Chapter 68 [VIP]
Bright flames illuminated the palace. Upon seeing this, Mu'e, Feixin, and Mingli all thrust their swords towards the young man in the center. The young man stood in the heart of the flames, his eyes blazing with a radiant light, the halberd behind him scorched by the flames, its center radiating fire. His figure was like that of a martial star emerging from a mural, his crimson earrings making him even more dazzling.
The flames seemed poised to burn down the temple, destroy the goddess's lamp, and turn this place of faith into ruins.
With a "bang," two young girls' silver swords pierced through the flames. Murong Yue immediately turned to the side, his halberd clashing with the sword blades. In the gap where the swords were flipped, he used the halberd to press down, sweeping out a gust of wind.
The blade buzzed as it grazed the flames. Murong Yue swung his halberd, the blade sweeping across the girl's neck. Just as it was about to pierce her, he saw the ear cartilage that had been pierced, just like his own. Through the black bars, he saw the young man's profile; the young man was injured, unaware that he had caused such a ruckus here.
If he were to wake up, he would certainly not like him killing and setting fires. If he were to behead these girls at this moment... he knew the young man would not want him to do that.
This place was originally an ideal land where the young man hoped his dreams would come true. Even if he were deceived, he would still forgive the other party. He knew… he knew everything, so he couldn't do that. That person was just like that, incredibly strict with himself, yet incredibly forgiving of others. He embodied virtue through his own conduct, reaching the utmost clarity and brightness, the utmost radiance and the utmost moonlight.
"Ah—" Murong Yue gritted his teeth. He knocked the longsword out of the girl's hand and struck her on the back of the neck with a palm strike, knocking both girls unconscious. Judging from their appearance, they were only fourteen or fifteen years old. At such a young age, they had already undergone a great deal of training, and their masks seemed to be welded to their faces.
He hoisted the two girls up like sacks, tied them together, and placed them in the center of the fire. His halberd stood upright on the ground, and a clamor of voices rose from nearby. A group of soldiers surrounded the area, and the woman who led the way, entering from the entrance, was none other than Li Miaosuo. Li Miaosuo had a face resembling Guanyin, and upon seeing this scene, her eyes held a half-smile. The six shadow guards behind her seemed to blend into her shadow.
“Look at you. Your Highness, why did you set fire to my place? Didn’t we meet the other day? Look, Lord Lu is perfectly fine. Why did you have to demolish my palace? Your actions are truly no different from those of a demon king,” Li Miaosuo sighed.
Murong Yue sneered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. He turned his halberd, and the tip of the blade was aimed at the two girls he had tied up.
"You witch, you deceived my brother and made him suffer. Your two daughters are now in my hands. If you want me to spare their lives, release my brother immediately. Otherwise, today will be the anniversary of your daughters' death."
The flames fueled Murong Yue's momentum; his youthful spirit and sharp halberd made him resemble a fanged deity amidst the flames of war, while the truth of the matter was revealed within them.
Li Miaosuo: "Your Highness, I should be the one saying this. If you surrender, I might spare your brother's life. My daughters are born to serve the faith. If they die at your hands today, they will have sacrificed themselves for my Sao Sect, and I will erect statues for them. You should take a look at the Shadow Guard behind me... Do you know the former troops of Prince Xie? The Shadow Guard was originally the former troops of Prince Xie's mansion. The Shadow Guard kills without shedding blood. You should think carefully. If you remain stubborn, today may be your death day."
The woman's image, like a bewitching ghost in the flames, transformed into the unyielding saintess. The enormous statue of the saintess cast a long shadow, enveloping the entire palace and illuminating the believers within.
"Killing without shedding blood?" Murong Yue laughed, his gloomy demeanor truly befitting a demon king. Emerging from the cracks in the flames, the long halberd in his hand seemed poised to shatter the ever-burning sacred lamp.
"Witch! Bring it on! Let's see if your old subordinate Xie Wang is any better, or if my halberd is more powerful. I'll make your entire cave pay for your delusions."
After Murong Yue finished speaking, the fire blurred the cave, and the scattered believers who went to search for the jewels obscured his figure, and he disappeared in an instant.
"How did you guard him? How could you let him in so easily?" Li Miaosuo asked.
The guards behind her stopped the believer and replied, "We sent more than a dozen guards, but there has been no news from them; they have probably all died at his hands."
"With a hundred Shadow Guards in my sect, surely we can catch a mouse?" Li Miaosuo asked, glancing sideways.
She watched as the guards lowered their heads and looked in the direction Murong Yue had left. It seemed she knew the terrain of her sect intimately; in just an hour, if that was truly the case, then the Murong family had left behind a talented child, and this child absolutely could not be allowed to remain. She went forward to untie the ropes binding Mu'e and Mingli, checking the two girls' pulses; though unconscious, they were still breathing.
Li Miaosuo: "Chase after them and bring me their heads."
Ancient historical records state that the Martial Star descended to earth, possessing an innate memory for all terrains and rivers, impervious to external injuries, and innate superhuman strength. They are skilled in wielding a divine halberd, capable of commanding hearts, and possess both courage and wisdom. They are destined for greatness, enjoying exceptional fortune, able to turn adversity into good fortune, and transform every twist and turn into a blessing.
Tengluo watched anxiously from her cell, listening to the screams of guards coming from the path where Murong Yue had left. She worried about both His Highness and the young master, glancing to either side every now and then.
His Highness acts too capriciously, always catching people off guard. He's eccentric and unpredictable, and it's hard to know what he's thinking. It seems that he's already thrown the Vajrayana sect into complete chaos.
"Cough..." Lu Xuejin opened his eyes, choked by the thick smoke. He looked at the scene outside the cell, his cheeks covered in a layer of cold sweat.
"Young Master! You're awake?" Tengluo asked. "Is your injury any better? Does it still hurt...? I only gave you a quick stitch. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. The young prince has barged in, and Li Miaosuo is sending people to chase after him."
Tengluo: "Young master, see if you can get up. We should look for an opportunity."
Lu Xuejin felt a tearing pain in his abdominal cavity with every breath, a pain that pierced his lungs and made it difficult for him to remain calm. The pain in his abdomen was pressing towards his temples, the sharp pain causing his body to contort. Hearing Tengluo's words, another layer of sweat broke out on his forehead as he looked towards the direction of the raging fire.
"Your Highness? Where is Your Highness now?" he asked.
Tengluo: "His Highness has already left, gone deep into the cave, and this servant does not know where His Highness went."
As she spoke, Tengluo bent down to wipe his sweat and said to him, "Young master, there's no need to worry... This servant believes in Your Highness. Your Highness has already arrived, and Ziyan must be here as well. We can definitely get out of here."
Lu Xuejin looked at the burning flames. Because it was set by the boy, the fire looked terrifying yet had a gentle brightness, and the fire was no longer so frightening.
With the Shadow Guards splitting up and quelling the fire, the scattered believers quickly dispersed and fled, and order was immediately restored. However, many black corpses lay on the ground. The young man wielded an incredibly sharp halberd, his moves unpredictable. Within an hour, the blood of the guards in the cave had stained the ground beneath his feet.
When this news reached Li Miaosuo's ears, she said, "Even if we have to turn the underground palace upside down, we must find him. The cave must be completely surrounded; not even a fly should be allowed to get out."
After she finished speaking, the guard responded with a "Yes" and withdrew. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had experienced all sorts of storms, yet now her brows were furrowed. Seeing the woman in the mirror frowning, she couldn't help but sigh, then her smile softened, and she returned to her gentle demeanor.
Perhaps it's because I'm getting old, but I'm getting distracted by a kid who hasn't even grown up yet.
There was a knock at the door, and she said "Come in," followed by the sound of someone pushing the door open and entering.
"Where is Mu'e? Tell her to come see me," Li Miaosuo said.
She heard light footsteps, identical to those of her maid, but the maid had not yet answered. When she looked in the mirror, she saw the boy with his back to her. The boy was dressed in her personal maid's attire, a white hooded robe almost completely obscuring his face. The blood on his cheeks had not yet been wiped away, and his gloomy eyes were stained with a layer of blood, spreading a sinister light with unbridled arrogance due to his triumph.
The air grew almost silent. In those few seconds, Li Miaosuo pondered where her teachings had gone wrong, leading to such a flaw. The ghostly youth had somehow appeared behind her, a dagger materializing in his hand, pressed against her neck in the mirror.
"Look at you, so old and still staying outside the city. If you were in the city heavily guarded, it would be difficult to deal with you, but you only have a hundred Shadow Guards in your cave. If you want to kill me... why don't you check my background? In the Lidu military camp, I could easily kill a hundred people when I was fifteen."
Murong Yue: "You are far inferior to the King of Wei... The King of Wei personally killed me twice. I remember clearly how that dagger pierced my heart and rendered me speechless. I have replayed it hundreds of times in my dreams... I have reminded myself again and again not to make such a mistake again."
"Brother Changyou regards you as a worthy opponent, but in my eyes you are just talking about ideals. Your heavy army is as fragile as paper. When you encounter a tough opponent, it will disintegrate with a gentle breath. If I were you, I would have already turned this Dingzhou City into a military paradise, making the soldiers obey me and training their will. Is it because you are a woman... that you cannot convince this Shadow Guard?"
Li Miaosuo burst into laughter, and her profile appeared in the mirror. Her kind eyes curved into a smile, and her laughter made the candlelight flicker.
"Your Highness has a sharp tongue. With your great talent and ability, I was careless and underestimated you. Now I've been tricked by this little brat. Go ahead and kill me. Even as a ghost, I'll see if you can leave my Twin-Colored Mountain. My sect is full of death warriors. What will you do?"
Upon hearing this, Murong Yue laughed in the mirror. His fan-shaped eyes were illuminated by the candlelight, and his dark pupils beneath his thick eyelashes were filled with a sharp smile. He bared his teeth, and his canine teeth flashed by.
“Hey, Miss Li, I’m afraid I can’t afford to take your life. Since you’re the leader of the sect, you should understand this principle better than I do. People’s hearts are easily swayed. If I shout in the street that I have ten thousand taels of silver, people will come to me to swindle money. If I firmly believe in something, people will flock to my side. Today, you’ll see how I use your reputation to take my brother away from your temple.”
"Without you, this religion is just a disorganized mess, not worth mentioning."
As soon as he finished speaking, Murong Yue flipped the dagger in his hand and plunged it into Li Miaosuo's abdomen with a "thud." Xue Yi's assassination moves were etched into his memory a thousand times over, and now he had learned this move to deal with Xue Yi's Shadow Guards.
Li Miaosuo still wore a smile and remained calm, but blood was gushing from her abdomen, and her face gradually turned pale.
Murong Yue, holding Li Miaosuo hostage with a dagger pointed at her neck, swaggered out of the palace gates. Although this woman possessed the will to sacrifice herself for her lord, her followers were all members of the sect, devoted to her. Moreover, she was now the spiritual and financial symbol of the sect; how could her soldiers and followers willingly watch her die in vain?
As he pushed the person out, Changdi, who had rushed over from outside the door and was also one of Li Miaosuo's daughters, immediately retreated a few steps with her guards upon seeing this.
The flute player paused and said, "—Mother."
Although Li Miaosuo was under control, her will was extremely firm. She did not cry out in pain when her abdomen was pierced, and still smiled and said, "What are you still standing there for? If you don't kill him today, I will cut off all your heads if I survive."
"Hurry up and do it."
Silence fell over the air. The image of her face was reflected in the flute mask. The long sword in her hand remained unsheathed for a long time. In the silence, the flute put the sword aside and looked at Murong Yue.
"Release my mother. What do you want?" the flute asked.
“Look at you, you don’t care about your daughters’ lives, but your daughters care about you… But I guess you actually hope your daughters are as venomous as you. Am I right?” Murong Yue noticed the subtle change in Li Miaosuo’s expression and couldn’t help but gloat from the side.
Murong Yue: "I will spare your mother's life if you release my brother and my sister."
Li Miaosuo looked at Changdi with a half-smile. Changdi was her eldest daughter, whom she had often beaten and scolded, yet she still dared not look at her. Although she had inherited her stubbornness, she had also inherited her father's cowardice, finding it difficult to make decisions and unwilling to bear the guilt of murdering her mother.
“Ninth Prince, your penetrating insight into people’s hearts is truly displeasing,” Li Miaosuo said.
Changdi and Mu'e released the prisoners. Lu Xuejin and Tengluo came out of the cell, and the three of them could hardly remain calm when they met. Changdi and Mu'e glared at Murong Yue, afraid that he would change his mind and refuse to release the prisoners.
"Your Highness!" Tengluo burst into tears and rubbed against Lu Xuejin's sleeve as she helped him up.
Lu Xuejin noticed the boy's hands were covered in blood and he seemed to have several injuries. His eyes flickered as he looked at him, and he couldn't look away. He paused for a moment, looking at the place where Li Miaosuo was injured. Wasn't that the same place where he was injured?
The injury was exactly the same as his; the boy had acted this way deliberately, as if to avenge him. He was filled with mixed emotions.
They prepared a carriage, and Murong Yue took Li Miaosuo with him. Only after they entered the city and he met up with Ziyan at the entrance did he release her. Faint lights and smoke rose from the distant Twin-Colored Mountain; the goddess's lamp had gone out.
The carriage reeked of blood. Lu Xuejin, seeing Li Miaosuo reunite with her daughters, feared they would still pursue them. Just as he withdrew his gaze, the boy beside him took off his hooded robe and threw himself into his arms.
"Brother Changyou!"
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