Chapter 38: Gu Qingyi’s Fury

“Wan’er, I’m back.” Gu Qingyi walked in late with a smile, carrying several large fish in hand.

His cheerful mood vanished the instant he saw what lay before him. The fish slipped from his grip and hit the ground with a dull thud.

Gu Qingyi’s eyes landed on Zhang Yurong’s lifeless body, carelessly tossed aside, and on Li Er holding a vacant-eyed Qin Wan.

“You damned animals, I’ll kill every last one of you!” Gu Qingyi froze for an instant, then exploded with rage, charging straight at the bandit leader.

Li Er was still toying with Qin Wan, completely oblivious to Gu Qingyi barreling toward him like a storm.

A moment later a searing pain shot through Li Er’s gut.

With a loud crash, Gu Qingyi’s surprise kick sent Li Er flying into a wall.

Qin Wan slipped from Li Er’s grasp as Gu Qingyi caught her and gently laid her on the ground.

A gaping hole appeared in the wall where Li Er crashed.

He sprawled helpless and battered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as dust billowed around him.

“You little brat, how dare you ambush me! I’ll see you dead for this!” Li Er struggled to his feet, glaring murderously at Gu Qingyi before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The ruckus jolted the other bandits awake from their meditation. As they took in the scene, outrage flared on every face.

“Brat, are you looking to die? How dare you hurt our boss! Leave your life here!” In a heartbeat, over a hundred men lunged at Gu Qingyi.

But Gu Qingyi, struck with amnesia, didn’t even remember he was a cultivator. All he could do was fight back on instinct.

He threw himself into close combat with the bandits. At first, he managed to hold his own, trading blows evenly.

But the mob kept growing, and soon Gu Qingyi was hopelessly outnumbered. In no time he was pinned to the ground, unable to move.

“Trying to play the hero, are you? Watch as I take her right in front of you—that’s what real pain feels like!” Li Er sneered, ignoring the helpless Gu Qingyi pinned to the floor as he stalked toward Qin Wan.

“Little beauty, don’t be scared. Your big brother’s coming to cherish you.” Li Er’s eyes gleamed hungrily, like a wolf about to devour his prey.

Watching this unfold, Gu Qingyi howled, “Stop! You bastard, stay away from her! Stop!”

Li Er ignored Gu Qingyi’s furious, impotent screams, letting out a mocking snort. “All you can do is watch me, brat!”

“Damn it… If only I had the strength… If only I had the power!” Pinned to the dirt, all Gu Qingyi could do was pound his fists in despair.

Suddenly the golden greatsword within him responded. The blade trembled violently, sending a surge of golden light into Gu Qingyi’s body.

Gu Qingyi roared, “All of you—drop dead! I’ll kill every last one of you and drag you to hell to beg my aunt for forgiveness!”

With a burst of force he threw off everyone pinning him. The bandits tried to block his path but it was useless.

Each one who came near fell with a single punch—their skulls exploded, brain and blood splattering everywhere, eyes rolling across the floor while fragments of bone jutted from ragged corpses.

“Monster, it’s your turn now!” Gu Qingyi’s eyes blazed scarlet as he stormed toward the bandit leader.

“Even if it costs our lives, you’ll get nowhere!” Dozens of desperate bandits clung to Gu Qingyi’s leg, determined to stop him even if it meant dying.

“Anyone who stands in my way dies today! Come on, all of you! If you want to die, line up!” Gu Qingyi’s bloodshot eyes never left the men in front of him.

“Tough talk, brat, but we’ll see if you back it up! Brothers, kill him!” The bandits erupted, swords flashing as they charged into the fray.

Their blades struck Gu Qingyi but bounced off as if hitting solid diamond—not leaving so much as a scratch.

Before shock could register, they watched in horror as gaping wounds tore through their own bodies in the blink of an eye.

Any bandit near Gu Qingyi dropped instantly, their bodies torn apart, guts and organs spilling onto the blood-soaked floor—each killed with a single punch.

The rest stared at Gu Qingyi like he was a god of slaughter. The murderous aura rolling off him sent terror straight through their bones, until their legs gave out and they scrambled backward.

They dropped their weapons and turned to run, but before they could scream, a shadow flickered past—and in a split second, another man exploded into a cloud of blood.

Perfectly pulverized, nothing left but mist.

As Gu Qingyi closed in, some bandits, trembling with panic, pleaded with Li Er, “Boss, there’s something really wrong with this guy! He’s gone berserk and we can’t stop him—if this keeps up, all of us will die!”

Li Er’s face twisted as the commotion behind him shattered any hope for victory. Furious, he spun around, his chance spoiled.

“Are you all useless?! So many of you can’t bring down one man? What have I been feeding you for?” he shouted.

Before he could finish, Gu Qingyi’s fist struck like lightning, smashing straight down on Li Er’s skull.

For one brief moment, Li Er thought he saw his ancestors and the image of his great-grandmother. Just as he opened his mouth to beg for mercy—

Gu Qingyi followed up, punching Li Er’s left eye until it burst, shattering the bridge of his nose. Li Er convulsed violently, then crumpled to the ground.

“Please, hero, spare me! I’ll do anything, just let me live!” Sobbing, Li Er crawled to Gu Qingyi’s feet, blinded by pain.

“Save your final words for my aunt on the other side.” Gu Qingyi gestured at Zhang Yurong’s corpse.

Before Li Er could even plead, agony tore through his limbs as Gu Qingyi snapped his arms and legs in every direction. Bone burst from both wrists and blood mixed with marrow dripped steadily to the floor.

His thighs and arms broke with wet cracks, jagged bone ripping through muscle. Blood and marrow oozed out in thick red drops.

“Ahhh—it hurts! It hurts so much!” Li Er shrieked, his voice ragged with pain.

Before his screams could finish, a sudden wind swept the room—Gu Qingyi’s hands flashed, slicing past both of Li Er’s ears.

The gust faded, but now Gu Qingyi stood holding two bloody, freshly severed ears, heat still streaming from them, as if he’d plucked them off a living animal.

Li San and Li Wu had already been scared half to death by the sight. Their bodies locked rigid, feet rooted to the ground, utterly petrified.

“It’s over now. Aunt, you may rest in peace.” Gu Qingyi stared vacantly at what was left of Li Er.

“And you—go to hell!” Gu Qingyi tossed the ears aside in disgust and raised a foot, ready to stomp Li Er’s head into pulp.

“Stop! Let go of my brother!” In that instant, Li San and Li Wu snapped out of their daze.

The last remaining bandits threw everything they had into rescuing Li Er, managing to drag his broken body away from Gu Qingyi, even as their ribs fractured in the struggle.

Ignoring their wounds, Li San and Li Wu grabbed the battered Li Er and fled, tails between their legs.

“You brat, just wait! Blackwind Stronghold will have its revenge, we’ll make you pay for this!” they shouted the threat over their shoulders as they ran.

The three of them quickly disappeared, leaving the floor awash with blood and thick with the scent of death.

Corpses littered the carnage-strewn room, every body horribly mutilated—organs and viscera splattered across the ground.

With a dazed look, Gu Qingyi stumbled toward Qin Wan and tried to speak. But the surge of power inside him ebbed away, his vision darkened, and he collapsed.