Those black hands seemed immortal. For every one blown apart, two more would reach out from beneath the wall, seemingly endless.
Ammunition, however, was finite. As the guards began to reload, a pitch-black humanoid monster vaulted over the wall.
Soon, more and more of these black humanoid monsters leaped inside.
Seeing this, Chef Dong scooped up Dong Yue and bolted.
“Ah!!!”
“Help!!!”
Screams echoed from every direction. Hearing them, Dong Yue asked fearfully,
“Big brother, what’s happening? What’s going on?”
Dong Xin followed closely behind them, his small face pale with terror.
“It’s nothing. They’re just trying to distract you.”
“Oh.”
Dong Yue wanted that electronic watch so badly that she didn't open her eyes even then.
“Roar!!!”
A humanoid monster let out a guttural roar and lunged at a guard, tearing him apart with ease.
The surrounding servants were paralyzed by the bloody sight. Fortunately, the guards had finished reloading. They retreated while firing, only to discover that ordinary bullets couldn't kill these monsters at all.
Anti-magic bullets were far too precious; they weren't part of their daily equipment.
“Ah!”
Another man was tackled. Before he could even cry for help, he was torn limb from limb.
Blood and screams filled the entire estate.
Dong Xin’s face was ghostly white as he turned to look at Chef Dong.
Chef Dong was also worried about leaving his daughter with psychological scars. As he ran, he said,
“I just remembered, the Third Young Master wanted to eat osmanthus cake yesterday, so I made extra. Shall we go back and eat some osmanthus cake?”
“Okay, okay!”
Dong Yue nodded repeatedly with her eyes closed, her expression clearly salivating at the thought.
“Help! Help me!”
“My leg! My leg!”
Blood, organs, wails, and screams.
If hell had a physical form, it would look exactly like this.
Chef Dong felt a wave of despair because he had seen with his own eyes that even the transcendent guards were being slaughtered by the humanoid monsters!
Even if they were only Sequence 9, they were still transcendents. How could they not be stronger than a mere cook?
Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, seven or eight humanoid monsters lunged toward them.
‘It’s over!’
Chef Dong’s face was full of despair. Dong Xin, having picked up a rock from somewhere, stood fearfully in front of his father and sister.
“Come on! I’m not afraid of you!!!”
Dong Xin roared at the top of his lungs, though his legs were shaking uncontrollably.
Buzz—
A pale yellow light rose from his chest. The monsters immediately turned and left, leaving only two standing before them, seemingly acting as protectors.
Dong Xin was stunned. He looked down at his chest, where the pendant Yin Yang had given him was hanging.
“Yang... Brother Yang?”
Hearing this, Dong Yue opened her eyes.
“Brother Yang? Where is Brother Yang?”
She looked around twice, then her lip curled into a pout.
“Brother, you lied to me. Brother Yang isn’t here at all. That doesn’t count! I still want the electronic watch.”
Chef Dong quickly covered her eyes.
“Right, it doesn't count. Xiao Yue, close your eyes. Daddy will buy it for you.”
“Thank you, Daddy~”
Chef Dong looked at his daughter and saw that something beneath her clothes was also emitting a faint yellow light.
His expression became incredibly complex.
Meanwhile, Dong Xin finally understood what Brother Yang had meant before.
‘So, finding Dad when in danger wasn't so he could protect us, but so we could protect him.’
...
Inside the ancestral hall.
The Third Young Master slowly woke up to find the Third Master and the Old Master looking down at him.
He instinctively tried to struggle, only to find that his hands and feet were bound.
“Hahaha~”
“Hahahaha!!!”
The Third Young Master burst into wild laughter, laughing until tears came to his eyes.
He stared up at the ceiling, his voice raspy.
“Fifteen years ago, I was stabbed through the lung.”
“You took me to Central City, found the best doctor, and gave me a lung transplant.”
“Back then, I thought you were the best father in the world!”
“Later on, that lung made me a transcendent!”
“I gained spirituality, but just as I was about to choose a pathway, the ancestral ritual began.”
“That day, I realized that the way you and the Old Master looked at me was strange.”
“That wasn't the look you give a child. It was more like the look you give a treasure chest!”
“Since I’m the chest, do I even need to guess what the treasure is?”
The Third Young Master tilted his head toward the Third Master.
“Do you still remember what happened after that?”
The Third Master remained silent, as did the Old Master. Both acted as if they hadn't heard a word, quietly watching the Third Young Master continue.
“You buried seven golden nails in my body, sealing my talent!”
“Didn't expect that, did you? You didn't expect me to know about it?”
“That’s because the transcendent lung allowed me to wake up on the operating table early!”
“Afterward, you acted as if nothing had happened, as if you hadn't done any of it.”
The Third Young Master’s face was full of mockery.
“Not long after, the Old Master went into seclusion, and the family business that should have been handled by my eldest uncle was handed over to you.”
“From that day on, I started observing you.”
“Despite your excellent disguise, certain details still exposed your identity.”
“For example, the expression you made after my eldest uncle did something stupid, or some of your eating habits.”
“At first, I didn't know who you resembled—until my second time at the ancestral ritual.”
At this point, the Third Young Master’s gaze gradually shifted to the Old Master.
“What method did you use to snatch my dad’s body?”
“The Thief pathway?”
No one answered his question; the ancestral hall remained silent.
The Third Young Master didn't mind. He stared at the ceiling of the hall and said,
“Once I realized you had snatched my dad’s body, and combined that with the way you looked at me, I knew what your goal was.”
“So, I tried to run away, only to find that I would lose consciousness the moment I stepped outside Huang City. By the time I woke up, I’d be back in the Li family.”
“I’d even pass out if thoughts of suicide or self-harm surfaced!”
“It was only then that I understood the seven golden nails in my body weren't just to seal my transcendent power, but also to stop me from escaping.”
“I started acting like a degenerate. Since I was going to die sooner or later anyway, I might as well enjoy my life. So, I became the most notorious bad seed in Huang City.”
“But even then, you kept cleaning up my messes. That finally made me realize something was wrong.”
“I might not be as simple as a treasure chest. After all, if you just wanted a body to nourish transcendent organs, you could have used anyone else’s.”
“Even if you had to use me, you could have chopped off my limbs and kept me in a jar like a human swine.”
“But you didn't. Instead, you kept raising me and spoiling me.”
“That means what you want isn't that simple.”
“Finally, I figured it out. Is it because your body-snatching has limitations? Can you only snatch those with Li family blood?”
“Is that right?”
“Great-Grandpa!”
The Third Young Master stared at his 'grandfather' and said,
“And that’s why you broke our family’s 'single-lineage tradition.' It was only so you could find the most suitable body!”
“Am I right?”
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