Ye Li could swear that while she had recently found Lightning Zhen Ting and Mo Jing Li’s attempts to take advantage of the situation distasteful, she never intended to deal with them in this manner. Entering the guest quarters and seeing the chaos before her, Ye Li felt a throbbing pain in her temples. “Quickly pull the Chu Emperor away!” she urgently commanded, seeing Mo Jing Li had been beaten nearly unconscious by Lightning Zhen Ting. If this were happening elsewhere, Ye Li wouldn’t care if Lightning Zhen Ting beat Mo Jing Li to death, but she couldn’t let Mo Jing Li die here in the Defined Prince’s manor.

Feng Zhi Yao looked up at the sky, “Princess, how could we possibly restrain the Garrison South King?” Even with one hand missing, Lightning Zhen Ting was still one of the four greatest martial artists in the world. Wouldn’t they just be asking for a beating if they rushed in? And for Mo Jing Li’s sake no less – absolutely not.

“Princess of the Defined Prince, if anything were to happen to His Majesty in the Defined Prince’s manor…” Mo Jing Li’s attendants anxiously fretted. The Western Ling Garrison South King’s martial prowess was simply too overwhelming, and what made it worse was that the Emperor had suddenly gone mad and lunged at no one else but the Garrison South King.

Han Ming Yue raised an eyebrow and said with a calm smile, “Are you threatening the Defined Prince’s manor? If the Garrison South King wants to fight with the Chu Emperor, it has nothing to do with us.” Seeing the person rendered speechless with a red face, Han Ming Yue continued leisurely, “However… the Chu Emperor is our guest, so the Defined Prince’s manor will naturally ensure his safety.” The person looked at Mo Jing Li’s now unrecognizable face and had nothing more to say. If this counted as ensuring safety, they’d rather be unsafe.

“Garrison South King, the Chu Emperor is after all a sovereign ruler. Moreover… this is still the Defined Prince’s manor.” Ye Li stepped forward and frowned slightly at the two men, saying with displeasure, “If you both came to pay respects to the Prince, this Princess welcomes you wholeheartedly. But if you have personal grievances, please leave Flying Hong Pass and resolve them elsewhere.” Lightning Zhen Ting certainly wouldn’t kill Mo Jing Li – killing Mo Jing Li now would be doing the Defined Prince’s manor a huge favor. Hearing Ye Li’s words, Lightning Zhen Ting gave a cold snort and solemnly stayed his hand. However, just as he stopped, Mo Jing Li, who had seemed nearly finished moments ago, suddenly revived and clung to him again. Lightning Zhen Ting’s face stiffened as he kicked Mo Jing Li away.

“Don’t go… don’t go…” Mo Jing Li groaned and mumbled softly after being kicked away. Everyone present had excellent hearing and caught his words, looking awkwardly at Lightning Zhen Ting’s iron-grey face. After a long while, Feng Zhi Yao came to his senses and muttered to himself, “So the Chu Emperor’s feelings run so deep, no wonder…”

“Feng San!” Lightning Zhen Ting, with no outlet for his rage, glanced at Feng Zhi Yao and sent a palm strike his way without another word. Feng Zhi Yao quickly retreated, while Han Ming Yue simultaneously struck out at Lightning Zhen Ting from the other side. Only then did Feng Zhi Yao barely avoid the palm strike.

“Garrison South King,” Ye Li said with displeasure, her voice stern, “This is Flying Hong Pass. This Princess hopes the Garrison South King will show some self-restraint.” Lightning Zhen Ting took a deep breath, knowing he couldn’t do anything to Feng Zhi Yao at this moment, but the way everyone present was looking at him was unbearable. Throughout his life, Lightning Zhen Ting had faced defeats and setbacks, but he had never felt such humiliation as now. Glaring hatefully at Mo Jing Li who was being restrained by attendants, Lightning Zhen Ting said in a deep voice, “This King has urgent military matters to attend to and must take his leave.”

Ye Li didn’t try to keep him, and as for the peace negotiations Lightning Zhen Ting had mentioned earlier, neither side had truly taken them to heart. She nodded and said, “In that case, this Princess won’t keep the Garrison South King. Cold Er, escort the Garrison South King for me.” Among those present, besides Han Ming Yue, only Cold Hao Yu was the most reliable. Han Ming Yue held no official position in the Prince’s manor, so naturally couldn’t escort anyone. If they let Feng Zhi Yao or Han Ming Xi escort him, they’d probably provoke Lightning Zhen Ting again within three sentences.

Cold Hao Yu nodded and said to Lightning Zhen Ting, “This way, Garrison South King.”

Lightning Zhen Ting departed with an ashen face and a sweep of his sleeves.

Meanwhile, Mo Jing Li was still struggling restlessly under his attendants’ restraint. Ye Li couldn’t be bothered to watch this disgraceful display any longer and simply ordered, “Take your Emperor back to his chambers to rest. Do you need a physician?”

Mo Jing Li’s attendants looked at him somewhat awkwardly. Anyone with eyes could see what was wrong with Mo Jing Li. “Thank you, Princess, but… that won’t be necessary. We have brought Imperial physicians.”

Ye Li didn’t press further, only warning, “The people in this Princess’s manor, please treat them with discretion.”

“We understand,” everyone replied. The Defined Princess was warning them not to touch the maids in the General’s manor. They had brought plenty of maids themselves and naturally didn’t want to cause trouble with the Defined Princess over a few servant girls. This was still the Defined Prince’s manor after all, so they readily agreed.

Watching Mo Jing Li’s attendants carry him away, Feng Zhi Yao and the others burst into laughter. Ye Li shook her head helplessly – Mo Little Treasure’s prank had worked out differently than intended this time. What was meant to be just mischief had led to such an unexpected outcome.

Feng Zhi Yao fanned himself, smiling pleasantly as he said, “Who would have thought the Chu Emperor harbored such feelings for the Garrison South King… truly, a deep cut-sleeve love.” Everyone rolled their eyes – Feng Zhi Yao was determined to pin this on Lightning Zhen Ting and Mo Jing Li no matter what.

“Be careful, Lightning Zhen Ting might send assassins after you,” Han Ming Xi warned. Joking was fine, but playing with fire could be dangerous.

Feng Zhi Yao maintained his graceful demeanor, “Unless he comes personally, what do I have to fear? Besides, he won’t have time for that right now. More importantly, if he tries to kill me over this, wouldn’t that prove… my guess was right, and that’s why he wants to silence me?”

Thus, that day a piece of news spread through Flying Hong Pass like wildfire and quickly expanded in all directions.

At first, it was like this: “I heard the Chu Emperor accidentally offended the Garrison South King and got beaten up.”

Then it became: “I heard the Chu Emperor had a secret crush on the Garrison South King, couldn’t help but offend him, and got beaten up badly.”

Then it turned into: “I heard the Chu Emperor tried to… and got beaten up by the Garrison South King.”

Then it became: “I heard the Chu Emperor and Garrison South King were mutually in love, couldn’t help but… and then the Garrison South King beat him up.”

Finally, it was: “I heard the Chu Emperor got beaten up by the Garrison South King.”

“Why?”

“What do you think? You’re really out of touch.”

“Ah? Could it be…?”

“Absolutely!”

So by the time Mo Jing Li regained consciousness the next day, rumors had already swept through Flying Hong Pass inside and out. Remembering what he had done the day before, Mo Jing Li was also mortified but helpless.

In the early morning, Ye Li sat drinking tea in a garden pavilion. Her snow-white clothes, casually tied hair without any ornaments, and beautiful face free of powder showed a touch of melancholy and gloom in the light morning mist.

This was the beautiful scene Mo Jing Li saw standing outside the pavilion, causing him to lose focus momentarily. With his face still black and blue from yesterday’s beating, someone as appearance-conscious as Mo Jing Li would normally never come out. But now he didn’t have the luxury of waiting for his facial injuries to heal before seeing people. So early in the morning, he had to endure the strange looks from all the manor’s servants to come see Ye Li.

“Princess, the Chu Emperor has arrived,” Qin Feng entered the pavilion and said softly. Ye Li nodded and said, “Please show the Chu Emperor in.”

Qin Feng turned to invite Mo Jing Li in but didn’t leave himself. Instead, he stood in the pavilion less than three steps from Ye Li, his gaze fixed unabashedly on Mo Jing Li, filled with warning and vigilance.

Mo Jing Li’s face darkened, though his injuries made it hard to tell. Ye Li and Qin Feng only saw his face twist strangely. Ye Li raised her teacup to her lips to hide her twitching mouth and amusement, asking softly, “Are the Chu Emperor’s injuries not serious?”

“Not. Serious!” Mo Jing Li said through gritted teeth. Though he hadn’t felt much at the time yesterday, remembering it now he recalled everything. Thinking about how he had acted like he couldn’t get enough of an old man, Mo Jing Li immediately felt his stomach cramping and his breakfast threatened to come up again. He had already vomited violently once when he woke up in the middle of the night.

Mo Jing Li knew he must have been drugged, but neither he nor his accompanying Imperial physicians could figure out how it had happened. Apart from being bitten by Mo Little Treasure, Mo Jing Li had barely come within two steps of anyone not in his retinue that day. Even his tea and snacks had been strictly inspected. So Mo Jing Li couldn’t guess how he had been affected.

Ye Li nodded and said, “That’s good then. The Garrison South King was rather impulsive. He left Flying Hong Pass yesterday afternoon.” So if you want to settle scores, go find Lightning Zhen Ting yourself.

Mo Jing Li was certain he didn’t want to see Lightning Zhen Ting again this year. Not just because of his habitual nausea, but more because of the injuries Lightning Zhen Ting had inflicted.

“I came to see you,” Mo Jing Li stared at Ye Li and said.

Ye Li nodded, “Please speak, Chu Emperor.”

Mo Jing Li glanced at Qin Feng beside them and frowned, saying, “You may withdraw.” Qin Feng ignored him, merely giving him a cold look. Mo Jing Li strangely found he could understand what Qin Feng’s eyes were expressing – You throw yourself at men, who knows what you might do to our Princess?

Seeing this, Mo Jing Li’s temple throbbed, but seeing Ye Li showed no intention of dismissing Qin Feng, he had to suppress his anger and said, “I have important matters to discuss with you.” Ye Li smiled and said, “Please speak, Chu Emperor.”

“If you and the Defined Prince’s manor submit to Great Chu, I guarantee Mo Yu Chen will remain the hereditary Defined Prince,” Mo Jing Li said matter-of-factly, his tone lofty and even carrying a hint of condescension. However, what should have been an imposing manner appeared somewhat comical given his current appearance.

Ye Li gave him a speechless glance and said calmly, “If this Princess hasn’t guessed wrong, the Chu Emperor has already reached an agreement with the Western Ling Garrison South King, right?”

Mo Jing Li gave a cold, unconcerned laugh and said, “If Lightning Zhen Ting can play me, must I necessarily honor the agreement? Ye Li, as long as you lead the Defined Prince’s manor to submit to Great Chu, I guarantee you won’t be treated unfairly.”

“How does the Chu Emperor plan to treat this Princess fairly?” Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked. Could Mo Jing Li’s head be empty? Did he truly think that just because she said she’d submit to Great Chu, the entire Defined Prince’s manor and the Mo family army would obediently follow suit?

Thinking Ye Li was tempted, Mo Jing Li smiled with satisfaction and said confidently, “I can make you Empress. Ye Li, you should know that making a previously married woman Empress is something unprecedented throughout history – this proves my sincerity.”

Ye Li lowered her gaze, remaining silent in contemplation.

Mo Jing Li wasn’t in a hurry; such matters naturally needed careful consideration. He was confident Ye Li would agree to his proposal. Mo Yu Yao was dead, and no matter how capable Ye Li was, she was still just a woman. Without a man’s support, she was nothing.

After a long while, Ye Li finally said flatly, “This Princess needs time to consider.”

Mo Jing Li nodded, “Very well, I await your reply.”

Ye Li nodded and left with Qin Feng.

In the garden, Qin Feng followed beside Ye Li and asked in confusion, “Princess, are you considering such a thing?” Ye Li nodded, “Of course, I must consider it. I’m considering… how to deal with Mo Jing Li.”

“What does the Princess have in mind?” Qin Feng asked curiously.

Ye Li thought for a moment and said flatly, “Throw him out.”

Watching Ye Li stroll away, Qin Feng blinked and snapped his fingers. Four Qilin appeared before Qin Feng, and he raised an eyebrow asking, “Did you understand the Princess’s words?”

“The Princess means?”

Qin Feng smiled, “Just what it means – throw. Him. Out.”

A quarter-hour later, a man in imperial robes but with a face so bruised and swollen it was almost unrecognizable was thrown from the top of Flying Hong Pass’s city wall.

Feng Zhi Yao, playing chess on the city wall, shook his head regretfully and said, “The Qilin are getting worse and worse at handling things – they can’t even throw someone properly.” If it were him, he would have hit his pressure points and thrown him down headfirst. He’d guarantee Mo Jing Li’s face would never again manage such complex things as expressions.

Han Ming Yue smiled and said, “There are people below.”

Below was the large contingent of guards Mo Jing Li had brought who were stationed outside the city – how could they let Mo Jing Li fall to his death? The Qilin had thrown him with precise control. Even though three palace guards jumped up simultaneously to catch Mo Jing Li, he still paid the price of a broken right hand. Any harder and his right side would have been permanently paralyzed.

“Ye Li?! I won’t let you get away with this!” Outside the city, Mo Jing Li roared.

“Whoosh—” A chess piece shot down from the city wall, perfectly aimed at Mo Jing Li’s wide-open mouth. The usually vigilant guards were startled by the Emperor’s sudden roar and failed to intercept this hidden weapon attack. Han Ming Yue elegantly wiped his hands with a handkerchief, “Mo Jing Li has become increasingly crude since becoming Emperor.”

“Excellent technique, Master Ming Yue.” Feng Zhi Yao praised with a broad smile. The two exchanged smiles as they watched Mo Jing Li curse and depart in a cloud of dust below.

On a mountain path from Great Chu to Western Ling, Ling Tie Han and his two companions rode leisurely on fine horses. Although the King of Hell Palace had suffered heavy losses this time, for Ling Tie Han, who had already been thinking of retiring, it wasn’t such an important matter anymore. If it still existed, who would take control of the King of Hell Palace in the future would be a major problem. After all, assassin organizations were different from others – using the wrong person could cause enormous trouble.

While chatting and laughing with his younger siblings, Ling Tie Han suddenly frowned. Before Cold Liu Yue and the others could speak, Ling Tie Han said in a deep voice, “Step back.” Though they didn’t understand their elder brother’s meaning, seeing his grave expression, Cold Liu Yue and the others obediently rode their horses to the side.

“Defined Prince, since you’re here, why not show yourself?” Ling Tie Han called out.

Cold Liu Yue and the Sick Scholar, watching from a distance, were shocked. Throughout their journey, news of the Defined Prince’s death had spread across the land. But their big brother…

Just as the two were worried, a white-robed figure appeared in a small hollow on the mountain path. White robes like snow, white hair like frost. Mo Yu Yao held the Burning Destruction sword, his expression indifferent as he stared at Ling Tie Han on horseback below. He seemed not at all surprised that Ling Tie Han knew he wasn’t dead.

Ling Tie Han sighed somewhat helplessly and said, “After you, Defined Prince.”

Mo Yu Yao didn’t bother with pleasantries. A cold light split the sky as the Burning Destruction sword left its sheath instantly, carrying overwhelming killing intent and pressing toward Ling Tie Han. Ling Tie Han spurred his horse and leaped into the air. At the same time, his iron sword left its sheath, a powerful sword energy slashing toward Mo Yu Yao. The impact from the collision of the two sword energies forced both men to involuntarily retreat more than ten steps before steadying themselves, but the trees where the sword energy passed were uniformly shredded.

With a crisp snap, Ling Tie Han’s iron sword shattered. Though Ling Tie Han’s sword was one in a thousand, compared to legendary swords like the one in Mo Yu Yao’s hand, it was still far inferior. So breaking into pieces after one clash wasn’t unexpected. Mo Yu Yao had always disdained taking advantage of superior weapons, but this time he seemed completely unconcerned. It seemed that even if Ling Tie Han had been bare-handed, let alone wielding an iron sword, he would still have swept the Burning Destruction sword at him. This made Ling Tie Han understand how great Mo Yu Yao’s anger was over his attack on Ye Li.

“Big Brother!” Cold Liu Yue couldn’t help but cry out, raising her hand to throw her weapon over. Cold Liu Yue excelled at hidden weapons and wasn’t very skilled with swords. But because of this, Ling Tie Han had prepared better weapons for his younger siblings. The sword in Cold Liu Yue’s hand was far better than the one Ling Tie Han himself used. But even the finest sword would be useless against the Burning Destruction sword, so Ling Tie Han waved his hand, refusing Cold Liu Yue’s sword.

Mo Yu Yao pointed his sword at Ling Tie Han from afar and said calmly, “This Prince has always considered Palace Master Ling a rare worthy opponent, but never someone who needed to die. Making an exception today will certainly cause This Prince great regret.”

Ling Tie Han smiled bitterly and helplessly, “This one never thought we would meet in mortal combat with the Defined Prince either. However, in this world, there are many things we must do against our will.” Mo Yu Yao gave a light snort, no longer wasting words as the Burning Destruction sword in his hand conjured a ghostly cold blade light shooting toward Ling Tie Han. He didn’t want to know about any difficult circumstances or unwilling choices. To Mo Yu Yao, anyone who raised a hand against A-Li deserved death – no reason, no right or wrong.

On the mountain path, the two figures quickly became entangled in battle. With Cold Liu Yue and the Sick Scholar’s martial arts level, they could at most see two shadowy figures flickering in the air, along with the surrounding killing intent so thick it was almost impossible to breathe. Sword energy shot out from time to time, nearly pulverizing everything it touched. Cold Liu Yue nervously grabbed the Sick Scholar’s wrist, her gaze anxiously fixed on the spot they inevitably couldn’t see clearly. The Sick Scholar wasn’t doing well either – his illness had long since recovered, but just now, that overwhelmingly suffocating killing intent made him want to cough again.

“Big Brother?!” Just as the two were anxiously confused, Ling Tie Han’s voice suddenly fell from the sky. The Sick Scholar quickly leaped up to catch Ling Tie Han’s falling body. Cold Liu Yue bit her lip and drew her sword, charging at Mo Yu Yao.

“Second Sister, stop!” Ling Tie Han cried out in alarm. “Defined Prince, please show mercy!”

“Bang—” Only half of the precious sword remained in Cold Liu Yue’s hand. Mo Yu Yao flicked his wrist and the broken sword tip shot toward Cold Liu Yue. Cold Liu Yue retreated repeatedly, finally falling to sit on the ground as the sword tip flew past her face and embedded itself in the tree behind her. Cold Liu Yue sat on the ground, covered in cold sweat. She had felt the cold intent from the blade as it passed by her cheek in that instant.

Mo Yu Yao looked down at everyone, his gaze as cold and emotionless as a deity in heaven. “Know your limits.”

Cold Liu Yue glared at Mo Yu Yao stubbornly and said harshly, “My big brother didn’t kill the Defined Princess – the Defined Prince is going too far!”

Mo Yu Yao sneered, “He failed to kill her. If A-Li suffers even the slightest injury, This Prince will have your entire King of Hell Palace chopped to pieces and fed to dogs!”

Perhaps angered by Mo Jing Li’s attitude of looking at them like insects, Cold Liu Yue forgot her fear from moments ago and sneered, “If my big brother wanted to kill Ye Li, do you think she’d still be alive now?” The King of Hell Palace dealt with assassination, and Ling Tie Han was the world’s unique assassin. If he truly wanted to kill Ye Li, how could she have nearly escaped? Even if it was to avoid offending the Defined Prince’s manor, Ling Tie Han had indeed shown mercy.

“Liu Yue.” Ling Tie Han frowned and said in a deep voice.

Cold Liu Yue had to stop speaking, though unwillingly. Ling Tie Han slowly stood up – the brief moment’s pause had allowed him to regulate his breathing. Though seriously injured, he wasn’t completely without the ability to fight back. Ling Tie Han looked at Mo Yu Yao and said, “Defined Prince, this one still has some matters to attend to. I believe the Defined Prince also has urgent business. When this one has completed his affairs, I will naturally give the Defined Prince an explanation. Then we can decide on life and death – how about that? Moreover… the Defined Prince is not completely unharmed now, correct? If this one were to fight with all his strength, is the Defined Prince confident of emerging unscathed?”

Mo Yu Yao was silent for a moment before saying, “Very well. Three months from now, This Prince will come to find Palace Master Ling again.”

Ling Tie Han nodded, “This one will respectfully await you. Farewell.”

Mo Yu Yao said nothing more. Ling Tie Han led Cold Liu Yue and the others back to their horses and rode away.

“My Prince.” A black-robed guard appeared before Mo Yu Yao and called softly.

“It’s nothing,” Mo Yu Yao said calmly. He raised his hand to wipe casually, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.