No one expected Le Feishan to dare to attack the Emperor in such a manner. Even when being surrounded by royal guards and Flying Wolf soldiers, Le Feishan had unwittingly managed to pave a way out for himself.
When Xu Yao saw the wire against Emperor Kunta's neck, he was forced to restrain himself from acting rashly. Instead he could only grit his teeth to ask, "Le Feishan, do you still think you can escape?"
"How would I know if I don't give it a try? And even if I don't manage to escape, the conclusion is hardly going to be any better than the situation now."
If it had been just about his marital infidelity, the heaviest punishment he would get would be a discharge from the military. But now, even his relationship with Wan Chengze had been exposed, so there was only one way out for him.
Le Feishan didn't look at Emperor Kunta, his eyes were only fixed on Xu Yao. His steel wire could slice off a human head in an instant, and he believed that the Emperor wouldn't move recklessly.
The Emperor was indeed calm and didn't show any panic. It was just—the feeling of being betrayed by one person after another made his mood worsen.
He raised his head slightly, suppressed the burning rage inside his heart and said, "Le Feishan, you can stop right now. I might still leave you alive in punishment. But if you insist on continuing this way, then don't blame me!"
Le Feishan didn't even consider the possibility of surrendering. His wrist simply adjusted the wire ever so slightly, and the Emperor's neck was suddenly overflowing with beads of blood.
"My life is the last thing I have, it's enough for me to do as I want. As for now, Xu Yao, you withdraw first! Let your people send Wan Deqing and Tianyu to me. Remember, don't try anything foolish!"
Xu Yao hesitated. At that moment, Emperor Kunta could already feel the thin wire tighten, so he said, "Go ahead, General Xu."
After hearing this, Xu Yao glared darkly at Le Feishan, before turning around and descending from the hover car. He shouted, "You, bring Wan Deqing and Le Tianyu!"
His order was executed immediately by the Flying Wolf soldiers.
By this time, the Emperor's personal guards had also arrived. They had been informed that the Emperor was being held hostage by Le Feishan through the video sent by the Emperor's communicator.
Initially, they firmly believed that Xu Yao didn't have a part in the attack and was still on the Emperor's side. So, how could such a thing happen?
However, after listening to the order he gave his soldiers, along with some long-buried personal feelings of dissatisfaction, their thoughts turned to the fact that Le Feishan and Xu Yao's relationship was that of a father and a son-in-law. These suppositions inevitably led to some doubts.
"General Xu, how could you simply leave the Emperor alone in the hover car?" The captain of the Emperor's personal guard was forceful as he spoke.
"What would you suggest I do otherwise? Do you want me to fight back? Or is it that you really want Le Feishan to kill the Emperor?"
The Emperor's personal guards had all personally been selected by the Emperor. Although their rank was not particularly high when compared to seniors in the military, they had many special rights. Usually, even those senior officials were polite to them. Xu Yao, however, was an exception and didn't abide by these principles.
Soon, someone brought over Wan Deqing and Le Tianyu. Le Tianyu was holding onto Wan Deqing's arm tightly, as if he was holding onto the last life-saving straw of hope. The two of them immediately retreated to Le Feishan's side.
As soon as Le Tianyu saw Le Feishan, he cried out loudly, "Wu wu wu, Dad!"
Le Feishan was agitated by the noise and shouted, "Shut up! Don't cry!"
Le Tianyu was so frightened by the scolding that his tears turned into sobs.
At this time, Le Feishan smiled coldly and said, "Xu Yao, I have to trouble you to send my grandchildren to me. I haven't seen them enough yet."
Xu Yao narrowed his eyes slightly. "What did you just say?"
"Send my grandchildren to me," repeated Le Feishan. "Besides, you should take better care of your people. If we have any mishaps, don't blame me for being indifferent."
After a moment's silence, Xu Yao suddenly smiled and replied, "Alright, you wait here." He then turned around and walked out of the hover car.
Yan Jie turned his head in bewilderment and followed him towards where Le Yao and the Empress were resting. "Brother Xu, why are you—"
It's obvious that Le Feishan wants to take the children as hostages, but do you really want to send them out?!
Le Yao was also shocked after hearing the news. "What did you say? You're going to send the children to Le Feishan?"
Xu Yao nodded. "I promise you, I will protect them—"
"No!" cried Le Yao.
Le Yao glared at Xu Yao and yelled, "The children are so young that they can't even protect themselves. How can I let them be hostages?! Is Le Feishan tired of living? How dare he!"
This was the first time ever that Le Yao had spoken in such a violent tone to Xu Yao. The people in the room were shocked, and Yan Jie became even more frightened.
Xu Yao calmly held Le Yao's shoulder and engulfed him in a hug. He gently held Le Yao's hand with his left hand and clasped them together. When he opened his palm again, it revealed a 'seal' and he pressed this against the incubator, not caring in the slightest whether the Empress saw it or not.
Obviously, no ink had been used, but the clasped hands had successfully left a faint golden rune on the incubator.
Le Yao subconsciously understood that their children would be safe with this rune, but he still felt very angry!!!
It seemed as if he had never ever been this angry before in his life. He felt as if his entire head was swollen with pain, as if something was desperately aching to burst out and rush into his four limbs. The sensation of his body being about to explode was strange, but it also seemed like it had happened somewhere before. He had no control over it at all!
Then he did something that no one, including himself, had expected…
He hugged the incubator and cried, "No, never! I'll kill anyone who dares to rob my children again! You can make me a hostage, but let my children go, don't even think about touching them!"
Then he started to take the children away. His eyes had turned vicious, just like those of a female wolf guarding her cubs.
All the people, including the Empress, were shocked by the change in Le Yao. It was only Xu Yao who had noticed the words 'dares to rob again' in the midst of Le yao's cries.
Did someone try to hurt their children before? Or was Le Yao referring to 'that person'?
However, before Xu Yao could think of the exact answer, Le Yao was suddenly stopped at the door.
"We can't allow you to leave!" The Captain of the Emperor's personal guard had blocked Le Yao.
"Madam Xu, we understand that you're worried about your children. But presently, the Emperor is still in your father's hands. You should obediently hand us your children, or is it that you also want to rebel?"
"What did you say?" No one knew which word had stimulated Le Yao. His eyes started to turn red as he stared at the person opposite him. "If you have the courage, say those words again!"
"Leave the children!"
"You're courting death!" Le Yao exclaimed as he glared fiercely at the guard.
All of a sudden, a strong unnatural wind blew through the surroundings. Even though the sun could clearly be seen at its highest position in the sky, this very sky was quickly getting darker and darker.
Everyone present was stunned by the strange change. Even Le Feishan, who was waiting for the children to arrive, noticed the disturbance happening outside through the hover car's window.
"What could be the matter?" Le Feishan asked Wan Deqing.
"I don't know." Wan Deqing also thought that it was a bit weird. The sky should only darken when night falls, but it was obviously still day time at the moment.
There were no clouds in the sky. It was evident that this darkness was not due to the gathering of any dark clouds, but rather, could be chalked up to the sudden disappearance of sunlight.
"Dad, Dad, what are we still waiting for? Can't we just go?" Le Tianyu said in alarm.
"Le Feishan." At this time, Xu Yao's voice resounded from Le Feishan's communicator as he said, "This is your last chance. Let the Emperor go. I'll let you take both of them away. If not, you don't know what will—"
Crack!
Boom!
A thunderbolt hit the earth, striking a spot right next to the hover car which held the Le Feishan trio and the Emperor inside.
Xu Yao said, "See? My ancestor is angry. You should let the Emperor go as I count to three. One, two… Ah, you're so stubborn!"
At first, they couldn't see any of the approaching dangers. However, just after Xu Yao's had spoken, the sky completely darkened. Le Feishan, Wan Deqing and Le Tianyu started to hear strange whispers, followed by a noise that seemed mixed between a sinister laugh and a weeping sob. Obviously, they couldn't see anything, but it was as if a multitude of invisible beings had surrounded them and were whispering all around.
Suddenly, Le Feishan felt something crawl up his neck! It was not only his neck, but this sensation occurred on his wrists and ankles as well. He felt stunned and couldn't move at all. Only the wheezing sound being squeezing out his throat proved that he was still alive!
Being imprisoned for several days had cast a shadow on Le Tianyu's heart. He would become inconsolably anxious when facing the dark. At this time, after being surrounded by utter darkness and upon hearing strange movements, his courage was at a breaking point.
"Dad, Dad? Wan Deqing!" Le Tianyu felt someone clutch at his shoulder. Feeling a shred of relief, he quickly grabbed the hand—however, contrary to his expectations—what he touched was a skinny hand consisting only of bones!
That hand felt clear, wet, sticky and had just a little temperature. It was even dripping blood, as if it had just been freshly skinned…
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Le Tianyu immediately screamed and fainted.
"General Xu?" Emperor Kunta's voice was steady, but it was hard to say how calm he was when stuck in such a situation.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Xu Yao's voice resounded in the interior of the shadowed hover car.
Everything was still dark, but Emperor Kunta could feel a sudden loosening in the grip of the wire around his neck. He moved his stiff body parts for a while but could utter no words in this baffled state.
He had just doubted, even if it was only for a second, about whether he was actually dreaming.
The light in the hover car finally flickered on. He saw Xu Yao standing opposite him, rubbing his hands, and beside him were Le Feishan, Le Tianyu, and… the skinned, bloody body of Wan Deqing.
Xu Yao calmly wiped the last bloodstain from his hand with a handkerchief.
"I will deal with the three of them later. You'd better go and appease the Empress. I'm going to go find Le Yao and the children."
"Wait!" Emperor Kunta stopped him.
Xu Yao turned around.
Emperor Kunta walked towards him and asked, "General Xu, who are you?"
Xu Yao replied with a smile, "I'm not a human being."
Emperor Kunta frowned, "That's not funny at all!"
Xu Yao said, "I assure you, I'm not joking. My wife and I are not human, and neither are our three children."
Emperor Kunta: "…"
Xu Yao stated these explosive facts in a tone so bland, that it paled in comparison to his descriptions about eating or drinking water, and went out to find Le Yao.
After having thoroughly frightened the Captain of the Emperor's guard, Le Yao had taken the children home.
He seemed to be deep in thought about something on his way back.
As Le Yao sat on the living room sofa, the temperament being radiated from his whole person was different from before. He used to exude a certain amount of optimism and cheerfulness, but the current him looked a little difficult to get close to.
The incubator was still in his embrace. His hands were on it, but his mind wasn't paying any attention to it.
The children were moving uneasily inside it. The eldest one had urinated and an intelligent voice was continuously prompting for the diaper to be changed.
However, the notification rang for a long time before Le Yao returned to his senses and glanced at his child. Then he silently and slowly replaced the little diaper for his eldest.
He watched the incubator closely again, and the sky outside gradually began to return to normal.
Everything was back to normal—it was as if nothing had ever happened—but at that moment, he suddenly remembered…
"When did you arrive here?" Upon hearing the door open, Le Yao posed this strange question to the person who'd just entered.
…