Black Tai Sui! Save Zhang Mingyuan

Wang Yuan pushed his speed to the absolute limit, anxiety blazing in his heart as he finally reached the Zhang Family residence in the inner city.

Yet what met his eyes was a field of shattered walls and broken ruins.

Charred beams lay mixed with shattered tiles and rubble, while the air was thick with smoke and the lingering stench of blood.

The once fairly imposing residence had now been reduced to ruins.

The surroundings were deathly silent. Not even a single person was in sight; only stray dogs prowled warily through the distant wreckage.

"Big Sister..."

Wang Yuan's heart sank sharply, as though he had plunged into an ice cellar.

With the place in this state, how could his sister, a lone weak woman, possibly have escaped unharmed?

He forced himself to calm down and swept his sharp gaze across the area.

He had to find someone and get to the bottom of this!

Just then.

From a narrow alley on the other side of the ruins came the faintest sounds of fighting and muffled groans, carrying fluctuations of qi and blood.

Wang Yuan's gaze sharpened, and he silently darted over like a civet cat.

Deep within the alley, the sight was gruesome.

Several corpses lay sprawled across the ground. Some wore the standard leather armor of the City Guard, while others wore the clothing of Zhang Family servants and guards.

Blood had stained the ground red. A brief but vicious slaughter had clearly just taken place.

The only one in the scene still breathing was a middle-aged man slumped against the base of a wall, drenched in blood.

Wang Yuan recognized him. He was Zhang Mingyuan's Second Uncle.

A martial artist who had undergone the Second Blood Change, Wang Yuan had met him a few times at the Zhang Family residence. He had seemed like a rather amicable man.

Now, however, a savage saber wound in his chest had nearly pierced straight through him. His breathing was rapid and weak.

But when he saw Wang Yuan suddenly appear, a final glimmer of light burst from his clouded eyes. Struggling, he raised a hand, as though trying to grasp something.

Because he had recognized Wang Yuan.

"Please... please..."

Second Uncle's throat let out ragged, rasping sounds. With the last of his strength, he fixed Wang Yuan with a desperate stare.

"Go... go save Mingyuan... He... he's outside the western part of the city... being... being hunted down by people from the three families..."

He panted laboriously, his eyes filled with pleading and unwillingness.

"My Zhang Family... is willing to pay... fifty... fifty thousand taels of silver... as thanks..."

As though afraid that the price was not enough.

He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of Black Blood, then gritted his teeth and rasped out with every last ounce of strength:

"My Zhang Family... was... was framed!"

"Those three families... want to divide up... the Black Tai Sui... discovered by my Zhang Family.

"Colluding with the Incense God Cult was just... an excuse they came up with!"

Black Tai Sui?

Wang Yuan's heart jolted.

What was that?

For it to be worth three families fighting over it together?

He still wanted to ask about the whereabouts of the Zhang Family servants, especially news of his sister, Wang Yu.

But when he looked again, Second Uncle's eyes were wide open. Carrying boundless hatred and concern, he had already breathed his last.

Wang Yuan stood where he was, looking at the corpse on the ground, his heart a tumult of mixed emotions.

Zhang Mingyuan had shown him kindness. Not only had he ensured that Wang Yu received much care while working for the Zhang Family.

He had even specifically sent word earlier to warn him of the Black Tiger Gang's threat.

Now that the Zhang Family had suffered such a catastrophic calamity and Zhang Mingyuan was being hunted down, Wang Yuan could not stand idly by, whether for sentiment or principle.

"Fifty thousand taels... Black Tai Sui..."

Wang Yuan repeated softly, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes.

He hesitated no longer. Quickly tearing a clean strip of cloth from his clothes, he wrapped it tightly around his mouth and nose, leaving only a pair of eyes like cold stars exposed.

After determining the direction, he unleashed the Chasing Wind Leg once more. Like lightning, he sped toward the area beyond the west of the city.

His mutter drifted away on the wind:

"Zhang Mingyuan, I'll do my best to save you."

"But if an Inner Force martial master steps in..."

"Then don't blame me... for being heartless and refusing to risk my life for righteousness."

Meanwhile, in a stretch of wild forest outside the city's western outskirts.

Zhang Mingyuan was supporting each other with a middle-aged man who was likewise covered in wounds—his paternal uncle—as they fled for their lives.

Their clothes were in tatters, their bodies covered in wounds, blood soaking through the fabric.

Zhang Mingyuan's face was pale as paper. One arm hung limply at his side, clearly broken.

His paternal uncle, also at the Second Blood Change, was now weak of breath and staggering on unsteady feet.

Beyond the pain of his injuries, Zhang Mingyuan's face held an even deeper chill in his heart and despair.

He had always enjoyed making friends, priding himself on being generous and loyal. His friends were spread throughout Gaoye City and beyond, and the title of "Little Mengchang," which he had once been so proud of, still seemed to echo in his ears.

Yet now that the Zhang Family had met with calamity and been branded with the monstrous charge of colluding with an evil cult—

Not a single one of those "good friends" who had once called him brother and shared wine and laughter with him, nor any of those "heroes" who had received his favors, stepped forth to speak one word of justice for the Zhang Family.

Much less offer aid. Some even immediately distanced themselves, kicking them while they were down.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall collapses, everyone gives it a push.

The coldness of the world—nothing could surpass this!

"Mingyuan, leave me!"

His paternal uncle suddenly shoved him away. The excessive force tugged at his wounds again, and he coughed up bloody froth, his face filled with resolve.

"Go! I'll stay and hold them back!"

"Remember, you must survive. Leave a bloodline for our Zhang Family."

"You must never tell them where the Black Tai Sui is!"

"Paternal Uncle!"

Zhang Mingyuan's eyes nearly split apart.

"Haha! Run?"

"Zhang Mingyuan, even if you grow wings today, you won't escape!"

Accompanied by arrogant, cold laughter.

Two figures shot out from the dense forest behind them, blocking their path.

One wore a brocade robe and held a longsword—the Gao Family Disciple.

The other wore a fitted short outfit and wielded a long saber—the Ye Family Member.

Both were at the Second Blood Change, though their auras were somewhat disordered as well.

But they were in far better condition than Zhang Mingyuan and his uncle.

The Gao Family Disciple pointed his sword at Zhang Mingyuan and said teasingly, "Zhang Mingyuan, stop putting up a stubborn last stand."

"Hand over the Black Tai Sui obediently, along with your Zhang Family's inherited Secret Manuals and all your hidden assets."

"Then perhaps we'll consider giving you a quick death and leaving you with an intact corpse!"

The Ye Family Member also sneered.

"Exactly. Why go to such lengths?"

"For a few worldly possessions, you've dragged your paternal uncle into suffering with you."

"Hand them over sooner, and everyone saves themselves the trouble."

Zhang Mingyuan looked at these two men, whom he had once also toasted and laughed with at banquets.

Now, they were hunting him down with savage faces, leaving his heart icy and desolate.

He clenched his fists. A piercing pain came from his broken arm, but his heart hurt even more.

Could it be that my Zhang Family is truly going to perish here today?

Zhang Mingyuan's paternal uncle gritted his teeth, suppressed the injuries within his body, and raised his longsword to thrust at the two men.

But his injuries were too severe, and he faced two opponents of the same level. After merely a few exchanges, he was sent flying with a heavy blow.

"Pah, utterly unable to withstand a single blow!"

The Gao Family Disciple sneered, then seized the moment and thrust his sword toward Zhang Mingyuan's paternal uncle's chest.

"Don't!"

"I'll tell you everything! Don't kill him!"

Zhang Mingyuan's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared.

But the Gao Family Disciple merely spat out two cold words.

"Too late!"

A blinding flash of sword light swept past.

Zhang Mingyuan's paternal uncle had already closed his eyes and awaited death.

The Gao Family Disciple's vicious sword was just about to pierce through his chest.

Clang!

At that moment, another sudden change erupted.

Everyone heard a piercing clash of metal suddenly explode across the wilderness.

A pitch-black, ferocious, domineering spear arrived after yet struck first, blocking the sword tip with flawless precision.

Sparks scattered in all directions!

That certain killing blow was forcibly knocked aside by an irresistible, overwhelming force.

The Gao Family Disciple felt his arm tremble violently, his sword nearly flying from his grasp as he staggered back two steps in shock.

"Who is it?!"

Everyone was startled.

An indistinct figure had somehow appeared silently in the field.

Dressed in black and masked, the person revealed only a pair of eyes as cold as frigid stars.

The Black Dragon Spear in his hand, coiled with a black dragon, pointed diagonally at the ground, radiating a vicious aura that made hearts quail.

It was Wang Yuan, who had arrived just in time!

"Who are you?"

The Gao Family Disciple was both shocked and enraged as he shouted sharply.

He had not noticed at all how this person had approached.

The Ye Family Member also tightened his grip on his saber. His gaze remained fixed warily on Wang Yuan and the Black Dragon Spear in his hand as he said in a low voice, "Who are you, sir?"

"Do you not know that the person you intend to protect is a traitor who colluded with the Incense God Cult?"

"You dare oppose the Gao and Ye Families? Are you tired of living?"

Wang Yuan ignored their questions.

He merely tilted his head slightly and met the gaze of Zhang Mingyuan, who was struggling to rise, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

Zhang Mingyuan looked at those icy eyes, then at that unforgettable Black Dragon Spear.

In an instant, he recognized the identity of the newcomer—Wang Yuan.

An indescribably complicated emotion surged within him at once.

Wang Yuan, whom he had met only once, had actually risked his life to save him.

This...

Yet Wang Yuan felt even more helpless inside.

A miscalculation...

The Black Dragon Spear was too conspicuous, far too recognizable.

He had intended to save someone while masked and keep a low profile.

But now, the weapon's characteristics were far too obvious.

As long as those two survived, a little investigation would be enough for them to guess that Wang Yuan had acted.

Since that was the case...

A flash of icy, bone-piercing Killing Intent swept through Wang Yuan's eyes.

Then... he would kill them to silence them!