"The poison in his body, drawn by the Gu flute, has reached his brain and is controlling his thoughts. To save him, we must either remove the Gu poison from his body or kill the person who raises the Gu and plays the flute!" Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze, like a blade, coldly shot towards the man in black, his obsidian-like pupils unfathomable.
The man in black chuckled again: "As expected of the Azure Flame War God, besides military strategy and martial arts, he also understands Gu!"
"Will you end it yourself, or will I have to do it for you?" Dongfang Heng stood tall and elegant, like a mighty war god, his calm tone concealing an invisible ruthlessness and brutality.
"Dongfang Heng, you think you can kill me so easily?" As soon as the black-clad man's hoarse voice fell, dozens of masked men in black instantly surged out from all around. Their eyes were cold and devoid of warmth, and their bodies were filled with a murderous aura. They were clearly specially trained assassins. Black feathered arrows in their hands flew towards Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and Nangong Xiao like a storm.
Two black-clad guards appeared out of thin air, protecting Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and Nangong Xiao in the middle, and quickly wielding their longswords to cut down the flying arrows.
Arrows rained down like a storm, swords were swift and sharp as the wind. The two guards wielded their longswords so tightly that they cut down all the arrows fired by the masked man in black. The rain of arrows lasted for a moment, but failed to harm Dongfang Heng or Shen Lixue in the slightest.
Seeing that the arrows were no longer effective, a sharp flute melody pierced through the clouds and resounded through the sky. The masked men in black instantly abandoned the arrows, drew their gleaming longswords from their waists, and swarmed forward.
A sharp glint flashed in Dongfang Heng's dark eyes. He suddenly swung his clenched hand, and the fierce palm wind instantly sent the first few men in black flying backward, coughing up blood. The men in black running behind were hit, and the speed of the entire group instantly dropped.
Shen Lixue took out a silver needle and shot it fiercely at the man in black. Wherever the needle passed, the man in black fell to the ground and died.
The guards brandished their longswords and fought with the masked men in black. Several of the men in black even tried to snatch Nangong Xiao in the chaos, but they were all driven back.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Instantly, a dense net appeared overhead and on both sides of the alley, completely enveloping Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and the others.
"Clang!" A sharp blade slashed fiercely at the large net, flashing a dazzling light. The net was unharmed, but the guard holding the longsword was shaken and forced to retreat repeatedly, his arm going numb.
"Whoosh!" Several unidentified objects were thrown in front of Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue, bubbling with white smoke. Dongfang Heng's expression changed: "Hold your breath!" As he reminded them, he inhaled a few wisps of white smoke, and his expression darkened slightly.
Shen Lixue was a beat too slow to hold her breath. A few wisps of white smoke entered her nose, and she felt dizzy. All her strength vanished instantly, and her body went limp. She barely managed to stay upright and quickly took out a silk handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose.
A delicate fragrance wafted over, and Dongfang Heng subconsciously took a step back, glancing at the elegant orchid embroidered on the corner of the light blue silk handkerchief in Shen Lixue's hand, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"I've fumigated this handkerchief with some herbs to ward off poisonous smoke..." Before Shen Lixue could finish speaking, an unidentified object slammed down on her from behind, knocking her into Dongfang Heng's arms. Turning around, she saw that Nangong Xiao, who was delirious from the poisonous smoke, had collapsed to the ground.
A ghostly arm suddenly reached out, grabbed Nangong Xiao's arm, and tried to drag him away. Dongfang Heng struck out with a palm, and the man's arm instantly went numb. He quickly moved away from Nangong Xiao, his cold eyes flashing with intense anger and resentment!
Dongfang Heng looked at the man in black playing the flute, his gaze cold and mocking: "Your movements are like a ghost, your speed like a rabbit. What other skills do you have? Show me what you've got. I'll keep you company to the end!"
The man in black playing the flute gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with even deeper gloom. Dongfang Heng's martial arts were extremely high; he couldn't even get close to him. Nangong Xiao was the prey he had been planning for a long time. Was he just going to give up like this? No, absolutely not!
Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows: No wonder Dongfang Heng was highly skilled in martial arts but didn't make much of a move. It turns out he was always on guard against that flute player. That's right, compared to those masked men in black who were fairly skilled in martial arts, that unfathomable flute player was the most dreaded!
If he manages to snatch Nangong Xiao away and successfully cast the Gu spell, Nangong Xiao will become a mindless puppet and their enemy. At that point, they will have to kill each other!
"What do we do now?" The sounds of fierce weapons clashing echoed around them. Shen Lixue couldn't care less about anything else. She quickly tied a silk handkerchief around Dongfang Heng's neck, weakly throwing silver needles at him as she looked at him.
There were many men in black, but her silver needles were limited. If she continued to attack, she would run out of needles. However, the men in black's attacks did not seem to weaken. They were covered by a large net on three sides, and they had no way to escape.
"Wait!" Dongfang Heng's internal energy had been significantly depleted by the white smoke, so he stopped fighting and uttered a single word with a sharp gaze.
Waiting? Waiting for what? Shen Lixue wondered, but did not ask any further questions. She thought to herself: Who is so bold as to not only use Gu to control Nangong Xiao, the heir of the Prince of Yunnan, but also to openly and secretly harm Dongfang Heng, the Prince of An!
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!" The black-clad men attacked from all sides with their swords and knives. The two guards were protecting Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue, while also keeping an eye on the unconscious Nangong Xiao. In the blink of an eye, they were on the verge of despair. One of them was slashed in the abdomen, and the other was pierced through the arm. Several swords with a chilling glint were aimed directly at Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng.
The black-clad man's cold, bloodthirsty voice echoed in the sky: "Heh... these nets are woven from the dark silk of the Southern Frontier, and swords cannot cut through them. Dongfang Heng, Nangong Xiao, and Shen Lixue, this time, you won't be able to escape even if you grow wings!"
"Is that so?" Dongfang Heng coldly stared at the man in black, a chilling glint flashing in his obsidian-like eyes, and arrogantly declared, "Men, kill him without mercy!"
In an instant, eight black-clad guards appeared out of thin air around them. Their auras were calm and restrained, and their eyes were murderous. They swung their swords to deflect the black-clad men's sharp blades and, together with the two guards, formed an encirclement, protecting Shen Lixue, Dongfang Heng, and Nangong Xiao within it, and then turned the tables on the swarming black-clad men.
With the addition of the guards, the pressure was greatly reduced, and Shen Lixue breathed a sigh of relief. She had witnessed the skills of the ten black-clad guards when she was at Luoye Mountain. Their martial arts were superb, and their moves were sharp. They were faster, more ruthless, and more accurate than the black-clad men who had tried to assassinate them. In the blink of an eye, more than ten black-clad men fell to the ground dead.
Shen Lixue looked up at Dongfang Heng. He stood tall and elegant, his handsome face as cold as if carved by a knife. After the bloody battle just now, his white brocade robe was spotless and fluttered in the wind. The magnificent pattern was like his broad mind. He calmly and composedly watched the battle in front of him, as if he had always been used to it.
"Dongfang Heng, do you know who they are?" Shen Lixue asked. Those who dared to send hundreds of black-clad assassins to plot against the prince and assassinate the county prince must be extraordinary.
"I don't know!" Dongfang Heng shook his head, his sharp gaze coldly fixed on the man in black holding the flute on the roof: "Capture him, and the truth will come out!"
Shen Lixue looked at the fierce fight in the arena again, her gaze cold and clear. The faint moonlight surrounded her, adding to her mysterious aura.
In her past life, she was the young master of a noble family. To survive, she had stained her hands with blood in the desolate mountains and wilderness. After transmigrating, she also killed people to protect herself, but not as intensely and bloodily as she is now. Whether it was the struggle for the position of young master in her past life or her trip to the Prime Minister's mansion in this life, she has come to understand that in this world, it is survival of the fittest. If you want to live, you cannot be soft-hearted towards your enemies, otherwise, you will be the one who dies!
Dongfang Heng looked at Shen Lixue, and a hint of warmth appeared in his usually indifferent eyes.
Ten bodyguards stood back to back in a fan shape, protecting Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue completely. They then began to slaughter the masked men in black. In no time, most of the masked men in black were dead or wounded, and the strong smell of blood permeated the air.
The masked man in black showed signs of panic, and his attacks were no longer as fierce and swift as before.
"Pfft!" The colorful Gu worms burst open because they hadn't found a host for a long time. The man and woman who were used to raise the Gu worms collapsed softly on the roof, their bodies rolling quickly to the ground like rags.
The masked man in black suffered a setback, and the Gu he had painstakingly cultivated to control people was gone. A fierce glint flashed in the eyes of the man in black playing the flute on the roof, and another sharp flute note was emitted. The three large nets quickly tightened and rapidly moved closer together.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle!" Wherever the net passed, plumes of blood mist flew up. Before the masked man in black could even scream, he was sliced into a cloud of blood mist by the net. In an instant, the strong smell of blood filled the entire alley!
The net rapidly tightened, leaving a trail of blood and gore in its wake. Ten guards formed a circle, protecting Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and Nangong Xiao within it. Amidst the spray of blood mist, the man-eating net drew ever closer. The masked men in black had been almost completely annihilated, and it was about to reach the guards in black.
With a flick of his wrist, Dongfang Heng produced a soft sword that was both steel and flexible: "Swish, swish, swish!" The soft sword drew a beautiful arc in mid-air, its silver light flashing continuously, as beautiful as a painting. The three seemingly impenetrable nets were completely torn apart, and Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue, and the guards walked out of the nets unharmed.
"How is this possible?" The black-clad man playing the flute was filled with shock in his cold eyes. The Yin Silk, soaked in medicine for years, was both supple and hard, impervious to swords and blades. No one could cut through this deadly net. What weapon did Dongfang Heng use? Could it be…?
"Seize him!" Dongfang Heng looked at the man in black playing the flute and gave the order in a cold voice.
Eight guards rushed forward, their longswords gleaming with a chilling light, pointing directly at the man in black playing the flute!
The man in black, playing the flute, chuckled coldly. His movements were as swift as the wind, and he bypassed the black-clad guards, instantly appearing in front of Shen Lixue. The sharp claws hidden in his black robes lashed out at her.
A strong stench of blood and decay assaulted her senses. Shen Lixue frowned, dodging the flute player's claws as she struck him squarely in the chest. At the same time, more than a dozen silver needles in her right hand pierced the flute player's heart...
"Pfft!" A mouthful of blood spurted out, and the flute-playing man in black's fierce attack vanished instantly. He flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground. He slowly raised his head to look at Shen Lixue, his cold eyes filled with icy light, and gritted his teeth: "Shen Lixue!"
Dongfang Heng's gaze was fixed on Shen Lixue, somewhat surprised. The flute player was cruel and vicious, and his martial arts were not weak. How could she have seriously injured him?