Was she the intruder?

In the corridor of Tranquil Heart Hall, Ren Ye bent over and ran his fingers along the gap in a side room's door. His body suddenly stiffened.

His fingers passed over it without meeting any resistance.

The strand of hair he had tied there earlier had snapped. Someone had recently entered this room.

Tonight, he had made preparations in two places: his bedchamber and Tranquil Heart Hall. Not because he could predict everything, but because he had done everything within his power to the utmost.

He only had one life. Of course he had to treasure it.

Ren Ye stepped back three paces, gathered his strength, and kicked the door open.

Bang!

The doorframe rattled, shaking loose a shower of dust. Inside, the room was pitch-black and unnaturally quiet.

"I know you're in there. Come out." As Ren Ye stood in the shadows of the corridor, the palace lanterns around him flickered, casting an eerie blue light.

After a brief silence, a creak came from inside. Liu Ling'er emerged from the darkness. "I'm really curious. How did you discover that Er Leng had been charmed?"

"The blood. The bloodstains in Spring Fragrance Garden were wrong." Ren Ye stared at her silhouette without moving. "You staged the scene, but you rushed it. The Young Eunuch's blood was splattered, while the blood from Er Leng's hidden-weapon wound was too concentrated. If they'd been fighting, the bloodstains wouldn't have been so neat. And he went out that afternoon..."

Shocked inwardly, Liu Ling'er stepped forward. "Then how did you know I wasn't trying to kill you, but wanted to enter Tranquil Heart Hall? You even set a trap here in advance!"

Ren Ye gauged the distance between them, his thoughts remaining clear. "Before Er Leng left Joyful Music Palace, I didn't know what you intended. But since you'd written the script, all I had to do was play along. I'm a good-for-nothing. The only places I can go are my bedchamber and Tranquil Heart Hall."

Those two statements answered every question in Liu Ling'er's mind.

"What exactly do you do in the real world?" Liu Ling'er was deeply frustrated. She felt that her actions had been flawless, and she had seized the initiative twice in this game. Yet in the end, she had still failed to outmaneuver this useless Prince Huai.

"I'm not your father. I don't owe you answers to every question," Ren Ye replied coldly. "Do you want to live? If you do, I have a few questions myself."

Liu Ling'er pretended to ponder as she slowly approached. "What do you want to ask?"

"Have you found your teammates? Who are they?" Ren Ye's gaze was somewhat vacant.

Liu Ling'er lowered her head and remained silent.

"If you won't talk, you're of no value to me."

"I have found my teammates." Liu Ling'er raised her head as she stepped forward, now no more than ten paces from Ren Ye. "Fine. I want to live. There are two of them. Their identity cards are..."

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a vicious look flashed across Liu Ling'er's face. With a flick of her hand, she launched a dark purple steel nail. It streaked through the air with a sharp whistle, heading straight for Ren Ye's forehead.

This was the Soul-Shattering Nail, Liu Ling'er's last life-saving item. It could shatter a person's soul without leaving any external wound.

As the nail flew toward his face, Ren Ye instantly closed his eyes and softly chanted, "Within a hundred paces, let a wronged soul take my death."

Swish!

A ghostly figure abruptly rose from the ground.

The ghost wore a maid's dress. Her face was deathly pale, except for her bright pink cheeks, and a thin strangulation mark encircled her neck.

Her long red tongue hung out as she lunged forward, her venomous eyes fixed on Liu Ling'er.

Thud!

The Soul-Shattering Nail shot forward and embedded itself in the female ghost's forehead in an instant.

"Aah!"

The wronged soul screamed and disintegrated on the spot.

Clatter!

The nail fell to the floor, instantly losing its luster.

Standing inside the room, Liu Ling'er froze. Despair immediately filled her eyes.

"I'm cautious. I'm not easy to kill." Ren Ye slowly shook his head and entered the room, powerful yin energy radiating from his body. "It seems you don't intend to live after all."

The Imperial Brush he had activated in the secret chamber could replicate supernatural spells. So, before tonight's decisive battle, Ren Ye had visited the Princess Consort's bedchamber. In exchange for "supplying" her with two hours of heavenly pardon qi, he had secured an opportunity to "steal her teachings"...

This was his trump card, but it came with severe side effects and numerous restrictions. He had yet to display its strongest power, and he was already running out of time...

Liu Ling'er completely lost her composure. Clenching her fists, her face pale, she shouted, "This isn't fair! Why is your special ability...?!"

"I'm in the open, and you're in the shadows. What's unfair about that? I'm just a little smarter than you." Ren Ye raised the Nation-Guarding Sword. "Since you don't want to talk, I won't ask."

Boom!

Just as Ren Ye swung his sword at Liu Ling'er, a tremendous crash rang out beyond the hall.

Outside the hall, dawn was approaching, and radiant light filled the eastern sky.

Bang!

Er Leng slammed into the upper part of the hall, shattering the plaque and smashing through a wooden beam before dropping to the ground like a corpse.

This was the result of taking Old Taoist Xu's second palm strike head-on. His chest had caved in, and blood sprayed from his mouth and nose...

Countless wood fragments rained down on Er Leng. He felt as though he had gone deaf, and his vision was filled with blood. His body kept twitching, but he no longer had the strength to stand.

Yet his right hand still groped across the cold ground, as though trying to pick up the Famous Blade Invite the Moon again...

The young eunuchs around him looked sympathetic, but none dared help him, nor did anyone dare stop Old Taoist Xu and his companions.

This world was cold. Some people were born to be underlings. Sympathy alone was already the greatest kindness they could offer.

Old Taoist Xu glanced blankly at Er Leng, then mounted the raised platform and headed straight into the hall.

Er Leng's defeat at Tranquil Heart Hall tonight was not due to inadequate training. Old Taoist Xu's methods were simply too bizarre. Though an adviser to Emperor Jing, he practiced the Southern Border Corpse-Raising Art, a sinister and vicious discipline. What Er Leng had fought was not Old Taoist Xu's true body, but the Corpse of the Power Body he had raised.

The Might Body's original owner had been a renowned military officer active in the Southern Border, a highly skilled fighter with immense strength. Old Taoist Xu had refined its corpse, altered its appearance, and fed it daily with the vital blood of strong men and medicinal pills. That was how it had gained such combat power.

The Might Body relied on sheer strength to overwhelm all techniques. Its body was like forged steel, like a divine weapon. In close combat, it possessed the might to withstand ten thousand men, making it the perfect counter to Er Leng's blindingly fast blade.

Behind it, the officials and soldiers followed Old Taoist Xu's Might Body closely, preparing to enter the hall.

Wu Asi, commander of the Spy Battalion, cast a gloomy glance at Er Leng sprawled on the ground. Curling his lip, he sneered, "Do you understand Zhong Kuishan's words now? Your master might not even survive tonight, and a guard dog like you thought you could stand in our way? Hmm?"

He drew the saber at his waist and prodded Er Leng's shoulder with its tip. "I'm talking to you. Why aren't you answering? Lift your head and tell me-who's the spineless dog now?"

Blood trickled from his shoulder. Exhausted, Er Leng could not even raise his head. He answered weakly, "If I'm a g-guard dog... then in that bastard emperor's eyes, you lot aren't even dogs... just chamber pots he can throw away whenever he pleases."

"Oh?" Wu Asi grinned viciously and slowly raised his steel saber toward Er Leng's neck. "May you be just as silver-tongued before the King of-"

Bang!

The tightly shut doors of the hall suddenly flew open.

Old Taoist Xu and the officials turned toward the sound. Ren Ye stood inside with a chilling gaze. Several palace maids and eunuchs followed him, holding the unconscious Liu Ling'er captive.

"Who came to protect me?" Holding the Nation-Guarding Sword, Ren Ye stood just inside the doorway and pointed at the unconscious Liu Ling'er. "Who's the intruder? Her?"

His sharp questions rang out from the doorway. A flicker of surprise passed through the officials' minds, but there was no fear in their eyes as they looked at Ren Ye.

Yet the pupils of Old Taoist Xu's Might Body, standing at the very front, contracted sharply. It sensed the intense, sinister energy radiating from Ren Ye, and that made it profoundly uncomfortable...

"I'm asking you. Is she the intruder?" Ren Ye stepped back, roughly seized Liu Ling'er by the hair with his right hand, and shook her head violently. "Is it her? Is it?!"

Silence fell. Every soldier and official outside the hall looked at Old Taoist Xu.

"You... you actually know the Yin-Yang Art." Old Taoist Xu regained his vacant expression, his voice devoid of emotion.

Inside the hall, Liu Ling'er's head had suffered a heavy blow, leaving her face bruised purple. Lian'er and the others, now freed, held her up. She had completely lost the ability to resist.

Ignoring Old Taoist Xu's question, Ren Ye stepped out of the hall and turned toward Er Leng, who lay beneath the broken plaque.

Blood poured from his mouth and nose, and his hair was disheveled. Sprawled on the ground, he could neither move nor lift his head.

"Y-Your Highness... I killed a commander... don't know what r-rank... and some soldiers." Hearing Ren Ye's voice, Er Leng spoke haltingly. "I killed them. It has nothing to do with you, Your Highness. Heh... I haven't seen much of the world... I'm willing to stand trial in the capital. It'll be a chance to see what that damned old emperor looks like...!"

Ren Ye stared at him, neither moving nor answering.

Cold wind brushed his face. Everything he had experienced in recent years, the two sets of memories from inside and outside the Star Gate, flashed through his mind like slides, gradually merging...

I'm Ren Ye. Before entering the Star Gate, I'd already spent more than three years in prison.

Perhaps the guards, the inmates, even my family all saw me as cheerful, a little irreverent, someone who liked to joke.

But in truth, for those three years and more, I'd been lost and anxious.

I didn't know what I could do after getting out, or what I should do. I'd been imprisoned during the golden years of my life. Sometimes I regretted it, but sometimes I still felt those seven shots should have gone into those two suspects' heads...

I was bitter. I thought I'd done the right thing and didn't deserve this outcome. I'd even hated my former department for no reason. But... they'd done everything they could. They'd never treated me unfairly.

Perhaps life's greatest agony is when no one is wrong, yet you're the one who bears the worst consequences.

I'd been holding it all in, even feeling a little angry.

I'm Zhu Zigui. I'm a good-for-nothing.

Ever since my father died, I'd been a bird trapped in a cage. For more than three years, I'd lived in fear and uncertainty, never knowing when my imperial uncle's butcher's blade would fall on my neck.

I lacked the ability to resist and had no idea how to break free. Other than playing with women and making myself look even more useless, what could I possibly do?

Wang Jingzhong had smashed his head down and died in Conscientious Hall. Now even Er Leng was lying here...

Inside the hall, those willing to follow me and help me must be trembling too. They're afraid to die. I know.

I really have been holding it all in. But more than that, I'm furious!

Outside Tranquil Heart Hall, Ren Ye stood like a statue. The two sets of memories merged in his mind, and the negative emotions he had suppressed for so long erupted, surging like a tide straight into his head.

Looking at Er Leng on the ground, he seemed to see Li Xiaoyang, who had died overseas.

But this time, he had to save the person willing to die for him, whether he was human or a gate spirit harboring an obsession...

Swish!

Ren Ye turned toward Old Taoist Xu and asked calmly, "Were you the one who injured Er Leng?"

Though Old Taoist Xu's Might Body was a corpse whose three spiritual souls and seven corporeal souls had long since dispersed, it now resembled a refined weapon, radiating powerful pure yang energy. "A bird in a cage. Don't think that learning a little of the Yin-Yang Art means..."

"Was it you?!" Ren Ye interrupted.

"So what if it was?" Old Taoist Xu countered coldly. "There are too many blades seeking your life. How many can you dodge? Hand over Liu Ling'er, and I can let you remain a wastrel, a useless prince, until you die."

"As long as it was you." Ren Ye closed his eyes and spoke softly. "I just learned a Soul-Summoning Art today. I don't know whether it can kill you..."

At that moment, all the fear, uncertainty, and agitation that had built up over his three days inside the gate vanished. His face was as placid as a lake, his heart as still as water...

In life, there was no retreat!

When driven to the brink, stake your life on one last fight, and never mind the outcome!

With his eyes closed, the people before him disappeared. Listening quietly, he heard only the wind moaning around him.

The vast Tranquil Heart Hall seemed to hold him alone.

Ren Ye spread his arms without so much as another glance at Old Taoist Xu, softly reciting, "Within a hundred zhang, all wandering souls and restless ghosts shall obey my command! The shadowed heavens and the underworld shall follow my will!"

As he recited the incantation, dark clouds instantly filled the sky, and every palace lantern in Prince Huai's Residence went out at once.

Whoooo...!

An eerie wind rose. Everyone heard murmuring ghostly voices around them.

Boom!

A hazy apparition of a female Taoist soared into the sky, towering more than ten zhang high. She sat cross-legged above Tranquil Heart Hall like a deity descending into the world, her eyes fixed on the dark clouds.

The sight shocked every official and soldier present.

The Qingliang Prefect, Chief Administrator Li Yan, Wu Asi of the Spy Battalion, and the others all recoiled several steps, fleeing the raised platform in terror.

Old Taoist Xu's pupils contracted, his heart shaken violently. The eerie wind rippled the wrinkles on his face as he stared at Ren Ye in disbelief. "That woman actually taught you the Soul-Gathering Art?!"

In close combat, the Might Body possessed the might to withstand ten thousand men, but it feared yin energy and soul-based spells...

Swish!

Without hesitation, Old Taoist Xu leaped into the air, decisively choosing to flee.

Ren Ye abruptly opened his eyes and pressed his palms together. "This disciple is willing to sacrifice his lifespan. I beseech Fengdu to open its gates!"

Whoooo...!

Violent winds swept through the sky. Beyond the surrounding high walls, every wandering soul and restless ghost within a hundred zhang gathered-men and women, old and young, children and youths alike.

Whoosh, whoosh...!

The ghosts moved as dawn broke, countless as fish crossing a river. In moments, they sealed off Old Taoist Xu's escape route in midair, pressing down on him like an enormous umbrella of yin energy.

"Aah!"

A wretched scream rang out. Countless wandering souls and restless ghosts dragged Old Taoist Xu's Might Body down and entangled it, drawing agonized howls from its mouth.

Whoosh, whoosh...!

It slammed into the ground, shattering the bluestone paving. Its body rolled and struggled, but the densely packed wronged souls frantically drained its blood and vital energy.

In mere moments, his Might Body shriveled, lying on the ground as flat as a sheet of paper, every bone crushed...

Tranquil Heart Hall fell utterly silent. The ghosts drifted about, then collectively raised their heads toward the officials.

Ren Ye stood before the great hall, his body straight as he faced the assembled officials and shouted, "Someone tell me-where are the blades seeking my life now?!"