Chapter 36 - Nightmare Flower
The Yang patriarch blinked numerous times as he stared at Bai Zhanxiong in a daze.
He thought Bai Zhanxiong had misspoken. But to his surprise, Bai Zhanxoing actually raised his hands and gently slapped Yang patriarch’s old face. “Old man, the taste of the Nightmare Flower must be nice. Try using your Qi and see if you suffer a heart-wrenching pain.”
The Yang patriarch realized something was amiss. He followed Bai Zhanxiong’s instructions and lightly circulated his Qi. His dantian convulsed painfully the moment he did it. It was as if using the slightest amount of power would destroy his dantian.
The groggy Yang patriarch was instantly alert. His eyes turned cold as he stared at Bai Zhanxiong’s grin. He had just recalled what a Nightmare Flower was.
It was a spiritual herb with a potent poison. Consuming the entire flower would destroy a cultivator’s dragon vein and dantian. But the effects would be reduced if the poison were diluted with water. They would be fine if they didn’t use their Qi but their dantian would explode if they did.
The Nightmare Flower retained its fragrance even after dilution, and the Yang patriarch suddenly remembered that the liquor he had been drinking had a strange flowery scent. At the time, he had been too happy to wonder why.
At that moment, the Yang family panicked. They realized that their dantians were as weak as tofu the moment they tried circulating Qi.
Everyone knew that they had been poisoned by the Bai family. The poison of the Nightmare Flower was notorious to the point that everyone feared even its name. To think that the Bai family would use it on their closest ally, the Yang family!
The Yang patriarch was shocked by their actions. He stared at Bai Zhanxiong blankly and then turned his gaze to the rest of the Bai family. “Bai Sheng? Why? Have I, Yang Cangqiong, ever treated you poorly?” the Yang patriarch asked, full of hate.
The Bai patriarch’s ruddy face had a sinister expression. He laughed coldly, “Let me ask you this: you are already so old, how do you stay so naive?”
He gestured at Bai Zhanxiong. “Xiong’er, go and exchange a cup of wine with the bride. Bring Yang Xueqing here. I want their entire family to die here today.”
The Yang family was shocked to hear that the Bai patriarch wanted to kill them.
Even though they couldn’t use their Qi, they quickly huddled together. The Yang patriarch, Yang Qingxuan, and Yang Yuntian stood at the front. Their faces were grim.
Behind them were the other sons of the Yang patriarch, as well as the elderly, women, and children. Yang Qingxuan whispered in the Yang patriarch’s ear sadly, “Father, anyone with a single hint of Qi inside of them was poisoned with the Nightmare Flower! The Bai family are a bunch of bastards!”
The Yang patriarch’s heart was beating violently. He was completely shocked by what the Bai patriarch had said to him.
He had never expected that his sworn brother, someone he had spent his entire life with, could change into someone completely different. The Bai patriarch was sadistically staring at Yang Cangqiong.
Some time passed before Bai Zhanxiong dragged a disheveled Yang Xueqing into the hall. They were still wearing their red wedding clothes. Yang Xueqing was especially beautiful today but her heart fell when she saw her father and brothers surrounded and how pale their faces were.
“Bai Zhanxiong! What are you doing! Has the Bai family gone mad?!”
Unable to use her Qi, Yang Xueqing was nothing but a helpless woman in front of Bai Zhanxiong. He grabbed her hand, which was clawing at him, and slapped her. “You’d better be quiet!”
He pushed Yang Xueqing towards the Yang patriarch. She rolled on the ground several times, her beautiful makeup ruined. The red mark on her face was extremely evident!
The Yang patriarch quickly held her up in a hurry. He said nothing as he shielded her behind him.
As one of the lords of Baiyang Town, his demeanour was still regal even without Qi. He did not tolerate people who looked down on him. He raised his head and scanned the Bai family with sharp, eagle eyes. His gaze stopped at the Bai patriarch.
The Bai patriarch laughed coldly. “Look at your daughter. She abandoned my son eighteen years ago for a piece of trash. Now that the trash is dead, she wants to reconcile with my son. Do you think it's reasonable? Does she think she’s worthy of my son?”
Even though the Yang patriarch was quiet, Yang Xueqing’s face turned pale. She had had her suspicions, but it still hurt to hear them say it out loud.
She stared incredulously at Bai Zhanxiong, the man who had vowed to marry her. He ignored her gaze. “Today’s wedding was just a plot to destroy the Yang family. Who needs a widow like you when I have power? I can have any woman I like. Father, since we are done here, let’s start killing them. We don’t want any unforeseen circumstances if we delay ...”
Just then, the fourth son Bai Zhanfeng laughed. “There’s one more thing we need to tell you. The Demon Hunting Tournament is ending soon but I reckon that your family members will get zero demonic cores. They won’t even get a chance to hunt the beasts. Shichen and Shiji have probably killed them by now.”
Bai Zhanxiong stared coldly at Yang Xueqing. “Your damned mongrel of a son castrated my son! If I didn’t have to capture all of you in one go, that damned mongrel would have been dead by now! I would never have endured it to this day!”
The words of the two brothers were like lightning strikes on the Yang family.
Some of the ladies fainted from crying after hearing that their children were dead. The only ones keeping their composure were the Yang patriarch and Yang Qingxuan. Everyone in the Yang family felt their heart shatter a little thinking about how Yang Wu and the rest had died.
The Yang family stared at the Bai’s family's evil faces, breathing quickly. Even the good-natured Yang Qingxuan’s eyes were bloodshot! Veins bulged on his neck and if the Yang patriarch weren’t holding him back, he would have charged at the Bai family.
He had lost a son and a daughter! Yang Qingxuan’s own flesh and blood!
“Bai family! Every single one of you deserves to die!” Yang Qingxuan roared.
Yang Yuntian had already lost a son. Yang Lingqing's performance had recently improved and he loved her dearly. Thinking that his kind daughter was no longer alive, Yang Yuntian became like a ferocious beast.
“Bai Sheng, Bai Zhanxiong, and Bai Zhanfeng. You are all animals!”
As for Yang Xueqing, she was still in denial.
She refused to believe that Bai Zhanxiong had never loved her. The marriage she had been looking forward to was nothing but a plot to kill her family!
Because of her idiocy, she had become a traitor of the Yang family!
An auspicious day had turned into a tragedy. The massive swing in their mood caused them to have breathing difficulties.
Yang Xueqing wanted to die. Only through death could she escape, and she wouldn’t have to blame herself. She would truly be free.
It was her only path.
Yang Xueqing knew that her dantian would explode if she circulated her Qi. It was what she wanted!
Both Yang Qingxuan and Yang Yuntian had lost their children. The Yang patriarch was busy holding them back, and they failed to realize what Yang Xueqing was thinking. Even the Bai family who were busy taunting Yang Qingxuan and Yang Yuntian failed to notice the smile of resignation on Yang Xueqing’s face.
She was thinking a lot of things, about her life, her dreams when she was younger, when Long Qinglan first appeared in her life, the happiness she had obtained. But the happiness disappeared just as fast as it had come. She hated Long Qinglan and the child she had. She hated them to her core.
She didn’t know why she hated him so much. The only thing she had thought about was that Long Chen resembled Long Qinglan. His body, his face, his voice, his gaze, his tenacity, his thoughts, his personality, and even his soul were identical to Long Qinglan’s!
Even though he was her son, nothing about Long Chen resembled her, not even one bit. She hated Long Qinglan for ruining her life, and her hate spread towards Long Chen.
It was especially true when she saw how quickly Long Chen broke through. His performance was just like Long Qinglan’s had been!
Long Chen’s pride had wounded hers.
She knew now that her dream had been nothing but a lie. When she realized that she was the one responsible for the death of the Yang family and was prepared to die, she remembered her son and everything about him.
Her son had a great deal of pride. When Yang Xueqing and Long Qinglan ignored him, he had never once sought their affirmations nor care.
Even though he was born into the rich Yang family, he had lived like a stray dog ever since he was young.
No one cared for him. No one guided him. Only wounds appeared on his body.
The scenes of the time when she had first told him that she was going to marry Bai Zhanxiong, when she saw his lonely but prideful back walking away, when he defeated Yang Lingyue in the arena, his strong gaze–they all repeated in her mind.
She cried.
Her dreams were completely shattered when she realized she felt sorry for her strong son.
But it was too late. Long Chen had died at the hands of the Bai family’s younger generation.
“Son, don’t be afraid ... I am going to accompany you. Maybe the three of us can still be a happy family down in hell ...”
“All the regrets I have ... I will make sure to repay you in the next life!”
“But now ...”
She gradually raised her head and her cold gaze stopped at Bai Zhanxiong’s complacent face. “I don’t want to die without being able to look you in the eyes. At the very least, I will kill this demon ...”
Everyone shouted as they saw Yang Xueqing running towards Bai Zhanxiong. Based on her stance, she was planning to use the Primordial Dragon Seal!
Just then, the doors exploded into pieces that flew into the hall. The guards outside followed, shouting in pain!
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