Asesino sin nombre

Capítulo 104

“These five thousand people are surrounded by the Imperial Guards. Xiao Yan, you are now in A Wan’s hands, so these five thousand people are no longer your concern,” Sheng Xiang said. “You only have yourself and thirteen remaining members of the Blood Sacrifice Society left.”

“Saint Xiang, Saint Xiang,” Li Lingyan said softly, “on what grounds are you mobilizing this imperial army to oppose me? You have quite the audacity… Gentlemen,” he suddenly addressed the encircling Song army, “this young master Saint Xiang is neither an official nor a general, yet he claims to be in command here. Don’t you all find that strange?”

“These five thousand-plus soldiers are all Han soldiers. Xiao Yan, don’t you know why the Song soldiers have come?” Sheng Xiang interrupted. “You don’t need to care who commands these Song soldiers. You just need to know that you have already lost.”

"Is that so?" Li Lingyan smiled. "Are you sure?" As soon as he asked "Are you sure?", a scream suddenly rang out from the crowd. A man convulsed and walked out from the Han army. He was one of the Han army commanders. He kept screaming and bled from his seven orifices in a moment. He died on the spot!

Li Lingyan hadn't moved an inch from head to toe, and no one knew how he had triggered the poison. But the man's death was so mysterious that it caused a huge uproar in the Han army. Everyone was terrified, unsure if they had been poisoned. Li Lingyan clearly stated, "All those who abandoned their weapons, surrendered, or fled their masters suffered the same fate."

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere within the Han army formation shifted dramatically, transforming from a state of confusion and disarray to one of eeriness and chill. The Song commander at the head of the formation was startled: a disorganized army was not to be feared, but an army fighting for its life was truly terrifying.

Without understanding how Li Lingyan would induce the poison, it was impossible to stop him from manipulating the Han army. Shengxiang, panting heavily behind the window, her heart pounding slowly, struggled to stay awake. Rong Yin, using his inner strength, paused, and Shengxiang spoke again with a smile: "Dear friends and family, it's nighttime now. Just look at yourselves to see if you have a faint...blue light. That will tell you if you've been poisoned. Although Xiao Yan is powerful, he can't possibly poison everyone..."

Before Shengxiang could finish her sentence, the eerie Han army erupted into commotion again, their morale shattered. Shengxiang took a couple of breaths and smiled again, saying, "Besides, the court has always intended to recruit the Han army. If you find you haven't been poisoned, why not lay down your weapons, take some silver, or stay in the local army, or go home to farm? Wouldn't that be much better than living in constant fear? Those who are sure they haven't been poisoned and want to surrender, stand to the left of County Commandant Zhang. Yes, the one opposite you with the big mole on his nose, the one with the 'big mole makes him look foolish,' is County Commandant Zhang..."

Shengxiang's nonsense was very persuasive. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, most of the Han army in Jiajing Garden had dispersed, leaving only about two hundred people. These were Jiang Chenming's old subordinates who had been forced to obey his orders because of the "holding hands until old age" promise, and most of them were military commanders.

Li Lingyan shouted, "Whoever obeys my command, kill Sheng Xiang first!"

Upon hearing this, the two hundred or so people in the crowd suddenly rushed towards the houses across the street. Rong Yin, carrying Sheng Xiang, retreated. Sheng Xiang shook her head, tightly gripping Rong Yin's sleeve. If they went out now, seeing his dying state, how could they believe his words?

Staying inside meant being trapped like a turtle in a jar, completely at a disadvantage. Rong Yin placed one hand on Sheng Xiang's back, and with a flick of his left sleeve, he deflected several sharp arrows whistling through the window. Sheng Xiang urged him to fight freely, but Rong Yin feared that letting go would be a lifelong regret. Just as he was parrying, the attack outside suddenly stopped, and someone briefly said, "Stop!"

Shengxiang's spirits lifted, "You blockhead!"

Then someone else said coldly, "Come on over here if you dare."

Rong Yin gave a slight confirmation and found that it was actually Shang Xuan.

Yu Xiu and Shang Xuan actually ended up together, and they arrived at the same time!

Shengxiang smiled, a faint smile, and listened to the familiar sounds outside, appearing quite pleased.

At this moment, outside the house in Shengxiang, there was a one-armed man in a blue robe and a man in a black tiger robe. The two stood side by side, making the house as solid as a fortress, and no one could step inside.

Wan Yuyuedan had captured Li Lingyan. Although he wasn't concerned with forcing Li Lingyan to admit defeat, it was too early to talk about killing him. Li Lingyan was like a hedgehog covered in venomous quills; without removing all his quills, no one dared to do anything to him. Therefore, he didn't object to Shengxiang challenging Li Lingyan; in fact, he found it amusing from behind.

"It seems unlikely that I can kill you, Young Master Shengxiang..." Li Lingyan stared at Yu Xiu and Shang Xuan. Although he didn't know them very well, their auras suggested they were highly skilled experts. "Shengxiang, Shengxiang, although you have stopped me, you haven't done what you promised me... Although a month hasn't passed yet, it seems I have no choice but to bring forward the deadline..."

Li Lingyan said that day: "If you can't kill me within a month, I will kill Liu Ji first, and then kill everyone in this manor—" If he were to keep his promise, he would definitely launch "Holding Hands and Growing Old Together"!

Wan Yuyue interjected, speaking gently, "I won't interfere with your agreement, but if Li Lingyan commits suicide, I will kill Li Shuangli." His subordinate, Lin Zhongyi, pushed forward a young girl he had grabbed. The girl, with her beautiful face and slender figure, was none other than Li Shuangli, whom Lin Zhongyi had captured during the chaos. She had let Li Shiyu and Beiyue Shi escape, leading to the deaths of two people from Biluo Palace; Lin Zhongyi would not forgive her.

Li Lingyan stared intently at Wan Yuyuedan, then suddenly smiled slightly, “I must have Shengxiang kill me with her own hands—no way—” His answer meant that he would not commit suicide.

“Xiao Yan.” Sheng Xiang’s voice suddenly became serious and deep, “Give me the antidote for ‘Growing Old Together,’ and I will kill you with my own hands.”

Li Lingyan stared intently at the houses near Shengxiang, then smiled slightly, "Is that antidote so important to you? You haven't been poisoned."

"Give me the antidote, and I'll kill you with my own hands," Sheng Xiang said softly, her tone calm, even carrying a hint of reserved nobility. "You've already lost, haven't you?"

“I just didn’t win, and neither did you,” Li Lingyan suddenly burst into laughter. “Saint Xiang, can’t you see? You set up this trap to stop me from killing, but the one who won was Biluo Palace, not you and me!” He stopped laughing abruptly. “Madam Jiang, come out.”

A delicate-looking woman dressed in men's clothing slowly emerged from the crowd, her face deathly pale, a far cry from the arrogance of six months ago. She had been having an affair with Li Lingyan for some time and was pregnant with his child, yet he still called her "Madam Jiang." She couldn't imagine what Li Lingyan intended to do to her now, nor could she stop him; she could only tremble uncontrollably.

“I’ll count to three. If you can’t kill me, Shengxiang, she’ll die immediately.” Li Lingyan smiled. “Don’t you really want her? Only by getting her can you save Yu Cuiwei, and only by saving Yu Cuiwei can you save your friend. If you don’t come out and make a move now, I’ll kill her right now.”

Inside the room, Shengxiang's cheeks flushed, and Rongyin said in a deep voice, "Li Lingyan's words must not be believed!"

Shengxiang shook his head, pressing his forehead against the cold window frame to catch his breath. After a few breaths, he murmured, "What method did Li Lingyan use to induce 'Holding Hands in Old Age'? If he can't move on his own, someone must... someone must be helping him... Rongrong, I don't believe there's such a thing as a poison that allows for telepathic connections... Now there's an opportunity... wait... and see who... is killing us..."

At this moment, Li Lingyan outside had already begun counting to "one," while Rong Yin kept his eyes fixed on the crowd around Liu Ji.

"Two—" Li Lingyan counted very quickly.

Rong Yin's gaze sharpened. At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Li Lingyan. Someone in the crowd was making a move! Before he could speak, "Three!" Li Lingyan had already finished counting when a clear and crisp voice came from his window: "Stop!" Yu Xiu, who was standing under the window, had already rushed out and grabbed someone in the crowd.

The man was short and inconspicuous in the crowd. When Yu Xiu grabbed him, he was holding a fragment of the "Holding Hands Until Old Age" inscription. Upon seeing it, Liu Ji exclaimed in surprise, "Xingxing?"

The person captured by Yuxiu was none other than Xingxing. It turns out that the saying "holding hands and growing old together" is magical, but if one is poisoned again, the poison will take effect. On the day that Liu Ji was kidnapped by Rong Yin and then the poison took effect, it was Li Lingyan who flicked out a piece of poisonous fragments that shot into her skin the moment he saw her being kidnapped. And today, Li Lingyan is here to frighten everyone, and it was Xingxing who helped him with the trickery.

After Xingxing was captured, the crowd of over two hundred people in the arena erupted in commotion and then dispersed. Li Lingyan, despite his meticulous planning, remained unmoved, still cautiously smiling. Just then, Wan Yuyuedan suddenly realized something was wrong: Li Lingyan hadn't moved since his capture, but steam was constantly rising from his forehead, as if he had been circulating his internal energy to expel the anesthetic, and he was covered in sweat. She shouted, "Be careful, he might escape!" but it was too late—Li Lingyan, having forced out the anesthetic with his internal energy, soaked the spider silk with sweat, and then leaped up, lunging towards Wan Yuyuedan—capturing Wan Yuyuedan was tantamount to taking over half the territory!

His pounce was swift as a hawk, a smile still on his face. He wasn't fighting desperately like a cornered beast, but simply—simply—wanted to struggle more thoroughly, to see the value of his life more clearly—he was a poisonous butterfly, and he wanted to see how far the flower that hadn't been poisoned could bloom, how stunningly beautiful it would be—that was the value of his life, and for this moment, he had been looking forward to it his whole life.

Wan Yuyuedan, who was not skilled in martial arts, could not dodge his pounce, but he countered by raising his hand and throwing a flying knife straight at Li Shuangli!

A smile of approval appeared on Li Lingyan's face as he caught the throwing knife in his hand and landed it on the ground.

He's out of danger!

But he's still in jail!

In that instant, Yu Xiu and Shang Xuan stepped forward and intercepted Li Lingyan, intending to capture him alive within fifty moves through his sleeves.

Saint Xiang leaned against the window, watching the final battle outside. He coughed softly. Just a few months ago, he had caught eels with this man, fought alongside him, and even shared hardships and life-and-death situations... If this man had been a little luckier, perhaps he shouldn't have met such an end...

Suddenly, Yu Xiu and Shang Xuan sensed a sword gust of wind—a sharp, cold longsword swung from the crowd, someone launching a sneak attack, aiming straight for Yu Xiu's back.

Shang Xuan suddenly became alert and slapped back – with a “bang” – someone fell to the ground.

Someone shouted, "Lingyan!"

Shangxuan and Yuxiu both turned around in astonishment—it was Li Shiyu who had drawn his sword.

The one in the middle is Li Lingyan.