In Gong Yin’s enemy-luring grand scheme, she, Jing Hengbo, was the most tragic link.

He had long anticipated that Yélu Qi and others would concentrate their forces at the border for a vicious strike.

He had long been paralyzing his enemies by deliberately showing weakness. From the first battle, he had his guards “continuously get injured” and “constantly reduce their combat effectiveness,” making people think his strength was getting weaker and weaker, emboldening them to strike.

That day’s entry into the city for rest and reorganization was also deliberate, giving Yélu Qi the opportunity to contact her and discuss their “grand plan.”

It was probably also his arrangement that Cui Jie encountered her enemy—where in the world were there such coincidences?

He had long figured out Yélu Qi and his accomplices, not hesitating to risk himself personally, formulating this step-by-step enemy-luring plan.

This time he had defeated Yélu Qi and also destroyed the alliance between the Left State Preceptor and the wealthiest tribe—the latter was his real objective.

Using force against force, with far-reaching goals, disguising and enticing, showing weakness and putting on an act, turning his hand to make clouds and overturning it to make rain.

No wonder he dominated Dahuang alone!

But they could play their games—why did they have to drag her back and forth? Couldn’t she just not be this empress?

Jing Hengbo swore that as soon as she had the chance, she would stay as far away from this guy as possible.

In the net bag, Gong Yin neither urged nor spoke, remaining still as a statue in the continuous rain, his lips still wearing that smile—three parts mockery, three parts coldness, seeing through the world’s struggles.

Below the net bag, Yélu Qi had reached his final moment of choice.

Both he and Zhan Jue understood Gong Yin’s meaning.

Yélu Qi looked down and saw Zhan Jue lying on the ground with anxious yet vigilant eyes.

Looking up again, Gong Yin’s guards were advancing irresistibly, making it impossible to kill or capture Gong Yin.

Yélu Qi sighed.

“Gong Yin, do you think I must act according to your calculations?” He bent down to help Zhan Jue up. “Brother Zhan, don’t listen to Gong Yin’s instigation. This is an emergency—you and I cannot have internal strife. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. We’ll immediately rush to the town ahead where I know a famous doctor skilled in detoxification…”

As he spoke, he helped Zhan Jue up, his eyes clear and his voice gentle, without any killing intent.

Jing Hengbo couldn’t help but admire him. Regardless of victory or defeat, Yélu Qi was qualified to be Gong Yin’s enemy. Being able to maintain such composure and bearing under disadvantageous circumstances was extraordinary.

Zhan Jue stared at him uneasily, seemingly moved by his sincere tone, slowly extending his hand to grasp Yélu Qi’s.

“That’s right.” Yélu Qi smiled. “Don’t worry…”

“Worry my ass!” Zhan Jue suddenly roared wildly, jumping up and ramming his head into Yélu Qi’s chest. His other free hand had somehow already drawn a knife.

The blade gleamed as it cast a crystalline spray of water from its hidden angle under his ribs. His roar was low and vicious: “The antidote is mine! Give me your life!”

“Bang.”

The human body crashed like a cannonball at extremely close range, the flesh contact producing a muffled sound that shook raindrops flying in all directions, creating a transparent vacuum around both men.

The contrary wind pressed like a blade edge, compressing the air. Jing Hengbo felt her breath locked by tremendous force, making breathing difficult. She could only widen her eyes and mouth, facing this moment’s battle in the rain.

The rain curtain hung suspended—this moment was like slow motion, magnified in her eyes.

Zhan Jue crashed into the completely unguarded Yélu Qi’s embrace, the knife cutting an arc from bottom to top to slash his abdomen, but Yélu Qi suddenly smiled.

The smile seemed somewhat shy, clear yet blurred in the rain.

Then he shook his hand!

He was still grasping Zhan Jue’s other hand. With that shake, Jing Hengbo watched as Zhan Jue’s arm undulated strangely like a snake twice, followed by a series of fine bone-cracking sounds.

With just a gentle shake, he had shattered all the bones in Zhan Jue’s left arm!

Zhan Jue’s scream was earth-shattering. His other knife-wielding hand immediately lost strength, the knife clattering to the ground. Yélu Qi brushed his sleeve as if dusting off dirt, and with a “bang” had already flung Zhan Jue’s body against the mountain wall ahead.

His movements were graceful, but the throw was so forceful that the entire mountain wall seemed to vibrate, sending down reddish soil that was instantly washed into gullies by the heavy rain, like flowing blood.

Zhan Jue slid down against the wall like a puddle of mud, then was buried by another puddle of mud.

There was a moment of silence in the mountain valley. Jing Hengbo felt suffocated. Gong Yin slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Yélu Qi.

Soaked through, with black hair and lustrous skin, his eyes were like black obsidian in snow—transparent yet cold.

Yélu Qi looked at Zhan Jue’s corpse with some regret: “Why wouldn’t you believe me?”

Then he looked at Gong Yin: “Sigh, it seems I’ve lost.”

“Lost again.” Gong Yin’s brow was indifferent, emphasizing the word “again” slightly.

“Someday I’ll win.” Yélu Qi showed no reaction to his sharp tongue, blowing on his fingers and coughing twice as he put away the vial of blood antidote.

When he comforted Zhan Jue, his emotions were sincere, but when he retaliated and killed him, his reaction wasn’t slow at all—unhesitating and even more efficient.

Heaven knew what his real intention was when he helped Zhan Jue up, but Jing Hengbo was certain that in terms of ruthlessness, ten Zhan Jues wouldn’t be Yélu Qi’s match. Three of herself wouldn’t be enough to fill his teeth.

Yélu Qi looked up above. From the moment he struck at Zhan Jue, his subordinates also began killing Zhan Jue’s men to eliminate witnesses, reacting swiftly with his characteristic style.

But this way, his strength could even less compare with Gong Yin’s soon-to-arrive guards.

“It seems I must leave first…” Yélu Qi sighed softly, patted the mountain wall, turned back for a glance. “Good luck to you.”

Jing Hengbo’s heart shook. She suddenly felt this phrase and glance carried deep meaning, and seemed to be directed at her.

The rain curtain was like a hazy silk veil, separating people’s voices and smiles. That smile was like a crabapple flower carried by the wind—swaying with charm, turning and departing in the wind in a moment.

A black shadow flashed, and Yélu Qi disappeared from the spot. He left quite decisively.

Jing Hengbo felt uneasy. Yélu Qi’s parting glance was extremely beautiful, but to her it felt like an ominous sign. She felt something else would happen.

Looking around, the enemies had withdrawn, and looking up, Gong Yin’s guards had come down to provide support. It should be very safe now.

But…

She suddenly heard a low rustling sound.

Jing Hengbo turned her head and saw that the mountain wall Zhan Jue had crashed into was continuously shedding soil, having completely buried Zhan Jue’s corpse.

Why was it still flowing…

Jing Hengbo looked around at the mountain walls in confusion, discovering that the rock layers were very loose, the mountain mostly composed of soil, showing traces of long-term rain soaking…

Gong Yin suddenly opened his eyes, his voice carrying far upward.

“Quickly get ropes and hoist us up first…”

Before he finished speaking, a “boom” drowned out his remaining words. The sound was sudden and violent, like countless people suddenly setting off thunder and beating drums in her ears, shocking Jing Hengbo’s eardrums as if they were bursting. Her head buzzed with chaotic noise, and for a moment she couldn’t hear anything.

She turned in horror and saw a mountain collapsing toward her. First it cracked and broke the tree branch holding the net bag with a snap, then pressed down on her head and face…

Jing Hengbo instinctively struggled in panic, opening her mouth to scream but instantly having it filled with rolling yellow earth. Before her eyes, yellow and red shadows tumbled and howled, mixed with rocks, leaves, and soil. The mudslide roared forward with tremendous impact and pressure striking her back. She soon felt suffocated, her throat seemingly blocked by foreign objects, unable even to cry out…

Time suddenly became long and painful. The world gradually extinguished its light with yellow and red colors. In the darkness, only a needle-point of white light ahead was faintly visible. Her remaining consciousness still hazily recalled modern descriptions of pre-death experiences. This was… dying?

Only now did she realize that dying wasn’t painful, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant either. That dark and long road was too lonely to walk alone.

The last consciousness floating through her mind was: Damn, I’ve also died now. If I survive, I’ll have to brag about this to little see-through Cake Girl and the tomboy…

Suddenly there was a crisp “slap,” the sound clear and sharp, forcibly slapping her nearly departed soul back. Her back hurt, and she spat out a mouthful of mud with a “puff.” A small stone shot out among it, and she immediately felt her breathing smooth and the world brighten.

The world hadn’t actually brightened—before her eyes was still a yellow mess, but there was now a strong hand on her back, pressing on her heart and forcing out the small stone that nearly killed her. Another hand embraced her waist. She felt herself still tumbling, dragging that net, with scenery whizzing and spinning around them, unable to stop or identify where they were.

Jing Hengbo vaguely thought that it was probably because the rain was too heavy, softening a section of the mountain. Combined with Yélu Qi throwing Zhan Jue hard against the mountain wall, this had triggered a mudslide. The mudslide broke the tree branch holding them, carried them down the slope, blocked the guards’ rescue route, and nearly killed her.

Yélu Qi definitely did it on purpose!

That’s why he looked at her and said “good luck”!

Jing Hengbo’s teeth chattered with rage. If it were Yélu Qi in front of her right now, she would bite down without hesitation.

Needless to say, the one behind her who saved her life was Gong Yin, but Jing Hengbo wasn’t grateful to him. If not for him, how would she have ended up in this situation?

These two black-hearted devils were using her as a chess piece placed on their game board.

Thirty years of fortune turn in cycles—if you have the guts, don’t fall into this old lady’s hands in the future!

Jing Hengbo wasn’t worried now. She had just felt that this mudslide was limited by terrain and wasn’t very fierce. After the initial collapse, the subsequent pressure was limited. Though this wave could crush and drown ordinary people, it still wasn’t enough to kill Gong Yin. As long as they followed the mudslide’s direction and rushed out a certain distance, naturally the pushing force behind would weaken, and they could stop to slowly untangle the net and escape.

Just as she relaxed, she heard Gong Yin above slowly exhale a long breath.

The breath was heavy and slow, making her feel his caution and sense of facing a great enemy.

Was there some danger?

Jing Hengbo was somewhat surprised, struggling to open her eyes to look ahead. The scenery was upside down and unclear, only feeling them going further and further down. She suddenly widened her eyes, remembering something.

When she came down, she had observed the terrain and remembered this mountain valley had mountains on three sides and water on one side.

She remembered the water side was separated by a beam formed by a broken mountain section.

She remembered the collapsing section was directly facing the direction of the broken mountain beam.

In other words, she and Gong Yin were now being pushed by the mudslide toward the beam, moving downward at increasing speed. Before long, she and Gong Yin would crash hard into the stone beam!

The stone beam was several zhang high and several meters thick—two people in a net couldn’t possibly leap up to avoid it!

Such high-speed downward movement also wouldn’t allow time to untangle the net. Even if they could untangle it, only Gong Yin could fly up in time. She, Jing Hengbo, would definitely crash into the stone beam and become Jing meat pie!

The thought flashed through her mind. Jing Hengbo’s soul flew in terror as she opened her eyes and saw the stone beam opposite—half a section of blue-gray craggy stone surface with a large patch of lush green moss, vines, and other plants growing at the bottom.

Without calculating gravitational acceleration, she could guess that in a few seconds she would crash into the stone and be shattered!

Her vision went black.

Yélu Qi’s contingency plan!

He seemed to have lost, but actually hadn’t lost yet. The terrain and position here, as well as what might happen subsequently, he had also calculated!

The outcome wasn’t decided yet!