Stronger by Killing

"Wei River runs cold through the Ancient Imperial City..."

In the grand hall, the operatic tune rang out once again, yet this time, the singing lacked sincerity and soul. The two actors onstage moved stiffly, voices trembling,

and those playing the erhu and beating the drums all appeared panic-stricken, their rhythms in disarray—so off that even Gu Zhan, an outsider, could hear something was wrong.

But Gu Zhan didn’t care,

leaned back on his chair, as if deeply entranced by the performance,

while beside him lay Gu Yuanzhong’s corpse,

The body streamed with blood, too gruesome to behold. Limbs shattered, neck snapped, slumped like a heap of rotten mud in the chair, his face twisted in a savage grimace, blood still oozing from the corners of his mouth.

At this moment, outside the hall,

all of the Gu Mansion’s swordsmen were already in chaos,

each and every one of them disoriented, leaderless,

Gu Yuanzhong had been directly reduced to a mangled corpse, and all the Middle Innate enforcers within the Gu Mansion had died tragically,

those were all famous experts of the Innate Fifth and Sixth Layers,

and Gu Yuanzhong, even more renowned as a Great Innate Expert of the Seventh Realm,

yet in such a short span,

all were slain,

everyone was chilled to the bone, as if the swirling snow outside had turned to icy water pouring from head to toe.

Go!

Only that single thought flashed through many minds,

and at once, several quietly prepared to slip away,

yet just as they reached the doors,

from the night, a few beams of light flashed—feathered arrows shooting swift and silent through the crowd.

"Thud," "thud," "thud," "..."

Several feathered arrows punched through bodies, trailing blood as they pinned themselves deep in the stone walls,

corpses crashed to the ground, twitching faintly.

The panicked swordsmen about to flee all froze, staring in horror toward the wavering lamplight of the main hall.

Within the hall,

Gu Zhan sat in his chair, bow in hand, wearing a slight smile. He said, "Sit and enjoy the performance. No need to rush off."

Gu Zhan’s voice was soft, his tone calm,

yet it inspired terror in nearly two hundred men. None dared move, each one frozen with fear, faces etched with panic and dread.

"Father!" "Grandfather..." "Old Master..."

Suddenly, at that moment,

from within the courtyards came distraught, desperate voices,

a crowd of expensively clad men and women, young and old, burst in, calling out in anxiety.

The leading middle-aged man bellowed, "Why are you all just standing around—kill that bastard now!"

"Attack, hurry!"

"You son of a bitch, I’ll kill you!"

"You wretch, our Gu Family and you are mortal enemies!"

"..."

These were all Gu Yuanzhong’s close kin. At his age and with his status, he naturally had numerous children and descendants.

Yet no matter how they shouted or commanded, the swordsmen remained unmoved.

As for those of the Gu Family, none possessed martial talent—just a single middle-aged man, barely an Innate Martial Artist, tried to storm in, but was blocked by Zuo Yang and Wu Xiang.

"Ah! Cursed dog... you’ll die a miserable death..."

Gu Yuanzhong’s son screamed hysterically, but his voice was cut short,

as Gu Zhan let fly another arrow,

with a crisp "crack,"

the feathered arrow pierced through his neck,

Gu Yuanzhong’s son stared wide-eyed, face twisted in death, refusing to close his eyes.

"Father..."

"You monster, I’ll kill you..."

The Gu Family crowded outside the hall, desperate to rush in, yet were kept back by Zuo Yang and others, each one seething and howling in frenzy.

With a clang,

suddenly, onstage, an actor could take it no longer and collapsed, the entire troupe devolving into panic,

the opera broke off midway.

Gu Zhan sighed, murmuring, "This play, I only got to hear half—it’s unlucky. But I neither fear demons nor gods, I believe man conquers fate. So let me grant your Gu Family a blessing—may you journey well, may your kin reunite together, whole and complete!"

Even as he spoke, arrow after arrow became streaks of light,

and one by one, the Gu Family shrieked in agony,

less than a minute, and only a dozen corpses remained. Four or five survivors, terrified out of their minds, fled in all directions, screaming curses,

while all the Gu Mansion swordsmen had become numb,

watching Gu Zhan’s every action toward Gu Yuanzhong, chills crawling down their spines,

this was a heartless fiend,

cruel to the degree of denying his victims even a swift death, a demon who delighted in tormenting the soul over and over!

Gu Zhan lazily flicked his wrist,

smiling as he walked to the hall’s entrance, glancing over at the Gu Family, all wishing to tear him limb from limb, then slowly raised his head to the swordsmen outside, a sinister smile spreading across his face. He said, "One incense stick’s time—if a single member of the Gu Family survives, ten of your families will be destroyed. But for every Gu Family member you kill, one hundred taels of silver!"

At those words, night fell into utter silence,

Gu Zhan’s face wore a gentle smile as he continued, "Oh, and by the way—you’re all on the Gu Family’s registers. I’ll check them after this is over. If anyone escapes, for each that slips away, ten of you will die; if anyone reports a deserter, that’s five hundred taels per head!"

In the lamplit night,

the shy smile on Gu Zhan’s delicate face made everyone shudder involuntarily.

The next instant,

suddenly, in the shadows, a blade stabbed into the body of one of Gu Yuanzhong’s sons,

blood sprayed as chaos broke out in the courtyard,

and in a flash, the nearly two hundred swordsmen surged forward,

amid shrieks and curses,

the courtyard plunged into utter turmoil—flashing blades, flying swords, screams everywhere, and many charged into adjacent courtyards to kill.

Gu Zhan stood at the hall’s threshold,

beckoning with a faint motion—the twin maidservants, trembling, brought over tea and a chair.

Gu Zhan sat in the chair, sipping his tea,

one maid knelt, timidly massaging his legs, the other gently kneaded his shoulders.

The hot tea steamed,

yet could not mask the blood splatting all over the courtyard,

across the entire manor, from every courtyard echoed wails and roars of anger, weaving a melody all its own,

Gu Zhan smiled, watching the patchwork slaughter unfold. Deep within his soul, something long dormant seemed to awaken,

Just arrived, new in town,

in this lawless Earth Realm,

he needed no loyalty,

he needed only obedient underlings,

and obedience, more often than not, was born of fear and submission,

and now, that fear—has arrived!

This terror rose unbidden in every heart,

including Zuo Yang, Wu Xiang, and the other Embroidered Uniform Guard,

they all looked at Gu Zhan with dread in their eyes, chills wracking their hearts,

this was nothing but a heartless butcher!