Huan Changming's breath traveled up his neck, and he clenched his fingers, managing to say with difficulty, "Don't get aroused on me! Go find someone else!"
Huan Changming grabbed his chin and lifted it up, "Lu Xianjun has the appearance of a celestial being. How can others compare to Lu Xianjun?"
A forceful kiss landed on Lu Pianpian's lips. Lu Pianpian tried to back away, but Huan Changming pursued her even more closely, like a slippery venomous snake that tightly coiled around her.
Lu Pianpian felt the temperature on Huan Changming's body rising steadily. Shame and indignation surged into his heart at the same time. He closed his eyes tightly, wishing he could seal off his five senses and pretend that he could not perceive anything.
But Huan Changming refused to let him go, "Open your eyes."
Lu Pianpian refused to comply with him, so he turned his head and took Lu Pianpian's earlobe into his mouth. The wet and hot sensation extended from the tip of Lu Pianpian's ear to her toes, stimulating him so much that he had to open his eyes.
The moment she looked at Lu Pianpian, her eyes met Huan Changming's blue ones, which were filled with lust and surging desire. They were like a wild beast locking onto its prey, staring intently at Lu Pianpian.
Huan Changming breathed heavily in Lu Pianpian's ear, each rise and fall of his chest pressing against her back. Lu Pianpian's clothes were disheveled by him. He untied one of Lu Pianpian's hands, then quickly tied that hand to the other, before laying Lu Pianpian down on the fox fur.
The fox fur was as white as snow, which made Lu Pianpian's hair appear even blacker, unlike Huan Changming's brown hair, and it looked like a large piece of smooth silk.
Huan Changming lifted Lu Pianpian's hair and sniffed it. "Do you know, you always have a fragrance about you..."
Lu Pianpian pursed her lips, which were red from Huan Changming's kisses, and was too ashamed to speak.
Huan Changming took another deep breath of Lu Pianpian's scent; it was this scent that pulled him out of the pain of his illness.
"Lu Pianpian, don't be delusional that Huan Juntian will win tomorrow and take you back from me. You'd better not even think about such a thing."
Huan Changming lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes fluttering. What came into view was Lu Pianpian's disheveled collar, her snow-white and slender neck exposed to his vision, silently tempting him to lower his head and savor it.
So he followed his heart and lowered his head to plant a series of kisses on Lu Pianpian's neck. He couldn't help but think that Lu Pianpian's neck was too thin and he could break it with a gentle pinch. After defeating Huan Juntian tomorrow, he would take Lu Pianpian back to the Li Palace and raise her properly, so that he could make up for all the weight she had lost.
He didn't like Lu Pianpian being too thin, as fragile as a cloud that would dissipate at the slightest breeze.
He still preferred the young immortal lord who had rescued him from the evil cultivators in the river cave, whose eyes shone brightly and radiated light.
Lu Pianpian was forced to endure all the humiliation brought by Huan Changming. Every kiss seemed to be a mark that Huan Changming had branded to humiliate her.
He felt more resentment and bitterness than anger; if he had a sword, he would have stabbed a hole in Huan Changming's chest.
Inside the tent, the lights were dim. Jingyi stood outside the tent and caught a glimpse of the intertwined figures reflected in the candlelight.
Resentment and jealousy began to gnaw at his heart. He had known His Majesty the longest and had been by His Majesty's side the longest, so why was the newcomer able to surpass him?
He was unwilling to accept it, he was unwilling to accept it!
“Spying on others having sex is not a good habit, Lord Jing!” Mu Lingzi appeared silently next to Jing Yi, patted his shoulder, and said kindly, “We will be at war with Huan Juntian tomorrow, Lord Jing should go back and rest early.”
Jing Yi gave him a cold look, then turned and left.
Mu Lingzi moved away all the soldiers patrolling around Huan Changming and stayed nearby to guard him.
On the eve of the battle, the commander-in-chief was having sex in his tent. If the soldiers had seen this, the morale of the army would have been thrown into chaos.
Mu Lingzi cursed under her breath, "Indecent and immoral."
On the other side of the military camp, Huan Juntian waited anxiously for news of Qu Surou in the main tent.
"Your Highness! The Holy Maiden has returned with Princess Huanmi!"
Upon hearing the soldier's report, Huan Juntian quickly lifted the curtain and indeed saw Qu Surou returning with Huan Mi, but Lu Pianpian was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is my senior brother?" he asked.
Qu Surou shoved Huan Mi away from her, saying, "Ask your dear sister!"
Huan Juntian could only look at Huan Mi again, but Huan Mi suddenly hugged Huan Juntian and burst into tears, "Brother, I thought I would never see you again!"
Huan Juntian pushed Huan Mi away expressionlessly, "You've suffered. Why didn't my senior brother come back with you?"
Qu Surou snorted coldly, waiting for Huan Mi to speak for herself.
Huan Mi was in the wrong and tried to gloss over the matter by stammering.
Seeing this, Huan Juntian knew that the problem with Qu Surou's failure to rescue Lu Pianpian lay with Huan Mi.
He ordered the soldiers, "Take Princess Huanmi away and settle her in."
Huan Mi followed the soldiers, sobbing, while Qu Surou still looked furious.
Huan Juntian comforted Qu Surou, "Senior sister, I will rescue senior brother tomorrow, so don't worry. You've worked hard tonight breaking through the camp, so go and rest early."
Success or failure hinges on tomorrow. Qu Surou didn't want to say anything that might upset Huan Juntian, so she nodded and said, "Alright, you should rest early too. Tomorrow we will definitely be able to rescue Pianpian and kill Huan Changming."
"good."
After Qu Surou left, Huan Juntian returned behind the screen, took out a brocade handkerchief and covered his mouth. After a moment, he put down the handkerchief and looked at it. It was covered with black and red bloodstains.
His lips turned an unnatural deep purple, and it took him a long time to sit on the couch before they slowly returned to their original color.
He used magic to burn the handkerchief so that no one could see it, and secretly hoped that everything would go smoothly the next day.
The following day, the banks of the Jianghuai River were densely packed with soldiers from both armies.
The dragon throne was placed at the highest point on the riverbank. The young emperor, dressed in golden armor, sat on the throne with great vigor, with Jing Yi and Mu Lingzi standing on his left and right sides.
Across the river, Huan Juntian, clad in armor, stood on the opposite bank, riding a warhorse.
Huan Changming shouted, "Huan Juntian, out of brotherly affection, if you lay down your weapons and surrender now, I will spare your life!"
The war drums on Huan Changming's side immediately sounded, and the soldiers brandished their weapons and shouted, "Surrender now! We'll spare your lives!"
Qu Surou listened with a burning desire, but Huan Juntian remained calm and said without any emotion, "Huan Changming, you murdered the emperor to seize the throne, committed tyrannical crimes, and persecuted loyal officials. If you surrender now, you can still be considered to have repented. If you insist on fighting, all that will be left for posterity is your infamy."
Huan Changming laughed arrogantly: "Since ancient times, only the victors are remembered in history and praised by future generations! The losers will only be forgotten in the dust of history!"
"I am destined to be the victor who will rule history!"
The sound of war drums suddenly changed, and a colossal dragon that blotted out the sky flew down from the clouds, charging towards the enemy army.
Huan Juntian's soldiers were only mortals and had never seen such a scene before. They were immediately terrified and their morale collapsed, and they gave up the idea of deserting.
Huan Juntian had seen this dragon on Huamian Island and knew it could attack with dragon flames, so he and Qu Surou had made preparations in advance.
The two men dismounted and leaped into the air, simultaneously activating the formation, creating a massive barrier that enveloped all their soldiers.
Huan Changming ordered, "Burn them to death!"
The demonic dragon unleashed scorching flames that swept towards Huan Juntian's position. The formation was activated, and the resulting barrier isolated the demonic dragon's flames.
Huan Juntian's soldiers breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. "With Your Highness here, we will definitely be able to cut off the tyrant's head!"
Huan Juntian then gave the order, "Archers, prepare! Whoever hits Huan Changming will be credited with the greatest merit!"
"yes!"
The archers lined up in perfect unison, nocked their arrows, and prepared to fire.
Huan Juntian said, "Release!"
The sound of a bowstring falling rang out suddenly, and tens of thousands of arrows rained down on the opposite bank.
Jingyi shouted, "Protect His Majesty!"
The shield bearers moved to the front row to block the rain of arrows with their shields.
Huan Changming, behind the shield, gave Mu Lingzi the order, "Go and feign an attack on Huan Juntian!"
Mu Lingzi guessed his thoughts, and when the enemy's arrow rain stopped, he flew above the river, picked up tens of thousands of arrows that had been shot onto the shield, and fired them all at Huan Juntian.
Huan Juntian soared into the air once more, using his sword technique to shatter the incoming arrows. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the demonic dragon attacked him, spewing out several streams of dragon flame.
Huan Juntian swiftly dodged in mid-air. Huan Changming ordered the shield bearers to retreat to the second line and summoned the artillerymen, who aimed at Huan Juntian and fired several rounds.
Qu Surou was getting restless, but the formation still needed her to maintain and support it.
Huan Juntian faced the enemy head-on and said loudly, "Senior Sister, you just need to take good care of the formation!"
Qu Surou gritted her teeth and said, "Fine!"
The Yangtze and Huai Rivers were ablaze with the sounds of cannons and a deluge of arrows. Huan Juntian faced the enemy alone, displaying an invincible strength and growing ever more courageous with each battle.
Huan Changming remained completely calm, supporting his cheek with his hand as he calculated the time.
Just as Huan Juntian was about to slash Mu Lingzi's face with his sword and cut him in two, Huan Juntian suddenly stopped gripping his sword.
Knowing the time was right, Mu Lingzi flicked bamboo spikes from her sleeve and attacked Huan Juntian. Huan Juntian raised his sword to dodge, but just as he was about to gather his strength, he felt his mind suddenly churn, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The next moment, his body fell into the Jianghuai River.
"Huan San!" Qu Surou could no longer sit still. She quickly flew out of the formation, picked up Huan Juntian, and brought him back to the formation.
She looked at Huan Juntian's purplish lips, immediately took his pulse, and then said with a look of surprise, "How could this be... I clearly cured the poison in your body..."
With a loophole appearing in the formation, Huan Changming pressed his advantage, unleashing the demonic dragon to spew forth its flames once more and attack the enemy forces.
Huan Juntian struggled to stay awake and grabbed Qu Surou's arm, reminding her, "Senior Sister! The formation!"
"Alright!" Qu Surou quickly maintained the formation to prevent the army from being burned.
With the help of soldiers, Huan Juntian stood up, his face pale, and said, "Don't worry about me, the archers continue—"
With a soft thud, the sharp blade pierced his back, and blood splattered onto Qu Surou's skirt.
Huan Juntian slowly turned around and saw Huan Mi dressed in a soldier's uniform, who had appeared behind him at some point, her face filled with tears and fear.
“Brother Wang…please don’t blame me…They said that if I do this, Brother Jingyi will marry me…” Huan Mi choked out, “Brother Wang, you know! My lifelong wish has been to marry Brother Jingyi…Just consider it as fulfilling this wish for your sister before you die…”
"When my sister's wish comes true, she will never forget my brother's kindness today!"
Mouthfuls of blood gushed from Huan Juntian's mouth. He struggled to turn his eyes, glancing at the bewildered Qu Surou beside him, and with his last strength uttered, "Senior...Sister...escape..."
After uttering his last few words, his figure collapsed like a broken tree, the blood beneath him increasing, staining his silver armor beyond recognition.
Qu Surou lost control of the spiritual power maintaining the formation, causing it to malfunction. The bewitching dragon flames, like an impenetrable barrier, began to ignite the lives of the soldiers.
Qu Surou lifted Huan Juntian from the pool of blood and continuously channeled spiritual energy into his body to maintain his weak heartbeat.
Qu Surou sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. "Master... Master... why haven't you come yet... Huan San is dying, my junior brother, your disciple is dying..."
A note from the author:
Waaaaah, Master, where did you go? Even my strong little sister Rou Rou is crying.
Chapter 42
The commander was assassinated on the battlefield, and the towering dragon flames burned the soldiers' bodies. They collapsed both physically and mentally, lost their will to fight, and were powerless to resist the artillery fire.
In this well-prepared battle, His Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom suffered a complete defeat.