Chapter 25: Even an Upright Official Finds It Hard to Judge Women and Spirits (Part I)

Gao Qianduo looked up in horror, only to find that at some point, a youth dressed in black had appeared in the hall. The boy had one hand in his pocket, while the index finger of the other hand was extended straight with his thumb cocked, mimicking the stance of a pistol, as he watched him with a faint smile.

"Is... is it you?" Gao Qianduo began to tremble, his teeth clattering together audibly.

The youth was, naturally, Yan Tian. He had tracked Gao Lan into the Gao family villa, silently eliminated the bodyguards outside, slipped in through a window, and dispatched the guards with a single, long-range strike of his Solar Finger.

"What... what do you want?" After the initial shock, Gao Qianduo forced himself to remain calm. His hand moved slowly toward his waist, where a golden handgun was tucked away.

"Bang!" Yan Tian mimicked the sound of a gunshot. At the same time, he flicked his wrist slightly. An invisible surge of internal energy whistled through the air like a bird’s chirp, striking Gao Qianduo’s wrist with pinpoint accuracy and piercing straight through it.

Judging by the whistling sound and the distance of the strike, Yan Tian’s mastery of the Solar Finger had reached a new level.

Gao Qianduo let out a miserable shriek, clutching his injured wrist. Blood gushed from the wound, quickly staining half of his sleeve crimson.

Yan Tian laughed, walked over to sit on the sofa opposite Gao Qianduo, and leaned back against the cushions with a sigh. "What a fine sofa. The wealthy really are different."

Gao Qianduo glared at Yan Tian with venomous hatred and asked, his voice trembling, "Do you intend to kill me?"

Yan Tian smiled at him and said, "Don't be nervous. Sit down first; let's talk about it slowly."

Gao Qianduo was surprisingly resilient. Despite his body shaking uncontrollably from the pain and cold sweat pouring down his forehead, he gritted his teeth and remained silent. He slowly sat on the sofa opposite Yan Tian, with only a glass coffee table between them.

"What do you want?" Gao Qianduo asked in a hoarse voice. "Money?"

Yan Tian shook his head and smiled. "What would I need money for? Don't you think that cash-in-transit trucks and banks are practically defenseless against me? I came here for only one purpose, and that is..."

As he spoke, his right hand, which had been resting on the armrest, suddenly shot forward. His middle finger snapped out like lightning, and a blast of energy pierced through the air, instantly punching a hole through Gao Qianduo’s throat.

A horrific, bloody hole appeared in the center of Gao Qianduo’s throat, shattering his Adam’s apple. Blood sprayed forward before pouring out like a fountain, running down his neck and soaking his white suit in a jarring shade of red.

Gao Qianduo let out a rattling sound in his throat, his eyes bulging as if they might pop out. He slumped back against the sofa, losing control of his bodily functions and emitting a foul, wretched odor.

"...your life." Yan Tian finished the sentence he had left incomplete.

Patting the armrest, Yan Tian stood up. He stretched his arms upward, closed his eyes, and muttered to himself with a look of intoxication, "This feeling is truly wonderful... holding the power of life and death in my palm... I never imagined I had the potential to be a mass murderer."

Yan Tian was unaware that his repeated use of the "Heavenly Eye" today had subtly altered his state of mind. Throughout history, the possessors of the Heavenly Eye have been supreme rulers, and the sense of superiority that comes with holding the power over life and death had been etched deep into his soul through his ancestors' genetic code.

After indulging himself for a moment, Yan Tian activated his sensory perception to its fullest. Aside from Gao Lan, the only other living auras in the villa were weak and harmless. Those, he assumed, were merely the domestic staff.

Though Yan Tian had killed several guards that night and taken Gao Qianduo’s life, he had no desire to harm the servants, provided they had not witnessed his actions.

Stepping onto the thick carpet, Yan Tian moved without making a sound. Like a gust of wind, he climbed to the second floor, following the aura he had locked onto—Gao Lan.

He stopped in front of a door on the second floor. Gao Lan was inside. From the resonance of her energy, she appeared to be in a state of deep meditation, attempting to stabilize her internal condition.

Yan Tian realized what she was doing. The energy of the Solar Finger was not easily dispelled; since Gao Lan’s cultivation was inferior to his, neutralizing it would be a time-consuming and exhausting process.

He placed his hand gently on the lock, channeled a subtle, Yin-natured internal force, and shattered the mechanism.

After closing the door behind him, Yan Tian took a few steps, passed the bathroom, and saw Gao Lan sitting in the center of a large round bed in the lotus position.

Her delicate eyebrows were tightly knit, her cherry lips compressed, and a look of pain marred her angelic, pure face.

Yan Tian observed her from the front for a moment before circling to the side, examining her back and rounded hips like a connoisseur. Even after he had circled around her for quite some time, Gao Lan, immersed in her meditative state, remained unaware of his presence.

Yan Tian shook his head, climbed onto the bed, and assumed an expression of solemn determination.

He grasped it!

This was the second time he had taken hold of her!

Gao Lan was finally forced to open her eyes by his actions. When she saw the grave and sacred look on Yan Tian’s face, she felt a sweetness rise in her throat, and a stream of blood sprayed out uncontrollably, splashing all over Yan Tian’s face.