Incomprehensible. He had truly gone mad.
Bai Li Changyue immediately frowned and said, “Why are you taking out your anger on these ordinary people?”
Ji Tongzhou turned his back, no longer looking at them. He slowly walked back into the courtyard, where the emperor was still crying, rolling on the ground like a dead piece of meat. Ji Tongzhou took a deep breath and, under everyone’s gaze, sat back down in his chair.
Soon, someone brought wine from the cellar. Ji Tongzhou placed the wine cup to his lips, raising his eyes to survey the beautiful courtyard – carved railings and jade inlays, luxurious and splendid. Scattered around were stewards, servants, and guards. The emperor was still crying, and Miao Qing from the inner chambers couldn’t bear it anymore and ran out – everyone’s face bore a gray despair.
Was this everything he wanted to protect? No.
In the distance, the highest clock tower of Duantu gleamed in the sunlight, and even further away were the golden tiles of the imperial palace, and the vast and magnificent rivers and mountains of the State of Yue. That proud arrogance that got whatever it wanted, those ambitious aspirations to dominate the world – a voracious appetite had long grown in his heart. He couldn’t lose these things, even if it meant sacrificing anyone for them.
“Tongzhou.” Ye Ye’s voice sounded nearby, yet seemed so far away, as if separated by several lifetimes. His friends were looking at him with pain and concern. In the face of great calamity, apart from some verbal comfort to soothe the wounds, they couldn’t help with anything else, nothing at all…
Ji Tongzhou felt he had never looked at everything so clearly and coldly. Those warm feelings that were once as gentle as the spring breeze, when a real blade was at one’s throat, were nothing but fragile pieces of paper.
“You should all leave,” he said indifferently. “Don’t get involved.”
Ye Ye urged anxiously, “You expect us to watch you walk to your death?! Don’t be foolish! Let’s leave together right now! Before those people from Long Ming Zuo arrive!”
Ji Tongzhou laughed softly, “I won’t die.”
What nonsense! Just as Ye Ye was about to go over and reason with him properly, suddenly a voice called from outside the courtyard, “You’re all here?! That’s great!”
Following that, Bai Li Gelin came running in, panting, with Lu Li not far behind. Seeing the corpse of the chief steward on the ground, both their faces changed for a moment. Bai Li Gelin hurriedly said, “Ji Tongzhou! Elder Xuan Shanzi has already…”
“I know,” Ji Tongzhou interrupted her words. “No need to say more.”
Bai Li Gelin stared at him in bewilderment. Why was he acting this way?
“On my way here, I encountered Wu Gou and Yue Guo fighting… Don’t you care?” she hesitated to ask. “Also… why are all the guards at the entrance of the prince’s mansion gone? This corpse… you all…”
Ji Tongzhou gave her a cold look. She was still as noisy and aimless as ever.
“One question at a time.”
Bai Li Gelin grew even more confused. She looked at him carefully for a while, then was drawn to Miao Qing behind him, who looked strikingly similar to Li Fei. Finally, she turned bewilderedly toward Bai Li Changyue and the others. Everyone shook their heads slowly at her; no one knew what exactly was wrong with Ji Tongzhou. Lu Li spoke up, “Although I don’t quite understand the conflicts between these Central Plains countries, since the other side has the backing of an immortal sect, they will eventually deploy powers from the cultivation world. It should still be possible to leave now. There will always be opportunities in the future.”
Ye Ye immediately nodded, “Brother Lu is right, Tongzhou. Acting on impulse is never a good plan. As the saying goes, ‘As long as the green mountains are there, one need not worry about firewood.’ It’s better to avoid the edge of the sword for now and plan for a comeback later.”
Ji Tongzhou seemed lost in thought, silently sipping the wine from his cup. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he put down the wine cup, looking towards the outside of the courtyard. There was a subtle fluctuation of spiritual energy outside the spiritual energy network above the prince’s mansion, followed by several loud “clang” sounds – it was the noise of immortal techniques striking the spiritual energy network.
The faces of Ye Ye and the other two who had experienced something similar turned ashen immediately. Years ago, it was the same at the High Lu Imperial Palace. There were all sorts of riots at the borders, and the people of Long Ming Zuo struck directly at the heart, breaking open the spiritual energy network of the imperial palace, and forcing the High Lu emperor to surrender. Although he refused to do so until his death, the emperor was humiliated in front of the army. The morale of High Lu plummeted, and they couldn’t resist Wu Gou’s iron cavalry at all. They were attacked and entered the royal capital like a hot knife through butter, burning the entire city.
After more than ten years, the same tactic was being used against the State of Yue. This time, they encountered Ji Tongzhou.
His figure flickered, and he had already left the prince’s mansion, flying on his sword. Black flames rushed towards the few Long Ming Zuo disciples above the spiritual energy network – these people were not unfamiliar, they were the ones he had met at the East Sea trials. His former lackey was also among them, currently attacking the spiritual energy network with his magical treasure, his face full of smugness.
The task of capturing Ji Tongzhou alive was something they had deliberately sought from Elder Zong Quan. They wanted to settle all the grudges from the East Sea today. They wanted to make this arrogant and overbearing prince completely submit. Although his talent was astonishing, he was, after all, just one person. If it hadn’t been for the help of others last time, they would have defeated this prince long ago.
Seeing the sky full of black fire, everyone calmly brought out their magical treasures. In an instant, spring rain fell gently, and the overwhelming water-attribute spiritual energy rippled out. However, when it hit the black fire, it was like pouring oil on the fire, causing it to leap several zhang higher – how could water-attribute immortal techniques not extinguish this strange black fire?!
A figure had already darted in front of them like lightning. Seeing the situation was not good, everyone immediately scattered, those with magical treasures used their magical treasures, those with immortal techniques used their immortal techniques, and those with defenses put up their defenses. Ji Tongzhou swung his arm, and numerous black fire walls separated everyone. Various immortal techniques struck his Earth Lord’s Protection, and the orange light immediately dimmed.
Before the second wave of attacks could come, he had already caught up with the lackey who was busy fleeing. Gripping the acupoint on the back of his neck, he prevented him from circulating spiritual energy. The lackey finally panicked, collapsing like a pile of mud in his hand, trembling as he said, “Y-Your Highness… please don’t kill me! I know I was wrong!”
Ji Tongzhou seemed not to hear. He slowly drew the sword at his waist. The blade was not made of steel, but a thin, long blade of black fire. The heat was astonishing. The black fire filling the sky and earth seemed to sense the overwhelming spiritual energy on the flame blade, leaping even higher, as if it wanted to burn even the clouds in the sky.
The several people from Long Ming Zuo hurriedly tried to retreat, when suddenly they felt darkness above their heads. Large clusters of black fire had gathered above, and several firewalls also sealed off the surroundings, like a cage of black fire, trapping them tightly inside. There was nowhere to escape, up or down, left or right.
Seeing one person captured alive and the rest trapped by this strange black fire, the lead disciple immediately blew a whistle, signaling everyone to release their Earth Lord’s Protection to break through the black fire. Anxious to escape, he first put on his Earth Lord’s Protection, disregarding the scorching waves, and plunged straight into the opposite firewall. Only to hear him scream in agony, his entire body instantly engulfed by the black fire. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a pile of black ash. The Earth Lord’s Protection was utterly useless.
Everyone couldn’t help but feel terrified. All they could see was the strange black fire, which couldn’t be extinguished or touched. They immediately regretted their rash actions. If only they had known it would be like this.
“Hmph! Killing us won’t do you any good!” The Long Ming Zuo disciple in the fire cage still tried to put on a brave face, shouting, “When the Elder arrives, you’ll be nothing but an ant with no power to fight back! If you’re smart, you’d better surrender obediently! Considering your compliance, perhaps you might still be left with a dog’s life…”
Before he could finish speaking, the firewalls suddenly closed in. The few Long Ming Zuo disciples didn’t even have time to scream before they were burned to black ash in an instant.
Ye Ye and the others, who had wanted to help, were all dumbfounded. Ji Tongzhou killing these few Long Ming Zuo disciples was as easy as cutting vegetables. His cultivation level was still at the third bottleneck, but those Xuan Hua fires were much more intense than before, filling the sky and earth, like jumping black clouds.
Ji Tongzhou recalled all those black fires. Finally, they became a small cluster of flickering flames, dancing weakly in his palm. He lowered his head to look at the lackey collapsed in his hand. The man was already scared and pale, shaking like a sieve, incoherently begging him, “Considering that I once served you loyally and wholeheartedly… please… I beg you…”
Ji Tongzhou said coldly, “When will your Elder arrive?”
The lackey sobbed, “Or-originally, Elder Zong Quan was supposed to come personally… but the Jade Immortal Cui Xuan from Wu Yue Ting suddenly sent a summons… it seems… it seems to be about discussing some matter of a renegade disciple… I-I don’t know when the Elders will…”
Ji Tongzhou threw him aside. With a light swing of the black flame blade, his head rolled on the ground, rolling to Bai Li Gelin’s feet. She jumped away in disgust, frowning as she said, “That renegade disciple he just mentioned, I suspect he was referring to Li Fei.”
Ye Ye and Su Wan were both shocked, exclaiming, “What do you mean?”
Bai Li Gelin looked around, lowered her voice, and repeated what True Person Chong Yi had asked her to convey to Li Fei. Then she said, “I think there’s an eight or nine out of ten chance that Zhen Yunzi’s matter has been leaked. Has anyone here experienced Qi Leakage?”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned to look at Ji Tongzhou. This inscrutable young prince took off his outer robe, which was stained with blood and dust. Miao Qing, who looked strikingly similar to Li Fei, brought him a new luxurious robe to put on. Honestly, the presence of this maid made them uncomfortable.
“Ji Tongzhou.” Bai Li Gelin walked in front of him, staring steadily into his calm and waveless eyes. “If someone found out about what happened in the East Sea, do you understand what the consequences would be?”
Ji Tongzhou said indifferently, “Are you suggesting that I leaked the information?”
“I don’t know,” Bai Li Gelin looked at him frankly. This group of friends who had grown up together never imagined there would come a day when they would end up in such a situation. “I don’t believe you would harm Li Fei.”
Ji Tongzhou coldly averted his gaze, walking past her into the room, leaving only one sentence: “You should all leave.”
He closed the door, but after a while, he pushed it open and came out again. Seeing that Ye Ye and the others were still there, he ignored them, walking past them and striding quickly toward the outside of the courtyard.
“Stop.” Bai Li Changyue, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke. Her hand moved like lightning, grabbing him. “Let me see the letter in your bosom.”
Ji Tongzhou coldly looked down at her hand and said fiercely, “How dare you. Let go.”
“Tongzhou?!” Ye Ye was also angered. He stepped forward and pushed him hard in the chest, shielding Bai Li Changyue behind him, confronting Ji Tongzhou himself. “How long are you going to keep acting crazy?”
Unexpectedly, Bai Li Changyue behind him suddenly made a move. Ji Tongzhou only felt a golden mist rushing towards his face. Amidst the exclamations of the others, he quickly retreated several steps. Bai Li Changyue moved as swift as lightning, already retrieving a letter from his bosom. Just as she was about to open it, the letter was suddenly licked by black flames, immediately turning into black ash. She looked up, staring straight at him, and said in a low voice, “Are you feeling guilty?”