Ashes Of The War God

Chapter 1: The Crippled Son-in-Law

The rain poured down hard as Chen Feng knelt in the courtyard. His hands shook from the cold. Blood dripped from his cut lip into the water below.

"Useless trash."

Liu Han, his brother-in-law, kicked him in the ribs. Chen Feng fell sideways onto the wet stone ground.

"Three years," Liu Han said. "Three years you have eaten our food and slept under our roof. What have you done for us? Nothing."

Chen Feng coughed. Blood filled his mouth. His body was too weak to fight back. This broken body was all he knew since waking up at the Liu family mansion three years ago.

No memories. No past. Just a name and this useless body.

"Brother, maybe that is enough." A soft voice came from nearby. Yue Ling stood under an umbrella. She was Chen Feng's wife, but only on paper. Her beautiful face showed no emotion.

"Enough?" Liu Han laughed. "Sister, this waste cannot even learn basic martial arts. The servants laugh at our family because of him. Every visitor sees this cripple and thinks less of Father."

Chen Feng pushed himself up to his knees. The world spun around him. "I will find work. I will help the family."

"Work?" Liu Han grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. "What work? You cannot lift heavy things. You cannot guard anyone. You cannot even stand for one hour without falling down."

People were watching now. Servants whispered behind the pillars. Family members looked out from windows. Their faces showed disgust and pity.

"The young miss married a beggar," one servant said quietly.

"Worse than a beggar. Beggars can at least walk."

Chen Feng felt anger rise in his chest. Something deep inside him stirred, like a sleeping beast. But the feeling disappeared as fast as it came.

Liu Han pushed him away. "Father wants to see you. Try not to shame us more than you already have."

Chen Feng walked slowly to the patriarch's study. It took him fifteen minutes. A normal person would take three. His legs barely held him up. He stopped twice to lean against the wall and rest.

Servants moved aside when they saw him coming. None of them helped.

The study door was open. Liu Patriarch sat behind a large wooden desk. His gray beard was neat and his eyes were sharp. Two family elders stood next to him.

"Chen Feng." The patriarch's voice was cold. "Kneel."

Chen Feng dropped to his knees.

"Three years ago, I found you passed out at my door," the patriarch said. "You had nothing. No memory, no identification. I took you in out of kindness. I even let you marry my daughter. I thought maybe you were someone important who lost his memory."

The patriarch stood up and walked around the desk. "I was wrong. You are nobody. You are a burden on the Liu family name."

One elder spoke. "Patriarch, many powerful families want to marry Young Miss Yue Ling now. The Feng Clan, the Zhao Dynasty, even the Thunder Peak Sect sent proposals. But they all say the same thing."

"She must not be married," the patriarch finished. He looked down at Chen Feng. "Do you understand?"

Chen Feng's chest tightened. "You want to end the marriage."

"Not want. I will end it." The patriarch sat back down. "Tomorrow, we will hold a ceremony. You will sign papers and leave this house. I will give you fifty silver coins. That is more than fair."

"Where will I go?"

"I do not care." The patriarch waved his hand. "You have until morning to pack your things. Elder Liu will take you to the servant quarters. Now go."

Chen Feng bowed his head and stood up slowly. Every movement hurt. As he turned to leave, something changed.

The air in the room became heavy. Thick. Hard to breathe.

The patriarch gasped for air. Both elders stumbled backward.

Then everything went back to normal.

"What was that?" one elder whispered.

The patriarch's face had turned pale. "I do not know. But it felt like... killing intent. Pure killing intent from a powerful warrior."

All three men stared at Chen Feng's back as he walked away.

"Impossible," the patriarch said quietly. "That cripple cannot even cultivate basic energy. How could he..."

But doubt filled his mind.

Outside the study, Chen Feng leaned against the wall. He breathed hard. For just one moment, something had woken up inside him. Something huge and ancient and angry. It looked at the Liu family like they were insects.

Then it was gone. Only a terrible headache remained.

What was he before he lost his memory?

And why did part of him want to destroy this entire mansion?

His hands clenched into fists. Tomorrow they would throw him out. Tomorrow he would have nothing again.

But deep inside, something whispered that tomorrow would be very different from what the Liu family expected.

Something was waking up. And when it fully opened its eyes, the world would remember why they once feared the name that Chen Feng had forgotten.