Chapter 151: Murder and Arson
Qu Quan felt for the Silver Needle and pulled out a cell phone. The needle had pierced straight through the device. Because the phone had blocked its path, the duration of Qu Quan's paralysis was greatly reduced.
He pulled the Silver Needle from his body, stowed his phone, and pleaded with Zhu Ran, "Senior Sister, I'll pull out your Silver Needle, and then we'll escape together. Please, whatever you do, don't be reckless!"
Zhu Ran quickly darted her eyes, signaling her agreement.
After a moment's hesitation, Qu Quan pulled out Zhu Ran's Silver Needle.
The instant she was free, Zhu Ran circulated her True Qi, gathered it in her foot, and viciously kicked the member of the Zhang Family on the floor. "All of you from the Zhang Family deserve to die!" she cursed.
She had never been so humiliated, not even in the prisons of the Military Suppression Department. From the moment she arrived at the Zhang Family's estate, she had been seething with rage. They had kept her paralyzed, unable to move or speak. The thought that her beloved senior brother was about to marry one of them filled her with a bone-deep hatred for the entire Zhang Family!
The moment she got the chance, she took her revenge.
The person from the Zhang Family, already unconscious on the ground, was completely defenseless. Zhu Ran's hateful kick instantly snuffed out their life.
Qu Quan tried to stop her, but he was a step too slow. He knew his senior sister's temperament, but he never thought she would attack someone who was already unconscious.
Seeing fresh blood trickling from the corner of the person's mouth and their breathing stop, a flicker of panic finally appeared on Zhu Ran's face. "Junior Brother, I..."
Filled with regret, Qu Quan knew there was nothing to be done now. Every nerve in his body was pulled taut. They had killed a member of the Zhang Family. If they fell into that old woman's hands again, it wouldn't be as simple as last time. Whether they could even keep their lives was another question entirely.
He quickly cut Zhu Ran off. "Senior Sister, it's too late for that. We have to run! We need to get as far away as possible before anyone finds out, then contact the sect. Only the sect can protect us now!"
Zhu Ran's brief moment of panic vanished, replaced once more by resentment and hatred. "If we run, what about Senior Brother? We have to go save him!"
Qu Quan said anxiously, "There's no time! Senior Brother has a marriage contract with the Zhang Family, so he'll probably be fine. But we just killed one of them. If we don't run now, we're the ones who'll be in deep trouble!"
Zhu Ran retorted arrogantly, "So what if I killed one of them? We're from the Purple Cloud Sect! Even if they catch us, they wouldn't dare do anything! I don't care, I'm going to save Senior Brother. If you want to run, you can run by yourself!" As she spoke, her gaze fell upon a warehouse full of medicinal herbs, and a vicious glint reappeared in her eyes.
How could Qu Quan leave his senior sister to fend for herself? Gritting his teeth, he sighed. "Fine. We'll go save Senior Brother."
But Zhu Ran stopped him with a cold voice. "Not so fast. We need to create a diversion. We'll only have a chance to save Senior Brother amidst the chaos." With that, she picked up a lighter from the body of the Zhang Family member on the ground.
Qu Quan started to object, but then stopped himself. 'We've already killed someone,' he thought. 'What's burning down one warehouse compared to that? Besides, Senior Sister is right. Chaos is our only chance.'
A short while later, the warehouse, packed to the brim with medicinal herbs, was engulfed in a raging inferno.
By the time the Zhang Family discovered the fire, it wasn't just one warehouse burning, but the entire storage area. And the number of Zhang Family members who had died at Zhu Ran's hands had grown to several.
A piercing shriek of "Fire!" tore through the night sky. Many members of the Zhang Family, who had gone to sleep in high spirits, were frantically woken to help fight the blaze.
With the entire Zhang Family Village's attention drawn to the flames, Zhu Ran and Qu Quan frantically searched the village for their senior brother.
They eventually found a room adorned with red silk ribbons. Two guards from the Zhang Family stood at the entrance, refusing to leave their post even as the distant fire lit up the sky.
Zhu Ran was certain her senior brother was inside. Sword in hand—picked up from who-knows-where—she took advantage of a moment when the guards were distracted by the fire. She killed one with a single strike, and Qu Quan knocked the other unconscious. The guards, who only possessed Inner Strength, were no match for two Grandmasters. They were dealt with before they could even make a sound.
Zhu Ran anxiously threw open the door. Sure enough, Kang Ming was inside. His treatment was a world apart from theirs. On a nearby table sat not only tea and pastries, but also an exquisite fruit platter. More importantly, Kang Ming was not restrained by any Silver Needles.
This left Zhu Ran momentarily stunned.
Kang Ming stared blankly back at Zhu Ran—at the blood dripping from her sword and the chaotic, crimson glow in the distance. To him, the sights and sounds were jarring.
In disbelief, he asked, "Junior Sister... Don't tell me... you did all this?"
Zhu Ran pushed her emotions aside and quickly grabbed Kang Ming's hand. "Senior Brother, we have to go now! Before it's too late..."
Kang Ming violently flung off Zhu Ran's blood-stained hand. He staggered back two steps, slowly shaking his head as he choked out the words, "Junior Sister, why would you do this?"
Zhu Ran tightened her grip on her sword and stepped forward to take his hand again, but Kang Ming dodged away. "Junior Sister," he said, his voice strained with pain, "how am I supposed to face anyone after this?"
Head bowed, Zhu Ran's voice was tinged with tears. "It's not complicated. We just have to escape back to the Purple Cloud Sect, and everything will be fine!"
Kang Ming closed his eyes. In that moment, he felt the urge to take his own life to atone for her sins.
Qu Quan saw the red glow in the sky beginning to fade and immediately grabbed Zhu Ran. "Senior Brother isn't leaving, so we have to! If we don't go now, it'll be too late!"
Zhu Ran replied in a dead, hollow voice, "If Senior Brother isn't leaving, then I'm not leaving either."
Qu Quan felt a pain in his heart as if it were being twisted by a knife. He yanked Zhu Ran forcefully and roared, "Your senior brother is staying here to get married! What are you staying for? To get married alongside him?"