Demonic Calamity Across the Heavens: Starting with Little Li's Flying Dagger

Chapter 24 The Exorbitant Bounty, The Plum Blossom Thief

Inside Xingyun Villa.

Long Xiaoyun sat in the hall with dark circles under his eyes, slightly sunken cheeks, and a large patch of gray hair at his temples. He looked ten years older in just a few days.

Before him lay a coffin, originally intended for his own funeral, but now it held his son.

He sat here all night.

Aside from instructing the butler to move the coffin containing his son here and to invite his wife over, he did not utter a third word.

He sat there, his eyes fixed on the outside world, watching the clouds hang low, the rooster crow at dawn, the sun rise high, the twilight fall, and then the night passed. His eyes were bloodshot, his face haggard. He just watched Lin Shiyin handle everything quietly, like a wax figure in a museum, like a wooden carving under Li Xunhuan's flying knife, forgetting all reaction.

He only "came back to life" after Lin Shiyin fainted from crying. He then had a maid take his wife back and continued sitting.

Hesitant footsteps echoed in the hallway outside, and a slender shadow paused at the doorway, silently lingering.

"Is this your brother? Come in quickly..."

Long Xiaoyun suddenly spoke, his face devoid of any grief, his blank eyes filled with joy, and he warmly invited:

"I haven't introduced Xiaoyun to you yet, have I? She's my and Shion's child. Come and see, isn't she adorable!"

A sigh seemed to rush past the door, but the hesitant figure still walked into the hall and immediately saw his nephew in the coffin, whose appearance was so lifeless that no matter how he looked at him, he couldn't tell that he was "fresh".

After a few days apart, the fine wrinkles around Li Xunhuan's eyes had become more pronounced. His eyes, which were like clear pools, looked like shattered clouds or the sharp shards of a beer bottle smashed on the ground, making people unconsciously cautious and causing a bitter taste to rise in their mouths.

"I'm sorry, brother, it's me..."

Li Xunhuan was exceptionally talented; there was no one in the martial arts world with a higher level of education than him, and those with greater cultural achievements would never exist in the martial arts world.

But at this moment, it was as if he had swallowed all the falling snow, his mind was buzzing and he was filled with nothing but mush. He had a thousand thoughts in his mind, but all he could say was an apology.

Long Xiaoyun smiled and warmly took his hand, pulling him to the side of the coffin. He then guided his hand to touch Long Xiaoyun's already cold face, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes, and his smile gradually faded.

What a wonderful child!

I remember a few days ago, he happily told me that he was going to venture into the martial arts world. He was accompanied by Qin Xiaoyi, known as "Iron-Blooded One Who Shakes All Directions," and Master Wei, who had spent a year in the Plum Garden, was tough on the outside but soft on the inside and had taught him a lot of martial arts.

That vibrant, burgeoning scene of everything flourishing is still vivid in my mind, so how come you sent him back the moment I turned around?

Long Xiaoyun's face was contorted like a demon's, his clear black and white eyes bloodshot, his rapid breathing and saliva lashing at Li Xunhuan's pained face like a storm, as he roared:

"Why!"

"Why did he die!"

Why did he die in front of Li Xunhuan, who was known as "the best swordsman in the world" and "the one who never misses a flying knife" and had a sworn brotherhood with his father, Long Xiaoyun?

Why?!

Li Xunhuan closed his eyes in pain, a fire burning in his chest, causing an unusual flush to rise on his pale face. "Cough cough cough..."

He coughed incessantly, covering his mouth with one hand, but when he removed it again, there was a smear of blood on his deep purple lips.

Long Xiaoyun abruptly released his grip, instantly reverting to his righteous and chivalrous elder brother persona. He supported the slightly swaying Li Xunhuan and asked, "Brother, sworn brother, Xunhuan, are you injured?"

Li Xunhuan's hands were forcibly held in his grasp, and he was forced to sit on the chair he had been sitting on for a day and a night. Looking into those eyes filled with madness, Li Xunhuan coughed twice, and the dripping blood stained his clothes. Long Xiaoyun did not try to avoid it at all, but stared straight into Li Xunhuan's eyes.

Li Xunhuan couldn't avoid that scorching gaze. He felt the fire in his chest being pressed down heavily, and his self-blame and guilt burned into an unbearable pain. He could only close his eyes and say, "It's my fault..."

He had lost count of how many times he had started to recount that night. The memory he had been going over and over again became blurred with each mechanical retelling, yet he could still bring it up without hesitation.

Long Xiaoyun's face was expressionless. He released his arm and sat down beside him, his expression completely calm. Finally, he asked in a calm voice:

"Did you already know his identity when he died?"

"Yes."

"Before he died, did you realize that Wei Wu had poisoned him?"

"I didn't, but Mr. Mei found out and reminded me."

"You just watched Wei Wu leave?"

He talked about many of Xiaoyun's past mistakes, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt him... I'm sorry...

Li Xunhuan closed his eyes in anguish, and said, at a loss for words, "Brother, please accept my condolences..."

He actually thought of many words of comfort, but whether in front of his older brother or his cousin, he kept those words deep in his heart.

"I'm sorry" and "Please accept my condolences" seem to have become his catchphrases.

Long Xiaoyun chuckled self-deprecatingly, then got up and sealed the coffin. He slammed long nails into the coffin with his palms, securing the lid and outer coffin.

The skin and flesh were mangled, and blood was flowing freely.

Long Xiaoyun seemed oblivious, and summoned the steward, saying, "Bury Xiaoyun, and... never mind."

He ignored Li Xunhuan and went to the main hall to find the martial arts figures who were seeking justice for Qin Xiaoyi. "I would like to ask you all to help me, Long Xiaoyun, pass on a message to the martial arts world: whoever can capture Wei Wu and bring him to Xingyun Manor, I, Long Xiaoyun, am willing to give up all my property and serve as a slave for the rest of my life to repay this debt of gratitude."

A coffin was placed in the hall, inside which was Qin Xiaoyi's body, which had already been prepared for her death.

With a white cloth tied around his head and dressed in mourning clothes, Qin Zhong, the "Jade-Faced Divine Fist," stared intently at Long Xiaoyun with two flames burning in his eyes. "Is this true?"

Long Xiaoyun did not reply, but instead took out all the properties, deeds, banknotes, etc. under his name from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

"The item is right here. Whoever delivers it to Wei Wu can take it."

"Regardless of whether they live or die?"

"Dead or alive, it doesn't matter."

……

"What a boastful tone!"

Within two days, Wei Wu received news that Long Xiaoyun had spared no expense, offering an exorbitant bonus and a reward for his services. He shook his head and chuckled, then suddenly had a whimsical thought: "If I go to Xingyun Manor myself, can this money be credited to my account?"

"I'm afraid it will be difficult," Lin Xian'er sighed. "He wants to kill you and has even produced the land deed for Xingyun Manor. I'm afraid Li Xunhuan will also make a move against you."

She paused, then said, "Some people in the martial arts world are already saying you're the Plum Blossom Thief, and that the reason you killed Long Xiaoyun was because you and Long Xiaoyun couldn't split the loot!"