0004.

In the eerie silence of the dark night, the renowned Moon Dew Restaurant stood deserted like a ruin, abandoned in terror of the looming invasion. Wu Yan and Yi Qing moved cautiously through the empty floor, their footsteps echoing softly against the quiet surroundings.

"Are you certain he's still here?" Wu Yan inquired.

"Yes, my men have been keeping watch. That deceitful swindler is still here, on the top floor," Yi Qing affirmed.

Wu Yan signaled to his Shadow Wolf Gang members, the bandits, and they swiftly dispersed, combing through each floor in search of Su Jin, leaving no corner unchecked. 

On each floor, they trashed the furnishings, looted whatever they found valuable, and ate and drank whatever was leftover until they reached the top floor.

The top floor lacked walls, instead draped with fabric that billowed softly in the breeze. In the center, a single lamp cast flickering light, revealing the shadowy silhouette of a man seated, still leisurely sipping tea. Beside him, a woman pressed against his thigh, her hands engaged in a gentle massage.

"It's him," Yi Qing affirmed, recognizing and pointing out Su Jin. Her eyes spitting distaste. Wu Yan nodded in agreement, signaling to his gang members who maliciously encircled the area, closing in on the center with nefarious intent. 

They could already envision the twisted pleasures they would derive from tormenting the women attending to Su Jin including inflicting harm upon him. Their minds danced with visions of looting his possessions and committing other vile deeds.

As they reached the final curtain, Wu Yan's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. With a quick draw, he cut down the last barrier, revealing himself to Su Jin and the woman intimately massaging his thighs.

"Madam Wu?" Yi Qing immediately recognized the woman in shock, but her reason for astonishment was different.

"Mother?" Wu Yan exclaimed, recognizing the woman who was intimately massaging Su Jin's legs.

"Wu Yan? What are you doing here?" Madam Wu immediately asked with displeasure, scolding her son like he had disturbed her in a very important task.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? What are you even doing this anyway?" Wu Yan's voice rose with hot rage, emotions swirling in his head.

The bandits of the Shadow Wolf Gang, who had been eagerly anticipating having fun with the woman, now found themselves unsure of what to do. The revelation that she was their boss's mother left them stunned, bewildered, and disappointed. 

Madam Wu stood up with frustration, her loose red robe barely containing her plump, mature, alluring figure as she took a defensive stance in front of Su Jin. Her long, dark hair waved, accentuating her carefree seductiveness even more. The sight of her exposed leg caused the throats of every man surrounding her to dry up with desire, except for Wu Yan.

She had no fear in her eyes, no shame, no regret. Instead, there was only defiance and determination, a fierce resolve against her own son.

Wu Yan's emotions were in turmoil as he witnessed the scene unfolding before him. The disbelief and shock of seeing his own mother siding with an outsider, rather than her own son and clan, confused him to the core. What had transpired during his exile to change his mother so drastically? Why would she betray him and their clan in such a manner?

These questions burned in Wu Yan's mind like a white-hot brand, tormenting him with their unanswered nature. His thoughts were an uproar of emotions, swirling with betrayal, confusion, and disbelief. Beside him, Yi Qing shared in his shock, her wide eyes reflecting a mixture of surprise and horror.

Meanwhile, Su Jin observed their reactions with a smug grin, his satisfaction evident as he reveled in their discomfort.

"Why?" Wu Yan's voice was strained, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His mother's seductive posture filled him with a mixture of guilt and anger, her words cutting deep.

She laughed mockingly. "Why? You should be asking, why not? Your father, blinded by ambition, rode on your talent and burned everything to the ground. But whose authority? Whose rights? Whose money?" Her voice grew louder with each question, her rage palpable.

"Mine! It's all mine! My hard-earned money!" Her eyes blazed with fury.

"And what about me? Am I not yours too? Your SON! What parent wouldn't sacrifice everything for their child?"

"You?" She burst into laughter, the sound grating on Wu Yan's ears. "You were my son, yes, but when Elder Han of the Holy Serpent Sect came to deliver the pill needed for your Foundation Realm, what price do you think your father agreed upon?"

Wu Yan's confusion deepened. He had no idea what she was talking about. His father had arranged for a Foundation Realm Ascension Pill, but the details of how it was acquired were never shared with him. It was treated as unimportant, and insignificant.

"My honor! My beauty! I paid for it with my BODY!" Her revelation sent shockwaves through Wu Yan's entire being. His mother's words struck him like a physical blow, the revelation leaving him reeling in disbelief and horror. He struggled to comprehend the depths of her sacrifice, the lengths she had gone to for his sake.

Madam Wu's eyes gleamed with bitterness and resentment, her voice filled with venom as she continued her tirade. "Do you know what it's like to be forced by your own husband, your own trusted family you loved, who forced you to sell your dignity, your self-respect, to a lecherous old man? not one but many times."

Wu Yan felt as though the ground had been ripped out from beneath him, his world shattered. The realization that his mother had endured such suffering on his behalf filled him with a profound sense of guilt and shame.

But amidst the turmoil of his emotions, a flicker of anger ignited within him. Anger at his father for subjecting his mother to such humiliation. Anger at himself for being ignorant of her sacrifice. 

However, in the end, all his rage and anger are directed at Su Jin, who is smiling at him with a smugness, the man who is taking advantage of his mother's vulnerability right now.

"Dear Mei-mei!" Su Jin suddenly called out to Madam Wu with affection. Madam Wu's expression immediately turned joyful from rage as he turned. "You have suffered a lot in the past, no need to remember the pain of the past. Come, come to me and forget about everything." Su Jin opened his arm and Madam Wu Mei softly fell down in his arms, her soft body bounced making the Shadow Wolf Gang members gulp with desire.

She is much taller than Su Jin and yet sitting in the lap of Su Jin like a kitten, her exposed legs and bosom driving the Shadow Wolf Gang members mad with lust.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" With a rage-filled roar, he lunged at Su Jin, all the other members who were eagerly waiting for this moment also joined.

*CLANK*

But before Wu Yan's sword could enact his revenge and quench his rage, a figure materialized from the shadows, swift and silent as a whisper in the night. With effortless grace, the spectral figure deflected Wu Yan's sword with ease, each movement emitting a whizzing sound as it flowed with fluid precision, almost mechanical in their execution.

Clad in strange tight garb, the figure moved with otherworldly agility, its hands blurring as it suddenly drew two slender, black rods from within its tight garb. In an instant, the rods spat fire with ear-splitting cracks, each deafening boom sending members of the Shadow Wolf Gang flying in a rapid succession of BANG! BANG! BANG!

The thunderous sound ripped through the eerie silence of the night, shattering it with deafening violence, echoing into the distance to the horizon.

Yi Qing, paralyzed by sheer terror, let out a high-pitched scream. Her scream, a primal shriek of terror, tore from her throat as she scrambled back, her legs threatening to give way. 

The dark figure, its face obscured by the shadows of its wide-brimmed hat, remained unmoving, the smoking metal tubes in his hand looked like the instruments of some infernal ritual.

Beside her, Wu Yan lay sprawled on the floor, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. His eyes darted between the fallen comrades and the strange figure, his entire world seemingly shattered in an instant. He gripped his sword again but froze in terror.

The infernal rod of fire and death was now pointed at him. For unknown reason, a terror struck him as he let go of his sword and raised his hand without any cause or explanation. 

He looked up and saw two crimson, luminous eyes looking out from beneath the wide-brimmed hat, fixed upon him with emotionless intensity. The eerie radiance emanating from those glowing orbs highlighted the metallic outline of this ghostly figure, sending shivers down Wu Yan's spine.

The sight of those glowing eyes plunged him into a primal dread as if he was face to face with the harbinger of death itself, ready to claim his very soul.

"Good boy!" Su Jin remarked upon witnessing Wu Yan's surrender, his tone casual as he gently caressed Madam Wu Mei, who had been startled by the commotion.