"I beg you, Third Elder, have mercy! Please let my sister go!"
In Jiangjia Town, outside a small, rundown courtyard, a young man in black was kneeling on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to a middle-aged man as he pleaded desperately.
The young man's name was Jiang Han, a member of the Jiang Clan.
He had just returned from a hunt that afternoon when he heard the terrible news—the clan's Third Elder had forcibly taken his younger sister, Jiang Li.
It was all because a powerful figure from Yunmeng Pavilion, Han Shiqi, had taken a fancy to Jiang Li and wanted her as his concubine. The wedding was to take place in half a month.
The news struck him like a bolt from the blue. Jiang Han nearly fainted on the spot.
Six years ago, Jiang Han's parents had mysteriously disappeared, leaving him and his sister, Jiang Li, to fend for themselves. In his world, Jiang Li was everything.
Now, the Third Elder was forcing Jiang Li to marry out of the family, and to be a concubine for an old man well past fifty. How could he possibly agree to that?
What enraged him most was that Jiang Li was only eleven this year, still just a child.
"Brother! Brother!"
The door to the inner room was pulled open, and a beautiful little girl rushed out, crying.
Before she could take more than a few steps, a middle-aged woman ran out from the room, roughly dragged the little girl back inside, and then came the crisp sound of a slap, followed by the little girl's sobs.
"Jiang Li!"
Seeing this, Jiang Han's eyes burned with fury, and he shot up, ready to charge in. But a cold glance from the Third Elder stopped him, and he forced himself to swallow his rage and stay put.
"Jiang Han!"
The Third Elder was a man of about forty, dressed in fine brocade. He had a powerful build, and a scar like a centipede ran down his left cheek, giving him a fearsome and terrifying appearance.
He looked at Jiang Han and said indifferently, "Have you made enough of a scene? This matter concerning Jiang Li was a decision made by the Elders' Hall. It cannot be changed. If you continue to cause trouble, don't blame the clan's laws for being merciless!"
"The Elders' Hall?"
Hearing the Third Elder's words, Jiang Han pressed his lips together so tightly he nearly shattered his teeth.
Was he taking him for a young, ignorant fool?
The Jiang Family's Patriarch had been in seclusion for half a year. The Great Elder had been bedridden for over a month and wasn't expected to last much longer. The Second Elder was far away in Yunmeng City. That left the Third Elder as the only one in the Elders' Hall.
A decision by the Elders' Hall? This was clearly the Third Elder's idea alone.
Looking at the Third Elder's cold, grim face, Jiang Han braced himself and retorted, "Third Elder, my sister is still so young. Please, spare her. I know you had a grudge against my father. If you have a problem, take it out on me. Let Jiang Li go!"
Jiang Han wasn't actually very clear on the details of the feud between the Third Elder and his father.
He only knew that his father had been a once-in-a-century martial genius of the Jiang Family. By the age of thirty, he had reached the fourth level of the Mystic Void Realm, his combat prowess second only to the Patriarch and the Great Elder, unmatched among his peers.
It seemed that when the Patriarch promoted his father to Hunting Squad Leader, many of his peers in the clan were unconvinced, which led to several conflicts.
And the scar that had been on the Third Elder's face for over a decade—he'd heard it was his father who gave it to him.
"Insolence!"
The scar on the Third Elder's face twitched. Overcome with rage, he raised his hand and swung a heavy slap at Jiang Han's face.
Jiang Han instinctively raised an arm to block, but the Third Elder was too fast. The slap landed squarely, sending him flying backward. He crashed heavily to the ground six meters away.
*Pfft!*
Jiang Han struggled to his feet, his head splitting and a piercing pain shooting through his organs. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"You dare say such outrageous things!"
The Third Elder glared at Jiang Han and snarled, "This matter is settled. No one can change it. Lord Han will arrive in Jiangjia Town in half a month. You'd best behave yourself until then. If you dare try anything, I'll kill you with my own hands."
"And another thing—in life, Jiang Li belongs to Lord Han. In death, she belongs to him as well. Even if she dies, her corpse must be sent to Yunmeng City!"
"Jiang Long!"
The Third Elder turned and called out. From nearby, a lanky young man strode over. He shot Jiang Han a casual glance, his eyes filled with mockery, and a smirk played on his lips. "Third Uncle, what are your orders?"
"Starting today, you and your men will stand guard here day and night!"
The Third Elder said with his hands behind his back, "For the next half-month, Jiang Li is not to take a single step out of this courtyard. If Jiang Han dares to cause any trouble... deal with him according to clan rules!"
"Yes, Third Uncle!"
Jiang Long was the Third Elder's own nephew, so the elder was completely at ease leaving the task to him. He shot Jiang Han another cold glare before turning and striding away.
Watching the Third Elder's retreating back, Jiang Han's heart sank to the depths, his face a mask of despair.
Although they were all part of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Han's branch of the family had only produced a single heir for three generations. After his parents' disappearance, the siblings were left with no one to rely on in Jiangjia Town. He had no access to the Jiang Family's resources for cultivation, his abilities were meager, and he held no status within the clan.
The Jiang Family had many experts, but the Third Elder's faction was so domineering and powerful that no one dared to stand up for him.
The Purple Mansion Realm, the Mystic Void Realm, the Mountain and Sea Level... Each realm was further divided into nine levels.
Jiang Han was only at the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm. Never mind the Third Elder, who was at the third level of the Mystic Void Realm—even Jiang Long before him was at the ninth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
With a four-level difference between them, he was no match for Jiang Long.
If he tried to force his way in and take Jiang Li, there would be only one outcome: Jiang Long would beat him to death.
"Jiang Xiaotian, you're abusing your power to settle a personal score! You'll die a dog's death!"
Jiang Han seethed, grinding his teeth.
The Third Elder, Jiang Xiaotian, held a personal grudge against his father. This was clearly malicious revenge.
Jiang Li had never left Jiangjia Town in her life. How could Han Shiqi, who was all the way in Yunmeng City, possibly know of her? It had to be Jiang Xiaotian who had deliberately offered Jiang Li to Han Shiqi as a concubine.
This way, he could get his revenge for what happened back then and curry favor with a powerful figure from Yunmeng Pavilion. He had played his cards perfectly.
"I need to go back first."
After standing there in a daze for a while, Jiang Han forced himself to calm down. Wincing in pain, he slowly walked back toward his own small courtyard.
Many Jiang Clan Members passing by looked at him with pity, but not one of them approached to speak with him. In the Jiang Family, the Elders' Hall was absolute, and no one dared to defy it.
He returned to his courtyard, utterly dejected, and sat down on a chair like a statue.
He sat there for two hours, racking his brain, but could not come up with any viable escape plan.
To escape with Jiang Li, his overall combat strength would need to reach at least the ninth level of the Purple Mansion Realm, or he wouldn't even be able to get past Jiang Long. It had taken him six years of cultivation just to reach the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm. How could he possibly reach the ninth level in half a month?
But if he stayed, he could only watch helplessly as Jiang Li was sent to Yunmeng Pavilion, to be defiled and tormented by some old pervert, a fate worse than death...
"Is there no way out?"
Jiang Han murmured in despair, his hand instinctively tightening around a cauldron-shaped jade pendant on his chest. It was the only thing his mother had left him.
His gaze drifted out the window as he mumbled in confusion, "Father, Mother, where did you go? Are you alive or dead? What should I do? What am I supposed to do!"
*Crack!*
Perhaps because he was so agitated, he squeezed too hard, and the cauldron-shaped jade pendant shattered in his hand.
Suddenly!
The jade pendant erupted in a blinding flash of light, instantly illuminating the entire room.
"Huh? What..."
Jiang Han jumped in surprise. He looked down, his eyes filled with confusion. Although he had crushed the jade pendant, not a single fragment remained.
His hand was empty. The cauldron-shaped jade pendant had mysteriously vanished...
Proofreader: Peter Pan