A dagger lunges at Qin Qichao!
The sharp edge is reflected in Qin Qichao's eyes. He remains vigilant, and his body reacts before his mind.
Qin Qichao sweeps his leg, hitting the man in the abdomen. Then, he draws a short sword from under his cloak and slashes at the dagger!
The sharp weapons collide, making a harsh sound.
Qin Qichao takes this opportunity to break free from the man's restraint.
"Huh?" Seeing this change, the man narrows his eyes warily. "You came prepared."
Qin Qichao grits his teeth and doesn't answer. Taking the opportunity, he takes a step back, his vigilant gaze like a wild wolf in the night.
"I originally wanted to leave your body intact. Now it seems, there's no need for that." The man sneers and quickly strikes out with his knife, even faster and more stable than before!
"Humph." Qin Qichao's heart trembles, but when he makes his move, it is also fast and stable, and his wolf-like eyes are also filled with killing intent.
The blades collide again, and the sound is even more deafening than before. The surrounding plants and trees sense the internal force fluctuations and shake violently, as if in panic.
The man feels Qin Qichao's martial arts and is momentarily stunned. Then, he bursts into laughter.
"It's not right. You're just a poor lad from the countryside. Where did you learn martial arts? So you're actually an undercover sent by Liudu City!"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Qin Qichao's gaze tightens, and the short sword in his hand suddenly retracts. His feet move quickly as he flashes past the man's side and stabs fiercely at the man's back!
But the man is equally swift, and the dagger instantly collides with Qin Qichao, coming with killing intent.
Qin Qichao is not flustered. While observing the man's movements, he thinks about his next offensive.
Fortunately, the man seems to underestimate him, always with the mentality of playing with a mouse, never taking it seriously, as if he wants to torture him to death.
Qin Qichao is slightly off guard and is kicked to the ground by the man's sweeping leg. He quickly adjusts his posture, rolls on the ground once, and then assumes an attacking stance again.
The man whistles, with a rather teasing meaning. "Not bad."
Qin Qichao frowns and tightens his grip on the short sword in his hand, charging forward.
In a flash of lightning and flint, a black figure descends from the sky, wearing a black bamboo hat to cover his face, and holding a heavy long sword that slashes down heavily!
"Crash -"
The surrounding remnants of walls and stones are smashed and broken, flying everywhere, and dust fills the air.
"Who!" Seeing this powerful and fierce move, the man becomes vigilant and deals with it seriously. But the dust obscures his vision. Not to mention the sudden appearance of this person, even Qin Qichao disappears from his view. "Who is disrupting the situation!"
"Your opponent is me."
Qin Qichao's voice suddenly comes from behind him!
But he is vigilant of the person who suddenly entered the battle!
The man barely catches Qin Qichao's sudden attack, and the hand holding the dagger trembles unsteadily. He finds it difficult to focus on Qin Qichao and has to be constantly vigilant of the expert who might attack from anywhere.
There is a sound of footsteps coming from the man's right rear, and he immediately becomes vigilant, slightly turning his body to the right.
But in the next second, the man's voice comes from the left rear.
"What are you looking for?"
The fierce attack scatters the surrounding dust. The man awkwardly catches this move and is pushed back several steps by the powerful attack, only managing to stop by leaning against a tree.
"Who is it!" The man wipes the bright red from the corner of his mouth and looks up.
He sees a person in the dust wearing a black veil, whose face cannot be seen. With each step forward as if demanding life, there is an air of dignity.
This is Yu Chi Feng who has come to the rescue.
"I said, I don't need you!" Qin Qichao looks at his figure, frowning.
"Make it quick." Yu Chi Feng says, flipping the long sword in his hand and directly heading towards the man.
Qin Qichao looks at his attacking posture and sighs in his heart. At this moment, Yu Chi Feng is full of bloodlust. How is he different from the big wolfhound by the city lord's feet?
If Yu Chi Feng is like this, he thinks that Yu Chi Feng is quite suitable to stay in Liudu City.
"You're not going to take all the credit!" While praising in his heart, Qin Qichao says unwillingly.
"Chih, so it's reinforcements. I'd like to see what you're capable of!" The man looks at Yu Chi Feng, who is covered by the black veil, and is unhappy, thus triggering his fighting spirit and killing intent. He twirls the dagger in his hand, and with his other hand, he takes out a short knife from his waist. With two sharp blades exposed, he attacks Yu Chi Feng's face!
Meanwhile, in the imperial city.
Although it is noon, the palace is filled with a banquet, full of excitement.
The dancers' figures sway on the stage, and the emperor's family on the stage is constantly laughing and chatting.
The emperor sits on the dragon throne, holding a glass of fine wine in his hand, and pats the rhythm on his leg with one hand. He watches the dancers' performance with a smile. Sitting beside him is Concubine Ting, who has been his most favored in recent months.
Concubine Ting's delicate face is smiling. Sometimes she picks up a dish and feeds it to the emperor, and sometimes she fills the empty glass in his hand. She is extremely busy.
"Your Majesty, try this." Concubine Ting picks up a mouthful of fish, carefully removes the bones, and feeds it to the emperor.
The emperor opens his mouth, takes the mouthful of fish, nods in satisfaction, and swallows it. His hand that was patting the rhythm suddenly stops and instead strokes Concubine Ting's hand.
"Not bad. You are the most thoughtful. The medicinal herb incense candles you sent before were also very useful. I have been able to sleep well these days."
"As long as Your Majesty likes it, I will order someone to make some more and send them to Your Majesty." Concubine Ting smiles shyly and leans closer to the emperor.
The emperor happily hugs Concubine Ting and shows affection in front of everyone. The expressions of the other concubines on the stage are different. Some are jealous because their favor has been snatched away, and some are annoyed because they don't like her pretentiousness.
The ambiguous affairs of the harem are brought to this family banquet. Some are dissatisfied but dare not discuss it in private.
The Fifth Prince, seeing this farce, pours himself a glass of wine and laughs in a low voice.
He is handsome, and now with his curved eyebrows, he inevitably reminds others at the table of his beautiful mother, Concubine Mei.
The Second Prince, seeing this, narrows his eyes and looks at him. He is also handsome, but his narrow eyes are like a poisonous snake, making people feel intimidated.
"What is the Fifth Brother thinking about that makes him so happy?"
The Fifth Prince looks at the Second Prince with a smile, raises the glass in his hand, and says slowly: "It is a rare reunion banquet, and seeing that Father Emperor is in good health, I am naturally happy."
"Oh?" The Second Prince raises an eyebrow, raises his glass in response, and the two drink a toast. Then he says, "I thought that the Fifth Brother saw this magnificent dance and had a deep realization."
As soon as these words are spoken, the people of the Second Prince's faction all secretly laugh in their hearts.
This is mocking that the Fifth Prince's mother is a dancer!
But the Fifth Prince's expression remains unchanged. He is still smiling slightly and says slowly: "I don't understand the appreciation. I don't know what the meaning of this dance is. But the Elder Brother says he has a deep realization. I am ashamed of myself."
The Fifth Prince is still gentle and refined, but his words, like cotton, contain sharp weapons, opposing the Second Prince.
The Second Prince's face suddenly becomes ugly. He didn't expect the Fifth Brother to mock him in return. How daring! But he completely forgot that it was he who provoked in public.
The emperor is addicted to fine wine and fails to notice the verbal dispute between the two brothers. He just hugs Concubine Ting and laughs with his fleshy face trembling.
"I, of course, am in good health." He suddenly says, interrupting the covert struggle between the two brothers. "This medicinal herb incense candle is very useful. Tomorrow, someone will also send some to you."
The Second Prince and the Fifth Prince both stand up and bow to the emperor.
"Thank you, Father Emperor."
"Ha ha, enjoy this fine wine and delicious food! Concubine Ting, fill my glass... again!"
"Okay ~"
The Fifth Prince looks at the emperor's drunk appearance, and the hand hidden in his sleeve tightens. Then he sits back in his position, shakes the glass of fine wine, but has no intention of enjoying himself.
The Second Prince looks at the emperor with ulterior motives but meets the gaze of Concubine Mei beside him. Their eyes meet for a moment, and it seems that they have reached some kind of consensus. In the next moment, they separate their gazes.
The others are also privately discussing, not knowing whether they are talking about the fatuous emperor or the violent prince.
In any case, it is not the banquet in front of them.
A family banquet, everyone with their own thoughts.
After the family banquet ends, the Fifth Prince chooses a quiet path and returns to his mansion.
He has a cold expression on his face the entire way, without the fake smile from before. The servants following him deliberately lighten their footsteps. Even though the Fifth Prince usually treats them well, it is obvious that the Fifth Prince's mood is not good.
"Your Highness, there is a letter for you." The servant at the door says. "It just arrived. It's from an unfamiliar messenger."
"Let me see."
The Fifth Prince takes the letter and finds that the envelope is not sealed. The handwriting inside also shows the sender's haste, and it is extremely sloppy.
- Just a glimpse on the stage, and I saw Your Highness's celestial appearance, which made my heart flutter. The people from the Zhu Xie Society are approaching Liudu City, and the Second Prince is sure to make a move soon. Please be careful, Your Highness. Also, see you at the old place at the hour of Xu tomorrow.
The few short lines, but the Fifth Prince reads them over and over several times before carefully putting it in his pocket.
From the moment he sees the first word of the letter, a smile reappears on his face. This smile is different from the fake smile at the family banquet. It is a smile from the heart, a genuine and heartfelt smile.
What "celestial appearance" and "this concubine" are, he is still like this, deliberately saying some unreliable but flirtatious words.
The Fifth Prince feels that he is capable again and can fight with the Second Prince for another ten or twenty rounds.
The servants beside him look at the sudden change in their master's mood, and they are all confused.
The struggle outside Beiji City continues, and its intensity is no less than the covert struggles in the imperial city.
In the imperial city, the swords are in the dark, while in the martial arts world, the swords are in the open.
Even facing Yu Chi Feng and Qin Qichao, the man still shows no sign of defeat. He holds two blades to catch Yu Chi Feng's attack, but the trembling of his hands still reveals the fact that he is tired of fighting.
"Heh, it's just a dying struggle!" The man still provokes loudly, and the blade directly approaches Yu Chi Feng's face. "Everyone from Liudu City will die!"
Yu Chi Feng frowns, unwilling to waste more words with such a person.
The heavy long sword swings horizontally in his hand and strikes heavily at the man.
Unexpectedly, the man suddenly moves lightly and leaps up, as if in a final struggle, using his last strength to attack Yu Chi Feng's back!
Yu Chi Feng's attack changes direction, turning to receive this attack, but it is too late to withdraw his hand. The sharp blade scratches his left arm, and at the same time, cuts the black veil he is wearing in half.
If it weren't for the black veil, the injury would probably be on his face.
But when the veil falls, his face is exposed in front of the man.
Yu Chi Feng doesn't care. Whether it is the loss of the veil or the injury on his arm, it doesn't stop his movements for a moment. But the man opposite, after seeing his face, is suddenly stunned, his eyes widen, and then, he shows a horrified expression:
"How are you still alive...!"
"Huh?"
Yu Chi Feng is also stunned upon hearing this, and the sword that is about to strike the man stops just in time.
"What are you hesitating for!" Qin Qichao doesn't understand why Yu Chi Feng stops his movements, but seizes the man's stunned moment, leaps behind the man, and delivers a fatal blow!
"Wait!" Yu Chi Feng fails to stop Qin Qichao's movement. Watching as Qin Qichao's sword pierces the man's chest, the spilled blood even splatters on himself.
The man still stares at Yu Chi Feng's face in surprise, opens his mouth, but vomits a mouthful of blood. In the next moment, his eyes gradually lose their luster, maintaining that panicked expression, and he falls to the ground.
Yu Chi Feng is startled and crouches down to check the man's breathing.
Dead.
Yu Chi Feng looks up and glares at Qin Qichao, only to see the sword blade pointed directly at himself.
"He knows you, and you hesitated." Qin Qichao says coldly.
"I don't know who he is. Maybe he knew me before, but you killed him." Yu Chi Feng looks at the sword blade in front of him without fear, and there is anger in his tone.
"To recover your memory, are you going to betray Liudu City?"
"There is no connection between the two."
The twoStalemate (stiffen up/remain deadlocked) in the same place for a long time.
Between the two, there is the smell of blood and the rotten smell of plants, making people feel annoyed and confused.
Qin Qichao seems to have presented Yu Chi Feng with a binary choice: to choose his memory or to choose Liudu City - or rather, to choose Feng Tingliu.