You Guessed Wrong Again

Squelch!

The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out beside the two men.

"Urgh..."

Jia Lie Bi froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. Looking at Han Chen's smiling face before him, he slowly lowered his head. A rune-covered blade was buried in his chest, thin trickles of blood seeping from the wound.

Han Chen put away his saber and kicked Jia Lie Bi flying. The Puppet shook the blood off its hand blade and stood behind Han Chen.

"Patriarch Jia Lie, looks like you guessed wrong."

Jia Lie Bi knelt on one knee, pressing a hand over the bloody hole in his chest and continually channeling Dou Qi to staunch the bleeding. He raised his eyes toward Han Chen, his gaze filled with venom.

"You sly brat! You actually had help!"

"You only realized that now? A little late, isn't it? Your precious son has already been reduced to scraps."

Seeing that Jia Lie Bi still hadn't died, Han Chen marveled at his tenacity, but none of it mattered anymore. He had already sent the Puppet to sweep through the entire Jia Lie Family. Now that only a badly wounded Jia Lie Bi remained, what waves could he possibly stir up?

"What?! Ugh!"

Hearing Han Chen's words, Jia Lie Bi's rage surged straight to his heart. He vomited a great mouthful of blood and nearly fainted.

"You... the Jia Lie Family has no grudge against any of you! Why? Why?!"

Jia Lie Bi staggered to his feet as he spoke and charged at Han Chen, repeatedly shouting "why." His attacks grew ever fiercer, as though he no longer cared whether he lived.

Seeing Jia Lie Bi like this, Han Chen twisted from side to side, continually dodging his attacks, while the Puppet kept circling behind him, searching for an opening to strike.

Bang!

After blocking a blow from the Puppet, Jia Lie Bi leaped high into the air. The Dou Qi surrounding him formed a flood dragon, which slammed viciously down upon it.

"Without that thing, let's see how you're going to beat me."

Jia Lie Bi didn't pause. The moment he landed, he attacked Han Chen, his darting footsteps leaving trails of afterimages behind him.

Han Chen didn't retreat either. Sword light flickered in his hand, gathering into an enormous longsword that swept toward Jia Lie Bi's waist.

The Puppet farther away burst out of the earth once again. This time, it was clearly much more battered, but it still charged at Jia Lie Bi without fear of death.

"Again? You think the same trick will work on me twice? Get lost!"

Seeing the Puppet attacking from behind, Jia Lie Bi spun around and immediately unleashed two wind blades. Then he held one hand behind his head, gathering dense Dou Qi over it to block Han Chen's giant sword.

The Puppets were all of the same level. After taking Jia Lie Bi's earlier blow, their power had diminished considerably, so they couldn't withstand this attack he had prepared for them and were sent flying.

Just as Jia Lie Bi was basking in his triumph, Han Chen's ghostly voice rang out beside his ear again.

"Not bad. This Puppet was a Peak Dou Master, yet you broke it with just two blows.

"But... sorry, you guessed wrong again."

At the sound of that voice, Jia Lie Bi stiffened all over. He turned to look and saw that Han Chen hadn't charged at him at all. Instead, he was still standing where he had been.

Only now, an eerie blue ghost flame had appeared in his hand. Skulls continually surfaced within the flames, accompanied by faint wails.

Without hesitation, Han Chen hurled the Tiandu Corpse Fire in his hand.

The flames streaked through the air, shimmering with an eerie green light and crackling as they burned. Even the air seemed to distort faintly as they gathered speed.

"No! Don't! Aaargh!"

Watching the flames rapidly close in, Jia Lie Bi's face filled with despair.

The Tiandu Corpse Fire drifted onto him like young swallows returning to their nest, clinging entirely to his clothes before blazing fiercely.

Under the searing heat, Jia Lie Bi's body quickly began to crumble piece by piece. He only had time to let out one agonized scream before he turned to drifting ash.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Relying on past experience can get you killed."

Looking at the heap of ash on the ground, Han Chen stepped forward and scattered it with a kick. Then he surveyed the Jia Lie Family compound, tossed down a wisp of Tiandu Corpse Fire, and swept away with a flick of his sleeve.

"Ah, forget it. Better burn this place down. I probably won't have a chance to come back anyway. Best not to leave any evidence."

Early the next morning, those who had heard the commotion the night before came to the entrance to investigate. First among them were Wutan City's two remaining major families, the Xiao Clan and the Ao Ba Family.

But once they pushed open the gates, all they saw was a courtyard full of ruined walls and heaps of ash.

"This..."

"The Jia Lie Family... has been wiped out."

Everyone exchanged looks of shock. After all, the Jia Lie Family had been one of Wutan City's three major families. Anyone strong enough to slaughter them overnight and grind their bones to scattered ash could surely deal with the others just as easily.

At that thought, no one hesitated. They hurried back to report the situation. This matter was far too serious to treat lightly.

"What?! You're saying the Jia Lie Family was wiped out?"

Sitting in the courtyard, her face still somewhat pale, Xiao Xun'er sprang from her chair in disbelief after hearing the report from the black-clad figure beside her.

"Ling Ying, are you sure you weren't mistaken? He's only a Dou Zhe. How could he possibly destroy a family led by a Da Dou Shi?"

Hearing Xiao Xun'er's doubts, Ling Ying lowered his head and answered with certainty.

"There's no mistake, miss. Not a single member of the Jia Lie Family survived. Not even their bodies were left behind.

"The only clues remaining at the scene were some charred silhouettes and ashes. My preliminary assessment is that flames were responsible-extremely powerful flames, at least comparable to those at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

"As for anything else, since nothing remained at the scene, there was simply no way to investigate."

Hearing Ling Ying's explanation, Xiao Xun'er slowly sat back down. She tapped her fingers on the table for a while before speaking.

"Then, as for Brother Xiao Yan..."

"I imagine he already knows. But regarding Han Chen, I searched all of Wutan City today and found that, aside from you and Young Master Xiao Yan, no one knows anyone by that name.

"He likely used a false name as well. This young man plans meticulously and hides his thoughts deep. In the future, I fear..."

"Leave him alone. Since he helped us, that means he's a friend. As for the future, we'll deal with it when it comes."

As she spoke, Xiao Xun'er raised her eyes toward the large tree outside the courtyard, a flicker of worry passing through them.

"Han Chen... who exactly are you? And what is your purpose in approaching Brother Xiao Yan?"

Meanwhile, on the mountain behind the clan grounds, Xiao Yan had also lost his composure after hearing Yao Lao's analysis.

"Teacher, are you saying Han Chen has a Heavenly Flame? That can't be right. Isn't he only a Dou Zhe?"

At those words, Yao Lao stroked his beard and looked at Xiao Yan.

"Heh, did you think he was some ordinary person? He has plenty of secrets. And as for that little girlfriend of yours, I've begun to form a vague guess about her identity."

"Oh? What about Xun'er? Right, and that flame last night-it was really powerful."

Hearing Yao Lao mention Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yan recalled the strange flames on her body the previous night. They had nearly burned him into ash and charcoal.