Piece by Piece I Will Cut the Flesh From Your Bones

The giant python was killed by Prince Nolan and Serena together, but the flower hall of Feng Manor was left in ruins after the fight.

“What a little demon,” Serena muttered, kicking Zed who lay sprawled on the ground.

Forgive her for being childish and petty—anyone would be angry seeing their home wrecked. Even if it was only the front courtyard, she was furious—her home was barely a year old.

"I’ll get it back from him," Prince Nolan said, wiping his face in disgust.

Even though he and Serena dodged quickly, they couldn’t avoid the dust. Sweat from the fight made the grime on his face especially uncomfortable.

“Forget waiting—I’m getting payback right now.” Serena ran to the backyard, fetched a bucket of water, and dumped it over Zed.

Splash—

The weather wasn’t cold, but a bucket of water to the face still hurt. Zed woke up, blinking in confusion until his vision cleared, still unsure what was happening.

"Cough, cough..." Whether from choking on water or from his injuries, Zed started coughing as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Awake?" Serena’s voice was cold and arrogant as she crossed her arms and looked down at Zed.

Serena had learned her lesson: never treat Zed as a child, but as an adult with a severe mental illness—only then could she act.

"You... Where’s my Redfang?" Zed squinted, his eyes flashing with bloodlust, sending chills down your spine.

"A kid this young and already so murderous—he’s not normal at all," Dominic Zhai kept a careful three-step distance, wanting no part of another round.

"He was never a normal child. What kid acts like this? He’s scarier than any adult serial killer," Serena agreed.

"Tell me—what did you do to my Redfang?" Zed demanded again. His delicate face twisted, and his bright eyes turned blood-red.

"It’s dead," Prince Nolan replied flatly.

"You actually killed my Redfang? You deserve to die!" Zed roared, his rage explosive. Whether it was fury or sheer physical prowess, he rolled and sprang up from the ground.

"I’ll kill you and feed your corpses to my snakes!"

Snap—Zed pressed something on his wrist, and his ring suddenly straightened, shooting toward Serena.

That wasn’t all—Zed attacked not only Serena, but also fired identical hidden weapons at Dominic Zhai and Prince Nolan. The weapons were his bracelet and iron collar, transformed.

“Damn, he’s loaded with killing tools.” This time Dominic Zhai reacted fast, dodging aside—only for the ring-shaped weapon to act almost alive, doubling back when it missed him.

“What the hell is this thing?” Dominic drew his sword, struck the weapon away with a clang, but it spun around and came flying back...

Compared to that, things were much easier on Serena’s side—she just pulled out her gun. Bang! Blood splattered everywhere.

“Whoa, this thing’s alive.” Serena was stunned. Glancing back, she saw Nolan and Dominic entangled by the hidden weapons, so she quickly fired and shot them down too.

“Whew... Finally stopped.” Dominic let out a breath, just about to thank Serena, when he looked up and saw Zed, crazed and cold, stabbing at Serena with a dagger.

What a terrifying child.

Dominic shouted, “Serena, watch out!”

Thud—Nolan was even quicker than Dominic. Before Dominic could finish, Nolan stepped in front of Serena, seized Zed’s knife hand, and reversed the dagger into Zed’s body.

“Ah—” Zed screamed in pain.

“Does it hurt?” Nolan lifted Zed up again, so they could look each other in the eye.

He never had the habit of squatting down to talk to anyone, nor was he willing to lower his head.

"It hurts," Zed said, his face so pale it was nearly bloodless, making his eyes look even more striking and unnatural.

For a moment, Serena thought of a vampire.

"Good. You should know what pain feels like." Nolan coldly pulled the dagger out of Zed’s body, letting the blood flow.

"It hurts," Zed instinctively clutched the wound, drenched in cold sweat.

He’d known being stabbed would hurt, that faces twisted in pain, but he’d never realized it could hurt this much.

"Crying out in pain is useless." Nolan tossed Zed back to the ground and shouted, "Guards!"

"Your Highness." Soon, Nolan’s personal guards arrived from outside the door.

"Strip him, leave only his underclothes, and tie him to the back of the carriage," Nolan ordered, pointing at Zed.

"You wouldn’t dare," Zed said weakly.

Prince Nolan didn’t even bother to look at him. His personal guards were just as cold-blooded, ignoring the fact that Zed was only a child. Despite Zed’s struggles, they stripped him in no time.

Once stripped, Serena saw Zed was still carrying five or six more deadly weapons.

He was even more professional than Zuo An.

"Strip off his underclothes too, shake out everything he’s carrying, and cut his hair." Nolan had meant to spare Zed some dignity, but seeing how many deadly weapons the child had, he hardened his heart.

"Let go of me, let go! If you don’t let me go, I’ll kill you all, do you hear me? I’ll kill you!" Zed kept struggling, ignoring his wounds.

With every movement, his wound bled more and the pain worsened. Nolan, Serena, and Dominic all pretended not to notice—this child wasn’t worth pity. Sympathy would only bring them trouble.

"Crying? What good does crying do? Did the people you killed not cry? Did you ever show mercy? Young Lord Zed, remember my words: however you treated others, I will treat you the same. But rest assured, I am not you—I will not kill you. I will make you live, and live well."

Those words were even more terrifying than death. Even at his age, Zed understood Prince Nolan’s meaning. He flinched, then erupted in rage: "No! No! You can’t treat me like this. I am the Demon Sect Young Lord—those people were just worthless commoners. I kill as I please. If you so much as touch a hair on my head, I’ll have you executed by slow slicing, cutting the flesh from your body piece by piece and feeding it to you!"

Prince Nolan smiled coldly. "Ambitious, are you? I’ll be watching."

Snip, snip... With every lock of hair that fell, tears slipped down his cheeks. The small child sobbed silently, tugging at the heartstrings—yet Serena, remembering how close she’d come to dying by Zed’s hand, felt no sympathy.

"Crying? What good does crying do? Did the people you killed not cry? Did you ever show mercy? Young Lord Zed, remember my words: however you treated others, I will treat you the same. But rest assured, I am not you—I will not kill you. I will make you live, and live well.",

Those words were even more terrifying than death. Even at his age, Zed understood Prince Nolan’s meaning. He flinched, then erupted in rage: "No! No! You can’t treat me like this. I am the Demon Sect Young Lord—those people were just worthless commoners. I kill as I please. If you so much as touch a hair on my head, I’ll have you executed by slow slicing, cutting the flesh from your body piece by piece and feeding it to you!"

Prince Nolan smiled coldly. "Ambitious, are you? I’ll be watching.",