Chapter 128: With You, I'm Not Afraid
In the hallway, the lights flickered. People swarmed in from upstairs and downstairs without pause. Zhou Fan's clothes were soaked in blood, making him look like a demon. He swung the Li Hen Sword without end, carving out a one-meter zone of death around him—a forbidden area for the living.
'A good sword must be fed with blood!'
Zhou Fan raised his longsword, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. He shot a cold glare at the enemies at his side. They watched him like tigers stalking their prey but dared not advance. He let out a disdainful laugh, put his arm around Chu Qianqian, and slowly stepped into Chu Yifeng's room.
"You two adulterous dogs! I knew something was going on with you two. Ptooey!" Chu Yifeng spat as he glared at Zhou Fan and Chu Qianqian. He then abruptly crushed an emerald-green bead in his hand—the control for the Green Puppet. "Kill! Follow the Grand Elder's Green Puppet and kill them! Kill this wretched couple!"
"Hold on tight!"
Without even blinking, Zhou Fan pulled Chu Qianqian's hands and wrapped them around his neck. He drew a dagger with his left hand to parry the incoming attacks while swinging the Li Hen Sword forcefully with his right!
SHLICK!
One down!
Five down!
Ten down!
In the blink of an eye, the only enemies left in the room were the Green Puppet and Chu Yifeng. Even the puppet had all but lost its ability to fight; Zhou Fan had severed both of its arms.
Just as the Green Puppet charged forward again, Zhou Fan flicked his wrist. The longsword flashed across the puppet's neck, and a glossy green head rolled across the floor. It was a horrifying sight.
"Y-You… stay back! Zhou Fan, our grudge isn't that deep! We can sit down and talk this out!" Chu Yifeng stared at the room full of corpses, at the Green Puppet hacked to pieces, and at the blood-soaked figure across from him—Zhou Fan, leveling a longsword in his direction. He lost his nerve.
Although a large crowd had once again gathered outside the door, they were so terrified by Zhou Fan's earlier rampage that, for the moment, none of them dared to enter.
"I don't care what else you do, good or bad. That has nothing to do with me. But you targeted my wife time and time again, and you nearly killed Qianqian. She's my goddamn woman. This blood debt… how do you propose we 'talk it out'?" Zhou Fan raised his left hand and flung it back. The dagger flew from his grasp and embedded itself in the door, scaring someone who was just about to step inside into scrambling back out.
"As for the score between me and the rest of you, we'll settle that in a moment. Right now, this is a private matter between me and Chu Yifeng!" Zhou Fan glanced back at the crowd, his voice chillingly cold.
"No problem. The Grand Elder gave the same order!" someone in the crowd shouted. At that, everyone took half a step back. Zhou Fan's eyes narrowed. 'Something isn't right.' He sensed a problem but had no time to dwell on it.
"Damn it, what are you waiting for? Get in here! I have to report back to the Grand Elder! Don't you know how highly he thinks of me? I work for the Grand Elder!" Hearing that he was being abandoned—that they could save him but wouldn't—Chu Yifeng roared with fury.
"A dog needs to know its place," Zhou Fan said flatly. He took a step forward and swung the Li Hen Sword, severing Chu Yifeng's head in a single strike.
In the next instant, Zhou Fan strode forward, snatched the sheet from the bed, and caught Chu Yifeng's head in it. He bundled it up and handed the package to Chu Qianqian. "Carry this on your back. Take it to Chu Tianxiang. Then, just as you said, you'll be able to leave the Chu Family with a clean slate and live the life you've always wanted."
Staring at the sheet, which was now soaked through with blood, Chu Qianqian's stomach turned. But when she met Zhou Fan's unwavering gaze, she nodded, took the bundle with trembling hands, and slung it onto her back.
"Are you afraid to die?" Zhou Fan glanced out the window. The grounds below were now teeming with people. He turned back to Chu Qianqian.
"As long as you're with me, I'm not afraid," Chu Qianqian replied with a small smile. Though Zhou Fan had protected her well through it all, her face was still spattered with blood. It did nothing to hide her stunning beauty.
"Let me hear you call me 'husband'," Zhou Fan said, his voice gentler than ever as he softly caressed her cheek with his left hand.
"H-Husband!" she said with a sweet smile. 'Even if our enemies kill us in the next moment,' Chu Qianqian thought, 'this one moment is enough.'
"Hold the dagger tight. I'm getting you out of here." The moment Zhou Fan looked up, the tenderness in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by cold resolve.
Chu Qianqian nodded firmly, her small hand gripping the dagger. She knew just how perilous their situation was—so perilous that even Zhou Fan wasn't confident he could guarantee her safety.
In the next instant, the battle began. Zhou Fan became a god of slaughter. Holding Chu Qianqian's hand in his left, he swung the Li Hen Sword relentlessly with his right. He would cut down any man, any god, who stood in his path. Only a single thought dominated his mind: fight his way out with Chu Qianqian.
He didn't know how long he had been fighting, or how many people he had killed. Even Chu Qianqian, taking advantage of openings, had managed to stab six or seven of them. As Zhou Fan stood at the third-floor stairwell, he was suddenly struck by a realization—something he had been ignoring from the very beginning.