Chapter 405: Bristling rage on her pretty face
Han Yunxi’s thin, frail frame stood starkly against the snowscape, moving the hearts of all who saw her. The gecko cinnabar mark on her arm was the single spot of red in a world of white, a jarring, unforgettable sight. It reached Long Feiye’s dark pupils and turned them blood red, staining his cold eyes scarlet. While everyone was focused on Han Yunxi, no one had noticed Long Feiye’s hand move to his scabbard.
Jun Yixie was amongst them. He was completely gaping at Han Yunxi, astonished that she could use that of all methods to prove her innocence!
Hasn’t she been married to Long Feiye for over a year? But she’s actually…
So what’s her relationship with Long Feiye, then? Isn’t she one of his people? His only weakness? Have I made a mistake with this gamble?
The eyes around Han Yunxi were filled with mixtures of shock, sneers, sympathy and pity, but she faced them all with cool indifference. As they watched, she leisurely wound her sleeve down and replaced her cloak, her movements noble and elegant.
“Jun Yixie, there’s only one bottle of antidote for your poison, but I’ve long thrown it away. However, there’s still another way to cure the poison. Want to hear it?” Han Yunxi asked with a cold smile.
“What?!” Jun Yixie had done all this just for a chance at the antidote.
“Cut off your arm,” Han Yunxi said as she burst into laughter, her demeanor free and unrestrained. It was as if the blow to her had never happened.
Only then did Jun Yixie realized that he’d been tricked. Furious, he raged, “Slut!”
In the same instant, there was a clang! The space trembled as a blade whistled through the air, the wrathful cry of Long Feiye’s sword! Like its owner, it seemed to be possessed with heinous fury, shuddering as it strove to escape from its owner’s grip. The crowd of people finally realized that Long Feiye was already holding the handle of his sword and gave a collective inhale!
Long Feiye wants to fight!
Before they could react, there was another shriek as Long Feiye raised his sword and pointed it at Jun Yixie! Reality had proved that even the cool-headed Duke of Qin had his limits.
“Your Highness…” Baili Mingxiang cried out in alarm. Even someone as rational as him can lose his temper like this?
“Your Highness, please think thrice!” General Baili rushed over. Once they broke the rules of Fishery Island, all their efforts would go into waste! That wretch Jun Yixie would end up winning all the fish instead!
Long Feiye turned a deaf ear to their pleas and remained pointing his sword at Jun Yixie, his icy eyes shining with wrath and fury. The edge of his blade hummed in tune with his feelings, ready for imminent slaughter. Wasn’t this exactly what Jun Yixie wanted? Although Han Yunxi had proved her innocence and exposed Jun Yixie’s lies, that wasn’t important anymore. He had successfully ignited the flames of Long Feiye’s ferocity.
Now that his weapon was drawn, all Long Feiye had to do was make a move to be disqualified from the island! His bet had paid off after all–Han Yunxi was Long Feiye’s weakness! Though that man knew he was walking into a pitfall, he’d still take the leap!
Long Feiye was holding his sword so tightly that veins had popped out on his hand. He was currently channeling his inner energy into the blade, so one could well imagine the results if he unleashed its power. Everyone felt anxious at the sight, their gazes fixated on Long Feiye’s weapon as if afraid to miss a second. Han Yunxi was the only one who remained aloof and indifferent despite standing right next to the man. She exuded nothing but ice from her form. Jun Yixie licked his lips, a wicked expression on his face. Without a doubt, he was adding fuel to Long Feiye’s fires.
“You’re seeking death!” Long Feiye couldn’t stand it no matter how cold he was. He prepared to slash with his sword when General Baili rushed over and grabbed the blade with his bare hands.
“Your Highness, this is a trap!” Fresh blood poured from General Baili’s hands as they gripped the weapon. He seemed to be using all his strength to hold back Long Feiye. An inferno of rage was still shining in his eyes, furious and red. He knew better than anyone else that this was a trap. Ever since Jun Yixie had leapt into the sea to swim ashore, he had realized the other many was planning to manipulate the taboos of Fishery Island in some way. But he never expected him to do this!
“Scram!” Long Feiye’s sword flared in time to his temper.
Alarmed, Baili Mingxiang also ran forward to clutch Long Feiye’s blade with her hands, joining her father to block him. Her skin was far more delicate than General Baili’s and bled at first contact with the blade.
“Your Highness, esteemed wangfei is innocent! Jun Yixie’s doing this one purpose, you mustn’t be rash!”
“Your lordship will say this one more time. Get out of the way!” There was no way the Baili father and daughter pair could convince Long Feiye now.
Too scared to look at him, Baili Mingxiang quickly grabbed Han Yunxi’s hands instead. “Esteemed wangfei, please coax His Highness! You can’t waste the efforts of you and Your Highness over the past few months!”
Of course Han Yunxi knew this was a trap too, and that Long Feiye would lose both the battle on Fishery Island and the struggle in Tianning once he made a move. Emperor Tianhui, the civil and military officials, and all of Tianning’s peasants were all waiting for His Highness Duke of Qin to help them through the winter until March arrived! But none of this was important anyone when her heart had turned cold. She simply didn’t want Jun Yixie to have his way, that’s all. How could it be acceptable if he used this rumor to gain an advantage?
When Han Yunxi saw Long Feiye’s cold eyes, she didn’t know how effective her words would be. But she walked over and said, “Your Highness, think thrice!”
Long Feiye didn’t even spare her a glance.
A mocking smile rose on Han Yunxi’s features. Like General Baili, she prepared to raise her hands and grasp the blade herself. This time, Long Feiye pulled his sword free from General Baili’s grip to avoid Han Yunxi’s incoming fingers. Without another word, he simply shot her a fierce look, his eyes filled with a mixture of wrath and query. Unfortunately, Han Yunxi had already looked away and didn’t see.
Finally, Long Feiye replaced his sword in its scabbard. He’d been convinced to withdraw his weapon, but that didn’t mean he would forgive Jun Yixie. Meanwhile, General Baili and the rest heaved sighs of relief. In the end, His Highness is still the cool-headed, rational type.
Jun Yixie got ready for another round of provocation when Long Feiye suddenly issued orders. “General Baili, send out orders for your entire fleet to surrounded Fishery Island. Anyone who dares to take Jun Yixie off this isle will be killed without mercy!”
Shock rippled through the crowd at his words!
Who said Long Feiye had cooled his head? He’d gone completely insane instead! He was going to move the entirety of Tianning’s navy just to trap a single Jun Yixie? General Baili stood rooted to the spot as he nearly lost his wits. He had spent over a decade training his troops with Tianning silver, but he’d never used them against anything yet. Now their first call to action was to come out in full strength to surround a single island?
“Get to it!” Long Feiye was absolutely murderous.
“This soldier obeys!” General Baili had no time to think twice, but left posthaste. When they came this time, they’d brought along a bunch of ships with them along with the main ship, just so they could load the fish and send them to Tianning’s various disaster areas. General Baili requisitioned the fleet to stand guard over Fishery Island first while he sent off a flying pigeon message to gather the rest of his naval forces and find more ships to ship fish.
Jun Yixie felt that the situation was turning bad and started to head for the coast. The taboos of Fishery Island applied not only to Long Feiye, but himself as well. If Long Feiye was going to play like this, his only route was to escape. Long Feiye’s lips quirked into a cold smile as he watched Jun Yixie leave. He himself used his lightness techniques to chase after the man like an arrow released in flight. Their martial arts skills were of similar strengths, so their speeds were evenly matched as they raced towards shore. Han Yunxi, Baili Mingxiang, Ouyang Ningruo and the rest all chased after them.
Long Feiye and Jun Yixie practically arrived at the sea simultaneously. Jun Yixie simply ran straight into the sea and raced across the water to his battleship. If he couldn’t use martial arts while staying on Fishery Island, he’d be stuck there until he died. Better to get to his ship and fight so he had a sliver of hope. He prepared some hypertoxic poisons in his hands and prepared for battle, but Long Feiye didn’t chase after him. Instead, he rose to the skies and raised his sword above his head until it was brimming with dazzling light. In a flash, clouds and bursts of wind gathered around the humming blade!
Jun Yixie felt a bad premonition in his heart. He was about to block any impending blows with his own sword when Long Feiye slashed his blade downwards. The iridescent sword qi from his weapon caused the waves to toss and heave.
THHHHHHNNNNK! With a smash, the sword qi ripped a hole right into the side of Jun Yixie’s ship. Seawater poured into the opening as the vessel keeled to one side. By now, Han Yunxi and the rest had caught up just in time to see the sight, astonished. His Highness Duke Qin had truly lost his temper, and the consequences were severe.
Jun Yixie stood at the head of the sinking ship, completely stunned. If the ship’s destroyed, how will I get back to land? His temper flared at the sight of Ouyang Ningruo in the crowd.
“Ouyang Ningruo, this is the face that Long Feiye’s shown to your trade consortium?” he demanded.
In the past, Ouyang Ningruo had promised to use his argument of ‘showing face’ to stop Long Feiye should he try and wreck the ship. Jun Yixie’s sudden shout startled him out of his thoughts. Frightened, he hastened to reply, “Your Highness Duke of Kang, that’s your ship. It really has nothing to do with me!”
A second ago, they were allies, but now he was saying things like this. Han Yunxi had been right in her assessment of the man–he was completely shameless, no matter whether it was them or Jun Yixie. As a merchant interested in profit, Ouyang Ningruo would never agree to a losing business deal! Even though it was very important for him to get that Northern Li horse deal, he couldn’t afford to offend His Highness Duke of Qin too much. If he knew that Jun Yixie would resort to such schemes, he never would have agree to join hands with him.
“Ouyang Ningruo!” Jun Yixie howled.
Long Feiye didn’t bother wasting words. He raised his sword again, causing Jun Yixie’s eyes to flash with malice before he flew towards General Baili’s ship. At this, General Baili issued orders, and all of the ship’s archers raised their bows to aim at Jun Yixie. What were the skills of a single expert against a battalion of archers? Jun Yixie had no choice but to return to Fishery Island’s shores.
By now, Long Feiye had already struck his second blow, which cut cleanly through the prow of the ship, destroying it completely. The effects of his rage shuddered through the skies–and shook the hearts of all who watched him. As he hovered in the sky, he was backed by a mighty warship and the fleet of archers aboard it.
With an icy expression, he said in a terrifying tone, “Jun Yixie, swim back to Northern Li for your lordship–if you have the skills!”