I Want Them All Dead

"Drip... drip..."

Bead after bead of sweat rolled down Old Ma's forehead.

They dripped onto his stiff hands and the ground beneath his feet, soaking little circles into the dirt.

He trembled without a word, his head bowed so low it almost disappeared into his chest.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak. He simply couldn't.

Han Yansong felt far too terrifying, his oppressive presence even heavier and more frightening than that of an Outer Sect Disciple.

It completely defied everything Old Ma knew.

Wasn't Han Yansong supposed to be at the sixth level of Body Tempering?

His chest twisted into a knot, leaving him barely able to breathe.

He feared that, in the next instant, he would follow in Old Zhao's footsteps.

Old Zhao was at the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm, a full minor level above him.

Yet his dantian had been destroyed so effortlessly. It was simply too horrifying.

But even now, like everyone else, he had no idea what was going on.

Why had their boss crippled Old Zhao?

The little courtyard, which moments earlier had been chaotic and bristling with murderous intent, was now so silent that not even breathing could be heard.

Even Old Zhao, whose cultivation had been crippled, could only shatter his steel teeth and swallow them into his belly, not daring to make a sound.

It seemed they were facing not a man, but a god.

For a moment, gloom, oppression, horror, and confusion gripped the nerves of everyone present.

One man had cowed the entire gathering. He looked harmless, yet he was terrifying beyond belief.

"Anyone who dares touch my daughter-I will hunt him from the azure heavens above to the Yellow Springs below and wipe out all nine generations of his clan."

Han Yansong's gaze blazed like a torch.

His words were cold as blades, each one cutting into their hearts.

Silence.

The entire courtyard, and even the area outside it, was so quiet that a falling needle could have been heard.

What?

His daughter?

The little girl they had surrounded was the daughter of Head Servant Steward Han Yansong?

Everyone present gaped, their mouths wide as ladles, as though a toad had been forcibly stuffed inside.

"You wanted to touch her?"

Han Yansong was like a mountain, so heavy that he left them unable to breathe.

His blade-like gaze passed over Steward Old Ma, over Chen Yang on the ground, and over the three Inspection Team members before cutting toward Tie Dan.

"You drunken sot, are you trying to fight me to the death?"

"Fight you to the death? Tie Dan, you would have to be worthy first."

"You..."

Tie Dan's face turned a hideous purplish red.

Han Yansong spoke calmly, but every word was a thorn, piercing Tie Dan until he seemed to be leaking air all over.

"Old Han, why get so angry? The lads were only joking with your daughter. They meant nothing else."

Putting on a shameless smile, Tie Dan said, "Old Han, you certainly kept this well hidden. I didn't even know you had a daughter this grown."

Though humiliated and furious, he still swallowed his anger, trying his best to maintain his refined bearing.

There was a saying in the Azure Cloud Mountains: you could provoke anyone, but never that drunken sot who spent his days in a stupor.

"The lads didn't mean any harm. They didn't recognize your daughter."

"This is all a misunderstanding. Anger is bad for your health. Heh, heh, heh..."

"Cripple your own cultivation, and I won't be angry."

Han Yansong remained as calm as before, but every word was still a blade.

He gave Tie Dan no face whatsoever.

Cripple their own cultivation?

Everyone was terrified.

Those who had made trouble for Tiny Waist were especially stiff-necked with fear.

They had all seen what happened to Old Zhao.

A dignified Servant Steward at the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm had been crippled with a flick of a finger, right before everyone's eyes.

It had been clean and decisive, cold and merciless, vicious and ruthless.

Old Ma and Old Zhao, in particular, exchanged glances before dropping to their knees with a thud, kowtowing and begging forgiveness.

"Spare us, boss! Spare us!"

"We were blind fools! We didn't recognize the young miss and offended her. We deserve to die..."

"Please show mercy, boss! We lads will never dare do it again..."

They were all stewards, yet they called themselves lads. That alone showed how thoroughly Han Yansong had cowed them.

"Don't kneel."

Chen Yang, a mangled mass of flesh and blood, was just about to kneel and beg forgiveness when Tie Dan stopped him with a shout.

"You're my godson. You have no need to kneel to a steward of the same rank as me."

Despite that saying, Tie Dan finally lost his composure.

They were of equal rank. Why should they be treated so differently?

Even his godson was being forced to kneel in public. This was a slap in his face.

"Kneel."

"Thud..."

Han Yansong spoke only a single word, yet Chen Yang, who had just stood up, dropped to his knees with a thud.

It was as though he had been nailed to the ground. He wanted to move, but couldn't.

"Chen Yang, get up!"

Tie Dan flew into a rage of humiliation.

He turned his right hand, and a fierce gust swept in, trying to wrench Chen Yang off the ground.

But no matter how hard he pulled, Chen Yang didn't budge.

Instead, creaking sounds came from his body, as though he were being torn apart.

"...Aah!"

Unable to endure the agony of being ripped apart, Chen Yang could only cry, "Godfather, you're about to tear me in half!"

Tie Dan pulled twice more in succession. Apart from letting out heart-rending screams, Chen Yang never moved, remaining firmly nailed to the ground.

From beginning to end, Han Yansong never even turned his head.

He simply walked over to Tiny Waist, step by step, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Ling'er, your father came too late. You've suffered."

Tiny Waist went around Han Yansong and walked straight to Lin Shisan.

She gently wiped the blood from his face.

The bloodstains had dried, but the sweat brought on by his intense pain had dissolved them again.

His face was pale as soap, his teeth grinding.

His gaze was unfocused, his body trembling in agony, and he was ice-cold all over.

His injuries were far too severe.

"Ling'er..."

"If you want me to acknowledge you as my father, kill everyone who hurt Lin Shisan. I want them to repay their blood debt in blood."

Tiny Waist slowly turned around.

Brimming with murderous intent, she said through gritted teeth, "Him... him... him... and him... I want them all dead."

Chen Yang, Chen San, Old Zhao, Old Ma, Donkey Face, and two servants had all been singled out.

All seven turned ashen, as though their names had been written on a death list. There was nothing but death in their terrified eyes.

Silence.

An even deader silence than before.

Inside and outside the courtyard.

More than thirty people held their breath, staring fixedly at Han Yansong.

Three breaths...

Five breaths...

Ten breaths...

After the tenth breath, Han Yansong's hazy eyes suddenly cleared and shone.

The corners of his mouth lifted, and his face, still as dead wood, slowly relaxed.

"Repaying even the smallest slight, returning every punch tenfold-you're truly my daughter."

Gratification filled Han Yansong's relaxed, weathered face.

Then his gaze turned cold, sweeping over those she had named like two sharp knives.

"All right. Your father promises. I'll kill them all."

What?

He really would kill them all?

Not only those who had been named, but even those who hadn't felt as though they had heard a death sentence and sensed death drawing near.

"Godfather, save me..."

"Boss, save me..."

Chen Yang and Donkey Face both pinned their hopes on Tie Dan.

"Han Yansong, these people are under my protection."

Tie Dan could no longer endure it.

Han Yansong wanted to slaughter his people right in front of him.

This was no longer a matter of slapping him in the face.

It was an outright fight to the death, where only one of them would survive.

"Under your protection? Then let me see just how much face you have, and whether it's enough to keep them alive."

"We're both at the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm. Even if you've stumbled across some lucky opportunity, what can you do to me? If I fight with everything I've got... bang... splurt..."

While Tie Dan was still reciting his villain's lines, a shadow flashed before his eyes.

He had already become a fallen leaf, slapped into a tree by Han Yansong and left hanging there to enjoy the shade.

"Bang... splurt... splurt..."

Like a string of firecrackers going off, fallen leaves flew one after another.

Chen Yang and nine others were all left hanging in the tree as well.

"Ling'er, you point, and I'll kill. Today, your father will go wild with you."

Han Yansong spread his right hand, and the Green Snake Sword appeared, gleaming coldly as Sword Qi crisscrossed with metallic clangs.