The unconscious forms of Zhao Kang and the terrified woman were dragged unceremoniously through the Li Clan estate, leaving a trail of blood across the polished stone pathways. Li Wei led the grim procession directly to Li Feng's courtyard, where his half-brother still lay groaning amidst the wreckage of shattered furniture.
Li Feng's eyes widened in terror as Li Wei entered, followed by guards carrying the two battered bodies. 'He's back. What more does he want from me?' he thought, his ribs screaming with every breath.
'Get up,' Li Wei commanded, his voice cutting through Li Feng's pain like a honed blade.
With great effort, Li Feng pushed himself up, leaning against a broken pillar for support. 'Wei... I can barely stand...'
Li Wei gestured to one of his guards, who produced a heavy, double-bladed axe from a spatial ring. The weapon clattered to the floor between them.
'Kill him,' Li Wei said, his tone devoid of emotion.
Zhao Kang stirred at that moment, his eyes fluttering open. When he saw where he was and who stood before him, panic seized him completely. 'Please! I didn't know he was from the Li Clan! I swear!'
Li Feng stared at the axe, then at his brother's impassive face. 'Wei... I've never taken a life before...'
'That is precisely the problem,' Li Wei interrupted coldly. 'A member of the main Li family, beaten by commoners? You should have made them beg for mercy before crushing them.'
Mei watched from the doorway, her expression carefully neutral. 'The Young Master is teaching him a lesson, but he's giving him a chance. He wouldn't do this for anyone else,' she thought, her hands clasped tightly before her.
Li Feng's hands trembled as he reached for the axe. The weight felt foreign and terrifying in his grasp. He looked from Zhao Kang's pleading face to the woman who trembled violently beside him.
'Do it now,' Li Wei's voice brooked no argument. 'Or I will consider you as useless as they are.'
Zhao Kang began weeping openly. 'Mercy, young masters! I have a family! My children...'
Li Feng took a shaky step forward, the axe dragging on the floor. Zhao Kang scrambled backward, his hands raised in futile defense.
'Please don't!' Zhao Kang screamed as Li Feng raised the weapon.
The axe came down with brutal force, biting deep into Zhao Kang's shoulder. Blood sprayed across the floor as the tavern manager shrieked in agony.
'Finish it!' Li Wei snapped, his golden eyes flashing with impatience.
Li Feng brought the axe down again, this time striking true. The wet, crunching sound of bone and flesh filled the silent hall.
The woman beside the corpse let out a choked sob, her face pale with horror. 'Please... I'll do anything...'
Li Wei looked down at the dead man with utter contempt before turning to Li Feng. 'Take the woman as your slave. Treat her however roughly you want. This is how a member of the Li Clan—especially a brother of Li Wei—must act. We do not suffer insults. We deliver them.'
He turned to leave, then paused at the doorway. 'Remember this lesson, brother. The next time you disgrace our name, I will not be so forgiving.'
As Li Wei strode away with Mei and his guards, Li Feng stood trembling over the corpse, the bloody axe still in his hands. The woman wept quietly at his feet, her fate now sealed.
A strange warmth spread through Li Feng's chest as he looked at Zhao Kang's lifeless body. Though his brother's methods were terrifying, the act of killing had given him a profound satisfaction he'd never known. This was power. This was respect.
His eyes fell upon the weeping woman. Seeing her fear, remembering how high and mighty she had acted just hours ago, sent another wave of satisfaction through him. She was nothing now. His to command.
'Thank you, brother,' Li Feng thought, his mind resolving to shed his weak former self. He would become someone who commanded fear, not pity.
He looked down at the woman, a cruel smile touching his lips. 'Get up. You belong to me now.' He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. 'And tonight, you'll learn just how rough your new master can be.'