Ye Qianlong waved his palm to repel the two men in black, but did not leave. Instead, he looked in the direction of Dongfang Xun.
Shen Lixue wouldn't let him fight the man in black, so he had to stand aside, dealing with the man in black while keeping an eye on her safety. Just a moment ago, he clearly saw Shen Lixue looking at the end of the alley and her expression change. Who was it that made her so wary?
Dongfang Xun slowly approached, step by step, and finally stopped three meters away. He frowned as he watched the fierce battle between the Zhanwang Mansion's guards and the men in black. His gaze passed over the chaotic battle and met Ye Qianlong's clear, scrutinizing eyes.
What kind of eyes were those? They were bright and clear, without the slightest impurity, allowing one to see right into their heart. Dongfang Xun was completely convinced that the owner of those clear eyes possessed a pure heart.
The cyan whip shadows came into view; it was Shen Lixue fighting with the man in black.
Dongfang Xun frowned almost imperceptibly and said calmly, "Kill the men in black, leave no one alive!"
"Yes!" the guards replied, revealing themselves and charging into the battle with their longswords, their sharp blades thrusting fiercely at the men in black.
Two guards rushed over to deal with the men in black. Shen Lixue, holding a long whip, retreated to the side and looked at the guards of the War King's Mansion and the Holy King's Mansion fighting against the men in black. Her gaze suddenly sharpened: "Dongfang Xun, what's going on with those men in black?"
"How would I know if you've offended anyone?" Dongfang Xun glanced at Shen Lixue, then turned his gaze to the battle, his eyes fixed on Ye Qianlong out of the corner of his eye.
Shen Lixue's gaze deepened: "The man in black, he's not one of yours?"
"Of course not." Dongfang Xun frowned. If the men in black were from the Holy King's Mansion, why would he kill them?
Shen Lixue carefully recalled the moment the man in black appeared, his long sword pointing directly at Ye Qianlong's...heart!
She suddenly opened her eyes wide. Yes, that sword had pierced not only her chest, but her heart. Someone wanted to destroy Ye Qianlong's heart to prevent Dongfang Heng from getting a heart transplant.
"The men in black are here to kill Ye Qianlong!" Shen Lixue looked at the chaotic battle and emphasized the word "kill," subtly conveying the message to Dongfang Xun.
As intelligent as Dongfang Xun was, he immediately understood what was going on: someone wanted to stop Dongfang Heng from treating the patient: "Leave one alive!"
The guards of the Holy King's Mansion and the War King's Mansion attacked swiftly and mercilessly, quickly killing most of the men in black. Their corpses were piled up on the ground, and the thick stench of blood quickly spread.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the leader of the men in black swung his sword to block the two guards, and with a light step, he tried to escape into the air.
With a flick of her whip, Shen Lixue tightly wrapped it around the black-clad man's ankle. To his astonishment, she forcefully yanked him off, her enchanting voice ringing in his ear: "Trying to leave now? Too late!"
When Dongfang Xun appeared, the man in black's moves were clearly somewhat flustered. He attacked Shen Lixue several times. At the time, she thought his master had appeared and he was anxious. Now it seems that he was afraid of Dongfang Xun and wanted to force Shen Lixue to retreat so that he could take the opportunity to escape.
Three or four bodyguards rushed forward and surrounded him tightly. Their long swords were aimed at his vital points. The bodyguards were specially trained and worked together seamlessly. The man in black was beaten so badly that he could only parry and had no chance to fight back.
"Let me see who you are!" Shen Lixue flicked her wrist, and the cyan whip lashed out at the black-clad man's face mask.
The man in black's eyes sharpened. Knowing that there was a guard's longsword beside him, he still dodged backward without hesitation. As the whip grazed the black mask, a long and deep gash was also cut on his arm.
He straightened up, quickly covered his wound, a cold glint in his eyes, glared hatefully at Shen Lixue, and with a flick of his wrist, bursts of thick smoke billowed out, instantly filling most of the alley.
A barely audible whooshing sound arose, and it quickly disappeared into the distant horizon.
Shen Lixue waved away the thick smoke nearby, but it wouldn't dissipate in a short time. She stopped worrying and stood quietly, pondering the identity of the man in black.
A moment later, the thick smoke dissipated, leaving only a pile of corpses.
Dongfang Xun gave the guards of the Holy King's Mansion a wink, and the guards silently approached Ye Qianlong.
"Wait!" Shen Lixue waved her hand to stop the guards, deliberately lowering her voice: "Dongfang Xun, your guards and my guards are about the same strength. If they fight, they will surely be injured!"
Dongfang Xun glanced at Shen Lixue: "You and I have different stances, and sooner or later we will both suffer losses!"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow: "If it weren't for that assassination attempt just now, I was prepared to settle things with you. You saw it yourself, those men in black weren't there to help you or me. They wanted to destroy Ye Qianlong's heart and prevent Dongfang Heng from getting treatment. They wanted to make the best of a bad situation, so that after we were both injured, they could take advantage of the situation and wipe you out in one fell swoop. Not only me, but they would also kill Ye Qianlong and indirectly cause Dongfang Heng's death!"
"They left with serious injuries!" Dongfang Xun said calmly, though his voice lacked confidence.
Shen Lixue pouted: "How do you know they didn't have a backup plan? Just because the ambush here failed doesn't mean they didn't set up ambushes elsewhere."
Dongfang Xun remained silent, his eyelids lowered, as if he were pondering the black-clad man's next move.
Shen Lixue pointed at the crooked carriage: "Dongfang Xun, did you break my carriage wheels?"
Dongfang Xun glanced at the shattered wheel: "I do things honestly and uprightly, and I dislike the shameless and despicable behavior of those people!"
"I bet it wasn't you either!" The reason for damaging the carriage wheels was to stop the carriage at the ambush site. The group of men in black were not sent by Dongfang Xun, so the wheels couldn't have been damaged by him.
Dongfang Xun never hid his purpose from Shen Lixue. He said frankly that he would win Ye Qianlong's heart with his own strength. Although his methods were ruthless, his behavior was upright and he was a gentleman.
"What do you think we should do now?" Dongfang Xun looked at Shen Lixue. She always managed to come up with many ingenious ways to break the deadlock without anyone noticing. The man in black was ruthless and his identity was unknown. He wanted to hear her opinion.
“Those men in black wanted to destroy Ye Qianlong’s heart and indirectly kill Dongfang Heng. He is our common enemy. Why don’t we cooperate to find the mastermind behind this? Once we’ve dealt with him and have no more worries, we can have a final showdown!”
Shen Lixue and Dongfang Xun both hoped that Dongfang Heng's condition would improve. The man in black was there to harm Dongfang Heng and was their common enemy. They had to stop their infighting and unite against the outsider.
Dongfang Xun lowered his eyelids, pondering the feasibility of the proposal: "Dongfang Heng only has ten days left!"
"Ten days is enough to find out the mastermind behind this and then decide the winner!" Shen Lixue looked at the shattered carriage wheels, a cold glint in the depths of her eyes. They wanted to reap the benefits without lifting a finger, but that was wishful thinking.
“Alright, I’ll cooperate with you. We won’t touch Ye Qianlong until we eliminate the men in black!” Dongfang Xun looked at Shen Lixue in the night, her expression cold, confident, and resolute. He was sure it would be right for him to cooperate with her and fight the enemy together.
“It’s a deal!” Shen Lixue smiled slightly. She knew that with Dongfang Xun’s affection for Dongfang Heng, he would definitely agree to her proposal.
Turning around, Shen Lixue walked towards Ye Qianlong, who was five meters away. She spoke to Dongfang Xun in a very low voice, so low that even the most sensitive person could not hear her: "Qianlong, the carriage has broken down and we can't take you out of the city anymore. Would you like to come with me to the Holy King's Mansion for the night?"
“Okay!” Ye Qianlong nodded, his eyes clear and bright. He trusted Shen Lixue; wherever she said it was a good place, he would go.
Dongfang Xun looked up at the sky, a layer of mist settling into his deep eyes. He didn't want to hurt the innocent, especially those with pure and untainted hearts. But Dongfang Heng was his younger brother, and he couldn't leave him unsaved!
The night was deep and the night wind was cold. The lights were still on in the inner room of Fengsong Courtyard. Dongfang Heng stood by the window, his face handsome, calm and deep, his eyes fixed on the blue stone path in the courtyard.
Zi Mo knocked on the door and came in: "Your Highness, it's almost midnight, you should rest!"
"Li Xue hasn't returned yet?" Dongfang Heng stood still without turning around and asked casually.