Inside the restroom, Lian Qiguang stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning casually against the wall beside the door. He paid no attention to the laughter and chatter outside, instead staring blankly at the floor as if spacing out.
“I wonder what important matter His Highness the Fourth Prince has brought me here for?” a fawning voice drifted in from outside. “Why ask so many questions! Just follow me!!” came an impatient, slightly guilty reply. “Yes, yes! I won’t ask anymore!”
The voices grew closer.
Lian Qiguang lifted his head from his daze and, as if in an empty state of mind, expressionlessly began unbuttoning his shirt.
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived at the restroom,” the fat, greasy old man said obsequiously to Shentu Sihao, bowing repeatedly. “Do I need you to tell me? Do I look blind? Open the door!” Shentu Sihao snapped, irritation mixed with faint guilt. A second-rate noble like this actually dared to stare at him like that.
Open the door?
The old man froze. He glanced at the lively banquet behind him, then at the quiet, empty restroom, and finally at Shentu Sihao’s tall, slender figure. He swallowed hard, a filthy gleam flashing in his eyes.
Could it be…
“Why are you still standing there! Are you waiting to die?!” “Ah! Y-yes! Right away!”
The old man smiled increasingly obscenely, his gaze lingering on Shentu Sihao’s body before stepping forward eagerly to open the door.
Inside the restroom, Lian Qiguang had already taken off his expensive suit jacket and casually tossed it onto the sink. He loosened his collar, expressionless eyes staring at the ceiling. From his pocket, he took out a pair of white gloves and slowly put them on.
The door opened.
The moment it did, a hand in white gloves suddenly shot out from behind it, grabbing the old man by the collar and throwing him straight into the restroom.
“Bang!”
A heavy kick slammed into the man’s stomach. The sudden pain folded him like a shrimp, and before he could even scream, a crisp “crack” sounded—his jaw was dislocated.
Punches and kicks rained down.
Each strike was precise, as if calculated in advance—none fatal, but all aimed at the most fragile, sensitive parts of the human body.
The man collapsed to the ground, both eyes swollen shut, blood streaming down his face. His mouth opened in a silent scream, but without a jaw, not a sound came out.
“Bang!”
He was smashed against the wall, then slid down limply. His luxurious clothes were torn and ruined; his face was so deformed it was unrecognizable. He lay twitching on the ground, barely breathing—more dead than alive.
Lian Qiguang stared at the “corpse” on the floor with an expressionless face, slowly walking closer.
From beginning to end, his expression did not change even once. His breathing remained steady.
His white shirt collar hung loosely, revealing a delicate collarbone. A few strands of hair fell across his dark eyes. Stepping through the blood on the floor, he looked like a nobleman from hell.
Standing over the man, he lifted his foot and stomped down hard onto the already-deformed face, grinding it into the ground.
“I’ve always held grudges.”
He spoke calmly, as if unconcerned with the man’s agony, slowly removing his gloves.
“To those I remember… don’t be happy about it. Because for people like that, I prefer torture.”
“Trash. Remember how it feels today.”
He leaned down slightly, expressionless, looking at the ruined face beneath his foot.
“Next time we meet, I hope I won’t remember you.”
He turned and walked out, picking up his coat. As he passed the still-dazed Shentu Sihao, he pressed the dirty gloves into his arms.
“Good work.”
Shentu Sihao stood frozen, holding the gloves, unable to recover for a long time.
—
Scene transition
In a vast study, an eerie silence hung in the air.
Xuan Lang stared dumbfounded at the bloody “scene of the crime.” Thinking back to those heavy “bang, bang, bang” strikes, he felt his scalp go numb.
Xiahou Shaoxuan sat with a deep expression, watching the projection of that figure, lips pressed together as if lost in thought.
After a long while, Xiahou Shaoxuan suddenly stood up and strode out.
“Hey! Boss, where are you going?” Chong Mu called out.
“Have someone clean up the trash.” Without looking back, Xiahou Shaoxuan left a cold order and disappeared, leaving Xuan Lang and Chong Mu exchanging stunned glances.
……
On the other side, Marshal Xiahou Zhong sat calmly, watching the surveillance feed with a serious expression.
“Hahaha!! This kid is good! I like him!” Xiahou Luoyu laughed loudly, red hair blazing like fire.
“Xia’er, what do you think?” Xiahou Zhong glanced at his eldest son, Xiahou Jue.
Xiahou Jue frowned as he looked at the footage of Lian Qiguang.
“I don’t like his eyes,” he said.
Xiahou Zhong raised a brow. “Go on.”
“They’re too numb. It feels like… like he doesn’t have a heart anymore.” Xiahou Jue’s brows tightened. “And the blood aura on him is too heavy. That’s not just pressure—it’s real blood. It’s soaked into his soul. That kind of presence… without thousands upon thousands of deaths, it’s impossible.”
“You mean this child…”
“But this doesn’t match our intelligence reports, Father.” An Ruxin, leaning beside Xiahou Jue, asked in confusion.
Xiahou Zhong frowned, deep in thought.
“Old man, should I go test him?” Xiahou Luoyu suddenly pulled out two curved blades from his spatial device and slammed them onto the table, eyes burning with excitement.
“What are you doing! Put that away—you’re like a pirate!” Xiahou Jue snapped.
“Alright, alright,” An Ruxin soothed gently. “Since he’s Xiaoxuan’s fiancée, let Xiaoxuan decide. It’s only an engagement, not a marriage.”
Xiahou Zhong nodded. Then suddenly remembered something.
“Where’s that brat Xiaotian?”
“He said he had something to do and would come later with his friend.”
“Always fooling around,” Xiahou Zhong muttered.
Xiahou Jue glanced at the time and changed the subject.
“Father, it’s about time. We should head down.”
“Mm.” Xiahou Zhong stood up slowly.
“Let’s go.”
“Old man! You really won’t let me spar with him?”
“Behave yourself! If you cause trouble again, I’ll break your legs!”
“I was just trying to be helpful!!!”