Su Lian sobbed, a wretched sound. "I wanted to keep your father a secret until he recovered. My caution... my fear... it killed him. Please, Jin Hao, forgive me."
Jin Hao felt a physical ache in his chest. He looked at Su Lian. She was the daughter of a great family, yet she was kneeling in the blood and dirt, weeping over the body of a branch family outcast, blaming herself for a tragedy she had only tried to prevent.
She had risked her reputation, her safety, her family's wrath to hide them. She had given up her own resources. And now she was crying for his loss.
"It's not your fault," Jin Hao said, his voice a hoarse croak.
"It is!" Suyu interrupted, slamming her head against the floorboards. "If I had been more skilled! If I had checked his pulse more thoroughly during the night, I might have caught the signs of the organ failure! It is my incompetence, Young Master Jin! Punish me!"
Su Lian turned on the maid, her tears instantly replaced by a flash of noble fury. "Shut up!" she snapped, her voice like a whip. "You failed your duty, Suyu! Your incompetence has cost my friend his only family! I will not have you making excuses over a dead man's body. Get out of my sight! I will deal with your punishment when we return to the estate!"
Suyu scrambled backward, bowing repeatedly. "Yes, Young Miss. Forgive me, Young Miss." She fled the room, sliding the shattered door shut behind her.
Su Lian turned back to Jin Hao. The fury melted away, returning to profound sorrow. "She is right. She failed. And I failed you by trusting her."
"No," Jin Hao said. He reached out and grabbed Su Lian's trembling hand. His grip was tight. "Stop blaming yourself. You did everything you could."
He looked back at the ruined body of Jin Ren. The blood had stopped pooling, beginning to congeal on the silk sheets.
The sorrow in Jin Hao's heart instantly transmuted. The grief was a suffocating blanket, but beneath it, the furnace of his hatred roared to life, burning a thousand times hotter than before.
"The internal damage," Jin Hao whispered, his voice vibrating with a contained violence. "Suyu said it was the torture."
He slowly let go of Su Lian's hand and stood up. The air in the room grew instantly heavy. The ambient spiritual energy began to swirl erratically, responding to his chaotic emotional state.
"They hung him like meat," Jin Hao growled, his eyes turning bloodshot. "They whipped him until his skin was gone. They broke his heart before Suyu even touched him."
His aura flared. The crushing weight of a Late Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator slammed into the room. The wooden floorboards cracked. The remaining paper screens on the windows tore to shreds.
"Bolin," Jin Hao roared, the sound tearing from his throat like the howl of a wounded beast. "Every elder, every guard, every dog that bears the name Jin!"
He summoned the Celestial Fire Purging Palm. The white gold flame ignited around his right fist, burning with a heat that blistered the paint on the walls.
"I will kill them all," Jin Hao vowed, staring at his burning fist. "I will rip Bolin's head from his shoulders and place it on my father's grave. I will slaughter every breathing soul in that compound today!"
He turned toward the door, his mind consumed by a blinding need for slaughter.
"Jin Hao, no!"
Su Lian scrambled to her feet and threw herself in front of him. She grabbed his arm, ignoring the searing heat radiating from his clenched fist.
"Get out of my way, Su Lian," Jin Hao warned, his eyes wild. "They owe me blood."
"They do!" Su Lian cried, holding onto his arm with all her strength. "They owe you a river of blood! But you cannot go now! You are throwing your life away!"
"I am a Late Stage expert!" Jin Hao shouted. "They cannot stop me!"
"They can!" Su Lian pleaded, staring up into his wild eyes. "Jin Hao, listen to me! The explosion last night terrified them. Patriarch Bolin has recalled every strong cultivator from the outer businesses. The main compound is currently swarming with hundreds of guards and dozens of Foundation Establishment elders!"
She pulled on his arm, desperately trying to ground him. "Bolin himself is a Peak Golden Core expert. If you walk through those gates right now, you will be fighting an entire army alone. You will be exhausted, surrounded and they will kill you!"
Jin Hao froze.
The white gold flame around his fist flickered.
"A Peak Golden Core expert," he muttered, the logic slowly piercing through the red haze of his fury.
He was strong. But he knew the limits of his energy. Tearing through hundreds of guards and battling dozens of elders would drain his Qi rapidly. If he faced Jin Bolin while exhausted... he would die.
And if he died, his father remained unavenged.
"I have to kill them," Jin Hao whispered, the flame finally extinguishing, leaving his hand smoking.
"You will," Su Lian said softly, her voice a soothing balm. "You will destroy them all. But must be patient. A true dragon does not strike when the hunter's trap is set. A dragon waits until the hunter is asleep."
She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest.
"You must survive, Jin Hao," she murmured against his robes. "If you run to your death now in a fit of rage... what will happen to me?"
Jin Hao looked down at the beautiful woman holding onto him. She was trembling. She was terrified of losing him.
He slowly wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace. He buried his face in her dark hair, inhaling the scent of jasmine.
His father was gone. The world was a hostile place filled with enemies who wanted him dead. He had no family left.
Except for the woman in his arms.
She was the only one who saw his worth. The only one who cried for his pain. The only one who believed in his destiny.
"I won't die," Jin Hao vowed, holding her tight. "I will grow stronger. And then, I will make them pay."
"I know you will," Su Lian whispered, rubbing his back soothingly. "I am here, Jin Hao. Whatever happens... I am still here."
Jin Hao closed his eyes, leaning his full weight onto her. The grief was a physical agony, but her embrace was the only medicine that mattered.
Over his shoulder, hidden from his view, Su Lian rested her chin on his chest.
The tears on her face had dried instantly. Her eyes were cold and utterly devoid of sorrow. She stared at the blank wall, a small smile playing on her lips.
PS: There are 10+ Advance chapters available on the Patreon for those who want to read ahead. www.patreon. com/Drrajnovel