Qin Ren was flying.
And it was truly flying in every sense—like a white crane soaring in the sky or a Roc spreading its wings and soaring into the clouds.
He held Liu Piaopiao around the waist with his left arm, and in his right hand, he held a folding fan. As he waved the fan gracefully, he strolled through the air, demonstrating the pinnacle of the "Xiaoyao Chengfeng Jue" (Carefree Wind Technique) at its extreme.
The wind roared, and his clothes fluttered in the breeze. Qin Ren's sky-blue robe and Liu Piaopiao's bright red bridal gown were tangled together in the wind, creating a vivid spectacle.
On the ground, fourteen martial experts watched this scene, their jaws hanging open in shock as they looked up at the couple flying above them like a pair of divine beings. Drool slipped from the corners of their mouths, but they were completely unaware. Snot dripped onto their clothes, but they didn't bother to wipe it off.
Their eyes were fully captivated by the beauty unfolding above them.
The wedding musicians and sedan bearers were equally stunned. What is the most captivating thing? Beauty is the most captivating!
The bride's tinkling laughter fell from the sky like a string of pearls, landing gently on the ground. She held Qin Ren's waist with both hands, laughing while admiring the graceful demeanor of her charming husband.
What does it mean to be handsome? This is what it means!
This lightness in martial arts, this elegant skill, this handsome skill, the kind of martial arts that could make an ugly man charming and a plain woman graceful!
Not to mention, Qin Ren and Liu Piaopiao were a pair of stunning beauty and handsome looks that could make anyone nearby blush. When the two flew together, their effortless grace, their amazing presence, was enough to make the fourteen martial experts feel ashamed of their appearance and skills. They could almost die of embarrassment.
But those fourteen experts had resilient nerves, and despite the shame they felt, they couldn't disobey their master's orders.
They had to complete the mission because their master was Du Gu Hongjian, the leader of the Jiangnan Fen Yu Tower, known as the "One Knife, Two Severed" Du Gu Hongjian!
Du Gu Hongjian would never allow someone to steal his bride. Even though he already had forty-seven women in his household, his bed could accommodate seventy-four women—forty-seven was far from enough to satisfy him!
So, the fourteen martial experts, who worked for him and had taken on this escort mission, had no choice but to pursue Qin Ren and Liu Piaopiao. They had to retrieve the bride, or they would die!
Qin Ren carried Liu Piaopiao for over forty yards before landing. By then, the fourteen experts had already chased after them, brandishing weapons and shouting loudly.
Hearing the cries behind him, Qin Ren furrowed his brow.
He didn't want to kill them. Today, he was kidnapping the bride, and legally speaking, he was a criminal, while those martial experts were just courageous citizens trying to fight against evil forces—or, in their case, security guards simply doing their duty.
But from a moral standpoint, Liu Piaopiao was already his woman. He had claimed her, and Qin Ren wasn't noble enough to share her with anyone else.
As a man of taste, even if he were to kill a woman he had claimed, he would never allow another man to touch her.
Moreover, in this arranged marriage, the bride was unwilling. She had been sold to Du Gu Hongjian like merchandise, and in this unwilling scenario, forcing a sexual relationship could be considered rape.
Qin Ren may have been a flower thief, but he was a refined one. He could seduce, drug, or win women over with charm, but he would never allow the disgraceful act of rape, which would tarnish the reputation of flower thieves.
Therefore, Qin Ren wouldn't allow those martial experts to take Liu Piaopiao back. But with his skills, if he had to fight the fourteen of them in such an open space, he definitely wouldn't be able to defeat them.
Qin Ren decided to run. He picked up Liu Piaopiao and took long strides forward, running swiftly.
His lightness in martial arts was far beyond what those experts could compare to. Despite carrying a person, Liu Piaopiao's weight was light, barely half of the lead weights Qin Ren had used for training when he was ten.
The wind howled by his ears, and Qin Ren's speed increased, pulling a significant distance between himself and the martial experts.
After running for a while, the fourteen experts were exhausted, gasping for breath. One of the loudest among them shouted at Qin Ren's back, "Brother, you've stolen the bride! At least leave a name behind for us! We need something to report back with!"
Without looking back, Qin Ren replied, "I'm Qin Ren, alias 'The Lover'. Go back and tell Du Gu Hongjian that Liu Piaopiao is mine now, and he should give up on her!"
The fourteen experts stood frozen, dumbfounded as they watched Qin Ren disappear into the distance. They couldn't believe that a young boy, no older than fifteen, dared to openly challenge Du Gu Hongjian.
But they couldn't afford to dwell on it. At least they had learned his name, which would serve as a report. If Du Gu Hongjian was in a good mood, maybe they would get away with their lives.
However, in their minds, Qin Ren's life was certainly forfeit. Du Gu Hongjian was all about face, and Qin Ren had humiliated him by stealing his bride. While Du Gu Hongjian didn't lack women, he couldn't afford to lose face!
Face—an obsession that could drive a man mad. To protect his pride, Du Gu Hongjian would definitely issue a "Jianghu Bounty Order" to hunt Qin Ren down.
It's important to note that Du Gu Hongjian wasn't just the leader of the Fen Yu Tower in Jiangnan's martial world; he was also the chief administrator of the "Jianghu Yamen," the imperial agency overseeing martial affairs in the Great Qin Empire.
In Jiangnan's martial world, there were six major factions: the three halls (Baohua Hall, Chuiyue Hall, Fengyue Hall), the two towers (Fen Yu Tower, Honghua Tower), and the one manor (Xiaoyao Manor). While smaller factions and lone experts existed, these were the primary powers.
In the northern martial world, there were seven major factions: the three pavilions (Chuiyue Pavilion, Huhu Pavilion, Zhaoyue Pavilion), the two teachings (Baiyue Sect, Lianhua Sect), one fortress (Tie Xue Xiao Tian Fort), and one alliance (Yi Dao Tongmeng). Like in the south, there were many smaller factions with formidable experts.
However, the thirteen major factions in both the north and south were all part of the "White Path" organizations, openly trading, collecting taxes, and occasionally suppressing evil. These martial alliances followed the law, or at least presented the illusion of doing so. The true underworld factions, like "Little Ox Society," "Tian Lang Gang," "Black Blood Alliance," and "Mad God Hall," still existed, along with classic villains such as the "Demonic Sect."
To better manage the White Path organizations and suppress the Black Path factions, the Great Qin Empire established the "Jianghu Yamen." Martial artists from the White Path were elected to positions within the Yamen, receiving state salaries and registering with the imperial bureaucracy. They assisted the government in managing the martial world.
Though Du Gu Hongjian's position as the chief administrator of the Yamen was unlikely, he was a man of ambition, skill, and wealth, and thus he managed to attain the post.
The "Jianghu Bounty Order" was the most serious bounty issued by the Yamen, and when it was issued, every faction under the Yamen's jurisdiction had to send people to hunt down the target—alive or dead. As the leader of the southern White Path, Qin Xiaoyao had a few disciples stationed in the Yamen as a formality.
Qin Ren knew of Du Gu Hongjian's influence but didn't care. To him, who would dare provoke the Third Young Master of the Qin family? It was the others who were lucky he didn't seek out trouble, and now they had the audacity to come after him—it was suicide.
What Qin Ren didn't know was that while the White Path martial artists feared the Qin family, the Black Path was fearless. Moreover, very few people in the White Path knew the true identity of the Third Young Master of the Qin family.