Chapter 53: Battle Over the East Sea |
[July 25, 2023]...
Mò Fāng looked at Shěn Lí for a long time before lowering his eyes slightly. He turned to Fú Shēng behind him and when he spoke, his voice was cold. “Who gave permission to do this?”
“This subordinate is at fault.” Fú Shēng didn’t plan on denying it. “The Azure Sky king carries something in her body that we need. We must have it. It’s just that, I was afraid Young Master would think of the past and be merciful. So, I went ahead with the plan and hid the matter from Young Master. It would be better for me to eliminate the problem first so there will be less issues in the future.”
“Who gave permission to do this?” Mò Fāng’s voice was stern and the dignified expression on his face was one he never showed in front of Shěn Lí.
Fú Shēng was silent before speaking. “This subordinate chose to make the decision himself.” He looked submissive, but there was disapproval in his eyes. “The Azure Sky king must die today. . . ”
“Leave.” Mò Fāng said the word lightly.
Dissatisfied, Fú Shēng looked at Mò Fāng before repeating, “The Azure Sky king must die.”
Mò Fāng closed his eyes as if he was trying his best to endure. “I said go, that is an order.”
“So be it.” Fú Shēng backed up several paces. “Please forgive this subordinate for disobeying orders then.”
Mò Fāng clenched his fists involuntarily and turned to look at Shěn Lí. Her eyes were red, and her usually well-groomed hair was scattered in a mess, which only added to her disheveled appearance. The red color of her hair was spreading from her roots. Mò Fāng’s lips moved and an involuntary, “Your Highness,” came out.
“Young Master. . . ” Shěn Lí stared at him blankly, as if she couldn’t understand why the title was there. She sized the two of them up, then scanned the circle of men surrounding her in all directions. Fragments of memories filled her mind: torn armor, broken swords, bodies, military spies familiar with the Demon realm. . .
It suddenly dawned on her. “It’s turns out. . . it was you.”
Mò Fāng lowered his eyes but didn’t answer.
Shěn Lí stood quietly; her voice came out weak. “Thinking about it, I remember it was I who appointed you to be general in the capital. I’ve known you for three hundred years, and we have fought side by side through so many battles. We have been friends through life and death. I trusted you and treated you as a brother. . . ” Shěn Lí paused. Her breath was slight, and her tone gradually rose. “I ask you, did I not treat you well? Did the Demon emperor not treat you well? Did the Demon realm not treat you well? None has ever harmed you, and yet you’ve killed my people, my generals, and harmed my sovereign! You are a traitor, a rebel, a treasonous general!” Shěn Lí raised her spear and pointed it at Mò Fāng.
“You, speak. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
Mò Fāng was silent, but Fú Shēng behind him laughed out loud. “If one never joined the army, how can one be a rebel? If one was never a citizen of a country, how can one commit treason against it?!” Fú Shēng raised his voice and continued. “My young master is so precious, if it weren’t for the situation being as it is, do you think he would condescend to lurk in the current Demon realm?! You want to talk about treason and traitors, why don’t we talk about your current Demon emperor that you’re so loyal to right now? That one is the biggest traitor! A thief who stole the country!”
“Shut your mouth!” Mò Fang shouted in a whisper. He looked to Shěn Lí. “My king, I am at fault for deceiving you. I know my wrongs are grievous and unforgiveable. . . ”
“Since you plead guilty, what right do you have to address me as your king?” Shěn Lí’s voice was extremely low. She held the red-tasseled spear tightly in her hand.
“Young Master, you must not humble yourself. What crimes have you committed? It was the foolish loyal to that traitor who don’t have eyes.” Fú Shēng paused and cupped his fists to plead with Mò Fāng. “Young Master, we took great pains to enter the capital for the Phoenix Fire pearl. My subordinates have confirmed it is inside the Azure Sky king’s body. It is the only pearl of its kind in the world. If we don’t take it now, I’m afraid a hundred years of planning will go to waste. Young Master, please do not get emotional; bear in mind, the big picture.”
Mò Fāng clenched his fists tightly and once again spat out, “Go,” with great difficulty.
As if making up his mind, Fú Shēng’s expression turned cold. He stopped trying to persuade Mò Fāng and discretely winked to the side. One of the men in black who saw it nodded his head. He was about to make a move when he felt heat in his chest. He didn’t know when it happened, but Shěn Lí’s spear had pierced through him.
Shěn Lí waved her hand, and her spear flew back to her carrying the man with it. Then with a snap of her fingers, the man burned to ashes. The whites of Shěn Lí’s eyes were brighter red than before. They were so big they nearly swallowed her irises completely.
“If you want to take something from this king, you better leave your life behind first.”
Fú Shēng frowned, then waved his hand and gave a loud order. “Go!”
Before Mò Fāng could speak, Fú Shēng gripped his wrist fiercely, and in a strange and eerie tone said, “Young Master must keep the big picture in mind.”
Mò Fāng was so startled he forgot to speak. The delay was enough for the monstrous men who received orders to rush forward.
Shěn Lí was ten times stronger than before, but even with that added strength she was hard pressed to handle so many. They men were single mindedly focused on obeying their master’s orders. They would obey even if they were crushed to pieces.
There were intense flames burning all over Shěn Lí’s body, but the monstrous men ignored the pain and used their bodies as shields. There were four of them and each one grabbed one of Shěn Lí’s limbs and completely immobilized her. She was losing strength as she churned through mana. Exhausted, and in a moment of carelessness, she allowed the enemies to drag her into the sea and sink her below the surface.
Fú Shēng grabbed the opportunity. He formed a seal with his hands, whispered a mantra, then pointed his hands downwards. This created a white mist on the surface of the water. After Shěn Lí sank, the seawater immediately condensed into ice. Fú Shēng didn’t care about the monstrous men clinging to Shěn Lí.
Mò Fāng clenched his fists tightly as he stared at the freezing sea water.
Fú Shēng shot him a glance. “Once Shěn Lí’s life force disappears, I will take the pearl from her body and leave the corpse as a souvenir for Young Master.”
Mò Fāng was silent for a long time as if he was trying to make a great decision. Finally, he said, “Let her go,” in a dignified voice.
“Forgive me, but I can not comply. We are so close to success. How can I give up now?”
“If I say to let her go, then you let her go.” Mò Fāng wasn’t asking. At this point he was threatening.
Fú Shēng looked silently at Mò Fāng for a long time. “Then do so over my dead body.” A loud crunch coming from the ice startled him before he could finish speaking. “Impossible. . . ”
A heat wave broke through the ice and Shěn Lí’s red-tasseled spear shot out. It barreled forward with an unstoppable momentum and shot straight for Fú Shēng, stabbing him in the chest. Shěn Lí’s hair was completely red and her eyes were darker than blood. She looked like the evil asuras depicted in ancient murals intent on killing.
“Today, this king will trample over your corpse,” Shěn Lí declared before pulling her spear out. The blood-stained spear was more sinister than usual and the heat it gave off made Mò Fāng uncomfortable.
Shěn Lí let Fú Shēng gasp for half a breath before sweeping her spear upward and aiming it at his head. Seeing this, Mò Fāng was forced to intercept and block Shěn Lí from the side.
Fú Shēng took the split-second pause to extricate himself, then a man in black rushed over to support him.
Shěn Lí turned to look at Mò Fāng, and without letting him speak, reached out and slapped his chest with the palm of her hand. Fire ignited from his heart, burning its way to his lungs. Mò Fāng hurriedly meditated and roughly suppressed the heat. He managed to take one deep breath before Shěn Lí appeared in front of him, ready to attack again.
“You need to pay for the demon generals with your life.”
Mò Fāng dodged, and the corners of his lips twitched bitterly. “If I can die, that would be fine. . . ”
Shěn Lí didn’t bother listening to his words, she kept trying to stab him with her spear. Mò Fāng defended but didn’t attack; in a short time, he managed to lead Shěn Lí away with his constant dodging.
Black air poured out of Fú Shēng’s palm. He pressed down on the wound and looked at Mò Fāng and Shěn Lí fighting. His eyes were cold and his voice was eerie when he said, “Young Master wants to lure Shěn Lí away. We cannot let her escape. You guys block Young Master’s escape and use the other demons to lure Shěn Lí. After a little rest, I will kill her myself.”
After the men in black accepted the orders and left, Fú Shēng summoned a demon to his side and laid his hand on the demon’s chest. “Good boy. If I was not in the situation I am in, I would not treat you this way. Just consider it as being loyal to your master.”
As soon as Fú Shēng finished talking, the demon’s eyes popped out and he let out a muffled moan. He turned stiffly to see Fú Shēng’s fingers, now transformed into claws, pierce through his breastbone. He beating heart was gripped and an indescribable pain seared his body.
Fú Shēng yanked deftly yanked the heart out and shoved the demon’s body away. The demon fell like a discarded toy and disappeared under the waves. Fú Shēng bit off the bloody heart and swallowed the parts whole without bothering to chew. It took him a while to finish the whole heart, but once he was done, he wiped the blood off his lips, looked up to the sky and breathed a sigh of relief. He was very happy. The wound around his chest from Shěn Lí was visibly healing itself.
Black air gushed from the wound, but once fully healed, the air moved upward along his chest and turned around his neck before climbing up his cheeks and penetrating his eyes. The whites of his eyes instantly turned pitch black, like the eyes of an animal. He stared at Shěn Lí with a chill.
Shěn Lí’s belly was burning to the point she felt pain. But the pain was a source of continuous energy; it was like her body was a furnace that kept pouring out energy, enough energy to burn the mountains and rivers. The longer she fought, the harder it was for her to remember why she was fighting. Her sanity was gradually eroded by the urge to kill.
Someone attacked her from behind, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter how grievously injured she was, the only thing she knew to do was to keep fighting. She kept attacking Mò Fāng, every move designed to be fatal.
Mò Fāng was struggling with Shěn Lí, but when he saw a demon attacking her from behind, he was startled to see Shěn Lí not react to it. He was anxious and subconsciously wanted to block the attack for her. Shěn Lí used the moment he was distracted to mercilessly go for his throat. He dodged her spear but still managed to get nicked by the blade. Mò Fāng stared at Shěn Lí dazedly through the blood. Shěn Lí. . .
She really meant to kill him.
As far as she was concerned, how could she not kill him for the hateful things he did?
But in that moment, Mò Fāng felt her blade was too cold and he couldn’t accept it. . .
The demon behind Shěn Lí was taken down, but Shěn Lí didn’t even turn her head to look. Heat waves surged from her body and pushed the man away several feet. Mò Fāng was pushed back as well. Shěn Lí want after Mò Fāng again instantly, trying to stab him with her spear, aiming directly for the heart. Mò Fāng gritted his teeth. A purple light flashed in his hand and a sword appeared.
Ding! He just barely blocked Shěn Lí’s spear with his sword.
Had it been an ordinary weapon, it would have been split, but his purple sword was not only not damaged, but its brilliance was even greater. Shěn Lí didn’t care what magic weapon he wielded, she just wanted to cut him through. She raised her spear vertical, intending to split Mò Fāng’s head. Mò Fāng kept blocking. The force of their fight caused the air to roll like ripples of a wave.
Then with a crisp click, the shaft of Shěn Lí’s red-tasseled spear cracked where it met with Mò Fāng’s sword. Shěn Lí’s eyes moved slightly. It felt like her spear was a lot lighter all of a sudden. In the next instant, the spear that had accompanied her for hundreds of years, broke in half.
Without the spear in the way, Mò Fāng’s purple sword cut straight through and came perilously close to Shěn Lí’s neck. Mò Fāng had no time to apologize. “Your Highness, there are no guards in the southeast.
Shěn Lí lowered her hands, stunned. The two parts of the spear sank into the sea. “After what happened today, how can I believe you?”
Mò Fāng clenched his teeth. “If you don’t believe me, then please forgive me for the disrespect.”
Without caring about the scorching flames on her body, he grabbed her wrist and pulled at her as if to lead her away. Shěn Lí was taken aback by his grip, when she suddenly felt a chill go down her spine. Looking down, she saw five fingers protruding from her chest.
Mò Fāng turned his head in astonishment. His pupils dilated upon seeing Fú Shēng behind Shěn Lí.
Blood gushed out of Shěn Lí’s mouth. Her chest didn’t hurt; what hurt was the increasingly uncontrollable temperature building in her abdomen.
Fú Shēng laughed wildly from behind Shěn Lí. “The Phoenix Fire pearl is finally in my hands! The plan is about to come to fruition!” He withdrew his hand, but Shěn Lí suddenly reached down and grabbed his nails.
“I said. . . ” She gently closed her bloodshot eyes, “if you want to grab something from this king, you had better leave your life behind first.”
She stopped suppressing the scorching heat in her abdomen and let it spread out with her blood to circulate to her limbs and bones. She could feel the blood evaporating inch by inch, and she knew she was slowly being burned alive by the fire inside her body. But. . .
Fú Shēng began to scream. “Impossible! Impossible! Why doesn’t the Water-Stop technique work?! It. . . ah! The plan failed! I’m unwilling!”
From around them, the men in black yelled mournfully. They were not spared from her fire either.
The corners of Shěn Lí’s mouth quirked up slightly. She didn’t know what was going on, or what Fú Shēng and Mò Fāng were planning, but since both masterminds were present, then odds were high their subordinates were also dispatched nearby. Whatever conspiracy they intended would never come to fruition if she just killed them all. This way, whether it was the Demon realm, the Demon people, the Demon emperor or even. . . the Immortal realm. . . everything would be all right.
Shěn Lí couldn’t help but curl up from the fire burning in her belly. Behind her, Fú Shēng didn’t make a sound. To the side of her, she could no longer feel Mò Fāng’s aura. She couldn’t help but let out a painful grunt. “Ah, it hurts.”
She had never dared show a trace of weakness until now, but in this uninhabited place under Heaven, no one would know right?
The Azure Sky king, Shěn Lí would leave behind a heroic image even in death. Who would have thought in her last moments before death that she would be like any other woman who felt fear and couldn’t help but miss. . .
Ashes fell into the sea and were pushed away by the rolling waves. The sea breeze blew up, as if into the clouds, and the only remaining breath in the air drifted off to nowhere.
In the ninth level of the outer heavens, a white fur ball rolled around on the edges of a white robe. Xíng Zhǐ was playing go alone. In a moment of contemplation, he picked up his teacup and was just about to take a nice sip when a cool breeze suddenly flittered across his face. He raised his eyebrows inadvertently and murmured, “It’s windy outside today.”
He put his teacup down only to hear a kah sound. The cup had shattered from the bottom up and was leaking tea and creating a dripping mess on the game board.
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