The twenty-odd men bristling with murderous menace were from the Guo Family.
The moment a band of defeated soldiers brought Guo Zhen's and Guo Jun's bodies back to the Guo Family, the entire Guo Residence erupted into turmoil.
Initial shock and terror gave way to anger, wailing, and curses, before they finally accepted reality and began questioning the surviving soldiers for details.
Word of what had happened in Lanyue Garden quickly spread.
A peerless fiend had stormed into Lanyue Garden, setting fires and wreaking havoc. He had killed or wounded dozens of powerful local magnates and single-handedly routed hundreds of able-bodied men. Even with over a hundred armored Guo Family soldiers protecting them, he had broken through their ranks and killed Guo Zhen and Guo Jun, two prominent figures of the family.
Most horrific of all, the fiend had pinned Guo Zhen to a wall with a great banner, killing him.
Nor had the Hua Family's young master, Hua Feiyun, or Jin San of the Canal Gang escaped that murderous demon's clutches.
Everyone in the Guo Residence found the news unbelievable, their horror beyond measure.
Then they began gnashing their teeth over the killer, "Hong Yuan," repeating every vicious curse they could muster, until an armored soldier tremblingly mentioned that Hong Yuan was close to someone named Yang Erhu.
And Yang Erhu had been brought into the Hero Arena by Hua Feiyun.
Ignoring the torrential rain, the Guo household immediately sent people to the Hua Family to gather information.
Hua Feiyun had intended to use Yang Erhu's life to let Wei Zhenzhu vent her anger. Naturally, he had collected every scrap of information on Yang Erhu, so he could cut out the weeds by their roots whenever necessary.
But Hua Feiyun's death had likewise plunged the Hua Family into chaos