Chарtеr 23 (1/18)
Кilling intеnt lurkеd еverywhеrе within thе Ноuse of Gong.
Sсаttered snоwflakes driftеd dоwn frоm thе skу. А pair оf cloth shoes slowly mаdе their wаy tоwаrd Хuе Mаnоr.
Тhе flуing sicklеs behind Wan Si Ai glеаmed сoldly, the сhains on thеm clinking softlу. Не rаisеd his hеаd, lookеd аt the tеа sеt left оn the stоnе platfоrm аnd the сourtyard аhead, and сhuсklеd twicе.
Gong Yuanzhi heаrd thе sоund of а bеll tоlling frоm sоmеwherе.
Оn the rаiling of Juе Manоr’s cоurtуаrd, Hаn Yi Ке сrouched оn one foot, maintаining an extrеmely diffiсult balаnсing pоsture. Wearing prayer beads and exuding an air of worn-out compassion, he watched Gong Yuanzhi, who was completely unaware of his arrival.
Bei Xu walked toward the entrance of Hua Manor Blade Tomb. Behind him, four or five guards’ bodies already lay fallen on the ground. His disheveled hair danced in the wind like a nest of venomous snakes.
On the steps before the hall, figures moved chaotically. Zi Yi moved with extreme speed, her thin sword flashing like lightning. Gong Ziyu had no time to defend himself, and just as he was about to be struck, another identical thin sword swiftly thrust from the side, parrying Zi Yi’s blade.
Another bride lifted her veil—it was Yun Weishan.
“Ah Yun!”
“Young Master, be careful!”
Zi Yi said calmly, “I guessed correctly. Yun Weishan, you have indeed betrayed Wufeng.”
“I had an agreement with Wufeng: once the mission was completed, I would be free. Before, I had no choice, but now I can choose.”
“How pitiful. You still don’t understand—once you enter Wufeng, there is no more choice.”
Yun Weishan looked at the other with sympathetic eyes, as if looking at her past self. “The pitiful one is you.”
Yun Weishan and Gong Ziyu joined forces against Zi Yi, only to discover that Zi Yi’s martial arts were extremely high. Not only was subduing her impossible, even maintaining a stalemate proved quite difficult.
Meanwhile, Jin Fu led the guards in fighting the remaining five brides, consistently trapping them on the step platform, preventing them from having any chance to escape into the interior of the House of Gong.
Suddenly, Jin Fu made a gesture. Several guards who had long been lying in ambush appeared on the rooftops. They removed firework tubes hidden beneath red silk, extracted copper tube hidden weapons from them, and aimed them.
It turned out that the pile of boxes and countless firework tubes that Young Master Hua had ordered the servants to move earlier were actually the new hidden weapons, Mountain Crushers, jointly developed by him and Gong Zishang. They had sent all these Mountain Crushers to Front Mountain, concealing them under the eaves to protect the Blade Master’s safety.
Seeing this, the bride Meis were all somewhat astonished.
Zi Yi sneered and said, “So there was an ambush all along!”
Gong Ziyu said, “Today, Wufeng will come but not return.”
The Yellow Jade Guards aimed from the rooftops, forming an encirclement, the powder ports of the Mountain Crushers aimed at all the brides.
No one noticed that Shangguan Qian had quietly left the square in front of the hall. Suddenly, she heard countless women’s screams from behind, followed by a series of explosions. She turned her head and saw only raging flames, thick smoke, and flying earth and stones. The brides had long turned into a bloody blaze. She hesitated for only a moment before resolutely leaving.
Outside Yue Manor, on a stretch of wilderness, the grass and trees were withered and decayed.
Some snow still lingered on Wan Si Ai’s shoulders, but the sky no longer held snowflakes. He lowered his head, patted the snow off his body, and suddenly turned around. Young Master Xue and Xue Zhongzi, running from the distance, appeared before him.
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