Chapter 1916: Fierce and Vicious

“Aunt?” As they were writhing in pain, they heard a familiar voice and looked up in disbelief.

“It’s me. You’ve suffered,” Qin Wanru said, unable to stop herself from wiping the corner of her eyes.

“Big Cousin, Second Cousin...” Chu Hanzhao and Chu Youzhao also rushed over, gripping the bars tightly, their eyes reddening.

“Hanzhao and Youzhao, I didn’t expect you to see us in such a sorry state,” Qin Guangyuan said with a bitter laugh, his expression particularly dejected.

“Cousins...” Soon, the sound of several women sobbing filled the room.

Zuan looked at a nearby jailer: “Open the gate!”

“This isn’t according to regulations...” the jailer said weakly.

Zuan said nothing more, just stared at him silently.

The man shivered, dared not say anything else, and pulled out his keys to open the gate.

Qin Wanru and her group quickly rushed in to check their injuries. Seeing their broken legs, they didn't know what to do, their hearts a mess, and they instinctively wiped away tears.

Zuan squatted beside them: “It’s my fault for not being prepared, causing you two, brothers Qin, to suffer.”

Qin Yongde endured the pain and forced a smile: “This has nothing to do with you, so don’t worry too much. We Qin family members have endured much worse injuries on the battlefield. What’s a little injury like this? With our cultivation, we’ll recover in a while... Ow, ow, ow, don’t press there.”

Zuan withdrew his hand: “The bones are freshly broken. With a cultivator’s recovery ability, as long as you apply medicine and rest properly, you should indeed recover quickly. However, your injuries are a bit strange. Someone injected a trace of insidious intent, which is constantly destroying the tissue around your wounds, making normal recovery virtually impossible.”

“Ah!” The Qin brothers’ faces turned pale.

Qin Wanru’s expression changed, and she quickly said: “We have a divine physician in Brightmoon City. How about I go back and invite him over? He can definitely cure your injuries.”

Although Ji Dengtu was a lecherous and annoying fellow, she would still have to seek him out for the sake of her two nephews’ injuries.

Jiang Luofu, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow slightly. She naturally guessed who the other person was talking about. After all, Ji Dengtu was her brother-in-law.

Thinking of her sister’s fate, she sighed softly in her heart.

At this moment, Zuan spoke: “There’s no need for such trouble. I can cure it.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pressed it on their knees, activating the Gluttonous God Devouring Art, slowly drawing out the strange aura from their legs.

He had now mastered the Gluttonous God Devouring Art to perfection, so he naturally wouldn’t harm their original vital energy.

Soon, visible wisps of black qi emerged from their knees, eventually disappearing entirely into Zuan’s palm.

Those nearby watched in awe. Chu Hanzhao couldn’t help but ask worriedly: “Brother-in-law, will this black qi harm you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Zuan smiled. Hanzhao truly was a considerate little darling; even in this situation, her first thought was to worry about him.

However, with the Gluttonous God Devouring Art combined with the Kunpeng’s ability, even the most malicious substances could be refined completely.

Soon, the black qi grew fainter and fainter, eventually vanishing completely.

Only then did Zuan withdraw his hand, take out a bottle of ointment, and apply it to their knees. Qin Wanru and the others then busied themselves with bandaging and stabilizing the limbs.

Qin Yongde and Qin Guangyuan looked greatly surprised: “Huh, the pain has significantly lessened! That bone-piercing sting from before is gone.”

Zuan smiled: “Don’t worry, that insidious intent in your bodies has been absorbed. You’ll recover normally now, and your legs will be good as new.”

“A’Zu, thank you,” the two said earnestly, trying to bow in thanks, but Zuan stopped them.

“We’re family, there’s no need to be so polite,” Zuan said with a smile.

The Qin brothers’ expressions also relaxed: “Yes, we are all family.”

They thought to themselves: *Sister Chuyan really found a good husband. When the Qin family first heard the news, they were quite indignant, thinking a beautiful flower had been stuck in cow dung. Now they realize how terribly wrong they were.*

At this point, Jiang Luofu directly cornered the jailers guarding the area: “I explicitly ordered you to take good care of them. Why are they in this state now?”

The jailers looked terrified: “Miss Jiang, we humble soldiers can’t prevent many things.”

As they spoke, their eyes couldn’t help but dart towards several Ministry of Justice officials.

Seeing this, Zuan walked directly up to Ye Ping and slapped him several times, waking him up.

The other Ministry of Justice officials weren’t clear on the full story; the Vice Minister of Justice, Ye Ping, would know best.

Ye Ping slowly regained consciousness, his head buzzing. As he gradually came to, he immediately erupted in fury: “Do you know what you’re doing? Publicly assaulting an imperial official! This is rebellion! A crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family!”

Rage from Ye Ping +666,666,666...

His response was a resounding slap.

“You dare to hit me again...”

Rage from Ye Ping +444,444,444...

Another slap.

“How dare you...”

Rage from Ye Ping +222,222,222...

Yet another slap.

This time, Ye Ping shut his mouth.

Zuan, however, was somewhat displeased. *What a spineless wretch; why does his rage value decrease the more I hit him?*

He had just spent all his rage points and was thinking of saving up more to buy a Marrow Cleansing Pill for Hanzhao.

Thinking this, he raised his hand again.

Ye Ping trembled all over, and with a swollen mouth, he mumbled: “Stop hitting me, stop! I’ll tell you whatever you want to ask.”

“Why did you lay your cruel hands on the Qin and Murong families?” Zuan asked in a deep voice.

Ye Ping hesitated for a moment, then, seeing Zuan’s raised hand again, quickly replied: “This was someone else’s order. We were just following instructions.”

“Whose orders?” Zuan demanded.

“Prince Dai, and the Meng family...” Ye Ping whispered.

Zuan’s expression turned cold. *Could it be that these two lost face in court today and are now taking their anger out on the Qin and Murong families?*

“Did you break their legs? Your cultivation method is quite vicious, deliberately leaving behind a hidden force to prevent them from ever recovering,” Zuan said coldly.

“Not me, not me...” Ye Ping frantically waved his hands.

At this point, Qin Guangyuan spoke: “He ordered our legs to be broken, but someone else did it. That person was entirely cloaked in a black robe, their face obscured. It seemed to be an old man.”

At these words, everyone glared at Ye Ping: “Where is that black-robed person now?”

Ye Ping quickly waved his hands: “I was just doing someone a favor. That black-robed person isn’t one of mine; he’s Prince Dai’s subordinate. He left after he finished his work. I don’t know where he is now.”

Zuan’s eyes narrowed. *This Prince Dai is truly vicious.*

Jiang Luofu looked at him worriedly. *Prince Jin was killed for offending him back then. Is he now going to target Prince Dai?*

*If he kills two princes consecutively, even if he’s a Libationer, he might not be able to withstand the pressure from all sides.*

“Villain, how dare you order my cousins’ legs broken!” Chu Hanzhao could no longer restrain herself. She pulled out the whip from her waist and lashed it across Ye Ping.

“Ah!” Ye Ping immediately let out a pig-like squeal, rolling around on the ground.

His companions glanced sideways, thinking: *Lord Ye is really overacting, isn’t he?*

*Can a whip from a little girl really hurt that much? Being whipped by such a beautiful maiden should be a reward.*

Just then, Chu Hanzhao spotted the other Ministry of Justice officials, and her anger flared. Another whip flew out.

“Ah!”

Several screams rang out simultaneously, and several more people instantly began rolling on the ground. Now they finally understood why Lord Ye had screamed like a pig just now.

Because it really, *really* hurt.

Zuan secretly sneered. *The Whip of Lamentation is designed to immensely magnify the pain you feel. It’s not something easily endured.*

Chu Hanzhao, fuming, continued to lash out with her whip.

Qin Wanru had initially felt it was improper to openly beat Ministry of Justice officials, but seeing the horrific state of the Qin brothers, she couldn’t tolerate it either.

*At worst, we’ll return to Brightmoon City and lead the three thousand Red-Robed Army to become bandits!*

After being whipped several times consecutively, Ye Ping finally couldn’t take it anymore and quickly said: “Stop hitting me, stop! I want to atone for my crimes.”

“Atoning for your crimes? How?” Zuan stopped Chu Hanzhao.

“That black-robed person just went to the two Dukes of the Qin family. Hurry and go rescue them; maybe you can still salvage something,” Ye Ping said weakly.

“What!”

At these words, everyone was shocked.

*That’s right! If they attacked the two brothers of the third generation of the Qin family, how could they spare the two family heads?*

Their attention had been drawn by the tragic state of Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde, making them forget this crucial detail.

Everyone immediately rushed towards the distance. Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde struggled to get up, but Jiang Luofu stopped them: “You’re injured; don’t move around recklessly. Otherwise, if you become crippled, seeking revenge will truly be hopeless for the rest of your lives.”

Hearing her words, the two brothers sat back down, but their fists were clenched, veins bulging, and their lips were bitten until they bled.

Soon, the others arrived at the cells where the two Dukes of the Qin family were held. Their identities were special, so they each had individual rooms.

Through the bars, Qin Wanru saw that her father’s limbs were intact, with only some old torture wounds on his body. She breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed things were alright; the two Dukes had special status, so they wouldn’t dare act recklessly.

Yet, for some reason, her father seemed much older than usual, and his entire body looked thinner?

Zuan’s expression, however, changed. He rushed straight into the room and grabbed Qin Zheng’s hand, feeling only a weak, almost imperceptible pulse.

More critically, there wasn’t a single ripple of vital energy from him.

At this moment, Qin Zheng retained none of the dignity he had when Zuan first met him. His hair had turned completely white, his formerly robust body had become somewhat shriveled, like an ordinary octogenarian in the mundane world, as if he could pass away at any moment.

Noticing Qin Wanru’s puzzled look, Zuan said in a grim voice: “Duke Cheng’s entire cultivation has been drained. He is now a cripple!”