Chapter 49: Hua Feiyun Dies!
Flames surged in all directions, with clusters of sparks resembling falling feathers splashing open, landing on the rooftops of various pavilions, wooden corridors, window frames, and curtains.
The fire oil used in this Moon Embracing Garden was of the highest quality; once it touched wood and silk fabrics, flames would sprout in the blink of an eye, suddenly turning into strips of fire snakes.
Fanned by the cool breeze carrying the confluence of Jade Belt River and Dragon Spine River, they suddenly burst into fierce combustion.
The courtyard abruptly heated up.
This shocking change came far too suddenly and swiftly.
The many nobles and people from noble clans in the courtyard were almost all maintaining their poise, priding themselves on their composure and demeanor.
Thus, even when Hong Yuan appeared and knocked down Young Master Hua, killing He Xiaofeng, these people were startled but did not immediately leave.
After all, masters gathered in this inner courtyard, and every noble had guards by their side; if they were scared off by a single martial artist, wouldn’t that invite ridicule?
Who could have foreseen that this martial artist was a peerless fierce person, killing several armored soldiers and blasting over a dozen martial artists to death in a mere ten breaths, as easily as eating or drinking.
Most ruthless of all, this martial artist hurled the copper basin full of fire oil into the sky, letting the sparks scatter everywhere.
Simply beastly, worse than a beast!
Cries of “Daddy” and “Mommy” rose from the surrounding pavilions and private rooms, as nobles in brocade clothes rushed out in panic, their faces filled with terror, clothes disheveled, devoid of any grace.
Given the spaciousness of this garden, the nobles in twenty or thirty private rooms, even including guards, maidservants, and attendants, numbered only one or two hundred and could have retreated easily.
But with everyone rushing out from all sides at once, they instantly clogged together, and splashing sparks shot into the crowd, instantly eliciting screams of agony.
People grew even more terrified; those with flames on them frantically patted and beat at them, but the flames stuck to their bodies like a festering sore on the bone, impossible to extinguish and instead burning ever more fiercely. Those aflame could not endure the pain and charged about wildly, causing even greater chaos.
The others were utterly horrified, the rising flames from the surrounding pavilions giving them the sensation of being inside a furnace.
Many had bloodshot eyes, punching and kicking to blast obstacles out of the way, while the clanging of swords being drawn rang out one after another.
“What excitement!”
Hong Yuan stood on the terrace, looking down from above at the chaos, and sighed.
The pavilion above his head and the private room beside him were also catching fire, with boiling hot air surging, yet Hong Yuan paid it no mind, ignoring the struggling curses of Hua Feiyun and Young Master Hua at his feet, and turned his gaze to Yang Erhu.
Yang Erhu had already stood up.
Though he still could not use true force and his qi and blood remained somewhat disordered, his mobility was unimpaired. He looked below, then turned to Hong Yuan, unable to hide the shock in his eyes.
What kind of monster was this little disciple he had taken in?
Was this something he, Yang Erhu, could have taught?
“Qin Fuzi has fallen into the hands of Dragon King Society…” Taking a deep breath, Yang Erhu calmed his shocked mind and fixed his gaze on Young Master Hua under Hong Yuan’s feet.
Just this one sentence was enough.
Hong Yuan understood.
Whoosh!
As he lifted his foot, the Life-Snatching Throat-Locking Spear in his palm flicked up; amid the floor splintering inch by inch, Hua Feiyun flipped in midair. Before he landed, a silver gleam flashed, already piercing his right arm.
Hua Feiyun screamed in agony, his whole body like a roast chicken skewered on a spit, hoisted into midair, his face torn open with skin and flesh exposed, covered in blood and filth.
“Where is Qin Fuzi?”
Hong Yuan asked calmly, showing no surprise or anger; after all, Qin Fuzi was merely Yang Erhu’s friend, not his.
The two had not even spoken a few words.
Young Master Hua felt both shame and terror; the intense tearing pain made his whole body tremble, his voice hoarse: “Let me go… only, only if I live will your friend be safe…”
Pfft!
The spear tip shook, unleashing a massive tearing force that abruptly ripped Hua Feiyun’s right arm off at the shoulder, blood spraying as the arm fell toward the building below. Hua Feiyun let out another shrill howl and crashed backward to the ground.
“Hand… my hand…” Hua Feiyun’s voice was heart-wrenching, though in this already chaotic courtyard, it did not stand out.
“Is Qin Fuzi still alive?” Hong Yuan continued to ask.
Hua Feiyun curled into a ball, his body shaking uncontrollably, wailing endlessly, seemingly not hearing Hong Yuan’s question.
Crack!
Amid the sound of bones shattering, Hua Feiyun’s right leg bent and snapped viciously, the broken bone piercing through skin and flesh. Hong Yuan withdrew his spear and looked at Hua Feiyun, who seemed too weak even to howl, saying flatly: “You still have one hand, one leg…”
Hua Feiyun gasped raggedly, his heart filled with utter despair; he knew he was finished—even if he survived, he would be a cripple.
His eyes filled with the color of dead ashes, he smiled wretchedly: “Kill me! Dragon King Society won’t let you go, and my Hua Family won’t let you go either. You know what my Hua Family is…”
“I don’t want to know.” Hong Yuan glanced at Hua Feiyun, shook his head, and turned to Yang Erhu: “It seems Qin Fuzi is already dead.”
Yang Erhu closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his grief and rage. A breath later, he opened them and said gravely: “I had already expected as much… Besides this Hua fellow, there’s one more person who must die.”
Yang Erhu’s eyes suddenly shifted, glaring furiously at the crowd below; one person shrank back in panic under his glare.
Everyone else wanted to rush outward, but this person hesitated, dithering—it was that Old Man Jia from Dragon King Society.
Old Man Jia was terrified to the extreme; he wanted to slip away too, but if Young Master Hua came to harm, he would die without a burial place.
Thus, he had been looking for a chance to rescue him until that fierce god targeted Young Master Hua again. Old Man Jia harbored no delusions of luck, but now, trying to escape seemed too late.
Yang Erhu leaped up, pressing his palm to the floor, and landed in the courtyard below, charging straight toward Old Man Jia.
“Kill me, kill me…” Hua Feiyun muttered repeatedly, over and over, only this one phrase.
Hong Yuan met his deathly sunken eyes; the other’s gaze was vacant and empty, as if he could not even see this enemy of his.
With a light chuckle, Hong Yuan said: “Killing you—where’s the fun in that? You seem very proud of your Hua Family, relying on it as your backing? Then I insist on letting you live to see the Hua Family destroyed in my hands.”
“Living is the punishment I give you. The human realm is the hell I give you!”
Hua Feiyun’s eyes brightened slightly, a glimmer of life gradually appearing in his ashen pupils.
Living?
Yes! He wanted to live!
Even if he had lost one hand and one leg, so what? Since ancient times, those who achieved great things were not lacking in the disabled of limbs; others could do it, and so could he, Hua Feiyun.
Moreover, he had his elder sister; she would surely help him recover.
He wanted revenge, to make the man before him taste ten or a hundred times the pain and humiliation, to repay today’s grudge!
As hope surged in Hua Feiyun’s mind, a ‘pfft’ sounded, and his chest suddenly turned ice-cold. His stiff pupils dropped to look.
A silver spear had pierced through his heart.
On Hua Feiyun’s bloodstained face appeared an expression of utter disbelief.
“You actually believed that!”
“How did someone so naive live this long?”
Hong Yuan laughed leisurely, slowly drawing out the spear and wiping the blood from the tip clean on Hua Feiyun’s robes.
“I have a habit: as for my enemies, even if they are already gasping their last, I will never leave them for later.”
“Farewell, no send-off!”
Hua Feiyun’s gaze dimmed, his last sight being the other man raising his hand for a strike; the spear swept across, sending large pieces of wood blazing with fierce flames crashing down, while the man lightly leaped up and drifted gracefully into the courtyard.
