Chapter 50: The Temple of the River Goddess

“Did you really think I couldn’t defeat you?”

Lin Yang made no effort to conceal his strength.

“How interesting! So handsome, and stronger than I am. Little brother, I’m growing even fonder of you,” Qiu Yuezi threw Lin Yang a flirtatious glance.

Qiu Diaobai leapt over, landing beside Qiu Yuezi so that the siblings stood shoulder to shoulder.

Both were third-rank masters, and their synergy was flawless. Together, they wielded a series of chained martial techniques that were truly formidable. The two had once joined forces to slay a fourth-rank master.

“What of a fourth-rank master? It’s not as if we haven’t killed one before! Now that you’ve run into us, you’re dead for certain today,” Qiu Diaobai’s face twisted into a hideous, malicious grin.

“Brother, don’t kill him outright. He can only die in my bed,” Qiu Yuezi said, her smile seductive.

With that, the siblings attacked Lin Yang simultaneously from both sides.

Their coordination was indeed remarkable. Although Lin Yang possessed the strength of a fourth-rank master, his combat experience was far inferior to theirs, and for the moment, he was at a disadvantage.

An ordinary fourth-rank master, faced with their combined assault, would have been thrown into disarray, inevitably exposing a fatal weakness.

Yet Lin Yang, thanks to his heterochromatic eyes, revealed no flaws despite being pressed. Instead, he gradually deciphered their combination attacks, searching for an opening.

He landed a punch that sent Qiu Yuezi staggering back, then seized the momentum to press the attack on Qiu Diaobai, unleashing the power of four oxen—over four thousand pounds in that single blow.

His first punch sent Qiu Diaobai flying. In a flash, he appeared before the man again and struck another blow to his chest.

With a resounding crack, Qiu Diaobai was hurled against a car. Blood gushed from his mouth as his chest caved in.

“Brother!” Qiu Yuezi darted to his side, but Qiu Diaobai’s lips barely moved, his life ebbing away.

Lin Yang’s punch had shattered his organs and severed the thread of life—his death was certain.

“Run...” Qiu Diaobai rasped, barely breathing.

Qiu Yuezi’s flirtatious facade vanished, her eyes now brimming with murderous intent.

“Damn you, I swear I’ll kill you and avenge my brother,” she vowed, wasting not a moment as she turned to flee.

“You won’t get the chance for revenge!”

Lin Yang had no intention of letting the siblings escape alive.

These two were exceedingly dangerous, killing without remorse, utterly twisted at heart. Moments ago, they had slaughtered several innocents.

Though Lin Yang wouldn’t call himself a paragon of justice, he could not let such ruthless killers walk free.

He sprang forward, covering ten meters in a single bound, and gave chase.

Moments after they’d left, sirens wailed—the City Guard had arrived.

The City Guard was responsible for maintaining order, combating crime, and upholding peace—a martial force present in every city.

Lin Yang moved faster than Qiu Yuezi and was quickly gaining on her.

But suddenly, Qiu Yuezi seized upon a family strolling by—a grandmother and mother with a small boy by the riverbank, oblivious to the calamity about to befall them.

She grabbed the five- or six-year-old boy in one hand.

“Take another step, and I’ll kill this child.”

Lin Yang didn’t doubt her for a second. For someone who killed without blinking, murder was as natural as eating or drinking, and she had not a shred of mercy in her heart.

He dared not advance further, halting ten meters from her.

“Please, don’t hurt my son! I beg you, let him go!” the mother and grandmother pleaded, dropping to their knees.

“Stop your sniveling!” Qiu Yuezi struck the grandmother on the forehead with her palm. Her skull split open, killing her instantly. Blood spattered the mother’s face. She nearly fainted from terror, paralyzed and screaming in horror.

The onlookers scattered in panic, their cries turning the scene into chaos.

“Fine! I’ll let you go—just stop killing the innocent!” Lin Yang’s brows knitted tightly, his heart seething with murderous intent, but he had no choice but to compromise.

“My, such a soft heart! That’s all well and good, but let’s hope you’re not soft somewhere else. Next time we meet, I’ll make you wish for death,” Qiu Yuezi taunted, her smile as beguiling as a fox spirit, but her nature wholly depraved.

She flung the boy into the Luo River and turned to flee.

Lin Yang had no choice but to save the child first.

Without hesitation, he dove into the river, rescuing the boy and bringing him back to his mother.

“Hurry, take your child and go.”

The boy’s mother was still in shock. Lin Yang gave her a light slap to bring her back to her senses, and she fled with her son, unable to spare a thought for her dead mother in her panic.

Because of the rescue, Lin Yang was delayed, and Qiu Yuezi had already vanished.

Still, she’d taken a heavy blow from him earlier and couldn’t have gotten far.

Lin Yang continued his pursuit in the direction she’d fled.

Night had fallen, and as he moved downstream, the surroundings grew more desolate. Up ahead, the path forked.

The road to the right led directly into the forest—a good place to hide. The left path followed the riverbank for several hundred meters, leading to the ruined temple that had once changed Lin Yang’s fate.

Ordinarily, he would have chosen the right, into the woods, as it seemed the better hiding place.

But that was also the most predictable choice.

He crouched, examining the ground for traces. With his heterochromatic eyes, nothing escaped his notice.

“As I thought—she didn’t head into the forest, but went along the river instead.”

Narrowing his eyes, Lin Yang took the left fork and followed it for over a kilometer.

Suddenly, a premonition struck him. He stopped, turned, and raced toward the old temple.

“Temple of the River Goddess.”

He gazed at the dilapidated plaque, which seemed ready to fall at any moment, his thoughts deep.

This temple had once been his place of fortune.

It had been the most revered shrine in Luo City, known to everyone. All knew the legend of the River Goddess.

Long ago, so the tale went, a vicious demon had terrorized the Luo River, demanding the sacrifice of children from the local people, threatening to flood the lands otherwise. The people suffered terribly.

One day, a goddess descended from the heavens and slew the demon upon the waters, bringing peace to the riverbanks—good weather, fertile fields, and abundant harvests.

In gratitude, the people built the Temple of the River Goddess.

Her legend had been passed down for millennia, remembered by all who lived by the Luo River.

With the city’s expansion, however, a hydroelectric station was erected downstream, raising the water level and endangering the temple. A new temple was built elsewhere, and this old one fell into disrepair. Before long, it would surely collapse and be lost to history.

Lin Yang knew the legend by heart.

But such folk tales held little sway over him—he saw them as mere beliefs of common people.

He strode into the ruined temple and called out calmly, “Come out. I know you’re hiding here.”