CHAPTER 146: 146- A SECOND OATH.

Just then four massive Saberfang beasts crashed through the remnants of the courtyard wall.

Dust billowed, mixing with the lingering scent of blood.

Before the dust could settle, a figure leapt down from one of the towering Saberfang.

Du Juan, a young woman clad in practical but travel-stained leathers, sprinted forward, her eyes wide with frantic concern.

She skidded to a halt near Lin Zhaoyue, ignoring Fang Yuan completely in her focus on the terrifying woman.

"Matriarch Fang!" Du Juan yelled, her voice tight with a mixture of relief and apprehension. She bowed deeply, almost instinctively. "You’re unharmed!"

Fang Yuan’s jaw slackened. Matriarch Fang?

The title hit him like a physical blow, utterly incongruous with the blood-soaked reality.

His eyes darted between Du Juan’s fearful reverence and Lin Zhaoyue’s suddenly transformed expression.

Lin Zhaoyue’s face flushed a delicate pink.

She waved a dismissive hand, a picture of exaggerated modesty, though the predatory gleam never left her eyes.

"Du Juan! I told you not to call me that in public!" she chided, her voice suddenly light, almost playful.

Yet, the subtle lift of her chin and the satisfied curve of her lips betrayed how much she relished the title.

As she spoke, Lin Zhaoyue casually shifted her weight. Her boot came down squarely on Lin Xukong’s already lifeless head.

There was a sickening, wet crunch as bone yielded under her heel. She didn’t even glance down.

"You are late, you know," she continued, her tone shifting to one of mild disappointment aimed at Du Juan.

"The main event is already over. I had to deal with... distractions." She gestured vaguely with her blood-spattered hand towards the bodies.

Du Juan flinched, her gaze flickering to the pulped ruin beneath Lin Zhaoyue’s boot before snapping back up.

She swallowed hard, her knuckles white where she clenched her fists. "I’m sorry, it was my first time trying to lead the beast," she stammered, her voice trembling slightly. "It was... unexpectedly tough. It took everything to bring them here. I... I missed seeing your glory firsthand." The words sounded rehearsed, a necessary appeasement.

Lin Zhaoyue’s expression softened into something resembling sympathy, though it felt as fragile as ice.

"Oh, my poor Du Juan," she crooned. In a sudden, fluid motion, she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around the younger woman in a tight embrace.

Du Juan stiffened instantly, her body rigid with terror.

She didn’t dare pull away, her eyes wide and fixed straight ahead, unblinking.

Lin Zhaoyue rested her chin on Du Juan’s shoulder, her gaze locking onto Fang Yuan over the girl’s rigid form.

"She missed seeing your glory, husband," Lin Zhaoyue murmured, her voice thick with faux sadness.

"Such a shame. But don’t worry, Du Juan," she added, tightening the hug until Du Juan gasped slightly, "there will be many, many more opportunities to witness my husband’s brilliance. I’ll make sure of it."

Fang Yuan watched, a cold dread solidifying in his gut.

The display was horrifyingly intimate, Lin Zhaoyue clinging to Du Juan like a child with a doll, while simultaneously crushing her father’s skull and addressing Fang Yuan with possessive fervor.

Lin Zhaoyue finally released Du Juan, who stumbled back half a step, breathing shallowly.

Lin Zhaoyue’s attention snapped back to Fang Yuan, her smile returning, bright and unnerving.

"See, husband? My little helper is here too! Everything is falling into place."

She took another deliberate step towards him, her earlier desire for a hug seemingly forgotten in the wake of demonstrating her power and control, yet the obsessive focus remained laser-sharp.

"Now, where were we before the interruption? Ah, yes... the oath." The way she lingered on the word promised nothing good.

Behind her, the Saberfang beasts shifted, their low growls rumbling like distant thunder, punctuating the suffocating silence.

"Du Juan," Fang Yuan called, his voice low but commanding.

She appeared at once, hurrying to his side with hurried steps.

"Yes, Patriarch Fang!" she responded, bowing slightly.

Without a word, he gently handed the unconscious Fang Lian into her waiting arms.

His fingers lingered for a breath longer on the girl’s form before he leaned in and asked in a hushed tone:

"Are the Saberfang safe? Why aren’t they attacking?"

Du Juan visibly shivered. Her eyes didn’t meet his.

Instead, she lifted a trembling finger and pointed wordlessly, toward Lin Zhaoyue.

"Patriarch Fang... I believe only Matriarch Lin knows the answer to that," she said, her voice tight with something that wasn’t quite fear... but wasn’t far from it either.

Fang Yuan watched her in silence for a brief moment, eyes sharp beneath his calm exterior.

Resourceful and composed.

Even now, stripped of her cultivation, nothing more than a mortal, Du Juan didn’t falter.

She didn’t panic and with a swift, precise action she tend to Fang Lian.

He murmured under his breath, "I should be more prepared next time..."

Then he turned and walked toward the waiting figure of Lin Zhaoyue.

She was standing still, her eyes bright with excitement, something unspoken flickering just beneath the surface.

Without ceremony, Fang Yuan removed the ring from his left hand, a band of deep obsidian metal, etched faintly with silver filigree.

Ancient patterns of dragon breath and ancestral flame coiled across its surface like living script.

He held it between them, and with a steady breath, infused it with a thread of his qi.

The ring responded to his qi as a soft, golden glow began to bloom within the silver inlay, light weaving through the carvings like breath made visible.

"Place your finger here," he said, pointing to the circle of golden light at its center.

Lin Zhaoyue didn’t hesitate at all.

She lifted her hand and pressed her fingertip to the light.

The ring pulsed.

And then, like a heartbeat syncing between two souls a transparent ripple of energy radiated out from the ring, expanding in a perfect sphere around them.

Like sunlight dancing across the surface of still water.

And for that one quiet instant... it felt like the world beyond them had faded out of existence.