Chapter 15: The Wicked Dragon's Defiant Scale!

“Hahaha!”
“You want to know? Fine, I’ll tell you who it is!”
“It’s the Marquis of Southeast!”
“Five years ago, the Marquis of Southeast secretly ordered me to never let the Xiao family rise again! What, do you have the guts to go find the Marquis of Southeast? Dare you?!”
Old Master Lu shouted wildly, madness flickering in his eyes.

He knew he was dying, the Lu family would be utterly wiped out, and there was nothing left worth clinging to. Now, he had only one goal: to take Duan Lingxiao down with him!

“Do I lack the courage?”
“Do you think I got out of prison for nothing?”
“I’m here to kill every one of you scavengers!”

Duan Lingxiao leaned close to Old Master Lu, speaking in a low voice.

“Out of prison?”
“Who—exactly—are—you?”

Old Master Lu mustered his last strength, gritting his teeth in fury as he asked.

“I am... the champion marquis who, five years ago, raped my mother-in-law and slaughtered my brothers!”

Duan Lingxiao’s tone was calm, but to Old Master Lu, it thundered like an explosion.

He raised his cloudy, pale eyes, stunned into silence.

“So it was you…”

Crack!

Before he could finish the word “you,”

Duan Lingxiao grabbed his head and slammed it violently against the wall. Blood spattered instantly.

The neck snapped audibly. Old Master Lu slumped to the ground, dead on the spot.

“Some truths, once known, mean death.”

Five years ago, the Murong family imprisoned him in the infamous Zero Prison instead of executing him outright.

The reason was simple.

He was the youngest Marquis Champion in Longguo’s history, a war hero with great prestige in the military.

Killing him outright would have sparked public outrage!

Even though he was accused of the heinous crime of raping his mother-in-law and killing his brothers,

there was a special investigation set up in case the so-called tragedy was actually a conspiracy.

If it were uncovered, the Murong family would be finished, and their backers would be doomed as well.

So, the Murong family hurried to imprison him rather than kill him.

But don’t mistake this for kindness!

Zero Prison was reputed to be the most terrifying prison in the world.

As soon as Duan Lingxiao entered, he faced relentless assassination attempts—almost daily and nightly, vicious inmates tried to kill him.

By chance, he eventually reached the deepest part of Zero Prison and encountered the Seven Evils, which ended the endless attempts on his life.

Outside, especially the Murong family, likely believed he died within Zero Prison long ago.

This misconception gave Duan Lingxiao ample time to prepare his revenge.

“Marquis of Southeast?”

Duan Lingxiao recalled Old Master Lu’s words and narrowed his eyes.

Just as he suspected.

After Xiao Longhu died, the Xiao family, as a martyr family, should have at least been guaranteed a basic livelihood for Xiao Mengxue, if not wealth. But the reality?

Xiao Mengxue lived worse than a dog!

No one would act without orders behind the scenes.

“No matter who’s behind it, whether from the provincial or capital city, I’ll root them out and kill them clean!”

Next, Duan Lingxiao slaughtered every direct descendant of the Lu family.

Then he set fire, reducing their estate to ashes.

Cutting the grass without removing the roots will only let it grow back.

Having fought through mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, Duan Lingxiao understood this truth all too well.

“Before heading to the provincial city to find the Marquis of Southeast, I’ll clean up this mess in Jiangnan City first.”

Flames roared and soared as Duan Lingxiao strode away, like a wrathful demon emerging from hell itself.

The inferno behind him cast a solitary, cold, and proud silhouette that seemed even taller.

…

After Duan Lingxiao left the Lu family estate, far away in the provincial city, the Han family hall was in an uproar.

“Yudie is dead! Lu Beilie and Lu Junxian of the Lu family are dead too!”

“Damn it! What kind of people are the Lu family? They got slaughtered at a wedding ceremony in a place like Jiangnan City?!”

The speaker was Han Yudie’s father, Han Yuegang.

Han Yudie was his beloved daughter, almost spoiled by him. He hadn’t gone to Jiangnan City himself because he was preparing a grander wedding in the provincial city, inviting the prominent families there.

But to his shock, the first news he received was of Han Yudie’s death.

“Family head, the Lu family has been entrenched in Jiangnan City for years. Now that this has happened, they’ll definitely retaliate. Old Master Lu sent word that he already went to see the city mayor of Jiangnan. The killer won’t escape; he’ll bring the culprit’s head back to the provincial city to apologize!”

A middle-aged steward of the Han family spoke up.

“That’s right!”

Others nodded in agreement.

They simply couldn’t understand where such a person had appeared, someone bold enough to challenge the Han family head-on.

“Beep beep beep!”

At that moment, Han Yuegang’s phone rang.

He answered.

In the next moment,

His face turned pale with rage.

Bang!

He smashed the phone on the ground.

It shattered.

“Family head, what’s wrong?”

The Han family members hurriedly asked.

“The Lu family... has been wiped out!!!”

“Even the Tiger Suppressing General is dead!!”

Han Yuegang’s voice trembled. This news was like a storm, beyond his comprehension.

“What?!”

The Han family erupted in shock.

The Tiger Suppressing General was the military district commander stationed in Jiangnan City, formidable in strength, yet he too was killed by the enemy.

This showed just how terrifying their opponent was!

The worst part was—they didn’t even know who their enemy was!!!

“Find the assassin hall for me! No, I’ll go myself!”

“That little bastard is too arrogant. He must die!!”

Han Yuegang stood up abruptly and headed toward a location in the provincial city.

…

After leaving the Lu family, Duan Lingxiao stopped by a clothing store to buy several coats and underwear for Xiao Mengxue.

Given his keen eye, he naturally knew her exact bust size.

A C-cup!

He had several world-class bank cards, but they needed activation at the head office in the capital city, so he couldn’t use them for now.

His currently available funds amounted to about ten million, accumulated by extorting other prisoners in jail.

But it was a limited sum.

After all, many prisoners’ funds were frozen.

Still, it was enough to meet his basic needs for the moment.

After buying the clothes, Duan Lingxiao carried the shopping bags and took a car back to the Xiao family villa.

As he neared, he heard a loud rumbling noise.

The ground shook with the commotion.

“An excavator?!”

From a distance, Duan Lingxiao saw an excavator parked in front of the Xiao family villa.

It was running, roaring loudly as it continuously dug at the main gate.

The once solid gate was now shattered and broken.

Duan Lingxiao’s expression darkened.

Xiao Mengxue was his only concern now, his irreplaceable weakness.

A dragon’s reverse scale, when touched, unleashed fury like a storm!

He wanted to see who was foolish enough to come knocking on their door, courting death.

…

At the same time, in front of the Xiao family villa, an excavator dug relentlessly while a bulldozer rumbled forward, clearing the soil and stones.

Standing before the two machines were three men and one woman.

The two men were Xiao Ding’an and Xiao Shaojun; the woman was named Li Wenli.

Xiao Ding’an was a distant paternal uncle of Xiao Mengxue, Xiao Shaojun her cousin, and Li Wenli her aunt by marriage.

The other man was Gao Deyao, general manager of Sunshine Construction Co., Ltd. in Jiangnan City.

Opposite them stood Xiao Mengxue, alone and solitary.

“Hey, you still have stitches on your face. Planning to become a world-class beauty? I suggest you stop wasting your effort. Better to wear a mask and sell yourself in the park. Those old men would definitely like your kind!”

Xiao Shaojun sneered, licking the corner of his mouth and making lecherous smacking sounds deliberately.

“Xiao Shaojun, what do you mean by this? What are you doing at my home?”

Xiao Mengxue’s face flushed with anger at the vulgar insults.

“What do you mean ‘your home’? This is a fixed asset of the Xiao family, not just yours! Now Mr. Gao from Sunshine Construction has his eyes on this place, but you’re ungrateful, refusing to sign the demolition agreement!”

“Tell me, aren’t you just asking for death?!”

Xiao Shaojun sneered.

“This is my home; why should I let you tear it down?!”

Xiao Mengxue retorted angrily.

Though this villa had been emptied and overgrown with weeds,

it held the most memories of her and her brother!

How could she bear to sell it?!

“Mengxue, you can’t even afford food now, right? Let us sell the villa for you, and we’ll take care of your living expenses from now on. By the way, your aunt’s cousin runs a small foot bath shop with ten foot masseuses. You have a decent figure; with some training, you could work there!”

Xiao Ding’an said impatiently.

“That’s right. My cousin’s foot bath earns a few thousand a month easily. You’re better off going out to earn money while you’re young instead of clinging to a broken villa!”

Li Wenli added,

“Besides, there aren’t many relatives like us who care about you now. Don’t be ungrateful!”

Their words were laced with threats and hints.

But Xiao Mengxue stood firm, spreading her arms wide to block the excavator.

Her frail body seemed determined to confront the monstrous machine itself!