L'hibiscus comme peinture

Chapitre 46

"Look at me, what do you mean by that?" Yelü Ying looked at Ao Jun with a puzzled expression, just like a good student humbly seeking knowledge.

“The Blood Souls were originally formed from the soldiers of your Cangliao Kingdom. At this time, they still retain consciousness. Once they are fully formed, they will be completely controlled by the caster. So you…” Ao Jun whispered in Yelü Ying’s ear, telling him how to break the Blood Souls.

As Ao Jun drew closer, a delicate fragrance filled Yelü Ying's senses, causing his desire to surge. He slowly wrapped his arms around Ao Jun's waist, listening to her beautiful voice as she spoke to him.

Ao Jun, focused on teaching how to break the Blood Soul Technique, was completely unaware of Yelü Ying's actions until Yelü Ying's seductive voice rang in her ear: "I will do as you say. After this is resolved, I want you to come with me and stay by my side forever, never to leave me." As he spoke, he lightly bit Ao Jun's ear, feeling her slight tremor with satisfaction.

"Yelü Ying." Coming back to her senses, Ao Jun suddenly pushed Yelü Ying away. It was that same feeling again, just like when Jin Xuan kissed her last time. When Yelü Ying bit her ear, her whole body became strangely hot, but it seemed to be a little different from the feeling she had with Jin Xuan.

"Remember my words, I'm leaving now." Yelü Ying said hoarsely, his face showing a look of suppressed resentment. He gave Ao Jun a deep look, and then, as if a ghost was chasing him, he quickly ran back to his military camp. He didn't want to force himself on Jun at this moment, so he had to hurry back to vent his anger.

Tu Liujun stared blankly in the direction Yelü Ying had disappeared, utterly bewildered. What was wrong? Weren't they just talking? He just said… Ah!

Only then did Ao Jun, belatedly realizing what Yelü Ying had just said, recall his words: He wanted her to come with him, to stay by his side forever, and never leave him. Weren't these the words lovers spoke? Could it be… he had fallen in love with her? No, no, she was dressed as a man; how could he possibly love her? Was he a BL (Boys' Love) man, with homosexual tendencies? Recalling his various abnormal behaviors towards her, and that precious jade pendant, this love-naive girl finally realized with a start that Yelü Ying might truly have fallen in love with her? But her approach to him was merely to use him.

With no other thoughts in mind, Ao Jun walked towards the Longxuan military camp. The question of whether Yelü Ying truly loved her while she was disguised as a man had kept her up all night. It seemed she was going to have another sleepless night. Oh God! Stop playing with her! First there was Ouyang Jinxuan, who used her as a substitute, and now there's Yelü Ying, who likes men. He's making her, who loves to sleep the most, suffer from insomnia. Just kill her already.

"Yelü Ying, what do you mean?" As soon as Yelü Ying entered his tent, he saw Sheng Chi sitting in his seat and asked in a cold voice.

Inside the tent, Tu Chufei and his deputy were still facing off against him, swords in hand. On the ground, a bound man was kneeling. Upon seeing the man, Yelü Ying was shocked: it was one of his extraordinary men, known as the "Shadowless Thief," who could steal anything in the world. And this man was the very one he had sent to steal the Heavenly Stems Eight Trigrams Formation diagram from Tou Sheng Chi. How could he have been caught?

Though his mind was racing, he maintained a wicked smile as he looked at Saint Chi sitting in his seat, but his voice was filled with oppressive force: "Sect Master Saint, I, the Crown Prince, should ask you, what does this mean?"

"Does the Crown Prince want to tell me that you don't know this person?" Saint Chi glanced sideways at Yelü Ying without moving, but the anger in his eyes was even greater.

“I know him. He’s the ‘Shadowless Thief’ under my command. So what?” Yelü Ying lifted his robe and sat down in the chair that his adjutant had prepared for him as soon as he entered, grinning wickedly and nonchalantly.

"How about it? Hmph, this person actually dared to steal our sect's most treasured artifact from my tent. I wonder how the Crown Prince intends to deal with him?" Saint Chi finally made his move, placing his hands on the table and coldly snorting.

"Oh, this? It was I who sent him. I was just curious about what the Holy Immortal Sect's most treasured item was, so I sent him to get it and take a look! I know the Sect Master is too busy, so I didn't inform you. Is the Sect Master really angry over such a small matter?" Yelü Ying said lazily and indifferently, his righteous evidence making it seem as if Sheng Chi was petty.

"You... Hmph, how could mere mortals possibly understand the treasures of our sect? Your Highness, you'd better not waste your time." Saint Chi was no ordinary person either, and retorted with barbs in his words. You, Yelü Ying, how dare you look down on me like this? I treat you as nothing.

"Saint Chi, this is my territory, not your Saint Immortal Sect. I can take whatever I want without your permission. Even if it costs you your life, you'll have to obediently shout it out, hmph..." Yelü Ying was also furious. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily. It would have been better if Saint Chi hadn't said that. His words were an insult to him, implying that he had obediently given up the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers because he didn't understand Qimen Dunjia. How dare he use him? He hated being used the most, and he hated being played with the most.

"Yelü Ying, don't push your luck! Your territory? You want to kill me? Hmph, do you think you have the ability? With that army of 100,000, hahaha... Let me tell you, with just one finger of mine, you and your 100,000 troops will be reduced to ashes." Sheng Chi slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage. Hmph, if it weren't for Yelü Ying, he could have annihilated Long Xuan's 100,000 troops in one fell swoop. The power of the Blood Soul Heavenly Stem Eight Trigrams Formation would be even greater now. He actually joined forces with Mo Jun to deal with him, toying with him like a puppet. Hmph, he's always the one playing people, no one can play him.

"Haha... Saint Chi, you've finally admitted it. Hmph, today, I, the Crown Prince, will avenge the tens of thousands of innocent brothers who died unjustly." Yelü Ying laughed loudly, drew his Fire Cloud Sword and said to Saint Chi. He suddenly realized that since he was not in the formation, Saint Chi was no match for him. As long as he killed Saint Chi, the Blood Soul Heavenly Stem Eight Trigrams Formation would be no problem.

"Hmph, Yelü Ying, do you think you can kill me? Let me tell you the truth, the formation activated by your tens of thousands of soldiers is the greatest and most powerful Blood Soul Heavenly Stems Eight Trigrams Formation in history. Hmph, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. However, I can tell you that I have absorbed the energy in the formation, and my martial arts are now invincible. You think you can kill me? Hahaha..." Saint Chi laughed arrogantly.

"Then let's try." Yelü Ying had made up his mind to kill him. He leaped up and thrust his weapon straight at Sheng Chi's heart.

"You're courting death!" Sheng Chi roared, dodging Yelü Ying's fatal sword strike. At the same time, he struck out with his palm, and everything in his path was shattered to pieces.

The tent was too small, so the two ended up leaving the tent while fighting. Shen Tu Chufei and his deputy had been standing to the side, wanting to help the two masters, but they couldn't even get close enough to get in. So they followed them out and saw the two locked in a fierce battle, not knowing what moves they were using.

The Cangliao soldiers had no idea what was going on. Why were the Crown Prince and the Holy Strategist fighting each other?

Those watching couldn't discern anything, but those fighting understood perfectly. The more Yelü Ying fought, the more alarmed he became. Sheng Chi's martial arts had truly improved rapidly, and his inner strength far surpassed Yelü Ying's. If the fight continued, he would surely be defeated.

Saint Chi coldly watched as Yelü Ying struggled to withstand his attacks, a sneer forming in his heart. "Let's see how long you can hold out," he thought. "Originally, I wanted to keep you until tomorrow night so you could reunite with your beloved Mo Jun and the tens of thousands of soldiers. Now, blame yourself for angering me by trying to steal the Eight Trigrams Formation. Hmph, if that were all, I might have spared you temporarily. But your biggest mistake was destroying the elixir of immortality he had painstakingly crafted." (Actually, it was Yi Tian and Yi Han who destroyed it.)

The thought of the elixir of immortality fueled Sheng Chi's murderous intent. He roared and struck at Yelü Ying's chest. Just as he was about to strike, a sharp sword aura suddenly pierced through the air from behind him. "Such powerful skill, such powerful sword aura!" Sheng Chi was startled and quickly turned around to defend himself. Taking advantage of this opening, Yelü Ying struck Sheng Chi's back with a palm. Sheng Chi coughed up a mouthful of blood and rolled to the ground in a sorry state. At this moment, something fell off his body, but Sheng Chi seemed oblivious. He staggered to his feet and looked around in panic, but he couldn't sense any other experts. It was terrifying. The person in the shadows was incredibly skilled and terrifying. Just how high was that person's martial arts?

Yelü Ying also sensed that a master had just appeared and saved his life, but he could not sense that person's aura at all. Who was secretly helping him?

Now that he was injured and could not harm Yelü Ying, and who knew what the people in the shadows were up to, Sheng Chi, a hero who would not suffer a loss in the present, took advantage of Yelü Ying's momentary inattention, leaped out and escaped.

Shentu Chufei wanted to chase after him, but Yelü Ying stopped him, saying, "Don't chase him. You can't catch him. He'll come looking for me again." He then gestured to his deputy to pick up the things that Sheng Chi had just dropped and examine them.

Upon seeing it, I was overjoyed: it was the diagram of the Heavenly Stems and Eight Trigrams Formation, how wonderful!

In the shadows, a white figure sheathed the sword in its hand and vanished silently into the night like a ghost.

An ancient commentator said: "A spy is one who makes the enemy suspicious of each other; a counter-espionage is one who sows discord among the enemy's own people." The key to using a counter-espionage strategy is to "deceive the enemy into believing the truth." The deception must be cleverly and realistically created to deceive the enemy, causing them to make incorrect judgments and take wrong actions. The original meaning of the counter-espionage strategy is: to create further deception within a larger one, causing internal contradictions within the enemy, thus ensuring our own safety. In simpler terms, it means cleverly using the enemy's spies to our advantage. In war, the use of spies by both sides is very common.

Chapter 42 Breaking the Formation (Part 1)

Ao Jun sat on the bed, holding a piece of parchment in his hand, turning it this way and that as if he were studying something.

Suddenly, her hand felt empty; the parchment had been taken. Looking up, she saw Yu'er holding the parchment, staring coldly at her, completely devoid of her usual docile demeanor. Heh…looks like they're about to make their move. Good, the sooner the better.

"Yu'er, stop playing around! That's very important, give it back to me!" Ao Jun pretended not to see Yu'er's change of heart and urged her, reaching out her hand. The act had to continue!

"Oh, is it that important? What is it? If you don't tell me, I won't give it back to you." Yu'er raised an eyebrow and sneered.

"Alright! It's okay to tell you. This was given to me by that person. He's already obtained the Bagua Formation diagram from Sheng Chi and has had someone figure out how to break it. This is the method he gave me to break the formation. Success depends on this; it's very important. Don't break it, get it back quickly!" Ao Jun said anxiously, showing how important it was. Indeed, it was quite important; without it, how could they deceive Sheng Chi!

"What if I say no?" Yu'er suddenly asked in a charming and seductive tone, tossing the picture back and forth as if playing with it.

"Yu'er, stop playing." Ao Jun sounded a little anxious.

"Hmph, play? Haha... Mo Jun, do you know how disgusted I've felt these past few days playing with you? You're clearly a lecherous scoundrel, yet you pretend to be a gentleman. Bah..." Yu'er suddenly turned ferocious, mocking him with disdain.

"Yu'er, what are you saying? Stop playing around, okay?" Ao Jun chuckled as he stood up and slowly approached Yu'er. His cautious manner resembled that of a pitiful little man about to be abandoned by his beloved and trying to deceive himself.

"Mo Jun, I truly pity you, still so confused! Haha... To tell you the truth, my name isn't Murong Yu, it's Chi Yu. Approaching you, hmph, was merely following orders. I've never liked you; on the contrary, I despise you, I wish I could kill you. If you die, he'll be mine." As Ao Jun drew closer, Chi Yu placed her sword against Ao Jun's neck. If it weren't for her master's orders to take her to Qianliqi, she truly wanted to end her here and now.

"No, this isn't true. Are you upset with me because I ignored you earlier? I promise you, I won't ignore you again. Please stop making jokes like this. It's not funny at all, Yu'er..." Ao Jun shook his head in disbelief, staring intently at Chi Yu Dao, while carefully trying to remove the sword from his hand. He looked like a pitiful man begging his girlfriend not to leave him because she had fallen for someone else.

"Haha... I never thought the number one strategist in the world would be such a fool. Let me tell you, I'm not joking with you anymore. The person I, Chiyu, have always loved is Ouyang Jinxuan. As for you, hmph... After tonight, you can keep dreaming forever, haha..." Chiyu moved the sword back to Aojun's neck and laughed disdainfully.

"What? The person you love is Jin Xuan?" Ao Jun asked in shock. This wasn't acting; it was genuine shock. Chi Yu loved Jin Xuan? This... this couldn't be! The two had barely met. The thought of her saying she loved Jin Xuan made her heart clench, as if something was weighing on her chest. She loved Jin Xuan, but what about Jin Xuan? Ever since Chi Yu appeared, she had frequently sensed her hatred, even murderous intent. She had never understood why. Even if they served different masters, was such deep hatred necessary? So, it was because of Jin Xuan!

"Jin Xuan? Hmph, you dare to call him by his name? I just don't understand what's so great about you. Why does everyone like you? Yelü Ying is one thing, but why is such an outstanding 'God of War' so infatuated with me? For the past three years, my heart has only belonged to Jin Xuan, and Jin Xuan's heart can only be mine. What right do you have to occupy his heart? As long as you die, he will be mine, hahaha..." Chi Yu seemed to be going crazy as he roared, exuding a strong killing intent.

Jinxuan is infatuated with me? Haha... You're wrong. The only person he loves is Xue. To me, he may just see me as a shadow of Xue, but he will never love you.