Chapter 17: As If Granted a Great Pardon!
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“Looks like even if I wanted to spare you, they’re determined to see you dead!”
Duan Lingxiao suddenly spoke with a mocking smile.
As he spoke, he released his grip on Gao Deyao’s throat.
“I—I… to hell with this!”
Gao Deyao collapsed onto the ground, then scrambled to his feet and strode toward the three members of the Xiao family with a vicious glare.
“Mr. Gao, you… what are you going to do? Mr. Gao, please…”
Seeing the ferocious expression on Gao Deyao’s face, Xiao Ding’an cried out in fright.
But he did not dare run.
If he did, Gao Deyao had countless ways to send the entire family to their graves.
“Xiao Ding’an, if you want someone to blame, blame yourself for dragging me here to die without finding out what was really going on! Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”
Gao Deyao’s eyes had turned bloodshot.
There was nothing he could do. Today had been one disaster after another. He had originally come merely to carry out a routine demolition and relocation operation.
Who could have imagined that he would nearly lose his life?
And now, if he failed to satisfy Duan Lingxiao, he had a powerful premonition that everyone present would suffer unimaginable punishment.
Today, they had kicked an iron plate—an iron plate that was truly indestructible.
Smack!
Gao Deyao slapped Xiao Ding’an across the face. Without a word, he followed it with a vicious punch to the chest.
One punch after another, raining down in a frenzy.
Xiao Ding’an was fifty-three years old, and his strength had long since declined. Even if he had dared fight back, he would have struggled to withstand Gao Deyao’s savage assault.
The pain!
It was excruciating!
His entire face was swollen into something resembling a small hill, purple and blue, rising grotesquely.
“Hold out your hand!”
Gao Deyao’s expression was grim. He glanced at Duan Lingxiao and, seeing that his face remained expressionless, hardened his heart.
“Mr. Gao, please spare us… please…”
Xiao Shaojun and Li Wenli begged desperately.
But their pleas were useless.
“I said, hold out your hand! Do you dare disobey my orders!?”
The fury in Gao Deyao’s eyes grew even more vicious.
“Yes…”
Trembling, Xiao Ding’an extended his hand.
Gao Deyao seized his wrist and forced it into the hollow of the excavator’s bucket.
The next moment, he stamped down with all his strength.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive blows.
Crack!
Xiao Ding’an’s wrist was crushed beneath his foot.
Only a single torn tendon remained to connect the shattered bones.
“Ahhh…”
Xiao Ding’an screamed repeatedly. Large beads of sweat poured from his forehead, and his face went as pale as paper.
“Dreamsnow, please, I beg you, plead for us! He’s your uncle! We’re relatives, bound by blood! When you were little, we even fed you!”
Li Wenli rushed before Xiao Mengxue, clutching her arm as she wept and pleaded.
“That’s right. We brought Mr. Gao here to demolish the house for your own good! How are you supposed to live by yourself? Wouldn’t it be better to take the compensation money and enjoy a worry-free life for the rest of your years? How can you be so selfish!?”
Xiao Shaojun stood on the moral high ground, frowning as he spoke.
“What blood ties? What worry-free life?”
“You never appeared when I needed you most. Yet now you’ve joined forces with outsiders to violently demolish my home. Is this what you call being relatives? And even if the house were demolished, all the compensation would simply be seized by you.”
Xiao Mengxue shook her head. She had seen through these people’s true colors long ago.
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“You bunch of idiots—what gives you the nerve to say things like that?”
When Gao Deyao saw the two fools, Li Wenli and Xiao Shaojun, spouting nonsense once again, he flew into a rage.
I’ve worked this hard to humble myself and show my submission, and you still don’t understand what’s going on? What exactly is inside those empty heads of yours?
And at a time like this, you’re still trying to play the moral card? Have you eaten so much filth over the years that your brains have stopped working?
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Gao Deyao did not hold back. He turned around, swung his arm in a wide arc, and began striking Li Wenli and Xiao Shaojun.
For the next ten minutes, Gao Deyao gave the entire Xiao family a thorough beating.
Only after all three had disheveled hair, torn clothing, swollen cheeks, and blood streaming from their noses did he finally stop. Then he turned toward Duan Lingxiao.
“B-Big brother, do you think this is satisfactory?”
Gao Deyao asked carefully and cautiously, studying Duan Lingxiao’s expression. He was terrified that even the slightest frown might appear on his face.
“Not bad. It’s just a little dull, and watching it has made me irritable. How about this? Each of them leaves one hand behind, and then they can get lost.”
Duan Lingxiao spoke indifferently.
Xiao Shaojun and Li Wenli’s expressions changed drastically. They had already been beaten so terribly, and now they still had to surrender a hand?
Gao Deyao’s expression also darkened. But when his eyes met Duan Lingxiao’s cold, indifferent gaze, his heart trembled. He turned and walked over to Xiao Shaojun and Li Wenli.
Crack!
Crack!
The wrists of Xiao Shaojun and Li Wenli were crushed beneath his feet.
Then Gao Deyao picked up a brick from the ground and placed his own wrist in the hollow of the excavator bucket.
Bang!
He brought the brick down with brutal force.
He did not stop until the bones in his wrist had shattered.
“Not bad.”
Duan Lingxiao nodded slightly.
This man had clearly clawed his way to the top for a reason. He was ruthless enough.
Ruthless toward others, and even more ruthless toward himself.
“As long as you’re pleased! As long as you’re pleased!”
Gao Deyao had originally been seething with resentment.
But now, he was completely convinced.
While crushing the others’ wrists, he had secretly kept watch on Duan Lingxiao.
The man had remained calm the entire time.
That kind of composure could only come from someone who had endured countless storms of blood and violence.
A man like that was an absolute monster—a peerless ruthless killer.
He must never be provoked!
“By the way, you’ve had that excavator digging here for quite some time. You’ve damaged the road outside and broken the main gate. It’s rather unsightly.”
Duan Lingxiao suddenly pointed at the wreckage before them, his smile carrying a hint of amusement.
“This… Give me half a day. I’ll immediately gather thirty million as compensation!”
Gao Deyao gritted his teeth and answered decisively.
Thirty million was no small sum.
But compared with his life, it was completely worth it.
“Mm.”
Duan Lingxiao nodded.
Gao Deyao was decisive and knew how to get things done.
More importantly, it was the wisest course of action.
“All right, get lost. You’re giving me a headache.”
Duan Lingxiao waved his hand.
“Yes, yes…”
Gao Deyao looked as though he had just been granted a pardon.
Before leaving, he even instructed the driver to use the excavator to scoop away the three members of the Xiao family.
He had been injured and forced to part with thirty million that day. Simply crushing the wrists of this family of three was far too lenient.
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They would have to pay a much heavier price.
Once he returned, he would viciously torment and abuse the three of them to vent the fury burning in his chest.
Before long, the scene was completely cleared.
“Dreamsnow, are you all right?”
Duan Lingxiao looked toward Xiao Mengxue. The coldness on his face melted away instantly, replaced by a smile.
“Brother Lingxiao, I’m fine! You went to the Lu family? Did anything happen?”
Xiao Mengxue asked anxiously.
“I’m fine. The Lu family has vanished from this world.”
Duan Lingxiao replied indifferently.
“Vanished?”
Xiao Mengxue froze, her eyes filling with astonishment. The meaning was obvious: the entire Lu family had been wiped out.
She had never expected Duan Lingxiao to truly destroy the Lu family.
“Brother Lingxiao, you wiped out the Lu family. The Criminal Investigation Bureau, the military, and all the powerful families connected to the Lus will surely come after you!”
“Why don’t we run away?”
Xiao Mengxue’s heart grew heavy, and worry filled her voice.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
Duan Lingxiao was not acting recklessly.
He had once served in the military and earned great achievements. He was also a martial cultivator himself, and he knew that the most powerful families at the top of society were, for the most part, families of martial cultivators.
But he had once believed that society was governed by law and fairness.
That was until the night he was honored, when he was framed and falsely accused.
Everyone had condemned him, wishing nothing more than to see him dead.
That was when he understood.
This society was a game of power.
And the foundation of power was strength.
Only true ability determined the underlying rules of this world.
After spending five years in prison and training under the Seven Great Vile Masters, that belief had become even more firmly rooted.
Because above martial cultivators, there existed something even more mysterious—the spirit cultivators.
And Duan Lingxiao was a genuine spirit cultivator.
He had transformed into one inside Prison Number Zero.
Spirit cultivators were more mysterious and more terrifying than martial cultivators.
Martial cultivators stood above ordinary people and controlled the authority of the world.
Spirit cultivators stood above martial cultivators.
They were the forbidden existence of this world.
“I’m worried about you,” Xiao Mengxue said.
After all, Duan Lingxiao’s identity was highly unusual.
Although his appearance and bearing had changed, and five years had passed, there was still a chance that someone might notice the clues and recognize him as the Champion Marquis he had once been.
Still, no matter what decision Duan Lingxiao made, she would support him without hesitation.
Because he was her Brother Lingxiao.
“Let’s not talk about that. Here, Dreamsnow, I bought these clothes for you. See if you like them.”
Duan Lingxiao handed Xiao Mengxue the clothing bag in his hand.
“All right, Brother Lingxiao!”
Xiao Mengxue took it from him, her heart sweet with happiness.
When she opened it, she was instantly stunned.
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