Su Xuefeng

Only Sikong Jing and Su Yuexi remained in the courtyard.

The cold wind drifted through the air. Their wedding that night had been simple but warm, yet things had turned into this.

Sikong Jing felt somewhat guilty. It wasn't because he had crippled Su Yang; even if he could do it all over again, he would do the same.

He felt guilty only because he had made Su Yuexi suffer.

"Yuexi, the fact that the Lord of Yun Province arranged this marriage proves I'm no ordinary man. Trust me, I'll win ten days from now." Sikong Jing didn't know how else to comfort her.

He had actually wanted to tell her that he was the legendary Invincible Divine General of the Great Shang Dynasty.

But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.

Knowing his true identity would do no one any good.

The enemies from rival nations he had slain were piled as high as mountains; the bandits he had wiped out were beyond counting. He had offended countless nobles in the imperial palace. If his identity were revealed, who knew how many enemies would come swarming after him like savage beasts?

At that moment, he also understood why Yan Tianmo hadn't publicly said that the emperor had arranged the marriage.

Only a marriage arranged by the Lord of Yun Province wouldn't make people suspect his identity. Of course, it wasn't to protect him. Ninth Princess Yan Ruyu simply wanted to see him marry an ugly wife and live out his days in misery.

Su Yuexi reached out and took Sikong Jing's hand, saying softly, "I'm already your lawful wife. No matter what happens, I'll always stay by your side."

She had been living on borrowed time to begin with; the only meaning her life had was that her parents were still alive.

Now that she was a wife, naturally, her husband came first.

Sikong Jing's eyes grew hot. He gently drew Su Yuexi into his arms, unable to put his feelings into words.

"Do you really not mind that I'm ugly?"

Nestled in Sikong Jing's broad embrace, Su Yuexi murmured the question.

She remembered how Sikong Jing had pulled off her veil and used a handkerchief to wipe away the blood. There had been no flicker of emotion or disgust in his eyes—a sight she had never seen before.

Sikong Jing smiled. "Don't say such foolish things. And ten days from now, I might be able to give you a surprise."

In ten days, he should be able to reach the ninth level of the Bright Realm.

That night, following his mother-in-law Mei Xiaofang's instructions, they slept in separate rooms. Sikong Jing immediately began cultivating.

At the same time, Su Zhengtao was playing chess with an old man in his room.

The old man was his and Su Zhenglong's father, Su Xuefeng.

Ever since Su Zhenglong had been gravely injured, Su Xuefeng, the head of the Su Clan, had shifted his focus to his second son, Su Zhengtao. For the past ten years, he had doted on their family and tended to their every need.

Suddenly, Su Zhengtao asked, "Father, why did you only cripple that criminal? Why didn't you just kill him?"

At this, Su Xuefeng's face darkened. "The Lord of Yun Province arranged the marriage, and I don't know what it means. That criminal shouldn't die too quickly. I'll wait and see which way the wind blows."

"But that criminal must have committed some terrible crime or offended some terrifying figure. Otherwise, they wouldn't have humiliated him with that ugly freak." Su Xuefeng also called his granddaughter Su Yuexi an ugly freak.

Then Su Xuefeng gritted his teeth. "What bad luck! How did I end up with the ugliest granddaughter in all of Yun Province?"

Su Yuexi was always wheezing. She was the greatest disgrace to the Su Clan.

It was only because she was so ugly that the marriage had been arranged.

"Father, calm down. Su Yang crippling that criminal was an early birthday gift for you." Su Zhengtao tried to soothe him.

Thinking that he would soon get to see the criminal with all four limbs broken, Su Xuefeng felt a little better. Still, he muttered bitterly, "I really want to see that criminal's miserable state with my own eyes."

"Second Master... Something terrible has happened!"

Suddenly, a servant's anguished cry rang out from outside the courtyard. The "Second Master" he referred to was naturally Su Zhengtao.

The servant rushed inside in a panic, his face pale. "Second Young Master Su Yang, he... he..."

Smack!

Su Zhengtao slapped the servant across the face. "What are you panicking for? Speak properly! Can't you see the Old Master is here too?"

At this, Su Xuefeng said coldly, "What happened to Xiaoyang? Did he accidentally kill that criminal? Or did he kill that ugly freak? It's all fine. If they're dead, then they're dead."

"N-no... Second Young Master's arms and legs are all broken!" the servant said, stunned.

Boom!

At those words, Su Xuefeng and his son Su Zhengtao felt as if five thunderclaps had struck them. Their blood surged violently.

"What did you say?"

Father and son roared almost in unison and rushed out the door.

They saw Su Yang lying on a stretcher. His hands and feet had been completely crippled, and even the bones in his joints were shattered.

Su Yun was kneeling beside the stretcher, sobbing.

Su Xuefeng's black-and-white beard and hair whipped wildly as he glared at Su Yun. "Who did this? Was it that bastard Su Zhenglong?"

His old eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched. No one but Su Zhenglong would dare cripple Su Yang.

"That damn criminal! He ambushed Second Brother..."

Su Yun gritted her teeth and recounted what had happened, but she described Sikong Jing's victory over Su Yang as an ambush.

Otherwise, there was no way Second Brother Su Yang could have lost.

"Criminal! I'll go kill him." Su Zhengtao's true energy surged throughout his body as he prepared to charge out.

"Stop." Su Xuefeng's sharp shout rang out. He growled, "Even if it was an ambush, Xiaoyang still lost this so-called contest between the younger generation. Su Zhenglong has an excuse to fight to the death."

Su Zhengtao froze in place. He was afraid Su Zhenglong would fight to the death.

After all, even his father couldn't get the better of Su Zhenglong when he fought with his life on the line.

But Su Zhengtao stared at Su Yang's wretched state, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Father, are we just going to swallow this humiliation?"

Su Xuefeng's gaze was icy. "Of course not. Xiaoshan will be back to celebrate my birthday in ten days. Then I'll have him kill that criminal."

They still had to wait ten days? Su Zhengtao was deeply dissatisfied.

Suddenly, Su Xuefeng shouted, "Pass on my order! From this moment on, cut off all financial support to Su Zhenglong's family. They won't get a single copper coin from the Su Mansion!"

After giving the order, he hurried out to find a doctor for Su Yang.

Su Zhengtao's chest heaved. His voice turned sinister and chilling. "Ten days from now, I won't just have that criminal killed. I'll also drive Su Zhenglong to his death. Father's birthday banquet will be his death anniversary."

Daybreak came. Sikong Jing had cultivated through the night without sleeping and had reached the fifth level of the Bright Realm.

"What are you doing? Don't take it! Please, don't!"

Suddenly, his mother-in-law Mei Xiaofang's shrill cries came from outside his room.

The next moment, his door burst open with a bang. Su Yuexi, wheezing, said, "Sikong Jing, the servants are taking Mother's things!"

Sikong Jing froze for a moment, then quickly led Su Yuexi to the center of the courtyard.

There were six or seven people dressed as servants surrounding his mother-in-law Mei Xiaofang. A middle-aged man and woman were tugging at a bolt of silk in her hands.

Mei Xiaofang was furious. "Have you gone mad? Let go!"

"Hmph! You still haven't paid us for half a month's work. Do you expect us to starve to death?" the middle-aged servant who was grabbing the silk said viciously.