Chapter 3109 — Three Dead Now

"You're asking for death!" This time the Grand Elder was on the verge of truly losing control. You, with strength like yours, want to beat this old woman to death? Then this old woman will send you to hell first! The Grand Elder's finger twitched; she slapped her waist, and a crimson silk ribbon shot swiftly toward Dongfang Song!

Dongfang Song's eyes went wide in an instant, filled with shock and disbelief. He seemed to understand something all at once, but it was already too late to dodge. With a great boom, the crimson ribbon struck Dongfang Song's body, and he was sent flying outright, crashing thunderously into the villa wall. He twitched a few times, then collapsed to the ground, dead beyond all doubt.

Dongfang Buruo was dumbstruck as well. A top expert at the peak of the late Heaven Rank? How could Xu Shilan be so formidable, and how could she have a bodyguard of such caliber at her side? Then how was he supposed to capture her?

Surely this peak late Heaven Rank expert wouldn't turn on him? Surely she wouldn't kill him?

"So you are Dongfang Buruo of the Dongfang family?" The Grand Elder was furious, but she also knew that some people could be killed and some could not. Dongfang Buruo might be the chief culprit, but he was also the Dongfang family's sole heir. If the Grand Elder killed him too, then no matter the reason, the Dark Night Palace and the Dongfang family would be locked in a feud to the death.

So the Grand Elder did not strike. Instead, she demanded in a stern voice.

"I... am... You... don't kill me..." Dongfang Buruo trembled from head to toe. He backed up two steps, wanting simply to flee, yet not daring to.

"Your Dongfang family, again and again, keeps trying to seize this old woman's successor—what is the meaning of this? Do you have some peculiar fetish, boy?" The Grand Elder was utterly furious. "This time, out of respect for our shared place in the ancient stratum, this old woman will let you off. Dongfang Buruo, is it? Go back and tell Dongfang Jinxing not to push his luck. The Dark Night Palace's successor concerns the interests of the entire ancient stratum, and your Dongfang family is no exception. I hope you will not stir up trouble, or you will be making an enemy of the whole ancient stratum!"

"Huh?" This time, Dongfang Buruo finally understood what was going on. So this old woman was not some expert Xu Shilan had hired, but had come to the villa to find her successor. And by the look of it, that successor was one of the two young women he had ordered Dongfang Cha to capture!

So that was why Dongfang Cha had died? Dongfang Buruo had the urge to weep. How **unlucky** could he be? Of all the places Xu Shilan could have lived, she had to live in the successor's home. He had never met Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu before, so naturally he had not known that the people Dongfang Cha found were them. And then he had come to their door wanting to seize them—small wonder the Dark Night Palace's Grand Elder was furious!

But... this was all a misunderstanding!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll leave right now..." Though Dongfang Buruo was screaming of injustice in his heart, he had no way out at all. After all, for an explanation to work, the Grand Elder would have to believe it. Besides, he had not yet revealed any intention of moving against Xu Shilan; he feared that Xu Shilan would grow wary and move away, and then he would never find her again. So Dongfang Buruo merely apologized, and did not breathe a single word about Xu Shilan.

"Take this corpse with you! This old woman does not wish to see you again!" The Grand Elder waved her hand.

"Yes!" Dongfang Buruo hurried over, gathered up Dongfang Song's corpse, and slunk away from the villa in disgrace.

Watching Dongfang Buruo's retreating figure, the Grand Elder shook her head and sighed softly to herself. She had let Dongfang Buruo go, but she had also made an enemy of the Dongfang family. She only wondered whether the Dongfang family would let the matter rest.

Still, one kill or two made little difference. She had killed one, and the enmity was already made; one more hardly mattered. And slaying Dongfang Song before Gu Mengyao's eyes was also a way to show Gu Mengyao how much she mattered in the Grand Elder's heart—once she came to the Dark Night Palace, she would never be treated shabbily!

Yet the Grand Elder was deeply baffled. The Dongfang family did not seem weak-witted or madly arrogant. She had already issued her declaration, and they knew she had come to find her successor, yet Dongfang Buruo had still brought another man along to seize someone. What kind of thinking was that?

Wei Zhao frowned as well. In his view, the flash of astonishment and helplessness on Dongfang Buruo's face had not been feigned—the boy simply did not have that much cunning. So it seemed that Dongfang Buruo's target this time had been Xu Shilan, not Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu.

As for the order to seize Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, that had merely been a whim, and then the Grand Elder had misunderstood, thinking the Dongfang family had come again for Gu Mengyao. One misunderstanding led to another, and the Dongfang family had lost yet another man... All in all, the Dongfang family was pitiful enough—they had lost several of their number in this stretch of time!

The key point was that Wei Zhao had not even lifted a finger before someone had struck on his behalf. That saved him no small amount of effort. At least, for the time being, the Dongfang family could not notice a figure like him, which made it easier for him to hide in the shadows and protect Xu Shilan. Otherwise, if he were exposed, what if the Dongfang family sent out an expert at the late Heaven Rank, or even the peak of the late Heaven Rank?

That was not something Wei Zhao wished to see. His current strength was no match for experts above the late Heaven Rank, so for now, with the Grand Elder out front taking the heat, Wei Zhao was content to enjoy the respite.

"Gu Mengyao, you saw it too—to protect you, I did not hesitate to make an enemy of the Dongfang family and slay one of their experts. Now you should know how important you are in my heart?" the Grand Elder said to Gu Mengyao.

"All right, then... let us go..." Gu Mengyao understood perfectly well that today's affair might have been a misunderstanding—she knew about Xu Shilan too. But she said nothing more; after all, between her and the Dark Night Palace, theirs could only be a partnership of mutual convenience for the time being. "But I am the Palace Master now, am I not?"

"Indeed, you are the new Palace Master of our Dark Night Palace!" the Grand Elder said with a nod.

"Then let me be clear: which carries more authority, the Palace Master or the Chief Elder?" Gu Mengyao glanced at the black-robed elder and asked.

"Naturally the Palace Master. Within the Dark Night Palace, the Palace Master is the greatest existence after this old woman!" the Grand Elder said hastily. Of course, that authority was granted by the Grand Elder herself—she said Gu Mengyao had power, and so she did. The former Palace Master, Wan'er, had truly been worth less than an ordinary elder, but Gu Mengyao was about to rewrite that history. Was the young miss someone to be trifled with?

Back when Wei Zhao had first moved into the villa, the young miss had been terribly spoiled and willful—Wei Zhao had nearly been thrown out. RS

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