The reception hall fell into silence.
Seizing the moment, Cai Zhao quickly scanned the enemies present.
Nie Zhe was the most lavishly dressed person in the hall, around forty years old. His movements were still agile, but his inner energy was weak and unstable. He might have been quite handsome in his youth, but his former charm and grace had long drowned in the pervasive excess of flesh.
Sitting upright beside him was naturally his wife, Li Ruxin.
She appeared to be in her late thirties, with a fair complexion and slender eyebrows. In terms of beauty alone, she was far inferior to Mu Qingyan's mother, Sun Ruoshui. However, her noble and dignified demeanor commanded respect, making it impossible for anyone to treat her lightly. Nestled beside her was a sickly-looking boy around ten years old, whose features bore a striking resemblance to hers—undoubtedly Nie Zhe's only son, Nie Sien.
Standing slightly apart from this family trio was a middle-aged scholar who seemed out of place in the hall's atmosphere. He was around thirty, with a lean face and modest demeanor—but more importantly, his sharp, penetrating gaze and the restrained power emanating from his body indicated considerable martial prowess. He was likely Yu Huixin, whom Nie Zhe had mentioned, though Cai Zhao didn’t know his identity.
Apart from them, the hall was filled with over a dozen guards and maids, as well as three or five rough-looking Martial World figures clad in animal pelts and adorned with golden rings—probably the so-called Sky Dog Leopards.
The standoff lasted only a moment before Nie Zhe unexpectedly broke the silence.
He stared fixedly at Shangguan Haonan behind Cai Zhao, his face lighting up with joy: "Haonan, you—you're alive? I sent many people to search for you, and they all said you’d been killed by those rebels. These past few days, the thought of your head separated from your body has tormented me unbearably!"
His tone was sincere and heartfelt, brimming with the joy of reunion yet tinged with faint sorrow.
Cai Zhao wanted to laugh but felt it would be unfair to the fierce man behind her, so she stifled it.
Shangguan Haonan had initially carried himself with bold confidence, but under the collective gaze of the crowd, he deflated like a punctured frog, his face flushing red as he shouted, "Nie Zhe, you old dog! You deceived and humiliated me—I swear to never share the same sky with you!"
Nie Zhe looked wounded and mournful. "Even at this life-and-death moment, you remain so heartless toward me. Have you forgotten all the kindness I showed you before?"
"Kindness my ass!" Shangguan Haonan roared.
Nie Zhe sighed sorrowfully. "My feelings for you were pure and true. Why won’t you believe me?"
"Believe your father!"
Cai Zhao couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into laughter—"Hahahahaha!"
Yu Huixin’s expression darkened with embarrassment. Though young, Nie Sien was clearly no stranger to his father’s proclivities and now looked as if he’d been slapped, his face burning with shame. Only Li Ruxin remained composed, quietly comforting her son.
The rest of the hall’s occupants, even if they didn’t laugh as openly as Cai Zhao, wore ambiguous, murky smiles.
Song Yuzhi glanced sideways in surprise, noticing that Mu Qingyan wasn’t laughing at all—instead, his face was grave and alert.
Nie Zhe said calmly, "Ah, since Haonan refuses to listen to reason, I have no choice... Men, attack!" His tone shifted abruptly on the last four words, turning sharp and ruthless, as if he’d become a different person.
Two rows of guards swiftly assembled, forming a dense shield-like formation in front of Nie Zhe and the others. Each held a thick iron tube about half a foot long, and as the mechanisms clicked, a storm of needle-thin projectiles sprayed out in all directions.
Nie Zhe hadn’t expected Mu Qingyan’s group to emerge from his most secret passage, but he had certainly prepared for the possibility of assassins infiltrating Paradise Palace to kill him.Yet, Mu Qingyan had also considered his considerations.
"Open the umbrellas!" he commanded sharply.
Countless formidable figures had been deceived by Nie Zhe’s pitiful, incompetent facade, only to underestimate him and meet their downfall.
Including himself.
Cai Zhao and the others immediately untied the long-handled Adamantine Umbrellas strapped to their backs and swiftly opened them.
These were weapons Mu Qingyan had ordered crafted in advance—the handles and ribs forged from fine steel, the canopy woven from celestial silk mixed with gold-cutting threads, impervious to water and fire, impenetrable to blades and spears. When opened, the canopy was large and slightly elongated, allowing those behind it to avoid all densely flying hidden projectiles with just a slight bend of their bodies.
As the fine needles rained down, Cai Zhao heard the sound of a torrential downpour against the canopy, like a swarm of ants gnawing, sending shivers down her spine. Mixed in were the faint clinks of needles hitting the ground. However, the rows of iron tubes were long and dense, and the poisonous needles they fired were equally numerous. If they wanted to close in on Nie Zhe and his men, they would inevitably be stretched thin.
Cai Zhao was not one to suffer losses without retaliation. After the second volley of fine needles, she seized an opening and sent the silver chain on her left wrist flying out, entangling the necks and arms of two guards. With a forceful tug, she dragged them out of formation.
After a few agonized screams, the two men were turned into pincushions by the wildly flying poisonous needles, writhing in pain on the ground before quickly succumbing.
Mu Qingyan instantly understood Cai Zhao’s intent. He tore down a string of beaded curtains beside him and scattered them like blossoms in the wind, eliciting cries of pain from the first row of guards still pulling their triggers. Seizing the opportunity, Cai Zhao flicked her wrist again, dragging more guards and piling their corpses into a makeshift barricade of flesh.
Nie Zhe, of course, saw through the tactic. A dark aura rose to his face as he snarled, "Switch formations! Use the Bone-Corroding Sky Rain!"
The first row of guards firing the fine needles retreated, and the second row stepped forward, each holding a half-foot-long iron tube, though only as thick as a cup.
The triggers were pulled, and a dark, green-glowing liquid sprayed out like a fine mist, emitting a heavy, foul stench.
Mu Qingyan’s expression changed. "Be careful—that liquid is highly poisonous!"
Even without his warning, Cai Zhao and the others sensed the danger and quickly shielded themselves tightly with their Adamantine Umbrellas.
Where the poisonous liquid dripped onto the carved lattice screens, the eternally durable rosewood immediately developed tiny, corroded pits. On the white marble floor tiles, it left dense, blackened holes that made one’s scalp crawl. But the most horrifying sight was on the corpses strewn across the ground—once the poison touched flesh, its corrosive effect multiplied rapidly.
When Cai Zhao peeked out from behind her umbrella again, the corpses had already been reduced to bare, ghastly bones, filling her with terror. Even the steel-woven canopy, where droplets of the poison landed, emitted faint wisps of white smoke. It was unclear how much longer it would hold.
Shangguan Haonan paled in fear, shouting, "What kind of thing is this? It’s so ruthless!"
Mu Qingyan said grimly, "The Bone-Corroding Sky Rain—it was hastily developed by Lu Shinan under Nie Hengcheng’s orders back then. But after his death, no one could find the recipe. I thought it had all been exhausted twenty years ago!"
Nie Zhe tilted his head back with a triumphant, shrill laugh. "Pity the Mu family’s two centuries of glory—today, its last descendants will perish here. Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh heh..." This was his carefully arranged love nest, after all. He hadn’t wanted to resort to such a devastating weapon as the Bone-Corroding Sky Rain unless absolutely necessary.The surrounding Sky Dog Leopards immediately burst into a flurry of flattery, praising Nie Zhe as if he were a blooming flower.
Yu Huixin showed a look of reluctance: "Fifth Brother, this isn't right. Fourth Brother regretted it deeply after creating the 'Bone-Corroding Sky Rain.' I remember he entrusted Third Brother to destroy all the remaining stock. Where did you get these from?"
Nie Zhe cursed: "Shut up! This is none of your business!"
Cai Zhao frowned as she looked at the blood-soaked ground and the wood and tiles similarly eroded by the poisonous liquid, as if realizing something. She glanced toward the luxurious inner chamber behind her and suddenly shouted, "The carpet!" With that, her soft body swiftly leaped back into the inner chamber like drifting willow catkins.
Mu Qingyan was the first to react. "Right, quickly pull up the carpet inside!"
Shangguan Haonan also understood and laughed heartily: "As expected, women are more meticulous!"
A pristine white fur carpet lay spread across the center of the inner chamber, thick and plush—very, very thick.
The four of them exerted their strength together, lifting the fur carpet with great effort. With a loud crash, all the tables, bowls, and cups on the carpet were shaken off, scattering precious red and blue glass, agate, and jade ornaments across the floor in a chaotic mess.
Stretching out the enormous fur carpet like a massive banner, the four hid their bodies behind it and swiftly pushed it forward in a flat motion—
Nie Zhe, initially baffled by their actions, froze for a moment before seeming to grasp their intent. He shrieked, "Quick, quick, stop them! Spray faster, spray faster!"
At his command, an even denser spray of poisonous liquid filled the air. The white fur carpet was immediately dotted with black holes from the corrosion, but it didn't penetrate entirely—the several-inch-thick fur significantly slowed the erosion.
The 'Bone-Corroding Sky Rain' was lethally potent against living flesh, capable of killing upon contact with no remedy. But against inanimate objects like wood and stone, its effects were slower—something Nie Zhe himself had noticed.
In the blink of an eye, the carpet-wall was pushed right up to them. Nie Zhe retreated step by step under the protection of the Sky Dog Leopards, while Li Ruxin and her child took shelter in a corner of the hall under the guard of the martial maids. Only Yu Huixin hesitated, unwilling to aid Nie Zhe yet unable to simply walk away.
With a roar from Shangguan Haonan, the massive carpet was shoved directly onto the guards still spraying the poisonous liquid, smothering them. The other three seized the chance to attack the iron canisters in the guards' hands.
Mu Qingyan, as usual, grabbed a handful of pearls from the curtains. Song Yuzhi drew a set of small golden-bladed, silver-backed darts from his waist pouch. Cai Zhao, refusing extravagance, picked up some shards of glass and agate from the floor.
The three acted in unison. The seventeen guards' iron canisters burst—some shattered by the pearls, others with nozzles torn by the darts, and still others with mechanisms knocked loose by the ruby and sapphire fragments.
The poisonous liquid leaked from the cracks. The seventeen guards let out agonized screams. Unable to discard the canisters in time, they could only watch helplessly as their contaminated hands slowly corroded to the bone, then spread to their entire bodies.
Song Yuzhi, moved by pity, flicked a few darts to grant them a swift end.
Seeing the situation turn against him, Nie Zhe immediately fled the reception hall with his lackeys, abandoning his wife and child without a second thought.
Mu Qingyan swept his long sleeves and soared across the hall's arched beams like an eagle, swiftly giving chase.Shangguan Haonan was the fastest in pursuit. If he couldn't capture or kill Nie Zhe this time, he felt his future life would be ruined.
Poison, blood, rotting corpse parts, and bones still clinging to shreds of flesh littered the ground in a ghastly mess.
Cai Zhao clasped her hands together and silently recited a few verses of scripture for the dead. Song Yuzhi waited quietly beside her.
Soon, the sounds of fighting reached them. Cai Zhao opened her eyes, drew her blade, and rushed forward.
Song Yuzhi followed.
OpenNovel