Suddenly someone came from behind, reaching out both hands to seize the attendants at Gan Daode’s sides — one in each hand — and flung them backward.

Gan Daode had drunk too much wine, and his footing had become extremely unsteady. Losing the support of the attendants on his left and right, he was momentarily unable to find his balance and lurched forward.

At this exact moment, the person who had arrived suddenly from behind drew the long blade, bringing it chopping down toward Gan Daode’s neck.

Yet at this exact same moment, what appeared to be a falling-forward Gan Daode suddenly twisted his body and drew the long blade at his waist in a sweeping horizontal slash.

The one who had suddenly appeared was Yuan Jianli.

Of course it was Yuan Jianli. It could only have been Yuan Jianli.

He had been watching from the shadows outside all along — watching which room the new bride had entered, watching as the intoxicated Gan Daode was also escorted to this same room.

He knew this was the best moment.

Yet he had not anticipated that Gan Daode was feigning intoxication. Nor had he anticipated that this slash, delivered with such savage ferocity, would come at him like that.

That person neither dodged nor evaded — he was wagering with his life.

Because this person was inherently a wild, reckless sort. Within the Slayer King’s army, after Gan Daode, his reputation for ferocity was the greatest.

This man was one of the Five Tiger Generals under Gan Daode’s command — Chou Yi. Whether in height or in build, he was roughly equivalent to Gan Daode.

He had also been playing at being drunk all along, keeping his head lowered as he walked. He was also wearing Gan Daode’s magnificent embroidered royal robes.

In the deep of night like this, being mistaken at a glance was entirely within the natural order of things — let alone that they were deliberately trying to deceive, so naturally they had done it with great care.

If Yuan Jianli continued his downward chop, Chou Yi would die without question.

Equally, if Yuan Jianli continued his downward chop, Chou Yi’s blade would cut horizontally through Yuan Jianli’s waist.

This kind of life-wagering fighting style was always Chou Yi’s character.

Every time he struck out this way, the one forced to retreat was always the enemy — never him.

Yet this time he had miscalculated. Because his opponent was one of the world’s foremost masters of the blade, and could also be said to be among those of highest cultivation in the entire jianghu of the great Dachu.

Yuan Jianli’s blade didn’t stop for an instant. In the moment Chou Yi’s long blade swept sideways, his left hand snapped downward in a precise strike onto Chou Yi’s blade — with a sharp crack.

Chou Yi could no longer grip the long blade. It slipped downward.

As if struck by a heavy hammer, the blade crashed heavily to the ground with a resounding clang.

Thwack!

Chou Yi’s head was severed by Yuan Jianli’s blade with a single stroke.

Yet at this moment, the figure seated on the bed in the great red bridal gown suddenly leapt up. Both hands each held a repeating crossbow, firing shot after shot in rapid succession at Yuan Jianli.

Yuan Jianli’s long blade swept in fluid arcs. Not a single crossbow bolt was missed — every one was deflected away by his blade.

This person in the great red bridal gown was actually a false bride. He was one of the Five Tiger Generals under Gan Daode — Liu Dengke.

Before, when the investiture ceremony was held, the person escorted away to the ceremony hall was not Xiao Zhang Zhenren, but him.

From that point on, Yuan Jianli had actually already been deceived — and this was the method Xu Ru had devised for Gan Daode.

Liu Dengke was powerfully built. Though he appeared as rotund as Xiao Zhang Zhenren, his entire body was solid muscle.

His continuous rapid-fire shots, though unable to land a single one on Yuan Jianli, still drove Yuan Jianli back out the doorway.

The moment Yuan Jianli’s feet retreated past the threshold, two long-handled halberds came slashing down from outside.

Yuan Jianli slid sideways — just a momentary flash — and was already behind the halberd-wielders. A single stroke took off the head of one.

The other hulking warrior with a long-handled halberd hadn’t had time to strike again before Yuan Jianli’s blade cleaved through his skull.

Two men dead. Yuan Jianli turned to leave.

By this point he already understood perfectly that he had been calculated against. This bridal chamber was a trap prepared specifically for him.

He turned — originally intending to stride away in large steps — but suddenly stopped.

Facing him, the courtyard was already dense with Slayer King troops. Countless bows and crossbows aimed at him.

And behind him inside the bridal chamber, hidden masters continued to emerge one after another. In this moment, this place had become a dead-end.

“Gan Feng!”

Yuan Jianli called out in a loud voice: “As a disciple of the Sacred Blade Sect, do you not even have the courage to face me in single combat?”

From within the crowd, Gan Daode burst out laughing: “I have hundreds of thousands of troops and thousands of battle-hardened generals. With my standing, why would I engage you in one-on-one combat? And what need would I have to fight you alone?!”

Gan Daode raised a finger pointing at Yuan Jianli: “You’re the fool here! Do you think that I, at the position I stand in today, would still adhere to the codes of the jianghu? Even if one were to speak of jianghu codes — it was your side that broke the rules first!”

Yuan Jianli let out a cold snort and advanced, blade in hand.

Gan Daode bellowed: “Kill him!”

A countless number of arrows shot toward Yuan Jianli all at once. In the courtyard, it was as if a horizontal meteor shower had suddenly appeared.

“Your Highness.”

Xu Ru advised at Gan Daode’s side: “This man’s capabilities should not be underestimated. Your Highness has indeed had quite a bit to drink tonight. It would be better to temporarily withdraw. Should this man seize an opportunity to get close to Your Highness, accidents may be unavoidable.”

Gan Daode thought for a moment: “Very well. I’ll go to the rear to observe.”

Xu Ru gave the order: “Escort His Highness away.”

The personal guard troops immediately came forward, surrounding Gan Daode in layer upon layer, and escorted him out of the courtyard.

At this moment, arrows flew thick and fast. Yuan Jianli, in his moon-white long robe, was as if dancing amidst a meteor shower — the meteors dazzling, the blade dazzling, and the man himself equally dazzling.

Gan Daode retreated while looking back. Seeing the crowd in constant surging motion, with cries of agony rising repeatedly, he surmised that Yuan Jianli had already cut his way into the midst of the troops.

Not even the arrow formation could stop him…

It was fortunate he had heeded Xu Ru’s counsel and left when he did. Otherwise he might truly have been killed by that madman at close range.

Whether he had been frightened or something else, Gan Daode felt that his limbs had grown somewhat weak, and cold sweat kept breaking out all over his body.

Think of it — this was Yuan Jianli already severely wounded. If this man were at the peak of his power, an ambush of this scale might not be enough to do anything to him.

He might still be unable to kill Gan Daode, but there was a good chance he’d have withdrawn completely unharmed.

Gan Daode did not dare to linger. He moved outward. Wave upon wave of Slayer King troops, seemingly without end, surged toward the courtyard.

The way it looked, even as strong as Yuan Jianli was, he would soon be swallowed up by the sea of soldiers.

Gan Daode did not dare be careless. He did not stop anywhere nearby and retreated in one breath to the rear courtyard.

Just as he reached the rear courtyard, he saw Gui Yuanshu waving toward him: “Your Highness, come quickly this way. We will protect Your Highness.”

Gan Daode, almost without hesitation, ran over. Gui Yuanshu pushed open a room door and Gan Daode slipped inside.

Once inside the door, Gan Daode paused in confusion — only then realizing he had ended up in the actual bridal chamber.

A fair number of his personal guards charged in behind him. The figure sitting on the bed appeared to be startled and let out a cry.

Gan Daode immediately shouted: “All of you — get out and stand guard!”

Gui Yuanshu said: “Your Highness, shelter here for a moment. We will stand guard outside.”

At this point, four trusted personal guards of Gan Daode had not yet withdrawn. These four looked to be extraordinarily fierce and capable.

From the other courtyard, the sounds of battle cries rose and fell, making it evident that under the assault of so many men, Yuan Jianli still had not been killed.

“You… get over there by the door!”

Gan Daode looked toward Xiao Zhang Zhenren and shouted: “Don’t come near me.”

Xiao Zhang Zhenren inwardly let out a sigh, inwardly cursing: Disgusting wretch!

He thought to himself: you’re truly not fit to be a man. On your wedding night, danger arrives, and you order the bride to go to the front…

Then he heard Gan Daode speak, his words somewhat slurred as if he’d had too much to drink: “You’re big. Block the door.”

Xiao Zhang Zhenren inwardly cursed again — this time extending it to Gan Daode’s ancestors — but he had no choice but to feign a look of panic and rise to his feet, yielding his position.

Gan Daode glanced at the matron standing not far away and froze for a moment, then couldn’t help the corner of his mouth twitching: “Oh my… how hideous!”

Yu Jiuling had a particularly filthy remark right on the tip of his tongue.

Gan Daode drove Xiao Zhang Zhenren and Yu Jiuling to stand by the door, then sat on the bed himself, gulping down breath after heaving breath.

But at this moment, from beneath the red bedding spread across the bed, a blade suddenly extended and thrust directly toward Gan Daode’s lower back.

Gan Daode hadn’t seen it, but the personal guards at his side had. All four moved at once — two pulled Gan Daode away while the other two leapt onto the bed.

Gan Daode recoiled in alarm and scrambled backward.

Bang.

At his side, the large red dowry chest suddenly flew open.

Li Chi burst out of the chest and placed his long blade against Gan Daode’s neck.

In that instant of lightning and flint, from the other courtyard came a wave of anguished cries — blade light erupting like a thunderclap of lightning.

Yuan Jianli, covered in blood, had cut his way through the crowd and somehow slaughtered from the other courtyard all the way into this one.

“Don’t kill him!”

Yuan Jianli caught sight of someone moving behind Gan Daode and immediately roared: “This man’s life — belongs to me!”

Li Chi glanced at Yuan Jianli and shook his head: “My apologies. You’ll have to wait in line.”

The long blade swept sideways. Without giving Gan Daode any chance to fight back, a single stroke severed Gan Daode’s neck. The head was sent tumbling by the blood that gushed from the cavity.

The blood-slicked head hit the ground and rolled two more turns before stopping.

Seeing this, Yuan Jianli’s expression immediately changed. His eyes went wide in an instant.

He had been able to fight his way out from the siege of so many men only by holding onto a single breath — the absolute determination to kill Gan Daode. Now, watching Gan Daode’s head hit the ground before his very eyes, that breath suddenly dissipated.

Li Chi looked at the headless corpse on the ground. He had thought of words to say — but didn’t say them.

Before coming here, he had still been thinking about what two things he ought to say at the moment of killing Gan Daode. He had thought them over.

*Behind me stand ten thousand wronged souls. May they find peace today.*

But when the moment truly arrived, when he had truly killed the man, Li Chi found he had nothing he wanted to say.

“Let’s go!”

Li Chi called out.

The person hidden beneath the bedding was Dantai Yanjing. He cut down those four men, then chopped open the rear window with a single stroke.

Several people flew out through the rear window. Li Chi went last.

He flicked a jade vial out from his sleeve. It flew in a straight line toward Yuan Jianli.

Li Chi called out to Yuan Jianli: “If your wounds are too severe to fight your way out, take this pill — it may let you hold on a bit longer.”

For reasons unknown, Yuan Jianli at this moment didn’t suspect a thing. He reached out and caught the jade vial in his palm.

Gui Yuanshu, seeing the troops still standing in a daze, immediately shouted: “Hold this man! I’ll go after the assassins!”

Then he waved his hand, leading his people in pursuit of Li Chi’s group.

The withdrawal route had already been planned out. Li Chi’s group scaled the rear courtyard wall, and on the street outside, Tingwei Army personnel were waiting with horses at the ready.

They first withdrew from the royal manor, then headed straight for the southeastern corner of Wulai City.

That location, Gui Yuanshu had surveyed in advance. There was a drainage channel exit that led out of the city, sealed with an iron grate.

But Gui Yuanshu had dismantled that iron grate some time ago. After all, his previous identity had been as the one organizing the grand ceremony for Gan Daode, granting him freedom to move anywhere within the city.

Everything was within the calculations. They only needed to withdraw quickly to the southeastern corner, crawl out through the drainage channel, and there were people outside waiting to receive them.

Yet just as they neared the rear courtyard wall — not far off — a figure suddenly emerged and blocked Li Chi’s group.

The man wore a scholar’s long robe. Seeing Li Chi’s group running toward him, he smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

“What a coincidence, Prince Ning.”

Those four words, when they rang out, sent a shock through Li Chi’s heart.

Looking again — the man was actually one of the strategists under Gan Daode’s command. Xu Ru!

—