Chapter 50: Enemy Camp
“This… what’s going on…”
In the main tent, Xue Ni was startled after taking Li Jianyu’s pulse.
Zhao Linxu stood at the side with a blank expression, looking at Li Jianyu like a sculpture, not moving at all. The big wolf stood guard by the bed, staring blankly at Li Jianyu.
Xue Ni, not believing it, checked again.
How could it be…
Xue Ni bit his lip, unable to bear to tell Zhao Linxu.
The tent flap was lifted, and Chong Xi, who had just come from Feng Juhua’s tent, said with an urgent expression, “What’s wrong?!”
Feng Ju Qianli and Wan Yunliu also followed behind him, while Zhao Zhanqi and Xu Zheng had sealed off the camp and were now conducting a full-scale search for Feng Juhua.
That’s right, Feng Juhua was missing. Xu Zheng said that he had been talking to Feng Juhua, but he had lost consciousness for some reason. When he woke up again, Feng Juhua was gone.
This was very strange. After all, Zhao Zhanqi was watching outside, and layers of guards were surrounding the tent. Not even a fly could have gotten in. So how did Feng Juhua get out?
And now, something even stranger had happened.
Xue Ni looked at Chong Xi and said in a low voice, “The City Lord… has lost his breath… his breath.”
To put it bluntly, he was dead.
Chong Xi’s eyes widened.
…What?
Xue Ni was already sure, but he still summoned a doctor, planning to check one more time.
Chong Xi stood beside Zhao Linxu, pressing on his shoulder, unable to say anything.
Zhao Linxu stared fixedly at the person lying on the bed, his eyes closed, not moving at all. Then he went forward and held him.
Little Carp, don’t be afraid…
Zhao Linxu gently tightened his embrace.
These few days had not been peaceful. What had happened yesterday had made Zhao Linxu stay by Li Jianyu’s side without leaving, but Li Jianyu had still had an accident in front of him.
“Zhao Linxu, you bastard!”
Wan Yunliu’s eyes were red. He went forward, pulled Zhao Linxu out, and grabbed his collar, shouting, “Jianyu has been with you every day. Why do accidents happen one after another!”
“Do you f-ing even care about him! Zhao Linxu, you coward!”
“You said you would protect him well!”
Wan Yunliu’s voice changed, and his eyes grew redder.
Zhao Linxu did not let go of Li Jianyu. He just turned his head slightly and looked straight at Wan Yunliu. His two eyes were like a bottomless abyss, and the sight sent a chill down Wan Yunliu’s spine.
Wan Yunliu’s next curse was stuck in his throat. He was clearly the one grabbing Zhao Linxu’s collar, but he was so oppressed by Zhao Linxu’s aura that he couldn’t breathe.
This… this bastard!
Wan Yunliu trembled with anger, hating that he had no outlet.
“Alright, Alliance Leader Wan, you should calm down first. It’s no use saying these things now.”
Chong Xi went forward and pulled Wan Yunliu away, then pressed on Zhao Linxu’s shoulder and asked, “Tell me what happened? Was there a surprise attack?”
Zhao Linxu held Li Jianyu without moving, so Xue Ni interjected, “I was also there when it happened. I was delivering a military report for Brother Qi. At that time, the City Lord was talking to us, but he suddenly had a convulsion and fainted, and then it was like this.”
It was so sudden. The two of them had watched Li Jianyu lose his breath and consciousness right before their eyes, without any warning.
The doctor arrived, but before he could get close to Li Jianyu, he met Zhao Linxu’s gaze, and his steps immediately faltered.
“Your Majesty… this subject was ordered to… to take the City Lord’s pulse…”
“Don’t touch him.”
Zhao Linxu finally spoke, saying these three words one by one.
The doctor immediately knelt down.
The tent was completely silent.
Wan Yunliu looked at Zhao Linxu, then at Li Jianyu, his chest heaving violently.
Zhao Linxu was still holding Li Jianyu. The body in his arms was still warm, and now, being held by him, it was even warmer.
“Your Majesty, can you let go of the City Lord first?” Chong Xi gently patted Zhao Linxu’s back. “Calm down first, hmm?”
Zhao Linxu let go, and with extreme gentleness, he laid Li Jianyu flat on the bed, then turned and walked towards the tent flap.
Chong Xi grabbed Zhao Linxu’s arm. “Where are you going?”
“To find Feng Juhua and the sorcerer.” Zhao Linxu’s face was terrifyingly calm, as if a storm were slowly brewing in his eyes, but it was being suppressed.
“The two generals are already looking. Your Majesty…”
Feng Ju Qianli went forward and pushed away Chong Xi’s hand, which was holding Zhao Linxu, and said in a low voice, “Let him go.”
Zhao Linxu strode out of the tent, mounted Yuefeng, and was about to leave when he saw Zhao Zhanqi riding over from a distance.
“Wait! We’ve found someone!”
Zhao Linxu’s pupils shrank slightly.
Zhao Zhanqi had his horse stop in front of Zhao Linxu and motioned for him to go into the main tent to talk.
After that, Zhao Zhanqi took out a letter and said to everyone, “Xu Zheng caught up with Feng Juhua not far from the camp. Feng Juhua gave him this letter and then escaped. That wasn’t Feng Juhua at all, but the sorcerer who attacked the camp last night! He escaped using a secret art.”
Zhao Linxu took the letter and looked at it. A glimmer of hope immediately ignited in his eyes, but it slowly turned into anger.
The letter said that Li Jianyu’s soul came from the Secret Art Pavilion, so the sorcerer Qing Luo could control it at will. Now, Li Jianyu’s soul had been pulled from his shell and was in Qing Luo’s hands.
Feng Juheng would send a team of men to take Li Jianyu’s shell. If they didn’t give it, the soul would have nowhere to go and would eventually be scattered, and then it would be irreversible.
Xue Ni frowned. “Is it true?”
Although he had been an apprentice in the Secret Art Pavilion, he had escaped early on and didn’t know much about it. He just felt it was mysterious.
“We can’t rule out the possibility that the sorcerer is lying, but now we have no other choice,” Zhao Zhanqi said with a slight frown.
If they didn’t send Li Jianyu’s shell to the Great Xi’s camp, he would die either way.
They might as well take a gamble.
“What the sorcerer said might be true.”
With the big picture at stake, Chong Xi no longer hid anything. He took a deep breath, looked at the people in the tent, and said, “Can I speak to His Majesty alone?”
The others naturally had no objections. Wan Yunliu had originally wanted to stay, but he was also pulled away by Feng Ju Qianli.
After only the unconscious Li Jianyu, Zhao Linxu, and Chong Xi were left in the tent, Chong Xi pulled a chair and sat down beside Zhao Linxu. “In that fire, I protected Linxue. I thought I would die, but when I woke up, I found myself in the Secret Art Pavilion.”
“At that time, Qing Luo happened to be in the Great Gong for Father’s birthday banquet. When he saw me, he took me back with him. He wanted to save the dying me, but it was definitely not out of kindness, but to transform me into a demon. He said that my constitution was the most suitable he had ever seen, and my soul was unstable, almost dead, which made it easy to control.”
Zhao Linxu didn’t speak, but Chong Xi knew he was listening, so he continued, “The so-called ‘easy to control’ means easy to be possessed. Qing Luo’s plan was to use an ancient forbidden art to summon a demon from another world, and then use my body. But Qing Luo tried for many years without success. He finally managed to activate the formation, but what he summoned was just an ordinary mortal soul.”
Zhao Linxu turned to look at Chong Xi.
Could it be that that was his Little Carp?
“That wisp of a soul was very kind. It did not possess me, who was still conscious, but ran away. And it was Qing Luo’s first time using this forbidden art after all. The ancient book was too obscure, so he couldn’t keep that wisp of a soul. Qing Luo said that either the soul had already dispersed, or it had been lucky enough to encounter a recently deceased person after dispersing and was reborn in his shell.”
Chong Xi took a deep breath. “I don’t know what happened after that. Qianli later led his men to bloodbath the Secret Art Pavilion, and Qing Luo also disappeared.”
Thinking of the past, although the methods Qing Luo had used on him still made him afraid, and his whole body would still faintly ache when he thought of it, it all became insignificant because of Feng Ju Qianli. He and Qianli had known each other since they were children and had already decided to be together for life when he was still a prince of the Great Gong. It was just that at that time, he was a noble prince, not a monster in the Secret Art Pavilion, but Qianli had never despised him.
“Brother, can you go out first?” Zhao Linxu said in a low voice. “Tell them not to come in.”
“Alright.” Chong Xi rubbed the top of Zhao Linxu’s head and then left.
The surroundings were completely silent.
First, Li Jianyu had lost his breath, then the sorcerer had told him what he had said, and then Chong Xi had revealed the truth.
Zhao Linxu was still holding Li Jianyu, his head resting on his shoulder, his eyes slightly closed.
The night gradually deepened.
XXXXXX
As the morning light dawned, the sky slowly revealed a fish-belly white.
Wan Yunliu had been guarding the tent outside all night, holding his sword.
The camp was not peaceful. It was said that Rong Qing had brought a team of men and an empty carriage to pick up Li Jianyu. He was very confident that the Great Gong would definitely agree.
With a swish, the tent flap was lifted. Wan Yunliu turned his head and saw Zhao Linxu slowly walking out, holding Li Jianyu in a princess carry.
“Where are you taking Jianyu!”
Zhao Linxu paid no attention to Wan Yunliu and just walked forward with a blank expression.
Li Jianyu’s body had already grown cold. It was fine in the warm tent, but now, after leaving the tent, it was even colder in the cold wind.
“Are you taking Jianyu to the Great Xi’s camp? That’s the enemy’s camp!” Wan Yunliu’s whole body trembled.
How could Zhao Linxu send Li Jianyu over…
How could he!
“Zhao Linxu!” Wan Yunliu drew the longsword from his waist.
But Zhao Linxu didn’t even look at the sharp weapon.
Then, Zhao Zhanqi and Feng Ju Qianli stopped Wan Yunliu. Wan Yunliu stared with wide eyes, his body trembling as he watched Zhao Linxu carry Li Jianyu out of the camp and hand him over to Rong Qing.
Wan Yunliu’s body went limp. He knelt on the ground, desperately suppressing his emotions.
He hated Zhao Linxu for being incompetent, but he hated himself even more.
