I couldn't bear to kill you

"I've heard of you..."

After they left the Xiang Prince's Residence, Yin Tingxue recovered her composure and asked tentatively:

"Chen Yi, a Hundred Household of the Western Depot, backed by the Lin faction, extravagant in his ways, corrupt to the core, and... his martial skills are a sham, all show and no substance?"

Chen Yi chuckled.

"Just what I'd expect of royalty. Four idioms in a single insult."

Before Yin Tingxue could even snort, Chen Yi turned his head and brought his face right up to hers.

"Yet someone like that can still take the lofty Xiang Prince's Daughter as his concubine."

Some of the color drained from Yin Tingxue's face. After a while, she thought resentfully,

Even so, you're still unworthy of your position! Just you wait. You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later.

Chen Yi ignored her and instead pulled a martial arts manual from inside his robes.

He had also obtained this Jiao-Slaying Saber Technique at the start and kept it inside his robes. Now that he had the Great Star-Absorbing Art and could take others' true qi, it was just the thing to help his training.

Chen Yi skimmed through it, and soon another line of small text appeared on the panel.

[Added technique: Jiao-Slaying Saber Technique (not yet learned).]

After rounding a corner and walking down an alley, Chen Yi slowed his steps.

Scattered footsteps sounded beyond the alley, which was only wide enough for three people to walk abreast.

Three Embroidered Uniform Guards in official robes slowly appeared before Chen Yi.

With no houses or shops anywhere nearby, this really was a fine spot.

"Hundred Household Chen, taking a female prisoner for questioning without authorization hardly seems in keeping with regulations."

A deep voice rang out. Song Shengbao, a Chief Constable of the Eastern Depot, stood like a small mountain. Two Eastern Depot Agents moved ahead of him on either side. They looked alike, as though they were brothers.

The two Eastern Depot Agents looked at Yin Tingxue with fervent reverence in their eyes. When they finally turned to Chen Yi, their gazes filled with deep hostility.

Chen Yi turned his head and saw Yin Tingxue gloating.

"Here comes your comeuppance!" she whispered.

Clearly, this Holy Maiden had recognized who these Embroidered Uniform Guards were.

Demonic Cult spies!

Chen Yi raised his eyes and said calmly:

"By regulation, the Western Depot has the authority to act over the Eastern Depot's head. By rank, I'm a Hundred Household. I wonder which regulation you're invoking to stop me. Get out of the way. I'm going back to the Western Depot."

Song Shengbao remained expressionless, but the Eastern Depot Agents beside him found Chen Yi's words laughable.

Who in the two Depots and the Guard didn't know how Chen Yi had obtained his position as Hundred Household?

Ordinary Hundred Households relied on martial prowess first and meritorious service second, but he owed his current position entirely to the Lin faction, which brought ruin to the country and its people.

"We only want the female prisoner. You're free to leave. Consider this silver a token of our respect, Hundred Household."

As he spoke, Song Shengbao drew out some banknotes, mixing inducement with intimidation:

"Hundred Household Chen, everyone knows exactly what you're worth. I'd advise you not to act rashly, lest we spoil our friendly relations!"

But Chen Yi smiled.

"I didn't expect... members of the Demonic Cult to have infiltrated the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Shock flashed across all three faces. Song Shengbao recovered first, his expression darkening.

"How did you know..."

Chen Yi smiled again.

"I'm using cheats."

He had known their identities right from the start. He had only refrained from exposing them earlier to prepare to sweep up every Demonic Cult member in Capital City later.

Though the three men in the alley did not understand what he meant, a trace of killing intent still entered their eyes.

The atmosphere changed abruptly.

The two agents slowly advanced.

"Step aside if you know what's good for you, and we'll pretend nothing happened."

Killing intent filled the air. Chen Yi felt death approaching.

As he spoke, he willed it with a thought and poured true qi into the saber technique without hesitation.

[You poured in the true qi you had painstakingly cultivated, and every word and line of the technique flowed through your meridians with it.]

[In your mind, the Jiao-Slaying Saber Technique actually began to develop on its own.]

A faint image of himself appeared in Chen Yi's mind, saber in hand, striking and withdrawing over and over.

[In the third year, you dimly grasped that a person was like a long snake: however vicious, they still had a vulnerable point. To slay a snake, strike that point. You reached the beginner level of the Jiao-Slaying Saber Technique.]

[In the sixth year, you had grasped the fundamentals and were advancing toward the next realm. You could be said to have achieved minor attainment.]

[In the eighth year, you attempted to reach major attainment in the saber technique. Unfortunately, you failed, but gained an insight.]

[In the tenth year, you seized upon a glimmer of understanding. Your saber technique was like slaying a jiao dragon traveling along a river amid raging floodwaters. You crossed the threshold and reached major attainment.]

Seeing Chen Yi stand unmoving, Song Shengbao's expression shifted darkly as he calculated how much trouble killing a Hundred Household would bring.

This man joined the Lin faction and rose to Hundred Household overnight. His foundations in the Western Depot are shaky. Killing him will bring an investigation, but they won't dig deep. As long as I grease the right palms and find a scapegoat, I can get away with it...

Song Shengbao continued his calculations.

Chen Yi, however, stepped forward first.

The girl watched him walk past her, slowly drawing his saber with each step. Its gleam was chilling, and confusion crossed her face.

What is he trying to do? Has he spent so long borrowing others' power that he really thinks he's a tiger himself?

The next instant, Chen Yi gripped his saber with both hands and stepped forward with a lightning thrust.

Almost no one had expected Chen Yi to seize the initiative and attack without warning.

Whoosh-

The Embroidered Uniform Guard at the front tasted blood in his throat as the sharp blade pierced it and was swiftly withdrawn.

Perhaps it was because he had been killed before, or perhaps because he had witnessed scenes of blood and hell, but Chen Yi remained expressionless, without the terror of a first-time killer.

Blood flowed along the spine of the blade. The other agent stared in shock. Only after his brother's corpse fell did he roar, eyes reddening, and move to draw his saber and charge.

Chen Yi moved first. One hand shot out, fingers together, and pressed down on the agent's drawing hand.

The saber stuck halfway out of its scabbard. The agent had never imagined Chen Yi could be so fast. His eyes widened, but before he could even register his shock, Chen Yi raised his saber and drove it through his abdomen.

Then he gave it a vicious twist.

Intestines spilled from the hole. In agony, the agent clutched his abdomen as if trying to stuff them back in, but the slippery coils slipped through his fingers.

Two men had been dispatched cleanly in the blink of an eye. Song Shengbao jolted in horror, cold sweat breaking out.

He had been calculating the consequences of killing a man and had lost focus for a moment. The one thing he had never considered was that the three of them might fail to kill this Hundred Household who was rotten beneath his fine exterior!

An experienced fighter, he retreated two steps, drew his saber, and took a stance to meet his enemy.

At that moment, Chen Yi surged forward, saber raised to the side, and delivered a horizontal slash. A cold, bright crescent flashed through the air, cutting straight toward Song Shengbao's throat.

Song Shengbao had been undercover for a long time. He had risen to Chief Banner Officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard before being transferred to the Eastern Depot, and ranked among the best of its Chief Constables in martial skill. In an instant, his blade rose across his body, colliding heavily with Chen Yi's.

Tremendous force surged from the point where their blades met, driving Song Shengbao back more than three full steps. He stared at Chen Yi in horror, while the latter had retreated only half a step.

From that single exchange, Song Shengbao instantly recognized Chen Yi's saber technique. It belonged to Min Ning, a Thousand Household of the Western Depot!

Such refined mastery! When did he learn it?!

"How do you know... Thousand Household Min's Jiao-Slaying Saber Technique?!"

Even as the thoughts flashed through his mind, Chen Yi slashed again.

The blade was fierce, sending a chill through Song Shengbao. He stepped forward, bringing his saber out from the side to block the blow. But when their weapons met again, a saber force vast enough to cleave a jiao dragon brutally crushed any thought of holding the strike.

Chen Yi first eased his grip, then abruptly twisted both hands, forcing Song Shengbao and his saber downward with his Embroidered Spring Saber. Then he released one hand and smashed a fist into Song Shengbao's face.

Song Shengbao's nose broke, his head snapping back. His saber wavered, and Chen Yi seized the opening to slash at his throat again. In a panic, Song Shengbao relied on experience and raised his blade to block.

The blade shuddered and bent at a tremendous angle. Then, with a crisp snap, it was cleaved clean through.

"You!"

Song Shengbao fell to the ground clutching his broken saber. Amid his panic, he saw Chen Yi's blade already closing in on his face and raised his hand to thrust his broken weapon in one final, desperate struggle.

A bone-piercing gust struck him, and his hair stood on end.

Chen Yi twisted his wrist and drove his saber through the hand holding the broken blade.

"Mercy! Spare me, Hundred Household!"

Blood gushed out, and excruciating pain struck. Song Shengbao let out a heartrending scream.

Half his body covered in blood, Chen Yi quietly watched Song Shengbao scream. In that instant, he seemed to experience the pleasure Yin Tingxue had felt when killing him. He asked:

"Didn't you know exactly what I was worth? Go on, then. Tell me exactly what I'm worth."

Song Shengbao's face was deathly pale as he stared in horror.

Hadn't he... become a Hundred Household entirely thanks to the Lin faction? Had all his earlier favoritism, fraud, and unworthiness merely been a way of concealing his abilities?!

At the thought, a chill ran down Song Shengbao's spine. At a loss, he said:

"Don't be rash. Don't... don't spoil our friendly relations. If you kill me, the Eastern Depot will investigate you. I'm a Chief Constable, after all. You won't be able to handle it! Let me live! Let's leave this matter here!"

A smile appeared on Chen Yi's icy face, adding a touch of viciousness.

Then Song Shengbao heard words that chilled him to the bone.

"Let you live? Then who's going to let me live?"

Then a hand pressed down on his head, and a saber plunged into his heart.

[Song Shengbao possessed twenty ordinary years' worth of foreign true qi in total.]

In the few seconds it took him to die completely, Chen Yi had already drained all his true qi.

The foreign true qi rampaged through his body, bringing fierce, stabbing pain. Chen Yi gritted his teeth and endured until, at last, the foreign true qi barely settled down.

Chen Yi then turned to Yin Tingxue, who had watched it all.

The Xiang Prince's Daughter was already deathly pale. This was her first time witnessing a killing.

As she watched him approach, she grew intensely uneasy, her heart pounding, and instinctively felt a surge of regret.

He didn't... hear what I said, did he?

Yin Tingxue clenched her hands and shrank back.

"Weren't you gloating just now? Hmm?"

Chen Yi leisurely wiped the blood from his saber and asked with a smile,

"Wishing me dead?"

Yin Tingxue was frightened. Before she could take another step back, Chen Yi grabbed her.

"Be good. I still couldn't bear to kill you."

As he spoke, his grip hurt her arm. Tears filled the corners of her eyes, and her teeth chattered.

Chen Yi gave a cold laugh.

Noticing his gaze, Yin Tingxue trembled, tears glimmering in her eyes as she let out a few unconscious whimpers.

"What are you... going to do?"

She had seen this man in her dreams. He had broken her Longevity Bridge there, and he had helped the wicked by ransacking her home. She hated this man who had taken her as his concubine.

"What are you... going to do? Don't..."

Meeting her aggrieved, hateful gaze, Chen Yi began breathing harder. Her pretty, cold-blooded face from that day flashed through his mind.

Stroking her shoulder, Chen Yi felt a trace of resistance. He gave a savage smile and kissed her.

Mmph.

Yin Tingxue stiffened all over. She wanted to dodge, wanted to push him away, but Chen Yi held her in place. Her delicate body trembled wildly as she gave broken whimpers. This was a royal woman's humiliation and despair. She wanted to resist but could not.

This first kiss was like her most terrifying nightmare.

And he savored her struggling and crying beneath that kiss.

After a long while, their lips parted. Yin Tingxue swayed, her face flushed. It was not a flush of tender affection, for her hands and feet were ice-cold. Chen Yi deliberately smiled at her and mocked:

"You're mine now."

Yin Tingxue trembled as she looked at him with both fear and resentment.

Her mind was in turmoil. She felt so miserable that she sobbed softly, yet still did not dare push Chen Yi away.

She did not understand why this man insisted on humiliating her, nor why he wanted to force her to be his concubine. She had clearly done nothing wrong, nothing bad.

"Why do you have to bully me?" she asked timidly.

So weak. Was this enemy who had killed him and slaughtered his household really so weak inside?

Whatever the case, I've finally kissed this enemy's lips.

Chen Yi turned his head and looked at the panel.

[Negative emotions: 80]

[Conditions met. Grudge Yin-Yang Art activated.]

[Grudge Yin-Yang Art at beginner level. Of twenty years of foreign true qi, thirty percent can be absorbed, yielding six years of true qi. Yin Tingxue's negative emotions reward: three years of true qi.]

[True qi remaining: nine years.]