Chapter 132: The Curtain Falls

To the crowd, Pride had merely raised a hand and severed Murong Zhuo's head. The Silver Stage 3 powerhouse died just like that, in a thoroughly absurd manner.

The severed head hit the floor, its face permanently etched with lingering fear and shock.

Suffocating terror pressed against the crowd's chests like a crushing boulder. They couldn't catch their breath—or rather, no one dared to breathe, terrified of drawing the attention of the figure standing in the middle of the hall.

"Fa... Father!?" Murong Yun and the other children trembled violently. Staring at Murong Zhuo's headless corpse, their minds were consumed by terror. Never had they imagined such a day would come—their dignified, powerful father dead like a total joke.

A Gold powerhouse!

The exact same thought surfaced in everyone's mind. The masked man was a Gold powerhouse! Who else could instantly kill a Silver 3 with a single strike?

Pride tipped his top hat, his mocking gaze sweeping the crowd through his Silver Smiling Mask. "My business here is concluded. It is time I took my leave."

Tap, tap, tap...

His polished black leather shoes thudded heavily across the blood-soaked luxury carpet. Moving as if entering an uninhabited realm, he strolled leisurely toward the main doors. The crowd parted wherever he went, and not a single person dared to look him in the eye.

Even Murong Zhuo's children dared not make a sound, completely forgetting about avenging their father.

In their hearts, they were actually rejoicing, thankful that the intruder had only killed Murong Zhuo instead of slaughtering them all.

But right at that moment, a woman's voice rang out across the hall. "Stop right there!"

The crowd turned pale with fright. Looking over, they saw a stunningly beautiful woman step forward. Her gorgeous face was deathly pale, and her body trembled slightly as if overwhelmed by terror.

It was Nangong Mengli.

"Who exactly are you? Why did you kill my father!" Her voice was not loud, but it was filled with absolute resolve.

The crowd nearly pissed themselves in fear. Murong Yun and the others had their eyes splitting with rage, desperately wishing they could gag Nangong Mengli and beg her to shut up.

They were terrified that she would enrage Pride, provoking him to turn around and slaughter everyone in the room.

Pride stopped in his tracks. The Silver-White Mask slowly turned around, staring with great interest at the woman who had dared to step forward.

"Who would have thought the Murong Family wasn't entirely made of trash? My beautiful lady, you have a great deal of courage. To reward that courage, I have decided to spare your life."

With that said, under the terrified gazes of the crowd, Pride raised his right hand again. He formed a gun shape with his fingers, the tip of his pristine white glove slowly aiming at Nangong Mengli.

Nangong Mengli's face grew even paler, but she refused to back down, locking eyes with Pride. "Answer my question!"

Pride let out a soft chuckle. "Why kill Murong Zhuo? Do you all not find the death of an Empire noble to be terribly amusing?"

His soft laughter sounded like the whispers of a demon, making everyone's scalps go numb. Amusing? Killing a noble? What a psychotic string of words. Could those concepts even be placed in the same sentence?

A lunatic! An absolute lunatic! He actually treated the brutal murder of a noble as a fun pastime. Such behavior was even more heinous than the Revolutionary Army!

"Bang!"

Pride mimicked a gunshot with his mouth. Nangong Mengli's body immediately went limp, collapsing straight toward the floor. Right then, a pair of strong hands wrapped around her slender, soft waist, catching her before she fell.

As Nangong Mengli kept her eyes tightly shut, her face still pale, a gentle male voice whispered in her ear. "Good acting."

Feigning unconsciousness, Nangong Mengli's red lips parted in a barely perceptible tremble. "Not as good as you."

"Do me one more favor."

"Name it."

"Kill Qian Zihao."

"My pleasure."

Tap, tap, tap...

Pride's footsteps seemed to trample directly upon the crowd's hearts. With every step he took, they shuddered. But as he walked past Qian Zihao, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the man.

That single glance nearly sent Qian Zihao's soul ascending to heaven. His small eyes, squeezed tight by his facial fat, darted away frantically. He absolutely dared not meet that gaze.

"You are a bit of an eyesore," a deep, emotionless voice rumbled from beneath Pride's mask.

Qian Zihao's face instantly warped in terror. The people around him scattered like they were fleeing a plague, leaving him standing there like a fool. He was still clutching a bouquet of vibrant red roses in his hands, which he had originally planned to present to Nangong Mengli in front of everyone the moment Murong Zhuo announced their engagement.

He was the richest man in Star City, after all, and his reaction speed was top-notch. In barely 0.1 seconds, he tossed the flowers aside and decisively dropped to his knees, throwing all dignity and pride out the window.

"Spare me, my lord! I deserve death! I'm too ugly and I've sullied your eyes! I'm willing to pay compensation! One hundred million... No, no, no, ten..."

Qian Zihao's voice cut off abruptly. With a mere wave of Pride's hand, an identical thin line of blood appeared across Qian Zihao's thick neck. His oversized head tumbled to the ground.

The necklace around his neck flared with a faint light, only to instantly snuff out. Fast! Too fast! The speed of Instant Bloom had completely bypassed the Artifact's autonomous shielding. It simply didn't have time to react.

With Qian Zihao dealt with, Pride finally departed. His tall, slender figure strode out the main doors, disappearing into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Nangong Mengli slumped even weaker in Su Mu's arms. Her face was practically drained of all color, and even walking had become a tremendous struggle.

This was exactly what Su Mu had anticipated. That was why he had specifically arranged for Nangong Mengli to speak up and provoke Pride, taking a hit on purpose. This way, no one would suspect why Nangong Mengli had suddenly become so weak.

Of course, the act hadn't even been strictly necessary. Murong Zhuo's death was like a massive earthquake that shattered everyone's mental fortitude. Under these circumstances, practically no one would have noticed anything off about Nangong Mengli anyway.

It was just a precaution to be perfectly safe.

The crowd stood frozen in place, as if they still hadn't woken up from this nightmare. It wasn't until someone finally let out a piercing scream and scrambled desperately to escape the hall that the rest of the guests panicked and stampeded for the exits.

Su Mu blended into the panicked crowd, half-carrying Nangong Mengli's limp body as they left the venue.

Soon, the two got into a car.

By this time, the Boli Hotel was already engulfed in raging flames. The fire had been set by the staff members Su Mu had hypnotized in advance. He didn't know if the Chiyan Empire possessed any special methods to track him down, so out of an abundance of caution, he decided it was best to burn the crime scene to the ground.

"Thank you, Su Mu. It seems I underestimated the side effects of Instant Bloom. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to make it out in one piece." Nangong Mengli gazed at Su Mu, thanking him from the bottom of her heart.

Su Mu smiled faintly. "I should be the one thanking you. You let me enjoy quite a fascinating banquet. Who would have thought the blood of a noble is also red?"

Nangong Mengli offered a weak smile. "Gold Bloodline is just a name. How could a human bleed golden blood? Oh, right. This is for you."

She placed a silver ring into Su Mu's hand.