The tranquility that had settled over the courtyard did not last for long.
While Xiao Yun was still hiding her face between her palms, a violent crash suddenly thundered through the courtyard, shaking the entire place.
Bang!
The courtyard gate was blasted inward with tremendous force and slammed against the wall, sending small wooden splinters scattering across the ground.
Xiao Yun gasped and immediately raised her head.
Three men strode through the entrance without permission.
Neither their expressions nor the manner in which they had forced their way inside suggested that they had come merely to talk.
The man in the center advanced with broad, steady strides while the other two followed closely on either side of him.
Waves of spiritual energy radiated from their bodies, pressing heavily upon the air throughout the courtyard until Xiao Yun felt even her breathing become more difficult.
The leading man’s eyes swiftly swept across the courtyard before settling upon her.
His footsteps paused for a moment.
A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes, while the two men behind him exchanged a brief glance after seeing the unexpected beauty standing before them.
Their astonishment, however, lasted only an instant.
Their leader raised his hand, pointed directly at Xiao Yun, and coldly ordered,
That’s her.
Seize her.
The two men immediately moved toward her.
Xiao Yun instinctively stepped backward, then retreated another step as her face turned pale, the blush that had colored her cheeks only moments earlier disappearing completely.
Who are you?
What do you want from me?
She tried to keep her voice steady, but the faint tremor slipping into her words betrayed her fear.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of her violet dress while her eyes darted between the three men, desperately searching for any possible route of escape.
She did not need to know who they were to understand that she was in danger.
The spiritual pressure emanating from their bodies told her everything she needed to know.
All three men were cultivators.
And she…
Was nothing more than an ordinary mortal woman with no power to resist them.
She was nothing more than an ordinary mortal woman who had never cultivated for even a single day in her life, while the spiritual energy flowing from the bodies of the men who had broken into her home made it unmistakably clear that they were cultivators.
Xiao Yun understood that even if she resisted with everything she had, she would not be able to stop even one of them, much less confront all three at the same time.
The man leading them stopped only a few steps away from her before letting out a mocking laugh and repeating her question with open ridicule.
He shook his head slightly, as though the question itself amused him, before fixing his gaze upon her.
It seems you still haven’t heard what your son has done.
Xiao Yun’s pupils contracted the instant she heard those words, and a sudden tightness gripped her chest.
The man’s expression hardened as he continued in a colder voice.
Ye Fang killed Liu Xiaotian, the Liu Family Patriarch’s favorite grandson.
Did he really think he could kill a member of our family and then hide away as though nothing had happened?
He gestured toward her with his chin before adding coldly,
And since you’re his mother and the person closest to him, it’s only natural that you bear part of the consequences.
He raised his hand once more and motioned toward the two men behind him, who had already advanced several steps toward her.
So don’t force them to use violence.
Come with us quietly, and things will be much easier for you.
Xiao Yun stopped retreating for a moment.
The three men remained completely composed, showing no trace of urgency.
In their eyes, the woman standing before them possessed neither the strength to resist nor any means of escaping from their grasp.
As they drew closer, however, their gazes gradually changed as they examined her more carefully.
They had heard of Ye Fang’s mother before, but seeing her with their own eyes was entirely different from what they had imagined.
Her facial features were so youthful that it was difficult to believe her true age, yet her mature and gracefully proportioned figure made it equally clear that she was no young girl, despite what her appearance might suggest at first glance.
Two of the men exchanged a meaningful look.
It was difficult for either of them to believe that Ye Fang, whose own appearance was hardly remarkable, could have a mother blessed with such extraordinary beauty and allure.
Xiao Yun noticed none of their looks.
From the moment she heard her son’s name, her mind had lost the ability to focus on anything else.
Her eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly while her fingers nervously tightened around the edge of her dress.
Only after several moments did she manage to force out the words.
Fang’er… he…?
The moment Xiao Yun understood the true reason these men had broken into her home, the last remnants of her composure disappeared.
The hand still clutching the edge of the white robe slowly lowered as she retreated another step, her eyes darting between the three men in search of an opening through which she might escape.
She quickly realized there was none.
They had completely blocked the entrance, and the distance separating them from her continued to shrink with every step they took.
She was a widow who spent most of her time living alone, and if these men forcibly dragged her back to the Liu Family estate, she had no guarantee of what might happen to her there.
Yet fear for her own safety was not what terrified her most.
If she fell into their hands, they could easily use her as bait to force Fang’er out of hiding.
At that point, she would no longer be merely a prisoner of the Liu Family.
She would become a blade held against her son’s throat, a hostage they could use to force him to surrender himself.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Xiao Yun’s expression changed completely.
Her hand slowly slipped toward the side of her dress before drawing a short dagger from a concealed place, one she had kept for self-defense.
Before the three men could understand what she intended to do, she swiftly raised it and pressed the blade against her own neck.
Her hand trembled slightly.
Even so, she did not lower the weapon.
Instead, her fingers tightened around the dagger’s handle as she stared directly at the men before her.
Don’t come any closer.
Her voice was tense at first, but it quickly gained firmness as she raised the blade slightly and held it closer against her neck.
If you intend to take me away and use me against Fang’er, then leave this place.
I will never allow you to achieve what you want, even if the price is my life.
A brief silence descended over the courtyard.
Then the man leading the group burst into laughter.
His eyes fell upon the dagger in her hand as though he were looking at an attempt so futile that it deserved nothing but ridicule.
Your life?
Do you really believe you can choose to die in front of three cultivators?
He slowly raised his palm.
At that very instant, spiritual energy surged from his body, and an invisible pressure swept across the entire courtyard.
Xiao Yun immediately felt as though the air surrounding her had transformed into heavy shackles, binding her limbs and preventing her from moving.
Her pupils contracted.
The fingers wrapped around the dagger froze despite her desperate attempt to move them.
Only then did she truly understand the enormous gulf separating an ordinary mortal from a cultivator.
The man before her had stripped away her ability to resist merely by releasing his spiritual energy.
Even the final choice she had believed still belonged to her…
Was no longer under her control.