"Who are you?"
The thirty-foot-tall giant set his saber aside, picked up his exposed intestines and secured them against his belly, then struggled to steady his breathing...
He had not been this grave even when facing those endless evil ghosts. By his instincts, this thing before him was even stronger than his old man!
"Thunder elephant bloodline... not bad, not bad." The scrawny figure slowly approached. Only as he drew near did everyone see that he was not merely short, but hideously ugly, with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks like the Thunder God. He was both comical and repulsive, especially when he smiled, looking like a performing monkey dressed in clothes.
Yet as this very creature approached, all the evil ghosts fell to their knees, not daring to move an inch.
The crown prince also watched him with utter gravity. This man gave him a peculiar feeling, a sense of someone impossibly far above his reach. He had only ever felt this from his imperial father and the Duke of Qin.
"Golden Crow?"
As though he had spotted a treasure, the scrawny figure's eyes lit up, and he hurried closer!
"Stop!!"
The giant guard dared hesitate no longer. He drew his saber and hacked straight down at the man!
Though the giant looked huge and clumsy, his movements were incredibly swift. He drew his saber so fast that it left afterimages, and in an instant, the blade descended with a thirty-foot blade radiance. Its terrifying force sent the kneeling evil ghosts dozens of feet around him flying!
Bang!
Another bizarre sight unfolded...
No one could doubt the power of that strike. The Hong Household's saber arts were superb, and combined with the strength of the Thunder Elephant, they swept all before them. Facing this uncanny old man, the giant dared hold nothing back and struck with all his might. The wind pressure from its sheer momentum alone crushed many of the kneeling evil ghosts into meat paste. Yet the instant it met the old man's scrawny figure, it abruptly stopped!
The saber... hung motionless in midair, as though time had frozen and someone had pressed pause.
Yet the cold sweat covering the giant's forehead showed that this was not the case...
The saber had stopped because two fingers like dry twigs had caught it, preventing it from descending another fraction of an inch.
The force behind the slash, meanwhile, seemed to have vanished into thin air, without even stirring the dust on the ground.
The bizarre sight left everyone stunned.
"Has General Hong exhausted his strength?" the crown prince's attendant murmured doubtfully.
Beside him, the crown prince shook his head in a daze. Possessing the golden crow bloodline, he could see more clearly than his attendant. Hong Wu had not exhausted his strength. On the contrary, this strike was formidable, even stronger than the furious slash he had delivered after the evil ghosts tore out his intestines.
Under normal circumstances, even if this strike had been blocked, the surrounding ground would have shattered!
Yet it had not. Not because the force was insufficient, but because it had been canceled out.
When the old fellow caught Hong Wu's saber between his fingers, he had lifted it slightly, using an exquisitely subtle force to cancel out the strength of Hong Wu's strike with perfect precision. Neither too much nor too little, just enough to neutralize it, so that even the dust on the ground had not stirred...
He was certain now. Even if his imperial father came, he could not claim he would defeat this fellow!
"May I ask your name, senior?" The crown prince rose weakly and bowed respectfully.
"My name?" The old man cackled. "Does a piece of trash drained of his primal yang deserve to ask?"
The crown prince gave a bitter smile and bowed his head. "You are right, senior. In this wretched state, I truly do not deserve to..."
This only deepened the mockery in the other's eyes.
"What I hate most is a hypocrite like you..." The old man pointed at him. "You were the one who screwed over your subordinates, yet you act like you're the wronged party, even pretending to tell them to abandon you. If you truly meant it, why didn't you stop that sorcerer when he demanded this guard's heart?"
The crown prince fell silent, a trace of darkness flashing through his eyes.
"Insolence!!" the crown prince's attendant snapped, pointing at him. "You will not disrespect His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The instant he finished speaking, a vicious grin flashed across the old man's face. Keeping Hong Wu's saber pinched motionless between his fingers, he spat a glob of phlegm straight at the attendant who dared point at him!
The next instant, the crown prince's attendant felt his body go numb, and then half the world seemed to disappear.
Everyone around him, including the crown prince, looked horrified, for they could all see that the glob of phlegm had blasted away half the attendant's body...
Like a cannonball, it smashed half his flesh apart, yet it also sliced like a blade, leaving the other half standing there in a daze!
"Xun Ruo!" The crown prince hurriedly caught him.
The attendant's eye moved. He desperately wanted to know what had happened. He was just about to speak when the crown prince caught him, and he instantly felt the other half of his world disappear too...
With a bang, the remaining half of his body in the crown prince's arms burst apart, pulverized into flesh and blood. The instant it exploded, the crown prince had already dodged away. He moved so fast that, despite being so close, not a speck of flesh or blood touched his clothes, leaving the surrounding guards staring blankly...
"Hahahaha..." The old man immediately burst into wild laughter.
"What exactly do you mean by toying with us like this, senior?" The crown prince flew into a humiliated rage!
"Just having fun..." The old man sneered. "If you're truly so indignant, why don't you come fight me to the death?"
"You..."
Only then did everyone notice that the crown prince, who had previously struggled even to breathe, had not only retreated with nimble movements, but could even erupt with Golden Crow flames in his anger.
Hong Wu stared dumbly, saber in hand. No matter how stupid he was, he understood now. The crown prince had been acting from the start. He clearly... still had strength...
"Hahahahaha!" The old man's laughter grew even more unrestrained.
"Hong Wu, hold off this old bastard no matter what!" The crown prince's face twisted viciously, yet he retreated at full speed. Watching him, Hong Wu and the other guards wore expressions both strange and desolate.
"Boy, are you really going to stop me for a thing like that?" the old man sneered.
Hong Wu drew a breath and increased the force in his hands. Even as the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers split, the other man did not budge. Hong Wu grinned. "Dying at the hands of someone as powerful as you wouldn't be a bad deal!"
The old man's smile vanished. "You've got guts!"
Just as his words fell, when it seemed they were about to decide the outcome, a powerful neigh rang out overhead.
Startled, everyone looked toward it!
The crown prince, who had been about to escape, paled. He saw clearly that the horse was the mount of the ghost general who had driven him onto the Yin-Yang Road!
With a terrifying old fellow behind him and someone now blocking his path ahead, did Heaven intend his death?
Wait... no!
Possessing the golden crow bloodline, the crown prince had extraordinary eyesight. A moment later, he saw that the riders did not seem to be the same group as before, and he seemed to recognize one of them!
"Is that Wang Ye, deputy chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review?"
His shout rang out full and strong, utterly unlike his earlier weakness.
Chen Qing glanced down from the horse, then said, "That's the crown prince? He's doing pretty well. I was worried he wouldn't hold out, but he's full of life..."
Expressionless, Wang Ye surveyed the situation below. When he looked back at the crown prince, a hint of cold mockery showed in his eyes.
Every soldier was fighting bathed in blood, and Hong Wu at their head was covered in wounds, yet His Highness the Crown Prince's clothes were still clean...
He clearly possessed the divine power of the Golden Crow and still had strength, yet he refused to exert himself to preserve his own life...
Still as heartless and hypocritical as ever...
"Ghost Child?"
The old man froze as he looked at the figure on the Ghost Horse. "Weren't you..."
Ghost Child frowned. "Who are you? You know me, Nezha?"
"Nezha?" The old man immediately stared blankly.
Chen Qing quickly dismounted and went forward with Wang Ye to bow. "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Why bother with empty formalities at a time like this?" The crown prince hurried forward and glanced at the towering Ghost Horse. "You can control this?"
Wang Ye nodded and pointed at Ghost Child. "We have an agreement with this demon ghost, but afterward we must repay him with the flesh and blood of ten thousand!"
The crown prince looked at Ghost Child, who opened his mouth in a grin, revealing sharp fangs.
"I grant it!" The crown prince hurriedly nodded. "Sorry for the trouble, senior. Once I escape successfully, I will certainly deliver the flesh and blood of ten thousand commoners. I swear on the Xiao Household's bloodline that I will never go back on my word!"
Chen Qing: "..."
Does your father know you swear on your lineage's bloodline so casually?
People said a heroic father would have a valiant son, but this next heir to the throne looked... rather unreliable.
Wang Ye gave him an indifferent glance. "You misunderstand, Your Highness. It is only the flesh and blood of ten thousand cattle and horses."
The crown prince's face stiffened. He shot Wang Ye an angry glance, then said, "That makes it even easier. Enough nonsense. Let's go at once. That old fellow over there is no ordinary man. We cannot match him by force!"
Chen Qing glanced over, but shook his head. "Your Highness, we cannot leave."
"Why?"
The crown prince stared at Chen Qing. If not for the fact that he knew nothing of his abilities and the man seemed unfathomable, he would have liked to tear him apart!
"If we actually run, we really will die..." Chen Qing sighed, stepped forward, and bowed to the old man. "This student, Chen Qing, greets Senior King Chujiang!"
The old man's expression, which had been enjoying the show, froze. Then his withered yellow eyes widened, and he looked curiously at Chen Qing. "You recognize me?"