!"
Recompensing kindness with gratitude, amidst the stunned gazes of everyone present, Chu Tianhe, armored and armed, stepped forward personally to support Yang Huijuan as he guided her toward the black business vehicle.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Constellation Twelve Assassins all wore expressions of utmost respect, not daring to show the slightest negligence. Tianjiu even opened the car door in advance, respectfully welcoming Qin Xiaomeng and her mother into the vehicle!