My lord, spare his life!

[This is a complete lie.]

Lu Yuan's confidant stood outside the door, watching in horror as yet another massacre unfolded without leaving any survivors, and this thought began to form in his mind.

When he's in a good mood, he'll kill indiscriminately.

No one was left alive in the entire house.

Including the yellow dog that guards the gate.

Wang Qi even picked up the yellow dog's head and looked at it. He seemed to remember someone through the dog's head, pursed his lips, and casually slammed the dog's head onto a headless cervical vertebra.

A dog's head was crookedly stuck in the corpse slumped in the corner, the scene both horrifying and strangely comical.

Wang Qi looked down at the regretful commentary.

"It's a pity it's not a wolf's head."

One day we will take Guan Si's head off too.

The thought of that scene brought a smile to Wang Qi's face, which sent chills down the spine of Lu Yuan's confidant. Just then, Wang Qi's face suddenly loomed large in front of him, and the confidant was so frightened that he stumbled backward until his back slammed against the cold wall, causing him a sharp pain.

"My lord..."

Lu Yuan's breathing clearly stopped.

Wang Qi just chuckled and said, "Let's go, next one."

He thoroughly enjoyed the emotions of others experiencing near-death fear. In his view, the same emotions had different values, with the negative emotions provided by a dying enemy being the most delicious. In comparison, the emotions of the guide in front of him seemed rather bland.

Why fear something that won't harm you?

The right thing to do is to enjoy the fruits of victory just like him. This victory was obtained effortlessly, so why not be happy? Instead, why fear the great contributor who brought about this victory?

Wang Qi thought about it and came to a conclusion—

The other party is unlucky and not very bright.

Thanks to Zhang Yang, the people in the city were awakened by the explosions. Experienced ordinary people guessed that the commotion tonight was a mutiny, so they chose to stay at home and not run around, occasionally peeking out through the cracks in their doors or windows.

Some fled haphazardly like headless flies, hastily gathering their most valuable possessions and hiding them on their bodies, intending to escape through the city gates amidst the chaos. However, the city gates remained tightly shut, and the sounds of fighting and agonizing screams coming from the direction of the city walls terrified them, causing them to tremble in fear.

The reactions of the Prefect of Chesi's biological sons and daughters, as well as his adopted sons and daughters, varied. Some mustered their troops to provide support—regardless of how the Prefect of Chesi acted as a father, from a purely self-interested perspective, they were all one, sharing both glory and ruin. Others kept their doors tightly shut, ordering their guards to diligently protect their homes, preparing to wait until the situation outside became clearer before venturing out.

If the enemy wins, you surrender to the enemy; if the old man wins, you flatter the old man. Either way, you can save your life.

They had a very clever plan.

To be on the safe side, he still sent people out to scout the situation and find out which two sides were fighting tonight, giving himself more time to make a decision. Inside the main hall, one of the Prefect's adopted sons and his family waited anxiously. The former was biting his thumbnail with a solemn expression, while the others were either expressionless or sobbing and wiping away tears, each one anxious about their future, like prisoners awaiting sentencing, worried that they wouldn't see the sun rise tomorrow.

"Keep your voices down, are you all wailing like you're at a funeral?"

They were all arguing so much that his head was throbbing.

His sudden outburst startled the infant, whose piercing, desperate cries were impossible to soothe. The wet nurse was terrified, frantically trying to calm the child. Especially as she watched the bloodshot eyes of the parent grow increasingly dense, cold sweat broke out on the wet nurse's back, and for a moment she forgot to take the child out.

"Can't you even coax him?"

Under the threat of death, his frustration completely erupted.

"Useless! Absolutely useless!"

Shortly after, an explosion was heard at the main entrance.

The shockwave from the explosion easily blasted through the thick screen wall, sending dust fluttering from the beams of the main hall. The screams outside echoed all the way, ending sooner than expected. The adopted son of the Prefect of Chesi, his eyes bloodshot, charged at the blood-soaked figure before it entered the main hall, but was no match for the opponent in just a few moves. Shocked, the adopted son looked down at the arm embedded in his chest, letting out a heavy hoarse sound. The newcomer impatiently shoved him aside, pulling the arm out of the bloody hole, revealing a large, tightly clenched fist.

My fist is clenched around a steaming, pounding heart.

"The colors are not much different either."

Wang Qi crushed the heart, commenting as he looked at the chunks of flesh between his fingers. Without even glancing at the man lying on the ground, barely clinging to life, he took a step forward, his heel landing precisely on the head of the Prefect of Chesi. With a single stomp, the blood mass, along with the brains and skull, exploded.

He closed the open door with his other hand.

"Huh—"

Did someone get here before him?

Wang Qi saw a swaddled baby lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, and next to the baby was a middle-aged woman whose head and body were separated.

The others huddled in a corner.

Many of them were so terrified they were unable to move.

A few breaths later, Wang Qi walked out of the house. As he passed Lu Yuan's confidant, he saw a trace of reluctance on the latter's face.

Wang Qi didn't want to cause trouble, but the other party felt sorry for him.

"My lord, are you really going to kill them all?"

There were several familiar faces inside the room.

They were recruited from the common people because of their beautiful appearances, and were used as gifts to win people over; they were innocent. Besides them, there were several wet nurses, women, and children of varying ages. Wang Qi cleaned them all out, leaving none behind.

Wang Qi: "You hope one of them will become a lawyer?"

The trusted aide suddenly awoke to the realization that his lord, too, was a lucky survivor of the massacre of his entire family, and it was precisely because of that stroke of luck that he was able to exact such swift revenge today. No one could guarantee that among those who died today, there wouldn't be another, even more ruthless, like Lu Yuan.

If you want to have peace of mind, you must nip the problem in the bud.

His confidant swallowed hard.

"Of course we don't want such a hidden danger."

"Then shut up, do your job, and lead the way. It's not like I'm asking you to get your hands dirty with blood or lives. I'm just asking you to watch from the sidelines. Why all this nonsense?"

Wang Qi made a simple comment in his mind. He couldn't even do something as simple as leading the way properly. How could there be such a useless person in this world? How could someone like this climb to such a trusted position? Even Lu Yuan, who was praised by several old men, couldn't do that.

Hearing Wang Qi's blunt rebuke, the confidant felt extremely ashamed.

After that, not a single unnecessary word was spoken.

puff--

As the spear tip, burning with the flames of revenge, pierced the enemy's chest, leaving a gaping hole the size of his head, blood sprayed onto Lu Yuan's face, yet it could not extinguish the fire and killing intent within her. With a slight, deft twist of her wrist, she flung the corpse sideways, the purplish-red spear tassel dripping blood. Before the blood even hit the ground, it was assimilated by the purplish-red flames, turning into clusters of inextinguishable sparks. She breathed slightly, her eyes fixed on the familiar face who had been her colleague not long ago. The latter, horrified by her murderous intent, felt a moment of fear and wanted to retreat.

To put it bluntly, they were just people seeking shelter under a big tree in a chaotic world and trying to make a living. Even if they wanted to repay their lord's kindness, their past achievements and their current desperate efforts had already offset each other, so it was really not worth risking their lives.

However, it wouldn't sound good if people said that.

One of them frowned deeply.

"General Lü, are you truly determined to do this?"

Lu Yuan casually conjured a wall of fire in front of him and sneered, "What do you mean by 'insisting'? That's what I should be asking you. You're the ones who insist on opposing me, hindering me, and ruining my fun?"

Upon hearing this, the man was both angry and anxious, and blurted out, "Your lord has a great grudge against you, but ask yourself honestly, over the years, he hasn't treated you badly! How can he not have done you a great favor? Can't we balance out the debt of gratitude and hatred? He can't be considered the culprit!"

Lu Yuan said coldly, "I think you want to die!"

She thought the other party would back down, and if she could defeat them, she could relieve some of the pressure. Who would have thought that the other party would be so cunning, testing her every taboo with every word.

"you--"

The imminent deadly battle between the two sides was interrupted by a burst of energy.

Lu Yuan's expression turned solemn, while the person who had made the outrageous remark was overjoyed.

Both of them subconsciously looked up at the dark sky.

With their exceptional eyesight, they all saw a powerful star beast flying in the sky, carrying the aura of Prefect Che Si on its back! Lu Yuan's eyes widened in fury, and he almost spat out blood.

With such a setup, how did the old man manage to escape?

She didn't think twice.

Gathering all her strength, she violently channeled her star power into the weapon, and phantom images of twin fiery serpents suddenly appeared around it. The next second, she unleashed it with all her might, and the soldiers and generals stationed below the city shouted in unison that something was wrong, and they joined forces to intercept the attack, determined not to let her succeed!

Guan Si: "...Idiot."

Zhang Dagu was so frightened that it hurriedly flapped its wings and took flight, but its speed was no match for that shot. In an instant, it was overtaken, and the fiery serpent with wings several dozen feet long slammed into the eagle's vitals.

Those who tried to intercept the shot failed, managing only to reduce its power, and were even injured by the backlash of the star energy.

Zhang Yang was startled: "Whoa—"

Who would have thought!

The Green Name Society launched an attack on her without warning.

Without hesitation, Zhang Yang grabbed Zhang Dagu bird by the neck, using the momentum to leap down and meet the shot head-on. The moment Zhang Yang appeared in his field of vision, Lu Yuan's heart clenched, and he instinctively withdrew his full-force attack. However, it was ultimately too late.

Even if it causes backlash and internal injuries, it will only slow down the process slightly.

In a flash, the crimson flames collided with a golden barrier, spreading outwards along the barrier until it was completely engulfed. The golden barrier glowed red-hot, showing signs of melting, and emitted a hissing sound.

boom--

The shockwave from the explosion sent Zhang Yang, who was closest to the explosion, flying backwards. Zhang Dagu's feathers were also singed by the intense heat, and he frantically cooed and flapped his wings, looking quite disheveled. The intense heat came and went quickly. Zhang Dagu caught Zhang Yang before he started to fall, immediately increasing his speed to maximum and swooping down towards the former master of the city wall.

Damn it, the bird is going to be roasted!

Zhang Yang ran his fingers through his burning scalp, landing on the city wall with a pungent, burnt smell from his head: "Damn it."

Zhang Dagu responded angrily.

Seeing that Zhang Yang had landed on the city wall instead of on the garrison below, the garrison commander knew something was wrong. They glanced at Lü Yuan, whose face was as black as soy sauce, and didn't even bother to surround and kill him.

Did Lü Bafeng almost kill his own people?

The next second, this guess was confirmed.

Zhang Yang untied the porcelain white bottle from his waist and held it high towards the outside of the city.

The silvery-white metallic liquid inside the bottle kept trying to break free of its restraints, emitting an aura that was all too familiar to Lu Yuan and the others.

Zhang Yang shouted loudly at the map.

"The bandit leader is here; those who surrender will be spared!"

The garrison commander demanded, "Lü Bafeng, do you think that by taking over the lord, you can replace him? The lord has many more capable men who can inherit his will and punish you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Yang shouted loudly at the map again.

"The children of the bandit leader were all executed."

The commander's expression became extremely ferocious and comical.

"Lu Bafeng, kill them all—"

Lu Yuan sneered: "I am the 'endless trouble' caused by 'not nipping the weeds in the bud,' do you think I would make the same mistake?"

Actually, I sound a little guilty about what I said.

Lu Yuan really didn't intend to kill so many people at once.

She knew that with her original manpower, it would be difficult enough to capture the culprit in a surprise attack, especially when she saw Zhang Yang holding that porcelain white bottle—she knew the old man was not easy to deal with, but she did not expect that the other party, Lie Xing Jiang Li, would be a mercury spirit.

The old man has too many children, both biological and adopted, so many that even if they were all pigs, he couldn't keep them all in check or slaughter them all.

"To nip it in the bud" was Xiao Xiuying's meaning.

Xiao Xiuying did this so that Zhang Yang could secretly control Chesi County without any hidden dangers, so those people had to die anyway.

Tianyue only needs one "puppet" in name only.

All other candidates who are qualified to compete for the "puppet" position must be dealt with.

Several garrison officers: "..."

Given the current situation, there is indeed no need to continue sending people to their deaths.

Even if they wanted to continue fighting, the attacking soldiers lost their will to fight after confirming the aura emanating from the porcelain white bottle in Zhang Yang's hand. Defeat was only a matter of time, and the longer it dragged on, the more people would die.

Left with no other choice, they had to surrender.

Lu Yuan rallied his personal guards and, with the addition of defected troops, quickly seized control of the prefecture. He then used the old man's seal of office to issue troop mobilization orders, ordering the city gates to be tightly closed and news of the mutiny to be suppressed, thus buying time to quell the unrest in the counties of Chesi Prefecture.

With the help of her allies, Tianyue, she successfully exacted her revenge. Now, she must reciprocate and fulfill her promise. However, before that—

Covered in blood, Lü Yuan strode toward Zhang Yang.

Ignoring the various reactions of those around him, he clasped his hands in a fist and knelt down on both knees.

She knelt so firmly that the stone brick beneath her knees cracked, demonstrating the sincerity of her apology. She had truly lost her composure—the sudden failure of her long-cherished wish at the crucial moment of its realization was unbearable for anyone. Her mind had completely lost its ability to think before she fired that shot. If it weren't for the formidable strength of her ally and lord, she would have undoubtedly committed an irreparable mistake!

Even now, thinking back to that outcome still makes my head spin.

But what made her head spin even more in the next second.

Before she could speak, her hands were lifted by a pair of delicate, warm hands, and Lu Yuan felt a surge of self-reproach: "My lord..."

"Good child, your godmother doesn't blame you."

Zhang Yang knew Lu Yuan's next line; she understood.

For the sake of the title of "adoptive mother," Zhang Yang chose to accept it, since the player's age is a mystery in the game's storyline anyway.

Ritsumoto: "..."

Guan Si, observing Lu Yuan with a cold eye: "..."

Zhang Dagu, who was preening his feathers with a pained expression, thought, "..."

Wang Qi, who arrived in high spirits to meet him, was speechless.

With one foot stepping over the threshold, Xiao Sui, having forgotten to lift her other foot due to Zhang Yang's thunderous speech, stumbled and fell: "..."

Lu Yuan's former colleague: "..."

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