Hearing Long Feiye’s words, Mu Liuyue was so scared that all of her hairs stood up. She crawled to her feet and tried to flee, but the shadow guards soon stopped her. With no escape, she looked towards Mu Yuanbo and cried in indignation, “Father, you can’t treat me like this! You can’t abandon me just because of big brother! Father, I hate you!”
Although Mu Yuanbo was both stunned and frightened, he held his ground. He knew as as long as he stood firm, Long Feiye wouldn’t really try anything against Mu Liuyue. He could slowly drag things out with the man, but Long Feiye didn’t have time to waste. There was still a chance that he’d win, so he didn’t want to give up his last efforts. His only terms were to spare his son and daughter, which of course included both Qingwu and Liuyue.
In truth, he’d made plenty of mistakes in this life and let down the entire Li Clan. Everything he did was to protect those two children, ah! And yet, the daughter he’d doted on the most was now rebuking and vilifying him?
“Liuyue, I didn’t give up on your big brother, and even less will I abandon you!” Mu Yuanbo explained. If he had, would he be running back and showing himself to Long Feiye and his two slaps now?
“Then you tell them you don’t want big brother anymore, and for them to let me go! As long as they release me, you’ll tell them about Bai Yanqing’s whereabouts!” Mu Liuyue said desperately.
At her words, Long Feiye’s lips curved into a cold smirk. Gu Qishao was filled with disdain, while Gu Beiyue’s eyes on Mu Yuanbo showed a sympathetic expression. Mu Yuanbo was stunned. He looked at his daughter’s blood-stained face as she shouted and screamed at him and suddenly felt listless. He didn’t know how to reply.
“Father, why aren’t you telling them where Bai Yanqing is yet? Tell them!”
“Father, you don’t want to, do you? Well! So you’re abandoning Liuyue because of big brother! I just knew it! You’ve always favored him since we were young!”
“I hate you! I hate you!”
Mu Liuyue began to sob and wail. Mu Yuanbo looked at her until his own eyes grew damp. He always knew he was a shoddy clan leader, but he felt he’d at least been a good father. But...but now he suddenly realized he’d been a bad father, too! How did he not realize his daughter had turned into this? He always a.s.sumed she was simply spoiled and ignorant, but never expected her to be so cowardly and afraid of death, selfish to the extreme!
She actually wanted him to give up on Qingwu! He was her older brother of the same flesh and blood! And had she ever considered his sake? Would Long Feiye ever spare him, the father?
“Biased! Favoritism!”
“I might as well smash my head and died, maybe then I’ll even get to see my mother!”
Mu Liuyue was still crying. Despite this, the shadow guards didn’t give up. Two of them held her back from trying anything. In the end, Mu Yuanbo compromised. He didn’t even know why he did it, only that despair had stolen all his capability for careful thought.
“Bai Yanqing is in the city G.o.d’s temple in the western outskirts of the city. All of his men are there, and he met me there twice. I don’t know anything else,” Mu Yuanbo sat down dispiritedly as if he’d never stand again. Long Feiye left father and daughter to the shadow guards to deal with and left without hesitation.
Gu Beiyue hesitated and told the shadow guards in a low voice, “For the time being, there’s no need to lock them up. Just keep an eye on them and wait for orders. Also, keep news suppressed so the citizens don’t know Mu Yuanbo’s in our hands.”
“Yes!” the shadow guards obeyed.
If this was the past, they would still hesitate and ask if this was His Highness’s intentions too, but now they simply followed Gu Beiyue’s orders as well. At this moment, another shadow guard approached and said, “Sir Gu, you should hurry after them. It’ll be bad if there’s a trap at the temple.”
Gu Beiyue nodded without a word. Actually, he didn’t hold much hopes. Since Bai Yanqing had released them, he must be 100 percent certain they wouldn’t find him. Long Feiye and Gu Qishao were perfectly capable of understanding such simple logic, but they were still searching about like madmen! Their only shred of rationality couldn’t help them think clearly anymore. Gu Beiyue couldn’t bear to dash their last hopes.
The saying went that the calmest, clearest man was the most cold-hearted one. That wasn’t the case. The calmest, clearest man was the most pitiful man, because they not only felt pain, but had to stand fast regardless. Even when they lost all hope, they had to keep protecting it!
--
Gu Beiyue soon caught up to Long Feiye and Gu Qishao. By the time they reached the city G.o.d’s temple on the western outskirts, it was almost daylight. This was nothing more than a dilapidated temple with overgrown gra.s.s. Long Feiye was the first to rush in with speeds comparable to Gu Beiyue. He quickly searched through the premises and...was disappointed.
“Mu Yuanbo!” Gu Qishao wanted to go back and find him for revenge. He a.s.sumed that Mu Yuanbo had tricked them.
Gu Beiyue had no choice but to stop him. “Looks like Bai Yanqing’s already left. This place is so close to the capital city that he wouldn’t be supid enough to hide here!”
Long Feiye abruptly looked back at those words, releasing his own faulty reasoning.
“This old man doesn’t care whether he’s left or not. Isn’t Mu Yuanbo in cahoots with Bai Yanqing? Now that Poison la.s.s is in his hands, Bai Yanqing will definitely give him Mu Qingwu back! This old man will just go wait!” Gu Qishao huffed. Yet as soon as he spoke those words, he realized he was utterly muddle-headed.
If Bai Yanqing suddenly abided by his promise to return Mu Qingwu, then Mu Yuanbo and the Li Clan elders wouldn’t need to beg them for forgiveness and aid. Gu Qishao stomped against the mud on the ground repeatedly, unable to contain his rage. Meanwhile, Long Feiye had fallen into a frightening silence. He looked completely expressionless and without a soul as he stared at the the temple.
Gu Beiyue wasn’t worried about Gu Qishao. Someone who wore themselves out was better off than someone who hid it all inside. He was most concerned for Long Feiye. Actually, it wasn’t just that, but another thing--a secret he couldn’t say, much less at a time like this. If he told them, then even his greatest efforts wouldn’t be enough to coax Long Feiye back.
Gu Qishao suddenly drew out the Moye sword spirit and slashed at the weeds and gra.s.s around them. A few strikes later, the surrounding foliage was reduced to flat ground! He looked back and said coldly, “Long Feiye, where’s the Perplexing b.u.t.terfly Illusion?”
It was the only thing left that could lure out Bai Yanqing. Long Feiye stood unmoving as if he didn’t hear, completely mute. Gu Beiyue sighed helplessly, while Gu Qishao suddenly slashed at the ground again. He really, truly, was an idiot!
The Perplexing b.u.t.terfly Illusion had always been in Han Yunxi’s hands. Moreover, Long Feiye had already tried using it to lure out Bai Yanqing in the matrix formation, but was completely ignored! Heaven knows whether he knew the poison was with Han Yunxi, or had given up on it altogether! In any case, unless Bai Yanqing himself showed up, they had no way to draw him forth. They were completely the pa.s.sive party.
Just what did Bai Yanqing want?
The four of them had wondered about that during the trip from Three-Way Battlefield and discussed it multiple times. They didn’t know what the man was doing, but one thing was certain: his actions at Celestial Mountain Sword Sect showed that he wanted Long Feiye and Han Yunxi to turn against each other in a mutual killing spree! In less than a year, Long Feiye and Han Yunxi would be ruined if they didn’t complete their dual cultivation!
A faceoff between Long Feiye and Han Yunxi would not only concern themselves, but all of East and West Qin and the rest of the world! Could the continent have any other choice besides chaos then?
Suddenly, sword awn exploded around them! It was Long Feiye’s sword. He had turned to speed towards the woods, his sword cleaving away at trees and plants in his wave!
Just how deep was Long Feiye’s hatred? Did he hate Bai Yanqing, or himself? Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao chased after him, afraid to say a word. They ended up following him all the way back to the city. During the whole trip, Long Feiye’s sword shone and attracted all sorts of onlookers, but he ignored them all. As soon as he reached the city, he entered the palace. Thanks to Gu Beiyue’s arrangements, everything was in good order inside. The remnants of the Li Clan’s Mu family, including the Mu father and daughter, had all been locked up. As for Long Tianmo, Gu Beiyue had him kept under house arrest.
Once inside the palace, Long Feiye went without a word to the secret prisons. Seeing this, Gu Beiyue gave a start before smiling helplessly. So he actually knew what I was planning all this time. Long Feiye might have lost his cool, but he was no fool when it came to dealing with Han Yunxi’s whereabouts! The edge of Long Feiye’s sword trailed along the ground noisily as he walked through the silent prisons.
What was Long Feiye planning?
He stopped in front of the cell holding Mu Yuanbo and cleaved open the door. Mu Yuanbo had already prepared himself to die, but his heart still felt fear at the sight of such an icy-cold Long Feiye. A tiny trace of regret fluttered in his chest. Even he couldn’t believe it.
Long Feiye’s sword was pointed at Mu Yuanbo’s face, his handsome face filled with frost! His other hand hung by his side, clenched in a fist, as ice emanated from his being. He was like some inviolatile ice demon.
Chilling aura mixed with killing intent began to suffuse the s.p.a.ce. Even Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao began to feel a trace of dread, much less Mu Yuanbo. He discovered that his hands were shaking uncontrollably. At last, he had to speak up. “Your Highness, this old man--”
He didn’t get to finish before Long Feiye raised his sword. Sword awn exploded from the blade, its power shaking the three walls of the cell until they crumbled. Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao were forced to back out of the way. The s.h.i.+ning sword awn swallowed up Mu Yuanbo’s figure as Long Feiye slashed down with his Profound Frost sword, scattering the light and sword qi.
Afterwards…
All that was left in the cell was Mu Yuanbo’s perfectly intact head. His body had long been reduced to pieces, scattered in all directions in pools of blood. Mu Yuanbo’s eyes were still open. He didn’t die unresigned, but he was probably surprised to expire in such a way.
Without a word, Long Feiye left Mu Yuanbo’s head and began to head for the cell next door, but an anxious Gu Beiyue quickly chased after him. “Your Highness!” he cried.