Liang Ye possessed extraordinary martial arts skills. Ordinary masters could barely approach him, but there were too many people around, and his secret guards were almost instantly killed.
Bian Feng stood far away outside the encirclement and called out loudly, “Your Majesty, I know you are skilled, so I specially gathered so many masters. Even if we exhaust your internal energy, I advise Your Majesty to surrender and spare yourself further suffering.”
Rain and blood mixed together. Liang Ye twirled his sword, and several heads fell heavily into the mud. He looked towards the distant Bian Feng, revealing an excited and trembling smile.
Bian Feng’s heart skipped a beat.
The heavy rain poured down. A slender soft sword moved like a poisonous snake, ruthlessly harvesting lives. The sword-wielder’s movements were agile, with long sleeves floating like a ghost, moving so quickly that only a series of residual shadows could be seen. Cold, crazy, yet carrying a captivating allure that made one want to possess and destroy.
This was the true Liang Ye beneath the emperor’s exterior.
It should have been his all along.
Bian Feng gripped the sword at his waist tightly, his burning and admiring gaze following Liang Ye’s movements, satisfiedly watching his actions gradually slow due to exhausted internal energy.
A beautiful and fierce tiger would only expose its weakness when fighting to the point of total exhaustion.
Liang Ye grew more excited with each fight, his eyes tinged with a deep blood-red. He completely disregarded the small wounds on his body, even deliberately letting his opponents think they had succeeded, only to crush their necks in the next instant.
The unbridled pleasure of killing brought extraordinary enjoyment. The near-death situation stimulated every one of his nerves. Everything living before his eyes brought him the desire to destroy and the satisfaction of controlling life and death.
Die, all of you.
Liang Ye’s face bloomed with a brilliant smile, ghostlike as he suddenly appeared behind Bian Feng.
Bian Feng was startled and hastily rolled to the side. The sticky, cold soft sword brushed past his neck, spraying a splash of blood.
“Oh,” Liang Ye regretfully flicked the sword blade, stiffly tilting his head, staring directly at him, “Almost cut it off.”
Bian Feng covered his painful neck, gripping his sword tightly. “I ultimately underestimated Your Majesty.”
“Shall Zhen cut off your head and send it to Bian Cang?” Liang Ye grinned in the rain curtain, horrifically sinister, “Or strip your skin, extract your tendons to make bone arrows for Wang Dian to play with?”
Bian Feng repeatedly retreated in the muddy, bloody ground.
“Too dirty. Scum like you aren’t worthy of him touching,” Liang Ye’s expression suddenly turned cold.
Another wave of people came to entangle and try to rescue Bian Feng, but Liang Ye grew stronger with each battle. Wherever he went, the ground was filled with corpses. He was like a large tiger approaching prey methodically, walking with elegant yet bloody steps, his sharp claws ultimately pressed against the prey’s throat.
“You cannot kill me,” Bian Feng suddenly laughed, showing no fear of the soft sword against his throat. “If you kill me, Chong Heng will not survive.”
Upon hearing Chong Heng’s name, Liang Ye’s dark, gloomy eyes moved slightly, looking at him with a chilling air, producing a questioning sound, “Hmm?”
Bian Feng stared at his face obsessively, speaking softly, “Your Majesty, don’t you want to save Chong Heng? You can exchange me for him.”
Liang Ye’s eyes were full of malice. “No need. You can go accompany him.”
As the long sword rose, Bian Feng’s expression suddenly changed. He shouted loudly, “Everyone at the mountain base is my people. Liang Ye, do you think you can escape?”
“Zhen will kill them all to accompany Chong Heng,” Liang Ye said with an unhappy expression. “Zhen thought you had some real skills.”
Bian Feng’s expression suddenly twisted. At the moment Liang Ye approached, the dagger in his hand suddenly stabbed towards his abdomen. However, only a “clang” was heard. His grip from his tiger’s mouth was numbed, his strength suddenly loosening. Immediately after, Liang Ye kicked and broke his arm, causing him to emit a heart-rending scream.
Liang Ye turned to look at the place where the short arrow had just been shot.
“Young Master, have… we been discovered?” Chang Li looked at Wang Dian, who was leisurely retracting his sleeve arrow, feeling somewhat nervous.
After all, the Emperor looked like he had gone completely mad. Standing amid the pile of corpses, he turned back and looked as if an evil ghost from hell was preparing to claim lives.
Wang Dian’s legs felt numb as he stood up, supporting himself on Chang Li’s shoulder. With a wooden expression, he stepped through the muddy blood towards Liang Ye.
Liang Ye recognized the approaching person, and the smile on his face slowly expanded. Without hesitation, he stepped on Bian Feng’s chest and extended a hand towards Wang Dian.
Wang Dian glanced disgustedly at the blood-covered hand, paused for a moment, and then tightly grasped it.
Liang Ye eagerly licked his itchy canine tooth and, with a turn of his sword backhandedly, was about to stab towards Bian Feng’s head.
“Liang Ye,” Wang Dian called his name.
The extremely fast soft sword suddenly stopped, barely hovering above Bian Feng’s brow, its tip piercing the skin and releasing a drop of bright red blood, quickly washed away by the rain into a faint reddish color.
Liang Ye turned his head, looking unhappily at Wang Dian.
“Keep him alive,” Wang Dian said coldly. “Exchange him for Chong Heng.”
Liang Ye scoffed dismissively, his face showing that such scum couldn’t be used to rescue anyone. Wang Dian pulled him over with a slight force, “Chang Li, tie him up.”
Chang Li nimbly grabbed the limp Bian Feng from the ground.
Wang Dian used some strength to pry the soft sword’s hilt from Liang Ye’s hand, wrapping it back into its scabbard. Liang Ye stared at him gloomily. Wang Dian coldly glanced back, reaching out to wipe away the blood on Liang Ye’s face that the rain couldn’t wash off. “Idiot.”
The breath Liang Ye was holding suddenly relaxed, and he vomited dark, murky blood from his throat. More than half of his body leaned on Wang Dian, his arm trembling minutely in the rain from exhaustion. He closed his eyes and buried his head in Wang Dian’s shoulder, letting out a low laugh.
Wang Dian looked at the ground full of severed limbs and blood. Bian Feng had indeed spent considerable effort to capture Liang Ye, but he had underestimated Liang Ye’s recklessness. Of over a hundred people, Liang Ye had barely left them half a life, killing with extremely cruel methods, like a large dismemberment machine.
“You really kept your composure,” Liang Ye breathed with fiery pain, irritably biting Wang Dian, “Zhen could barely hold on.”
These people’s martial arts were not weak. By halfway through the fight, his internal energy was nearly depleted. The later part was just him forcing himself, otherwise, he wouldn’t have given Bian Feng a chance to sneak attack.
“I only brought one person,” Wang Dian said coldly and mercilessly. “Going up to help would be like sending food. It’s better to save strength to collect your corpse.”
Liang Ye laughed muffled, spat out more blood, and whimpered while hugging Wang Dian’s waist. “It hurts.”
Wang Dian carried him impatiently, “Serves you right. Bear the pain.”
Nearby, the bound Bian Feng watched their intimate interaction, so jealous his eyes almost bled. However, with his mouth blocked, he could only glare angrily and resentfully.
Wang Dian supported Liang Ye and looked coldly at Bian Feng. “General Bian need not wait any longer. Your soldiers down the mountain can’t come up.”
Chang Li understood and pulled the cloth from Bian Feng’s mouth.
“What do you mean!” Bian Feng stared at him fixedly.
“I indeed only brought one person up the mountain,” Wang Dian looked down at him, “but I also brought His Majesty’s personal soldiers to eliminate mountain bandits.”
Bian Feng glared ferociously at Liang Ye, “Your Majesty! How can you hand military power to someone like Wang Dian! Aren’t you afraid he will rebel!”
Liang Ye moved slightly, apparently wanting to turn and look at Bian Feng, but Wang Dian pressed down on his neck and held him in his embrace, making him stay still. Wang Dian spoke with a cold voice. “I was originally planning to rebel, but this fool ruined my grand scheme. Only by crushing your bones and scattering your ashes can I relieve my hatred.”
Bian Feng began to struggle violently, roaring, “Your Majesty! Did you hear that? He is not truly loyal to you! He wants to rebel! Why won’t you kill him!?”
Liang Ye’s ears hurt from his shouting. He tried to reach for a sword, but Wang Dian gripped his wrist. He weakly struggled but couldn’t break free, so he resigned himself.
“I must actually thank you,” Wang Dian smiled slightly. “Now Liang Ye is completely mine.”
Bian Feng suddenly leaped up from the ground but was kicked in the stomach by Chang Li, falling heavily into the pile of corpses. His roar was stuffed back into his mouth with a cloth strip.
Killing one’s spirit, Chang Li thought Bian Feng was nearly being talked to death by his master, and it would be more merciful to just kill him with a single blade. His eyes were about to burst.
“Take him away,” Wang Dian’s voice turned cold as he supported Liang Ye and turned to walk forward.
Chang Li roughly dragged Bian Feng up from the corpse pile. “Move!”
Thunderous killing sounds rose from the mountain base. Bian Feng’s expression turned fierce.
“Chong Heng is at Zhangmu Mountain,” Wang Dian whispered while supporting Liang Ye. “I’ve already sent Chang Ying with people to rescue him. We’ll take the water route. We’ll make it in time.”
Liang Ye mumbled an indistinct response.
Liang Ye had numerous knife wounds. Wang Dian’s jaw was tightly clenched. “Can’t you run if you can’t fight? Must you always prove your prowess?”
Liang Ye twisted his mouth corner. “Must capture Bian Feng… exchange for Chong Heng.”
“But you were about to kill him just now,” Wang Dian, seeing Liang Ye’s half-dead appearance, felt fire rising in his heart.
“Angry,” Liang Ye complained weakly and aggrievedly. “So many people bullied me, and you just watched.”
“…..” Wang Dian kicked away the nearby limb fragments, suddenly feeling this fellow was purely looking for an excuse to kill.
Ready to go crazy at any time, no matter how critical the situation, he had to enjoy himself first.
Crazy pervert.
The rain had weakened considerably. Wang Dian wiped the rainwater from his face and moved his nose. “Liang Ye, do you smell something?”
“Hmm,” Liang Ye nodded with drooping eyelids. “You smell nice, like post-rain hawthorn on your neck.”
Wang Dian slowly furrowed his brow. “Seems a bit like… gunpowder?”
“Young Master!” Chang Li suddenly called from behind.
Wang Dian quickly turned his head and met Bian Feng’s maniacal gaze. Chang Li could only grab a wet piece of paper.
A dazzling signal burst through the rain curtain and exploded in the sky. The ground began to shake slightly.
Bian Feng laughed madly, staring fixedly at Liang Ye. “Your Majesty, I forgot to tell you, this is also our joint burial tomb.”
Lightning tore through the pitch-black sky. Thunder seemed to sound right by their ears. The rain suddenly became urgent, crashing down.
Accompanied by tremendous underground noise, massive stone blocks rolled down from all around. In an instant, the mountain collapsed, the sky’s shadows suddenly enveloping them.
That sky-covering shadow slowly approached in Wang Dian’s eyes, yet in an instant, it seemed infinitely delayed. Upon recognizing what it was, his pupils suddenly dilated.
Liang Ye suddenly pushed at his waist and roared, “Run!”
