Jin Shikai's body trembled in fear. He hadn't expected Qin Xuan to disregard his wife's life and attack him instead. He quickly dodged to the side.
The remote control in his hand slipped and fell to the ground, accidentally hitting a switch.
The next second, the tower crane began to emit a "squeaking" sound.
The steel bar binding Tantai Yue suddenly loosened, and Tantai Yue, along with her ropes, plummeted to the ground with a "whoosh."
"Tantai!" Qin Xuan cried out in alarm. Forgetting Jin Shikai entirely, he leaped from the balcony.
Jin Shikai, as if granted a reprieve, had narrowly escaped death. He dragged his trembling legs and hobbled downstairs.
Because the tower crane was positioned slightly higher than Qin Xuan's floor,
Qin Xuan's jump was perfectly timed. With a few agile maneuvers in mid-air, he neared the rapidly descending Tantai Yue and then directly embraced her delicate body.
Their combined weight increased their momentum, causing them to descend even faster.
At this speed, they would likely be reduced to pulp upon hitting the ground.
In a desperate situation, Qin Xuan quickly scanned for a place to land.
The surroundings were all concrete. Although Qin Xuan was a cultivator now, landing anywhere would at least shatter eighty percent of his bones. Even with the Dragon Core, recovery wouldn't be instantaneous.
Suddenly, Qin Xuan spotted over a dozen bags of cement at the outermost corner of the unfinished building.
The cement was unsealed and soft; landing on it should be somewhat gentler.
Thus, Qin Xuan tightly hugged Tantai Yue, enveloped her with his Dragon Power, and did his best to adjust their trajectory.
In the blink of an eye, their bodies, like shooting stars, streaked downwards and landed directly onto the cement.
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
The sounds of impact, of bodies hitting objects, and of bones breaking, occurred almost simultaneously.
Enduring the pain, Qin Xuan looked up at Tantai Yue in his arms. He used his Dragon Power to check her condition. Seeing that she was unharmed, merely unconscious, he finally exhaled in relief.
At the same time, Jin Shikai had already fled the unfinished building and was running towards a small path with Leng Qian.
Qin Xuan was consumed by rage. He would not let this scoundrel escape.
He glanced around and saw a wooden stick that had fallen with them earlier. Qin Xuan mobilized his Dragon Power, drew it towards him, and the stick flew into his hand.
"Die, you scum!" Qin Xuan roared. Then, with immense force, he hurled the stick, which whistled through the air as it shot out.
Jin Shikai suddenly shuddered. Perhaps sensing his impending doom, he turned around and saw Qin Xuan's thrown stick hurtling towards him at a visible speed.
In a desperate move, Jin Shikai yanked Leng Qian in front of him.
Although Leng Qian had been with the Jin family for nearly ten years and had done many things for them, even saving Jin Shikai's life several times,
Jin Shikai could no longer afford to care about that at this moment. Facing imminent death, he would betray anyone to save himself.
Before Leng Qian could react, she was pulled forward by Jin Shikai.
Before she could even process what was happening, the wooden stick pierced through her lower abdomen.
Jin Shikai had intended to slip away after the stick hit Leng Qian.
However, to his dying disbelief, he couldn't comprehend why the stick possessed such immense penetrative power.
After passing through Leng Qian's abdomen, its momentum barely diminished. It continued through the exact center of Jin Shikai's own abdomen and then lodged itself into a stone far behind him, standing upright. The shaft of the stick still trembled, showcasing the incredible force behind the throw.
Jin Shikai and Leng Qian collapsed to the ground together.
Jin Shikai's eyes remained wide open in death, his gaze fixed, unable to rest in peace, forever bewildered by the astonishing power of a single wooden stick.