This time, Li Mo finally stopped. He turned back around to glance coldly at Zhuo Yifeng. "Based on your current level of cultivation, you won't even be able to touch the hem of my robe, let alone kill me."

What Li Mo said was the truth: although Zhuo Yifeng's punch had consumed all his spiritual energy, Li Mo had easily blocked it and sent him flying without even turning around.

That backlash shocked Zhuo Yifeng, who could feel viscerally that that had only been the tiniest fraction of Li Mo's strength. He could easily have killed him in a split second, just as he had done to Ji Er. Zhuo Yifeng had to admit that, even if he had his trusty bow at hand, he would still be unable to hurt Li Mo.

Against such overwhelming strength, it was hard for him not to feel despair. Would he ever be able to surpass Li Mo and avenge his father's murder?

Zhuo Lin'er extended a hand to him, wiping off the blood still dripping down one corner of his lips. Zhuo Yifeng lowered his head, not daring to meet his sister's gaze nor willing to let her see his fragility and desperation.

Zhuo Lin'er turned and thundered at Li Mo, "My brother might not be your match now, but he'll surely surpass and defeat you in the future!"

Her fists were tightly clenched, her petite body wound up tight and shielding her brother.

"Oh?" Li Mo's gaze landed on Zhuo Lin'er, and he raised his brows. "You're that confident in your brother?"

"My brother's the strongest man alive! He'll definitely fulfill all his promises." Despite her tiny stature, she was emanating a frosty aura that neither the Lin sisters nor Yun siblings had ever seen. "Not only will my brother defeat you, he'll kill you as revenge for all the beastkin you've slaughtered, including my father!"

"Kill me, for revenge?" Li Mo's face finally went cold as a tremendous aura exploded from him.

Zhuo Yifeng, Zhuo Lin'er, Lin Qingxue, and even Yun Ruoyan were all but forced to kneel from the sudden pressure.

Yun Ruoyan struggled to stay on her feet. Lin Qingxue had already fallen, paralyzed, to the ground, while Zhuo Yifeng clutched Zhuo Lin'er as they painfully held themselves upright.

"Li Mo," Yun Ruoyan gritted out. "Stop!"

Li Mo's gaze turned from the beastkin siblings to Yun Ruoyan, and his aura vanished as if it had never existed. Freed from a great burden, everyone clutched their chest and wheezed.

“It’s not that easy to kill me.” Li Mo stepped toward his carriage once more. “But I eagerly await your attempt.”

“Li Mo!” Zhuo Yifeng shouted to his back. “I, Zhuo Yifeng, vow to surpass and kill you in vengeance for the fallen beastkin!”

Li Mo’s lips curled up as his carriage vanished at the end of the alleyway.

“Are you alright?” Yun Ruoyan walked up to Zhuo Yifeng and Zhuo Lin’er in order to check on Zhuo Yifeng’s injuries.

Zhuo Yifeng looked back at Yun Ruoyan, wanting to ask her how she’d ended up with the Slaughtering King and whether they were friends or something more, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. 

After all, Yun Ruoyan was the young miss of a noble family, so it wasn’t unusual for her to be close to members of the royalty. What would change even if he asked, and what right did he even have to ask? He was just a pitiful beastkin living on someone else’s charity.

In the end, he could only lower his head and reply in a subdued fashion, “I’m alright.”

“Let’s hurry back into the manor,” Lin Qingxue suggested. “If that man’s comrades are to show up, there’ll be more trouble ahead.”

Zhuo Yifeng claimed to be alright, but Yun Ruoyan guessed that he had suffered an internal injury from how pale his face was.

Zhuo Lin’er and Lin Qingxue supported Zhuo Yifeng as they stepped back into the estate through the back door. Yun Ruoyan followed behind, noticing quite a few auras congregating around the area—undoubtedly the rest of the Farsighted King’s martial artists.

As Yun Ruoyan walked in through the back door, she chanced upon the farmer who had been delivering produce to the estate. “In the future, deliver produce through the front door. This back door will be sealed shut.”

Just as she finished speaking, Zhuo Lin’er and Lin Qingxue began making a commotion from the front.

“Brother? Brother, are you alright?”

“Brother Zhuo, don’t frighten me, Brother Zhuo…!”

Yun Ruoyan hurriedly strode forward. Zhuo Yifeng, who had been able to walk a little with Zhuo Lin’er and Lin Qingxue’s support, was now lying on the floor, his eyes tightly shut, blood streaming out of his lips.

Yun Ruoyan rushed over in shock.

Zhuo Lin’er and Lin Qingxue were standing in a daze, crying out for Zhuo Yifeng.

“Qingxue, quick, call Qingchen over!”

“Sister Qingchen left for the apothecary,” Zhuo Lin’er said amidst her cries.

“Then go find Grandfather, quick! Bring him to Qingchen’s bamboo garden.”

“I’ll go immediately!” After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Qingxue responded quickly and ran off.

“Let’s bring your brother to Qingchen’s bamboo garden for now, since it’s closest.” Yun Ruoyan tried to lift up the unconscious Zhuo Yifeng, but it was difficult with her small body.

“Lin’er, help me,” Yun Ruoyan called out toward Zhuo Lin’er, who was not much less distressed than Lin Qingxue.

And although Zhuo Lin’er didn’t have much strength of her own, the two of them successfully managed to heap Zhuo Yifeng on Yun Ruoyan’s back as they headed to the bamboo garden.

There, Lin Zainan took Zhuo Yifeng’s pulse. As he did so, his white brows furrowed and he grimaced.

“Grandfather, how’s Brother Zhuo?” Lin Qingxue asked anxiously.

Yun Ruoyan shook her head at her, motioning for her not to disturb Lin Zainan while he was concentrating.

“It’s all my fault,” Lin Qingxue began. “If I hadn’t revealed the Slaughtering King’s identity… I knew that Brother Zhuo had a grudge against him as a beastkin, so…”

Lin Qingxue clapped herself on the head, incomparably vexed.

Yun Ruoyan was equally frustrated with her own inaction. She should have stopped Zhuo Yifeng earlier, but the grudge between the beastkin and the Slaughtering King was hardly an easy one to resolve.

Her intuition told her that Li Mo wouldn’t have taken action against Zhuo Yifeng. She was hoping that Zhuo Yifeng would find his own attacks ineffective and to retreat, but she hadn’t expected the severity of Li Mo’s response.

“Ruoyan,” Lin Zainan called out, interrupting her thoughts.

“Grandfather, is Zhuo Yifeng alright? Is he heavily injured?” 

“It’s not a light injury, but his life isn’t in danger. Get two life quintessence pills from the pillmaking chambers.”

Lin Qingxue wasn’t familiar with the pillmaking chambers, so Yun Ruoyan ran to fetch the pills instead. After retrieving the pills and helping Zhuo Yifeng consume them, he quickly awakened.

When Lin Zainan found out that Zhuo Yifeng had been injured after trying to fight the Slaughtering King, all he said was, “The Slaughtering King was magnanimous and didn’t intend on killing you.”

He naturally knew that the Zhuo siblings were beastkin, and that the beastkin possessed a blood grudge against the Slaughtering King. Unable to persuade Zhuo Yifeng to give up his revenge, he could only advise Zhuo Yifeng against rushing headstrong against Li Mo.

“Elder Lin, I understand your intent.” Zhuo Yifeng sat up from the bed. “I was simply unable to control my own impulses upon seeing my father’s killer standing right before me. I won’t react so rashly in the future.”

Lin Zainan nodded, peering at Zhuo Yifeng with a pitiful glance. It seemed as though his revenge would never see the light of day.

“The life quintessence pill has dealt with his internal injuries. Once Qingchen returns tonight, let her prescribe some additional medication for the external injuries, and he’ll be fine in no time,” Lin Zainan instructed Yun Ruoyan before leaving.

With Yun Ruoyan and Lin Qingxue’s help, Zhuo Yifeng was brought back to his own quarters. He didn’t speak with Yun Ruoyan during the way, and would even avoid her gaze when she looked curiously at him.

Yun Ruoyan knew that Zhuo Yifeng had to be feeling miserable, so she didn’t mind. After telling Lin Qingxue to take good care of him, she left the cottage in search of Lin Zainan.

Yun Ruoyan told Lin Zainan that her spiritual flame had advanced once again, and refined a mid-grade spiritual pill in front of him. Because she had yet to possess the blue flame, however, the resulting pill was inferior in quality.

Yun Ruoyan was now an early fourth-rank pillmaster.

When Pei Ziao hadn’t appeared even after sunset, Yun Ruoyan could only return to the Yun manor and wait for him to show up tomorrow.

A black-clad guard knelt in front of Li Mo in his study.

“Have you checked everything?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Shall I deal with them tonight?” The black-clad guard raised his head, revealing a shrewd pair of bright eyes.

“No need. I’ll go myself.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Su Nan.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“I met Zhuo Yifeng and Zhuo Lin’er today.”

Su

 Nan trembled in shock. “They, they—”

“They’re not doing too badly, and they’ve been admitted to Kongming Academy. Zhuo Yifeng attacked me and was injured, but he’ll recover.”

“My gratitude for your leniency, Your Highness.”

“Don’t you want to visit them?”

A pregnant silence descended on the room, and it was quite some time before Su Nan finally sighed, “To them, I’m a dead man.”

After brushing up, Yun Ruoyan was meditating in bed when Li Mo entered through her window.

Yun Ruoyan opened her eyes and asked directly, “Why did you injure Zhuo Yifeng so severely?”

Li Mo was displeased with Yun Ruoyan’s tone. “He attacked me first.”

“I know, but he’s certainly no match for you. You could well have restrained him, and there’s no need to injure him so severely!”

“Do you pity him?” Li Mo’s gaze turned cold.

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