The ugly woman standing beside the female leader tore off the fur wrapped around her head, staring fixedly at the Shadow Wraith's completely white hair, her entire body trembling.
"Mo Sigui..." Her suppressed voice squeezed out from her throat, "It's him... it must be him!"
In the current world, there might be many who could extract heart blood from a Shadow Wraith, but she could only think of one person who could do so while keeping him alive—Mo Sigui!
"Ning Zi, in your opinion, has the Shadow Wraith's heart blood been completely drained?" The female leader also seemed to find the Shadow Wraith's current vitality rather strange.
This disfigured woman was none other than Ning Yanli, while the female leader was Yelü Huangwu.
Ning Yanli replied, "Shatter his mask. If the heart blood is completely drained, a medicine man would rapidly age."
Yelü Huangwu issued the command.
Dozens of burly men closed in like phantoms, surrounding the Shadow Wraith in the center. Pure Protective Energy erupted simultaneously, freezing the surrounding wind and snow, which instantly melted and vanished. Gu Jinghong's mask and the fur covering his body quietly shattered.
The fierce wind howled, white fox fur swirling like snowflakes in the air. Pieces of white jade fell away, revealing a face as flawless as jade. Those already clear phoenix eyes reflected the white snow, appearing even more translucent.
"He..." Ning Yanli stared at his face in shock—not because of the complete absence of aging, but because those features bore an uncanny resemblance to someone!
Yelü Huangwu's gaze swept past the sedan chair.
"There's still heart blood left," Ning Yanli snapped back to reality.
Yelü Huangwu nodded, and immediately the surrounding men charged forward.
Gu Jinghong took a deep breath, discarded the broken sword in his hand, and swiftly drew the soft sword hidden at his waist to meet their assault.
Protective Energy stirred the accumulated snow on the ground. Within a ten-zhang radius, the heavy snowfall became so dense that figures were nearly invisible. Only splashes of bright red could be seen amidst the snow—it was unclear whose blood it was.
The more Yelü Huangwu watched, the more astonished she became. If she remembered correctly, this Shadow Wraith was only around twenty years old. Yet he had already achieved such mastery in Martial Arts! Although those men were roughly at the same level as him, his strength clearly surpassed them all.
Even so, fighting against overwhelming odds, Gu Jinghong struggled fiercely. Before long, fresh wounds covered his body, the crimson stains spreading across his white robes in a horrifying display.
Yelü Huangwu's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she murmured, "That... is he the abandoned son of the Yelü imperial family? The one without even a name?"
Ning Yanli's emotional turmoil caused the purplish marks on her face to darken further, eventually turning pitch black, as if scorched by fire—grotesque and terrifying. Her already plain features became even uglier with this disfigurement.
The poison Mo Sigui had administered hadn't killed her, but it left an indelible mark. She hated it, yet it also excited her. Encountering such a formidable opponent on the path to supremacy made this life worthwhile!
The battle in the snow grew increasingly intense.
Gu Jinghong was like an unsheathed blade, fighting with a life-or-death determination, drenched in blood. Step by step, he advanced—he wanted to kill Yelü Huangwu. He wanted to kill the person inside that sedan chair!
"The Yelü imperial family actually produced such a prodigy! Hahaha!" Yelü Huangwu's laughter rang out brightly, as if this were the most amusing thing, "What a mockery from the heavens!"For a hundred years, the Yelü imperial family has suffered from a hereditary disease—children born into the lineage are either mentally impaired or exceptionally brilliant. Beyond that, all are plagued by severe illnesses, and no matter how well they are cared for, none live past their prime. Yet looking at the Shadow Wraith before her, who had just had his heart blood drawn yet still brimmed with such vitality, he clearly wasn’t the short-lived type!
And yet, he was actually a discarded child of the Yelü imperial family.
Yelü Huangwu laughed until tears nearly spilled from her eyes before slowly composing herself.
Meanwhile, Gu Jinghong moved like lightning. As over a dozen burly men closed in on him, he neither dodged nor evaded but instead raised his sword to meet them. His hair was streaked with white, his eyes crimson with madness, radiating a frenzied bloodlust. With a single swing of his blade, he condensed pure True Energy—normally invisible to the naked eye—but now, the densely falling snowflakes were blasted aside by the force, leaving no snow where the energy surged. Everyone clearly saw a massive sword materialize in the air above them!
As Gu Jinghong’s sword descended, the illusory blade erupted with killing intent, like a hurricane crashing down. The several feet of accumulated snow on the ground was split apart, forming white curtains of snow that surged outward on either side.
The dozen or so men facing him felt their blood churn violently, while the two directly beneath the blade’s shadow bled from all seven orifices.
The guards stationed nearby watched in horror.
Then, Gu Jinghong vanished.
As the snow rushed toward Yelü Huangwu, a bloodied white figure shot through the flurry with lightning speed, thrusting his sword straight at her chest.
Yet the tip barely penetrated an inch before an opposing force halted it.
Ning Yanli fired over a dozen Silver Needles, but they were deflected by True Energy.
Yelü Huangwu flicked her wrist, Silver Needles glinting between her fingers, and struck a palm toward his chest.
Gu Jinghong gritted his teeth, gripping his sword with both hands and channeling every ounce of his True Energy into the blade. The sword inched forward—but Yelü Huangwu’s needles had already sunk into his chest.
Ning Yanli whipped out a jade vial, flinging a translucent strand that coiled around Gu Jinghong’s sword-wielding hands like a rope.
The moment the "rope" touched his clothing, it corroded through the fabric, then his flesh. Drops of blood mixed with something black dripped onto the snow, instantly freezing into dark crimson beads.
The bones of Gu Jinghong’s wrists were now visible, yet he clung to his sword with unyielding determination. His meridians were severed, cutting off his True Energy flow, so he relied on sheer brute force to drive the blade deeper into Yelü Huangwu’s body.
He knew that with his current strength, he couldn’t kill the person in the palanquin—so he might as well take Yelü Huangwu down with him. One less enemy was still a victory!
"Why waste your effort?" Yelü Huangwu smiled serenely, as though the sword were embedded in someone else’s body. "Even if you don’t kill me, I won’t live past thirty."
The surrounding guards charged forward. Gu Jinghong detonated his remaining True Energy in a suicidal burst, his gaze locked onto Yelü Huangwu.
In that instant, she clearly saw hesitation flicker in his eyes.
What happened next, however, she would never know. A woman’s voice softly hummed a Liao nursery rhyme in her ear, the melody echoing as if in a grand hall.
She saw her childhood self cradled in her wet nurse’s arms, eyes wide open, refusing to sleep. "Has Father returned yet?"
"The Emperor is tired and must rest early. The Princess may see him tomorrow, alright?" the nurse coaxed gently. "Go to sleep now."She closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling as glistening tears spilled from the corners. "Nanny," she whispered, "my father will never return..."
The nanny's gentle patting paused as she held the girl tightly, her voice choked with emotion. "The princess still has the empress's love, and this servant will attend to you for a lifetime."
Yelü Huangwu knew this was but an illusion. Lowering her gaze, she tried to step out of this fantasy when memories suddenly surged like a tide—scenes of her glorious moments wielding great power, and the lonely times she spent guarding the imperial mausoleum...
Though young, her life had already seen dramatic rises and falls. Yet in her heart, all the changes had begun on the day when the entire Liao Kingdom donned mourning white. Nestled in her nanny's arms, she had said: "Father will never return." (To be continued...)
PS: Ugh, spent the whole day tinkering with two partially faulty computers only to crash them completely. Should've called a professional from the start... Where was my brain?! Seriously, my recent IQ is seriously lacking.
Update delayed.
Apologies. Got caught up with various things all day, so today's update will be postponed. Don't wait up—check back tomorrow morning. Sorry again (To be continued...)
Begging for sleep.
Can't hold on any longer... gonna nap first. Head and eyes aching (To be continued...)
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