Luo He gave a faint, cold smile. "Men like the Xu family do not abandon plans. They bury them and strike when you forget they exist."
Days turned into nights. Nights turned into more silence. Gradually, even the most disciplined guards began to ease just slightly. Shoulders lowered. Patrol routes shortened by a few steps.
Conversations grew a little louder. The tension faded but never fully. Luo He noticed it all. But he allowed it.
Because even he, despite his sharp instincts, began to think. Perhaps the danger had passed.
Inside the residence, life continued. Jin Mulan stood before a polished bronze mirror, her fingers gently resting on her stomach.
Three months and two weeks. Her body had begun to change in ways that no armor could hide.
The once perfectly fitted battle armor she wore with pride now sat unused in the corner of the room. The chest plate could no longer close.
The waist bindings would not tighten. Even the lighter garments pressed uncomfortably against her growing form.
A small but unmistakable curve had formed. A baby bump.
She exhaled softly, her reflection staring back at her with unfamiliar softness. "I really can't fight anymore, can I?" she whispered.
Luo He, who had entered quietly, heard her. "You shouldn't," he replied calmly. She turned, her brows furrowing slightly. "But what if something happens? I've always stood beside you."
"And you still will," he interrupted, stepping closer. His hand gently rested over hers on her stomach. "But not with a sword." There was a firmness in his voice that allowed no argument.
For a moment, Jin Mulan looked down, conflicted. Then she nodded slowly. "As long as you don't face everything alone." Luo He's gaze softened just barely. "I never have."
By all logic, she was now entering a safer stage of pregnancy. The early dangers had passed. As long as she avoided major harm or stress, both she and the child would be safe. At least that was what everyone believed.
That night, the air itself felt different. Still. Heavy. As if the world was holding its breath. Then a distant tremor. Horses. Many horses.
Outside the Jin estate, torches flared to life in the darkness. A formation of one hundred elite soldiers rode forward in perfect unison.
Their armor was black as night, polished to a dull sheen that swallowed light rather than reflected it. Each carried weapons that bore the mark of imperial authority.
They were not ordinary soldiers. They were the Black Mang Army, an elite force of one thousand strong, divided into ten units. Each unit was commanded by a Black Mang general.
Each soldier was said to be worth twenty household elites. And tonight, one hundred of them stood before the Jin family gates. At their head rode a man cloaked in authority and arrogance.
Xu Shi, the eldest son of the Xu family leader and a newly appointed Black Mang general. His gaze swept across the estate with cold certainty.
"This ends tonight," he said quietly. Behind him, the soldiers said nothing. They didn't need to. Their presence alone was a declaration.
A guard burst into the main hall, breath ragged. "My lord! Troops, elite troops have surrounded the estate!" Luo He did not flinch. "How many?" "One hundred." There was a pause.
Then: "Black Mang soldiers." Even the air in the room seemed to freeze. Members of the Jin family turned pale. "Black Mang?" someone whispered in disbelief. "That's impossible."
But Luo He simply closed his eyes briefly. "So this was their move."
Moments later, the gates were opened, not in surrender, but because resistance at that point would only lead to unnecessary complications.
The Black Mang soldiers entered like a tide of darkness. Perfect formation.
Perfect silence. Perfect control.
Xu Shi rode in at their head.
His voice echoed across the courtyard. "Jin He." Luo He stepped forward, calm as ever.
Xu Shi looked down at him from his horse, a faint smirk forming. "You've caused quite a disturbance." Luo He replied evenly, "You've come a long way just to talk."
Xu Shi chuckled. "No. I've come to end this." He raised a scroll. "By order of an imperial consort, under the authority of Emperor Yue himself, You are to be executed immediately."
Gasps rippled through the Jin family. An imperial order. This wasn't just a family dispute anymore. This was absolute authority. Xu Shi leaned forward slightly.
"In front of absolute power, your tactics are nothing but children's games." He gestured lazily. "Take him."
Before the soldiers could move, Luo He's voice cut through the air like a blade. "Attack." The Jin household guards surged forward from every direction.
Steel met steel. The courtyard exploded into chaos. But what followed was not a battle. It was a slaughter.
The Black Mang soldiers, elite and feared and legendary, cut them down one after another.
Jin family formations broke. Their coordination shattered. Their bodies dropped like rain.
Within moments, two hundred corpses lay across the courtyard. And not a single Black Mang guard had fallen.
One Black Mang soldier rushed toward Luo He. "By imperial..." He never finished. Jin Mulan stepped forward, placing herself between the guard and Luo He.
"Stop!" Her voice trembled, but her stance did not. The soldier didn't hesitate. His hand moved. A single strike. 'Slap' The force was brutal.
Jin Mulan's body was thrown sideways. Her vision blurred. The world tilted. She was falling.
But she never hit the ground. Luo He caught her. He knelt, holding her carefully. "Wife!" Her eyes filled with tears.
"Why, why did you fight them?" Luo He asked. She whispered, her voice breaking. "Because I love you. I would give my life for you, without regret."
Tears streamed down her face. "And now you're going to leave me. How can I accept that?" The Jin family watched in stunned silence. No one moved. No one spoke.
Then Luo He laughed. Softly. Not mocking. Not dismissive. But something deeper. "Don't worry." His expression changed completely. His pupils shifted from black to red.
Crackling lightning energy surged from his body. Red arcs danced across his skin, illuminating the courtyard in flashes of violent light. The air trembled. The ground vibrated.
He gently lifted Jin Mulan to her feet. His voice dropped cold and absolute. "You can mess with me all you want." The lightning intensified. "I will laugh about it."
His eyes locked onto the Black Mang soilder. "But you will never mess with my family." The red lightning evolved into a storm.
"Transcendant. Run" Xu Shi shouted desperately. But Luo He vanished. What followed was another one sided masecure, no one truly saw what happened. Only felt it.
A storm of red lightning erupted. Violent. Uncontainable. A blade flashed once, twice, a hundred times. Less than a second had passed. Silence.
Where one hundred elite soldiers once stood, now there were only pieces.
Xu Shi's face drained of all color. "What, what are you? How are you a Transcendants?" His voice scattered.
Luo He appeared before him calm as ever. He walked towards him, slow and deliberate.
Lightning still danced around him. His blade glowed faintly red. Xu Shi drew his weapon, a master's blade, forged with precision and wielded with skill.
It didn't matter. One swing from Luo He and the blade shattered, cut clean from the hilt. Xu Shi's eyes widened.
"No." A kick landed. His body flew from the horse, crashing into the thick stone wall. The impact echoed. Then nothing. Unconscious followed.
More Jin guards arrived, too late. They looked around in horror. Bodies everywhere. But no one had seen what happened. No one understood.
Luo He walked back calmly, as if nothing had occurred. "Take him," he said, pointing to Xu Shi. "Put him in the strongest cell you can find. Do not open it. Not for any reason."
His voice was steady. A guard hesitated. "But food? Water?" "No," his gaze sharpened. "He is a grandmaster-level fighter. Even unconscious, he is dangerous." "Yes, my lord."
Jin Mulan stepped closer, still shaken. "What just happened?" Luo He looked at her briefly. "I'll explain when I return."
"I'm going to the capital," he said. "To speak with the emperor."
Before leaving, he went to his shack. From within, he retrieved something. A syringe. A strange liquid inside. He returned to Xu Shi's unconscious body. Without hesitation, he injected it.
"This will kill him in three to five days," Luo He said calmly. "Even if he escapes." The guards froze. No one dared question him. "Do not try to stop him if he escapes." His voice carried absolute certainty.
"You cannot." Silence filled the room. No one spoke. No one moved. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.
Because in that moment, they all understood. They had just witnessed something beyond reason. Beyond power. Beyond fear. And for the first time, they were truly terrified of Luo He.