Amidst the swirling ash and dust, the lingering saber qi remained sharp and bone-chilling. An ordinary person stepping inside would likely be shredded into a bloody mist in an instant.
Su Qinghan watched the scene in shock. If that expert hadn't acted, she would never have known such a powerful being was hidden at Jiang Lan's side.
'And I actually dared to threaten him.'
'Looking back now, she felt she had been outrageously bold, completely ignorant of her own peril.'
'But who was this strange man who had suddenly burst in? Could he be here to save me?'
"Miss Su, could it be that you know this assassin?"
"Coming to save you this late at night... It couldn't be a stranger, could it?"
"But this person... changing his appearance, hiding his true face... does he have some dark secret to hide?"
Just then, Jiang Lan smiled faintly and reached out, wrapping his arm around Su Qinghan's waist.
He wasn't afraid of Lin Fan showing up; he was only afraid Lin Fan would be too cautious and stay away.
This situation was playing right into his hands.
Su Qinghan was stunned into a stupor. When she realized what Jiang Lan was doing, her entire body tensed up.
At that moment, Jiang Lan felt a great deal of fortune surge into his Mud Ball Palace.
'It seems teasing the female lead in front of Lin Fan is effective after all. Has it affected his state of mind?'
'But I really have no desire to be the other man.'
But despite this thought, Jiang Lan kept his casual smile and continued their previous conversation.
"Miss Su, what are you hesitating for?"
"With my status and position, in what way am I inferior to that live-in husband of yours?"
"If you follow me, to say nothing of other benefits, your Su Family's status within the Great Xia will rise with the tide."
"Forget this small Yu Yi City—even in all of Jiangling County, countless sects and clans, big and small, would have to look to your Su Family for leadership. What is there to consider?"
Su Qinghan's body went rigid. A layer of goosebumps broke out across her skin. She was incredibly tense but didn't dare struggle free. She could only say in a low voice, "I am not one to curry favor with the powerful. The things you speak of, I wish to achieve them on my own."
"How dull."
Jiang Lan shook his head, feigning a loss of interest. "It seems Miss Qianhan is truly proud and aloof, elegant and otherworldly, completely different from any other woman I've encountered. Fine. If you are truly unwilling, I won't force you."
"I have also met that sister of yours, Su Qingyao. She too is a rare, budding beauty."
Su Qinghan couldn't believe Jiang Lan would use her sister to threaten her again. 'That shameless bastard,' she thought, gritting her teeth. "It's not that I am unwilling," she said, "but this is all too sudden. I was caught completely off guard. Young Master Jiang, could you give me some time to process this..."
"Let go, you scoundrel..."
But Su Qinghan didn't get to finish her sentence.
An enraged roar erupted from within the swirling ash.
A wretched figure, clothes in tatters and hair disheveled, slowly emerged from the dust. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. It was Lin Fan.
But now, the calm confidence he'd had upon arrival was gone, replaced by a look of humiliation and cold fury.
Su Qinghan was utterly shocked. She never expected this stranger to have survived.
"Young Master, be careful. There's something strange about this one."
The middle-aged man in gray, named Ying, stood before Jiang Lan with his saber drawn, his gaze cold as he stared at Lin Fan.
The man's aura was clearly only at the Qi Cultivation Realm, yet he had taken a direct hit from his saber and survived. Now, Ying even sensed a hint of danger from Lin Fan.
"Has he used a trump card?"
Jiang Lan's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued.
His original plan was to force Lin Fan to burn through his most critical trump cards first. Killing him afterwards would be much easier.
After all, a Child of Fortune was like a tenacious cockroach.
If you didn't kill them outright and gave them a chance to grow, they would soon find other fortuitous encounters and become a major threat in the future.
'As for the idea of using Lin Fan as a Treasure Hunting Mouse, he'd had it. But on second thought, he already knew the original plot. What use was a Treasure Hunting Mouse to him?'
'The priority was to kill this guy now and avoid any future complications.'
"Scoundrel, let her go."
Seeing Jiang Lan still had his arm around Su Qinghan's slender waist, Lin Fan's eyes grew even colder.
Combined with the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his disheveled, wretched appearance gave him the vicious air of a lone wolf.
Su Qinghan lowered her gaze, her eyelashes fluttering. For some reason, she found it difficult to meet Lin Fan's eyes, which were filled with rage and ice.
Although she had never seen this strange man before, she had a nagging feeling that she should know him.
'Who on earth was he?'
'He came to save me in the dead of night, in disguise... but wouldn't his actions just solidify the accusation that I tried to assassinate Jiang Lan?'
"You will regret what you've done today..."
Lin Fan stared coldly at Jiang Lan, speaking slowly, almost one word at a time.
If looks could kill, Jiang Lan would already be dead a thousand times over.
Since their marriage, he and Su Qinghan had exchanged fewer than ten sentences.
He had never touched her; they had barely even seen each other.
Seeing her being held so familiarly by Jiang Lan, unable to resist, the rage and killing intent in his heart intensified.
'He was the great Eternal Damnation Sword Master! When had he ever suffered such humiliation? To be bullied to this degree by some worthless second-generation brat.'
"You're courting death."
BOOM!!!
Within the ruined pavilion, a tide of saber light surged forth.
A vast, blinding whiteness blotted out the sky, pressing down and filling half the heavens.
Ying's eyes were frigid, his killing intent overflowing. He swung his saber, no longer holding back.
After sensing that trace of danger from Lin Fan, he knew this man was likely more bizarre and difficult to handle than any enemy he had ever faced.
RUMBLE!!!
As the saber fell, the Void before them trembled violently, and saber light saturated every inch of space.
Countless strands of surging saber light formed a boundless ocean of blades, roiling and raging.
Lin Fan's eyes turned red. He gritted his teeth, coughing up blood unceasingly as it gushed from his every pore. He looked like a corpse dyed crimson.
"Fellow Daoist, please show mercy..."
But at that very moment, a grand and righteous voice suddenly rang out, powerful enough to make the heavens tremble.
In the Void, a golden light surged. A vast aura manifested, coalescing into a colossal, simple, and square-shaped hand that slapped forward, directly blocking the myriad descending saber gleams.
In the distant night sky, an old man and a young woman in white floated down.
The old man had graying hair and was clearly advanced in age, yet he looked quite ordinary.
However, he was hale and hearty, his eyes clear and free of any cloudiness. His every gesture carried the profound, righteous air of Confucianism.
As for the young woman in white beside him, her face was clear and lovely, her bearing elegant and refined. Her eyes were like shimmering water, captivating and bright. Her waist was slender, her figure poised and graceful.
A cascade of jet-black hair fell smoothly to her waist. She had a lustrous, oval face, dewy red lips, and skin as white as snow, possessing the gentle grace of a well-born lady.