The Crimson Flame Bee lay beneath his feet, not daring to struggle. It sensed the scent of flesh and blood emanating from the youth, carrying a power that made one drool, but another kind of oppressive force kept it prostrate on the ground.
And deeply afraid of him.
Tantai Jin lifted his foot, and the Crimson Flame Bee charged toward Su Su.
Su Su’s movements were light and agile, but her strength was insufficient. When her sword struck the Crimson Flame Bee, their shells were too hard, producing a sharp clang. She had to laboriously follow up with several more strikes.
Su Su couldn’t understand why the Crimson Flame Bees, which had been attacking others around her, suddenly all turned to assault her.
The Crimson Flame Bees now were no longer like they were when first released.
Having killed many people, their bodies were enormous and terrifying, their sharp mouthparts chilling to the bone.
She could barely handle one, but with five or six suddenly attacking her, Su Su had no choice but to dodge awkwardly.
If she still had her immortal body, a single hand seal would suffice to eliminate these monsters. Unfortunately, she was now in a mortal form, and danger arose in the blink of an eye.
The people she had saved earlier, seeing her in such a dire predicament, fled in terror.
Tantai Jin narrowed his eyes and sneered in disdain.
Such was the fickleness of the world, the despicable nature of human hearts. He tried to find anger on Su Su’s face, but there was none.
The girl’s pink-white cloak had already fallen to the ground, and her padded dress was stained with mud.
Yet her eyes remained clear and pure. She didn’t even glance at those who had run away, focusing entirely on dealing with the monsters before her.
A shadow fell over Tantai Jin’s eyes.
Why wasn’t she angry? Shouldn’t those betrayers deserve death? An uncontrollable sense of resentment welled up in his heart.
Ever since he carried Ye Xi Wu out of the bandits’ den and she hit her head, she had changed considerably. The former Ye Xi Wu was arrogant, cruel, and detestable.
This one was completely different.
She was like water flowing down a mountain stream—light, clear, and pure, yet unbreakable and indestructible. Just looking at her, the darkness in his bones began to gnaw at him bit by bit, making him tremble.
Now, she had lost her value.
This foolish woman had wanted to administer the Spring Silkworm Curse to Ye Bingshang.
At the time, Tantai Jin had considered letting Ye Xi Wu end up with that bloated, greedy man, but thinking of her status, he simply swallowed the other dose of the drug himself.
Sure enough, he smoothly escaped the imperial palace.
Since she hadn’t been killed by the bandits that day, let it be today.
Wouldn’t Ye Xiao’s daughter dying in the prince’s manor be a fitting end?
Tantai Jin glanced at the back of his hand, where sinister blue veins were clearly visible. The flow of blood made his heart stir with excitement.
Su Su’s sword had already been knocked away by the Crimson Flame Bee’s shell. She barely avoided the attack and had no choice but to flee deeper into the dense forest.
She tried to use the gaps between the trees to block the enormous bodies of the Crimson Flame Bees.
Unfortunately, they charged recklessly, fearless of death, toppling trees as they pursued her.
Tantai Jin emerged from around the corner. He cast a cold glance in the direction she had disappeared and walked out of the prince’s manor.
Su Su ran wildly without looking back.
She didn’t need to see to know how embarrassed she was, with several enormous Crimson Flame Bees chasing after her. She didn’t dare lead these monsters toward clusters of ordinary people, so she had to flee toward the remote, cooler woods.
When Crimson Flame Bees were the size of a fingernail, they were quite cute.
But anything, when it becomes gigantic, turns fierce and terrifying.Their eyes were like lanterns, swirling with dark red light, their mouthparts lined with serrated teeth.
Ye Xiwu's body was delicate, and Su Su nearly stumbled over rocks several times.
She gritted her teeth, not daring to stop.
But they quickly caught up with her.
Su Su no longer had her sword. Using the tree trunk for leverage, she rolled to avoid an attack.
The next moment, another Crimson Flame Bee tried to tear her body apart.
Su Su’s heart tightened.
The bracelet on her wrist suddenly glowed.
"Little master!"
The Crimson Flame Bee froze in place.
Su Su was so excited she wanted to cry: "Curved Jade!" It had finally awakened at a critical moment. If it had been any later, she would have been dead.
Curved Jade was also shocked: "Why are there such demonic creatures in the mortal realm?"
And a whole swarm chasing its little master.
This was very abnormal.
Curved Jade spoke rapidly: "I’ve temporarily immobilized them, little master, run quickly!"
Su Su wasted no time and turned to flee.
Curved Jade directed her: "There’s a pit ahead. Jump into it, cover yourself with snow and fallen leaves to mask your scent. Crimson Flame Bees have poor eyesight and usually track by smell."
Sure enough, there was a pit not far away. Without hesitation, Su Su jumped in.
Ignoring the dirt and cold, she quickly covered herself with snow and dry branches.
Curved Jade said guiltily: "I’m sorry, little master, I can’t use Spiritual Power to kill them for you."
It dared not waste even a trace of its Spiritual Power, or it would be unable to take Su Su back to five hundred years in the future.
As she quickly buried herself, Su Su optimistically comforted it: "Thank you, Curved Jade, I’m fine."
The Crimson Flame Bees caught up much later, losing sight and scent of her. They circled around in confusion before flying away.
Learning from her last experience, Su Su didn’t move for a long time until Curved Jade said: "Little master, they’ve left."
Only then did Su Su push aside the snow and climb out of the pit.
Her hands and feet were icy and stiff, and she panted heavily.
Curved Jade had only awakened briefly before dimming its glow and entering dormancy again.
The melted snow seeped into her collar, and she shivered from the cold. Breaking off a branch to support herself, she trudged forward with difficulty.
She still hadn’t found Tantai Jin.
The people from the General’s Manor wouldn’t risk their lives searching for him in such a situation.
His death and her own death both meant mission failure—there was no difference.
She could only hope the young Devil King was tough enough not to be killed by low-level demonic creatures and could hold on until she found him.
In a short time, Prince Xuan’s residence had become a living Purgatory.
Tantai Jin had just stepped out of Prince Xuan’s residence and hadn’t yet found Ye Xiao when several purple-clad guards suddenly seized him.
His eyes darkened, but he couldn’t break free.
The purple-clad guards captured him and swiftly carried him to another location.
Inside an ornate sedan carved with nine-headed birds sat the pale-faced Prince Zhao, his hair disheveled.
Prince Zhao, furious and flustered, said to a man in white: "Yu Qing, this little bastard is that war captive from Great Zhou. Ask him whatever you want!"
The man in white, holding a folding fan, smiled and cupped his hands: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Prince Zhao waved his hand, his fear not yet subsided.
If not for his retainer Yu Qing’s quick reaction, bringing people to protect him and retreat, he would have had his head pierced by those ghostly things.
He wasn’t like Xiao Lin, with his extraordinary martial skills. In that situation, anyone who moved slowly would never have escaped.
Even so, he had lost a group of elite guards to get away.
The loss made Prince Zhao’s heart ache terribly."Your Highness the Hostage, I am Yu Qing. I have presumptuously invited you here to ask a few questions."
Tantai Jin restrained his gloomy expression and looked at Yu Qing. "Ask away."
Yu Qing said with a smile, "If I'm not mistaken, these Crimson Flame Bees came from the Zhou Kingdom's imperial palace, didn't they?"
Tantai Jin replied in confusion, "I know nothing of what you speak, Sir."
The young man lowered his gaze, his voice soft. "I came to Great Xia as a hostage when I was six years old. Today is the first time I've seen these monsters."
Yu Qing scrutinized the frail young man.
"Then may I ask how the Hostage managed to escape from Prince Xuan's residence?"
"I hid the entire time and later followed Minister Song's family members to escape."
Yu Qing frowned.
The young man before him still bore a trace of fear on his face, and his words contained no flaws. Could it be that this Zhou Kingdom hostage was truly a useless pawn? Did he really know nothing about the Zhou imperial family's dirty secrets?
Prince Zhao suddenly stood up and kicked Tantai Jin in the shoulder.
A dull pain shot through his shoulder.
"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Tell me everything you know immediately. Don't think I don't know that your Zhou Kingdom is already preparing to wage war against our Great Xia."
"You worthless thing, crushing you would be easier than crushing an ant."
Prince Zhao raised his foot and brutally stepped on Tantai Jin's fingers on the ground.
Though Prince Zhao was mediocre in martial arts, he was quite skilled in torture and abuse. With a forceful press of his foot, the young man's knuckles cracked - Prince Zhao had actually crushed his finger bones.
Yu Qing raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
At this moment, even if Tantai Jin was innocent, Prince Zhao had suffered such great losses and humiliation that he needed to vent his anger on someone.
Tantai Jin's face pressed tightly against the snowy ground.
When Prince Zhao crushed his fingers, he groaned softly, dark mist swirling in his eyes.
Tantai Jin hated this body of his - so powerless.
He was born with peculiar flesh and blood that evil creatures feared. A single drop of his blood could kill monsters.
Yet since childhood, he had been unable to practice martial arts, with exceptionally poor aptitude. He couldn't even defeat scum like Prince Zhao.
If he were still in Prince Xuan's residence, he could have simply flicked his fingers to command the Crimson Flame Bees to kill Prince Zhao and his men. To make Prince Zhao's intestines rupture and die a miserable death.
But now, he was as weak as the ant Prince Zhao described.
Prince Zhao needed to vent his anger. Thinking about those terrifying, dark things coming from Zhou Kingdom, he looked down sinisterly at the young man beneath his feet and let out a strange laugh.
This little bastard was still a Zhou Kingdom prince.
Yet he only deserved to grovel at his feet.
"I see the Hostage has been living quite well these years. You carried yourself with remarkable dignity at today's banquet. I almost didn't recognize you. The Hostage may have forgotten old sentiments, but I haven't."
Prince Zhao spread his legs and lifted his robe.
"If the Hostage wants to leave, it's simple. Let me help you recall what you were like as a child."
"Kneel and crawl over, and I'll let you return to the General's residence today."
"Otherwise..." he said with a sinister smile, "if someone dies at my sixth brother's residence, it's none of my business."
Yu Qing sighed, looking pityingly at the young man on the ground.
Tantai Jin's face remained expressionless.
After a long time, he climbed up from the ground.
Prince Zhao laughed. "That's how it should be. The Hostage has always been someone who knows what's good for him since childhood. You should remember - last time you were disobedient, your wet nurse served my men until she nearly lost half her life."Tantai Jin lowered his head, his fingertips deathly pale, his eyes like two shards of dark ice.
Those nauseating memories began to surge uncontrollably through his mind once more.
Struggles, cries, pleas... accompanied by unrestrained laughter.
He lay like mud on the ground, watching their atrocities with bloodshot eyes.
Useless resistance...
Tantai Jin closed his eyes briefly, about to move.
Suddenly, a snowball smashed violently into the Prince of Zhao's face.
No one had time to react.
The Prince of Zhao staggered back a step, his face covered in shattered snow. His expression turned ugly as he glared darkly toward the side.
Tantai Jin also looked up.
At the edge of the snowy landscape stood a disheveled young woman, burning with rage.
Leaning on a tree branch as if it were the sharpest sword in the world, she met the Prince of Zhao's gaze without concealment, her face flushed crimson with anger.
"Prince! Zhao!" Su Su gritted out through clenched teeth.
I'll fuck your ancestors!
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