Heavens' Laughter

Cai Xiu's lips parted slightly in disbelief as realization dawned upon her.

Why was her Master, someone so careful and calculated, openly revealing their connection in front of these strangers?

Cai Xi's mind raced with concern—rumors traveled quickly, and this was a dangerous game to play.

Then it hit her like a bolt of lightning.

"Dead men don't talk," Cai Xi muttered to herself.

Before she could utter a word to question or caution her Master, his gaze shifted ever so slightly toward her.

It was subtle, yet it held an unspoken command: stay silent.

So, Cai Xiu could only obey and keep silent, biting her lip as her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

She knew that the people surrounding her now were already as good as dead—breathing corpses simply waiting for their time to run out.

Her eyes briefly flickered to her childhood friend, who stood at the forefront of the group, hammer still gripped tightly, her confidence seemingly unshaken.

Cai Xiu's heart twisted in a knot.

'Please, Master… don't kill her.'

Cai Xiu couldn't bear the thought of her childhood friend's life ending here, no matter how brash or hot-headed she could be.

Yet, she also knew better than to interject—any interference now would only spell her own doom.

After all, at the end of the day, Cai Xiu only truly cared for herself in this cutthroat cultivation world.

It was a truth she had long since accepted, no matter how cruel it sounded.

In a vast world where survival often demanded betrayal, ruthlessness, and an unyielding resolve, Cai Xiu's loyalty—even to her childhood friend—had its limits.

No matter how much history or camaraderie they shared, she couldn't afford to let sentimentality cloud her judgment.

'Master's wrath isn't something I'm willing to face, not even for her.'

"Hmm~? No answer? No screams of joy? No ecstatic cries for our glorious reunion?!" Feng Shen's voice was laced with mock disappointment, his lips curling into a frown exaggerated enough to seem theatrical.

With an almost childish flourish, he raised a hand to his face and wiped at an invisible tear.

"You truly break my heart~" Feng Shen whimpered, his voice tinged with a false melancholy.

His expression slowly shifted, the facade of sadness cracking as a sinister grin crept across his face.

The smile grew wider and wider, revealing teeth.

Feng Shen's features contorted, warping into a grotesque mask of madness, the sheer intensity of his deranged smile making those in front of him step back instinctively.

"Woah~ aren't you insane?" Hè Jun let out a small giggle, her tone laced with disbelief as she stared.

She genuinely couldn't wrap her head around the sight before her.

To Hè Jun, the Second Young Master of the Feng family had always been a sycophant—a bootlicker vying for her childhood friend's favor.

But this... this was different.

The deranged smile, the distorted expression, the oppressive aura—it all felt far too real.

For the first time, the arrogant Ninth Princess, Hè Jun, felt a flicker of unease creeping into her mind.

"Heh, I get it now." Her voice faltered slightly, though she tried to mask it with a confident smirk:

"This is some kind of act, right? Trying to scare me off so you can keep up this little facade for Cai Xiu? That's cute, really, but you're coming off a little too desperate now."

Feng Shen paused mid-step, his eyes locking onto the Ninth Princess.

Without warning, a deep, chilling laugh erupted from his throat.

"You're hilarious~ truly~ I like you~ you're just too much, little girl~"

Before anyone could react, Feng Shen's figure blurred, vanishing in an instant.

In a heartbeat, he reappeared next to one of the injured women in the group, who was already too weak to defend herself.

Without hesitation, he grabbed her by the neck, and with an almost animalistic ferocity, sunk his teeth into her throat.

The sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed through the forest, followed by a gurgled scream as blood sprayed from the wound, staining Feng Shen's mouth.

He ripped away a chunk of her skin, the crimson liquid pouring down his hands as the woman's lifeless body slumped to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Feng Shen vanished, only to reappear beside another injured member of the group, his eyes glowing with a cold, malicious excitement.

His body moved with terrifying speed, faster than anyone could track, as he appeared and disappeared again and again.

Each time, Feng Shen left behind a trail of death and gore, his actions brutal and calculated, like a predator in its element.

One by one, the wounded members of the group became his victims.

Another scream echoed through the forest, followed by the sickening sound of flesh being torn and bones snapping.

A throat was ripped open, another was stabbed through with such force that the man's body was almost cleaved in half.

Blood sprayed in every direction, turning the clearing into a gruesome scene of carnage.

Feng Shen's laughter continued to echo throughout, growing increasingly maniacal and unsettling.

His feet barely touched the ground as he appeared before the two remaining women—his maid and the Ninth Princess—his eyes glowing with a chilling light.

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze around them, the bloodied remains of the others lying in twisted heaps, their lifeless eyes staring up at the dark sky.

Feng Shen's grin, wide and distorted, never faltered as he looked at the two of them.

He wiped a small trail of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, almost as if it were nothing more than a casual inconvenience.

"Now~ unnecessary rumors won't circulate~" Feng Shen hummed, his tone light and playful.

His eyes flicked over to the Ninth Princess.

"After all," Feng Shen continued, his voice now carrying a deeper, more dangerous note, "it would be such a shame if anyone were to misunderstand my… relationship with my little maid, wouldn't it?"

He stepped closer, the blood-soaked ground crunching beneath his feet.

"You... You're not the Second Young Master of the Feng family... You're a demon..."

Hè Jun's entire body seemed to freeze, her usual confidence shattering as the reality of the situation crashed down upon her.

The weight of the carnage around her was overwhelming, and the air, thick with the scent of blood, seemed to choke the life out of her.

Hè Jun's breathing grew shallow, and she involuntarily took a step back, her hands trembling slightly as she dropped her hammer with a dull thud on the forest floor.

Cai Xiu let out a soft sigh, rubbing her eyes as if trying to erase the tension from her thoughts:

"Master, don't tease her too much. If you keep this up, she might actually wet herself, and the Ninth Princess of the Crane Empire pissing herself would be too embarrassing, even for her."

Cai Xiu knew her Master had motives.

There was always a purpose behind his madness… Right?

Feng Shen spun around, a small smile spreading across his face as he licked his lips, his eyes fixated on his little maid.

He took a slow step toward her, his voice smooth but edged with amusement:

"Well~ I suppose you're right in a way about why I spared her. But the truth is, killing her would be more trouble than it's worth right now…."

Feng Shen sighed:
Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"After all, I've already made enemies of countless clans, sects, empires, and families. Once this trial ends, a lot of people are going to want me dead, and I need someone to shift the blame onto... someone else~"

Feng Shen's eyes drifted back to the Ninth Princess, who was visibly shaking, her body trembling as she struggled to maintain her balance.

Despite her best efforts to stand tall, the fear was evident in Hè Jun's posture, as she fought to keep herself from collapsing under the weight of the terror in front of her.

She could tell that the person before her was no longer the Second Young Master of the Feng family.

This was someone entirely different—someone who reminded her of a certain someone, someone whose name sent shivers down her spine.

"You're… The Laughing Demon, Zǔ Zhòu…" Hè Jun whispered aloud, her voice barely more than a breath as the realization hit her like a cold wave.

Ever since she was a child, the Ninth Princess had been taught about a dark chapter in cultivation history—an era marked by blood and tears.

It was a time when even the Crane Empire had been brought to its knees.

This era, shrouded in horror, had been passed down through generations, one of whom had become nothing more than a whispered nightmare...

Zǔ Zhòu, the Laughing Demon.

"Oh my~ it seems I have a fan~ Want my autograph?" Feng Shen teased even more, as he looked back at his little maid:

"SEE! Your little friend knows about me! I'm not some unknown figure! I was very much hated! Right!?"

Feng Shen's voice carried a twisted excitement, as though he found the Ninth Princess's recognition both amusing and validating.

His eyes moved back to the Ninth Princess.

Feng Shen leaned closer, his grin widening:

"Tell me, Ninth Princess, you must have heard all the stories. Tell me... how do I compare to the legends?"