“Don’t forget, it was you who insisted you could manage the tavern well, which is why I leased this land to you. So, what now? Are you going back on your word?”
“You…” The purple-haired girl’s face flushed with anger, but she couldn’t find a retort.
She could only bite her lip tightly, holding back her frustration.
“That’s why I told you—if you can’t do it, just give up. Give up your unrealistic ideas early, marry me soon, and I won’t treat you badly afterward.”
“Never.” The purple-haired girl’s expression turned cold.
Her words still sounded soft, but they carried a firm resolve.
Roy had been scorned repeatedly by his fiancée—someone who, in his heart, was already his plaything—and now he was burning with fury.
When had it ever been so hard to get what he wanted?
Especially when it was something that should have belonged to him from the start.
The engagement had long been set.
He had been coveting this beautiful girl with her exquisite figure for some time, but she kept rejecting him again and again.
He was losing patience.
“Looks like you’re refusing the wine, so you’ll have to drink the penalty!”
Roy’s anger surged.
He sneered at the girl before him.
“Don’t forget, your Grandfather supports this too. Guess what would happen if I took care of you right here? Think he’d say a word?”
“You…” Panic flashed through the purple-haired girl’s heart.
She instinctively tried to escape, but they were in a small room on the third floor with the door closed.
Where could she possibly run?
With her level of skill, she had no chance against the man in front of her.
And, as he said, even if something happened here…
Grandfather probably wouldn’t defend her.
“Don’t come near me!” Trapped with nowhere to go, she could only issue a weak, threatening voice that held no real danger.
It only fueled Roy’s possessiveness.
“Give up. Who do you think will save you? That little princess? Your Father is already dead…”
The mocking words chilled Karinya to the bone, filling her with despair.
The pain she had long locked away in her memories resurfaced, unbearable and unforgettable.
Overwhelmed by grief and hopelessness, the girl slowly gave up resisting, a tear tracing down the corner of her eye.
“Sara, wait for me a moment, okay?”
Li Xian gently patted Sara’s head beside him.
Sara looked toward the spot her master was staring at and quietly nodded.
The next moment, Li Xian vaulted up to the third floor.
With a single punch, he shattered the window Roy had just shut and burst into the room.
“Who’s there?!” Roy, having just cornered Karinya, heard the glass break behind him and immediately turned around.
“Forcing a girl like this, such behavior is truly pathetic.” Li Xian looked at Roy with cold eyes, showing no hint of concealment for his disdain and contempt.
Those looks and words instantly infuriated Roy.
His mood, already soured by the sudden interruption, darkened further as his eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“Like to meddle, huh…”
He snorted and sized Li Xian up from head to toe.
“I hope you’re not too weak, or I’ll be bored to death before I finish with you.”
“Isn’t that what I should be saying?”
Li Xian was also annoyed.
He knew the so-called loser in front of him might not be so simple.
So what if he was?Â
Li Xian didn’t act on impulse, but when it came to what he wanted, no one could stop him—just like in his previous life, and even more so now.
Power?
Status?
In a world where strength was everything, Li Xian had no need to hold back.
That old man couldn’t withstand a few moves from him, let alone this loser.
The tension in the air thickened, the atmosphere on the verge of explosion.
The next moment, Roy acted first, drawing the sword at his waist and lunging at Li Xian, aiming straight for a vital spot—clearly intending to kill him outright.
Li Xian sneered with disdain.
At the moment Roy approached, Li Xian struck out with a kick to his abdomen, sending him flying and smashing a chair in the room.
Roy struggled to get up, surprised he hadn’t succeeded but instead been kicked away.
He took it as a momentary lapse, his fury burning hotter as he raised his sword to strike again.
Killing intent flared in Li Xian’s eyes.
Though he knew this could get complicated, the urge to just end this loser right here was growing stronger.
“Stop fighting!” Karinya, now recovered, shouted without hesitation, seeing the situation unfold.
The two glanced at her, but the tension remained unchanged.
“Roy, I will keep my promises. If I fail, you may do as you please. But this man… he has nothing to do with it…”
Karinya’s words faltered as she finally looked at Li Xian—the face she had seen just a few days ago.
Her voice caught, confusion filling her expression.
Memories of that day flashed through her mind again, and in the next second, her face blushed deeply.
“You…” She never imagined that this sudden savior who rescued her was the same man who had nearly seen her completely the other day!
To Roy, however, her reaction meant something very different.
“So that’s it…” His face turned green with rage, dark and dripping venom as he stared at Karinya and Li Xian.
“No wonder… no wonder you wanted to break the engagement. No wonder you kept finding excuses to delay. So that’s what this is about…”
He locked his bloodshot eyes on Karinya, causing her to shiver and instinctively take a step back.
“That’s not true, I…”
“Don’t lie!” Roy snarled, narrowing his eyes and fixing Karinya with a deadly stare.
“It’s too late for regrets now. Even if you kneel and beg, I won’t let you go. Mark my words—you’ll pay the price!”
“And you…” He turned toward the still cold-faced Li Xian.
“Dare to touch my woman, and I’ll make you understand what it means to neither live nor die!”
He was no longer in a hurry to kill this pretty boy; that would be too easy.
He wanted to make him suffer and show him the consequences of offending him.
As for that ungrateful woman, though he couldn’t kill her outright, once she fell into his hands, he would deal with her thoroughly—letting her learn what regret and betrayal really cost.