"Who is it? It's Lord Xin, who just became the island lord!" Murong Xingchen was all too familiar with this face. He was adept at scheming and had made a name for himself in the imperial court.
"Lord Murong has good eyesight! Why didn't you give me a heads-up before arriving on my island? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Lord Xin looked at the three people opposite him, pondering his next move.
"We don't even know how we got here, hehe, we really don't know how to greet you. But Lord Xin! What's going on here? Why are you even tying up your own newlywed wife?" Murong Xingchen didn't speak, but Qiu Zeyu asked in return. Seeing Xiao Hongtao and Huanxi with their hands tied and mouths gagged, he was somewhat confused.
"So you two know each other? I knew my wife was acting strange today; turns out an old flame has come looking for her." Lord Xin said, glancing at Little Red Peach with disgust, as if the woman's arrogance was all an act.
"Stop talking nonsense! Everyone in Lin'an knows that Xiao Hongtao sells her art, not her body. She married you, but you don't cherish her and even smear her reputation. You're a beast in human form. It's a waste of Xiao Hongtao's pure heart and her long journey to follow you!" Qiu Zeyu spoke up for Xiao Hongtao, who had been kidnapped just two days after their marriage.
"Since this young master knows how to cherish women, I'll exchange what you're carrying for this. Leave behind what you want to take from my island, and you can take this person with you. How about that? It's a good deal, isn't it? You two won't have to be sneaky anymore; you can be together openly from now on." Lord Xin proposed the exchange.
Although he had only met Xiao Hongtao twice, Qiu Zeyu couldn't stand by and watch as he looked into her clean and bright eyes, especially now that her newlywed husband was trampling on her dignity in front of so many people.
“Fine, I’ll trade with you.” Qiu Zeyu showed the silver in his pocket and said, “Release them first.”
Seeing that the other party had indeed taken his things, Lord Xin smiled slyly, took the knife from the soldier's hand, and unexpectedly killed Huanxi with a single blow.
Before he could even utter a cry of joy, thick blood gushed from his mouth and nose, and he collapsed dead. Little Red Peach, her mouth gagged, could only wail in pain.
Lord Xin merely grunted, as if he had killed a chicken or duck, and said sinisterly, "Give me the thing, or she'll be next." With that, he pointed his large knife, still dripping with the fresh blood of joy, at Little Red Peach's neck.
The incident happened so suddenly; no one expected that Lord Xin would harm Huanxi. Little Red Peach couldn't cry out, her eyes fixed fiercely on the murderer, unable to understand how a man could be so fickle!
Fearing that the other party would hurt Xiao Hongtao, Qiu Zeyu threw the dirty silver first. While Lord Xin bent down to pick up the silver, he rescued Xiao Hongtao and untied the rope binding her hands.
Little Red Peach pointed at Lord Xin's nose and cried out, "What a heartless bastard! A power-hungry official! You don't even spare us, are you even human?"
"Hahahaha! Women are like clothes. You're just a courtesan I put on this island to amuse myself. You actually think you're my wife? Let me tell you, how could I, Xin Shijie, possibly marry a courtesan? How could I possibly become an official in the court in the future? Wouldn't that make me a laughingstock!" Lord Xin and the one-eyed steward laughed heartily, mocking this brainless courtesan for mistaking a flirtatious act for genuine affection.
"You!" Little Red Peach was so mocked that she couldn't say a word. She felt like a fool, spat out a mouthful of blood, and immediately fainted.
Lan Ya Mei, supporting Xiao Hong Tao, also pieced together the gist of the story. Enraged that a man had lied to a woman, she yelled, "You've gone too far!!"
"Tsk tsk tsk! They really are heartless and ruthless! It seems that none of us will leave Huludao alive. Am I right?" Murong Xingchen guessed.
"As expected of the young master of the Murong family, so clever! If your brother were half as clever as you, he wouldn't have disappeared without a trace! It's just a pity that your father is also going to lose you!" Lord Xin laughed heartily, not taking the others seriously at all.
"How dare you! The Murong family is not something a lowly sixth-rank official like you can mock!" Qiu Zeyu rebuked.
"And what are you? Now, your lives are in my hands, why don't you bow down and beg for mercy! You dare to spout nonsense here, you're really tired of living!" Lord Xin was extremely arrogant and domineering, as if he could crush several people at any moment.
"What am I? Hahahaha... You dare to insult me?" Qiu Zeyu had never been insulted in his life! As he spoke, he unleashed his murderous aura, opened his fan, and sand and stones flew everywhere.
Lan Yamei quickly hugged Xiao Hongtao tightly, while Murong Xingchen took two steps back to protect the two women.
The fan seemed to possess a soul, obeying Qiu Zeyu's commands perfectly. With each clap of his hand, countless white blades rained down on the enemy. In no time, blood flowed like a river, and the enemy, except for Lord Xin, was completely annihilated.
Xin Daren coughed up blood, one of his Achilles tendons had been severed, and he was forced to kneel on the ground to keep from falling. He looked at the young man in disbelief and said, "You are the Jade-Faced Scholar, Qiu Zeyu?"
Qiu Zeyu walked over, raised his hand, intending to kill him with one blow, but Murong Xingchen shouted, "Leave him alive! I have questions for him!"
"I'll spare your dog's life!" Qiu Zeyu said, his murderous aura vanishing. He tucked his fan into his waistband, and the air seemed to warm up a bit. He turned back to help Xiao Hongtao.
Murong Xingchen said to Lord Xin, "Lord Xin, I respect you as a man of integrity and courage! Why did you say those things about my brother? Is there some clue?"
Lord Xin gritted his teeth, a forced smile twitching across his face, and said, "I'm different from your brother! Your brother values love too much, which is why he's repeatedly framed by women. Now he's locked up in the deepest recesses of the palace, his family can't find him, can they? Hahahahaha!"
Unsure whether the other party was telling the truth, Murong Xingchen asked, "Shenyou? Where is that? So, my brother is still alive?"
"No comment! If you want to know the answer, either come and exchange it, or go find it!" Lord Xin said no more.
Xiao Hongtao, having caught her breath, pushed away Qiu Zeyu and Lan Yamei's hands and staggered towards Lord Xin. Her face was pale, and there was still a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. She knelt before Lord Xin, stroking his face with one hand, and asked through tears, "Since you don't like me! You look down on me! Why did you marry me? Why did you bring me here?"
"Because of your great reputation, it would be an honor to have you. Men don't care about love! Men only have the desire to conquer."
"Pfft!" Little Red Peach suddenly drew Lord Xin's sword and plunged it into his chest, laughing as she said, "Thank you!"
Lord Xin grinned, his teeth stained with blood, and reached out to touch Little Red Peach's face. In an instant, his large hand snapped Little Red Peach's neck.
Both of them fell to the ground and died.
The three of them stood there, speechless for a moment.
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