Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Five warhorses charged at high speed into the street before the city gate.

They slammed violently into the crowd on the street. The people scrambled back in a panic, letting out waves of screams.

Behind the five riders, a hundred more cavalrymen were in pursuit...

Suddenly, a low shout boomed from within the crowd. ”Yangzhou City Lord, take a look at what I have in my hand!”

Atop the city wall, Wu Wei had been reveling in his triumph. However, the sound of hooves and screams from the street below immediately caught his attention. Hearing the shout, he whipped his head around, his eyes instantly widening in disbelief. ”Xin’er!”

Wu Wei and everyone else present saw that the one leading the five warhorses was a man dressed in black.

At that moment, the black-clad man was holding a woman high in the air, her face swollen like a pig’s head.

But even with her face so swollen, most people present could still recognize her as the young lady of the City Lord’s Mansion, Wu Xin.

The black-clad man was none other than Lu Chao. He had already taken Wu Xin from Uncle Leng.

Wu Xin hadn’t fainted. She struggled frantically in Lu Chao’s grasp. ”Dad, save me! Hurry and save me!”

As Wu Xin spoke, the pursuing cavalry caught up and completely surrounded Lu Chao and his four companions.

Wu Wei’s eyes bulged with fury. His Innate True Qi erupted as he roared, ”Who are you? How dare you touch my, Wu Wei’s, daughter?”

Wu Wei had never seen Lu Chao before, so of course, he didn’t recognize him.

”I am Lu Chao of the Life-taking Bone!”

Lu Chao ignored the surrounding cavalrymen, his voice booming upwards.

At the same time, the assault on Fan Jinhua and Nephew Tan on the city wall also ceased. The attention of the Government Soldiers was drawn to their young lady. ’The young lady has been captured?’

Fan Jinhua, covered in injuries, stared with wide, unbelieving eyes. He thought to himself, ’Little Brother Lu Chao, why is he here?’

He had told Lu Chao, Wu Caicai, and the others to leave Yangzhou City through a different gate.

Atop the city wall...

Hearing this, Wu Wei was stunned. ”Impossible! Didn’t Lu Yan’s Personal Guard go to kill you?”

’Young Lady Hanyan’s Personal Guard personally made a move. How could this Lu Chao of the Life-taking Bone still be alive?’

”Dad, Lu Yan’s Personal Guard is dead! Fan Jinhua killed them!”

Wu Xin struggled in Lu Chao’s grasp, screaming at the top of her lungs, insisting that Fan Jinhua was the one who did it.

As her words fell, Wu Wei’s mind went... BUZZ!

His head was ringing. Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guard was dead, and they had died inside his Yangzhou City. The consequences of this could be massive or minor.

If Lu Hanyan was the slightest bit displeased, she would take her anger out on him, the City Lord.

At this thought, Wu Wei roared at the figures on the wall, ”Fan Jinhua, you actually killed Young Lady Hanyan’s Personal Guard!”

Fan Jinhua was dumbfounded on the spot. ’What Personal Guard? I don’t know anything about that.’

Suddenly... BOOM!

He sent several Government Soldiers flying and rushed to the edge of the city wall to look down at the street below. As his gaze met Lu Chao’s, he seemed to realize something.

After a brief hesitation, Fan Jinhua replied in a grim, terrifying tone, ”That’s right. I’m the one who killed them.”

He recalled the scene from yesterday’s wedding banquet, when Han Shu’s arm had been cut off. Back then, no one believed Lu Chao had done it, so he, Fan Jinhua, had stepped up to take the blame.

And this time, it seemed to be the same.

’It must have been Lu Chao who killed Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guard.’ Fan Jinhua, once again, took the blame without a second thought.

’I’m a dead man walking anyway. Taking the blame is no big deal. This way, Lu Chao can avoid being targeted by Lu Hanyan and hunted down mercilessly.’

Wu Wei was incandescent with rage. ”Fan Jinhua, I’ll have your life! With me!”

He was utterly furious, having lost all his previous composure. He personally charged toward Fan Jinhua to kill him.

Wu Wei was truly, deeply terrified.

The very moment Wu Wei neared Fan Jinhua, Lu Chao’s voice rang out again. ”Wu Wei, if you dare touch Master Fan, Wu Xin dies immediately.”

As his words fell... CRACK!

The instant he finished speaking, Lu Chao snapped one of Wu Xin’s arms.

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from Wu Xin’s mouth. ”Dad, don’t do anything reckless! Save me first! Please, just save me first!”

Instantly, Wu Wei froze in his charge toward Fan Jinhua, his entire face flushing beet-red with restrained fury.

He threatened Lu Chao, ”Let my daughter go, or I will slaughter your entire clan.”

In response, Lu Chao reached out and grabbed Wu Xin’s other arm. Again... CRACK!

He snapped it again. The crisp sound was so delightful...

Amidst Wu Xin’s screams and Wu Wei’s roars, Lu Chao’s voice rang out clearly. ”The Cheng Mansion has already been annihilated, so you have no one left to slaughter. As for me... if you have the ability to find my family, then by all means, give it a try.”

Lu Chao himself didn’t even know where his family was.

As far back as he could remember, he had been a young beggar outside the Great Wu Imperial City. He had likely been abandoned because he possessed the Life-taking Bone.

He seemed to have some vague, fragmented memories.

But he didn’t want to touch those memories.

Atop the city wall, Wu Wei stared at his daughter, both of her arms now broken.

He was an absolute mess, his mind in chaos. He growled madly, ”What... do you want?”

Wu Wei had only one daughter and one son. His son was a fool and useless.

But his daughter was very talented and had even been admitted to the Imperial Academy. She was his hope; she couldn’t die here.

”Withdraw your soldiers. First, let Master Fan and the others out of the city.”

Lu Chao’s voice was unyielding as he stated his conditions directly.

Wu Wei’s fists clenched furiously. He glanced at Fan Jinhua, Nephew Tan, and the others, then back at his daughter, who was crying and begging for her life.

He didn’t want to agree, but Lu Chao’s hand moved to grip Wu Xin’s knee...

”Wu Wei, if I snap this, Wu Xin will be crippled.”

”Of course, if you still refuse, after I break both her legs, I’ll shatter her Heavenly Destiny Bone.”

”Do you... want to test me?”

Lu Chao’s words drove Wu Wei to the brink of madness.

After a few breaths, upon seeing the ferocious look in Lu Chao’s eyes, he finally gave a heavy wave of his hand. ”Let them go!”

Hearing the command, the City Lord’s Mansion’s soldiers surrounding Fan Jinhua and Nephew Tan quickly retreated.

At that, Lu Chao shouted again, ”Master Fan, go!”

Fan Jinhua slowly retreated to Nephew Tan’s side. His expression shifted slightly before he spoke softly...

”Nephew, let’s go down. We can’t cause trouble for Little Brother Lu Chao and his men.”

”Once Little Brother Lu Chao and his men are safely out of the city, it won’t be too late for us to fight our way back in.”

He knew that Nephew Tan had come here ready to fight to the death, which is why he tried to persuade him this way.

Nephew Tan gritted his teeth but still gave a firm nod. He and his men then leaped off the Yangzhou City wall with Fan Jinhua.

Just as they landed...

They heard Lu Chao’s voice ring out from within the city: ”Now open the gate. We’re leaving the city, too.”

The atmosphere inside the city tensed for a few breaths.

”AHH—”

After another one of Wu Xin’s bloodcurdling screams, Wu Wei finally roared for the city gate to be opened. Fan Jinhua and the others then saw Lu Chao and his four companions on their five horses, surrounded by the City Lord’s Mansion’s cavalry.

Step by step, they passed through the city gate.

Seeing this, Fan Jinhua immediately had Nephew Tan and the others mount the warhorses they had brought and retreat further back.

After passing through the gate, Lu Chao’s voice boomed once more: ”Wu Wei, order your men to retreat back into the city, or I’ll keep breaking Wu Xin’s bones.”