"My, my hand!" Qiu Yang's severed arm, still gripping the pistol, fell to the ground like a shattered statue. The cut was smooth, with even the muscles retaining their tense state.
The change happened too quickly. Qiu Yang's pain receptors lagged by a few seconds. He stumbled backward, but blood gushed out like a faucet that couldn't be turned off, spraying everywhere and filling the air with a腥气.
"Help! Someone!"
Qiu Yang's corpulent body slumped down. The searing pain overwhelmed him. Sweat beaded across his fleshy face, contorting it. His left hand pressed tightly against the severed limb's stump, attempting to stem the torrent of blood. A fear he had never known gripped him.
The golden floor tiles were stained with blood. An unruly wind surged in through the shattered glass door, carrying a stench. Lightning flashed like swords, followed by muffled thunder.
Qiu Yang cried out with all his might, but no one dared to respond from either side of the corridor. The servants and dancers he usually abused cowered within their rooms. Listening to Qiu Yang's wails, they actually showed expressions of extreme satisfaction.
"No need to shout, you trash. Think about how you treated them normally! Think about what would happen to you if you didn't have the status of the Qiu family's young master!"
Qiu Ruhai's curved blade dripped with blood. His blood-splattered face, illuminated by the lightning, resembled a terrifying demon chasing someone in a horror movie.
"You, what do you want? I'm the eldest young master of the Qiu family! You dog! Someone, come! Who will save me? A bounty of one million!"
Qiu Yang's only lifeline was his status as the Qiu family's young master.
Similarly, this turn of events caught Ren Yuanhao and the others completely off guard. Shi Jing Tian was stunned into speechlessness. However, what came to his mind at that moment was the man named Qiu Guodong. That man was notoriously doting and protective of his son.
If Qiu Yang were to die inexplicably by Qiu Ruhai's blade today, Qiu Guodong's rage would undoubtedly engulf the entire village!
This was a result he did not wish to imagine, nor did he wish to witness.
"Brother Ren, come here for a moment."
Given the situation, Shi Jing Tian felt it necessary to devise a strategy.
At this opportune moment, Qiu Ruhai's emotions became as unstable and furious as the tide under a full moon. He brandished his curved blade and advanced step by step.
"Trash, you've insulted me repeatedly. I tolerated it because of your father. Yet, you push your luck and disrupt my duel. What the hell do you mean by that?"
Qiu Yang wailed as he pressed his arm, backing away. His face was pale and greenish. After reaching the peak of fear, a surge of courage filled him.
"You dog, if I hadn't helped you, you would have been chopped to death by that bastard long ago! Who the hell do you think you are! What era is this? Still playing with blades? You're an idiot!"
This remark, like a sharp stiletto, instantly pierced Qiu Ruhai's most vulnerable soft spot. His killing-god-like aura instantly wilted, and his curved blade clattered onto the golden floor tiles with a clear and resonant clang.
"That's right, this is no longer my era. The world is filled with guns and cannons. For this very reason, the Qiu family swordsmen have been phased out by time..."
"Precisely. You are merely a remnant of a bygone era. This world has no great ship to carry you!"
Qiu Yang knew he had struck Qiu Ruhai's weak point, and his tone grew increasingly loud. "You dog, my father pulled you from hell, put you on the great ship of the era, provided for you, and gave you the glory you desired. And now you bite the hand that fed you! What right do you have to call others trash!"
"Stop talking!"
Qiu Ruhai roared, his eyeballs trembling like billiard balls.
"I will talk! You dog, you're ungrateful. Just wait until my father returns, and see how he deals with you! His wrath is enough to turn you to dust!"
Qiu Ruhai stumbled back several steps, seemingly having lost all reason. He clasped his head with both hands, shaking it, and muttered incomprehensible words. Suddenly, he picked up the curved blade from the ground, as if only that weapon could give him his final courage.
His bloodshot eyes resembled those of a wild beast roaming the wilderness. He dragged his curved blade across the floor tiles, producing a hair-raising hiss!
"What? You still want to kill me?"
Qiu Ruhai slowly raised his curved blade. Unbeknownst to him, his withered face suddenly tilted upwards, the corners of his mouth stretching into an unbelievable arc. Like an executioner, he raised his curved blade!
"Heh heh, the Qiu family's blades are meant to cut down arrogant beasts like you! I'm here to avenge the women you've abused! Take this!"
Qiu Yang felt an intense killing intent enveloping his entire body. He couldn't move. Even more terrifying was the raised blade, which was like lightning descending from the sky, aimed directly at his neck.
At that very instant, Ren Yuanhao, who had been fully prepared, moved with lightning speed. His figure flashed like a ghost, and with a diagonal upward slash of his black blade, his strength was so immense that he physically deflected Qiu Ruhai's downward strike!
Qiu Ruhai retreated rapidly, his hands trembling violently as if struck by electricity. With his blade deflected, he seemed to lose all strength and collapsed onto the ground.
But what no one expected was that Qiu Yang, who was so terrified he'd wet himself, actually had a miniature pistol hidden at his waist. In a flash, he disengaged the safety, aimed at Qiu Ruhai, and his trembling finger was already on the trigger. With a slight press, the firing pin would strike the chamber, and a bullet would pierce his opponent's heart!
Ren Yuanhao's expression turned to alarm. His upward-slashing blade was too late to retract and complete its strike. As if guided by divine inspiration, he swiftly kicked upwards. The gunshots roared, and the massive crystal chandelier was instantly pulverized into dust, scattering like a sky full of stardust.
He kicked the胖子 away and retreated, narrowly dodging the falling glass shards. The lights dimmed, and the wind and thunder raged. So many events had transpired in such a short time. The entire hall fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the sound of broken glass and falling firearms.
"Hey,胖子, if you don't want to die, you'd better not play any tricks. Next time, my blade won't be helping you, but severing your head."
Ren Yuanhao shouldered his black blade, looking down with cold, commanding eyes.
Qiu Yang looked at that gaze, which seemed more terrifying than Qiu Ruhai's bloodshot eyes before. This terror was not from the threat to his life, but from the fear that a superior being would naturally inspire in a mortal, a fear that mortals should exhibit.
"Why did you save me? I was literally planning to sleep with your girl!"
"Because, with me here, taking your dog's life is as easy as flipping a hand." Ren Yuanhao leaned his face close to Qiu Yang, his pupils, reflecting the lightning, resembled the blade hanging around Qiu Yang's neck.
Qiu Yang felt all his pride shatter like the crystal chandelier under the man's gaze. He suddenly fell backward onto the ground.
...