Li Qianfan was a man of principles.
Even when he killed, he made sure people understood why he was doing it.
As for why he first mutilated the elder and second son of the Miao family before explaining himself to Old Master Miao, it was because those two brothers had been too exceptional in their performance.
"Little beast—"
Old Master Miao regained consciousness, his once cloudy old eyes fixing on Li Qianfan like a venomous snake: "You, why did you come to my door to kill?"
At this moment, Miao Laitai feared neither life nor death.
Anyone who had personally witnessed the brutal deaths of his two painstakingly raised sons would be like Miao Laitai, indifferent to life and death.
Miao Laitai genuinely wanted to understand why Li Qianfan had specifically come to the Miao family's door on the first day of the Lunar New Year to slaughter his two sons.
Once he understood what was going on—
Even if his entire clan were wiped out, Miao Laitai would have used all legitimate channels (armed with the law, as his skill in schemes and stratagems was useless against brute force) to fight Li Qianfan to the death.
An irreconcilable battle!
"Good. I'll tell you."
Li Qianfan nodded.
He slowly turned a full 360 degrees in place, then pointed at all the young masters of the noble families present: "All of you, prick up your ears! Listen carefully to why I decided to ruthlessly attack the Miao family today."
Everyone present fell silent.
Only Li Qianfan's voice echoed in the courtyard of the Miao family's old residence.
"Back then, when the thirteen noble families sent out twenty-six young masters, accompanied by twenty-two internet celebrities acting as fat pigs and being captured in the Black Water Forest, you all lambasted me for not going to Black Water Forest to face death."
"Later, I went."
"To rescue the hostages from your thirteen families—"
"I endured thirty hours of hardship in the Black Water Forest, in temperatures tens of degrees below zero, before finding an opportunity to assassonate the enemies in the inner and outer defense zones, effectively clearing the obstacles for the counter-attack team led by Su Nan Guanyin to decisively defeat the enemy!"
"Setting aside Su Nan Guanyin, who worked tirelessly to rescue your thirteen families' hostages."
"Just talking about myself."
"I was captured by experts invited by the Rhode family, my clavicle and calf bones were pierced, and I was taken to the Arctic ice fields."
At this point, Li Qianfan raised his hand and tore open his shirt collar with a ripping sound.
Although 209 possessed miraculous healing properties and Li Qianfan's injuries had long since healed, the nature of his injuries—severe puncture wounds—left distinct dark red scars on his clavicle.
The scars were irregularly circular, about the size of a coin.
There was one on the front of his shoulder, and another on the corresponding spot on his rear shoulder.
These were the irrefutable evidence left behind after his clavicle had been pierced by an eight-gauge wire, and the wound had become inflamed, causing the muscle to rot and enlarge!
Many people present, upon seeing these penetrating scars, were shocked.
Their minds instinctively conjured the pain and tragedy of having their clavicles pierced.
"I truly don't know how the little brat endured it back then."
Su Nan Yin looked at Li Qianfan's scars, her eyes welling up with heartache.
She raised her right hand.
Under everyone's watchful eyes.
Su Nan Guanyin's right hand, like carved white jade, gently caressed the scars before tenderly pulling up his shirt collar for him.
All the onlookers maintained a respectful silence.
No one dared to speak out of turn.
Because Li Qianfan's face was contorting with ferocity—
"I, in order to assist the rescue team and save your scions! Planned meticulously, endured life and death, and was fortunate enough to return alive."
"As soon as I returned to the country, I was almost assassinated by Du Wei, whom you secretly controlled, at the airport."
"The basis for you inciting Xu and the Du family to act externally was nothing more than to divert the heat from the twenty-six young masters acting like pigs and dogs for the enemy, while bullying and trampling on those internet celebrities, causing you disgrace."
"After I retaliated unbearably, you spread rumors wildly, spreading gossip about Su Nan Yin and me!"
"You calculated that because of Su Nan Guanyin's special status, she absolutely could not accept any gossip. I also had to avoid suspicion and stay away from her, so that after she had done so much for me, she would end up in such a plight, break her heart, and take her own life."
"Don't argue with me!"
"If I want to investigate, it's easy to find out that it was the Miao family who first suggested spreading rumors about Su Nan Yin and me!"
"It is no exaggeration to say that it was the Miao family of Sijiu that ruined Su Nan Guanyin's pure reputation!"
"In order for her to live, I had no choice but to return to her side as you wished."
"This caused many who originally supported me to criticize me even more."
"But I don't care!"
"Today, in front of those two corpses, and in front of all of you."
"I declare—"
What did Li Qianfan declare?
He didn't say.
He suddenly raised his hand and forcefully pulled Su Nan Guanyin, who was standing beside him, into his embrace.
Su Nan Yin's face instantly turned pale.
She instinctively tried to struggle, but then closed her eyes and quietly rested her cheek against his chest.
Everyone present witnessed all of this.
Li Qianfan hugged Su Nan Guanyin tightly for a moment, then released her.
Of course, he wouldn't and didn't dare to declare Su Nan Guanyin as his woman in public.
He was using this ambiguous action to mislead everyone present into thinking as he intended.
Li Qianfan looked at Miao Laitai.
His voice softened: "To save your scions, Su Nan Guanyin, who racked her brains for this, lost her pure reputation for a lifetime! These were suggestions from the Miao family, who also actively participated in spreading the rumors. The Miao family even used this opportunity to forcibly demand her second daughter, Shen Yun, leading to the animosity between the Miao Desheng brothers. Am I correct?"
Miao Laitai's lips trembled uncontrollably.
He hissed, "Bullshit! Little beast, you're spewing bullshit! You and Su Nan Guanyin have long been a couple!"
"A dog that won't give up until it hits the Yellow River."
Li Qianfan sneered and ignored him.
He turned to the head of the Shen family: "Patriarch Shen, I want you to swear upon the ancestors of the Shen family! Was it the Miao family's suggestion and execution to ruin Su Nan Guanyin's reputation through rumors?"
No!
Shen Huiteng, who had now completely sobered up, was about to roar these two words.
Despite Shen Huiteng's lack of courage, he knew that at this moment, the eleven noble families had to stick together to resist the little beast's slaughter and launch a most hysterical counter-attack against him afterward.
But as Shen Huiteng opened his mouth—
Su Nan Yin, who had remained silent, took out her phone and showed it to him, preempting him by saying, "Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam."
Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam?
What did that mean?
Helan Tingmei and the others who were watching immediately looked at the head of the Shen family in unison.
Shen Huiteng was stunned on the spot.
Su Nan Yin stared at him intently, conveying the following information with her gaze: "If you dare to help Miao Laitai, I will publish the recordings of all the phone calls you made to me last night! Let everyone know that you planned to use 'Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam' to arrange my future, forcing me to marry your 'caterpillar' to the Miao and Lin families. Let the whole world see your ugly face! Anyway, I'm beyond saving now."
"Yes!"
Shen Huiteng's reaction was still swift.
He immediately made the most correct decision, which was to completely abandon the Miao family to ensure the safety of the Shen family and the other ten noble families.
After all, the elder and second son of the Miao family were already dead.
The decline of the Miao family was inevitable.
For the Shen family to ensure the interests of the remaining ten noble families, shifting all the blame for spreading rumors about Su Nan Yin and Li Qianfan onto the Miao family was definitely the most correct choice.
As for how Old Master Miao would feel after being abandoned, would Shen Huiteng care?
"Yes!"
Once Shen Huiteng had made up his mind, he replied to Li Qianfan with a firm tone: "The suggestion and action to ruin Su Nan Guanyin's reputation through rumors were solely orchestrated by Miao Laitai. I, along with the Lin family and nine other families, did not participate."
The head of the Lin family and others also sobered up and hurriedly nodded: "Yes, yes, yes. The matter of creating rumors about you was all planned and executed by the Miao family, and it has nothing to do with us."
With their statements, the ironclad evidence that the Miao family had acted alone in creating rumors was irrefutable!
Miao Laitai, who had been betrayed—
At this moment, his hatred for the Shen family heads and others was even greater than his hatred for Li Qianfan!
"Old man, what else do you have to say?"
Li Qianfan looked at Miao Laitai: "Because of the rumors you orchestrated and put into action, I was forced to return to Su Nan Guanyin's side. This cost me the excellent future of inheriting Longxu that I would have otherwise smoothly achieved. If I don't kill you, even heaven wouldn't stand for it."
Miao Laitai—
Gasp!
He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes turned white, and he collapsed softly onto the ground.
This was at the Miao family's residence.
There were so many core disciples of the Miao family, and Old Master Miao San was also present.
Yet, after Miao Laitai vomited blood and fainted (he had genuinely fainted from rage), no one dared to help him.
Li Qianfan, however, didn't bother looking at him.
He simply shouted sternly: "San Tiao!"
Li San Tiao responded with a clang: "Here!"
Li Qianfan commanded: "Break all four limbs of Miao Laosan, one of the culprits who ruined Su Nan Yin's reputation and forced me to give up the smooth inheritance of Longxu! I want Miao Laitai's three sons to have two dead and one permanently disabled! I want the Miao family to completely decline."
"Yes."
Li San Tiao agreed, and with the two men in black behind him, lunged towards Miao Laosan.
Miao Laosan was shocked and turned to run.
Where could he run?
If it weren't for the first day of the Lunar New Year—
Li Qianfan would have made the Miao family experience a "three stars hanging high"!
"Ah—"
The screams of Miao Laosan as his four limbs were brutally smashed and broken by the two men in black using pre-prepared large wrenches, filled everyone present with dread and terror.
"Li Qianfan, you are too young to be so excessive in your actions. Humph."
Seeing that the Miao family was finished and Li Qianfan's anger had largely subsided, Shen Huiteng knew it was time for him to leave.
But before he retreated, he had to utter a face-saving remark.
Everyone knew.
Shen Huiteng was also certain that Li Qianfan would not care and would not make things difficult for him.
However—
Li Qianfan coldly said to him: "What, you want to leave?"
Shen Huiteng's face changed drastically, and he said with a fierce but timid voice, "Why, can't I leave!?"
"My debt with the Miao family is largely settled."
Li Qianfan scanned Shen Huiteng and the other patriarchs, saying, "Next, it's time for me to settle accounts with your ten families."