Chapter 290: The Path of Resoluteness

The butler felt utterly paralyzed, seeing Zhang Taiying's familiar hand-twisting gesture. His words sounded as if his emotions had stabilized, but that gesture meant he wanted to kill again!

Lan Xinzi naturally understood this, but the die was cast; there was no turning back. She simply let go completely, raised her head, and said gravely, "Yes, Young Master Zhang also knew about this idea."

Everyone was stunned. Was she really poking the bear? Was she truly seeking death?

As expected, Zhang Taiying's expression suddenly darkened. With a wave of his hand, Lan Xinzi's body was instantly sent flying through the air. With a thunderous crash, the pillars in the hall shattered, figures fell heavily, and blood spurted out.

"Pfft!"

"He supported me," Lan Xinzi said, prostrate on the ground, her pretty face pale, but her beautiful eyes showed no sign of submission.

Zhang Taiying was enraged. He raised his left arm, and a powerful spiritual energy surged forth.

At this, the butler couldn't remain seated; he struggled to get up. "Patriarch, you mustn't!" he pleaded. "It's not appropriate to shed blood at this time!"

"Shed blood?" Zhang Taiying's tone was sharp; he pointed to the bloodstains beneath Lan Xinzi and said chillingly, "Haven't you already seen it?!"

The butler collapsed again. He had done his best.

The spiritual energy in Zhang Taiying's hand condensed into a murky sphere. It was small in size, but the compressed energy within it was incredibly violent. He looked at Lan Xinzi. Lan Xinzi was determined to break free from her servitude, and she stared directly at him, completely unafraid.

"Ridiculous!" Zhang Taiying gave a cold laugh and flicked his finger.

The spiritual energy sphere flew, instantly piercing through the void and arriving in an instant. Lan Xinzi didn't even attempt to defend herself. Against the Zhang family patriarch's attack, especially with her being merely at the initial Heavenly Manifestation realm, even at the peak of Star Worship, it would be absolutely impossible to parry even half of it. For today's events, she had already made up her mind: succeed or die trying!

Everyone was horrified. After Young Master Zhang died, no one in the mansion even dared to touch meat or shed blood, utterly afraid of Zhang Taiying seeing it. Unexpectedly, today, this Zhang family patriarch, who had been suppressed for so long, had personally erupted instead.

*Buzz—*

To everyone's surprise, after the spiritual energy sphere flew through the void, it came to a stable halt, pressing against Lan Xinzi's forehead. Gusts of energy swept past, her black dress rustled, and her dark hair danced wildly. The violent energy was completely confined within the sphere; this perfectly controlled power was simply exquisite beyond compare. Even so, the mere aftershocks of the spiritual energy caused blood to trickle from Lan Xinzi's forehead.

Lan Xinzi remained motionless. It seemed as if even if this sphere pierced her skull, she would not flinch even a little.

Everyone was stunned. There was admiration for this resolute woman, but what everyone cared about more was that Zhang Taiying had stopped. Facing a servant who repeatedly brought up forbidden topics and acted defiantly, Zhang Taiying actually stopped? Didn't this mean that Lan Xinzi's proposal had been accepted? The servants prostrate on the ground couldn't help but feel envy and resentment. To be honest, if Zhang Xinxiong hadn't taken Lan Xinzi to the Spiritual Palace, this black-clad woman before them surely wouldn't have had such an opportunity to grow to this extent. Perhaps among those kneeling, there would have been one more like her.

"You are very brave."

Zhang Taiying withdrew his left arm, concealing it again within his robes. A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes. He ultimately didn't want to take too drastic action during the period of his son Xiong'er's mourning.

Lan Xinzi's eyes also lit up with joy, about to speak, but then saw the spiritual energy sphere at her forehead tremble violently.

Everyone: ???

"Boom!!"

A booming explosion directly shattered the main hall, sending figures flying backward and cries of agony filling the ground. The butler shuddered and instinctively huddled closer to the Golden Scale Chief. He knew that even if the patriarch didn't want to kill, there would still be some necessary venting. Under such a roar, if someone were truly blasted to death... it wouldn't be the patriarch's doing, but fate itself!

"Pfft!"

Lan Xinzi spat blood, then clumsily detached from the wall panel, crashing heavily to the ground, her body cracking and blood flowing incessantly. Fortunately, she was still alive. But some people around her weren't so lucky. Those servants who weren't even at the Xiantian realm, almost all who were close, were instantly annihilated, likely not even leaving their souls behind. For those further away, their bodies were preserved, but only their bodies remained. There were naturally some lucky survivors, but each of them was left with broken bodies but unbroken spirits.

Lan Xinzi clenched her fists, wiped away the blood from her red lips, and her eyes held a hidden hatred. For those sisters who were once like kin, she felt not a shred of pity. She hated this family that regarded human lives as expendable; she hated these rules, and even more, she hated the one who made these rules.

Zhang Taiying... Lan Xinzi's body trembled; no matter how much she hated him, the thought of this man could envelop her entire world in darkness.

As the dust settled, her eyes again filled with pain, and she knelt back down on the ground.

After a long time, in the haze, the man who had reclined back in the chief seat seemed tired of sitting, and as if casually chatting, he asked, "What is the name of the person who killed Xiong'er?"

"Xu Xiaoshou," Lan Xinzi quickly replied.

"Xu Xiaoshou..." Zhang Taiying closed his eyes, twisted his wrist, and sighed softly, "What a truly good name..." He snapped back to attention and asked, "What is your name?"

"Lan Xinzi."

"Oh... of the 'Lan' generation?"

"Yes, Patriarch." Lan Xinzi's body trembled slightly. The 'Lan' generation, 'Lan Nu' (Blue Slave) — that was her designation in the Zhang family! To the extent that it wasn't even considered a name!

Zhang Taiying sighed, glanced back at the empty expanse before him, and turned to leave. "Take your people and your belongings, and get out!"

On Lan Xinzi's prostrate face, a hint of color finally returned. Her lips twitched, as if she wanted to force a smile, but then a bitter feeling emerged. Her lips mumbled twice and finally closed. More wall fragments collapsed, pressing the bodies beneath them even further down.

"Yes, Patriarch."

"He's gone."

He Yuxing looked at the blood-soaked woman beside him, his fists still clenched tight. He had been standing for an hour amidst the piles of corpses and the deathly silence, finally awaiting Lan Xinzi's relieved remark.

"You are free," he said softly.

Lan Xinzi straightened up, her face filled with a frantic smile. "I am free."

"Xu Xiaoshou... hahaha ha..."

"I succeeded?"

"Hahaha!" Lan Xinzi laughed loudly, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. As for Zhang Xinxiong, she truly adored him. But only with Zhang Xinxiong's death did she have even a slight chance to escape this filthy place. This world is so strange: what one desires and what one yearns for, though seemingly similar, have the most fundamental differences.

Lan Xinzi lay down on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. She saw the little girl who first entered the Zhang family, innocent, lively, and adorable. She also saw the girl helping to transport corpses, her expression bleak, her eyes lost. The scene shifted. She then saw the woman who had entered the Spiritual Palace by creating corpses—numb, heartless, and unscrupulous. She also saw the woman collapsing and howling beneath the arena—for Zhang Xinxiong, for Xu Xiaoshou, and even more, for herself!

"Love, or freedom..."

Lan Xinzi's lips curved slightly, reining in her wild abandon, and returning to a calm demeanor. She wiped her mouth; there was blood and smudged makeup. She tilted her head, smoothed her hair, and asked softly, "Do I still look good?"

He Yuxing gazed at the woman lying on the ground, her dress slightly torn, her pretty face pale and streaked, and nodded solemnly. "Yes, you do."

Lan Xinzi smiled. She got up and linked arms with He Yuxing. "Let's go!"

He Yuxing was stunned and asked blankly, "Where?"

"To the Eight Palaces, White Lair."