Chapter 31: Killing the Father

"Hmph, child's play." Lin Canglan's mockery broke the silence in the room.

"The old man at your age never hesitated over anything. But time spares no one..." he said then coughed repeatedly. The candlelight flickered with his voice, and Ji Yunhe's eyebrows tightened. Something was up. Qing Shu's left hand suddenly moved and a small object struck Lin Haoqing's long sword.

The sword vibrated hard and fell out of Lin Haoqing's hand. Lin Canglan's wheelchair took this opportunity and quickly rolled out from within his reach.

Qing Shu's shadow on the curtain flashed like lightning. Ji Yunhe had no time to think. She forcefully suppressed her pain, dashed through the curtain, and the sword in her hand met with Qing Shu's with a loud clang.

The energy from the contact burst out in a circular arc and swept through the surrounding walls and beams still under repair. The house gave out a series of creaking sounds as the entire structure seemed to tilt. Roof tiles outside began falling to the ground like rain. Ji Yunhe stood in front of Lin Haoqing, shielding him while staring at the demon fox slave.

"The choice you made is very disappointing." At this time, Ji Yunhe's body was enduring both Qing Shu's demonic power and the pain from the poison, but deep down, she felt great.

"Yeah?" Ji Yunhe smirked.

"I don't think it's so bad." Before Qing Shu could make another move, they heard a muffled moan. It came from Lin Canglan.

Qing Shu's eyes, which had never shown any emotion before, widened as she looked to the side with shock.

Ji Yunhe pushed against the sword and forced her off. Qing Shu retreated three steps, but her eyes remained on the side and did not attack again. Ji Yunhe followed her gaze.

Lin Haoqing was now standing next to Lin Canglan, holding his sword with the blade inside Lin Canglan's chest.

The wheelchair-bound Lin Canglan, old and frail, did not have the strength to defend. Lin Haoqing was right. After the battle with the jade phoenix, Lin Canglan's body had become useless.

He looked at his son with a face full of gloom. "Good... good…" he spoke while blood gushed out of his mouth. His voice was so muffled that it was almost inaudible.

"You have the heart to kill your old man, you..."

Lin Haoqing did not care to hear another word. He pulled the sword out of Lin Canglan's chest, walked behind his wheelchair, grabbed him by the hair, and sliced his throat.

Blood sprayed out and rained onto the floor, the sound blending seamlessly with the downfall of rubble outside. Ji Yunhe did not expect... Lin Haoqing was so decisive, nor did she expect him to be so efficient. He really killed Lin Canglan. His own father.

The shock almost made Ji Yunhe forget about the pain in her body. And amidst all the blood, Lin Haoqing seemed as if he just realized what he had done. He held the sword in his hand, opened his mouth and breathed out heavily. A few moments later, he finally made a sound.

"Ha, ha, ha…" He laughed.

"Hahaha...! He's finally dead..." It woke up Qing Shu who was standing frozen in shock.

"Valley Master!" Qing Shu snarled at Lin Haoqing.

"I'll kill you!"

She charged at him with her sword. Ji Yunhe tried to intercept, but the pain in her body made it impossible for her to catch up this time.

Lin Haoqing glared at Qing Shu. He raised his sword still dripping with blood, drew a circle in the air and blocked her attack. Qing Shu and Lin Canglan had a master-servant contract, like Li Shu and Snow March. Qing Shu was a demon slave who had sworn eternal allegiance to Lin Canglan.

When swearing allegiance to a master, the demon slave would give up a portion of his or her power to the master as a sign of obedience. Upon the master's death, that power would return to the demon slave. So logically speaking, now with Lin Canglan dead, Qing Shu should only be more difficult to deal with.

Yet Lin Haoqing blocked her so easily. Come to think of it, when Ji Yunhe first saved Lin Haoqing, even though she had defended him with all her might, the poison in her body was bound to affect her strength. She should not have been able to completely stop Qing Shu's attack. Qing Shu should not be this weak, and Lin Canglan as well...

Their spiritual and demonic power seemed to have degraded too much after the jade phoenix ordeal.