"Now you can tell me who sent you here to cause trouble."
It was like the voice of death. Scarred Tiger trembled all over. Such ruthlessness and decisiveness made everyone's hair stand on end. Without a word, he cut off your arm before questioning you. This was psychological warfare, and Scarred Tiger's nerves had utterly collapsed.
These men were all desperate outlaws. Ordinary interrogation would accomplish nothing. The best method was to be ten times more ruthless than they were and crush their confidence.
The short blade rested against his left arm. If he refused to name the mastermind, Liu Wuxie would keep chopping.
Liu Wuxie was playing with fire. One misstep could doom the entire Xu Household.
"It... it was Tian Hong who sent us. We were to strike at the Xu Household's weapons workshop and stop you from doing business normally. Once it was done, he would pay us ten thousand gold coins."
Scarred Tiger's mind was completely under Liu Wuxie's control. Those terrifying eyes were like a Soul-Devouring Beast's, making him speak involuntarily.
His words sent the crowd into an uproar.
Xu Lingxue's gaze sharpened, her face covered in frost. This answer exceeded everyone's expectations.
Someone really was directing them from behind the scenes. No matter how bold Scarred Tiger was, he would not have dared come and cause trouble for the Xu Household otherwise.
The nine remaining mercenaries turned deathly pale. Weapons in hand, they charged into the crowd, trying to escape in the chaos.
"Kill them!"
Liu Wuxie spoke coldly. Steward Lan leaped into the air and pressed down with his palm. Three men were shattered into bloody liquid.
The entire hall descended into chaos. Many present were innocent, so they could not simply slaughter indiscriminately. Taking advantage of the confusion, several more men rushed toward the doors.
Just then, a cold gleam slashed down through the air. Xu Lingxue, who had remained silent all this time, made her move. A silver longsword appeared in her hand, and her Xiantian might enveloped the entire weapons workshop.
Liu Wuxie's eyes narrowed. He had not expected his wife to be so strong. An eighteen-year-old at the Xiantian Realm was a genius even across the entire Great Yan Imperial Dynasty.
In just two breaths, every mercenary except Scarred Tiger had been executed, their corpses lying on the ground.
From beginning to end, Liu Wuxie had never made a move himself. Everyone looked at him differently now. Without him today, things might have ended very differently. The Xu Household would have been swindled out of a vast sum, and its reputation might even have been dragged through the mud.
"Young master, we were wrong. We shouldn't have mocked you earlier."
Dong Changliang suddenly dropped to his knees and slapped his own face. Several other attendants knelt behind him, trembling.
"Steward Lan, I'll leave the rest to you."
He turned and left the weapons workshop. The matter was resolved, and his father-in-law would know what to do next. He did not need to worry about the rest. It was time to return and cultivate.
He had barely stepped out of the weapons workshop when a fragrance drifted toward him. Xu Lingxue appeared beside him, and they walked shoulder to shoulder.
Since they had been old enough to understand things, this seemed to be the first time they had walked so close together.
"How did you know that broken saber wasn't forged by our Xu Household?"
Xu Lingxue spoke first. Both she and Steward Lan had examined the broken saber. Its forging techniques had indeed come from the Xu Household, and even the engraved mark was identical. Distinguishing the real from the fake was extremely difficult.
"I guessed!"
He shrugged. Xu Lingxue had looked down on him since childhood. Though they were husband and wife, they were more distant than strangers. Apart from seeing her once during festivals and holidays, Liu Wuxie could not see Xu Lingxue most of the time.
"Are you still angry about what happened that night?"
Her voice was like a secluded orchid in an empty valley. Beating her husband out of the bridal chamber on their wedding night had indeed been somewhat excessive, but who could blame her when he was such a useless good-for-nothing? Liu Wuxie truly had never blamed her. He could only say that fate played tricks on people.
"It's all in the past."
He gave a bitter laugh. Was he angry?
He did not know himself. What reason did he have to be angry?
"You seem to have changed."
Xu Lingxue could not quite describe it. Ever since that night, he seemed to have changed, becoming somewhat unfamiliar. He was no longer a wastrel. When he met her gaze, his clear eyes were like two azure gemstones. Compared with the lecherous look he had shown whenever he saw her before, he was like a different person.
Could hurting someone really change their personality?
She should have been happy, yet seeing Liu Wuxie like this, she could not feel happy. He had become too cold. Standing beside him, she could feel no warmth.
"People change."
As they walked down the street, they drew many onlookers. Most gazes fell on Xu Lingxue, mingled with contemptuous remarks, nothing more than talk of a fresh flower planted in cow dung.
"You still haven't told me how you discovered the broken saber's secret."
Xu Lingxue took a deep breath, and a faint smile bloomed on her face like peach blossoms in March. Even the surrounding sky seemed to brighten. That enchanting smile, though concealed behind a thin veil, still could not hide her peerless beauty.
One glance could topple a city; another could topple a nation!
Liu Wuxie rubbed his nose. Marrying a wife like her was a wonderful thing countless men dreamed of, yet he gave a faint, bitter smile. No one understood better than he did what it meant for beauty to bring disaster.
Did he have no feelings for Xu Lingxue?
Of course not.
Their memories had merged perfectly, carrying everything with them, including their feelings.
"Do you remember me picking up a weapon in the main hall yesterday?"
Liu Wuxie's tone softened considerably. His cold presence vanished, and he looked bright and sunny.
"Mm!"
She nodded. Yesterday, Liu Wuxie had entered the main hall and been scolded by her father and mother. He had picked up a weapon during that time, but no one had paid him any attention. Later, he had left with a packet of medicinal herbs. What did that have to do with the broken saber?
"Our Xu Household's weapons give a deep, resonant ring with a trace of a dragon's cry. Today's broken saber used the Xu Household's forging techniques and could almost pass for genuine, but its ring was crisp. The difference seems slight, but in reality, they're as far apart as heaven and earth."
For ordinary people, it was difficult to distinguish. For Liu Wuxie, it was a fatal flaw.
Xu Lingxue turned her head, and both of them stopped. A trace of astonishment appeared in her beautiful eyes. He could actually distinguish such a minute difference.
"Are you going to thank me?"
A wicked smile tugged at Liu Wuxie's lips, earning him a fierce eye roll from Xu Lingxue. Both of them laughed. Today's events had resolved a tremendous crisis for the Xu Household, and they were both happy.
They passed the spot where the brothel had been buried that night. The ruins were still there, and a group of workers was busy at work. The Xu Household had settled the compensation with them yesterday.
He stopped and looked toward the ruins.
Displeasure appeared on Xu Lingxue's face. Liu Wuxie was her husband. Even if he was her husband in name only, she did not want him visiting such places of willows and flowers.
"Still attached to this place?"
Her tone was a little sour. It was not jealousy, but frustration that iron would not become steel. He had finally managed to restore a little of his image in her eyes today, yet the moment he saw a brothel, he could no longer move his feet.
"Would you believe me if I said someone set me up that night?"
Liu Wuxie glanced at the ruins, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Xu Lingxue with a smile, speaking half in earnest and half in jest. He had not yet investigated that night's events thoroughly and did not want too many people to know.
She did not answer. Perhaps Liu Wuxie had broken her heart so completely over the years that, whatever he said, its credibility would be discounted.
They returned to the Xu Household. News of the weapons workshop had already arrived, and the Xu Household was discussing what to do next. This incident had completely torn away the pretense of civility between the two households.
"Father!" Xu Lingxue called.
"Father-in-law!" Liu Wuxie called.
They entered the main hall, where Xu Yilin was discussing matters with several stewards. Everyone stopped when they saw the two of them.
"Wuxie, I've heard everything about today. You did very well. I'm very pleased."
Xu Yilin approached and patted Liu Wuxie's shoulder. Without him today, the consequences would have been unthinkable. They would certainly have fallen for the Tian Household's sinister scheme, and there would surely have been a second and third wave of attacks to bring this weapons workshop down completely.
"It was what I should do."
Liu Wuxie did not claim credit. He had merely done what he ought to do.
"Good, good, good. Go back and rest first. We still have matters to discuss."
He said "good" three times in succession. Seeing his son-in-law mature made him happy from the bottom of his heart. The group resumed their discussion, while Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue withdrew and returned to their respective quarters.
Word of how the Xu Household's son-in-law had displayed his might, exposed the Tian Household's plot, and saved the Xu Household's reputation soon spread throughout the entire Lineage. The servants' attitudes underwent a complete reversal when they saw Liu Wuxie.
"Hello, young master!"
"Greetings, young master!"
"Young master, are you hungry? I'll bring you something to eat!"
"..."
As he returned to his courtyard, he found Tie Li kneeling outside it, bare-chested, bearing thorn branches to beg forgiveness.
"Young master, I was wrong yesterday. Please punish me."
The old Liu Wuxie had been a good-for-nothing whom they despised. After this incident, their attitudes toward him had changed greatly.
"Get up!"
Liu Wuxie did not truly blame him. They were destined to belong to different worlds. That he could admit his mistake of his own accord proved that his heart was still with the Xu Household, and that was enough.
He closed the courtyard gate and hung up a sign forbidding disturbances. For the next two days, he could cultivate properly and strive to break through to the Acquired Seventh Layer Realm.
Now that they had torn away all pretense of civility with the Tian Household, it would surely retaliate frantically. It would target not only the weapons workshop but the Xu Household's other businesses as well.
Most of the Xu Household's income came from its weapons workshop, with teahouses, restaurants, mineral veins, and other businesses also supporting the operation of such a vast Lineage.
These businesses alone could, at most, maintain the status quo. The Xu Household would remain forever stagnant. Liu Wuxie's goal was to make the Xu Household the greatest Lineage in the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty. Only when he never had to worry about what he left behind could he seek his path to immortality.