Ultimative Intelligenz - Kapitel 50
The Holy Mother and Prince: "He is a friend of my friend. If there is any misunderstanding..."
The head guard said, "There will be no misunderstanding, Your Highness Xiaoyun, please return."
The Holy Mother Prince looked at Shen Zhili with a hint of helplessness.
Shen Zhili immediately grabbed his sleeve, looking pitiful, and said, "Your Highness, please... He's my only family, I can't live without him..."
As if injected with adrenaline, the Holy Mother Prince instantly raised his voice and said, "Captain of the Guards, you should at least explain why you arrested her. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding... How can you bear to make such a poor girl sad!"
The burly head guard glanced at Shen Zhili and suddenly shouted, "It's you, her accomplice! Men! Seize her!"
Upon seeing this, the guards who were watching the show immediately pounced on Shen Zhili.
In a flash, Shen Zhili flipped his fingers and suddenly grabbed the Holy Mother Prince by the neck, pressing the sharp needle against his neck, saying, "Let me in."
The guards were hesitant to approach, fearing the consequences.
Shen Zhili dragged the Holy Mother Prince along, and said fiercely, "The needle tip is poisoned. Tell me where my senior brother is right now, or I'll kill him."
The head guard hesitated for a moment: "You really want to go in?"
Shen Zhili: "Of course."
The head guard said, "Alright, it's inside." He pointed to the inner palace. "Release Prince Xiaoyun, and I'll take you there immediately."
Before Shen Zhi could speak, the Holy Mother Prince smiled and said, "I'm fine. If you let me go now, I'm afraid she won't feel at ease."
The head guard had no choice but to let Shen Zhili go first.
After taking two steps, the Holy Mother Prince raised his hand, and Shen Zhili immediately went on alert: "What are you trying to do?!"
The Virgin and Prince: "Adjust your posture, walking like that must be tiring."
Shen Zhili's expression was complicated: "...Are you like this to everyone? How have you even survived this long...?"
The Holy Mother Prince thought for a moment: "It's nothing, you're not really going to kill me."
Shen Zhili: "...How do you know I won't kill you?"
The Virgin Prince smiled, but there was an inexplicable certainty in his expression: "It's intuition, I guess."
Shen Zhili tightened her grip on the needle; it felt terrible to have her bravado exposed as weakness...
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Suddenly kicking open the palace door, the two people stared at each other silently behind the door that swung open. Shen Zhili immediately spotted Hua Jiuye.
She couldn't help but shout, "Senior brother!"
Hua Jiuye turned around upon hearing the sound: "You..." He only managed to utter one word before turning to look at Hua Xiaoyun beside Shen Zhili.
Hua Xiaoyun also looked at him at this moment.
Their eyes met, and they gazed at each other.
This scene was truly bizarre; two identical faces, reflected like mirrors, displayed completely different expressions and circumstances.
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
After a long silence, Hua Jiuye said coldly, without any expression, "Who is this person? He looks so familiar."
Hua Xiaoyun: "I also feel like we've met somewhere before?"
In the center of the main hall, a deep male voice interrupted the two's strange conversation: "Xiaoyun, what brings you here?"
Hua Xiaoyun smiled and bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
His movements were fluid and natural, as if he didn't care at all about the silver needle that was so close to Shen Zhili's hand.
Looking into the distance, Shen Zhili saw a solemn-looking middle-aged man sitting on the throne in the center of the hall.
He was dressed in the distinctive clothing of southern Xinjiang, wearing a golden crown on his head, and holding an exquisitely crafted cane in his right hand.
He was clearly well-maintained; he looked to be only in his forties. His face was still exceptionally handsome, and time had not diminished his charm. His face, which resembled Hua Xiaoyun's, had only gained more depth and experience from the trials and tribulations of time. However... no matter how you looked at him, he exuded a gloomy and dangerous aura.
This is... the King of Southern Xinjiang?
The King of Southern Xinjiang said in a deep voice, "This is not the time for you to come, Xiaoyun, you should step back."
Hua Xiaoyun looked at Hua Jiuye and said gently, "Father, this person, this young lady's friend... if it's just a misunderstanding, may I take him away?"
King of Southern Frontier: "There is no misunderstanding. Do you know what he did? He killed two elders in the Elder Hall, as well as twenty-seven disciples."
Hua Xiaoyun paused for a moment.
Shen Zhili couldn't help but say, "Those people are beasts. They... they did that to my senior brother's sister..."
She only managed to utter one sentence before her voice abruptly stopped. It wasn't that she couldn't continue, but rather that Shen Zhili suddenly didn't know who to speak to. She still remembered the elder's last words:
...Young Master Hua, these are all orders from the King; we are merely following orders...
The person in front of them was the King of Southern Xinjiang, and the person beside him was the King of Southern Xinjiang's son.
Hua Xiaoyun might help her out of a small favor, but once the King of Southern Xinjiang is involved, he has no reason to side with an outsider.
Hua Jiuye's voice echoed in the empty hall: "Stop talking! You old beast, just kill me if you want, don't give me those high-sounding charges."
The King of Southern Xinjiang said coldly, "You will die soon, but before that, hand over the Gu Emperor."
Hua Xiaoyun: "The Gu Emperor?"
Suppressing his anger, the King of Southern Xinjiang turned to Hua Xiaoyun and said as gently as possible, "You can go out now."
A figure emerged from the shadows, bowing to Hua Xiaoyun in a gesture of invitation. Though humble in attitude, the action left no room for refusal.
At this moment, Hua Jiuye laughed mockingly: "Yes, the Gu Emperor, the Gu Emperor can only be possessed by one person in a generation. I would rather die than hand it over to you, your son, a Southern Border King without the Gu Emperor. Do you think anyone will believe it if this gets out? Just like some people, who can never wash away the stain of being a usurper." Blood gradually flowed from the corner of his mouth, but he seemed completely unaware.
Shen Zhili couldn't bear it and stepped forward to check Hua Jiuye's pulse.
Hua Xiaoyun was forcibly asked to leave, leaving only four people in the entire hall.
The King of Southern Xinjiang stepped down from his throne, and a drop of blood oozed from his fingertip.
The palace doors were half-closed, casting shadows on his face, making his handsome features appear sinister.
"You should know that you are not the only one in this world who possesses the Gu Emperor. If I cannot have it, I can devour you and... your woman."
Hua Jiuye pushed Shen Zhili away: "She's not my woman." Then, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes: "Your Gu Emperor..."
The King of Southern Xinjiang nodded: "It was obtained from your father. I raped your mother in front of him and told him that if he did not hand over the Gu Emperor, I would let all the prisoners in the dungeon rape your mother."
Hana Kuya's chest heaved violently, and flames ignited in her deep eyes.
He bit his lip until it bled, and squeezed out a few words between his teeth: "You beast, he's your brother."
The King of Southern Xinjiang laughed contemptuously: "I know, but so what? Why should the woman I love marry him? It's only because he has the Gu Emperor, only because he can inherit the position of King of Southern Xinjiang. Why can't I have him? The victor is king, the loser is villain. I have never felt guilty. Just like now... hand over the Gu Emperor to me, and I will let you go to hell to see your dead father without pain. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to make you taste the flavors of hell."
Hua Jiuye looked at him with a cold smile.
The King of Southern Xinjiang: "It's that bitch's fault. She said she liked me, but then she married that deadbeat. I'm just making those two deserve what they got..."
With a backhand slash, he severed Hua Jiuye's wrist, blood spurting out, a drop of blood dripping from the Southern King's fingertip onto Hua Jiuye's wrist.
Almost instantly, Hua Jiuye curled up in pain.
With a flick of his sleeve, the King of Southern Xinjiang grabbed Shen Zhili by the neck with one hand and pinned him against the wall.
He said slowly and coldly, "How do you want me to treat your little lover..."
With her feet dangling in the air, Shen Zhili's mind was in complete chaos. Brothers, usurpation, torture... she could almost piece together the whole truth. She struggled to hold onto the hand that was about to crush her neck and said, "You're just trying to shift the blame onto a woman. You're only doing this to satisfy your own lust for power. You've become inhuman and won't even spare your own brothers!"
King of Southern Frontier: "Nonsense! It's all because of that bitch!"
Shen Zhili raised her chin and sneered: "Your brother has been very good to you, hasn't he? You feel guilty now? You actually have a conscience."
The King of Southern Xinjiang's face was so dark it could drip water, and his fingers suddenly tightened: "Let you talk nonsense... hiss..."
The King of Southern Xinjiang suddenly turned his head and found that Hua Jiuye had bitten his arm hard. Blood gushed out and gradually gathered together. While Hua Jiuye was in pain, a pain also spread from the point where the blood met.
The pain instantly brought the King of Southern Xinjiang to his senses, and he used all his strength to throw Hua Jiuye away.
Hua Jiuye's back slammed heavily against the wall, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His internal organs churned, but he still laughed: "Let's die together."
"Let the poison in my body erupt, and everyone who comes into contact with my blood will die."
Shen Zhili fell from mid-air, clutching her neck and panting heavily.
The vast hall was silent, filled with an inexplicable sense of desolation.
Just then, a slightly breathless yet incongruous gentle voice broke in: "Um, I have no objection if you want to die, but can I take my Zhili with me?"
Chapter 42
He spoke as if no one else was around, as if Shen Zhili was the only person in his eyes.
Almost as soon as she heard the voice, Shen Zhili's nerves relaxed.
Although this person is unreliable in speech, actions, and behavior, and exudes an aura of unquestionable deception, yet...
It's so good to see him at this time.
Really… Shen Zhili pressed her neck and murmured softly… That’s great.
She had never been so grateful to Su Chenche for his unprovoked and persistent pursuit.
The King of Southern Xinjiang glared at him angrily: "Who are you?"
The man in white slowly pushed open the door with one hand, walking slowly from one end of the hall like a fleeting shadow of aurora against the dazzling white light behind him, as if closing up a world that had been divided in two, sweeping away the entire gloomy darkness with his blinding light.
All the darkness, dampness, filth, and grime became exposed at this moment.
The somber and tragic atmosphere vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.
Step by step.
He walked towards us, backlit, sweat dripping from his forehead, his facial features clearly outlined yet indistinct.
The footsteps stopped abruptly.
He bent down and knelt on one knee, his snow-white robes trailing across the ground. He gently lifted the woman's chin and carefully stroked the red mark on her neck, his voice utterly tender.
"Zhi Li, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
So tender and affectionate, so doting and loving, so...
Shen Zhili blinked, squeezing out the sudden tears welling up in her eyes.
No matter how much I refuse to admit it, at this moment, the soreness spreading from my heart to every part of my body is uncontrollable.