My little hand, like the scythe of death, dropped on the paper, drawing the line between life and death. “Everyone from here up must die. Tonight, I want the entire Shangguan family to see what happens when you cross me—a tragedy of heads rolling.”
“And don’t forget to knock some sense into the Mo family, too. As for that little Mo brat—grabbing girls by force in this day and age? He should remember to change the radical in his surname the next time he goes out!”
“As you wish, this servant knows exactly what to do.” Chunqiao’s eyes flashed with murderous light; her aura was entirely different from usual. “I’ll lead the team myself and make sure it’s done beautifully.”
I looked at Su Liumeng’s expression. “What? Never seen me command people before?”
“Nope.”
“Well, now you have. I’m even commanding you! Tell Chunqiao to bring more experts, top-tier ones. They should line up in the sky and read my words with Dao resonance. If the spectacle isn’t grand enough, how will it reflect my current status?”
After saying all that, I felt a little giddy.
Once you have social standing, issuing orders is really satisfying—especially when everyone falls silent to wait for your decision.
Chunqiao left.
Su Liumeng massaged my shoulders, leaning her head close. “Happy now?”
“Of course.” I smiled faintly, not showing my teeth.
“There’s something even more fun. Baby, want to check it out?” Su Liumeng produced a thick book like a magic trick.
“What’s that?” I reached to grab it.
Su Liumeng coughed and shifted away. “Yuri novel.”
“What yuri novel? Just because I don’t say my thoughts, you can’t stop me from seeing it!”
I couldn’t decipher her smile, but then she added, “It is a yuri novel—but an adult one. Want to learn in advance?”
“We won’t do anything—just a little research.”
My face froze. It took me a while to react. “What are you doing?”
Wasn’t this one of the books Su Liumeng bought earlier, the ones I didn’t let her return?
“Trying to awaken my hidden interests?”
Seeing her scheme exposed, Su Liumeng only coughed again.
*****
An hour later, Chunqiao had already written up the official document in vermilion ink with a calligraphy brush.
This document, in traditional etiquette, was actually a ‘visiting card.’
Except, its contents were far from respectful.
Behind her stood nine white-haired elders, all retired Su family veterans, dragged out at night by Su Liumeng to work overtime.
Even in the Benwo Realm, there are different levels.
Only late-stage Benwo experts could join the Elders’ Council.
These people had some power, but not much influence in the Su family—basically retirees. Few could even command them; they were practically in their twilight years.
Eight early Benwo experts, one at mid-stage as team leader.
This lineup was already over the top.
Dealing with the Shangguan family’s estate in the capital, just the Su family’s war banner alone would terrify countless people, not to mention these nine elders lined up silently in the sky.
Capital City, Shangguan family.
With only days left until Shangguan Xiyue’s wedding, the whole venue was decorated in festive red, white balloons tied to trees, red carpets everywhere.
The whole family was in a celebratory mood.
Except, of course, the person involved.
Inside Shangguan Xiyue’s room, the sounds of constant arguments could be heard.
“Give me my phone back.”
“You’ve said that a million times. Your phone’s gone.”
“Sweetie, it’s for your own good. Marrying into the Mo family will save you years of hardship and you’ll never lack cultivation resources. Your father and I are old; we can’t be there for you forever. You need support.”
Shangguan Xiyue sneered, “How much did you trade me for?”
“If I recall, Mo Wuya likes my type. He requested me, didn’t he?”
Lin Hai fell silent for a moment. “You know how it works with big families.”
Shangguan Xiyue sneered again, but didn’t press further, switching topics. “Give me my phone back.”
“What do you want your phone for, anyway?”
“You’ve been missing for half a month—still dreaming someone will come save you?” Lin Hai’s gaze was murky.
“Can’t I message my friend? I’m getting married—shouldn’t I tell her?”
“And who says no one’s backing me?” Shangguan Xiyue lifted her eyes. “If you’ve got the guts, give me my phone. I’ll message her once, and she’ll be here for me.”
Lin Hai snorted, “What friend would back you up?”
“What have I taught you? Still so young and already running around with shady friends. Don’t tell me you’ve got some wild man outside.”
“Give it up. That type only cares for themselves—at the first sign of trouble, they’d have run. Who’d bother with you?”
“It’s Mo family’s turn to pick you up in two days. You better behave—if Young Master Mo finds out you’ve been seeing some wild man, how will you prove you’re clean?”
Shangguan Xiyue slammed her bed, nearly standing up in anger. “Lin Hai, you’re going too far. Slandering your own daughter? You know perfectly well if I’ve been messing around! Besides, my friend is a girl, and she’s already married. Give me my phone now. If she finds out you’ve been threatening me, don’t say I didn’t warn you—there’ll be serious consequences.”
Shangguan Xiyue trusted this friendship more than anything.
She truly believed her friend would come save her.
Maybe in the past, Zixi couldn’t, but now she definitely could.
Lin Hai, still refusing to give back the phone, snapped, “I’m not giving it to you!”
“As if your friend is some big shot.”
“I want to see—after you’re married off, what kind of scary consequences will there be? You think your mother scares that easily?”
“If your friend really cared, she’d have helped long ago—why wait until now?”
“Stop stirring up trouble.” Shangguan Xiyue absolutely refused to believe Xiao Yan would abandon her. “She’s just been out of touch lately because of her own wedding. She only just got back in contact with the world. It’s normal she doesn’t know what’s happening with me.”
Lin Hai refused to leave her daughter’s room.
For the last two nights, she hadn’t slept—she insisted on watching over her daughter until the Mo family came to fetch her.
“Stop dreaming. The Mo family isn’t someone you can mess with, let alone that so-called friend I’ve never heard of.”
Before Lin Hai finished, a booming voice echoed over the Shangguan estate.
A girl’s voice, amplified by ten top experts, young yet full of authority, carried into every corner below.
“This is a visitation from the Su family’s Young Madam. Those guilty in the Shangguan family, kneel or die.”
Rumble—
The ten Benwo experts stood at attention, unleashing their auras.
This wasn’t a simple visitation—it was an all-out public reckoning.
Courtesy before force: a deeply ingrained custom among Easterners, but even so, they’d given fair warning.
No one in the Shangguan family had ever seen such a spectacle.
Ten Benwo experts strode through the sky.
Instantly, everyone fell silent as death; crowds poured from the buildings, falling to their knees on the ground.
Most had no idea if they were guilty or not, let alone what was happening.
But if you had sinned and didn’t kneel, you’d be dragged down by association—who’d risk that?
So, guilty or not, everyone fell to their knees en masse.
Lin Hai, seeing the ten experts in the sky, shook uncontrollably. “It’s the Su family—the most powerful of them all. Why would they show up here?”
“No one in the Shangguan family could have provoked the Young Madam so soon after her wedding…”
Shangguan Xiyue chuckled, “Told you to give me my phone. That’s my friend—here to back me up.”
“Even now, you’re still spouting nonsense,” Lin Hai snapped, grabbing Xiyue’s arm and slipping out of the room. “Do you know who they are? The Su family opened its main gates to marry in the Young Madam, bringing a grand procession. How could you know someone of that status?”
Lin Hai reached the courtyard, refusing to kneel like the others. “Honored Su family elders, you must be mistaken—this is the Shangguan estate, and I am Lin Hai, wife of Shangguan Tianxing.”
Chunqiao’s eyes were icy cold. “So you’re Lin Hai.”
“That means I’m in the right place.”
Before reading her lady’s proclamation, Chunqiao knew her mind well and added a perfect touch of her own. “Criminal Lin Hai, step forward and kneel to atone.”
Thud.
Lin Hai, drenched in cold sweat, was utterly terrified at hearing her name and being called a criminal. She could only kneel on the ground in panic, tugging at Shangguan Xiyue’s pant leg. “Hurry, kneel! These are Su family elders—not a place for your little tantrums!”
In the next moment, Chunqiao’s voice echoed again, stunning all present.
“You must kneel!”
“She doesn’t have to kneel!!”