Chapter 237 Like a hook, you just can't catch it.
"Alright!" Lu Xiaojun laughed reassuringly, "If we die here today, we won't be alone on the road to the underworld."
"Young Master Mei," Feng Shisan laughed heartily, "Everyone needs companionship, and I, Young Master Shisan, don't want to be all alone. If you don't mind, how about we keep each other company on the road to the Yellow Springs?"
Without hesitation, Mei Shiyu replied, "To be able to die alongside you, Thirteenth Young Master, is my great fortune."
"Really?" Feng Shisan stood protectively in front of him, looking up at the sky with glee, "Then let me kill to my heart's content, and sing and dance on the road to the Yellow Springs. I'll put on a grand opera for you."
Hearing the sounds of fighting between two groups of people outside the hall, Mu You finally turned around. "Chen Bi, how dare you lead the Black Hawk Guard to plot against me?"
"Your subject dares not." A surge of grief and indignation welled up in Mu Chenbi.
"You dared not, yet you did it anyway," Mu You roared. "What, are you going to let the Black Hawk Guards storm in, kill me, and let you succeed to the throne?"
“Your Majesty, I did not.” Mu Chenbi shook his head violently. “The Black Hawk Guards only wanted to protect your Majesty, nothing more. Father, please let them go.”
Mu You glanced at the crowd, no longer looking at Mu Chenbi, "Let them go? They are already blood enemies. If we let them go, who will let me go?"
Mu Chenbi, finally overcome with fear of his aloof father, knelt on the ground, his knees buckling. "Father, I swear on my life, if you spare them, they will never set foot in Rongdu again..."
"Mu Chenbi!" Guan Ye shouted, "At this point, what are you still begging him for? He won't let us go, and he won't let you go either."
Mu Chenbi felt a chill run down his spine, his eyes glancing at his brother's unseeing death. "Le Xiu... is dead..."
“The Second Prince wouldn’t have died originally,” Guan Ye shouted again. “It was him.” Guan Ye angrily pointed at Mu You. “He said that no one should leave Zetian Palace alive. Without his authorization, Lou Cangyu couldn’t have killed your brother, Mu Chenbi. He even wanted to kill you, and you actually knelt down and begged him to spare everyone?”
“Father…” Mu Chenbi’s eyes were wet with tears. Outside the palace, blood flowed like a river in the fighting, and inside the palace, everyone was covered in wounds. He knew that Luo Yichen and the Black Eagle Guards would shed their last drop of blood for him, and he also knew that if they held on until the end, none of them would survive.
Mu You coldly looked at his son, clearly no longer wanting to fight them. He shouted in a hoarse voice, "Kill one traitor and I will be granted the title of Marquis of a Thousand Households; kill two traitors and I will be granted the title of Purple Robe. Kill them! Kill them for me!"
"Yes!" The surviving Eagle Guards and assassins were bloodthirsty, looking at the group as if they had found a gold mine.
Several swords slashed at Feng Shisan in quick succession. Feng Shisan fought back with all his might, but with a clang, his sword broke into several pieces. Feng Shisan cursed and dodged, "What the hell did the inner workshop forge? My sword is broken!" Seeing someone staring at the unarmed Mei Shiyu, Feng Shisan leaped and tackled Mei Shiyu to the ground. Then, with a somersault, he sprang up and thrust his broken sword straight at the attacker's chest. He stirred up the approaching assassins, and the bloody scene terrified them, causing them to retreat in fear, exchanging glances and not daring to charge forward. "Come on, if you're not afraid to die, then come at me!" Feng Shisan slid out his broken sword and brandished it arrogantly like a mad lion. "So what if you're granted titles and ranks? Do you even have the life to enjoy them? Come on, come on!"
Seeing that the reinforcements outside the hall could not break through for the time being, and that the people inside the hall were bloodthirsty and fearless, Mu You slowly walked to the table, quietly touched down with his palm, and when he stretched out his hand, there was a sword in his hand.
—The Chaoge Sword. With just one glance, Lu Xiaojun recognized it as the sword her sister had forged herself.
"Sister's sword!" Lu Xiaojun cried out, "Mu You, you are not worthy to keep the Chaoge sword."
"The Chaoge Sword." Ajiu and Mu Chenbi looked at the same time, and Mu You had already drawn the Chaoge Sword.
"I'm going to kill you." Memories flooded back, and Lu Xiaojun's face was almost contorted with rage. "You seduced my sister, deceived my father, harmed my Tianhu, and wiped out my entire clan! I'm going to kill you!"
Lu Xiaojun roared and slashed her sword, carving a bloody path. However, Mu You's personal guards kept surging forward to block her. No matter how brave Lu Xiaojun was, even as she swung her sword and drew blood, she couldn't break through the wall of men. Mu You's lips curled up slightly, revealing a disdainful smile.
Ajiu pulled Mu Chenbi up and pushed him in front of Guan Ye. "Mu You is still your father. You have helped us a lot. We have no reason to force you to kill him. Protect Guan Ye. I will kill the man."
"A-Jiu..." "A-Jiu!" Mu Chenbi and Guan Ye shouted in unison. A-Jiu wielded her sword and charged into the human wall like lightning, determined to fight her way out alongside Lu Xiaojun.
With a horizontal saber like a swimming dragon and a sharp sword like a nimble snake, the combined killing intent of the two weapons increased dramatically. They pierced straight into the Eagle Guard's armor, each strike cutting flesh and aiming to seal the throat. Seeing the guards in front of him fall one by one, Mu You couldn't help but tighten his grip on the Chaoge Sword, a hint of fear flashing across his usually composed face.
"Guards! Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!" Chang Lu shouted shrilly from behind the pillar. "Where are the Imperial Guards?"
A palace window suddenly shattered, and a black-armored eagle guard covered in blood fell into Zetian Palace. Mu Chenbi recognized the familiar young face of the eagle guard and was about to rush to guard the window when another eagle guard used his body as a shield in front of the broken window, desperately holding onto this last line of defense.
"All Black Hawk Guards who are still alive, listen to my command! Guard the palace gates to the death and protect His Highness the Crown Prince!" Luo Yichen roared, his throat hoarse. "Protect His Highness!"
"Yes, sir!"
Wushuang's green robe had turned into a blood-stained garment. She had lost count of how many people she had killed, but the enemies in the hall were like an endless swarm of locusts. No matter how many she killed, many more would emerge. Wushuang knew she could not delay any longer. Since things had come to this, she had no choice but to fight back.
Wushuang turned around and saw that Ajiu and Lu Xiaoyun had already fought their way out, lightly stepping on someone's shoulder and streaking across the hall like a meteor. With a crisp sound, the Meteor Sword was already pressed against the Chaoge Sword in Mu You's hand. The two swords clashed, and both of them were startled.
"Wushuang!" Lu Xiaojun cried out, "Get out of my way! I'll avenge the blood feud with Tianhufang. You step back!"
Seeing that Wushuang seemed not to have heard her and did not move, Lu Xiaojun shouted again, "Wushuang, are you not listening to your uncle? Get out of here!"
Guan Ye knew, of course, that Wu Shuang killing Mu You was an act of patricide that could not be tolerated by heaven and earth. No matter how much Mu You wronged Lu Chaoge and her daughter, he and Wu Shuang were still inseparable by blood. Patricide would be punished by heaven, and even if Wu Shuang succeeded, she would be trapped in a deep abyss for the rest of her life, suffering unbearable torment.
No matter how much Lu Xiaojun hated Mu You, he would never allow his only remaining family member to commit the divine punishment of patricide; he would rather bear the consequences himself.
Wu Shuang struggled to lift her head, meeting Mu You's enigmatic gaze. Her hands, gripping the sword, trembled uncontrollably. She tried to meet his eyes, yet fear gripped her heart. Mu You had harmed so many people; she hated him to the core. But with the Meteor Sword in her hand and her enemy so close, she suddenly lost the courage to kill.
"You dare not?" Mu You whispered. "Is it not allowed?"
These words were like the whispers of a demon, disturbing Wushuang's peace of mind. Mu You saw Wushuang's cowardice and chuckled softly, "At first, I was skeptical of your story. You are my daughter? A woman who fell from the sky and claimed to be my daughter? Perhaps it was a fabricated character you made up to lure me into a trap. Until now." Mu You lightly tapped the Meteor Sword, "Until you stood before me with the Meteor Sword in your hand, yet could not wield it, only then could I be certain that you truly are my daughter. You are filled with hatred but have lost your killing intent. You dare not, you cannot do it, because you are afraid."
“You’re afraid of divine retribution!” Mu You drew his sword and pointed it at the sky. “A father can kill his son, can kill you, but you cannot kill me, and you will never be able to kill me.”
Divine retribution? Wushuang was shocked, and gritted her teeth, saying, "I killed my sister, which is already unforgivable by heaven and earth. Divine retribution? Why would I be afraid of divine retribution? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation. You deserve to die, you deserve to die. I will kill you."
"If it weren't for me, where would you be?" Mu You asked with a strange and unparalleled gaze, his tone cryptic.
Wushuang's sword, which she had just drawn, suddenly stopped in mid-air. After a moment's hesitation, Mu You's Chaoge sword was already thrusting towards her vitals. Mu You exerted great force, seemingly aiming to kill Wushuang directly. Wushuang could not dodge in time and could only swing her sword to defend. The two swords clashed, and another familiar crisp sound rang out...
Guan Ye looked up in surprise upon hearing the sound and saw that Mu You's Chaoge sword was now only half a hilt, the blade broken in two, and had fallen at Wushuang's feet.
The sword that Lu Chaoge forged himself was actually cut in half by the Meteor Sword forged by Guan Ye.
"How could this be?" Mu You looked at the broken sword in his hand in disbelief. "Chaoge... how could your sword be broken? Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Mu Youcang's eyes froze. This familiar scene... On the Lingbo Platform, he witnessed the Xingguo Ward's Golden Sword being severed by Wushuang, and he was deeply shocked by it. Before this, he had only heard about that unprecedented battle between two heroes from his elders. A hundred years later, the same ending was being replayed in front of him. He sighed, "Could this be fate?"
—That's fate…
"Peerless!" Cui Jin roared, his single eye gleaming with murderous intent, as he raised his curved blade and shouted, "Kill him!"
"Wushuang...no!" Lu Xiaojun stumbled, trying to deliver the final blow for Wushuang.
"I do not believe in fate." Mu You threw down the broken sword and tried to snatch the Meteor Sword from Wu Shuang's hands with his bare hands. Wu Shuang never expected Mu You to do this. Mu You took the Meteor Sword away and hurriedly tried to grab it back. Mu You punched her in the chest with his left fist. The force was so great that Wu Shuang fell to the ground. The sound of ribs breaking could be faintly heard. Wu Shuang screamed in pain and spat out blood.
With the meteor in hand, Mu You seemed to have victory in his grasp. He pointed the sword directly at Wu Shuang, who was lying on the ground, and approached her step by step.
"Don't kill her." Lu Xiaojun wanted to save her, but she was surrounded by the Eagle Guards and couldn't go forward. "Mu You, she is your daughter, the daughter your sister risked her life to protect. Don't kill her."
"Daughter?" Mu You sneered. "When she pointed her sword at me, did she ever think about who she was going to kill? So unfilial! Let me, her father, take back her life. I have given her life, but I can also kill her and take it back."
"No!" Lu Xiaoyun cried out hoarsely, "Sister, sister, A-Jing, A-Jing, save us..."
Cui Jin looked back in despair and saw Mu You raise the Meteor Sword to Wushuang. He wanted to step forward to stop her, but the distance was just like the fishing boat he couldn't catch up with back then. He could only watch helplessly as the young lady walked away, never to meet her again in this life.
Cui Jin roared and threw his curved blade, which spun like a crescent moon and struck the Meteor Sword. Mu You sneered and swung his sword, knocking the curved blade to the ground. Just like Ah Jing who collapsed from exhaustion back then, if you can't catch up, you can't catch up; if you can't save someone, you can only watch them go. It was the same back then, and it is the same now.
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