Chapter 389: Annihilation of a Clan
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
The disciples of the Su Family lay on the ground, barely clinging to life.
Jiang Lin carried his younger sister on his back, his eyes red with fury as he set fire to the estate. “Burn it down, all of it!” he commanded. The Su Family had imprisoned them, and this place was the source of their nightmares.
“Such an evil den should never have existed in this world!”
The torches in the hands of the gathered youths blazed brightly as flames shot skyward. The members of the Su Family wailed and shrieked in terror from within the inferno.
“Princess Sunshine, we know our mistakes!”
“Princess Sunshine, you are of Southern Kingdom blood and have awakened divine power! We share the same lineage!”
“Princess Sunshine, as long as you save us, we will pledge loyalty to you! We will serve you as our master!”
“Consider the benefits! The people behind you are of no relation to you and offer you no advantage. But we, we can help you seize the throne! We can help you claim the empire!” The Su Family courtyard was drenched in blood, and the roaring flames encircled them.
The young men and women had taken their revenge, leaving the Su Family in a miserable state. Now, they lay in pools of their own blood, pleading weakly.
Their damp hair clung to their faces, their bodies trembled, and they curled up pitifully, hoping to gain Lu Chao Chao’s sympathy.
Jiang Lin and the others watched her intently, tense with anticipation.
Xie Yu Zhou yawned. “Trying to persuade a three-and-a-half-year-old child to weigh the pros and cons? You might as well offer her two drumsticks.”
Lu Chao Chao coolly sheathed her sword and crossed her arms. “Lock the gates.”
“Hooray! Long live Princess Sunshine!” The children cheered wildly as they rushed forward to secure the doors.
The raging fire consumed everything, illuminating the entire Southern Capital.
The agonized, terrified screams of the Su Family members echoed far and wide, their shrieks of despair carrying through several streets.
The sound of nails clawing against the door sent shivers down the spine.
In the distance, commoners watched with wide eyes. Seeing a group of children standing before the burning Su estate, they hesitated in shock.
A brave woman stepped forward, pulling at a gaunt, malnourished boy huddled in a corner.
When the boy turned his head, the woman gasped, slapping her thigh before sprinting away, shouting, “Yuan’er’s mother! We found him! He’s alive!”
Not even half a stick of incense later, she returned, dragging a dazed, hollow-eyed woman along.
“It’s really Yuan’er! Come see for yourself!” The woman panted heavily.
The disheveled woman, her hair a tangled mess, laughed hysterically. “Hehe… They’re all dead… All dead… Yuan’er was taken… My husband was beaten to death searching for him… My in-laws threw themselves into the river… They’re all gone…”
“Dead is good, dead is good… No more worries…” She cackled madly.
The small boy in the corner stared at her, stunned.
She sat there, tugging at her hair, her face smeared with dirt.
Jiang Lin nudged him. “Zhou Yuan, is that… your mother?” Zhou Yuan was ten years old. His father had been a carpenter, his mother an embroiderer. Though their lives were humble, they had been happy.
During the Lantern Festival at the start of the year, his mother had taken him out to see the lights.
In the chaos of the crowd, someone had covered his mouth, knocking him unconscious and stealing him away.
His mother had chased after him, but the surge of people had blocked her path.
By the time he woke, he was locked in the Su Family’s secret chamber.
Longing for home, the boy had attempted to escape multiple times, only to have his legs broken as punishment. Now, he walked with a slight limp.
Taking a hesitant step forward, then another, he suddenly broke into a desperate sprint toward his mother.
In the glow of the fire, the small boy dashed toward the woman.
The madwoman heard a trembling voice, calling out cautiously, “Mother…?”
Her twisted smile vanished.
“Mother… Mother…” The boy sobbed uncontrollably.
“Mother, I was in the Su Family’s secret chamber… Just three streets away from you…”
“Mother, the Su Family kidnapped countless children for their wicked rituals. So many died, drained of blood… I thought I would never see you again…” He looked up and cried bitterly. Had his mother forgotten him?
The crazed woman trembled, then reached out to touch his face.
Hesitating, she recoiled, as if afraid of tainting him. She scrubbed her hands against her clothes, rubbing so hard her skin broke, before carefully cupping his cheeks.
“Yuan’er… Is it really you?” Her voice shook, her entire body quivering. Then, with a sudden collapse, she knelt before him.
“Yuan’er! My Yuan’er!” she wailed.
“It’s all my fault! I should have held onto you! I let those monsters take you! I failed you, I failed your father, I failed your grandparents—I failed our home!” Every word dripped with anguish. Their family was shattered.
“My Yuan’er, my son!” She clutched Zhou Yuan, crying uncontrollably.
“Husband, Father, Mother… Yuan’er is back…” she sobbed, but there was no home to return to.
Jiang Lin wiped his tears in secret. “The Su Family has caused countless tragedies.”
Xie Yu Zhou, heart aching, let tears fall. “Those beasts… No wonder there were so many bones beneath the ancestral hall…”
Cries erupted from the crowd as parents found their lost children.
“The Su Family practiced dark rituals! They slaughtered so many children! The secret chamber was filled with bones!”
Freed children wept, recounting their suffering to their parents.
The missing children from the Southern Capital were but a fraction of the whole.
Most had come from distant villages—how many families had been destroyed?
“They deserved it! Burn them all!”
“Burn them!”
“They had it coming!”
The enraged citizens cursed, and those who had initially come to douse the flames abandoned their buckets, shoving them into corners.
Clatter, clatter…
A distant rhythm of hooves pounded against the earth. The steady cadence made faces go pale.
“The army!”
“The palace has sent soldiers!” The divine attendants held the highest authority in the Southern Kingdom. Everyone had watched the Su estate burn and heard the dying screams within. Now, dread filled them.
“Surround them! No one is to leave!” Nan Mu Bai, mounted upon his steed, had just returned to the palace when he saw the blaze.
The Eldest Princess had personally ordered him to lead troops to investigate.
His eyes landed on Lu Chao Chao, filled with deep apprehension.
“Put out the fire, now!” he bellowed, seeing the tightly locked doors. A sense of dread crept into his heart.
“Where is Great-Grandfather? Where are the Su Family members?” Nan Mu Bai dismounted in haste, slicing the lock open with his sword.
As the doors swung wide, his pupils constricted in horror. He stumbled back.
What lay before him was a scene of pure hell.
Bloody handprints covered the doors. Countless charred bodies lay at the entrance, engulfed in flames. The entire courtyard was an inferno of human-shaped fire.
“Who locked the doors?! Why didn’t you open them?! Who did this?!” Nan Mu Bai’s eyes turned red with rage.
This was his grandmother’s family, his mother’s support!
Just the thought sent chills through him, making his scalp tingle.
“Where is Great-Grandfather?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Old Master Su kidnapped children, using live sacrifices in dark rituals. The Fiend God Xuan Yu punished him, turning him into a human swine. Over there.” Lu Chao Chao gestured toward the corner.
Xuan Yu, perhaps wanting Nan Mu Bai to witness the Su Family’s demise, had left him a sliver of life.
Just enough to let him see everything.