Aoyama

Chapter 406 Fight to the death
Chen Ji paused in the mountains and looked back, watching as dozens of Wu Chang soldiers stood calmly in the sunlight, turning into wisps of ashes that drifted away with the wind.

Now the wildfire has been returned to its rightful owner, but the traces of the past only evoke a sense of melancholy.

The people behind those white bone masks should have been the most familiar voices and faces to him, but he couldn't remember a single one of their names.

He should remember.

I wonder if these people, after they vanish, will be summoned back to the mortal realm through blood sacrifice? Where did they live before coming to the mortal realm? Will they return to that place after they vanish?

We don't know the details; we'll have to ask Zhang Xia when we get back.

But we can't go back yet.

Chen Ji looked down at the blood in the soil and decaying leaves, each drop extending into the depths of the forest. He followed the trail of blood northward, and along the way, the bloodstains decreased in number but never ceased.

As he walked north from Xianglu Peak, he suddenly stopped.

Chen Ji stood still in the forest, looking at the canopy of a large tree about ten feet away, neither moving too far nor too close.

The tree canopy is dense, and from a distance, it appears to be shrouded in shadow, as if a person is hiding inside, or as if there is nothing at all.

A full half hour passed.

Mr. Liao slowly leaped down from the treetop, missing his right arm, his face pale. The wound on his arm appeared to have been treated with medicine, and it was tied tightly with a belt, yet blood was still dripping down the fabric.

He hadn't expected Chen Ji to be so patient.

Mr. Liao leaned awkwardly against the tree, looking at Chen Ji from afar, thinking that Chen Ji might not know that he had come to silence him.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke, taunting Chen Ji: "Young Master Chen, are you here to save this old man?"

Chen Ji remained calm and said, "I just saw those ghosts chasing Mr. Liao, so I came to help."

Mr. Liao's voice was weak as he slowly sat down under the tree: "I was injured fighting those ghosts while trying to save you..."

Chen Ji said sincerely, "I will always remember Mr. Liao's righteousness."

Mr. Liao raised his remaining left arm and beckoned to Chen Ji: "I would like to trouble you, young master Chen, to come and help me. I am seriously injured and need to return to the capital for treatment as soon as possible."

Chen Ji then said sincerely, "Mr. Liao, I won't go over there."

His sword moved close to the ground in the mountains and forests, like three venomous snakes, lurking around Mr. Liao, but this man, though seemingly weak, was actually watertight and showed no weakness.

Using a sword to nourish another sword, the third type of sword.

When the Zhenyue Sword, nurtured for ten thousand years by Xianglu Peak, was reduced to ashes, a third sword seed condensed from the third mark on the ancient site, and together with the other two black iron sword seeds, it turned into a brass color.

Chen Ji observed carefully, intending to kill the opponent with a single blow using his sword technique. However, after observing for a long time, he still lacked confidence in achieving a fatal strike.

If he reveals his sword technique and Mr. Liao escapes unscathed, he will have to face not only the Crown Prince and Mr. Liao.

The forest fell silent again, the wind rustling the leaves as they rolled along the ground between the two men, and Mr. Liao's face gradually darkened.

Mr. Liao asked in a deep voice, "How did you survive? And why did those ghosts turn around and attack me?"

Chen Ji stared intently at him: "I don't know."

Mr. Liao sneered, "Did you instigate those ghosts to surround and kill me?"

Chen Ji had been standing for a while, so he found a place to sit down and gently comforted him, "If I had instigated them, none of you would have survived. Mr. Liao, don't think so much. If you're tired, just get some sleep."

The two sat facing each other from a distance, neither speaking.

Blood was slowly seeping from the wound on Mr. Liao's arm, while Chen Ji remained unharmed.

Mr. Liao suddenly stood up, and Chen Ji also stood up at the same time.

Mr. Liao took two steps toward Chen Ji, and Chen Ji took two steps back.

The atmosphere was eerie, and everyone harbored their own secrets.

Mr. Liao, unwilling to let his injuries linger, turned and walked north, saying, "Young man of the Chen family, don't follow me, or I will kill you."

But Chen Ji seemed not to hear him and slowly followed behind Mr. Liao.

Mr. Liao suddenly started running wildly, and Chen Ji followed him for more than ten miles, running all the way out of the Xiangshan area.

Mr. Liao turned around and glared at him angrily: "What grudge do I have against you? Why are you chasing me so relentlessly?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "Mr. Liao, there's no need to play dumb. We both know perfectly well why you're at Incense Burner Peak."

Mr. Liao softened his tone: "This was originally a misunderstanding..."

Chen Ji interrupted, "For Miss Zhang Er?"

Mr. Liao remained silent.

Chen Ji looked at Mr. Liao and said, "I saved the Crown Prince's life in Guyuan. It's a bit too vicious for the Crown Prince to want to kill me for Miss Zhang Er."

Mr. Liao, enduring the pain in his shoulder, frowned and said, "After His Highness returned to the capital, he invited Lord Zhang Zhuo several times and even asked a highly respected figure to act as an intermediary, but Lord Zhang always avoided meeting him. I later found out that Lord Zhang was interested in you."

He then changed the subject: "However, Your Highness has changed your mind. After returning to the capital, I will have someone submit a memorial to His Majesty, requesting that he be granted a marriage between himself and the second young lady of the Qi family."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Miss Qi is interested in the scholar Huang Que, so I suppose she won't agree to it."

Mr. Liao didn't care at all: "How can a woman decide this matter?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Mr. Liao, you and the Crown Prince are actually the same kind of people. You don't care much about the lives of others. I can't sleep when you're alive." While Chen Ji was speaking, Mr. Liao transformed into a cloud of black smoke and surged towards Chen Ji.

Chen Ji stood ten feet away without moving, staring silently at the black smoke without changing his expression.

The black smoke rose six feet before landing, revealing Mr. Liao's figure.

Mr. Liao was panting heavily, staring intently at Chen Ji. It seemed that the kid had calculated that he could only fly this far at a time, and that he couldn't kill someone from ten zhang away.

He silently calculated the distance between himself and Chen Ji, which was only four zhang. If he could gather his strength, he might be able to kill his way to Chen Ji, but if Chen Ji retreated again, he would miss again, and when he landed, he would have no backup plan and would still have to face Chen Ji's counterattack.

This distance of four zhang... seems to be bait left for him by Chen Ji.

Mr. Liao silently pondered for a long time, looking at the composed Chen Ji, and hesitated to make a move.

The next moment, he turned around and continued to flee north for his life.

The officials of the Seeking Dao Realm and the Innate Realm confronted each other, and the one from the Seeking Dao Realm fled in disarray.

Mr. Liao ran ahead, and Chen Ji followed behind.

Mr. Liao suddenly remembered that when wolves hunt, they drive their prey for days and nights until the prey is exhausted and has nowhere to go before they begin to hunt.

Now, he is the prey, and Chen Ji wants to be the wolf.

But Mr. Liao suddenly had a plan. He determined the direction and detoured to the east. After running for another five miles, he heard the sound of rushing water.

A few hundred steps further on, a rushing river can be seen flowing through the valley.

The rocky bank is extremely low to the water, resembling a precipice, with the two banks more than ten feet apart.

This river is called Jianquan River.

Some say that the spring water in the river comes from Xianglu Peak, and the river water carries a wisp of sword intent, cutting the flat land into a valley, as if a sword has cut a crack in the earth.

When Mr. Liao heard the sound of water, he ran faster and faster. He reached the edge of the cliff and jumped, leaping several meters into the air, but he could not cross the river, which was more than ten meters wide.

Just as he was about to fall into the river, he suddenly transformed into a cloud of black smoke and flew to the other side.

Thick black smoke billowed out, and Mr. Liao was just one step away from the other side when he had to fly away.

Mr. Liao revealed himself and, using the momentum, managed to grab a willow branch on the cliff with his left hand. The movement of his wound caused him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

He glanced down at the rushing river at his feet, then pulled himself up with one arm, leaping into the air before tumbling awkwardly onto the riverbank.

Mr. Liao lay on the shore, panting heavily, and did not get up for a long time.

Chen Ji watched from the opposite bank, silent. This chasm of more than ten zhang was an insurmountable obstacle for him.

Mr. Liao slowly stood up, dusted himself off, and looked leisurely at the opposite bank: "Young Master Chen, please go back. I will definitely take responsibility for what happened today."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Mr. Liao, the Crown Prince is still in Xiangshan. I'm going to kill him now. Do you want to come back and save him?"

Mr. Liao was startled.

The Crown Prince still has twenty bodyguards, but if Chen Ji really wants to keep the Crown Prince in Xiangshan forever, he can't be sure what the outcome will be.

Mr. Liao sneered, "How dare this brat kill the crown prince of a nation?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Mr. Liao, do you think I dare?"

Mr. Liao remained silent. He only needed to look into Chen Ji's eyes to know that this young man was truly daring.

Seeing that he was unwilling to return, Chen Ji laughed loudly: "Mr. Liao, you probably don't possess a single virtue of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness."

Mr. Liao flew into a rage and retorted from across the river: "What do you know about loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness? I have served His Highness for more than ten years and done so much for him. How could you possibly know?"

Chen Ji asked, "Does that include poisoning all thirty-four members of the Chen family?"

Mr. Liao narrowed his eyes: "Are you seeking revenge for those thirty-four worthless lives?"

“I have no intention of seeking revenge. I have my reasons for killing you. But I would also like to correct Mr. Liao on one point: their lives are not cheap,” Chen Ji said, bowing to Mr. Liao. “Please come back, Mr. Liao, and continue to assist His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Mr. Liao's expression changed repeatedly, but he still did not return to the other side.

Chen Ji stood at the edge of the cliff and stared at Mr. Liao: "Mr. Liao, I've said before that you and the Crown Prince are the same kind of people. The righteousness you talk about is nothing more than a nice-looking mask you put on after you've done all sorts of bad things. That's all."

Mr. Liao sneered and stepped back: "Say what you will, goodbye forever."

He can't go back to the capital.

The events at Fragrant Hills were too unexpected and far-reaching, and there were too many things he couldn't explain. If the corrupt official in the Jiefan Tower were to imprison him for interrogation by Meng Ji, the things on his mind would be enough to kill him a hundred times over.

We must leave Ningchao.

Just then, Chen Ji suddenly leaped into the turbulent Jianquan River: "Mr. Liao, don't rush off, we'll see you later."

Chen Ji's voice disappeared into the turbulent current, carried away by the white waves.

Mr. Liao was startled and quickly went to the riverbank to look into the river. He saw Chen Ji emerging from the surface and swimming towards him with all his might.

"Madman! Madman!"

He turned and fled north.

(End of this chapter)