"B-Big Bro…"
The first thing that Hua Yan heard after snapping out of his frenzied stupor was his sister's weak voice.
He had almost forgotten about her! As he was putting his life on the line to take care of those four fatties, his sister was just standing off to the side, completely terrified of everything that was happening in front of her. For someone that didn't go out much, let alone seeing corpses, the sight of her brother in life-or-death combat with a bunch of goons had really frightened her.
It made her have a mental breakdown and feel a great profound fear envelope her entire being. Even someone that had already started cultivation would have misgivings when viewing such a bloody scene, much less Hua Yin who had never cultivated even once in her life before.
So, for her to be shocked at seeing her brother murder people in cold blood like this was only natural.
Understanding this, Hua Yan's hands trembled as he had just noticed what he had done. The severity of this matter was something that he could not ignore.
He had to do something about it immediately.
Before he could rack his brain for any solutions, however, some angered voices penetrated through the courtyard, filling the entire place with their presence.
"Who dares to cause trouble in the Hua Clan residence!"
"Capture all involved parties. Kill any that resist!"
"Don't let any criminal get away!"
It was the guards! They had already arrived at the scene in such a timely manner.
Judging by their rapid reaction speed, Hua Yan realized that he truly was unlucky. The actual duration of the four killings themselves was only a few moments long, so it would not be near enough time for someone to report this incident to the guards and bring them back here so quickly.
The only other possibility was that Hua Yan had picked the wrong time to kill the four fatties. He had picked the very time that the guards were doing their routine patrol of the area!
In this situation, it looked like even the heavens themselves wanted to snuff Hua Yan out of existence.
Around 12 guards that were wearing the Hua Clan's Hua Ding Manor uniform had arrived at the scene. The level of their power was not something that any of the four previous fatties could compete with. They were all much bigger and more intimidating.
Hua Yan subconsciously tightened the knife in his hands, using his body to protectively block Hua Yin from the guards.
Shielding her from their vision, he said something in a voice that only she could hear.
"Leave this place. Get to Chil Pin, spend a few days there, bide your time, and you'll find me at the Hour House."
"I won't leave yo—"
"Leave!" Hua Yan interjected very sternly, "Leave of your own accord, unless you want to see me die trying to make you."
"I—"
"The longer you delay this, the worse for the both of us. Leave!"
Saying these words, Hua Yan removed the guards' attention from her by running into the crowd of the gathered bystanders. The guards thought that he was trying to flee, so they temporarily ignored Hua Yin and focused their attention on catching Hua Yan instead. Hua Yin did not waste this opportunity and made her leave as silent as possible.
Hua Yan was covered in blood, and the scent he emitted made him fairly noticeable even in the crowd of around 70 people. Everyone he walked beside would immediately take a few steps backwards whenever he got too close. In a matter of moments, he was surrounded by a large circle of emptiness, which those around him simply refused to walk into. They did not want to be involved in this matter any further, so they kept their distance.
The guards soon surrounded the perimeter of this circle and had essentially blocked off all of Hua Yan's escape routes.
Now, he wouldn't be able to run anywhere unless they made way for him.
"You think you can escape?" One of the guards barked mockingly, "With that trifling cultivation of yours? To be so foolish, you must surely have been dropped as a child!"
"What gave you the courage to kill people here?" another guard roared indignantly, "You think you are some sort of immortal? Immune to punishment?"
"Even a hundred lives won't let you get out of this matter today, boy! So best drop your weapons and submit yourself to the law!"
As the guards shouted out their taunts, Hua Yan began to consider his options.
If he stopped resisting now and let himself be apprehended by them, he would be taken for a trial. Usually, trials that involved parties that were charged with the murder of clansmen would not have any good endings. They were essentially useless to hold, because the final result would always be the instigator being punished very harshly for his or her crimes.
Furthermore, Hua Yan was a nobody in the clan. He had no powerful status to rely on. He was not recognized as a prodigy of any kind. He had no relatives or family members that could provide him with any sort of help. And to top it all off, he had offended someone with connections.
He would essentially be burying himself if he surrendered now.
But not surrendering didn't seem like any better of an option.
These 10 or so guards that had him surrounded were not ordinary folk. They were guards of the prestigious Hua Clan! No one in the city's confines would dare to trifle with them. And this wasn't only because of the power of the clan that they represented, but also because of their own strength.
The amount of force that they could muster up if they were all gathered together was nothing to scoff at. Even the members amongst them with the lowest cultivation base would be at a realm higher than the 7th level of the Continuous Ballooning Stage. And this was nothing to mention about the special officers and guard captains amongst their ranks…
For Hua Yan to fight against them would be nothing more than a joke, especially if one considered the fact that Hua Yan didn't know the first thing about cultivation.
If he submitted, he would die. If he resisted, he would still die!
Was there not another option for him but to die?
Fine, if things were going to be like this, he would rather choose his means of death than to leave it in the hands of some other uninvolved party.
Using the law to take him down? The laws had never helped him, so why would he care a pigeon's foot about the laws!
"If you want to take me, then stop prattling and come!"
With a roar, Hua Yan began his assault. He was unsure of his future, but he knew how to use his blade to hit a man where it hurt the most.