Soul Severing

At this moment, clad in black, Ning Chang'an was no longer Ning Chang'an; he was Soul Severing.

In the eastern end of Yongan Prefecture city, Yang Manor.

Within Yang Manor lived an old general, Yang Qianjun. Yang Qianjun had a son named Yang Wudou, twenty-three years old, skilled with a saber. Yang Wudou was Ning Chang'an's target this time.

He didn't know what wrong Yang Wudou had committed or whom he had offended. Regardless, someone wanted him dead, and Ning Chang'an only knew that the person responsible for killing him was himself.

That was enough!

Outside Yang Manor, in a dark corner, Ning Chang'an let out a soft breath, his eyes instinctively narrowing slightly. He did not kill at night; it was a rule. He also detested killing without reason, but having come this far, he felt a sense of helplessness and sorrow.

Behind the helplessness of the martial world lay endless bitterness and regret, filled with too many compromises and unavoidable actions against one's will.

Ning Chang'an steadied his mind and, without a sound, leaped onto the parapet, descending into Yang Manor along the courtyard wall.

Such a grand residence, with lamps lit all night, had servants patrolling constantly. In the shadows, sentries watched for any movement within the manor. It seemed casual, but the defenses were actually strict.

Ning Chang'an moved along the dark base of the wall, heading towards the west wing of Yang Manor. Ahead was a garden with lush vegetation. In the center of the garden was a pond about half an acre in size, its water dark and serene. A winding bridge spanned the pond, leading to a circular archway in the backyard. He knew Yang Wudou lived in the backyard, where the defenses were the most stringent.

Ning Chang'an slowed his pace, intending to climb onto the roof of the wing to get a clear view of the backyard. Suddenly, a group of servants and maids, carrying lanterns, emerged from the archway in the backyard. They walked in single file, heads bowed, extremely orderly. Behind them followed two household guards, swords at their waists, their faces solemn, walking with measured steps and an imposing aura.

As the two guards stepped out of the archway, one of them suddenly stopped and shouted, "Who's lurking there? Come out!"

With a swish, a gleaming saber was drawn. The servants and maids all started, stopping in place and looking around vigilantly.

Ning Chang'an, hidden in the shadows, was startled. He suppressed his doubts and remained still, observing carefully from the corner of the wing.

The guard who drew his saber strode forward several steps, darting into the garden. Soon, he emerged carrying a person. As he walked into the light, the guard snorted coldly and viciously threw the person he was holding to the ground. Three lanterns illuminated the scene, and everyone finally saw the person's appearance.

The person thrown to the ground was a woman, dressed as a maid. She was pretty and delicate. Now, with a saber pointed at her, her face was pale, but her eyes held no fear as she looked coldly at the guard.

At this moment, everyone saw the woman's face clearly, and they were all surprised.

The guard with the saber shouted, "Damn it, you still have the nerve to come back? You slut who seduces the young master, what is your intention in sneaking into the manor in the middle of the night? If you can't explain yourself, prepare to die."

The woman on the ground gritted her teeth and sneered, "Intention? What intention do I have? The Yang family owes me, and I want to take back everything that belongs to me. That is my intention."

The guard with the saber seemed to hold some authority in the Yang family. He immediately bellowed, "Vile thing, shameless! You still dare to say the Yang family owes you?! Since that's the case, I'll lock you in the woodshed first. After the young master is done tonight, we'll deal with you, an ignorant slut, tomorrow!"

As he spoke, the guard sheathed his saber, picked up the woman from the ground, and headed towards the woodshed. The others dared not make a sound, dispersing and returning to their quarters.

Ning Chang'an had a sudden idea and quietly followed the guard to the woodshed, watching as the guard threw the woman inside. The guard should have left once his task was done, but he looked around, flashed into the woodshed, and the door creaked shut tightly. The guard did not come out for a long time.

Ning Chang'an had already suspected the guard of having impure intentions, and now he was even more suspicious of foul play.

He slowly approached the woodshed. When he was about ten feet away, he heard rustling sounds and muffled groans from within.

Ning Chang'an immediately knew what was happening inside.

Ning Chang'an quietly climbed onto the roof. He looked around and saw no one. He then lay flat on the roof and gently removed a roof tile to look down. Instantly, he saw the burly guard covering the woman's mouth with one hand, pressing her to the ground with the other, and tearing at her upper garments. The woman, not knowing martial arts, could not resist and could only struggle instinctively, crying in fear. But her mouth was covered, so her cries were silent, her face streaked with tears of humiliation.

Ning Chang'an's anger flared. This was the behavior of a beast, kicking someone when they were down.

He gently replaced the removed tile and slid down the roof ridge. Following the eaves, he quietly landed in front of the woodshed door and drew a dagger, inserting it through the door crack to slowly disengage the bolt.

Inside, the woman's upper garment had been torn to shreds. The guard shouted in an excited, low voice, "What use is a woman after the young master is done playing with her? Bitch, you're just the young master's plaything. You should be content to have enjoyed such luxurious days in Yang Manor. You should leave completely. I didn't expect you to dare come back; you're tired of living. Heh heh, I, Chen Wang, have served the young master for so many years. It's time I enjoyed myself too..."

The woman shook her head, despair in her eyes, but her resistance was gone.

In the end, she was just a weak woman.

Chen Wang grunted and completely stripped the woman's clothes, then pounced on her like a wolf.

The moment he pressed down on the woman, the woodshed door suddenly opened and then immediately closed. The woodshed was dark, with only a shadow flashing past. Nothing else could be seen except the woman's bare body.

Although Chen Wang was lust-driven, he was still very vigilant. He immediately hugged the woman beneath him and rolled to the wall, leaning against it with alert eyes scanning the surroundings. He shouted coldly, "Who is it?"

His answer was a gleaming dagger, silently slicing across his throat. Chen Wang wanted to scream but couldn't make a sound. A large gash opened in his throat, blood gushing out. He died moments later.

The woman smelled the pungent scent of blood and frantically pushed Chen Wang's hand away, crawling to the side. Just as she was about to scream, Ning Chang'an grabbed her and covered her mouth. The woman struggled and kicked, truly one crisis after another.

Ning Chang'an shouted coldly, "If you don't want to die, be quiet!" He deliberately waved the blood-stained dagger in front of the woman's eyes, making her tremble all over. She finally stopped struggling, but she was terrified to death. Ning Chang'an then released her.

The woman was so scared she couldn't move. When Ning Chang'an let go, she collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball and trembling. Ning Chang'an sighed inwardly and said in a deep voice, "Put on your clothes. I have something to ask you. You'd better answer truthfully, or your fate will be worse than his!"

The woman whimpered, "Don't kill me, don't kill me, I can't die..."

Ning Chang'an was surprised. "Why can't you die?" Anyone facing death would fear it, experiencing extreme terror, unless they had some reliance. Otherwise, they wouldn't say such a thing. This woman was just a maid in Yang Manor, discarded after her master grew tired of her. What made her say such a thing?!

The woman whimpered, "I... I'm pregnant... sob sob, I can't die... I still have to wait for my child to kill that heartless scoundrel!" So she didn't have a reliance, but a great grievance, a dying wish unfulfilled.

Ning Chang'an said in a deep voice, "Child? Yang Wudou's child?" The heartless scoundrel the woman mentioned was naturally referring to Yang Wudou.

The woman fell silent, indicating assent. She cautiously and nervously put on her clothes. This woman's heart was truly unkind, actually wanting her own child to kill his father in the future.

Ning Chang'an said, "What kind of person is Yang Wudou? Tell me everything you know, especially about the people around him who know martial arts!"

The woman was taken aback and looked at Ning Chang'an in the darkness, stunned. "You... why are you asking this?"

Ning Chang'an's eyes flashed coldly. "To kill him!"

The woman shivered, then said in a low voice, "He's a man who deserves to die. Besides me, he has already harmed more than ten maids. Every time he gets tired of them, he ruthlessly kicks them out of Yang Manor, without even a bit of compensation. He treats women as playthings, is cruel and vicious, arrogant and overbearing, and always bullies others with his influence."

Ning Chang'an didn't take all of this at face value. A resentful woman would not hesitate to use any ugly words to describe the person she hated. It was inevitable that her words would be biased. He only wanted to know what he wanted to know. Ning Chang'an asked, "How is his martial arts?"

The woman said, "He's skilled with a saber, his saber techniques are accurate and steady. He once demonstrated for me, splitting a strand of my hair in two with his saber. A swift saber cutting hair – no one else in Yang Manor could do that. His saber is very accurate, frighteningly accurate."

Splitting hair in two?!

Such accuracy and skill were truly astonishing, enough to strike fear into the hearts of opponents. Ning Chang'an couldn't help but gasp.

Ning Chang'an took a deep breath and asked, "What about the people around him?"

The woman replied, "He only has three people with him, three very strange individuals. I've never seen them fight before; Yang Wudou has attacked more often than they have. They're like useless decorations around Yang Wudou. But the way these three look at people is terrifying, it makes your entire body go cold."

Ning Chang'an pondered for a moment and then asked, "Does Yang Wudou have any peculiar habits?"

The woman answered without hesitation, "Only three. The first is martial arts, the second is alcohol, and the third is women. He likes to rape young girls. Whenever he has guests, he drinks himself into a stupor. Once he's drunk, everyone is his friend, and he lets his guard down completely. However, the three guards around him don't drink and never leave his side." The woman's eyes suddenly turned cold and filled with resentment. In the darkness, a faint, chilling light seemed to emanate from them as she whispered, "If you want to kill him, the best opportunity is when he's drunk!"