Chapter 238

Chapter 238: From Love to Hatred

Lou Yun halted at the voice and looked at the man before him. He gave a cold sneer. "The methods and conduct of your Four Great Families are truly brilliant! Clearly holding a grudge against my Lou Family, yet you didn’t dare come directly for me. Instead, you went to abduct my fiancée, bullying a weak woman. Is that your skill?"

When the words "fiancée" came out of Lou Yun’s mouth, the tears in Xia Zhilan’s eyes poured out uncontrollably. Though she knew Lou Yun had long silently accepted their relationship, hearing him say it so formally with her own ears now—that feeling was utterly beyond description!

Though she was crying, they were tears of overwhelming joy. For this man who had saved her, and for whom she had once saved with her own life, no matter how much hardship or suffering she endured, with these three words, everything was worthwhile!

Shui Lingluo, standing in the distance, also heard those three words. Her body swayed slightly, and her chest felt as though suddenly blocked by a massive boulder, suffocatingly intense. She truly hadn’t expected that Lou Yun’s strenuous efforts to invite her along were actually to help him rescue his fiancée!

Compared to Xia Zhilan, Shui Lingluo’s love for Lou Yun was no less. Her love was built on gratitude. Lou Yun had first saved her from the clutches of Qin Wufeng, preserving her chastity. Then he took her out of the general’s residence, granting her freedom. Finally, he found her aunt’s home, not only removing her water contract but even helping her aunt and brother free themselves from theirs too. He was quite simply the savior of her entire Shui family!

Faced with such a person, Shui Lingluo’s heart was moved. She fell deeply in love, tying her whole heart entirely to Lou Yun. Long before Lou Yun came to find her, she had fantasized countless times about one day flying wing-to-wing with him, about growing old together with him. When Lou Yun actually went to find her, her heart had thrilled so much it felt ready to leap from her chest!

Later, when Lou Yun proposed taking her along, she believed her fantasy was about to become reality, convinced Lou Yun had fallen for her too. She agreed without the slightest hesitation!

On this journey, to ensure Lou Yun didn’t see her as a burden and to better help him, she seized every moment for cultivation, striving hard to narrow the gap between them. It was no exaggeration to say that for Lou Yun, she would even give up her life. All she wanted was to be with Lou Yun!

Yet today, her fantasy finally shattered against the hard wall of reality!

Under this painful blow, the love within Shui Lingluo’s heart instantly twisted into hate. Just as deeply as she had once loved, she now hated with equal intensity!

She hated why Lou Yun wouldn’t love her, why he toyed with her feelings instead. She hated why Xia Zhilan could win Lou Yun’s love. She even hated herself for being so foolishly in love with Lou Yun, traveling thousands of li willingly to help him rescue his fiancée!

Watching Xia Zhilan’s tear-streaked face, gazing at Lou Yun’s broad, stalwart back, Shui Lingluo clenched her teeth so hard they seemed to crack. She swallowed all the agony and hatred down deep inside!

She vowed she would make Lou Yun kneel before her, begging her to love him. She swore that even if she couldn’t have Lou Yun, no other woman would have him either!

This woman, transformed overnight from a delicate girl into a formidable expert, felt her mindset and temperament quietly shift in this very moment.

In truth, Shui Lingluo had genuinely misunderstood Lou Yun. Before arriving on the island and before seeing the magical weapon, Lou Yun hadn’t known the person abducted by the four families was his fiancée, Xia Zhilan. Moreover, towards Shui Lingluo, Lou Yun only felt sympathy and concern, never once affection or love. He treated her as a good friend!

Lou Yun did not know that from this moment on, he had gained another enemy in this world—an enemy who had once deeply loved him, who had once been willing to give her life for him as his friend.

Though Shui Lingluo tried her utmost to mask her emotional turmoil, striving not to let the hatred within show on her face, her trembling body, tightly clenched fists, and fiercely bitten lips didn’t escape Wen Hou’s notice, standing beside her.

Regarding affairs of the heart, Wen Hou, having never experienced them, naturally didn’t understand. But he knew Shui Lingluo loved Lou Yun. Seeing her physical reactions now raised doubts within him. Shui Lingluo was furious. But furious about what?

Naturally, this was not the time for Wen Hou to question her about it. Pretending not to see, he silently shifted his gaze away, refocusing it on Lou Yun. But a big question mark lodged itself firmly in his mind.

Faced with Lou Yun’s clearly mocking interrogation, the man leaning on his sword finally slowly raised his head.

The man had sword-like eyebrows, large eyes, and a full face covered in a thick beard—an imposing and majestic appearance. His age seemed over forty. Though his eyes appeared devoid of spark, a subtle gleam flickered within them when they moved. This indicated his cultivation had reached a state nearing a return to simplicity and naturalness.

He stared deeply at Lou Yun for a long while before slowly speaking. "I didn’t know of her relation to you. I know nothing of the Four Great Families. I came here solely to execute the ancestral decree of my Helian family, passed down through countless generations: to kill every Lou family member under heaven. And you… you should be from the Lou family, right?"

Lou Yun showed no surprise at the other man’s identity. He nodded. "Correct. I am precisely the Lou family member your nine clans’ ancestral decree commands you to exterminate. I stand here now. You may proceed. Execute your ancestral decree."

"Good!" The middle-aged man expressed approval at Lou Yun’s courage. "Though I don’t know why our Helian family decreed this, nor the exact enmity between your Lou family and my Helian family, as a descendant of the Helian family, I must carry out the ancestors’ commands. Ah, I forgot to tell you my name. I am Helian Kuang. Now draw your magical weapon, and let us battle to the death!"

Contrary to the other’s urging, Lou Yun did not draw his magical weapon. Instead, he gazed calmly at Helian Kuang. "Rest assured. Since I am here today, I won’t leave easily. I will certainly satisfy your wish. However, before that, I demand you first return my fiancée’s magical weapon!"

Helian Kuang’s brows furrowed slightly. He suddenly lifted his head and called out loudly towards the surroundings, "Helian Tiebi! Come out here! Explain what exactly is going on?"

As his voice faded, Helian Tiebi appeared suddenly from behind where Shui Lingluo and Wen Hou were standing. He hurried over to Helian Kuang’s side and bowed deeply. "Uncle!"

Looking at his features, Helian Tiebi seemed older than Helian Kuang, yet he addressed the other as ‘uncle.’ This showed Helian Kuang’s seniority was likely quite high within the Helian family.

Helian Kuang frowned. "Did you not merely inform me that a Lou family member had appeared, summoning me here to kill him and execute the ancestral decree? What exactly is this ‘fiancée,’ this ‘magical weapon’ the Lou member just mentioned?"

Helian Tiebi seemed intensely fearful of Helian Kuang. He stood without daring to lift his head, his voice filled with trepidation. "Uncle, he is Lou Yun, the current Lou Family clan head. We invited him here to settle matters. Fearing he might not come, we… we invited his fiancée here first. And to prevent her from… from harming herself, we took her magical weapon."

"Bastard!" Helian Kuang’s temper was extremely violent. He raised his hand and actually landed a sharp "slap" across Helian Tiebi’s face. "Our Helian family is one of the Supreme Nine Clans! As a member of the Helian family, how could you commit such an act? If he didn’t come, couldn’t we have gone to find him?! And you even abducted his fiancée? A weak woman?! If this matter spreads, what face would our Helian family have left to stand among the Supreme Nine Clans?!"

Helian Kuang’s words were wholly unexpected by Lou Yun. He hadn’t imagined this Helian Kuang, though somewhat arrogant in his speech, would be so principled. Clearly, he was completely unaware of what his nephew had done. In the end, he’d been tricked by his own nephew into coming to deal with Lou Yun!

Though struck, Helian Tiebi dared not dodge. He still stood with lowered head. "Uncle, this wasn’t my idea! The idea came from Xiao Tong of the Xiao family! I didn’t know beforehand, I only learned it after arriving here!"

"Hmph!" Helian Kuang didn’t relent with this explanation, snorting heavily through his nose. "And since you learned of it, why didn’t you inform me?! Where is this girl’s magical weapon now? Return it to her body immediately! Then get out of my sight!"

"Her magical weapon is with Xiao Tong. Earlier, Xiao Tong’s nephew Xiao Qingyu was killed by Lou Yun’s companion. Xiao Tong took his nephew’s body… we don’t know where he ran off to!"

"Then go find him this instant!" Helian Kuang bellowed, his voice suddenly thunderous.

Helian Tiebi didn’t dare utter another word. Giving a forceful nod, he hurriedly turned and left.

At this moment, Helian Kuang abruptly shifted sideways about three feet. "Lou Yun! I truly had no knowledge of what my nephew has done! However, I have sent him to retrieve it. I trust he’ll find it soon. Until he locates this young lady’s magical weapon, I absolutely will not raise a hand against you!"

Though Lou Yun knew full well this man was his enemy, soon to engage in a life-or-death struggle with him, the other party’s conduct evoked deep respect within him.

Giving Helian Kuang a slight nod as a gesture of gratitude, Lou Yun then sped swiftly to Xia Zhilan’s side.

"Little Lan," he said tenderly, extending his hand to gently wipe the tears from her face, his voice soft. "I know you’ve suffered hardship. I’m sorry I came late."

Under his comforting, Xia Zhilan’s tears flowed even faster and more abundantly, for her joy was simply too great. Yet her body indeed remained very weak, so she could only lean against Lou Yun’s chest, savoring this sweet treasure of a fleeting moment’s contentment.

In the distance, Shui Lingluo witnessed the two so intimately close. Her icy face finally betrayed an irrepressible flicker of rage. Through clenched teeth, she hissed three words:

"Shameless!"