Ready your tissues.
The city gate was in chaos.
Tuoba Wu clamored to see Emperor Duan Jing, but Liu Yan insisted he was acting on imperial orders, and Su Yang appeared at the gate, holding the imperial edict.
In a loud voice, she read out the edict, so even the people inside the gate could hear. Finally, she said, “Your Highness, please stop.” If possible, Su Yang did not want to see bloodshed today.
Liu Yan’s expression remained unchanged.
This turn of events would not affect his plan to kill them and then wage war against the Nanliang Kingdom.
Without hesitation, he manipulated the Spirit Gu people to attack the Nanliang people. Tuoba Wu drew his sword in retaliation and questioned, “Your Highness, you are falsely conveying imperial orders, ignoring the emperor’s edict. Is this rebellion?”
Liu Yan, gripping the city wall, said word by word, “I have never thought of rebellion. I just want to reclaim what rightfully belongs to Great Zhou. You greedy people deserve to die.”
After hearing this, Su Yang knew Liu Yan would never turn back.
She took out the tiger tally.
Seeing the tiger tally, Liu Yan felt a twinge of emotion. His elder brother was unwilling to send troops to fight the foreign tribes that humiliated Great Zhou and only wanted to negotiate. Yet, he sent troops to capture him, his brother.
But Liu Yan no longer cared.
This time, he could only succeed, not fail.
Su Yang continued to convey Emperor Duan Jing’s verbal order: “Capture King Qing alive.” Even now, Emperor Duan Jing only wanted her to capture Liu Yan alive, not to execute him immediately upon capture.
Soldiers, who had long been lying in wait outside the city, responded to the order. They held swords and knives, ready to die, and surrounded the formidable, pain-insensitive Spirit Gu people.
Liu Yan blew his flute.
The Spirit Gu people moved faster.
Su Yang drew her sword to fight the Spirit Gu people. Zhong Kong and Zhong Huan followed closely. Shen Jianhe cursed Liu Yan for his stubbornness and used his shovel to strike at the Spirit Gu people.
Suddenly, a flute sound rose at the city gate, countering Liu Yan’s flute sound, slowing the Spirit Gu people’s movements. Su Yang and her companions could manage for now; any faster, and they would be overwhelmed.
Liu Yan squinted.
A young man walked through the snow, his face strikingly beautiful, holding a bone flute in both hands. His tall figure, with hair ends blown by the wind, wore indigo clothes that stood out against the white backdrop.
The flute sound was melodious, yet full of strange and sinister undertones.
The bone flute matched its master in both ability and temperament.
Qi Buyan walked unhurriedly past the temporarily non-attacking Spirit Gu people, step by step, until he looked up at Liu Yan on the city gate.
Liu Yan’s gaze was fixed on Qi Buyan. It was just the right moment; as he dealt with these people, he could also use Qi Buyan’s blood, imbued with the aura of the Heavenly Silkworm Gu, to nourish his Spirit Gu people.
While playing the bone flute, Qi Buyan also manipulated the Heavenly Silkworm threads to kill the nearby Spirit Gu people.
The closer one was to the flute’s sound, the more uncomfortable they would feel. Su Yang clutched her chest, gritting her teeth to endure it. They needed Qi Buyan to play the bone flute to counter Liu Yan, who controlled the Spirit Gu people, even though it would also make them suffer.
Liu Yan wasn’t feeling too well either.
Playing his flute was fine, but hearing Qi Buyan’s flute made him feel like his mind was being led away.
Qi Buyan’s bone flute was too sinister.
Liu Yan dared not pause for a moment, forcibly regaining his scattered thoughts, concentrating on playing his flute, attempting to suppress Qi Buyan’s flute sound, and directing the Spirit Gu people to attack him.
He Sui’an also heard the bone flute. She stood up, ultimately unable to rest easy, removed the silk band covering her eyes, and quietly peeked towards the city gate. The first thing she saw was Qi Buyan’s figure.
The flute sound had no effect on her.
As described in the original work, Qi Buyan had indeed found something that could temporarily block out the flute sound and gave it to her to wear. Although He Sui’an could still hear the sound, she wouldn’t be disturbed by it.
There was only one such item.
It couldn’t be shared with others.
After obtaining it, Qi Buyan used it only on He Sui’an. As for the others, it had nothing to do with him. They could endure if they could; if not, they would die.
Unaffected by the flute sound, He Sui’an lay against the wall, staring at the city gate.
At the city gate, Qi Buyan’s Heavenly Silkworm threads flashed in mid-air, directly severing the necks of several Spirit Gu people. Dark blood splattered on the ground, and heads rolled, creating a horrifying scene.
He walked through the snow, the Heavenly Silkworm threads changing from white to black-red. Wherever he passed, no Spirit Gu people were left alive. Qi Buyan’s goal was clear—to kill Liu Yan, making him suffer immensely, leaving no remains.
But today, after too much killing, the Heavenly Silkworm Gu began to backfire on his body.
He tightened his grip on the bone flute.
The indigo tassel swayed.
His internal strength was in chaos. The Heavenly Silkworm Gu in Qi Buyan’s body moved rapidly, completely out of control, but still within bearable limits.
If not for the Heavenly Silkworm Gu in his body, Qi Buyan would have been able to kill his way to the city gate without hesitation and take Liu Yan’s head directly. However, he was suppressed by the Heavenly Silkworm Gu; the more he killed, the weaker he became.
Liu Yan noticed this.
Qi Buyan’s flute sound was unstable.
How could this be? But regardless of the reason, Liu Yan was overjoyed. Seizing the opportunity, his flute sound barely overpowered Qi Buyan’s, and the agile Spirit Gu people immediately attacked Qi Buyan.
He Sui’an, who had been closely watching Qi Buyan, felt her heart leap.
Qi Buyan put down the bone flute and twisted the necks of the attacking Spirit Gu people with his bare hands. They couldn’t feel any pain, rendering physical attacks useless.
The simplest and most brutal method was to break the Spirit Gu people’s necks or pierce their hearts.
“Be careful, Mr. Qi!”
Not far from Qi Buyan, Su Yang warned him of a Spirit Gu person sneaking up behind him.
Without turning around, Qi Buyan used the Heavenly Silkworm threads to neatly and efficiently sever the neck of the sneaking Spirit Gu person. Black blood sprayed, turning the white snow black and red, creating an eerie beauty.
While Su Yang warned Qi Buyan, she herself was scratched on the arm by a Spirit Gu person.
Shen Jianhe ran to her side.
“You be careful too.”
Su Yang, body tense, calmly analyzed the battlefield: “This isn’t working. Although the emperor wants Liu Yan captured alive, I don’t think that’s possible. We need to kill him first.”
Shen Jianhe wiped the dirty blood from his face: “I agree. If the emperor blames us, so be it. We can’t all lose our heads over this.”
“The problem is, we can’t get close to Liu Yan. How can we kill him?”
Shen Jianhe pointed out the key issue. He was exhausted, enduring the flute sound while picking up bows and arrows left by fallen soldiers and shooting them at the hearts of Spirit Gu people, firing several shots in quick succession.
Su Yang was also out of breath.
She looked at the city gate’s defenses: “He’s currently distracted by Mr. Qi’s flute sound and may not have much attention left for his surroundings. I’ll use my lightness skill to get to the city gate and find an opportunity to kill him.”
Shen Jianhe fired an arrow and disagreed: “That’s too dangerous. Didn’t you arrange for people in the city to support us?”
Su Yang looked grim.
She admitted, “I did arrange for a group to support us in the city, but I think Liu Yan must have dealt with them. Otherwise, the city gate wouldn’t be so quiet. This is my miscalculation.”
He volunteered: “I’ll go.”
Su Yang looked at him.
“You’ll go?”
Shen Jianhe didn’t give her a chance to object, sneaking to a secluded spot and using his lightness skill to get to the city gate.
Unable to stop Shen Jianhe, Su Yang could only go to Qi Buyan: “Mr. Qi, Shen Jianhe has gone up to the city gate. Please cover him.”
Hearing this, Qi Buyan glanced at the anxious Su Yang without speaking.
However, he also wanted to kill Liu Yan quickly.
Qi Buyan raised his bone flute and played.
Liu Yan, busy countering Qi Buyan’s flute sound, didn’t notice Shen Jianhe sneaking up to the city gate. Shen Jianhe gripped his iron sword tightly, hoping to strike in one blow.
Before he could act, Princess Luoyan, dressed as a maid, appeared.
Shen Jianhe, who had never seen Luoyan and didn’t know she was a princess, was puzzled by the sudden appearance of a woman with a long sword on a city gate filled with Spirit Gu people, as if she had fought her way up.
Luoyan initially didn’t know what was happening. After knocking out Jiang Songwei, she had been paying attention to the commotion at the city gate. Hearing Su Yang read the imperial decree through the gate, her clever mind quickly pieced together the situation.
Perfect timing.
She could use the chaos to kill Liu Yan.
Today, it was either Liu Yan’s death or hers. Having acknowledged a traitor as her father for many years and feeling deep guilt over her brother and sister-in-law who were killed by Liu Yan long ago, Luoyan had long lost the will to live. She might as well take this gamble.
Luoyan’s original plan was to feign obedience and marry, then return to Chang’an at night and kill Liu Yan when he was unprepared. However, she hadn’t expected him to do something like this today and call it for the sake of the Great Zhou?
It was just his own obsession.
One who commits self-inflicted sins cannot live.
As Luoyan’s long sword was about to pierce Liu Yan, a Spirit Gu person struck her wrist. The sword clattered to the ground, and Liu Yan saw her.
Liu Yan paused his flute, shocked: “Ah Yan? Why are you here?”
“To kill you.”
Luoyan, her eyes red, picked up the sword again and attempted to stab Liu Yan: “Die, Liu Yan.”
Following the order “If someone tries to kill Liu Yan, kill them immediately,” a Spirit Gu person grabbed her by the neck, took the sword, and threw her to the ground, then raised the sword to stab her heart.
Liu Yan shouted, “No!”
But the Spirit Gu person couldn’t stop the sword.
Seeing Luoyan about to be killed, Shen Jianhe wanted to help, but he saw Jiang Songwei dragging her away just in time. The Spirit Gu person’s sword pierced the stone floor, sending shards flying.
Luoyan’s heart stopped for a moment.
She stared at the blood-covered Jiang Songwei in her hands, rendered speechless.
In the alley earlier, Luoyan had used a sleeping drug on Jiang Songwei, but as his consciousness faded, he had cut his hand with a blade to stay awake.
Snow fell on them, and the cold wind blew. Despite the freezing weather, Jiang Songwei was sweating profusely from the pain: “Princess, are you alright?”
Luoyan stood up.
Jiang Songwei tried to pull her down from the city gate.
Luoyan refused, her expression fierce: “I want to kill him! I must kill him…” Jiang Songwei decisively knocked her out and took her away.
He couldn’t let anything happen to her.
This was his mission to complete.
Liu Yan still had some lingering feelings for Luoyan. If he became desperate, he might still kill her or use her to threaten Su Yang. Jiang Songwei had to take her away.
While Liu Yan’s attention was drawn to Luoyan, Shen Jianhe seized the opportunity to strike, raising his sword to slash at Liu Yan’s neck.
Liu Yan sensed the sword wind and turned slightly. Shen Jianhe twisted his sword’s trajectory and stabbed toward his heart.
Liu Yan, already distracted by Qi Buyan’s sinister flute music and Luoyan’s near-death situation, reacted a bit slower. He was stabbed in the chest by Shen Jianhe, and blood stained his luxurious clothes.
Shen Jianhe wanted to press his advantage, to pierce Liu Yan’s heart and let him die under his sword.
The Spirit Gu person grabbed his wrist.
Shen Jianhe’s face turned pale.
With a “crack,” it seemed the Spirit Gu person had crushed his bones with immense strength.
Shen Jianhe could no longer hold his sword.
Liu Yan glanced at his blood-soaked chest. This injury was greatly affecting him. No, he had to finish this quickly. He gave the Spirit Gu person an order to continue playing the flute.
The Spirit Gu person grabbed the temporarily powerless Shen Jianhe and lifted him to the city wall, ready to throw him off. Su Yang, who saw this from below the city gate, clenched her fists, her heart trembling: “Shen Jianhe!”
He Sui’an, who was hiding, also saw this.
“Senior Shen.”
She silently called out.
But neither of them could react in that instant, as the Spirit Gu person directly threw Shen Jianhe down without any hesitation.
Shen Jianhe’s black figure swept through the air and fell below the city gate.
The moment he landed on the snowy ground, he spat blood, trying to get up, but his body went limp, his limbs weakly hanging by his sides. Su Yang rushed through the seemingly countless Spirit Gu people toward Shen Jianhe.
He Sui’an covered her mouth tightly to keep herself from screaming.
She couldn’t cause them any trouble.
Su Yang reached Shen Jianhe but didn’t dare touch him, her throat dry: “You.”
Shen Jianhe struggled to lift his eyelids to look at her, tugging at the corners of his mouth to force a smile: “A real man can endure this little injury, this little pain. As long as I’m not dead, it’s fine.”
He spat another mouthful of blood.
Su Yang was afraid that moving him would make it worse, and said urgently, “Stop talking.”
However, Shen Jianhe got up by himself.
She quickly helped him.
Shen Jianhe felt as if his internal organs were scattered all over the place when he fell. After catching his breath, he could still endure the pain and said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine after resting for a bit. You go help them.”
“You find a place to hide first.” After weighing the priorities, Su Yang left his side.
Standing on a high place, Liu Yan naturally saw what happened at the city gate. He didn’t care whether Shen Jianhe was killed by the Spirit Gu person or not. Injured as he was, he was of no use anyway.
Liu Yan focused on playing his flute.
Qi Buyan was the one he needed to be careful of.
Liu Yan concentrated on watching Qi Buyan. Qi Buyan had also witnessed Shen Jianhe falling from the city gate. He continued to play his flute calmly, trying to control these Spirit Gu people for himself.
The Spirit Gu people were pulled by the flute music played by the two of them, moving with difficulty.
Su Yang charged ahead with a sword.
She shouted to the soldiers, “Kill!”
The soldiers were inspired by Su Yang’s powerful shout and actions and also charged at the Spirit Gu people.
Qi Buyan used his Heavenly Silkworm thread to kill several Spirit Gu people. His seven orifices faintly ached, and there were even signs of bleeding. This was the Heavenly Silkworm gu in his body strongly warning him not to kill anymore.
He did not stop playing the flute, nor did he stop killing the Spirit Gu people with the Heavenly Silkworm thread. As the number of people he killed increased, the corners of Qi Buyan’s eyes became increasingly red, bleeding and standing out against his fair skin.
Liu Yan’s eyes lit up.
He found it incredible.
The young man from Miaojiang Tianshui Village seemed to be under some kind of suppression. Unable to break free, he couldn’t compete with his flute music.