C3 Attack!

Whoosh!

The horsewhip sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, aimed directly at Madame Yurou.

Madame Yurou had not anticipated the Red Eunuch's audaciousness, let alone expected him to strike in such a place.

"Madam, watch out!"

Several guards sprang into action, yanking Madame Yurou to safety, but not before the whip cracked against their bodies.

The sharp snaps of the whip left the guards' foreheads gashed and bleeding.

"You mongrels dare to intercept my whip! Is the Marquis Yongping Mansion plotting rebellion?" the Red Eunuch screeched.

Bang!

In that instant, the grand doors of the main hall burst open with a kick.

Lu Yu strode in, his face stormy, as he nonchalantly snapped off a wooden branch from a potted plant within the hall.

Though Lu Yu hadn't entered the hall earlier, his exceptional hearing had given him a clear picture of the events unfolding inside.

The Red Eunuch, basking in his perceived invincibility, was convinced the Marquis Yongping Mansion wouldn't dare retaliate, growing increasingly brazen.

So when Lu Yu burst through the door, it caught everyone off guard.

"The young Marquis has returned!" The Red Eunuch, spotting Lu Yu, couldn't help but let his smile creep back onto his face.

Ah, it's this simpleton.

With a flick of his horsetail whisk, the Red Eunuch sneered, "Ah, the young Marquis graces us with his presence. My congratulations, you'll soon join the ranks of the imperial kin."

Lu Yu spared the Red Eunuch a brief glance before stepping past him to Madame Yurou's side.

The Red Eunuch, taken aback by the snub, was about to erupt in fury when he recalled that Lu Yu was known throughout Longjing as a simpleton, lacking in wit. He let the matter slide.

Indeed, why squabble with a fool?

"Mother, are you unharmed?" Lu Yu inquired, his concern evident. Seeing Madame Yurou safe, a wave of relief washed over him.

"Your mother is alright, Yu'er. Please, return to the backyard," Madame Yurou urged, her heart heavy with a bitter taste as she watched her son come back. Her son, born with limited mental faculties, and now her daughter taken by others. Neither Yongping nor Lu Kaishan were home to share the burden.

All the weight of their troubles seemed to rest solely on her shoulders.

Madame Yurou was about to insist that Lu Yu retreat quickly when he unexpectedly took the initiative.

"Help the lady back to her quarters to rest," Lu Yu instructed several maidservants, who were shivering with fear.

Madame Yurou, fraught with concern, implored, "Yu'er, you mustn't get involved here. Step back at once!"

Lu Yu offered a reassuring smile. "Mother, have no worries. After seventeen years of silence, I have finally come into my own. I won't be the fool I once was."

Madame Yurou's eyes widened in disbelief as she gazed at her son, certain that the Lu Yu of old could never have spoken such words.

"Assist the lady back, now!" Lu Yu commanded once more.

The maids, still quaking from their encounter with the Red Eunuch, clumsily escorted Madame Yurou to the safety of the backyard.

Casting another glance at the bloodied guard sprawled on the ground, Lu Yu commended, "Well done. Inform the steward that you are now in the service of the Lu Family."

Despite his blood-soaked appearance, the guard's eyes gleamed with hope at the words. He bowed deeply, expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, Young Master!" The status of a family retainer was a significant step up from his current station.

Lu Yu dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Enough. Stand guard outside, and let no one enter."

The guards bowed and departed, the doors of the main hall closing behind them, leaving a hushed stillness in their wake.

"Hahaha!" The Red Eunuch applauded, laughing heartily. "I've always doubted that a man as valiant as Yongping could have a son with such simple-mindedness. It seems the young marquis has been concealing his talents all along, preferring the guise of a fool to revealing his true capabilities."

A glint of ice flashed in the Red Eunuch's eyes as he mused, "Young marquis, what exactly is your endgame in all this?"

Lu Yu noticed the Red Eunuch's hostile demeanor but remained unfazed.

His gaze swept over the Red Eunuch, finally settling on the horsewhip clutched in his right hand. "So, it's you who wants to whip my mother, isn't it?" Lu Yu asked.

The Red Eunuch burst into laughter. "Disobedience must be punished. I carry the Imperial Decree and proclaim the Emperor's will. Meanwhile, your mother incessantly babbles on—such a racket!"

"A racket? Well, then, you won't be needing your ears!" In a swift move, Lu Yu sent the broken branch he had been holding flying straight at the Red Eunuch.

Puff! The branch impaled the Red Eunuch's ear, the force tearing it from his head and pinning it to the wall. The wall itself, built of brick and stone, now bore alarming cracks from the impact.

"Ahhhhhh!" The Red Eunuch clutched at the side of his head, his screams of agony mingling with his furious roar, "Kill him!"

Several green-robed eunuchs stood by the Red Eunuch's side. Witnessing their comrade's plight, they drew their hidden weapons and lunged at Lu Yu.

With his hands casually behind his back, Lu Yu appeared utterly calm. "Bold of you to conceal weapons within the Marquis Yongping's residence. Quite audacious!"

Blood was already seeping through the Red Eunuch's fingers in a ghastly display, but he continued to laugh maniacally. "The East Factory operates with impunity. We do as we please, and not even a First Grade Duke is beyond our reach, let alone a mere Marquis!"

"The East Factory!" A glint of ice flashed in Lu Yu's eyes as he sprang into action.

As the two green-robed eunuchs closed in, Lu Yu unleashed punches to the left and right. The thuds of his fists against their stomachs echoed as both eunuchs were hurled through the air, slamming into the wall with a crash.

"My dantian is destroyed!" cried one of the green-robed eunuchs, his face ashen, his voice piercing with despair.

Lu Yu unleashed a series of punches, with one landing squarely on the heads of the green-robed eunuchs.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each punch, blood sprayed wildly, and the green-robed eunuchs fell dead, one after another.

The remaining eunuchs, shocked by the carnage, were frozen in place.

It took a moment for them to snap out of their daze. Ignoring the Red Eunuch, they scrambled towards the exit.

"Do you think you can escape?!" Lu Yu bellowed, sweeping his hand through the air as a golden flame materialized in his palm.

With a flick of his finger, the flame shot out, striking the fleeing green-robed eunuchs.

Their screams pierced the air as the golden flames engulfed them. Within moments, they were consumed by the fire, leaving not even ashes behind.

The green-robed eunuchs vanished as if they had been erased from existence, their bones gone without a trace.

The Red Eunuch's scalp prickled with fear, his eyes wide with disbelief as he let out a roar and charged at Lu Yu.

He was no ordinary eunuch; a faint purple glow emanated from his body.

He was a seventh-level Houtian Realm master!

In the martial world, cultivating true qi was the key to entering the Houtian Realm, which spanned nine levels. Each level represented a significant leap in power.

A seventh-level Houtian Realm practitioner was among the elite, a formidable opponent for most.

The Red Eunuch's punch, infused with purple true qi, whipped up a violent wind as it hurtled towards Lu Yu.

But the Red Eunuch had no intention of a drawn-out battle with Lu Yu; he was desperate to escape.

The golden flame Lu Yu had unleashed earlier had instilled in him an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Martial artists, with their acute senses, could often perceive things more clearly than others.

The Red Eunuch suspected that Lu Yu had stumbled upon a rare opportunity and possessed a hidden treasure that granted him such power.

He had to escape!

Get out of there!

Once he made it back to the Eastern Factory, he would call upon the elite and seize Lu Yu's treasure for himself!

As the thought crossed his mind, a glint of greed flickered in the Red Eunuch's eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, Lu Yu had caught every shift in his expression.

"Seeking your own demise!" A glacial gleam shot through Lu Yu's gaze as a potent energy suddenly coursed through his body.

His sleeves billowed with the surge, and a soft white light materialized beside him.

"How can this be? Merely a first-level Houtian practitioner, yet he exudes an aura that sets my heart racing!" The Red Eunuch inwardly panicked.

Still, a first-level Houtian was just that, and he was at the seventh level—a difference as vast as mountains and seas!

"Perish!" The Red Eunuch shrieked, his fist's purple true qi intensifying.

His punch came with ferocity, yet to Lu Yu, it was riddled with openings.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Lu Yu faced the incoming blow with unshaken composure, his eyes brimming with frosty resolve. In a swift motion, he lifted his leg and delivered a crushing kick to the Red Eunuch's knee.

"Crack!"

The Red Eunuch, his focus entirely on his punch, had not anticipated an attack on his knee.

The momentum of Lu Yu's kick compounded with the eunuch's forward thrust.

A scream tore from the Red Eunuch's lips as his knee shattered, sending him tumbling to the ground, powerless.

Agony engulfed him, the once swirling purple true qi around him now dissipated, leaving him unable to muster even a wisp of energy.

"You intended to lash my mother with that whip; I suppose you won't be needing this hand anymore!" Lu Yu appeared behind the Red Eunuch as if by magic, drawing the dagger concealed within the eunuch's sleeve.

"Splash!"

The Red Eunuch's right hand was severed, blood spurting wildly.

"My hand! Ahhhhh!" The pain nearly sent the Red Eunuch into unconsciousness.

"Want to keep your other hand? Then answer my questions without fail!" Lu Yu's voice was icy.

Stripped of his former haughtiness, the Red Eunuch bobbed his head in servile agreement.

Lu Yu inhaled deeply, his tone grave as he inquired, "Who dispatched you to deliver this edict?"

"It was King Wei! He's always been on good terms with our Supervisor. He sent us to proclaim the edict as a means to pressure the Marquis Yongping Mansion and expedite the marriage arrangement!" Sweat beaded on the Red Eunuch's brow as he writhed in torment.

"What's going on with my sister?"

"It was King Wei's scheme. They slipped a sedative into Lu Lengshuang's meal. When she passed out, they forcibly abducted her to the palace."

"King Wei declared that even if the Marquis Yongping Mansion refused to consent, once the deed was done, they'd have no choice but to accept it!"

Feeling the intense chill behind him, the Red Eunuch was petrified, crying out, "I had no part in this. I'm only here to deliver the edict. It's not my fault!"

"The mere fact that you dared to raise a whip to my mother means you deserve to die!" Lu Yu stated gravely.

The Red Eunuch, in utter panic, shrieked, "You can't kill me. My godfather is Eunuch Liu, the head of the Eastern Depot..."

Puff!

Lu Yu plunged his dagger into the Red Eunuch's head, silencing him mid-sentence as his body slumped lifelessly to the floor.

Lu Yu then had a sudden realization and withdrew his hand from the dagger.

"Step aside, I need to see Yu'er!" Madame Yurou's voice called from outside.

The guard replied with a heavy heart, "Madam, the Young Master has forbidden entry to anyone. It's better if you don't go in."

Creak!

The door swung open, and Lu Yu emerged.

"Mother, all is well now," Lu Yu said, smiling.

Madame Yurou's eyes swept over Lu Yu, and upon seeing her son unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But her relief turned to shock as she saw the eunuch corpses strewn across the grand hall and the bloodstains on the walls.

"My child, do you realize the magnitude of trouble you've caused?" Madame Yurou asked, her voice laced with worry.

Lu Yu's smile remained as he reassured her, "Mother, don't worry. I'll shoulder the responsibility. Nothing will go wrong."

With that, Lu Yu gave the guards a meaningful look and commanded, "Clean up the main hall immediately. Also, station guards around the estate perimeter. Kill anyone who tries to force their way in!"

The guard, startled, quickly affirmed the order.

"Get me a fast horse!" Lu Yu instructed once more.

Madame Yurou gasped in alarm, "Yu'er, where are you off to?"

"Relax, Mother. I'm going to bring elder sister home!" Lu Yu declared, striding purposefully toward the grand entrance of the estate.