Chapter 42: Sorrow And Loss
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The First Prince's pupils shrunk and his expression sunk, "How dare you, a martial artist! This is a matter between the Royal Family, scram at once! If not, it will be difficult for you to escape death in the vast and boundless land of Fenglin empire!"
Even though someone of Level Seven of the Martial Path was strong, it was still far from enough to go against the empire. Even though Xia Linxuan was at Level Seven of the Martial Path, he was afraid to interfere in their matter as he was extremely fearful of the empire.
The old man's face started to shiver, and he laughed coldly and mockingly: "Although I am not from the Fenglin Empire, what can a mere prince like you do to me?"
After saying that, the old man grabbed Su Yu and Xianer and stared at Bai Qixiong coldly.
"Still not getting out of my sight?"
With just a glance, Bai Qixiong's face turned pale. His heart skipped a beat and he stopped his attacks subconsciously.
The Duke of Xianyu retreated. He then expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Senior Qin, for coming to our rescue."
That old man was Senior Qin!
Senior Qin's pupils looked around at the surroundings. The power of someone at Level Seven had sent a chill down the limbs of the people, making them afraid to take even half a step!
"Duke, let's take our leave. The Fenglin Empire can no longer accommodate you," Senior Qin sighed coldly.
The Duke of Xianyu's expression was filled with sorrow. He had stayed in the Xianyu prefecture for many years, and it had become his native place. Yet, he was set up by a villain and he had to no choice but to leave the empire and become a deserter.
Reminiscing about his attachment to the Xianyu prefecture, the Duke of Xianyu left. He caught up with Senior Qin and embarked on his journey as a deserter.
Seeing that the Duke of Xianyu was leaving with Senior Qin, the First Prince's face with filled with malicious intent. While enduring the pain in his body, he roared, "Remain here!"
Bang－
The First Prince broke a pendant that was hidden on his neck into pieces with his palm.
A frightening atmosphere majestically engulfed the palace from all directions. A lofty flaming shadow suddenly appeared behind the First Prince. The shadow was fuzzy, as though it was formed by the condensation of vital energy. In addition, it was emitting an incredibly powerful suppressive power!
Senior Qin's expression became grave, "Level Eight of the Martial Path! This is not good! We have to leave quickly!"
The shadow was of someone of Level Eight of the Martial Path and it was formed by the condensation of vital energy. Moreover, it had prepared a Level Eight of the Martial Path's one-shot sure kill attack!
Even if it was Senior Qin who was at Level Seven, he would die instantly. That pendant was the First Prince's last treasure to defend himself and it was extremely valuable with a one time usage.
"You want to leave? It's too late! Attack!" The First Prince grinned hideously and was full of murderous intent.
The omnipotent flaming shadow moved and the frightening power of his attack, which had the ability to extinguish the lives of many people, engulfed the palace from all directions! Without exception, all the onlookers laid on the floor, unable to move. They were extremely frightened.
Senior Qin's face revealed a grave expression. He then tried to escape from the palace. But how could he escape an attack from someone of Level Eight?
Bang—
A 10 Zhang long knife, covered in flames, appeared from the flaming shadow. The air was burning and a violent, whimpering sound could be heard.
The air current was circulating with four distinct strokes of fire combined with the wind, which caused the people to feel like they were being suffocated!
Senior Qin vomited out a mouthful of blood. Before the flaming knife even attacked him, he had already suffered a fatal wound from the appearance of the flaming knife.
Senior Qin forced a smile. In his mind, he knew that he was going to die! However, at that moment, he shadow of someone flew behind Senior Qin, and used his body to block the frightening knife!
"Senior Qin! I leave both Xianer and Yu-er to you!"
The Duke of Xianyu's face was full of despair as he profoundly turned his head to look at Senior Qin. He could only do so much...
"Duke!" Senior Qin was moved and he roared in astonishment.
"Leave now! As long as Xianer and Yu-er are alive, I have no more regrets!" The Duke of Xianyu laughed coldly.
As Senior Duke could not bear to see the Duke of Xianyu giving up his life, he bit his teeth, took the two children and escaped.
Su Yu was partially conscious. Seeing that the Duke of Xianyu left himself behind to block the one-shot sure kill attack in order to allow them to escape safely, Su Yu's heart was filled with indescribable sorrow. He uttered heart wrenching cries.
Why, why did it become like this?
"Su Yu! Please take care of Xianer on my behalf…" With a face that was overflowing with tears, the Duke of Xianyu gave a kind yet distant smile.
That smile was his farewell! The next moment, he was engulfed by the boundless raging flames.
That was the last scene Su Yu witnessed. The Duke of Xianyu, who Su Yu was greatly indebted to, as though the Duke of Xianyu was his father, had sacrificed himself to allow Su Yu and Xianer to escape safely!
"No!" Su Yu shouted with every ounce of energy he had left!
A hatred which had never existed before reverberated in Su Yu's heart. That hatred was so deep it was as though his body was about to explode, as though it would destroy both the Heaven and Earth, as though it would destroy everything!
"First Prince!" Su Yu shouted loudly with immeasurable hatred and deadly intent that could breach the sky. "If I don't kill you, I, Su Yu, will forever never be a man!"
Even though the Duke of Xianyu had blocked a great portion of the raging flames, there was still a small portion that had managed to splash onto the back of Senior Qin. Senior Qin vomited a mouthful of blood and suffered a fatal wound in that instant.
However, he took the momentum from the flames that had splashed onto his back and escaped from the Duke of Xianyu's palace. At lightning speed, he escaped from Xianyu prefecture with the two children.
As for Su Yu's oath, it echoed in the sky of the Duke of Xianyu's palace for a long time, refusing to dissipate. His hatred had penetrated Heaven, burnt the mountains, rivers and Earth, as though it had put an end to the world!
Those who heard Su Yu's oath were shocked and they felt a chill down their spine. That oath was so persistent that it was frightening!
The First Prince's heart was beating extremely fast as an uneasy feeling had completely filled his heart in no time. As a prince with imperial power, it was quite rare for him to feel uneasy.
The auditorium was a mess. The flaming shadow gradually dissipated. What was left behind was a deep groove that was 10 Zhang long! Moreover, within the deep groove laid a middle-aged man who was at death's door.
His right arm had turned into dust and was covered blood, so hideous that it was bone chilling. His body's inner strength was delicate like silk and was about to extinguish completely.
The Duke of Xianyu actually did not die! He had luckily survived an attack that would have otherwise killed Senior Qin!
"Third brother! What is the meaning of this?" The First Prince's eyes were filled with maliciousness as he glared at the Third Prince.
During the imminent peril, the Third Prince had used his own amulet to protect the Duke of Xianyu. If not, the Duke of Xianyu would not have simply lost his right arm; instead, he would be burnt to ashes.
The Third Prince remained unchanged like before; he laughed like the spring breeze and said with a warm voice, "Big brother, the objective of our trip is to escort the Duke of Xianyu back to the imperial capital. If we killed him here, how are we going to answer to the world? Unless you want to say that due to your indiscrimination, you slaughtered the Duke of Xianyu ruthlessly? If this causes the Dukes in the other prefectures to be disturbed, which in turn cause the empire to be in a turmoil, how will big brother answer to the world?"
"You!" Even though the First Prince was furious, deep down he knew that the Third Prince's words were logical.
With mixed emotions, the First Prince gazed at the Third Prince profoundly, turned his head around and shouted angrily, "The soldiers will be split between two roads, the first road will escort the Duke of Xianyu back to the capital, while the other road will pursue and capture the young princess of the Xianyu prefecture!"
The matter had finally been settled.
The Duke of the dynasty had his right arm crippled, becoming disabled and reduced to a prisoner. From then on, the name of the Xianyu prefecture was expunged.
However, the losses of the First Prince were tragic! The Second Prince was beheaded! As for he himself, his right eye was damaged and his face was disfigured! The price the First Prince paid to get rid of the Xianyu prefecture was too high!
What's more was that the oath made by the Duke of Xianyu's son-in-law before he escaped had turned into a thorn which made the First Prince's heart feel uneasy. If time could be turned back, the First Prince would definitely not have laid his hands on the Xianyu prefecture as the price he had to pay was too tragic!
The Royal Family took their leave, but before the Third Prince left the Duke of Xianyu's palace, he lightly sighed, "A Duke of a dynasty who is loyal to the sovereign should not have been met with this kind of ending; I can only do so much to help you."
As the onlookers left, Duke Qin and a number of influential officials followed the First Prince. The influential officials had supported the First Prince in taking the throne. It was natural that they would go back to the capital with the First Prince.
Halfway through the journey, the First Prince summoned Duke Qin.
"I heard that there was an incident between Su Yu and your son?" The First Prince's right side of his face was wrapped with bandages. As his right eye was in severe pain, his tone was quite cold.
Su Yu was a person who set the world on fire, so the First Prince naturally wanted to get information regarding him. To the First Prince, finding out about Su Yu was an easy feat.
Duke Qin dared not to cover up the truth. "They were fighting over a woman."
As he was talking, Duke Qin was filled with regret. If he knew that Su Yu was hiding something so deep and frightening such as being both the Prodigy of Souls and Holy Decree comprehender, he would have done anything to stop his son from fighting with Su Yu over a woman back then.
However, it was too late for him to repent for his actions.
"Then, I will leave the important task of getting rid of Su Yu to you!" The First Prince said with a harsh tone.
Duke Qin's body started to tremble and his face turned pale. "Please have mercy on me, First Prince! Su Yu is a Holy Seal bearer. If it was discovered that it was the Qin's residence who laid hands on him, my entire clan, the old and young, will be fully executed!"
Duke Qin understood the fact that the First Prince was worried that if he himself were to lay his hands on Su Yu, he would be condemned by the Holy King. As such, if the Qin family were to do it, and if the matter came to light one day, the Qin family would be the one to take the rap for it and the matter would be totally unrelated to the First Prince.
The First Prince groaned coldly, "Do you think that Su Yu would let you get away scot-free in the future? I don't believe that Su Yu will forget your son's hatred about stealing his woman, as well as the murder of his father! If you do not get rid of him now, when his wings have not fully grown out yet, a disaster will definitely strike your family, causing everyone to be exterminated!"
Duke Qin became silent for a while. After some time, his eyes were gradually filled with anger. How did he not understand that?
"For this plan, we can only secretly assassinate him! The Qin's residence has cultivated a few professionals. It is now time for me to give you an important task. If this task is successfully completed without any problems, when I ascend the throne one day, I will recognize you for your great service!" Having experienced Su Yu's frightening talents, the First Prince was extremely fearful of him.
"I understand!" Duke Qin's heart was hardened and he gradually made up his mind.
After pausing for a moment, Duke Qin asked, "Then, what do I do with the woman with Su Yu? Do I kill her, or…"
The First Prince gestured his hands in disapproval. "Do not kill her, bring her up properly and she may prove to be of some use in the future."
Duke Qin understood that that he could not kill or touch her. He sighed from the bottom of his heart; his son's wedding ceremony with Jiang Xueqing would have to be delayed, at least until Su Yu was dead.
Deep inside the dense forest in Twilight Mountains...
With a pale face, Senior Qin carefully put down the two children. Xianer suffered a great trauma and had passed out a long time ago.
Su Yu's body had been strengthened from the Jade Fire Marrow, and he was also being healed by the effects of the Holy Order. His fatal injuries from the battle had already shown signs of recovery and the hole in his abdomen had stopped bleeding.
"The effects of the Holy Order were good, but your body is unique as well. Even though you had suffered many fatal injuries, those wounds have already started to recover by themselves." Senior Qin was amazed.
Su Yu was idling and he did not want to say anything. The scene of the Duke of Xianyu right before his death was still floating in his mind and refused to dissipate.
"Hey…" Feeling the misery in Su Yu's mind, Senior Qin sighed disappointedly, "Both of you rest here for a short while. I will look for some medicinal materials to treat your injuries. This place is very safe and no demonic beats will attack us."
After Senior Qin left, the cave became silent. Some time later, Xianer woke up from her coma.
"No! Father!" Upon waking up, the image of her father right before he died flashed through her mind, causing her to let out a mournful scream.
She, who was always laughing and singing, with a voice that was innocent and lively, was filled with sorrow and anxiety. A warm and big hand lightly patted her back.
