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Chapitre 130

The icy juice slid down his throat, but in that instant, the image of the beggar who had blocked his path that day flashed through his mind...

Clang—

When the wine cup was only a few millimeters away from Rongyue's lips, Dongfang Yao suddenly reached out and shoved the wine cup from Rongyue's hand to the ground. To Rongyue's astonishment, he pulled her closer and frantically wiped the wine that had splashed on her lips with his sleeve.

"You didn't drink anything, did you? Tell me, you didn't drink anything, right?" Dongfang Yao asked Rongyue incoherently, her panicked expression mixed with unspeakable fear. She wiped Rongyue's lips with increasing force, soon making them red and swollen, almost peeling.

Recovering from the shock of the recent events, Tuoba Chen roared, took a few steps forward, and hooked Rong Yue into his arms, glaring menacingly at Dongfang Yao, who still looked terrified.

"Dongfang Yao, not only have you broken the alliance between our two countries, but you've also acted frivolously and disrespectfully towards our Emperor! Are you taking advantage of our small Loulan Kingdom because we have no one to rely on!"

Completely oblivious to Tuoba Chen's reprimands and attacks, Dongfang Yao nervously looked at Rong Yue, while Rong Yue stared blankly at Dongfang Yao. The two gazed at each other like that, as if isolated from all the world's affairs, looking only into each other's eyes...

"No, no, it can't be like that..."

Her almond-shaped eyes went from stunned to shocked, and then from shocked to horrified! Shaking her head in disbelief, she broke free from Tuoba Chen's embrace amidst his puzzled expression, staggered forward a few steps, and suddenly grabbed Dongfang Yao's collar.

"You didn't drink anything either, did you?"

Dongfang Yao gave a bitter smile and remained silent.

"Isn't that just your wild guess?"

The curve of her lips was even more pronounced than before, but it was all the more bitter.

"You're alright now, right?"

The bitter smile was gone, and the delicate beauty that emanated from her pale lips was enough to tell Rongyue the answer.

With trembling hands, Rongyue tried to stop the viscous liquid dripping from above, feeling its scalding temperature. Her vision blurred, and she screamed at the palace gate, "Imperial Physician! Summon the Imperial Physician!!"

The imperial physician didn't come; instead, a man who was as red as blood arrived.

Blood-red robes fluttered wildly, a biting cold wind swept by, and accompanied by the skeletal grin, a man wearing a hideous blood-red mask, with bloodthirsty, scarlet eyes, like a demon from hell, suddenly appeared in the center of the hall.

The guards in the hall immediately surrounded him, but to everyone's horror, before they could even draw their swords to fight, a cold wind swept by and all the guards surrounding him fell to the ground dead without even uttering a wail. On their foreheads, each of them had a strangely beautiful and sinister blood lotus flower imprinted on their foreheads!

The ministers were all terrified; the more timid ones forgot all about the proper conduct of subjects and ran towards the palace gates. But before they reached the gates, they turned back, for a group of black-armored soldiers, wielding long spears and exuding a chilling aura, were approaching the palace from the entrance. Nearly a hundred black-armored soldiers entered the palace and slammed the heavy, vermilion doors shut with a resounding bang!

"Who exactly are you people!" Tuoba Chen shouted, shifting his body to the side and blocking Rong Yue's path.

With a disdainful look at Tuoba Chen, who was on high alert, the red figure flashed several times, as fast as lightning. Almost before anyone could blink, the figure was in front of Tuoba Chen, staring at him with arms crossed, a cruel smile on his face, and his eyes were as terrifying as blood.

"The ones who will take your lives!"

Knuckles turned white, fists clenched tightly! He reached for his sword, straining to draw its edge, but the next moment, his hand on the hilt was firmly held down by a soft yet strong little hand.

The situation is now crystal clear: this is a long-planned conspiracy, and she has unfortunately become its prey.

Judging from the situation, the inner three gates are likely under their control, and their people have probably replaced them all. But as for the outer four gates, particularly Zhang He's side, she couldn't be sure if the situation was the same…

She was able to switch the soldiers at the inner three gates without anyone noticing, not because she wanted to be suspicious, but because she couldn't help but cast her suspicious gaze on the person she once trusted most, the good friend who had promised to follow her for life...

Seeing him avert his gaze with guilt and unease, she laughed—a laugh that was radiant, a laugh that was desolate, a laugh that was utterly sorrowful! This was the man who had followed her for over three years! Was she blind, or was the human heart simply too unpredictable…?

Warm patches spread across his hands, the damp crimson staining the bright yellow robes of the moonlit night, blooming into alluring, delicate red blood flowers, dazzling and glaring.

Clinging tightly to Rongyue's clothes, Dongfang Yao's pupils began to dilate, his body convulsed uncontrollably, and his handsome face, devoid of any color, became transparently white.

"Wife, can you...can you...forgive me..."

"Don't speak, I'll have Chen use his skills to force the poison out of you..."

"Forgive me..."

"Fool, you didn't do anything wrong, why should I forgive you?"

"No...it's my fault...cough cough..."

"Okay, okay, I forgive you. Don't say anything. Chen, come here quickly!"

Trembling hands wiped away the ever-flowing crimson liquid from Dongfang Yao's mouth, but the more they wiped, the more it flowed, an endless torrent of blood. His fair face and the crimson liquid created a bizarre combination, alluring yet coldly beautiful, a visual shock that jolted the heart...

Upon hearing Rongyue's call, Tuoba Chen looked warily at the sinister-looking blood-red figure before him, a troubled expression on his face.

Just as Tuoba Chen was struggling, Chu Xuyao, who had been silent behind them, suddenly strode over, sat down on the ground, gathered his energy in his dantian, and placed his iron palm on Dongfang Yao's back. After a short while, a burst of heat rose from the top of Dongfang Yao's head.

Chu Xuyao? A look of surprise flashed across Rongyue's face. Her chaotic heart calmed down a little. She gently patted the large hand that was tightly holding hers and slowly pulled it away.

Slowly standing up, Rongyue composed herself, her face as calm as still water. She stood before Xueying, raising her eyes to meet his blood-red pupils without fear.

With great interest, Xueying looked at Rongyue, who was looking up at him, and curled his lips into a smile. He pointed his large hand at her face and said, "Should I call you Murong Luo, or Jian Xiaosan? Or, heh, Liu Rongyue?"

The following surprise passed by quickly.

Staring intently at the jawline and thin lips exposed beyond the hideous blood-red mask, his mind raced. In a flash, a familiar figure from his memory suddenly appeared before him, and he instantly understood why that figure had seemed so familiar from the first glance.

"Tell me, should I call you Blood Demon, or should I address you as Prime Minister, Your Excellency?"

Blood Shadow was taken aback at first, then his eyes showed admiration: "Although I knew I couldn't hide it from you, I was quite surprised that you guessed my identity so quickly."

No longer concealing it, he raised his hand and ripped off the blood-red, ferocious mask, revealing a bewitching and cold face to everyone without reservation.

"It's you?!" Tuoba Chen was both shocked and furious. His starry eyes widened, and his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. If Rong Yue hadn't been holding him down, he would have already drawn his sword.

With an imposing presence that was in no way inferior, Rongyue calmly looked at him, her cold tone revealing an overwhelming domineering aura: "Tuoba Jie, do you really think that occupying the inner three gates means you've occupied Loulan? Don't forget, my 30,000 iron cavalry are still waiting at the city gates, and my 300,000-strong army is just waiting for my command to storm the imperial city! Tuoba Jie, it's not too late to back down now!"

"The 300,000 troops stationed along the three borders are too far to be of any use in the immediate situation, while your 30,000 iron cavalry, ha, have already been galloping towards the border without stopping!"