Instantly, the entire Duke's Manor erupted with the sounds of battle. Five more black-clad figures appeared on the back courtyard wall and rooftops. As soon as they appeared, they charged toward Lin Yuxing's group. Two of them directly intercepted Lin Yuxing, while the other three surrounded the Shi Ning couple. In a flash, they were locked in combat.
The four newcomers were all formidable first-rate masters. Lin Yuxing, besieged by two of them, was immediately at a disadvantage. The Shi Ning couple exchanged a glance. The strength of the three opponents they faced was no less than either of theirs. The moment they clashed, they knew it would be a bitter fight. Fortunately, the husband and wife duo were skilled in joint-attack techniques and were just barely able to hold their ground.
On the other side, Cui Feng was being jointly attacked by two Transformation Realm masters. As one of the top masters in the world, Cui Feng did not fall behind in the slightest, even when fighting two peerless masters of the same rank.
As he fought, Cui Feng listened to the sounds around him. After a moment, his brow furrowed. He could hear the shouts of men and the neighing of horses from the distant streets, but those sounds remained in the distance. It was clear that the government troops who had heard the commotion were being blocked on the road.
'It seems this "dead" Prince of the South hasn't been idle all these years. He's been secretly recruiting soldiers and buying horses. He himself is a Transformation Realm expert, and with the vast wealth he once accumulated, it's no surprise he could even recruit someone like Zhong Wusi.'
Cui Feng thought to himself. But what truly alarmed him was not that the local troops were blocked, but that the sounds of fighting were also coming from the several courtyards adjacent to the Duke's Manor. The emperor had secretly stationed imperial bodyguards in those courtyards, and it was clear the Prince of the South knew about them as well.
'He has spies in the palace!'
Cui Feng had already figured out the reason. This younger brother of the emperor, who had held the title of prince for decades, had his own faction in the court. Coupled with his familiarity with the palace, planting spies, even getting them close to the emperor, was certainly possible.
In several side courtyards and rooms of the Duke's Manor, masked night-prowlers had also appeared, slaughtering anyone they saw. Fortunately, first-rate masters in the martial world were not a dime a dozen. Only the leaders of these groups were first-rate masters; the rest were second or third-rate.
The Duke's Manor was also prepared for this. The servants were all battle-hardened veterans from the army, particularly skilled in encirclement tactics. Often, one or two martial arts masters would find themselves surrounded by five or six soldiers, unable to break out.
Bao Feiyu and the puppet disguised as Li Yan had also encountered two martial arts masters. But Bao Feiyu didn't let Li Yan act.
"You protect the County Princess. I'll deal with them." As he spoke, he gave Li Yan a deep look. He didn't know why the general had instructed him so, placing such trust in this young man.
"If we are attacked by external enemies, you are to entrust the County Princess to Zhang Ming without any hesitation!"
Those were Cui Feng's exact words, without any further explanation.
Bao Feiyu actually took on two opponents at once, charging forward. Li Yan looked at Cui Yuanying beside him. The young girl held a longsword, her pretty face somewhat pale. She had seen blood fly in the clashes ahead, and the thick scent of it made her tremble.
The puppet disguised as Li Yan actually had decent combat power. After all, it was a creation of an immortal. Even without Li Yan's Divine Sense controlling it, it would be unharmed even if struck by mortal weapons.
At this moment, in another side courtyard, Song Duan, Tong Buyou, and Lian Pinghai had also rushed out, leaving only Huang Ruiying with a group of soldiers to guard Cui Yuanyi. Cui Yuanyi's face was tense, the fat on his body trembling uncontrollably.
The moment the two sides engaged, the battle became white-hot. In just a few breaths, screams echoed one after another. In an instant, at least twenty soldiers fell to the ground, either crying out in severe pain or completely silent. The masked night-prowlers had also lost over a dozen men, who were now wailing on the ground. The Duke's Manor was a scene of flying flesh and blood.
......
In the Grand Council of the capital, Li Yan was deep in thought, his brow furrowed.
"This is impossible. I can't make sense of any of this. I must use the Soul-Searching Art on Cui Feng…"
Li Yan had found no answers in Green Mountain Pass or the capital. In fact, after finding the portrait of "himself," he was even more confused. He decided he had to act against Cui Feng. Even if the soul-searching would cause the man pain, Li Yan couldn't afford to hesitate any longer. One should not act against mortals lightly, but this concerned a secret about himself that he simply could not unravel. It was his only option. At most, he would give Cui Feng a fourth-rank soul-nourishing pill afterward and erase some of his memories to make him forget the deep-seated pain from his soul.
Just then, Li Yan's eyebrows suddenly shot up. The puppet he had left at the Duke's Manor had sent a message. Li Yan was stunned.
"Someone is attacking the Duke's Manor!"
The capital and Yuhai City were relatively close, only about two thousand li apart!
......
Cui Feng's sword swung out, deflecting the golden pestle aimed at his back. A pair of Ghost Claws swiftly latched toward his Dantian. All three were Transformation Realm masters, their clashes as fast as lightning. Often, they would pass each other by a mere inch. A moment's distraction would mean death. The victor would likely be decided within fifty moves; there was none of the thousand-round battles described by storytellers in taverns.
Over ten breaths had passed since the fight began. Not only was the Duke's Manor showered in a rain of blood, but the adjacent courtyards and the streets outside were also filled with the sounds of battle. The common folk were terrified, bolting their doors and not daring to peek out to see what was happening.
Cui Feng noticed that on the other side, Lin Yuxing's green robes were stained black. One of the two men besieging him also had half his body drenched in blood, one arm severed at the elbow. It was the result of Lin Yuxing fiercely trading injury for injury. Although Lin Yuxing was no match for the two of them combined, he had spent years fighting in chaotic armies, a level of experience that ordinary martial artists couldn't compare to. Knowing he couldn't drag out the fight, he had ruthlessly gambled. He had been heavily injured, dodging a fatal blow but taking a not-so-small bloody hole in his lower back, in exchange for severing his opponent's arm.
This greatly reduced the pressure on him, but the pain in his lower back caused a lag in his movements, putting him in constant danger.
The Shi Ning couple was locked in a fierce battle with their two opponents, unable to lend Lin Yuxing a hand.
Just then, a furious roar from Song Duan suddenly came from the distance.
"Lian Pinghai!"
A muffled grunt was followed by Tong Buyou's enraged shout.
"Vile traitor, it was you!"
"Hehehe, Tong Buyou, you're the only one left. Why not surrender?"
Not far away, Song Duan clutched his left leg, from which blood was pouring. He glared at Lian Pinghai, who was smirking on the opposite side. He watched as Tong Buyou fought a masked night-prowler. The blood on Lian Pinghai's long saber was still fresh. Just now, he had caught Song Duan off guard and slashed at his waist.
Fortunately, Song Duan had been wary of him, always keeping his eyes and ears open. As someone who had crawled out of a pile of corpses, his sensitivity to death was extremely sharp. Unexpectedly to Lian Pinghai, he had managed to dodge the fatal blow, but his leg was slashed open, a wound so deep the bone was visible. Flesh was torn, and blood gushed out. Lian Pinghai's earlier performance had lowered most of his guard, but he had still fallen for the trap.
Lian Pinghai's slash had even startled the few masked night-prowlers on the other side. They had heard there might be a mole in the Duke's Manor, but they didn't know who it was. Moreover, when Lian Pinghai had fought them just now, his moves had been incredibly vicious. The masked man he had faced was now severely injured, wailing on the ground.
"What are you looking at? Without this, you think you could have dealt with Song Duan even if you all worked together? This man is extremely brave and fierce."
Seeing the surprised and uncertain looks from the masked men, Lian Pinghai said viciously. Not only was Cui Feng's martial arts terrifying, but his men were all battle-hardened generals and soldiers. Lian Pinghai knew he was no match for either Song Duan or Tong Buyou alone.
Song Duan and Tong Buyou's eyes were also burning with rage. They had carefully investigated all the newcomers. All the information indicated that Lian Pinghai was the least likely to turn traitor. In their eyes, Lian Pinghai was even more trustworthy than Zhang Ming. His past was crystal clear, and his reputation in the martial world was that of a righteous hero. Plus, he had genuinely and severely injured one of their opponents right at the start, and that man might not even survive. This had made Song Duan, while not completely letting his guard down, lower it nonetheless.
The ones Cui Feng and his men had been most suspicious of were actually the Shi Ning couple. The two had been missing for many years, and the fire that had burned down their manor back then was also very suspicious. But they had never expected to be deceived by the other party.
Cui Feng and his group had already fought their way onto the rooftops and could see the situation on Song Duan's side from their high vantage point. Song Duan was now surrounded by two masked night-prowlers, while Lian Pinghai had flown toward Tong Buyou, helping the masked man to try and kill him. In his condition, Song Duan had at most half his combat strength left; he was a dead man.
Cui Feng's heart clenched with anxiety. He hadn't expected his opponent to have such a thorough grasp of his situation. Even the ten imperial bodyguards the emperor had arranged nearby had not been able to arrive within dozens of breaths.
Cui Feng was about to call out to Li Yan. He knew Li Yan's strength surpassed his own; that was the real reason he had kept him here.
But just then, another unexpected event occurred. A figure suddenly flew onto the roof ridge, and an emotionless voice called out.
"General Cui, have that Zhang Ming hand over the County Princess as well!"
Cui Feng, in the midst of the fierce battle, was shocked. He was extremely familiar with that voice. It was Huang Ruiying, who had followed him for decades.
At this moment, Huang Ruiying had one hand on Cui Yuanyi's shoulder, her other withered hand locked like a sharp hook around his throat. She stared at Cui Feng with an indifferent expression.
The sight sent a jolt through Cui Feng's mind. He was already in a life-or-death battle with two of the world's greatest Transformation Realm masters.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
With three consecutive muffled thuds, the robe on Cui Feng's body shredded. The red-caped person, holding his pestle, was sent flying high into the air. Zhong Wusi, on the other hand, fell directly from the roof ridge. The moment he landed, he opened his mouth and sprayed out a mist of blood, which contained fragments of his internal organs. His entire demeanor immediately wilted. His knees buckled, and he quickly used his pair of Ghost Claws to prop himself up, barely managing not to collapse, but he no longer had the strength to stand.
Cui Feng's body also swayed, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Seeing Cui Yuanyi captured had already affected his state of mind. In such a fierce battle, he could no longer maintain his advantage over the two. In his haste, he could only muster all his power to take the heavy blow from the red-caped person's golden pestle, which tore the clothes on his back to shreds. Disregarding everything else, he swung his sword, deflecting Zhong Wusi's Ghost Claws, and then drove his knee into his opponent's abdomen.
Zhong Wusi had not expected that, even while being attacked by two people, Cui Feng would completely ignore the attack from behind and focus all his power on him. In his haste, and with his power already being inferior to his opponent's, he was unable to block and was severely injured in an instant.