Seeing that Zhong Yueping could not utter a word for a long time, the White Rakshasa became somewhat impatient and said, “I say, you little woman, why are you so hesitant and completely blind to a good thing? So many heroes in the martial arts world beg me to write their names into my ledger of the dead when they see me, yet I give them no chance. If it weren’t for your exceptional beauty, I wouldn’t bother leaving a record of your name.”

In fact, the White Rakshasa was not lying. As the saying goes, just as a wild goose leaves its call, a person leaves a name. What people live for in the martial arts world is reputation; they live for it and die for it. If one could be recorded in the White Rakshasa’s ledger of the dead after passing away, that would still be considered making a name for oneself. Therefore, people who crossed paths with the White Rakshasa considered it an honor to have their names recorded in his book. Even if they died, their descendants could share in the glory, making it a worthy death. This is just like why most tomb owners have their life achievements carved onto monuments and biographies after death; it is all to make it convenient for future generations to look up to them.

“Her name is Zhong Yueping, twenty-one years old, titled the number one beauty in the martial arts world. Her husband is Su Lianyun, and they have a three-year-old son. She manages her home frugally, is gentle and virtuous, and possesses such a kind heart that she won’t even slaughter a chicken or a duck. Her favorite meal is pickled vegetables with plain white rice porridge. The porridge cannot be too thick, and the pickled vegetables cannot be too sour or oily. What else do you want to know?” A figure was walking slowly toward them. The person was quite far away, and their appearance could not be seen clearly through the swirling sandstorm. However, the fact that he could hear a conversation from such a distance made it clear that he was absolutely no ordinary man.

Before the man arrived, his voice drifted over first, sounding somewhat chaotic as it mixed with the rustling wind and sand.

The White Rakshasa clearly heard what the man said, so he shouted toward the figure, “And who are you? How do you know her situation so clearly?”

Although Zhong Yueping did not hear the man’s words perfectly, she recognized his identity from the few scattered words she caught. The terror on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a subtle glimmer of pure joy.

Who else in the world could know Zhong Yueping so intimately besides her husband, Su Lianyun?

Although the White Rakshasa was highly skilled, he was not particularly intelligent. Yet after asking this question, he seemed to realize something and barked sharply at the group of burly men, “Quick, grab her!”

The four giant men standing near Zhong Yueping immediately reached out to grab her. However, the moment their hands straightened and before they could even touch Zhong Yueping, they felt a piercing, excruciating pain. Their four pairs of hands, curved like claws, suddenly had all forty fingers chopped off by a significant length. In an instant, blood sprayed like blossoming flowers, and the severed fingers rained down onto the ground with a rhythmic pattering sound. Like bouncing marbles, they rolled a few times and lay scattered across the blood-soaked sand.

The four giant men wailed in agonizing pain, their bodies swaying unsteadily in the wind and sand.

The sword that had severed their fingers flashed with cold light once more, instantly slicing across the throats of the four men, who were all of uniform height. A violent hissing sound of spraying blood echoed through the cold air. The four men were instantly enveloped in a thick mist of blood, their bodies rocking back and forth like toy roly-poly dolls. By the time they reacted to the intense agony of their severed fingers and tried to press their hands against their throats, their bodies had already begun to collapse one after another. After a brief fit of twitching, their limbs went limp and they stopped breathing. The thick blood at their throats continued to flow out silently, and the metallic stench of blood spread rapidly, filling the nostrils of everyone present.

All these seemingly fragmented scenes actually took place in a split second. The people standing near them were still frozen in confusion, and only the White-Faced Rakshasa remained completely alert. He could hardly believe that the actions before his eyes were carried out by Su Lianyun, who had been several yards away just a moment ago. This movement technique was so fast that it truly resembled a ghost, leaving people terrified, shocked, and in utter disbelief.

“Those who harm my wife and child shall be destroyed.” Su Lianyun halted his stance and delivered this line coldly. Then, as if no one else were there, he turned and swept Zhong Yueping into his embrace. His expression shifted instantly from icy cold to warm and gentle, and his tone softened as he asked tenderly, “Are you alright?”

Zhong Yueping had originally thought that her husband’s trip to Jiutou Mountain would surely be fraught with grim peril, and her sole focus had been to rush over as quickly as possible to stop him. Yet fate loved to play tricks on people, forcing her to rescue a severely wounded man along the way. She was fundamentally not a selfish person, so in the end, she could only choose to save the person before her eyes with tears in her eyes, silently praying that her husband could turn peril into safety. Even if he only kept half his life or ended up paralyzed, she was willing to bear any consequence as long as she could spend the rest of her days with him.

In heaven we shall be two birds flying on a single wing, and on earth we shall be two branches entwined as one!

On her way here, Zhong Yueping had already made up her mind that if her husband died, she would follow the example of lovebirds and absolutely would not live on alone.

Now seeing Su Lianyun safe and sound, she wept with joy, shaking her head through her heavy sobs to signal that she was fine.

Su Lianyun gazed at his tear-stained wife, his heart filled with both relief and tender affection. After a moment of silence, he spoke softly, “Yueping, I will never leave you and our boy behind again. If anyone comes looking for trouble from now on, I will make sure they never return, showing absolutely no mercy.”

“Mhm!” Zhong Yueping choked out a single word, her head pressed tightly against Su Lianyun’s firm chest. Listening to the rhythmic, passionate beating of Su Lianyun’s heart, she felt at this moment as if she had completely merged into her husband’s body, heart to heart and flesh to flesh, living as he lived and dying as he died.

“Where is Nan’er?” Su Lianyun suddenly thought of their three-year-old son.

Zhong Yueping looked up at Su Lianyun, preparing to answer, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white shadow rushing toward them at lightning speed. In her desperation, she pushed Su Lianyun away, only to feel a sudden wave of numbness wash over her back. She instantly lost consciousness and her body fell straight backward.

Because Su Lianyun had been slightly distracted by his thoughts of his wife and child, he never expected the White Rakshasa to strike at this exact moment. It appeared that his warning phrase, “shall be destroyed,” did not possess the deterrent effect he had imagined, failing to intimidate the White Rakshasa at all.

As Zhong Yueping’s fragile body fell slowly toward the ground, right before she could hit the dirt, Su Lianyun dropped to his knees. His knees skidded across the ground, leaving two long tracks. His left hand reached out to cradle Zhong Yueping’s neck, while the tip of the sword in his right hand thrust toward the White Rakshasa with the speed of a passing storm.

Although the White Rakshasa was still pulling back his palm strike at this moment, he clearly saw Su Lianyun’s counterattack. The silver light at the tip of the blade resembled a shooting star, flickering brightly and dimly as it drove straight toward his face. He had only raised his hand half an inch in an attempt to grab the blade when he felt a sharp pain in his eyes. The vision before him was instantly cut in half by darkness, while through the remaining half, he saw the silver light sweep past, seemingly attacking his face once more. Immediately afterward, his vision went entirely black without a single speck of light, and an agony that penetrated straight to his marrow caused him to collapse to the ground, rolling, wailing, and groaning continuously.

Kneeling on both knees, Su Lianyun held his wife in his arms, his face a mask of panic, fear, anxiety, and heartbreak. “Yueping, Yueping, please don’t let anything happen to you!”

Blood as black as charcoal oozed from the corner of Zhong Yueping’s mouth. Hearing her husband’s desperate cries, she gradually regained a sliver of consciousness. Seeing Su Lianyun’s panicked face, a faint smile actually appeared on her lips. This was because she recalled many scenes from their past, and her husband’s appearance at this exact moment looked just like the way he did when Zhong Yueping saw him for the very first time.