Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The helicopter arrived at the mid-slope of Yuheng Mountain, where the ancient buildings stood amidst the ethereal mist.

The head of the Tan family warmly welcomed the two siblings, immediately extending his hand to greet them without any pretense.

Though they found it revolting, the siblings still shook hands with him. They didn't notice the strange and inquisitive look that flashed in the eyes of the Tan family head.

As it was sunset and dinner time, they were invited to dine at the Tan residence.

The ancient martial arts families not only lived in places filled with antiquity but also adhered to old-fashioned customs. Unlike modern people who dine together, the Tan family head and his wife sat at the main seats, while elders, guests, and disciples sat on either side, each at their own tables. The siblings felt an air of hypocrisy rather than sophistication.

Many of the people present were familiar to her from five years ago. They had taken Tan Yiwu away from the detention center, refused to meet with her lawyer, and pressured the school to expel her, leaving their family with no way out. Now, these same people had forgotten who the siblings were, treating them politely yet with a glint of greed in their eyes.

"May I ask which sect you two belong to? What kind of cultivation method do you practice?" After some pleasantries, they got down to business.

Zhou Shuning said mysteriously, "It's a secret."

"Why is it a secret?"

"Our master forbids us from revealing it."

A few exchanged glances, and the Tan family head smiled, "You two are so young yet so unfathomable. You must have been secluded in your sect, focusing solely on cultivation, with no knowledge of the outside world. In this era, slaughterhouses have appeared, monsters roam freely, and people are sensitive and suspicious. The government is also wary of martial artists, requiring them to report their skills and manuals."

"What happens if we don't report? Are you going to forcibly take them?" Zhou Shujie stuffed his mouth with food, thinking that being well-fed would give him strength. These people certainly knew how to live well.

"That's exactly right," the Tan family head's gaze sharpened, "Especially someone like you two, who clearly have no internal energy yet can wield supreme martial arts. It makes one wonder if you've taken some dark path, which is quite unsettling."

Zhou Shuning stood up, "Are you calling us evil?"

"We'll see once you hand over your manual!" Their true intentions revealed, the Tan family members couldn't wait any longer. They stood up, drew their swords, and stared menacingly at the siblings.

They hadn't planned to be so direct, but when the Tan family head shook hands with the siblings, he sensed that neither of them had any internal energy. They seemed like ordinary people. The old man, unfamiliar with modern culture, assumed they had taken some dark path. Of course, while they spoke of dark paths, modern martial arts no longer distinguished between good and evil; only strength mattered.

"Head, Liang Jin wants to come up the mountain," someone reported to the Tan family head.

"Hmph, he must want to take them away. Stop him." This made things more urgent. They had to get that manual!

"Young friends, don't refuse our hospitality. Hand over what you have, or we, as a powerful family, will have to maintain peace and order for the people!"

Zhou Shuning kicked her brother, who was still eating, and sneered, "Come and try."

Instantly, the Tan family members attacked. Zhou Shujie dropped his bowl, and the siblings fought back.

They had come to the Tan residence not only because they were too exhausted to win but also because they had a grudge against more than just Tan Yiwu. All the elders here were accomplices, and they wouldn't let any of them off.

Most ancient martial arts families had committed similar acts, and the Tan family was no exception. They lured those they could, took their manuals, and eliminated those they couldn't. Even if no one could learn the skills, having the manuals gave them a sense of power and authority.

After discovering that Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie had no internal energy, they dismissed them as threats, planning to severely injure them first before forcing them to hand over their secrets.

But unexpectedly, Zhou Shuning instantly surrounded herself with a layer of ice, while Zhou Shujie, fully rested, unleashed a burst of fire.

"Ah!!"

...

Liang Jin and his men were at the foot of the mountain, facing the Tan family disciples blocking their way.

Ancient martial arts families had made many demands of the government, including monthly payments and various agreements. One such agreement was that the entire mountain would become their private property, even government officials couldn't enter without permission. If Liang Jin entered now, the Tan family would surely escalate the matter to the central government, and other ancient martial arts families would support them.

Liang Jin: "The two siblings visiting your Tan family today are government officials. If anything happens to them, we won't let it go easily."

"Liang Commander, please don't speak like that. I'm scared. You can call our family head and see what he says," the guard said with a grin.

"How dare you speak like that?!" Liang Jin's guards were furious. Such disrespectful behavior infuriated them. Who did this guard think he was, speaking to the leader of a city's military like that?

"What's wrong with my tone? Isn't it normal? I'm just a gatekeeper."

Liang Jin restrained the young guard, knowing that these families acted like feudal lords, and their disciples behaved as if they were above the law. The corrupt leadership of the Tan family influenced their subordinates, making them arrogant.

He had the contact information of the Tan family head, but the person wouldn't answer his calls. He feared the worst for the siblings, but as a commander, he had no means to intervene. Attempting to force entry without weapons was impossible, and using weapons would provoke all the ancient martial arts families.

Damn! Those two siblings could have changed this despicable situation...

At that moment, the phone in the guardhouse rang urgently. The grinning guard answered it, and his relaxed expression changed.

"The family head asks you to come up quickly. Help, save us."

Liang Jin paused, looking up at the mid-slope, noticing faint flames and smoke rising from the dense forest.

...

"Ah!!"

"Help!!"

The Tan family members fled in panic, dropping their swords, some rolling on the ground engulfed in flames, others charred corpses, and some frozen into ice blocks. Everywhere was fire and ice.

The Tan family's martial arts weren't weak, capable of holding their own in close combat, but their swords couldn't reach their enemies. The siblings' long-range attacks left no room for defense.

The Tan family thought their numbers would overwhelm the siblings, believing that without internal energy, their endurance and physical strength would be limited. However, they underestimated the siblings' superpowers, granted by a higher being, delivering a crushing blow.

Only then did they remember Liang Jin, hoping he would bring his troops to save them.

Tan Yiwu ran down the mountain, pursued by Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie.

His face pale, he looked as if ghosts were chasing him. He couldn't understand why the siblings suddenly targeted him after injuring the core members of the Tan family. Though he harbored ill intentions toward Zhou Shuning, he hadn't acted on them yet. Why were they ignoring everyone else and chasing him?

Ice suddenly sprouted from the ground, locking Tan Yiwu's left foot. He fell onto the asphalt road, turning in terror.

"Both of you, I have no grudge against you from the past or present. Why..."

Zhou Shuning walked up to him, looking down at him expressionlessly. "It seems you've harmed too many girls in your life, so you don't remember."

Tan Yiwu's heart pounded wildly. Could it be someone coming for revenge? In an instant, many faces flashed through his mind—those pitiful, beautiful faces pleading with him, trying to identify which one had led to his current misfortune.

"Misunderstanding, everything is a misunderstanding. Let me explain; I'm willing to compensate..."

Compensation? If not for divine intervention, could she really receive compensation?

"Aren't you asking for my name? I'll tell you then. My name is Zhou... Shu... Ning." Zhou Shuning's eyes were bloodshot as she spoke each word slowly, a sharp ice spike slowly forming in her palm.

Zhou Shuning... Zhou Shuning... This name awakened deep memories in Tan Yiwu. A vague image of a girl emerged—a girl who was very beautiful, poor but not greedy, beautiful yet humble, strong and adorable. He had been deeply captivated by her, but she had rejected him. Enraged, he only thought of destroying what he couldn't have, so he hired someone to disfigure her with sulfuric acid...

Tan Yiwu's lips trembled, gripped by unprecedented fear. He looked at Zhou Shuning, remembering clearly that she had been disfigured, ugly like a monster. He even thought she was dead... Could she have returned as a vengeful spirit?

At this moment, the sound of a car approached.

Tan Yiwu kicked Zhou Shuning away forcefully, shattering the ground's ice like a rabbit fleeing towards the car.

Liang Jin got out of the car, and Tan Yiwu hid behind him as if finding a savior, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone, replaced by lingering fear. "Commander Liang, these two are monsters. Draw your gun and shoot them!"

Liang Jin and his men immediately drew their guns, eyeing the dangerous siblings warily. Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie stood under the streetlights, their outstanding appearances and slender figures pleasing to the eye. Yet, thinking of their power and what they had done to the Tan family, a dangerous aura enveloped them, like beautiful yet deadly snakes.

They had thought the siblings would be in grave danger, but never expected the Tan family to be completely wiped out by them. They were too powerful, too dangerous, too mysterious, causing both vigilance and fear.

Zhou Shuning looked at Tan Yiwu's post-disaster appearance and smiled, turning to Liang Jin. "Commander Liang, how about a deal?"

Liang Jin watched them warily.

"You saw our performance this afternoon, and you also saw the state of the Tan family. You should understand why we acted against them. Our master gave us power to repay evil with evil, not to harm innocents. Hand over Tan Yiwu to us, and we will help guard H City. We swear that what we want will be no more than what the Tans wanted. How about it?"

"Commander, don't fall for their trick! They are monsters! Are you going to collaborate with uncontrollable monsters? That's playing with fire!" Tan Yiwu was terrified, his mouth gaping open, unable to speak, only making muffled sounds because a large chunk of ice filled his mouth.

Liang Jin glanced at the battered Tan Yiwu, watching the siblings, hearing his heartbeat growing louder.

...

The news of the slaughterhouse appearing in H City had spread nationwide through the internet. On average, six slaughterhouses appeared globally every day, and people lived on edge, unsure where the next one would appear, whether it would be themselves or friends far away.

People feared today and dreaded tomorrow even more.

Many avoided clicking on the trending topics related to slaughterhouses, fearing to see how many had died and what new monsters had appeared. Over time, to attract traffic, media reports added sensational descriptions, such as #Slaughterhouse Appears in X City, XX Family Displays Great Power# #Slaughterhouse Appears in X City, Lowest Casualties in History#

#Slaughterhouse Appears in H City, Mysterious Figures Debut, Ancient Martial Arts or Superpowers?#

Most people clicked on these videos expecting mere clickbait, but were stunned to see two handsome men and beautiful women appearing like movie stars, creating ice bridges with a wave of their hands and summoning fire dragons to burn monsters to ashes.

"??"

"Holy crap?!!!"

"Is this real? Can't be movie special effects, right?"

"Impossible, it's definitely H City's army."

"Official explanation, please. What is this? It doesn't look like martial arts!"

"Too cool! Are they from the Tan family?"

"Definitely from the Tan family; H City is guarded by them."

"..."

Netizens discussed heatedly, quickly pushing this topic to the top, debating whether it was ancient martial arts or superpowers. Regardless, everyone was excited to witness such awe-inspiring power, hoping it might benefit them.

The Murong and Wan families had just convinced the naive Murong Ying, who knew little of the truth, that they could secretly draw cards and surprise everyone. But upon seeing the trending topic, they were dumbfounded.

"Could this also be due to the cards?"

Clearly, there was no reason for such abilities to suddenly appear before the cards. These two must have encountered the deity and drawn cards to become so powerful.

While lamenting that they didn't possess such cards, they also worried about the consequences if the public learned about them.

"We need to suppress this news! Even if it's just for a while."

"But we can't do this alone; we need the government's help. But doing so means revealing the cards..."

Murong Ying's uncle, Wan Sha, raised his hand. "That deity has probably given cards to countless people already. The government, with Department 0, likely knows about this sooner than we do. If so, things are about to change. We should cooperate with the government and inform them as a sign of loyalty."

The Murong family: "Sign of loyalty? What does that mean?"

"Don't you understand? With such powers, what use are ancient martial arts families?!" Wan Sha exclaimed angrily. "Especially since these families have been getting more outrageous lately, even dreaming of city governance. How many grievances do you think the government holds against us? How will they deal with us?!"

Without the slaughterhouses, the ancient martial arts families were nothing. The strongest organization in the country remained the government. Once they decided to act, their inner strength wouldn't stop bullets.

Realizing this, the Murong family felt a chill, their hearts sinking, finally feeling fear.

They hurriedly picked up the phone.

Meanwhile, at the central government, the president and ministers had just decided to send people outside the walls to try drawing cards and learn more about the deity-like existence. Simultaneously, they planned to suppress information within the walls to prevent chaos caused by the card's existence. However, this trending topic exploded, confirming that the young people's abilities came from drawing cards, just like Xiang Qin and An Rui outside the walls.

"H City, I remember, is under Liang Jin... What happened? No report?"

"Probably didn't have time. The Tan family took them away."

Due to the slaughterhouses, local governments now had high autonomy during emergencies, reporting afterward.

"It's too late to withdraw the trending topic now. First, claim it's ancient martial arts. Outside the walls, we don't care, but inside, we must strictly control the information to prevent anyone from knowing about the deity and the cards!"

"Yes!"

Just after giving the instructions, they received a call from Liang Jin.

...

The flames melted the ice, and the water extinguished the fire. Apart from the Tan family, no other living thing suffered any harm.

The elders of the Tan family, except for one or two particularly useless ones who were directly burned to death, all sustained severe injuries and were hospitalized. The other disciples who charged forward also suffered some injuries, but none were fatal.

When those elders woke up and saw the military personnel, they immediately complained angrily, demanding that the military arrest the two individuals. The soldiers guarding them remained expressionless, looking at them as if they were idiots.

"By the way, where's Ah Wu?! Where's Ah Wu?" The head of the Tan family remembered his precious disciple.

"Instead of worrying about others, you should worry more about yourselves."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that after bullying people in H City for so many years, it's time you paid the price!"

His heart suddenly sank. The head of this ancient martial arts family finally realized something was wrong. Why were there so many soldiers guarding him? It was as if they were watching prisoners, and their eyes looked so relieved, as if they had been holding their breath for a long time and could finally breathe again.

At this moment, a rather sturdy-looking old man walked in and approached him.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Fudong stared intently at him and said, "How did you bully my granddaughter back then? You protected a beast like Tan Yiwu—did you ever think this day would come?"

"How many innocent children have you harmed besides my grandchildren?!" Zhou Fudong raised his large hand and began slapping the head of the family, leaving him with a bloody nose and swollen face. Due to his burns and frostbite, he couldn't fight back. Seeing the guards just watching without intervening, the never-before-so-humiliated head of the Tan family spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

But this was only the beginning.

Liang Jin called the central government and relayed Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie's demands. These were two powerful individuals who already possessed cards; the government had no reason not to recruit them. If they didn't recruit them, wouldn't they still find a way to destroy the Tan family? By not directly killing the Tan family members but instead making these demands, the siblings had proven they still had humanity and a sense of morality.

So why not go along with it and exchange a cancerous tumor for two new knights to protect the city's peace?

Thus, very soon, the various crimes committed by the Tan family and Tan Yiwu were exposed to the public.

All the evidence was ironclad. Even female disciples within the Tan family came forward to testify, and more people accused Tan Yiwu. There was no room for argument, causing a nationwide uproar.

"Tan Yiwu is truly disgusting!"

"Seems like a sunny, cheerful boy on the surface, but a twisted pervert behind closed doors. Disgusting."

"The filth dug out from the Tan family could probably suffocate someone."

"No hero here. Don't insult heroes. What a disgrace, embarrassing us internationally."

"I used to be a fan of him. I want to vomit now."

In a cold, glaringly bright room that resembled a small cell, Tan Yiwu sat in a chair, forced to read the online criticisms. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was pale. After enjoying the treatment of a hero for so many years, having his true face revealed overnight was too much for him to bear.

"This time, no one can save you." Zhou Shuning said, taking the bottle handed to her by Zhou Shujie. Her revenge certainly wouldn't stop at psychological torment.

Tan Yiwu's muscles trembled in fear, tears streaming down his face. "I... I was wrong. Please forgive me. I'll work for you like an ox. Please... I'm sorry..."

Tan Yiwu had already been stripped of his martial arts abilities and was tied to the chair, unable to move. He was terrified, regretting ever provoking the siblings.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die." Zhou Shuning slowly unscrewed the bottle cap. Her long black hair framed her pale face, and her amber eyes gazed at him eerily. "I merely intend to repay evil with evil, eye for an eye."

She lifted the bottle above his head, and the clear liquid slowly poured down...

"No, no, no, no, no—"

The sulfuric acid began to burn and corrode his fragile skin, causing him to scream in agony and struggle violently. The sound of something burning filled the air.

Those outside couldn't help feeling a chill run down their spines upon hearing the screams.

After a while, the door opened, and Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie walked out.

"Don't let him die," Zhou Shuning said.

Zhou Shujie: "Send him to prison and let him rot there. Hopefully, his monstrous face won't get him beaten up by his cellmates."

The medical staff waiting outside quickly rushed in to treat him before he died.

Liang Jin waited for the two to come out. "We've fulfilled your requests. The press conference is about to begin. You must keep your promise."

"Don't worry, we're not going to reveal anything about the cards. We're not like those despicable ancient martial arts families," Zhou Shuning said, walking forward with her brother. Their identical peach blossom eyes, with amber pupils, glinted strangely.

The exposure of the Tan family's crimes meant their downfall. The core members would go to jail, and the other innocent disciples, being weak and untrained, would be of no use in the slaughterhouse. H City was in turmoil, eagerly awaiting news of the government's next steps.

The press conference hall was packed with reporters from major news media. As soon as the siblings appeared, the flashes of cameras flickered rapidly, and the sound of shutter clicks filled the air.

Liang Jin: "Ladies and gentlemen, these are Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie, the new knights responsible for protecting H City. Their talents and abilities surpass what we all imagined. You've seen through the previous videos that they are fully capable of fulfilling this role."

Reporters raised their hands high. Liang Jin picked one at random.

Reporter: "Miss Zhou and Mr. Zhou's techniques are quite extraordinary. They seem more like superpowers. Could you tell us the name of these techniques?"

Zhou Shuning: "Our Lord named our abilities 'Ice Soul' and 'Flame Spirit.'"

Liang Jin became nervous and looked at the siblings.

Reporter: "Your Master must be a legendary recluse, right?"

"We don't have a Master."

The reporter was stunned. "Ah? So, did you learn everything on your own?"

Liang Jin: "Zhou Shuning..."

"It is the Lord who heard my voice, answered my prayers, and bestowed this power upon us." Zhou Shuning said, looking at Liang Jin. What's the rush? She didn't mention the cards, so she didn't break the agreement.

What a joke! The Lord bestowed them with power; they avenged themselves and gained fame and rights through this power, yet they were going to hide His benevolence? Such disrespect—she would never do it, even if it cost her life.

The matter of the cards can be kept secret, but the existence of the Lord, His benevolence, must be known by the whole world!