Love & Redemption
Chapter 131: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 38 Betrayal (5)

Chapter 131: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 38 Betrayal (5)

"Kill or not?" Wu Tong asked maliciously, grinning like a cat playing with its prey.

Actually, he must have seen through everything, Yu Sifeng thought, his expression grave. He had long realized that Zhong Minyan had no genuine loyalty; knowing everything, yet pretending, clearly toying with them.

Min Yan! You should have seen this coming! Don’t let him fool you anymore! If we work together now, there’s still a fifty percent chance we could break out... but if we’re swayed by his words, the outcome is too dreadful to contemplate!

Turning his head to look at Zhong Minyan, he saw his pale face, lost in thought. Suddenly, as though having made a decision, Minyan turned and walked towards Chen Minjue. Minjue, taken aback, stepped backward and exclaimed, "Sixth! Hey! Sixth, have you gone mad?! Zhong Minyan! What in the world are you thinking?!"

Before he finished, there was the sound of a sword being drawn. Zhong Minyan’s eyes were dark and fixed, his face full of murderous intent. Chen Minjue was so shocked he couldn’t speak, staring at his eyes as if at a stranger.

Yu Sifeng, in a panic, shouted, "Min Yan! Don’t be deceived by him! He has long..."

Before he could finish, he felt an immense force silently striking him. He hadn’t noticed it approaching, and suddenly he felt as if a sharp object had pierced both his chest and back, the pain excruciating. His expression fell, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbling several steps before collapsing to the ground.

Wu Tong, sitting in the chair opposite, had his hand stretched out towards him, having struck with some unknown technique.

"You’re too noisy; be a little quieter."

He curled his fingers back and, propping his chin, smiled again, "Min Yan, which is more important, the beloved junior sister or the senior brother with a grudge? To have nowhere to go or to stay here and enjoy the comfort? I don’t like waiting; hurry up and give me an answer."

Yu Sifeng’s expression despaired, his lips quivering, wanting to warn Zhong Minyan not to fall for it, but his body was severely injured, and he couldn’t even muster a word. Xuanji knelt beside him, tears in her eyes, gripping his sleeve tightly, her voice trembling, "You... don’t move... How could this... How could things turn out like this..."

Yu Sifeng looked distraught at her pale face, unsure how to comfort her, because he himself couldn’t understand, not at all.

Zhong Minyan’s facial muscles twitched slightly, then he shut his eyes tightly and gave a mighty roar, swinging his sword decisively— tracing a beautiful, perfect arc.

Chen Minjue instinctively shielded his chest and head, although he knew it was futile. As soon as the Sword Qi would be released, it would shatter upon contact with him. He couldn’t believe, nor dare to believe how things had escalated.

They came to save someone, didn’t they?

There was a sudden chill on his arm, as if something ice-cold had lightly grazed it. Besides that, he felt no pain. Chen Minjue opened his eyes in confusion and looked down—his right arm had been severed at the elbow.

Blood gushed like a fountain, almost instantly staining his clothes red. He gasped in shock as pain surged up the next instant, gnawing at his bones, making his heart feel cleaved by Zhong Minyan’s strike from inside out, so intense that he bellowed in agony, collapsing to his knees.

Zhong Minyan looked like a child who had done something wrong, eerily calm at the brink of disaster. He stared vacantly at the blood on the ground, fingers subconsciously loosening, and the treasure sword clanged as it hit the floor.

He muttered, "I... I have nowhere to turn now..."

Laughter and applause came from behind him. He twitched his eyebrows slightly, but his body seemed frozen, standing still.

Wu Tong laughed, "You’re still too soft-hearted! But that’s okay, I like people like you!"

Zhong Minyan closed his eyes, as if he hadn’t heard Chen Minjue’s heart-wrenching cries. He turned abruptly, gritting his teeth as he knelt down, and said in a deep voice, "Thank you for the compliment, Vice Hall Master Xie!"

Wu Tong waved his hand dismissively, "Aren’t you going to escort your friends out of here?"

Zhong Minyan looked back numbly, surveying everyone in the hall. Ruo Yu was pale, Yu Sifeng was looking at him as if he didn’t recognize him, Xuanji... his heart ached. Xuanji was holding Chen Minjue’s severed hand, her tears flowing like a spring.

"You all... get out of here!" he croaked.

Xuanji slowly put down Chen Minjue’s hand and stood up, staring fixedly at him. Her gaze was stranger than anything Zhong Minyan had ever seen—cold and wooden, as if utterly devoid of emotion, dark and devoid of light.

Her body trembled slightly, and her icy gaze swept over him before turning to Wu Tong.

"You’re seeking death..." she muttered, a silver light beginning to flicker and spread in the palm of her hand. Her Bengyu Sword had just been snatched away by Chen Minjue to assassinate Wu Tong, but in the end, it was taken by Wu Tong. Now, as if sensing its master close by, the Bengyu trembled violently in Wu Tong’s hand, emitting a dragon-like roar.

Wu Tong watched the Bengyu in his hand in shock, feeling it suddenly become extremely hot, to the point that he couldn’t hold onto it, and it slipped from his grasp. It drew a silver arc in the air and landed steadily in Xuanji’s hand, shining brilliantly for a moment.

Right, this little girl! How could he have forgotten, her identity is special... Taking advantage of the fact that she hadn’t made her move, Wu Tong suddenly rose from his seat. With a slight hook of his left hand in the air, Xuanji felt her own left hand involuntarily raise, and the ring that was originally on her middle finger flew out and was snatched by him.

"You..." Before she could finish her sentence, he waved his left hand again, and she immediately felt a strong force hit her head-on, as if she were suddenly caught between two mountains, with a fierce wind that made it impossible to keep her eyes open, involuntarily blowing her off the ground and sending her flying out of the hall.

Knowing this was bad, she turned her head and saw Chen Minjue lying unconscious behind her. She reached out to catch him but failed to grasp him. Her hand brushed his clothes and in a flash, she was swept out of the hall by that strange wind.

Yu Sifeng was shocked and immediately chased after, only to hear Wu Tong’s stern shout from behind: "This man must not live to become a future threat, do not let him escape! Kill him!" His heart sank, realizing the other party had murderous intent and today he would likely face a desperate struggle for survival. Hearing footsteps catching up from behind, he looked back and saw, as expected, Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu.

He had first thought they were feigning defection, tricking Linglong and Chen Minjue to return, but unexpectedly, they were serious, and he had been countered by Wu Tong instead. Without mentioning the depth of his shock, he had sustained serious internal injuries, and if Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu were seriously going to take action, his chances of survival were virtually nil.

"Min Yan! Ruo Yu!" he called out their names while running, simply unable to comprehend how things had developed to this extent. He was almost at the entrance, about to catch up with Xuanji, who had been blown out by Wu Tong’s strange wind and slammed into a wall. Pale and leaning against it, she couldn’t move. When she saw Yu Sifeng, her eyes moved slightly as she seemed to want to speak, but could not. Then, seeing Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu catching up from behind, with their faces full of killing intent, it was obvious they were not playing, but were quite serious.

"Si... Si Feng..." she managed to call out weakly, tears rolling down from her eyes as she said tremulously, "They... They must be under one of Wu Tong’s Nightmare Techniques... what should we do...?"

Yu Sifeng felt extremely troubled, not knowing how to answer her, so he simply stood still, guarding in front of her and turned to look at the two, after a moment, he asked, "Why?"

Ruo Yu didn’t speak, Zhong Minyan said in a deep voice, "A good bird chooses the tree it perches on, there’s no why. Chu Lei was blinded and drove me out, the world is so large, the Shaoyang Sect isn’t the only place!"

Yu Sifeng’s confusion reached its peak, with numerous questions he wanted to ask them, but how could he inquire in such a situation? He saw Zhong Minyan raise the sword in his hand, filled with Sword Qi, clearly poised to release it and chop him into a flurry of disordered cuts. Without hesitation, he said proudly, "We were friends after all! If you must kill, just kill me alone, do not harm Xuanji!"

Ruo Yu laughed, and it looked like she was about to speak when suddenly, a streak of sword light flashed, skimming close to Yu Sifeng’s waist. It moved like a serpent, a sword technique from Li Ze Palace designed to feign a strike from one direction and attack from another. The sword was about to pierce Yu Sifeng’s abdomen, but then it turned sharply, aiming directly for Xuanji, who was unable to move behind him.

"You!" Yu Sifeng, overcome with sudden rage, instinctively turned and pushed Xuanji away, only to find that the sword unexpectedly swung back towards him. Unable to dodge in time, he felt an icy chill as the sword pierced straight through his chest.

Beside his ear, there were two cries of shock, from Xuanji and Zhong Minyan. His eyes cleared momentarily, and the scene before him blurred. Glancing at Zhong Minyan, he saw that the latter was biting his lip hard, with large tears rolling in his eyes, fighting the urge to let them fall. Yu Sifeng’s lips parted slightly and he whispered weakly, "Minyan... Xuanji, she..."

His words were left unfinished as Ruo Yu withdrew her sword. He cried out in pain, blood spurting wildly from his chest, and immediately fell to the ground, unconscious. In a daze, he opened his eyes to see Ruo Yu, her eyes behind the mask dark and expressionless, void of any emotion, resembling the deepest cave where no end could be seen. He felt his strength draining away along with the gushing blood and finally could no longer hold on, sinking into darkness.

Xuanji trembled all over, her legs gave out, and she knelt beside him, incredulously caressing his pale face.

"Si Feng...?" she murmured his name. This couldn’t be real; it was just a nightmare... Yes, surely it was a nightmare.

Yu Sifeng’s body started to become transparent as if it was about to disappear. She cried out, reaching to grasp him, but caught nothing but air. A luminescent glow spilled from her arms, and he had indeed vanished.

"No!" She suddenly stood up and dashed outward, trying to follow the fading glow. Suddenly, she was tightly embraced, and a coolness on her neck revealed several drops of water. Zhong Minyan’s voice gently sounded in her ear, "Xuanji, I have no way out now... When you see Master again, tell him Zhong Minyan... has fulfilled his duty!"

She was stunned, then suddenly thrust forward by him. A white light flashed before her eyes, and she shouted, "Sixth Brother!" Turning back to him, his features blurred, as if enveloped by a bright light. All she could make out were two streams of tears on his face, glistening clearly.

The white light grew brighter, and her body felt like it was floating. Eventually, she could no longer see his face. Slowly, the light receded, and she felt her body hit something solid, gently falling onto it. The clear sound of mountain wind brushed by her ears, and she came to her senses as if in a dream, looking around to find herself back at the Sacrificial Altar.

Yu Sifeng lay beside her, already lying in a pool of deep-red blood. Xuanji’s hands shook as she hurriedly checked for his breath; it was faint, but he was still alive.

She couldn’t help but let tears fill her eyes, turning to hold him tightly. Thus she truly understood the meaning of "everything changed." They had come with five, full of vigor to save others, but only two returned.

Something hard pressed against her from within her embrace; she reached in slowly and took it out in front of her. Within the crystal bottle, the meticulously refined two souls and six spirits shone in the sunlight, dazzling with brilliant colors, as beautiful as a dream. At least... thankfully, Linglong was saved.

With tears streaming down her face, darkness slowly enveloped her vision, and she soon lost consciousness, unaware of anything else. (To be continued. For further story developments, please visit www.qidian.com. There are more Chapters available, support the author, and support genuine reading!)