Bet It All

After Ghost Master finished speaking, Jiuru suddenly understood. He sent a telepathic message: "So it was you. The young man who gave me the bead was you too!"

"Good. Now you know. You and I share a common enemy. Let's act, quickly."

As soon as Ghost Master's telepathic message ended, a faint wisp of smoke rose from Beichen's body. Only Xu Yi could see it; no one else could sense it.

In an instant, Beichen's eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground once more.

Xia Zimo hurriedly reached out to catch him, but just as she moved to embrace him, something struck her in the back. Her head drooped, and she fainted.

Jiuru had made his move. Unable to withstand the immense pressure Xu Yi was putting on him, he shot out a hand like lightning and chopped the side of Xia Zimo's neck. He caught her as she fell, laid her across his arm, and in the same instant, a small jade-green knife appeared. Its blade rested against her snowy, jade-like neck, its chilling gleam raising goose bumps across her skin.

Xu Yi had calculated every possible move, yet never anticipated that Beichen would make this play.

But he had always believed he'd seen through Jiuru's scheme: use Xia Zimo to assassinate the Son of Heaven of Great Yue, shake the court, and make it easier for the Heavenly Buddha Kingdom and Naiman to act.

As long as Xia Zimo remained here, Jiuru wouldn't make a move. Even if Xu Yi tried to take her away by force, Jiuru would never have responded so violently.

But this time, Xu Yi had misjudged the human heart.

Because of Liao Chen, he had always shown Jiuru a measure of tolerance. Even now, though Jiuru had used Xia Zimo as