Chen Feng had only one word for traitors.
Kill.
No matter whether Xue Hai had shown up, once it was clear the maid had planted the sachet, there had only ever been one possible ending for her.
Death.
Since the maid had risked everyone's safety to secure her own interests,
Chen Feng would personally snuff out
every last shred of her hope.
The maid's eyes widened. Fear and resentment, along with a vicious curse against Chen Feng, filled her gaze.
In the final moment before death, the last thing reflected in her eyes was Chen Feng's cold expression.
Her body slowly collapsed.
Cheng Tingxue's face was pale, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.
"What are you doing?! Why are you fighting among yourselves?"
Xue Hai feigned surprise.
"Don't bother pretending. You can't even make it convincing."
Chen Feng cut him off, his voice cold.
"Where's Zhang Biao Tou? Is he still alive?"
At those words, everyone's expressions changed.
They warily fixed their eyes on Xue Hai.
Xue Hai kept a calm smile on his face as he looked at Chen Feng and asked,
"How did you figure it out?"
Chen Feng didn't answer.
The truth was, the deduction had been simple. The moment he saw Xue Hai, he understood.
First, Iron Butcher's weapon was a cleaver, but Xue Hai didn't have a single cut on him.
Instead, he was covered in bruises left by blunt-force blows.
And Zhang Biao Tou's weapon was a long staff.
Moreover, the maid's reaction when she saw Xue Hai proved everything. She had looked at him as if he were her last lifeline.
The only person who could make a traitor look at him that way
was another traitor.
Cheng Tingxue stared in disbelief.
"Xue Hai, you..."
"Sorry, Madam. This was Second Grandmother's decision. I was only following orders."
Mounted on his horse, Xue Hai looked down at the group. He raised his spear and called out,
"Hand over Cheng Tingxue. The rest of you can leave now, and we'll pretend none of this happened. Otherwise..."
"When Iron Butcher gets here, he won't be nearly as easy to deal with as I am."
At those words, everyone except Cheng Li wavered.
Their situation was dire.
Their chances of survival were slim.
Chen Feng glanced at Cheng Tingxue. There was nothing he could do now, either.
Cheng Li could handle Xue Hai at most.
But what about Iron Butcher?
Chen Feng still remembered punching Iron Butcher in the shin. The recoil had been enough to dislocate his own shoulder.
Cheng Tingxue stared blankly at Chen Feng, her eyes red. When she saw him look her way, she panicked, not knowing where to put her hands.
Her lips were pressed tightly together.
Her eyes were full of fear and unease. The maid was dead; now she was all alone.
She was afraid—afraid that everyone would abandon her, afraid that Iron Butcher really would capture her.
That she would be imprisoned by Lu Hong for the rest of her life,
reduced to a plaything.
She stood there alone, like a child abandoned by the whole world.
Helpless, pitiful, so fragile she might shatter at a touch.
At last, she turned her head away, unwilling to let the tears in her eyes fall.
And afraid to face Chen Feng.
Afraid she'd see...the cruelest rejection of all.
Chen Feng's heart felt as though an enormous hand had clenched around it.
He could barely breathe.
"Why..."
Memories of the past came rushing back like a tide.
When he was six, Chen Feng had stood just like this at the entrance to his village, silently watching his parents leave.
His heart had ached, but he hadn't dared say, "Don't go."
He'd thought that if he was good enough, sensible enough, his parents would come back sooner.
"Why are you looking at me like that..."
Chen Feng turned his head away.
He didn't dare look at Cheng Tingxue again.
"I'll count to three. Three..."
Xue Hai began counting down.
The first to go was the Square-faced Martial Artist. He hurried over to Xue Hai, all smiles.
Rubbing his hands together, he asked ingratiatingly, "Lord Xue, I'd be glad to offer my humble assistance. Would you be willing to take me on?"
Xue Hai nodded.
"Fine."
The Square-faced Martial Artist had opened the floodgates.
Another Xu Family Martial Artist also chose to leave.
The reason was simple. Although he served Cheng Tingxue, in the end, he still answered to the Xu Family.
Now even Xue Hai had chosen to stand against them.
Perhaps this was the Xu Family's decision.
Whether it was the First Branch or the Second Branch, they were still the Xu Family.
"Two..."
The countdown continued.
Next came Old Li, Zhang Jiu, Wang Huan... Things had come to this. Staying behind meant waiting to die.
Iron Butcher wouldn't kill Cheng Tingxue.
But they had heard a little about the Canal Gang Branch Hall Master's methods.
"Chen Feng... let's go,"
Wang Huan said.
The Square-faced Martial Artist immediately grew anxious. "You can't let them leave!"
At the same time, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes. He remembered every punch Chen Feng had landed on him.
He was going to grind Chen Feng into the dirt
and crush every shred of his pride.
"One..."
As Xue Hai reached one,
the sound of hooves came from outside. Iron Butcher must have caught up.
Wang Huan and the others went pale.
They scrambled onto their horses and left, afraid they'd be trapped if they delayed another moment.
Cheng Li shouted,
"Chen Feng! If you're still willing to help me, take Tingxue and go!"
With that,
he swung his fist at Xue Hai.
"Hmph... Still putting up a fight?"
Xue Hai raised his spear to block Cheng Li's strike, but the punch's tremendous force still knocked him off his horse.
"Cheng Li! Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"
Cheng Li said nothing.
He simply kept attacking.
Chen Feng gritted his teeth.
Then he spun around and ran... straight toward Cheng Tingxue!
Amid a startled cry, he swept Cheng Tingxue up in his arms, then quickly shifted her onto his back.
He plunged into the woods.
"Quick! Stop him!"
Xue Hai hurriedly ordered the Square-faced Martial Artist beside him.
The Square-faced Martial Artist wanted revenge on Chen Feng, too. Without a word, he mounted up and charged after him.
"Go to hell! Hahaha!"
The Square-faced Martial Artist's savage laughter echoed through the woods.
Chen Feng suddenly looked back.
The Square-faced Martial Artist froze. He saw Chen Feng's calm gaze, as if... he were looking at a dead man.
Rage flared in his heart.
"What makes you so confident?! What gives you the right?!"
The next moment,
the Square-faced Martial Artist understood why—
Even with Cheng Tingxue on his back, Chen Feng moved with effortless fluidity. He turned, raised his hand, and took aim.
Wang Huan's saber
flew straight at the Square-faced Martial Artist's head!
"Pfft."
It pierced through.
The Square-faced Martial Artist was dead.
His body hit the ground with a thud. The horse, no longer under control, bolted in the opposite direction in fright.
After dealing with the Square-faced Martial Artist,
Chen Feng charged on with Cheng Tingxue on his back.
Their figures gradually vanished among the trees.
Not long after they had left, a burly man with a cleaver in hand rode into view.
"Xue Hai, where are they?!"
Iron Butcher spat and demanded.
Xue Hai's expression darkened.
Cheng Li threw back his head and laughed. His Qi Blood surged with miraculous vigor as he swung a fist at Iron Butcher.
"You're still attacking!"
The wind roared in Chen Feng's ears. Trees and bushes streaked past as the icy night air rushed into his nose and mouth.
"Damn it, I'm getting the short end of the stick here! When we get back, your Cheng Family had better compensate me!!!"
Chen Feng let out a rare curse.
Now he and Cheng Tingxue were truly grasshoppers tied to the same boat.
Cheng Tingxue lay across Chen Feng's back, fighting back the tears about to spill over.
She desperately kept her emotions in check.
She didn't want Chen Feng to hear even the slightest sob.
She couldn't believe Chen Feng had chosen to save her.
When Chen Feng turned his head, Cheng Tingxue had truly thought she was about to be abandoned completely.
"I want Martial Arts! You're not just giving me silver; I want your Cheng Family's Martial Arts, too!"
Chen Feng never regretted his decisions. He only ever
kept expanding his gains on top of whatever he'd already decided.
Cheng Tingxue felt her nose sting. Tears welled in her eyes as she rested her forehead against Chen Feng's shoulder, almost bursting into tears.
"Th-thank you..."
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