Deer Hunt

Beneath the yellow silk canopy, Meeting that clouded gaze, Xu Yinhe spoke with grave sincerity:

"Your Majesty, there are still duties I must fulfill. This time, please forgive this subject for being unable to accompany Your Majesty."

Li Yaoxuan's gaunt body trembled faintly for an instant. Half-squinting, he smiled.

"But I need to finish the duties I ought to fulfill."

At those words, Xu Yinhe slowly lowered his eyes, sat upright on his knees, closed his eyes to rest his spirit, and uttered two words:

"As you wish."

"."

When the words fell, silence followed.

Killing intent, almost tangible, pressed down until the surrounding space seemed to twist faintly.

Ran Jianli narrowed his eyes and grinned with a low chuckle.

He made no move, merely watching these two men—who had spent their lives fighting for the same ideal—draw blades against one another at death's door.

Yet Ran Jianli truly could not understand why Xu Yinhe dared emerge alone at such a critical juncture.

The Emperor's invitation to a northern hunt at the end of his life looked, no matter how one viewed it, like a Hongmen Banquet laid by the imperial clan—a Hongmen Banquet aimed at the leaders of the Sect Alliance and the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Ran Jianli had come to this soul-stirring feast because circumstances left him no choice.

He needed to know whether the Emperor, before dying, intended to turn his blade on the Prime Minister's Mansion or on their Sect Alliance. More than that, he needed the prestige of facing this alone to solidify his position within the Sect Alliance.

Even before setting out for Di'an, however, Ran Jianli had already prepared himself for death and dissolution.

But Xu Yinhe's circumstances were completely different from his.

He, Ran Jianli, could die for the Sect Alliance. He