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Guan Dong Liu, who had been trying to restrain him, faltered. He saw the tears. The pain in his son's eyes. The complete destruction of spirit. He staggered back a step, dazed. He no longer knew what to say.
Across the room, Jun Mo Xie remained standing.
A hint of unease passed through his usually smug expression.
This bratā¦ he's actually gone madā¦ He thought silently. He's really in love with Yue'erā¦ head over heels doesn't even begin to describe it...
He hadn't expected such a violent, all-consuming reaction.
Jun Mo Xie had intended to provoke, to fluster, to entertain himself a little perhapsābut this was no longer a game.
Guan Qing Yue's reaction had gone far beyond anger. This was the madness of obsession, the fury of betrayal, the scream of a soul torn in two.
Damn... now things have gotten way more complicated.
The hall, moments ago buzzing with laughter and the clinking of wine cups, had plunged into a silence so heavy it felt like a tomb.
It was as though a blizzard had swept through the Jun residence, turning the air icy cold and still. The warmth of the meal, the fragrance of wine, the flicker of the lanternsāeverything seemed frozen in time.
The entire atmosphere had been transformed in an instant into the deathly stillness of a cold winter's night.Ā
Jun Zhan Tian's face, earlier alive with good humor, now resembled a stone carvingācold, heavy, unyielding.
Jun Wu Yi's eyes, calm and observant, narrowed to slits, and a pressure slowly began to emanate from his body. It wasn't overtābut it was terrifying.
This wasn't just about an insult anymore. It was a threat.
Inside the Jun residence...
In front of Jun Zhan Tian...
In front of Jun Wu Yi...
Someone was actually threatening to kill Jun Mo Xie?
The only heir of the Jun Family?
The last bloodline of an aristocratic lineage that stood above most nobles in the empire?
A guestāno, a juniorāfrom another house, in the middle of a family banquet, had sworn to commit murder against the host family's future?
If this story ever left the four walls of this room, it would be the laughingstock of the entire Tian Xiang Empire. No, worseāit would be considered a scandal, a disgrace that would forever stain the honor of both families.
Yet the farce had already taken place. This outrageous mockery was already unfolding within the sacred walls of the Jun household, witnessed by every member present.
The very air crackled with the tension.
One word from either side, and blood would be spilled.
"You will apologize to the son of Jun right now!" Guan Dong Liu roared, voice thick with emotion. "Do you understand what you've done?!"
"I will not apologize!" Guan Qing Yue spat back, his voice hoarse but unyielding. His jaw was clenched, his eyes locked on Jun Mo Xie with unwavering defiance. "I haven't said anything wrong!"
His body trembledānot with fear, but with the sheer weight of conviction.
Then, straightening himself like a proud warrior before the battlefield, he raised his chin and proclaimed in a voice that thundered through the chamber:
"Jun Mo Xie! As a man to a man... I challenge you to a duel!"
A stunned silence followed.
And then Jun Mo Xie laughed.
It wasn't loud, but it was piercing. That slight, bewildered smile on his lips was sharp enough to cut steel, and his eyes twinkledānot with amusement, but with cold disdain. He tilted his head, clearly playing the fool, as if he truly couldn't understand the reason for such a declaration.
"Duel? Why ah?" He asked in mock innocence, blinking slowly. His voice dripped with sarcasm. "There is no point in my saying anything to you, Brother Qing Yue."
And then the smile disappeared. The edge in his voice turned unmistakable.
"You're really a tragic man. Lucky for you that Qing Han is your sister... or else..." He paused for a heartbeat. "Anyone who joined hands with my enemiesā¦ even death would be considered my mercy to such people."
The temperature in the room dropped again.
A chill seeped into the walls.
Jun Wu Yi's sharp gaze slid to his nephew, brow furrowing. "...Is the second son of the Guan family involved?"
Jun Mo Xie turned his eyes back to Guan Qing Yue and chuckled again. This time it wasn't forced. It was genuine pity. He pointed at the young man casually, almost lazily.
"What a foolish man," He said, the amusement now laced with venom. "Used by a woman... and still willing to defend her like this... ha!"
The words were like salt on a raw wound.
Guan Qing Bo and Guan Qing Hanāstill young, still inexperienced in the cruel intricacies of the worldātook longer to fully digest the truth behind the exchange. But as the implications began to click into place in their minds, their expressions darkened and confusion gave way to shock... then to a heavy, suffocating silence.
Guan Dong Liu's sigh echoed like a lament from a defeated general on a battlefield littered with the corpses of his dreams.
His shoulders slumped slightly, and his eyes dimmed with sorrow. His gaze rested on the stubborn face of his sonāonce so full of potential, promise, and brillianceāand he suddenly felt unspeakably tired.
In just two short days since they had arrived in Tian Xiang City, the carefully groomed image and future of his family's second son had crumbled into dust. And now, within the halls of one of the most powerful and feared families in the empire, he had not only insulted their sole heirā¦ he had gone so far as to threaten his life.
There was no recovering from this.
"You idiot," Guan Dong Liu said quietly, his voice no longer filled with anger, but sadnessāa hollow, disillusioned sound that seemed to come from the depths of a father's broken heart. "You've been used by that cheap woman all along..."
His words hung in the air like a funeral bell tolling.
"Qing Yue, I never expected that someone as sharp, as quick-witted as you... would fall so deeply into such a lousy trap." His voice was like a dying flame, weak and flickering. "Do you even realize where we are right now? This is Tian Xiang City! These wallsāthese peopleādo not tolerate foolishness."
"I know!" Guan Qing Yue barked, his voice cracking under the strain. "Of course I know!"
His face twisted, pain and defiance mingling into a grotesque mask. The proud, handsome features were now marred by agony, eyes bloodshot, mouth trembling, skin pale. He looked less like the promising scion of the Guan family and more like a soul on the edge of ruin.
"She used me!" He shouted. "Back in the East... more than once... she used me every time!"
A collective shiver ran through the hall.
"But every time... I knew! I KNEW she was using me!" His voice cracked with emotion, with a rawness that silenced even the air itself. "But you don't understand... you don't know how good it felt each time she used me!"
His voice was no longer that of a noble son. It was the howl of a man who had lost everything.
"I was willing! I let her use me! Because when she used me... it meant I mattered! It meant I had value!" He laughedāa twisted, hollow laugh that echoed off the walls like the cackling of a man possessed. "If I'm not of use to her... then what am I?! Another rich boy with a name?!"
His fists clenched so tightly that blood seeped from his palms.
"I allowed her to use me!!" He shouted again, as if daring the heavens themselves to judge him for it.
The weight of his words slammed into the room like a landslide. No one dared speak. Not a breath, not a whisper.
Two thin lines of tears streamed down from his eyes.
They glistened like silver threads in the candlelight.
--- ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ ---
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