Tuoba Hong asked curiously, "Where did you get this information from?"
Tuoba Ze then turned his gaze to Yi Shangyun, who was still unconscious on the rock not far from the edge of the cliff, covered with a black cloak.
Tuoba Hong immediately followed his gaze and looked over, asking in confusion, "Who is she? What's wrong with her?"
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze looked troubled. In front of his gentle, kind, and honest younger brother, he seemed to find it difficult to admit that his actions, which were indeed somewhat extreme and impulsive, were just now.
After a moment's thought, Tuoba Ze, rubbing the pain in his chest, simply said, "She's an ugly daughter from a lowly court apothecary family in the Western Qin Kingdom..."
But looking at her brother standing beside her, with his shifty eyes and his disheveled appearance, looking badly injured after being beaten;
Then look at Xuan Yuanhan, who had already strolled over not far away. He put down his sword and sat on the rock, silently gazing at the unconscious woman with affection. With one large, well-defined hand, he repeatedly stroked the five-finger wound that Tuoba Ze had brutally left on half of the woman's face, while his other hand clenched into a fist in extreme anger.
After a long while, Xuan Yuanhan finally mustered up the courage to slowly lift a corner of his cloak, his steps trembling slightly.
When he saw the only person he cared about and loved most in this world up close, and thought of the fear she looked like when she was being humiliated like this, his body trembled even more violently.
He gritted his teeth, his eyes seeming to shoot out a thousand sharp arrows at once, wishing he could shoot them all at once at the person who had given him this pain and fear, turning him into a hornet's nest, then plucking him out and holding him tightly in his fist, crushing him into mud or powder.
Or perhaps they would tear it to pieces, slice it a thousand times, and then throw it into the deep mountains to feed wild animals and insects, so that not even a trace of its remains would remain...
Even if all this is done, it is still far from enough to make up for even a fraction of the harm he caused her today, nor can it relieve even a little of the anger in his heart.
He doted on her so much, spoiling her with such tenderness. But now, someone dared to hit her, to hurt her like this—how could he tolerate it? He absolutely would not tolerate it…
At this moment, he suppressed the raging anger in his heart and gently reached out to refasten the goldfish-shaped buttons on her dress, one by one. Then he gently helped her to her feet, picked up the black cloak beside them, and dressed her in it, covering her torn clothes. Clearly, the cloak belonged to a man who was helping her tidy her disheveled appearance.
Immediately afterwards, he placed one of his large hands on the back of the woman's head, making her feel comfortable and secure against his burning chest, while his other hand held her slender, fair hand tightly in his embrace, as if to soothe all the pain, fear, grievances, and helplessness she had suffered.
Seeing Xuan Yuanhan tightly embracing the woman in his arms with immense heartache, and witnessing all that was happening before his eyes, how could it escape the notice of Tuoba Hong, Tuoba Ze's younger brother, who had known him since childhood and understood him intimately?
Judging from the look in Xuan Yuanhan's eyes and the things he did in front of outsiders, Tuoba Hong immediately realized that this woman must be the man's darling.
Before Tuoba Ze could finish speaking, Tuoba Hong, seemingly ignoring his words, asked with interest, "And who is he?"
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze was immediately startled. He had just glanced at Xuan Yuanhan and thought to himself, "Judging from how much the King of Western Qin cares about Yi Shangyun, could it be that he has really taken a liking to that girl? This is truly a case of 'a thousand-year-old iron tree finally blossoming'!"
Then, he replied to Tuoba Hong with a contemptuous and resentful tone, "Him? He is the King of Western Qin, Xuanyuan Han. If it weren't for him, my Wanjiao Pavilion wouldn't have been destroyed so quickly, and the Beauty Blood I cultivated through countless hardships, as well as the Ice Beauty Gu I found and refined, wouldn't have vanished. I will settle this score with him one day."
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Hong frowned and turned his gaze to Tuoba Ze. He stared at Tuoba Ze in surprise and exclaimed, "What? You used a human to nourish the blood of a beauty? You even found the extremely rare Ice Beauty and refined it into the extremely evil Ice Beauty Gu?"
In a fit of anger, Tuoba Ze spoke without thinking, revealing his secrets to his younger brother without giving him any warning. Tuoba Ze immediately lowered his head and dared not say another word.
He was naturally afraid that his younger brother would return home and tell their father about it, and who knew how his father would punish him then.
After a moment, Tuoba Hong sighed deeply, a thought flashing through his mind. He had always heard that the God of War, Lingkong, and the King of Western Qin were like an unyielding iceberg, cold and aloof, taciturn, and averse to women. But now, this man standing before him, his eyes filled with tender affection for a humiliated woman, warm and gentle as spring, was he truly the legendary Xuanyuan Han?
His older brother was skilled in horseback riding and archery from a young age, possessed excellent martial arts skills, and had profound internal strength. In this world of spiritual emptiness, there were probably few who could rival him. Of course, it would also be difficult for him to surpass him.
And now, with just two palm strikes and a few kicks, he was able to inflict such severe damage on his brother's heart meridian. Looking at the man's extraordinary bearing, it is undoubtedly Xuan Yuanhan himself.
Thinking of this, Tuoba Hong immediately shouted at Tuoba Ze, "He is the Spirit Void War God, Prince Qin Xuanyuan Han? Hmph... You dare to touch his woman? You've really stirred up a hornet's nest this time. I didn't expect that you've become more and more arrogant and reckless in Western Qin these past few years, not even sparing an ugly woman! That's one thing, but the most important thing is, can't you really see that woman is the Prince Qin's darling?"
Tuoba Ze was immediately taken aback and exclaimed in surprise, "I..."
While the two were still talking, Xuan Yuanhan slowly put Yi Shangyun down and leaned her against the rock, gazing into her eyes with deep affection one last time.
Then, he slowly picked up the sword beside him and stood up. He first turned around and stared at the two of them with wide eyes for a moment, and then, with lightning speed, he flew over like a bolt of lightning.
Xuanyuan Han drew his sword from its sheath, his movements swift as the wind. A flash of white light appeared, and a razor-sharp blade flew out, its tip aimed directly at Tuoba Ze's heart.
Tuoba Ze was still in a daze when Tuoba Hong reacted quickly. As soon as he noticed, he pushed the heavily injured Tuoba Ze away. Tuoba Ze was caught off guard and staggered back several steps before he could stop.
Tuoba Hong quickly raised his sword to block, and the two swords clashed together, producing a crisp clang.
For a moment, their eyes met, both revealing an endless glint of ferocity.
After a brief standoff, they began to wield their double-edged swords in the air, sometimes moving up and down, sometimes advancing and retreating, sometimes attacking and defending... Both of them were skilled, swift and fierce in their swordsmanship, and both were fighting with all their might.
From afar, one could only hear the buzzing sound of swords clashing, the reverberation echoing endlessly in the surrounding air...
Just then, Yi Shangyun, who had been unconscious, suddenly seemed to hear the sounds of sword fighting beside her in her sleep, and slowly woke up.
After struggling for a long time, she finally opened her once beautiful, hazy eyes, and a strange pain immediately swept through her entire body.
As if by instinct, she slowly raised one arm and extended it under her veil, gently stroking and rubbing her face to ease the particular discomfort. She vaguely recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness, while simultaneously looking down at her body, trying to find the source of other inexplicable pains.
But when she suddenly looked down, she saw a man's black cloak draped over her shoulders, and at the same time, she saw that the sleeve of the garment on the arm she was gently stroking her face had been torn to shreds.
A bad feeling immediately arose in her heart, and then, feeling uneasy and anxious, she hurriedly freed her two hands and cautiously lifted the cloak covering her chest to take a look. She found that several of the buttons on her clothes had been torn off and were nowhere to be found.
In an instant, she seemed to recall all the thrilling scenes that had occurred before she lost consciousness, and she couldn't help but freeze and tremble. Her delicate red lips trembled incessantly, and her two rows of white teeth started to chatter and fight.
Then, he looked up sharply and saw Tuoba Ze, who had slapped him unconscious, standing only seven steps away from him, clutching his chest and swaying slightly, as if he had been seriously injured.
He stood to the side, watching intently as two other men in front of him engaged in a fierce battle, swords clashing fiercely.
Looking at all this, the string that had been taut in her mind since she woke up finally snapped.
She immediately closed her eyes tightly, covered her ears with both hands, and shook her head repeatedly with all her might, her expression one of extreme fear. Then she let out a terrifying scream, "Ah..."
This startling sound resounded throughout heaven and earth, shocking all things in the world.
Even Yi Junhao, who had just finished dealing with the funeral arrangements for the madam of Wanjiao Pavilion, who was also his wet nurse, and was rushing to the foot of Beishan Mountain, was shocked by the earth-shattering scream and stopped in his tracks, saying, "Something happened to the girl?"
So he quickened his pace. He had originally intended to go straight ahead, bypassing the North Mountain and heading up the ancient Northwest Road to catch up, but now he simply followed the sound and ran up the mountain.
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