Heaven’s Shadow

Chapter 171: Heart of a Tiger and Wolf

Warm blood flowed from the body, soon staining her clothes and giving her otherwise clean and beautiful garments a strange, bloodied hue. But Su Qingjun was not concerned with this. What mattered to her more was the discovery of even more and deeper, more brutal wounds on Lu Chen’s body as she tried to lift him.

She was stunned for a while, realizing it would be difficult to make Lu Chen stand on his own. She gently laid him down again and, looking at his mangled and bloody state, whispered, “Wait for me a moment.”

She then stood up, glanced around, and walked over to where several attendants, including the three Su brothers, were gathered in the courtyard. The power of the Moonlight Slash had been so overwhelming that it had terrified everyone present, including Su Mo, who seemed to be in shock. As Su Qingjun approached, everyone, including the three Su brothers, recoiled in fear, their faces pale.

Su Qingjun’s face was cold as she pointed to an attendant who seemed relatively clean and said, “Take off your outer garment.”

The attendant was stunned and exclaimed, “What?”

Su Qingjun did not repeat herself. She simply looked at him coldly, causing the attendant’s legs to go weak. He hastily replied, “Alright, alright!” and quickly removed his outer garment, fearing that if he moved too slowly, his limbs would also part from his body like his clothes.

Su Qingjun took the garment and returned to Lu Chen’s side. She carefully wrapped him in the clothing, covering his bloody wounds and keeping them hidden from the swirling dust.

Lu Chen smiled and said, “There’s no need to go through so much trouble.”

Su Qingjun glanced at him and softly asked, “How are you not in too much pain?”

Lu Chen laughed, but after a few chuckles, his face twisted with pain as he sucked in a sharp breath. It seemed he had touched a particularly painful wound. Su Qingjun shook her head with a trace of concern, supporting him as she draped one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him to his feet. She then began to move away from the scene.

To the others in the courtyard, this scene was like a ghostly apparition, especially to the Su brothers, who looked on in horror. Su Mo was the first to react but stumbled and nearly fell due to his own injuries, luckily being caught by Su Qian and Su Wen.

He managed to steady himself and yelled at Su Qingjun, “Sister, what are you doing? Have you really gotten involved with this man?”

Su Qingjun gave him a cold glance and said, “Shut your filthy mouth.”

Furious, Su Mo retorted, “I’m your full-blooded brother. Why shouldn’t I speak about your matters?”

Su Qingjun’s eyes were icy as she stared at Su Mo and said, “If not for the fact that you are my close kin, given the heinous acts you’ve committed today, I would have already killed you with a single sword strike! Get out of my way and don’t meddle in my affairs again.”

Su Mo, stunned by her icy glare and remembering the desolate yet fearsome sword light, found himself unable to muster the courage to argue back. At that moment, an angry voice came from outside the door:

“His actions as a younger brother may not concern you, but as his mother, do I not have the right to interfere?”

Everyone present was startled and turned to see a well-maintained woman entering the courtyard. She was Bai Shi, the current matriarch of the Su family. The attendants and servants all quickly paid their respects, and the three Su brothers approached her. Su Mo hobbled to Bai Shi’s side, his voice tinged with a hint of tears as he called out, “Mother!”

Bai Shi gently patted his shoulder, her affection evident. She then looked around at the devastation—trees fallen, walls collapsed, and dust everywhere. Her brows furrowed deeply, and her face darkened as she looked at Su Qingjun.

“Jun’er, have you completely disregarded me?”

Initially, Su Qingjun hesitated under Bai Shi’s imposing gaze, but she soon found her courage and met her mother’s eyes. “Mother, I’ve already said, today’s events were caused by my brother’s mistakes.”

Bai Shi was furious. “What mistakes has he made? Even if there were some faults, is it worth causing such a commotion? Are you trying to destroy our entire house?”

Su Qingjun sneered and pointed to the terrifying, bloodstained torture instruments scattered on the ground. Coldly, she said, “Do you see these? Do you think someone who uses such vile things to harm others only made minor mistakes?” She suddenly raised her voice, “If this were on Kunlun Mountain, under strict rules, you would see what would await him!”

Bai Shi’s gaze swept over the torture instruments, and her face turned pale with shock and fear. It was as if she had realized something, and she shot a severe glare at Su Mo.

Su Mo, looking as if he were shrinking into himself, lowered his head and fell silent. Bai Shi gritted her teeth and muttered, “We will settle this with you later, unfilial son.”

She took a deep breath and then looked at Su Qingjun. Her gaze had changed, and she seemed to sense that her daughter, the most outstanding and hopeful talent in the family, was not quite the same as before.

“Even if Mo’er has made mistakes, the family rules will handle him. Even when your father returns home, he will not let him off,” Bai Shi said to Su Qingjun, her face dark with anger. “But what I want to know is, have you forgotten what I said to you in the front hall?”

She seemed extremely enraged, glaring at Su Qingjun and speaking each word with intensity, “Have you completely disregarded my life?”

Su Qingjun gave a faint, bitter smile, shaking her head gently, and said, “Mother, you know that’s not the case.”

Bai Shi was furious. “Then why didn’t you listen to me and come here to make such a scene?”

Su Qingjun, supporting Lu Chen, began to walk slowly forward and said, “Mother, you and I both know that those were just angry words. You are not going to die.”

Bai Shi was so angry that her hands were trembling as she pointed at Su Qingjun and yelled, “You, you ungrateful daughter…”

Su Qingjun’s expression was somewhat desolate as she said, “When you speak, do you ever check your conscience? Over the years, who has been the most filial to you and Father, if not me? Is it my hot-tempered yet incompetent brother?”

She helped Lu Chen, walking past Bai Shi and lowering her voice to speak softly, “And how could you ever bear to die? You care so much about your appearance every day, spending hours on maintenance and using all sorts of beauty and health products. And there are all those concubines and maids at home. If they are still alive, how could you possibly leave first?”

Bai Shi’s face instantly turned ashen. Looking at Su Qingjun, her lips quivered, but she was momentarily speechless.

Su Qingjun walked past Bai Shi and continued forward. After a moment, Bai Shi suddenly began to cry out, “Fine, fine, you’ve grown wings, and I can’t control you. When your father returns, I will tell him about your disobedience today. Let’s see if he’ll be heartbroken, let’s see if he’ll care about you…”

Su Qingjun paused and turned around with a strange look in her eyes. Bai Shi felt uncomfortable under her gaze and involuntarily took a step back.

Su Qingjun smiled faintly and said, “Mother, stop deceiving yourself. Father is much more practical than you. He must know who the Su family will truly rely on in the coming decades or even centuries. Is it me, a twenty-two-year-old Golden Core cultivator, or is it my group of useless brothers?”

“You…”

“You see, I actually understand everything and see everything,” Su Qingjun said calmly. “I just didn’t say anything before.”

The courtyard was silent. Everyone was awed by Su Qingjun’s presence and dared not step forward to stop her. They simply watched as Su Qingjun slowly supported Lu Chen and walked him out of the courtyard.

As they neared the gate, Lu Chen, leaning on Su Qingjun and looking somewhat exhausted, suddenly smiled and said softly, “Well said.”

“Hmm, it’s alright.”

“Very impressive, very imposing.”

“That’s all thanks to you,” Su Qingjun replied quietly. “You taught me how to flip the table.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I guess I’m pretty impressive then!”

“…Impressive enough to almost get killed?”

“You really can’t hold a conversation, can you?” Lu Chen said with a hint of resignation.

※※※

On that day, many people in Kunwu City witnessed the light shooting into the sky again and saw the outcome of Su Qingjun rescuing Lu Chen. Among those who saw the whole scene clearly were the onlookers outside the Su residence.

He Gang and Lao Ma were there from start to finish, never leaving.

However, their reactions were completely different.

He Gang, watching the light fade into the sky, had eyes filled with hatred as if he wanted to spew fire. He gritted his teeth, muttering curses under his breath, and then turned and walked away with large strides.

This matter had to be reported to his older brother as soon as possible. That shameless woman actually cared for a mere servant like Lu Chen; she was definitely a loose woman unworthy of his older brother. He had to warn his brother. Moreover, as they were both renowned talents, if there were future conflicts, well, it wasn’t impossible to use that ant-like Lu Chen to their advantage!

Meanwhile, as He Gang quickly departed, Lao Ma, who was slightly overweight, looked relieved as if he had finally relaxed. But after a moment, when he looked back at the Su residence gate, his gaze changed to one of coldness and cruelty.

Like a wolf or tiger!