The one who entered was cold and gloomy. It was Pei You, who had been chased away earlier. Even Bi Linglong was surprised. She hadnât expected it to be him.
âDidnât you run away? You dare to come back?!â The Gu clan brothers were shocked and furious.
Pei You harrumphed. âWhy wouldnât I dare to come back? Even though all of you turned against me with all of your false accusations, I know Iâm innocent. Furthermore, when I realized that Zu An was chased away as well, I knew someone in this party might be targeting us. I knew that in that situation, it didnât matter what I said, so I decided that I might as well leave and watch from afar. I knew that since the mastermind wanted to chase us away, that meant they would definitely eventually make a move. And sure enough, I noticed that the two of you secretly sprayed drugs into the bonfire.â
Bi Linglong asked unhappily, âIn that case, why didnât you expose them on the spot?â
Pei You said indifferently, âWould you all believe me if I said anything? The others might instead turn around and take a bite out of me instead. I wouldnât be able to justify myself even if I had all the mouths in the world, so it would be better to wait until they revealed their evil schemes.â
Gu Xing roared with laughter. âPei You, Pei You, I didnât expect you to be such a shrewd fella. However, youâre alone, and Linglong is injured. Even if she werenât injured, the two of you arenât our match.â
The Gu clan brothers were born from the same mother. Even though they often disapproved of each other, they still understood each other. When they worked together, they became much stronger than simply adding them together.
Just then, another voice spoke up. âThen what if Iâm included as well?â
The Gu clan brothers trembled. They turned around in disbelief, exclaiming, âWhy are you here too?!â
This person was serious, his gaze resolute. His hair was combed meticulously. Who else could it be but the Liu clanâs Gao Ying?
âI should be unconscious, right?â Gao Ying sneered. âI didnât feel that anything was strange when Zu An was chased out, but when Pei You was chased out, I felt something was fishy. Unfortunately, at the time, I was suspicious of everyone, so I didnât say anything and just watched carefully. Iâve finally caught the two of you in the act, but I didnât dare to warn the others, or else it wouldnât just be me alone here.â
Gu Hengâs conflicted expression changed several times. The two of them had been blinded by lust. They should have dealt with the other young masters first, yet in the end, they were so infatuated they couldnât hold themselves back. They should have anticipated that someone as meticulous and earnest as Gao Ying would carry some suspicion.
Gu Xing harrumphed. âArenât you a bit too confident? If the other young masters were here, we might be completely helpless, but unfortunately, you were too careful. Youâre alone, and even if you have Pei You to help you, we brothers are still not afraid of you.â
âI alone am enough!â As soon as Gao Ying finished speaking, the powerful cry of a sword being drawn rang out. His figure vanished from his original location.
The Gu clan brothers were shocked and instinctively protected themselves with their weapons. Sparks flew from the friction between their blades. Both of them staggered, but they still blocked the attack.
Gao Ying was surprised. âI didnât expect the two of you to actually be hiding your cultivation.â
Gu Heng said coldly, âDo you think that only your first rate clansâ disciples work hard? We second-rate clans can only work even harder from birth to have a chance of defeating you all who had a head start.â
Bi Linglong said coldly, âDonât insult the words âwork hardâ. Shameless and despicable people like you two can only be more dangerous to society the harder you try.â
Gu Hengâs usual character had completely shattered now after being criticized so harshly by the one he loved. âWho decides whatâs just and whatâs evil? Why is our effort harmful to society? In my opinion, itâs merely the victor who decides the rules. Once we help King Qi rise to the throne, weâll become the subjects of the rightful ruler, and everything weâve done will be viewed as righteous by the governmentâ¦â
âNoisy!â Gao Ying didnât have the patience to listen to his speech. A flash of cold light shot straight at Gu Hengâs tongue.
Gu Heng was already prepared. When he saw the attack, he raised his blade to block it. Gu Xing also surreptitiously counterattacked from the side.
Pei You also made his move. Even though Gao Ying sounded confident, there was no way he would really let the other party face these two alone. If any mishap happened, they would be throwing away such a favorable advantage.
The four of them began to fight. Gao Yingâs cultivation was higher than that of the two brothers, but he couldnât make much progress against their excellent teamwork.
However, a while later, Pei You snorted coldly. He clearly didnât want to hold back anymore either. His sword erupted with brilliance. Many wounds appeared on the Gu clan brothersâ bodies in almost an instant. Even though they werenât serious, their defeat was already decided.
âRun!â Gu Heng quickly exclaimed. At the same time, he tried to rush out. They had some trusted aides among their subordinates, and the warriors loyal to the crown princess were already unconscious. If they could get those warriors to join them, they could reverse the situation.
Gao Ying clearly saw through their thoughts. âYou want to run?!â He immediately cut them off. The sword in his hands appeared in their path, as if it were waiting for them to run into it.
But just then, something suddenly happened. A palm suddenly reached in from outside and silently pressed against Gao Yingâs back. A mouthful of blood gushed out from Gao Yingâs mouth. His face turned incredibly pale and his body crashed into the ground like a broken sack. He tried to stand up, but he couldnât, even after trying several times.
Pei You became more vigilant at once. He quickly backed up, but he was too late. That dark figure rushed out like lightning, their speed several times greater than his. A palm slammed straight into his chest. Pei You immediately used his most powerful sword technique to protect himself, his defenses seamless. As long as he was given even a moment of a breather, he would have a chance to increase the distance between them. Then, he could slowly whittle down their enemy with the crown princess.
Unfortunately, his enemyâs palm easily tore through his defenses. A brittle noise sounded, and then Pei Youâs precious sword snapped into several pieces. That palm gently pressed against his chest. Pei Youâs chest clearly caved in by several inches. Blood poured out of his mouth as he lay on the ground. He could only exhale, and he couldnât breathe at all. It was hard to say if he would even survive.
The crown princessâ side had originally had the advantage, but the situation had suddenly reversed.
Only now did Bi Linglong see who it was clearly. This personâs appearance was completely ordinary. He was dressed in the most ordinary uniform of a Bi clan warrior. But she didnât dare to look down on him. Both the powerful aura rippling out from his body and his intimidating presence clearly declared that this was an expert that was far stronger than the others.
âPeak of the eighth rank!â Gao Ying exclaimed, instantly feeling despair.
âWho are you really?â Bi Linglongâs expression was overcast as she stared straight at him. This person was definitely not a warrior of the Bi clan.
Gao Ying and Pei You stared at him as well. Even if they were going to die, they wanted to understand why.
That person chuckled and removed his mask. âAs expected of the crown princess. You can remain calm even in this kind of situation.â
âShi Tong!â The others already recognized who this person was. This was the one with the highest cultivation among the Shi clanâs younger generation. He had previously assumed the post of Fire Cry Officer. However, he had been stripped of his post after the matter of the Shi clan framing Zu An and the crown princess was exposed.
âWhy are you here!?â Bi Linglong cried out in alarm. After all, this person should have been in the imperial prison right now!
âItâs all thanks to King Qi who gave me another chance. Otherwise, how would I be able to get revenge for the Shi clan?â Shi Tongâs face warped as he spoke. âYou whore, our Shi clan was originally a brilliant and glorious clan, a first-rate clan in the capital. It was all because of you that my sixth brother was mistakenly killed, so we had no choice but to carry this death grudge against the Eastern Palace. We suffered failure again and again, and now, even though his majesty hasnât completely dealt with our Shi clan, thatâs only because of our death pardoning token. However, all of us understand that his majesty definitely wonât spare the Shi clan. All of this was because of you!â
Bi Linglong exclaimed coldly, âWhat a bogus accusation! It was your Shi clan who tried to frame me with your crafty plots, and itâs now my fault? Youâre all only suffering the consequences of your own actions.â
âHah, look at how clever this little mouth is. Iâm going to strip you clean and jam this thing in. Letâs see if you can still act all haughty then.â Shi Tongâs voice was incredibly cold.
The Gu clan brothers immediately panicked. âGeneral Shi, King Qi already agreed that Linglong would be ours!â
Shi Tong snorted. âItâs your fault for not being able to deal with her on your own. Donât worry, once Iâm done venting out my frustrations on her, Iâll return her to you two.â
âYouâ¦!â The Gu clan brothers were shocked and furious. However, when Shi Tong glared at them, they immediately felt a chill run down their backs. They didnât dare say another thing out of fear of the other partyâs cultivation.
âDespicable!â Bi Linglong blushed. These young masters were normally all clean and noble, yet under that mask, they were all such vile and filthy souls.
Shi Tongâs eyes narrowed. âIt really is strange. I havenât sensed any fear from you all this time. Just where do you get your confidence from?â
Bi Linglong took a deep breath and exclaimed, âMister Zu, how much longer are you just going to sit and watch this drama for?!â