Book 7: Chapter 23: The Art of Escape |
The scene fell silent once more, broken only by Julius’ miserable, drawn-out wails. No one had expected that this girl who had suddenly appeared would be this fearless, daring to strike Julius so ruthlessly right in front of so many members of the Ye family.
No matter how despicable Julius was, he was still the only son of the Song family. And even if the Song family had declined, if something happened to Julius within the Ye household, it would still be the Ye family’s reputation on the line. They would be forced to give an explanation.
“Julius!” Bianca was the first to react, throwing herself onto Julius as he writhed in agony. She pressed down on his wound while glaring at Lilith with bloodshot eyes. “You wretched girl, how can you be so vicious and cruel? You dare to harm our Julius? The city lord’s government will never let you off!”
“Who told him to be stupid? Didn’t I already warn him?” Lilith casually blew a puff of white smoke from the gun’s muzzle, utterly unconcerned, as if the matter before her was nothing at all.
What was the city lord’s government worth? Was it even comparable to a Deity Lord? Even Deity Lords had to line up if they wanted to kill her.
“Landon, are you just going to stand there and watch?” Seeing that her threat had no effect, Bianca turned toward Landon, who still looked completely stunned, and wailed bitterly, “You heartless man! Are you really going to disregard the ties between the Song and Ye families? And wasn’t that wild girl brought in by you? Aren’t you going to take responsibility?”
The corner of Landon’s mouth twitched. It was true that he had brought her in, but his intention had only been to let her try treating Liana’s illness. Who could have imagined that on her very first day, she would be this fierce, daring to snatch a marriage?
And not just any marriage, but one between the Ye and Song families? And even go so far as to attack the Song family’s only heir? Although Landon himself was not particularly fond of this marriage, at a time like this, the matter concerned the Ye family’s reputation. He could not simply brush it aside.
“Outrageous!” With a loud bang, Landon slammed his palm onto the tea table, glaring furiously. “My Ye family took you in out of kindness, and this is how you repay us?”
“Hmph. This concerns the reputation of two families. I will not allow you to act on a whim.” Landon’s expression darkened as he stared at Lilith with solemn intensity. “Miss Jasmine, surrender now and I may still deal with this lightly. Otherwise, once the others make their move, they may not show restraint.”
“Landon, oh Landon… now I finally understand why Liana dislikes you so much.” Lilith looked at him with pity, shaking her head. “Have you placed far too much importance on this position as family head?”
“Nonsense!” With a sharp flick of his sleeve, the already battered tea table finally shattered into scattered fragments with a crash. He was truly enraged now, baring his teeth at Lilith like an aging lion. “My affairs as family head are not for a mere girl like you to judge. Men! Seize her. And be careful not to harm the Third Miss.”
The moment Landon’s words fell, the Ye family’s enforcers, who had already sealed off the entire front hall so tightly that not even a mosquito could escape, closed in. Facing these burly men, whose arms were thicker than her waist, Lilith showed none of the panic Landon had expected.
“So you really insist on forcing my hand.” She let out a soft sigh and slowly raised the gun in her hand. At the sight of this, the men grew wary. They were servants of the Ye family, intimidating in appearance but generally weak in strength, nowhere near capable of ignoring firearms.
“What are you standing around for? Get her!” Bianca urged viciously, her expression twisted with malice. “Capture that wretched girl alive. I’ll make sure she wishes she were dead!”
The men exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and prepared to charge. At worst, a few unlucky ones would end up bedridden for a month. But at that very moment, Lilith suddenly shifted the gun’s aim and pointed it at… Liana?
“Don’t move.” Facing the crowd about to rush her, Lilith coldly threatened, “Or I’ll kill your Third Miss.”
Landon: ???
Bianca: ???
Everyone: ???
Liana: ???
‘Wait a second… Aren’t you here to save Liana from all this? What kind of twist is this now?’
Everyone was completely baffled. Yet Lilith paid them no mind. She pressed the gun firmly against Liana’s temple, her expression icy as she threatened, “Master Ye, if you want your daughter to remain safe and sound, you’d better let the two of us go.”
At this moment, Liana, unusually quick on the uptake, pinched her voice and cried out dramatically, “Oh no, I’m so scared… Father, save me~”
“……”
The corner of Landon’s mouth twitched. By now, he no longer cared about appearances. He pointed straight at Lilith’s nose and roared in fury, “Then go ahead and shoot! I don’t believe you actually have the guts!”
“Oh? Is that so?” Lilith curled her lips in disdain. Without another word, she turned and fired several more shots into Julius, who was lying on the ground. “Do you still think I don’t have the guts now?” Lilith sneered.
Julius: ???
‘So I’m just your tool to make an example out of?’
“Kill her… Aunt… you must kill this b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲…” Wracked with pain, his face smeared with tears and snot, Julius clutched tightly at Bianca’s clothes, forcing out his bone-deep hatred through clenched teeth.
Bianca stared at Lilith with equal venom in her eyes, yet she was nothing more than a powerless woman. There was nothing she could do.
“Oh? Looks like you’ve still got plenty of energy.” Lilith glanced sideways at Julius. “I heard you’re a real scumbag?”
“You b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲… I… I’ll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death… I’ll turn you into… into a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲… no… even worse…”
“Sounds like you really are a scumbag. That’s a relief.” With that, Lilith lifted her leg and brought it down hard onto Julius’… groin.
“Aaaargh—!” An even more bloodcurdling scream tore through the hall. At the same time, a sickening crack rang out, sending chills down everyone’s spine. Julius forgot even the gunshot wounds as he curled up like a boiled shrimp, clutching himself in agony.
“Why… why is it me again?!”
“Well, who told you to be stupid, rotten, and easy to bully?” Lilith shrugged indifferently, then turned her gaze back to the one truly in charge here, Landon. “So, Master Ye, do you believe now that I have the guts?”
“…You!” Landon’s face turned ashen with fury. Never before had he, or the Ye family, suffered such humiliation. And yet, he had no choice. Because he did not dare to gamble. He could not risk Liana’s life on the off chance that this little lunatic was bluffing. Even if this lunatic had been the one to storm in and seize the marriage in the first place.
“…Stand down.” Landon closed his eyes unwillingly. “Let her go.”
The enforcers exchanged uneasy glances before slowly retreating in accordance with the family head’s command. But at that moment, another heart-wrenching cry rang out. “Landon, grab her! Grab that wild girl!”
Bianca quickly checked Julius’ injuries, only to find the area already a mangled mess of blood and flesh. What should have been intact was now completely ruined, and it seemed the Song family’s only heir might truly be left without descendants.
Her mind snapped. Throwing all restraint aside, she screamed at Landon, “Catch her! Catch her! How dare she do this to the Song family’s only heir? I want to see her die!”
“That’s enough!” Landon barked sharply. “I said, let her go!”
“Landon, you still owe our Song family such a great debt. Are you really going to—”
“Bianca!” Landon roared, losing his composure as his voice overpowered Bianca, who was nearly hysterical. “Are you the lady of the Ye family, or a member of the Song family? Julius’ matter will be settled, but for now… let her go!”