Chapter 2: The Cannibalistic Gu Family

With a flash of blood, the Second Steward’s arm fell to the ground.

"Ah..."

The Second Steward let out a miserable shriek, the fierce look on his face replaced by sheer terror. Everyone present felt a sudden chill wash over them, unable to stop their bodies from trembling. The young master must surely be possessed by a demon. How else could he wield a blade to sever the Second Steward’s arm?

Gu Dao shook his blade, looking down at the Second Steward, who was clutching his severed limb and screaming in agony. His face was full of faux apology as he said, "My apologies, I missed the mark. But this is your fault, really—why did you have to dodge? Now you have to suffer all over again."

As he spoke, he walked toward the Second Steward step by step.

"No, you cannot kill me! If the Matriarch finds out, she will—"

Before the Second Steward could finish his sentence, Gu Dao’s blade descended. This time, it struck with chilling precision, severing his neck. Hot blood sprayed, and the head rolled away, the expression of terror still frozen upon its face.

The surrounding servants let out a collective scream, instinctively covering their eyes. Those with weaker constitutions fainted on the spot.

Gu Dao’s cold, indifferent voice cut through the air, as if echoing from the depths of hell: "A disobedient dog of a servant—when your master intends to kill you, how dare you try to dodge?"

As he spoke, he surveyed the crowd, as if searching for the next unruly servant. Wherever his gaze fell, everyone instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

A few who had been particularly cruel to Gu Dao in the past even dropped to their knees, knocking their heads against the floor in frantic prayer.

"He mentioned the Matriarch," Gu Dao sneered, looking down at the corpse. "The elderly are light sleepers. With such a commotion, she should be awake by now!"

The so-called Matriarch was the grandmother of the body's previous owner, a sharp-tongued, heartless old woman. To catch the bandits, one must first catch the leader; one heavy blow now would save him from a hundred future strikes. Tonight, he would present the old woman with a head, letting her know that times had changed.

With that thought, he picked up the Second Steward’s head and headed toward the Matriarch’s residence, Tiannian Hall.

In the outer courtyard of Tiannian Hall, the residence of the Gu family Matriarch, two corpses lay beneath the lush, ancient cypress trees, their flesh mangled from a brutal beating. Gu Dao glanced at them; they were likely maidservants who had committed some unknown offense. The Gu household was a man-eating clan; two sixteen or seventeen-year-old maids could be beaten to death for the slightest mistake.

He passed through the second gate into the main hall. The Matriarch sat in the center on a red sandalwood chair, dressed in a plain robe embroidered with gold patterns of longevity and fortune. She held a string of eighteen white jade prayer beads in her hands. Her graying hair was pulled up high, fastened with a single green wooden hairpin. She watched Gu Dao now with a gloomy face.

Beside her sat a woman with skin like cream, arched brows like ink, and lips like polished cinnabar. This was Mei Sheng, a concubine of Gu Yunzhang.

"Young Master, you have grown bold indeed, even daring to touch the Matriarch's servants..." Mei Sheng began, attempting to suppress him.

*Thwack.*

Gu Dao threw the steward's head, which splattered against her face.

"Ah!"

Mei Sheng shrieked in terror, the rest of her words choked in her throat.

"When masters are speaking, a concubine who crawled out of the pleasure houses dares to put on airs? Is there no order left in the Gu family? Grandmother, is this your idea of discipline?" Gu Dao sneered as he loomed over Mei Sheng.

No one had expected that the former coward, who never dared to lift his head in Mei Sheng’s presence, would turn so aggressive. Today, he had torn through the pretense, scaring Mei Sheng so badly she couldn't even look him in the eye.

"Xiuzhi, stop!" the Matriarch cried out. "You were such a sensible child; how have you become so deranged? You dare to commit arson, assault people repeatedly, and now you have no respect for your elders."

The Matriarch’s tone was filled with feigned disappointment, as if she were a heartbroken grandmother watching a good child go astray. Gu Dao only let out a cold laugh. The old woman was quite the actress! Sensible? That was just a convenient way to make it easier for them to bully him. The former owner of this body had been too sensible, and that was exactly why they had grown so accustomed to abusing him.

"You committed arson in this house and must be severely punished. The family rules are strict; even I cannot shield you. Go and kneel in the ancestral hall. You will not leave until you die," the Matriarch declared.