"Get lost already. Don't dirty the grounds of the Duke Mansion."
Huo Yuhao trembled with rage, his eyes red-rimmed.
Huo Yun'er took her son's hand and said softly, "Yuhao, don't argue with them. We... we'll just leave."
Though Qian Daoliu had saved her life, she had spent more than a decade as a maid in the Duke Mansion. Deep down, she had long grown used to swallowing her grievances.
However, someone disagreed.
"Leave?"
Shen Zhou's voice came from behind Huo Yuhao, unhurried yet carrying a chill that made one's spine go cold.
He slowly stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the nanny, the maids, and the servants before settling on Huo Yuhao's reddened eyes.
Huo Yuhao was his disciple.
How could Shen Zhou's disciple be humiliated by a few vile servants?
"Who are you?"
The nanny's scalp prickled beneath Shen Zhou's gaze, but relying on the fact that she served the First Madam of the Duke Mansion and stood on her own turf, she still stiffened her neck and snapped back.
Shen Zhou did not answer her. Instead, he crouched down and met Huo Yuhao's eyes.
"Yuhao, remember this."
His voice was soft, yet incomparably clear.
"A disciple of Spirit Hall does not provoke trouble, but never fears it either."
"Whoever bullies you, you bully them back. If you can't, your master will do it for you."
"Whoever insults you, curse them back. If you can't outcurse them, your master will kill them for you."
Before his words had even faded, Shen Zhou raised his right hand and flicked it casually.
A fierce gust of Soul Power shot through the air, so fast it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"Ah—!"
The nanny let out a short, miserable scream. As if struck by a massive hammer, she flew backward and slammed into the wall behind her. She spat out a mouthful of blood, then slid limply to the ground, never to breathe again.
A finger-thick bloody hole had appeared in the brocade-padded jacket over her chest, blood gushing from it without pause.
She was dead.
One flick of a finger, a fatal strike to the throat.
The remaining maids and servants froze for a moment before erupting into shrill screams.
The more timid ones collapsed straight to the ground, their trousers soaked through.
The two servants who had laughed the loudest just moments ago turned and ran, shouting as they fled, "Murder! Murder!"
Shen Zhou did not pursue them. He merely glanced at Guangling Douluo.
Guangling Douluo understood. He lightly stamped his foot.
A circle of icy-blue Soul Power ripples spread outward from him. The two servants, who had run more than a dozen steps away, suddenly stiffened as ice began creeping up from the soles of their feet.
In the blink of an eye, the two became ice sculptures, frozen in running poses, their expressions locked in an instant of terror.
"Fifth Brother, hold back a little. Don't tear the courtyard apart," Qian Daoliu said blandly.
Guangling Douluo chuckled. "Don't worry, Big Brother. I only froze those two foul-mouthed fools. I left the rest alive to lead the way."
The remaining maids were already kneeling on the ground in terror, bowing repeatedly and crying, "Spare us!" and "It has nothing to do with this servant!"
Shen Zhou walked over to the nanny's corpse, looked down at it, then raised his gaze toward the main courtyard.
"Lead the way."
He said to the maid trembling the hardest, "Take us to your First Madam."
"Th-this servant doesn't dare..."
"If you don't lead the way, you die now."
The maid scrambled to her feet and staggered toward the main courtyard.
Shen Zhou turned and extended his hand to Huo Yuhao.
"Come. Your master will take you to seek justice."
Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the corpse on the ground, then at Shen Zhou's outstretched hand. At last, the tears in his eyes rolled down—but this time, they were not tears of grievance, but burning gratitude.
He tightly gripped his master's hand and nodded hard.
Huo Yun'er opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Golden Crocodile Douluo stopped her.
"Don't worry, little sister."
Golden Crocodile Douluo rarely wore such a kind expression.
"Although our Eighth Brother is the youngest, he is the most measured in his actions. Just follow us without worry."
The group passed through several corridors. Along the way, household guards and servants hurried over after hearing the news.
Yet upon sensing the aura radiating from Qian Daoliu and the others, their faces turned deathly pale. None dared approach. They could only follow from afar while sending people racing off to report the matter.
The main hall of the central courtyard was lavishly adorned.
The First Madam of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, Dai Hao's lawful wife, sat in the seat of honor with a cup of hot tea in hand, listening to a servant's report.
"What did you say? Several Soul Masters came to that wretched maid's courtyard? They even killed Nanny Wang?"
The First Madam was around thirty-five or thirty-six. She was well maintained and rather beautiful, but there was a sharpness between her brows.
She was the daughter of a prominent Star Luo Empire family. Since marrying Dai Hao, she had overseen the Duke Mansion's household affairs. What she hated most were Dai Hao's romantic entanglements outside the mansion.
Huo Yun'er and her son were thorns in her heart.
A bastard born to a maid, yet he resembled Dai Hao so closely. What if Dai Hao suddenly decided to acknowledge him one day? Would he not then contend with her eldest son for the family fortune?
Over the years, she had mistreated Huo Yun'er and her son both openly and in secret. No charcoal for them in winter, no mosquito nets in summer; their food, clothing, and daily necessities were all the worst in the mansion.
She had thought that Huo Yun'er's grave illness this time would simply kill her off. Yet someone had saved her, and they had even come knocking at her door.
"My lady, those people... they are coming aggressively. They are already heading toward the main courtyard!"
The servant who had brought the news was drenched in sweat.
"Good. Let them come."
The First Madam sneered, setting down her teacup. "I would like to see who dares make trouble in the White Tiger Duke Mansion."
She rose, straightened her clothes, and said to the maid beside her, "Go. Summon all the Soul Master guards in the mansion."
"And send someone to wait at the gate for the Duke. Ask him to return as quickly as possible."
The maid accepted her orders and left.
The First Madam walked out of the hall and stood upon the steps, looking down toward the courtyard gate.
Before long, footsteps sounded beyond the gate.
Shen Zhou led Huo Yuhao by the hand at the front. Behind them came the seven Offering Elders and Er Ha, while Huo Yun'er, supported by Golden Crocodile Douluo, walked at the rear.
The group entered the courtyard at an unhurried pace, as though they were strolling through their own backyard.
The First Madam's pupils contracted slightly.
Though she was not a high-ranking Soul Master, she had some discernment. The young man at the front and the seven people behind him each gave off an aura that made her heart tremble.
Especially that golden-haired middle-aged man at the front. Merely standing there, he was like a towering mountain, making it difficult for her to breathe.
"Who are you people? Why have you trespassed into my White Tiger Duke Mansion and killed my servants?"
The First Madam forced herself to remain calm and demanded sternly.
Shen Zhou stopped walking, released Huo Yuhao's hand, and looked up at the First Madam on the steps.
"You are the White Tiger Duke's lawful wife?"
"That is correct."
The First Madam slightly raised her chin. "And who are you?"
"My name is Shen Zhou, Dean of Martial Soul Academy."
Shen Zhou said evenly, "This one behind me is my disciple, Huo Yuhao. Beside him is his mother, Huo Yun'er."
The First Madam's gaze fell on the fox-fur cloak Huo Yun'er wore, then shifted to Huo Yuhao. A trace of mockery curled across her lips.
"So it is that wretched maid and the bastard she bore. What?"
"You found a few stray Soul Masters and now you dare challenge this madam?"
The moment the word "bastard" left her mouth, Huo Yuhao's hand clenched tightly.
Shen Zhou patted the back of his hand, signaling for him to remain calm.
Then he raised his head and looked at the First Madam.
"Outside the woodshed just now, your servants called my disciple a 'bastard,' called my disciple's mother 'filth,' and told them to 'get as far away as they could.'"
Before you continue