Jun Yixie wanted Han Yunxi to enter alone?
What a huge joke! Was he ignoring the existence of all the other men present? Ignoring Long Feiye, Gu Qishao, and Gu Beiyue, even Tang Li wouldn’t allow Han Yunxi to step in by herself! Long Feiye’s face turned frosty as he stared at Jun Yixie, unwilling to respond. Gu Beiyue was silent as well, while Ning Cheng broke into a cold smile.
Gu Qishao narrowed his eyes and said, word by word, “Jun Yixie, you, want, too, much!”
Tang Li gave a cold snort. “Jun Yixie, what else do you dare to do besides bullying women?”
If Jun Yixie had all the hostages in his hands, he would definitely bring them out now and call for Long Feiye’s group to join him inside Tiger’s Prison. But he didn’t! He only had Ning Cheng! Faced with the group’s sneers and taunts, he could only endure.
He looked towards Han Yunxi and chortled. “Han Yunxi, looks like you didn’t come to rescue these people sincerely!”
Sincerely?
If they weren’t sincere, would she and Long Feiye have left the northern expedition armies alone to personally risk this journey? Although they were facing Ning Cheng, Han Yunxi didn’t want to explain too much. Right now, Ning Cheng was looking at her with an eye full of trust and respect. Jun Yixie was purely trying to goad them on, but Ning Cheng was smarter than that.
Unexpectedly, Jun Yixie suddenly kicked Ning Cheng’s knee! Immediately, he fell to his knees while Jun Yixie lifted a foot to press against his shoulder. “Someone come, bring over a torch!”
A match wouldn’t light a fire quickly, but a torch could do it in a matter of seconds!
“Jun Yixie, you dare!” Han Yunxi raged.
“See if I dare or not!” Jun Yixie increased the pressure of his foot, forcing Ning Cheng’s shoulder down. He was doing his best to resist, but he didn’t have much strength to begin with. All he did was keep looking at Han Yunxi with his handsome furrowed brows, shaking his head incessantly to keep her away.
Han Yunxi knew he was poisoned--and with a very complex toxin too. The detox system kept examining him but had yet to give her a clear diagnosis.
“Han Yunxi, are you entering or not?” Jun Yixie asked.
His other hand took out a dagger before he bent down, adding his full weight onto Ning Cheng’s back. The edge of the blade rested on Ning Cheng’s other shoulder.
“Han Yunxi, you don’t have to come in. Even after I kill him, this lord has the next hostage to go! You can slowly take your time and consider it! This lord will wait!” As he spoke, he grinned and began to slice at Ning Cheng’s clothes.
Han Yunxi’s eyes blazed with killing intent. If she could, she’d rip Jun Yixie to shreds right now.
“Gu Beiyue, how much certainty do you have?” Long Feiye muttered.
“None,” Gu Beiyue replied honestly.
He had about seventy to eighty percent certainty of rescuing the hostage back then, but now Jun Yixie had a torch in one hand, a dagger in the other, and the edge of the blade resting on Ning Cheng’s shoulder. His chances for success had dropped to 50 percent. He disliked taking risks, especially at a time like this. To him, 50 was as good as zero.
Perhaps if they held on, another chance would show itself. If they risked it and lost, he and Ning Cheng would both be blasted to death. Moreover, there was no telling if any of Ning Cheng’s explosives would endanger the courtyard behind him and create more injuries.
Gu Qishao was of the same mind. They were facing a completely different situation than Celestial Mountain. You couldn’t take chances with things like gunpowder. Moreover, those Heretical Sword Sect types feared death, while Jun Yixie seemed ready to take them down with him!
From the moment Ning Cheng had been presented to their sights, they were constantly calculating the risks of rescuing him. If Gu Qishao’s vines sprang up from underneath Jun Yixie now, Heaven knows whether he’d choose to kill them all?
At this moment, Jun Yixie’s dagger stabbed deep into Ning Cheng’s shoulder!
Ning Cheng bore it silently as he continued to look at Han Yunxi while shaking his head. Han Yunxi looked back coldly, unmoved. Still, her heart was a raging inferno!
Jun Yixie turned cruel and ripped the dagger out, sending fresh blood spraying! Then he stabbed it viciously in again!
Ning Cheng stared at Han Yunxi from a distance, unmoving. She remained expressionless, her eyes as cold as ice.
“Han Yunxi, haven’t you thought things through yet? Shall this lord trade for a different hostage to toy with?” Jun Yixie asked, before looking at Tang Li with amus.e.m.e.nt. “How about Ning Jing?”[1]
Tang Li didn’t speak, but his fists clenched as he glared at Jun Yixie. All of them were enduring and waiting for the chance that Jun Yixie would bring out all the hostages. They’d have a greater chance of victory then.
But Jun Yixie seemed to change his mind, because he said, “Forget it, forget it. Ning Cheng’s tough!”
So speaking, he pulled out the dagger again and placed it by Ning Cheng’s ear with a chuckle. “Han Yunxi, do you want this ear, or--”
“I’ll come over!” Han Yunxi couldn’t stand it anymore. “Jun Yixie, since you want my life, let Ning Cheng go! I’ll enter!”
Ning Cheng’s calm gaze instantly turned swift and fierce--even onerous. Although he couldn’t speak, anyone could tell that he was trying to warn Han Yunxi off.
Isn’t this woman supposed to be smart, rational, and ruthless? Can’t she tell that Jun Yixie really wants her life? She’s seeking death if she comes in! As soon as she does, Jun Yixie will light up all the gunpowder. He’ll never let me go!
If she didn’t enter, both of them could live! Jun Yixie would never dare to leave Tiger’s Prison!
Han Yunxi had no idea that none of the other hostages were in Jun Yixie’s hands. She a.s.sumed he had plenty of victims to kill, but there was only one Ning Cheng in this world. They only had one Ning Cheng for themselves, while the Di Clan only had one Ning Clan Head!
She had no choice but to risk it!
“Han Yunxi, have you lost your mind?” Long Feiye’s voice was dreadfully low. He gripped her hand and refused to let her take a single step forward.
“Do you want to see Ning Cheng die?” Han Yunxi asked calmly.
“If you don’t go in, he won’t die,” Long Feiye replied.
“Are you 100 percent certain?” Han Yunxi asked back.
“No, only 50 percent,” Long Feiye admitted.
They weren’t 100 percent certain before because they a.s.sumed Jun Yixie had multiple hostages. Whether it was Mu Linger, Ning Jing, or the baby, all three had more blackmail power than Ning Cheng. It was very possible for Jun Yixie to simply sacrifice Ning Cheng entirely. However, Long Feiye still didn’t want to risk it.
He said, “If you go in, it’ll be harder to save the rest of them.”
The best choice was to keep dawdling with Jun Yixie until he showed them all the other hostages. It’d be even better to lure him out of Tiger’s Prison. Naturally, Han Yunxi understood Long Feiye’s considerations, but she said, “Long Feiye, how about we make a bet? Jun Yixie won’t leave Tiger’s Prison. Since it’s a risk with no certain chances, why do we have to sacrifice Ning Cheng?”
If they kept on like this, they had no certainty of seeing the other hostages, luring Jun Yixie out, or saving Ning Cheng’s life. If they went in, they had no guarantee of saving everyone either and withdrawing in one piece. Both choices were risky, so why did they have to wait? Why stand and watch Ning Cheng be abused, or see the rest face the same tyranny?
Long Feiye fell silent, but still didn’t let her go.
Gu Beiyue, Gu Qishao, and Tang Li were extremely quiet. This was a monumental decision that concerned life and death. Even Tang Li didn’t dare act impulsive.
Han Yunxi murmured, “Everyone, if we start moving as soon as we enter, would our chances rise?”
There was about two to three meters to Tiger’s Prison from here. If they entered the courtyard, would there be a chance of success?
“It’s still not a 100 percent certainty. At most, I’ll have a 70% chance success rate,” Gu Beiyue had already calculated the possibility.
“It’s 70% for me too,” Gu Qishao replied.
“Long Feiye, what do you think?” Han Yunxi asked with a frosty face.
Long Feiye didn’t tell Han Yunxi his chances, but simply said, “Gu Beiyue, we’ll leave Ning Cheng to you. Tang Li and Gu Qishao will rescue the rest. Jun Yixie...will be left to us!”
So speaking, he didn’t let Han Yunxi go by herself, but took her hand and stepped forward. Gu Beiyue and the others immediately followed after them.
Ning Cheng never expected Long Feiye to not stop Han Yunxi but come himself as well. He immediately glared at the man, his eye full of warning. But Long Feiye simply allowed him to stare without reacting! That infuriated Ning Cheng. How can Long Feiye do this? How could he help deliver Han Yunxi to her death? And everyone else to their deaths?!
Ning Cheng began to struggle, desperately wanting to tell them the truth. He wanted them to know that he was Jun Yixie’s only counter! But no matter how much he thrashed, Jun Yixie held him fast. He looked coldly at the approaching group and broke into a bloodthirsty smile.
This was exactly what he wanted! It was best that they all come!
Jun Yixie’s blood began to boil as he gripped the torch in his hands for the final preparations! As long as Han Yunxi and the rest stepped into the courtyard, he would light the gunpowder on Ning Cheng’s back. At the same time, his subordinates would light up all the surrounding gunpowder hidden around Tiger’s Prison.
Who cared about the ups and downs of Cloud Realm Continent? Today he, Jun Yixie, would have both the East and West Qin masters accompany him in death! Since he couldn’t gain glory in life, he would go down in the annals of history with his death and be known throughout the ages!
Jun Yixie’s torch blazed as the guards hidden around him lit their matches. All of them raised the flames to the waiting gunpowder fuses as they prepared to act. Han Yunxi’s group took step after step towards the entrance to Tiger’s Prison. They were now very close.
Only ten steps left.
As despair rose to Ning Cheng’s eyes, Jun Yixie’s smile widened. He stared at Han Yunxi’s footsteps and began to silently count in his head. Ten, nine, eight…
Abruptly…
1. Important note: so the original raws here say “how about Ning Jing or that child?”, but as the author later admitted, JYX still doesn’t know the baby is NJ’s yet, so it doesn’t make sense for him to use that to threaten Tang Li here. Thus, I modified his lines to leave out the mention of the baby.