Chapter 496 - 30: Qian Shiyao

In a dark alley.

Five burly men were ganging up on a child.

No!

It shouldn’t be called a beating. It should be called a slaughter.

But in the blink of an eye, the child, who had been on the verge of death, suddenly erupted, killing four of them in an instant.

The last man, his eyes wide with terror, screamed as he tried to escape the narrow alley, only to run right into Zhu Ju.

"Get out of the way!"

"Move!"

He roared, swinging a fist at Zhu Ju’s head.

"Hmph!"

His vision went black.

It was Nursing Director Zhang who had stepped in front of Zhu Ju, blocking the fist with a cross-arm guard and shoving the man back.

"Young Master, he..."

’What the hell?’

Just as Nursing Director Zhang was about to ask something, he was startled by a small, thin figure that shot out from the darkness.

The figure pounced on the burly man like a savage leopard, viciously tearing at his chest and neck.

In the blink of an eye,

The burly man’s body convulsed, and then he stopped breathing.

"A Demon!"

The muscles in Nursing Director Zhang’s jaw twitched as he roared in a low voice:

"Young Master, be careful!"

Before his words had even faded, the small figure, having finished off the burly man, lunged toward them with ferocious speed.

Nursing Director Zhang subconsciously raised his arms to block, but as he moved, a wave of Evil Qi assaulted his Divine Soul.

"ROAR!"

A silent roar echoed through his Sea of Consciousness.

His movements froze. His eyes went vacant, and he stood stunned on the spot, just like the burly men before.

Fortunately, he was an Eighth Grade Martial Artist, after all. His Martial Arts Will was stronger than an ordinary person’s, and after a brief daze, his consciousness quickly returned.

But it was already too late.

He could only watch helplessly as ten blood-soaked fingers reached for his face, a phantom pain already blooming in his eyes.

’My eyes...,’

’they’re done for!’

"BANG!"

An arm suddenly shot out from behind him, grabbing the small figure’s head and slamming it violently into the ground.

"ROAR!"

The silent roar rang out again, but Zhu Ju, seemingly unaffected, slapped the child across the face.

"CRACK!"

The child’s body tumbled through the air and landed hard, knocked unconscious.

"Y-Young Master," Nursing Director Zhang stammered, sweat beading on his forehead.

"What is that?"

"A Half-Demon, probably." Zhu Ju stroked his chin.

"This child’s Tendons and Bones are undeveloped, and he hasn’t even reached Grade Entering. But under the stimulation of his bloodline, he can kill a Grade-Entering Martial Artist."

"The Demon Race bloodline in him must be extraordinary."

"A Half-Demon?" Nursing Director Zhang frowned, a look of disgust on his face.

"So it’s one of those things."

Humans and Demons walk different paths; this is a common understanding among ordinary people.

Furthermore, for a human to mate with another species and produce offspring violates basic ethics.

The very thought of the process was nauseating.

Half-Demons.

In the eyes of both the Human Race and Demons, they are filthy, lowly beings.

"Don’t tell anyone else about this."

Zhu Ju took a step forward, pushed aside the child’s hair, and raised an eyebrow.

"Qian Hu?"

"It’s actually him!"

*

*

*

The eastern part of the city.

In a small, dilapidated courtyard.

"Shiyao," Li Rou said softly, putting some things down.

"Things in the city are complicated these days. You should stay here for now. We’ll figure out a way for you to leave after this is all over."

"Sister Rou," Qian Shiyao’s voice choked with sobs.

"Thank you so much."

"Sigh," Li Rou sighed softly.

"Of the three great cloth merchants of the former Qingyi Gang, besides the Zhu Family, both my family and yours have fallen on hard times."

"The Li Family’s situation is only slightly better than the Qian Family’s. There’s not much I can do."

"Who would have thought they would be so ruthless? Taking our fortunes wasn’t enough; they had to kill people, too!"

As she spoke,

she shook her head repeatedly.

The Li Family had switched their allegiance early on. Although they lost a lot of property, they at least managed to save the family itself.

The Qian Family,

on the other hand, had it much worse.

"Sister Rou," Qian Shiyao said through her tears.

"Can you help me find the rest of my family? I want to know how they are."

"Well..." Li Rou looked troubled.

"The night the Qian Family fell was chaotic, and there was a fire. It was a miracle from the heavens that I was even able to find you."

"Don’t worry!"

She sighed, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to her.

"I’ll help you ask around, but don’t get your hopes up. You know what it was like that night."

"You haven’t had a good rest in a long time. Don’t think about anything tonight. We can talk about things tomorrow."

"Oh, right."

"You should seriously consider the matter with Li Liang."

"Sister Rou," Qian Shiyao said, her expression turning serious as she nodded.

"I’ve thought it over. If Li Liang is willing to marry me, I will marry him. I won’t go back on my word."

"Well..." Li Rou’s eyes flickered.

"Li Liang’s intention is... for you to be his concubine. After all, the Qian Family has fallen on hard times. Things are different now."

"Think it over carefully."

Qian Shiyao’s expression froze, and she took a sip of water to hide her embarrassment.

Li Liang was fat and ugly. More importantly, he was an ignorant good-for-nothing, utterly worthless.

Before,

he was never even a remote consideration for her.

Now that she was willing to marry him, the Li Family was only offering the status of a concubine. They were clearly bullying her for her lack of a powerful backer.

The thought made her both angry and frustrated.

As dusk fell,

Qian Shiyao was drowsy after a long day on the run. Seeing this, Li Rou got up to leave.

After seeing Li Rou off,

Qian Shiyao, who should have collapsed into bed, suddenly opened her eyes wide. She hurried to the outer door and pulled on the door panel.

’They locked the door but didn’t leave me a key.’

She grit her teeth, returned to her room to pack a few things, and then slipped out into the backyard.

She had only taken a few steps when a wave of dizziness washed over her.

’Damn it!’

’A sleeping drug!’

’There was something wrong with that tea. That bitch Li Rou... I knew I couldn’t trust her.’

She struggled a few times to climb over the wall but failed, getting covered in scrapes and bruises in the process.

Gazing at the low wall, a trace of despair appeared on Qian Shiyao’s face, but then a glint flashed in her beautiful eyes.

...

In the darkness,

a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded.

Qian Shiyao was curled up in a corner, her body hidden by a pile of junk, her consciousness hazy.

Her heartbeat was clearer than ever before.

"No one’s here?"

Li Rou’s sharp, piercing voice rang out.

"How can no one be here?"

"I clearly saw her drink the drugged tea. She should be fast asleep by now."

"That bitch! I knew she wouldn’t be so obedient!"

"Sister Rou," another voice said.

"Are you sure she drank the tea?"

"I’m sure!"

"Then she couldn’t have gotten far."

"Young Master," someone shouted from the backyard.

"There are marks on the wall over here, and a shoe on the other side. She must have escaped this way."

"After her!"

The fat, cold-eyed Li Liang waved a hand and commanded:

"Whoever catches Qian Shiyao first gets fifty taels of silver from me! That woman has always looked down on me. Today, I’ll show her what a real man is!"

RUSH, RUSH...

The sound of hurried footsteps faded into the distance, and Qian Shiyao, who had been hiding tensely in the corner, finally relaxed.

The drug took that opportunity to surge through her system. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and her consciousness began to fade.

Suddenly,

RUSTLE...

The junk covering her was swept aside, and a familiar, handsome face came into view.

"Pretty clever."

Zhu Ju looked at the pale-faced Qian Shiyao and smiled faintly.

"As expected of the Qian Family’s daughter with the most Talent for business. A fine use of the ’make a sound in the east, strike in the west’ stratagem."