Better to Kill by Mistake Than Let Go

Outside the Xia Manor in Jizhou City.

A beggar in tattered clothes limped to the entrance of the Xia Manor, his face covered in blood and dirt.

"Get lost, you stinking beggar!"

The gatekeeper covered his nose, his club already raised high.

"I am Yan Lingyun of the Yan Family from Qingcheng!" The beggar suddenly looked up, his hoarse voice filled with ferocity. "I want to see my sister, Yan Qingqing!"

"Hahaha—"

The two gatekeepers were stunned at first, then burst into laughter.

Another sneered, "If you're really Young Master Yan, then I'm the head of the Yan Family!"

"Everyone in Jizhou City knows how our young master feels about Miss Qingqing! How dare you, in your current state, try to get close to her."

"Scram now, or I'll break your legs!" The gatekeeper's club was raised high.

"You..." Yan Lingyun's eyes were about to split, but due to his severe injuries, he was too weak to even lift a hand.

If it were any other day, he could have easily dealt with these ants.

"What's going on?"

Haitang, dressed in white, happened to be passing by. She frowned and stopped.

"Oh, Miss Haitang!" The gatekeepers immediately put on fawning smiles and pointed at Yan Lingyun. "It's just a stinking beggar who won't leave. We'll drive him away right now."

"Haitang! It's me!"

Yan Lingyun suddenly lunged forward, his blood-stained hand grabbing the hem of her snow-white skirt. Haitang flinched back half a step.

"How dare you..."

"Let go..."

The gatekeepers shouted angrily, raising their fists to teach the beggar in front of them a lesson.

"Stop."

Haitang heard the voice and intervened.

Lifting her skirt, she quickly stepped forward. Yan Lingyun messily pushed aside the tangled hair from his forehead, revealing a face that, though dirty, was still handsome.

"Ah!" Haitang's pupils contracted sharply when she saw his soiled face. She couldn't help but cry out in surprise, "Young Master Lingyun, what happened to you?"

"Wuw... take me to see my sister..."

Yan Lingyun trembled all over, tears of blood mixing with the dirt.

His sob was filled with the fear and grievance of his escape.

"Young Master Lingyun, be careful..."

Haitang quickly stepped forward, carefully helping him over the vermilion threshold.

"Young Master Lingyun, spare my life!"

Only then did the two gatekeepers snap back to reality. They scrambled forward, their foreheads banging against the bluestone ground with loud thuds.

"We were blind, we didn't recognize you. We beg Young Master Lingyun's forgiveness. Please be magnanimous and spare our lives."

Yan Lingyun sneered. A fierce look appeared on his pale face. "Weren't you just trying to be my father?"

"What?" Haitang's eyebrows shot up, and she angrily rebuked them, "How dare you mock the head of my Yan Family and insult my young master."

"I will report this matter truthfully to my young lady."

After speaking, without waiting for the gatekeepers' reaction, she helped Yan Lingyun into the Xia Manor.

The faces of the two gatekeepers turned ashen, and they collapsed onto the ground like mud.

"Crack..."

After listening to Yan Lingyun's account, the porcelain teacup slipped from Yan Qingqing's fingers and shattered on the bluestone floor.

"Wei... Qing..."

These two words were squeezed out from between her teeth, filled with bone-chilling hatred.

Her slender fingers slowly clenched, and the rosewood table creaked, five deep finger marks being gouged into it.

True Essence surged in her palm, and the rosewood in her hand instantly turned to powder, scattering into the air.

"Sister, Wei Qing and his group have already left Qingcheng for the Imperial City. We..."

"Hmph, you can't run away from the temple just because the monk has left." Yan Qingqing's lips curved into a cold smile. She opened her mouth and ordered, "Haitang, go quickly and invite Xia Shaogong. Tell him I have something important to discuss."

"Yes, Miss."

Haitang acknowledged and was about to turn to leave when she was interrupted by a sudden voice.

"Qingqing, I heard that brother Lingyun has arrived?"

Xia Shaoyuan's gentle voice suddenly echoed. The hostility around Yan Qingqing instantly dissipated, replaced by a gentle and delicate demeanor.

Just then, Xia Shaoyuan entered the room.

Yan Qingqing's eyes quickly welled up with tears, her voice laced with a hint of grievance and sorrow, "Brother Shaoyuan, you must seek justice for me."

"What is it?" Xia Shaoyuan gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes, a sinister glint flashing in his own. "Who dared bully my Qingqing? Tell me, and I'll make them wish they were never born!"

"It's those lunatics from the Heavenly Realm Division. They annihilated my entire Yan family."

"Now, of the entire Yan family, only Lingyun and I are left alive. Brother Shaoyuan, you must avenge my Yan family's blood feud."

As she spoke, her slender body trembled slightly, staggering a few steps before nearly collapsing into Xia Shaoyuan's arms.

"The Heavenly Realm Division, truly audacious!" Xia Shaoyuan steadied Yan Qingqing, a strange look in his eyes. "Do you know why they struck so ruthlessly?"

"The Heavenly Realm Division claims my Yan family colluded with the evil Ghost Corpse Sect, but my Yan family has been honorable for generations, how could we collude with an evil sect?"

Yan Qingqing clutched Xia Shaoyuan's collar, her eyes teary.

"It must be the Heavenly Realm Division framing us..."

She suddenly lifted her small face, biting her red lips. "Brother Shaoyuan will help Qingqing, won't you?"

"Naturally!"

Xia Shaoyuan's fingertip traced her lips, and he let out a cold laugh. "What is the Heavenly Realm Division? My Xia family doesn't even bat an eye at them." He abruptly stood up. "I'll go inform my father immediately and set off for Qingcheng."

"But Lingyun said..." Yan Qingqing began, then stopped. "They've already returned to the capital..."

"The capital?" Xia Shaoyuan suddenly gripped her chin, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "As long as you're within the Great Zhou, don't even think about escaping my grasp!"

He turned and shouted, "Someone! Take Young Master Yun to bathe and change!"

As the butler bowed in acknowledgment, a thunderclap boomed outside the eaves, illuminating the fleeting malice in Yan Qingqing's eyes.

After comforting Yan Qingqing, Xia Shaoyuan learned Wei Qing's name from her and headed directly to his father's study.

Inside the study.

"Father, that's what happened."

Xia Wentian listened to his son's report, a grave expression forming on his brow. "What do you intend to do?"

Xia Shaoyuan's eyes glinted coldly as he made a throat-slitting gesture. "Better to kill ten by mistake than let one go."

"Even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, the Warden named Wei Qing must be eliminated, otherwise, our entire Xia family will be doomed."

Xia Wentian pondered for a moment, then pressed a black button beside the desk.

"Swish—"

A shadowy figure appeared like a phantom, kneeling on one knee.

"Ah Jiu, lead the Shadow Squad and accompany the young master to the Imperial City. All actions during this period are under the young master's command."

"As you command, Master."

With that, the figure in black rose and stood behind Xia Shaoyuan.

Xia Wentian rubbed the rim of a celadon cup with his fingertip. "Go. If you encounter any obstacles... your aunt will assist you."

"Your son understands."

As Xia Shaoyuan bowed and exited, a sinister smile curved his lips.

In this vast Xia family, the one who truly held the power of life and death was not the elderly grandfather, but the Consort Xia, who resided deep within the Phoenix Palace.