The Dragon Funeral

Chapter 15: Dragon Funeral

Meanwhile, deep within the Ye residence, in Ye Lingdang's boudoir.

A black shadow was slowly approaching Ye Lingdang, who had been forced into a corner.

"You... don't come any closer!"

Ye Lingdang gripped a golden hairpin tightly in both hands, pressing its tip against her fair neck. The sharp point had already pierced her skin, drawing a thin bead of bright-red blood. Her whole body trembled, and tears fell uncontrollably.

"If you dare come closer, I... I'll kill myself!"

Rather than be violated to death by this vile fiend, she would rather end her own life. At least that way, she could preserve the Ye family's dignity.

"Heh heh heh... little beauty, why bother?"

The shadow licked his lips and let out a sinister laugh that sent chills down the spine. On closer inspection, his voice, build, and even that lecherous air were exactly the same as the Flower Thief Bai Yan had captured earlier. If the two stood together, no one could tell them apart.

"Your grandpa still has proper business to attend to, but before handling it, taking a little pleasure with you wouldn't hurt."

"I'll let you taste the greatest bliss in life right now. I guarantee that once you've tried it, you'll never forget it..."

He advanced step by step, lustful light flickering in his eyes.

"Lord Bai won't let you off!"

"You'll definitely be sent to the eighteenth level of hell!"

Ye Lingdang sobbed incoherently, her entire body shaking.

Her little hand trembled incessantly around the hairpin, her heart filled with despair.

She had thought she would be safe once the Flower Thief was captured. She had even been looking forward to attending the banquet with her father tomorrow and seeing Bai Yan again.

Yet she had never imagined that not long after Bai Yan left, a man would break into her room and attempt to assault her.

Who could have guessed that there were actually two Flower Thieves, twin brothers with identical faces and builds?

The two brothers sometimes committed their crimes together and sometimes took turns. That was how they had managed to commit their crimes so frequently while leaving the authorities unable to find any trace of them.

"Heh heh heh, little beauty, stop resisting. That Imperial Guard has already left. No one can save you now!"

He took another step forward, and his shadow completely enveloped Ye Lingdang.

"If you dare kill yourself, I naturally won't be able to touch this withered flower of yours. But what about your parents? The entire Ye family—dozens of lives. Can you bear to watch them be buried with you?"

"Can you bear to watch me carve your father and mother apart, one knife at a time, while they weep and beg you to stay alive?"

The Flower Thief wore a frenzied, lecherous grin. Backlit by the moon, his expression was ferocious and terrifying, like a fiend poised to devour its prey.

"You... you're despicable... you're not human!"

Ye Lingdang fell into utter despair. The Flower Thief's words had struck her weakest point.

She could harden her heart and die by suicide, but she could not bring herself to let her parents be buried with her.

And it was in that instant of hesitation that the Flower Thief seized his opportunity.

The Flower Thief flicked a finger. A copper coin tore through the air and struck Ye Lingdang's wrist.

Ye Lingdang cried out in pain, and the hairpin fell from her hand.

"Heh heh heh, I've finally got you!"

The Flower Thief stepped forward and reached out to seize Ye Lingdang.

She was a supreme prize, countless times better than all the women he had toyed with before.

For Ye Lingdang, he would not even care about the life of his own brother. He only wanted to pluck this delicate, tender bud first.

"No...!"

"Lord Bai!!"

Ye Lingdang watched the Flower Thief's hand reach toward her, her heart turning to ashes.

At that critical moment, a thunderous crack suddenly rang out beyond the door, as if furious lightning had torn open the night sky.

A dazzling streak of lightning shot forth like racing thunder. A black figure wrapped in fierce wind burst through the window, shattering the wooden frame and sending splinters flying. Almost at the same instant, a deathly pale blade light suddenly flashed into being, like a silver shuttle of lightning!

The blade light was terribly cold, carrying a suffocating killing intent. The instant it appeared, the temperature in the entire room plunged several degrees. Even the candle flame shivered from the frost, while bone-piercing chill filled the air, as if even the soul itself were about to freeze.

The blade light flashed and vanished. Bai Yan appeared before Ye Lingdang and slowly returned his saber to its sheath.

Three Gang Saber Art—Roaming Dragon: startling as a soaring swan, Dragon Funeral!

"It's all right now. Get up."

Bai Yan deliberately slowed his speech, making his voice as gentle as possible as he extended his right hand toward Ye Lingdang, who was sitting limp on the floor.

Ye Lingdang stared blankly at Bai Yan. Without thinking, she placed her little hand in his palm. The instant their palms touched, she felt that broad hand was incomparably warm, giving her an unparalleled sense of safety.

"Waaah..."

The fear she had accumulated for so long, along with the relief of surviving the calamity, finally found an outlet. Ye Lingdang could hold back no longer. She suddenly threw herself into Bai Yan's arms, clutched his robes tightly, and burst into loud sobs.

"All right, all right. It's fine now."

Bai Yan gently patted Ye Lingdang's back and comforted her in a low voice.

At the same time, his gaze swept across the room before finally settling on the jewelry box in the corner.

He saw it clearly. Inside the box was a jade hairpin, and its material was exactly the same as the fragments of jade he had seized earlier from those Azure Lotus Sect criminals.

Bai Yan twisted his wrist. Inner force surged from his palm, drawing the hairpin through the air into his hand. He then silently concealed it in his sleeve.

Afterward, Bai Yan helped Ye Lingdang out of the room.

The instant he stepped outside, a bloody line suddenly split open across the Flower Thief's neck behind him. Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Immediately afterward, his head rolled to the floor. It spun more than ten times across the smooth tiles before finally striking the corner of the table and stopping. As luck would have it, the jewelry box sat on that very table.

The head's eyes remained wide open. Deep in them, the lecherous excitement and delight of being on the verge of success had yet to fade.

Bai Yan's saber had been far too fast—so fast that the man had not seen who had arrived, nor sensed death descending. His final awareness had remained fixed on the instant he was about to seize Ye Lingdang.

Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Ye Youcai and Madam Ye hurried over with a group of Martial Masters acting as guards. They happened to see Bai Yan helping Ye Lingdang out of the side room, tears streaking the girl's face while her body still trembled faintly.

"Lord Bai? What happened?"

Ye Youcai was utterly bewildered. He looked at Bai Yan, who had returned after leaving, then at his daughter's reddened eyes, and his heart suddenly clenched.

"Weren't you already...?"

"Mother..."

Ye Lingdang threw herself into her mother's arms, choking so badly that she could not form a complete sentence. Madam Ye hurriedly embraced her daughter and stroked her back, softly comforting her, though her eyes turned toward Bai Yan in shock and suspicion.

Since this matter involved the Azure Lotus Sect, Bai Yan naturally could not explain it in detail. Moreover, the Ye family's hurried, flustered appearance was clearly genuine. They obviously knew nothing about it and had merely suffered an unprovoked disaster.

After pondering for a moment, Bai Yan gave the excuse he had prepared.

"There were actually two Flower Thieves. They're twin brothers."

"I only understood the key point after leaving. Their crime rate was far too high for a single person to manage."

"So I concluded that another one would take advantage of the opening and immediately turned back. Fortunately, I arrived in time, and Miss Ye was not violated."

As soon as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao arrived with the Imperial Guard. Seeing that the matter had already been resolved, they all breathed sighs of relief.

Bai Yan looked toward them and ordered:

"There's another corpse inside. Go carry it out."

"Yes, sir!"

Two strong men entered the side room at once. Before long, they carried out a headless corpse, while another man carried a blood-soaked head in his hands.

When the severed neck of the head lined up with the corpse's neck, Ye Youcai and his wife saw clearly that this man looked exactly like the Flower Thief from before!

"This... there were actually two..."

Ye Youcai sucked in a sharp breath, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He looked at the corpse, then at his daughter, who was still trembling in his wife's arms. A wave of lingering fear swept over him. If Bai Yan had not been meticulous and returned in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Madam Ye's legs went weak as well. If not for the maid beside her supporting her, she would nearly have collapsed on the spot.

"Lord Bai, if not for your discerning eye and your insight into the Flower Thief's plot, my daughter would certainly have... certainly fallen into the villain's hands tonight!"

As he spoke, he directly knelt before Bai Yan. The white hair at his temples trembled faintly, and hot tears rolled in his eyes.

"Such immense kindness and grace—I truly have no way to repay you!"

Seeing this, Madam Ye hurriedly pulled Ye Lingdang down with her. Mother and daughter bowed deeply to Bai Yan.

"Family Head Ye, Madam Ye, please get up."

Bai Yan hurriedly reached out and helped them up.

"You're giving me far too much credit."

"Strictly speaking, this happened because of our negligence. If I had realized from the beginning that the Flower Thieves were working together as two men, perhaps these later twists and turns could have been avoided."

"Lord Bai, how could you say that?"

Ye Youcai hurriedly spoke.

"The Flower Thieves were cunning beyond measure. Who could have imagined that they were twin brothers committing crimes together? Even the authorities investigated for so long without seeing through it, didn't they?"

"Lord Bai saw through their plot at the critical moment, turned the tide, and saved my daughter. To our Ye family, that is already a kindness as vast as the heavens!"

Seeing his agitated expression, Bai Yan comforted him.

"Family Head Ye, rest assured. The two Flower Thieves have been caught in one net. This time, it really is over."

He then looked toward Ye Lingdang. Although her face was pale, her eyes had steadied considerably, so he added:

"Miss Ye has been frightened, but she suffered no serious harm. Let her rest properly for a while, and she'll gradually recover."

Hearing this, Ye Lingdang raised her tearful eyes and glanced at Bai Yan, then hurriedly lowered her head. Her fingertips lightly twisted the sleeve of her dress, and a faint blush spread across the tips of her ears.

"Everything has been settled. I should take my leave as well."

This time, Bai Yan was absolutely certain, because he had already heard the system's notification. The mission to capture the Flower Thief had been completed.