Boom! A loud explosion resounded.
Zhao Shu's body wavered and retreated a step back. Caught off guard, he looked up at the source and saw a beautiful woman emerge from the void.
"Master!" Seeing the woman, Li Lu blurted out in surprise.
At this time, Ao Baixue too hurried towards the beautiful woman, and greeted full of respect: "Greeting Martial Aunt."
This beautiful woman was the same person that brought Li Lu away three years ago, Li Molin, sharing the same surname as Li Lu.
Li Molin nodded and then walked towards Zhao Shu. Stopping in front of him, she said, "Your strength is not bad, but you are still too far from me!"
Zhao Shu snorted, "Why don't you have a go at it."
Zhao Shu seemingly fell under a disadvantage earlier, but he displayed that attack in a rush. In actuality, both his and the woman's strength were similar.
Li Molin didn't refute hearing this. Instead, she turned around and looked at Huang Xiaolong, "You're called Huang Xiaolong, right? I know my disciple Li Lu likes you, but she is now a Deities Templar's disciple. I have no objection if the two of you want to be together… on the condition that you can become a disciple of Deities Templar too."
Li Molin took a quick glance at Zhao Shu when she said this point and then looked back at Huang Xiaolong, "I realize your identity is not common, but any identity or background is insignificant before Deities Templar. Unless of course, if you're a God Realm master!"
When her words ended, she looked at Ao Baixue and Li Lu: "Let's go!" then flew up, leaving by shattering the void.
Ao Baixue followed closely behind, leaping up.
Tears rolled down Huang Xiaolong's eyes. Taking a last look at his face, Li Lu's voice sobbed: "Xiaolong, I will always wait for you in Deities Templar!" She too turned and flickered away.
Watching Li Molin leave, Zhao Shu wanted to stop her but Huang Xiaolong shook his head, "No need." Even if it was Zhao Shu, he might not be able to stop all three of them. Li Molin had just said any identity was nothing before Deities Templar unless you were a God Realm Master!
God Realm Master!
Huang Xiaolong looked at Li Lu's receding silhouette and Ao Baixue next to her, his fists tightly clenching. Watching as she grew further away, a pang of throbbing pain shot through his heart.
So uncomfortable!
All this while, Huang Xiaolong thought he was someone that had enough strength to protect his family and the people close to him. Little did he know about how ignorant and laughable these notions were until now.
He was powerless to protect the person he loved!
In the end, he could only watch Li Lu be taken away right in front of him. A cold frigid aura of slaughter rumbled out of Huang Xiaolong's body, freezing the surrounding airflow.
Huang Xiaolong's vision turned a chilling scarlet red.
Zhao Shu stood beside him wanting to offer a few words of comfort, but not knowing what to say, he remained silent. He empathized with his Sovereign's feelings, just like the weak, powerless him at that time. That year, the weak and powerless him could only watch as the woman he loved was killed before his very eyes. That kind of pain was many times worse than having his own heart dug out.
Not until night overtook the sky did Huang Xiaolong then move. Turning around, he returned to Southern Hill Estate without uttering a single word till he came to his own little yard. He looked back at Zhao Shu, "You can go rest, I'm fine." a hoarse voice sounded.
"Yes, Sovereign!" Zhao Shu saluted respectfully before retreating, knowing that what Huang Xiaolong wanted most at this time was quiet solitude.
After Zhao Shu left, Huang Xiaolong stood in the yard. He sat down, right on the yard floor. No additional words were spoken by him yet the cold, intense, slaughter qi bursting out from his body only amplified as time wore on.
One night passed.
Huang Xiaolong sat in the yard the entire night like a sculpture, not moving an inch.
Morning sunlight shone down from above onto Huang Xiaolong's body. Despite that, there was no sign of movement from Huang Xiaolong. The thick killing intent swirling around Huang Xiaolong gave birth to a feeling of desolation overnight.
As Zhao Shu and Fei Hou entered Huang Xiaolong's yard and saw him sitting on the ground, their feet stopped advancing.
"If this continues, I am worried that Sovereign…" Fei Hou said with a worried expression. Zhao Shu had already told him about what happened.
"It's best we let Sovereign calm down a little." Zhao Shu shook his head, "Based on Sovereign's character, nothing will happen."
Fei Hou nodded.
Both of them withdrew from Huang Xiaolong's yard. The passage of time continued to move forward.
The sun moved to the highest point in the sky, heat engulfed the land, and then it moved westward, signaling the time for dusk. Once again, the sky darkened into the lonely quiet twilight.
On the third day, the sun basked the land in warm sunlight again.
Just like that, Huang Xiaolong sat on the yard floor, unmoving for three days and three nights. Three times a day, Zhao Shu and Fei Hou would make a trip to Huang Xiaolong's courtyard.
Three days and nights later, the Huang Xiaolong that had been lacking signs of life suddenly moved. The suffocating killing intent and desolated atmosphere around him for the last few days shattered like blocks of ice, dissipating with the wind.
Huang Xiaolong stood up and walked out from his yard as if everything had returned to normal.
Zhao Shu and Fei Hou were making their way to Huang Xiaolong's yard but were startled when they saw Huang Xiaolong come out. Strands of gray hair dusted Huang Xiaolong's temple.
"Sovereign, you…!" Both exclaimed aloud.
"I'm alright." came Huang Xiaolong's calm reassurance.
Both Zhao Shu and Fei Hou wanted to say more, but seeing Huang Xiaolong's manner, they swallowed the words at the tip of their tongue.
"Zhao Shu, Fei Hou, take a walk outside with me." Huang Xiaolong said.
"Yes Sovereign!" The two of them replied in unison.
Thus, the three of them stepped out of Southern Hill Estate.
Huang Xiaolong roamed aimlessly whereas Zhao Shu and Fei Hou followed loyally from behind, neither of them daring to utter a sound.
When they came to a lively street, a group of people suddenly crowded the path in front of them. Not surprisingly, it was the Guo Brothers, Guo Fei and Guo Zhi, with a group of Guo Family servants and bodyguards behind them.
Every so often, Guo Zhi and Guo Fei would wander around the Imperial City with a bunch of servants and guards in search of entertainment.
"Big brother, it's that little brat Huang Xiaolong!" Guo Fei swiftly said when he spotted Huang Xiaolong walking in their direction from some distance away.
Guo Zhi lifted his head and when he saw it was really Huang Xiaolong, the corner of his lips arched into a cold sneer, "Go, we're going over," and with that, he led the group of Guo Family servants and guards towards Huang Xiaolong's group of three.
The Guo Family group blocked Huang Xiaolong's path.
"Huang Xiaolong, I didn't expect that you would manage to survive that night!" Guo Zhi exclaimed fearlessly, laced with a tinge of complacency and arrogance.
That day, after leaving the Sapidity Wine House, they had Huang Xiaolong's identity investigated, and subsequently sent someone to assassinate him. However, the person sent to kill Huang Xiaolong never returned.
Albeit surprised, they didn't mind the failed attempt nor put Huang Xiaolong in their eyes. They had thoroughly investigated Huang Xiaolong's background; he was nothing more than hick that came from a little family, the Huang Clan Manor. Though they could not understand why a small kingdom's marshal would call Huang Xiaolong Young Lord, this point wasn't important in Guo Zhi's opinion.
As for that so-called Luo Tong Kingdom's Marshal Haotian, he could make him disappear simply by opening his mouth.
"I'm in a horrid mood, it would be wise if you choose to scram now!" Huang Xiaolong's gaze pierced through Guo Zhi and Guo Fei.
Li Lu's departure had triggered a strong killing desire in Huang Xiaolong!
"What did you say?!" Listening to Huang Xiaolong tell him to scram the moment he opened his mouth made Guo Zhi's face turn ugly, "Little bastard, you think just cause your younger sister got engaged to that brat Guo Tai, I wouldn't dare to kill you? It is merely an engagement. Even if Guo Tai married your little sister, I can make that brat divorce her just the same!"
"A backwater kingdom's paltry Huang Family smelly pissant wants to enter our Guo Family's door?!"