42. Good boy, put it on for me!

Well, that's it, isn't it?

Right now, these five words were the only thing in Qin Muye's mind.

He felt his reaction speed had been fast enough.

Although he didn't know why Qin Yanying's squad had suddenly crossed the river, he had chosen to follow them immediately. Even though Qin Yanying was fast enough to easily shake him off, he had relied on his Divergent Path destiny skill to track her precisely.

When he arrived, Qin Yanying had not yet made her move.

As long as the Yayu couple were unharmed, the moral high ground would remain with Qin Yanying, as both human and material evidence were present.

While it was true that after reporting to the authorities, there was a ninety-nine percent chance the matter would be downplayed and everyone would pretend not to see it, at least it wouldn't put the Qin Family in a passive position.

But the outcome was unexpected.

He had severely underestimated his aunt's strength and temper.

Only just now did he understand the true weight of this former "Great Gan's Number One Female Killing God."

Both were Fourth Rank.

Some had the strength to rival Grandmasters.

Others... were merely Fourth Rank.

Even though Hu Huan possessed the bloodline of the Yayu, facing Qin Yanying, who had been baptized in blood and fire since childhood, he didn't even have the chance to save his own wife and child.

Or rather.

He never imagined that Qin Yanying would kill his wife and child right in front of him.

Who the hell could have expected that?

The puppet's voice was hoarse: "General Qin, why go this far?"

"Hmph!"

Qin Yanying sneered: "If I didn't do this, should I have waited for those incompetent officials to let them go free?"

The puppet: "..."

He understood.

Qin Yanying wasn't acting on impulse.

She had already thought through all the consequences.

Qin Yanying glanced at the puppet: "I see you as a friend, not an enemy. Take these children and pregnant women to a safe place; I owe you a favor."

The puppet nodded, his aura radiating as he hoisted the children, who were too terrified to even cry, onto his arms. He then turned to the three pregnant women and asked: "Can you walk?"

"I, I..."

Two of the pregnant women's legs were trembling; their condition was clearly not optimistic.

Only Qingtiao was in better shape, quickly supporting the other two: "We can walk, we can walk!"

With that, she hurried after the puppet toward the courtyard exit.

"You!"

Hu Huan's eyes were splitting with rage, and he wanted nothing more than to kill these humans immediately to vent his fury.

But his aura was firmly locked by Qin Yanying, and he dared not act rashly.

His hands gripped Qin Yanying's Blazing Spear, his scales stood on end, and his violent demonic power seemed ready to explode at any moment.

Qin Yanying just watched him quietly: "My people have arrived, but I won't let them intervene. The Brocade Guard will arrive in about half a quarter of an hour, which means this is the last quarter-hour you have to take your revenge.

Once I enter the prison, you will never have another chance for vengeance. The opportunity is yours; let me see the mettle of a Yayu descendant."

Hu Huan: "..."

He looked back and saw the Imperial Guard entering the courtyard one after another, his face turning as dark as ink.

"Don't dare?"

Seeing him unmoved, Qin Yanying stomped on a snake head on the ground, crushing it: "How about now?"

Hu Huan: "..."

Qin Yanying sneered, picked up an eggshell from the ground, and gently snapped it, producing a crisp "crack." She tutted: "The shell was already quite hard; this means it was about to hatch, right? What a pity..."

Hu Huan: "..."

Qin Yanying sneered: "Coward!"

Hu Huan's voice was shrill: "Don't think I don't know what you're planning. You just want to find a good excuse to kill me while saving your own skin!"

Qin Yanying raised an eyebrow: "Oh? You're not as stupid as you look."

At this moment.

The puppet had already handed the pregnant women and children over to the Imperial Guard squad and walked silently to Qin Yanying's side, lowering his voice: "General Qin, you should go. I will take the fall for this."

"You? Can you handle it?"

"I can handle it!"

Qin Muye had already prepared himself to sacrifice the identity of the "Puppet Master."

With the Qin Family currently absent, there were only a handful of people in the entire capital who looked down upon the Demon Official system, and even Li Xingluo merely harbored a distaste for the Demon Race without ever openly opposing the Demon Official system.

This matter could not be made public.

Therefore, no one could save the "culprit."

Only by having someone with enough weight step forward as a scapegoat could this matter be suppressed.

It was true that the imperial court did not want to offend the Demon Officials, but they were equally unwilling to offend the Qin Family.

Whether or not Qin Yanying was the one who killed the demon was unimportant.

Just as it was unimportant whether or not Hu Huan had trampled on human lives.

What everyone wanted was simply a unified narrative and a plausible explanation.

Of course, relying solely on a Puppet Master who had only just gained some reputation would likely not be enough.

It would also depend on how many benefits the imperial court stuffed into Hu Huan's pockets.

Perhaps the Qin Family would also have to bleed a little.

But Qin Muye did not care about these things, because as of now, Qin Yanying was the only relative in this world he acknowledged, and Chen Sui counted for half.

"I don't even know you, why would I let you take the fall for me?"

Qin Yanying laughed and cursed, waving her hand: "Don't worry! This General knows what she's doing!"

The puppet glanced at the snake corpse and egg fluid on the ground, unable to hold back: "You don't know what you're doing at all!"

Qin Yanying laughed heartily: "I've been knocking about in the army since I was a kid. I've beaten up at least eighty Demon Officials and demon generals, and I know the legal codes regarding Demon Officials by heart.

This big-bellied snake is indeed Hu Huan's wife, but at most, she only counts as a relative of a Demon Official. Even if she was carrying the offspring of a Yayu, the most I'd get for killing her is twenty years in prison."

"If you can avoid the charges, avoid them..."

"Avoid my foot!"

Qin Yanying cursed: "This matter needs to be blown up. I want to see if there is even half a person with a backbone left in this vast capital! This has nothing to do with you, get out of here quickly.

Take this. I, Qin Yanying, owe you a favor, though I might not be able to repay it while in prison. But my eldest nephew has money; go find him and exchange this for ten or eight thousand taels, that won't be a problem."

As she spoke.

She tossed a jade pendant to the puppet.

The puppet: "..."

Fine, fine, fine.

Using my money to repay the favor you owe me, is that it?

Qin Muye knew there was no turning back now, so he controlled the puppet and quickly fled the scene.

The only plan now was to find another way to help Qin Yanying clear her name.

Having spent so many days together, he had always thought his old aunt was a bit reckless.

But now he understood that she simply could not tolerate any sand in her eyes.

She knew the consequences were severe.

Yet she was prepared to bear them.

Come to think of it, how could someone worthy of being called a great general have no sense of proportion?

The puppet quickly vanished from the scene.

Hu Huan had not made a single move from start to finish, only staring with wide eyes, panting heavily.

Qin Yanying's provocation continued: "Still the same pampered brat as before, causing trouble yet afraid of the consequences. A Yayu is an ancient fierce beast, yet it raised a wastrel better than we humans do.

And you call yourself a Demon Official?

With your temperament, you aren't even worth a single hair of my eldest nephew.

Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get!

If a piece of trash like you can be a Demon Official, my eldest nephew could at least be a Prime Minister, right?"

As she spoke.

She stomped on the snake corpse.

Soon, the internal organs of the snake corpse were mashed into paste, spraying out from the holes she had pierced.

Hu Huan's sanity reached the edge of collapse several times, yet his feet remained nailed to the ground as he roared hoarsely: "Don't think you can trick me!"

"What a sin!"

Qin Yanying felt a headache coming on, regretting only that her notorious reputation had made these Demon Officials aware of her ability to exploit loopholes in the law.

There was a significant difference between unilaterally slaughtering a Demon Official and killing one in a mutual fight.

It was at this moment.

A ripple of energy arrived.

Looking up, Chen Sui had already vaulted over the courtyard wall and was standing at the doorway.

"BOOM!"

Seeing the scene inside the room, Chen Sui felt as if the sky had collapsed; he trembled, unable to utter a single word.

Stunned!

He was truly stunned!

He knew very well that Hu Huan was absolutely at fault in this matter.

If Qin Yanying had not killed Hu Huan's wife and child, she would have held no responsibility no matter how one looked at it, and might even have been credited with a merit, though that would have been erased by an invisible hand.

But Qin Yanying had killed Hu Huan's wife and child.

And she had done so even while the human pregnant woman and child were still alive.

This was a massive, thorny problem.

In such a situation, any human noble clan would have acknowledged the fault to preserve the bigger picture or out of fear of the Qin Family.

But the Demon Official faction would not!

Noble clans and the dynasty were symbiotic.

Demon Officials and the dynasty were merely partners!

Even if they had taken on human form, their minds were still full of bestial nature; when their interests were touched, they would not back down!

What to do?

What to do?

Qin Yanying walked over, cursing, "What are you trembling for, you grown man? Where are the shackles? Put them on me!"

Chen Sui instinctively took a step back, his throat bobbing as he said with difficulty, "Yan, Yanying! Actually, it's not..."

Qin Yanying glared at him. "You cannot protect me! If I tell you to put them on, you put them on. Be obedient!"

Chen Sui: "..."

A moment later.

Chen Sui escorted Qin Yanying away, while the Imperial Guard protected the victims and carried the snake corpses as they followed.

In the courtyard.

Hu Huan's long-overdue threat finally rang out: "Qin Yanying, just you wait! This time, I will definitely not let you off!"