Chapter 17: I Will Make You Die in Agony

Mo Qianqian frowned. Shi Muyao’s mother was indeed acerbic and mean. At a time like this, she only wanted to pin all the blame on him. She even told him to apologize with his life. Did she think of him as her livestock?

"Mo Qianqian, what are you just standing there for? Hurry up and kill yourself! Do you want to drag my Yaoyao down with you? Are you even a man?" Yang Lan scolded again.

"Shut up!"

Patriarch Shi bellowed, his gaze still fixed deadly upon Shi Muyao. "Shi Muyao, no matter what you say, Shi Ming is your cousin. Why did you kill him?"

"No, Mo Qianqian killed him! It has nothing to do with my Yaoyao!" Yang Lan panicked and hastily explained.

"I told you to shut up!"

Patriarch Shi was furious. He slapped Yang Lan heavily across the face.

SMACK!

Several of Yang Lan’s teeth were sent flying. Her entire body was knocked dozens of feet sideways, crashing into the courtyard wall and bringing a section of it down.

"Mother!" Shi Muyao was startled and cried out anxiously, "Grandfather, we were the ones who killed him! It has nothing to do with my parents!"

"Patriarch, w-why did you hit me? Boohoo..." Yang Lan collapsed to the side, sobbing in agony.

Aside from Shi Ping stepping forward to help her up, no one paid Yang Lan any attention.

"I was indeed the one who killed him, not Yaoyao. As for the reason..." Mo Qianqian took two steps forward and sneered. "Given Shi Ming’s character, do you really not know why? Yaoyao was still paralyzed at the time, and Shi Ming tried to rape her. I couldn’t stand by and watch, so I killed him."

At Mo Qianqian’s words, the expressions of many present changed. They were well aware of Shi Ming’s character. He was nothing but a wastrel, albeit one with a brother like Shi Yunhai. Shi Ming did have designs on Shi Muyao. Since the Shi family had recently arranged for her to marry Mo Qianqian, it was entirely possible he would pull a stunt like this. Not even sparing a paralyzed person—it was truly despicable.

"Hmph, you have no proof! Are we supposed to just take your word for it?" Shi Yan scoffed coldly, adding fuel to the fire. "Shi Muyao, you two wanted to seize control of the Shi family and eliminate your competition, so you took the opportunity to murder Shi Ming, didn’t you?

"Once you get the chance, are you going to get rid of me too? Even going so far as to murder our cousin?"

Such vicious, damning words! Even Mo Qianqian had to marvel. Shi Yan’s scheming ran deep indeed!

With those few words, she not only cleared Shi Ming of his attempted assault but also brought Shi Yunhai into the mix. By tying herself to Shi Yunhai, she was driving Shi Muyao straight into a corner.

"Mo Qianqian, you’re nothing but a cripple! Who do you think you are, claiming you killed Shi Ming? Believe it or not, I’ll end you right here and now!" Shishan stepped forward.

"Not only can I kill Shi Ming, but I can also kill Shi Yunhai, and even your Patriarch. Do you believe that?" Mo Qianqian challenged.

"You?" Shishan was so furious he was about to explode.

"Mo Qianqian, you killed him! Hurry up and die!" Yang Lan hurriedly cursed again. However, as soon as she spoke, the corners of her mouth twitched in pain, and fresh blood trickled down. She had just had several teeth slapped out of her mouth by Patriarch Shi.

Hearing Mo Qianqian’s words, Shi Muyao knew he didn’t want to drag her down with him. He was intentionally acting tough and talking big, trying to take all the blame so her grandfather would only target him. Shi Muyao felt a surge of emotion in her heart.

She quickly stepped forward, looked at Patriarch Shi, and pleaded, "Grandfather! Qianqian is just speaking out of anger. The truth is exactly as we said. Shi Ming attempted to assault me, and we had no choice but to fight back, accidentally killing him. Please, uphold justice for us!"

"You murdered Shi Ming!" Patriarch Shi’s voice was utterly devoid of warmth.

"He tried to violate me first," Shi Muyao explained.

"Even so, that is no excuse to kill him. It should have been handled by the family," Patriarch Shi said angrily. "Furthermore, without any evidence, why should I believe you?"

"Grandfather..." Shi Muyao felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.

Over the past two years, due to her paralysis, her grandfather and even her parents had given her the cold shoulder. She thought that once she recovered, she would earn her grandfather’s regard, the family’s respect, and her parents’ affection. But now, all she received was apathy. Without even asking for the facts, he was ready to condemn them.

"Father, no matter what, she is still your granddaughter!" Shi Ping pleaded from the side.

"Shi Ming was also my grandson! And she killed him!" Patriarch Shi bellowed.

Shi Ping immediately lowered his head.

Shi Muyao gritted her teeth and said to Patriarch Shi, "Grandfather, if we die, the Shi family can forget about doing any medicinal herb business with the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion."

Patriarch Shi frowned. The expressions of the others present also changed. If the medicinal herb business was terminated again, the Shi family would suffer massive losses. They truly couldn’t fathom why the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion insisted on cooperating exclusively with Shi Muyao.

"We will renegotiate the business! If the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion disagrees, I’ll have Yunhai win them back!" Patriarch Shi said coldly. "Shi Muyao, I’ll leave your life for Yunhai to handle, but today, in the name of the Patriarch, I shall cripple your cultivation!"

Mo Qianqian stepped out, shielding Shi Muyao behind him.

"Mo Qianqian, I’m the one they want! Hurry up and run!" Shi Muyao hastily pushed herself in front of Mo Qianqian, the aura of the Spirit Vein Realm Fourth Level erupting from her body.

"The Spirit Vein Realm Fourth Level!"

Shi Yan’s expression tightened, and even Patriarch Shi was taken aback. Shock was written all over the faces of the Shi family members.

Reaching the Spirit Vein Realm Fourth Level at sixteen years old made her a rare genius in all of Qingcheng. If she were allowed to grow, she would inevitably become one of Qingcheng’s top-tier experts in the future. But Shi Muyao had killed Shi Ming; this matter could no longer be resolved peacefully.

When forced to choose between Shi Yunhai and Shi Muyao, anyone with half a brain knew what to pick. Shi Yunhai, barely in his early twenties, had already reached the Spirit Vein Realm Sixth Layer. He possessed a special talent and had even joined the Cloud Void Sect, securing them as a massive backer. Shi Yunhai was the true pillar of the Shi family! If not for Shi Yunhai, the Chen family would have likely made a move against them long ago. As for the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, once Shi Yunhai returned, it wasn’t impossible to rekindle their cooperation.

"Hmph, Shi Muyao, Mo Qianqian, neither of you are going anywhere!" Shi Yan shouted coldly as she and her father stepped forward, ready to attack.

"Mo Qianqian!!!"

Right at that moment, a young man’s loud roar rang out. A large group of people came striding in their direction. The group consisted of a good twenty to thirty men, led by an arrogant and unruly youth who had just shouted.

"Chen Zheng!"

Seeing the young man and his entourage, Shi Muyao’s expression changed yet again. Chen Zheng and the Chen family had actually come as well? And it was the Chen Family Master personally leading the group.

Mo Qianqian looked slightly stunned. The Chen family was joining the fray too? Did someone intentionally leak the news to them?

Patriarch Shi and the rest of the Shi family members revealed expressions of wariness, immediately putting their guard up.

The Chen Family Master looked at Patriarch Shi and stated, "Patriarch Shi, Mo Qianqian publicly threatened my son and forced him to kneel. Our Chen family is here to deal with Mo Qianqian. You have no objections, do you?"

"He ruined my son’s manhood! Don’t even think he’ll get to die that easily!!!" another elderly voice roared.

Hearing this, everyone was startled and turned their heads, only to see three more people striding toward them. There was a gray-haired elder, a fat, greasy-faced middle-aged man with a bushy beard, and a brightly and beautifully dressed woman. The beautiful woman’s hands were tightly wrapped in thick white bandages.

"Kong Mingcheng!"

Seeing the three arrive, Mo Qianqian furrowed his brow. The newcomers were none other than Kong Mingcheng, whose manhood he had destroyed, and Li Rong, whose hands he had crushed. He had never seen the other elder before, but judging by his words, he had to be Kong Mingcheng’s father—likely their backer from the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion’s headquarters.

Just how strong would someone from the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion’s headquarters be?

Shi Muyao’s heart trembled, her face turning exceedingly pale.

"Kong Mingcheng!" The members of both the Shi and Chen families were equally astonished.

The incident with Kong Mingcheng had been the talk of Qingcheng. By destroying a man’s most vital part, it could be said that Mo Qianqian had forged a life-and-death blood feud with Kong Mingcheng.

"Kong Mingcheng’s father... Sir, could it be that you hail from the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion’s Central Earth Headquarters?" Patriarch Shi looked at the gray-haired elder in astonishment.

"Exactly! I am a Steward of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion’s Central Earth Headquarters, Kong Ren!" The gray-haired elder stated in a deep voice. "Mo Qianqian ruined my son’s manhood. I have come to torture and kill him. Do any of you have objections?"

"None at all. This cripple deserves to die anyway. It makes no difference who does the deed!" Patriarch Shi replied.

"Mo Qianqian, you’re dead! I’m going to ruin your manhood, break all your limbs, and make you beg for death!!!" Kong Mingcheng’s face was contorted with savagery as he glared viciously at Mo Qianqian, so furious he looked ready to eat him alive.

"Mo Qianqian, you crushed my hands! You’ll die a horrible death! And you, Shi Muyao, you won’t die a good death either!!!" Li Rong shrieked angrily from the side.

"Shi Muyao, how dare you! To think you had the sheer audacity to murder my blood brother!!!"

Right at that moment, another booming, furious roar of a young man echoed over.