Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

Ping'er had sharp eyes and had already noticed the fleeting killing intent in Jia Yi's eyes, as cold as an ice blade scraping to the bone. If her young mistress were to utter even half a wrong word at this moment, she would probably be struck by a Cloud Piercing Palm strike in the next instant, and being sent flying would be the least of her worries.

---

"Walk!"

At Jia Yi's command, the eighteen riders of Yanyun followed closely behind, their steps thunderous, exuding murderous intent as they strode out of the courtyard gate.

Just then, Yuanyang rushed over carrying more than a dozen black lacquered masks. Her eyebrows trembled slightly in the moonlight: "My lord...would you like to wear a mask? To cover your face?"

She's not stupid.

None of the personal guards Jia Yi took out in the morning returned; he himself came back covered in blood, his clothes still dripping wet; now his eyes were so cold they could freeze a person to death.

—They're going to take revenge.

"Need not."

Jia Yi didn't stop walking, only uttering two words in a low voice.

But a thought stirred within him.

No wonder Grandmother Jia cherished this girl like the apple of her eye—she was intelligent, insightful, and knew her place. If Yuanyang were a boy, even ten of the Jia family's bunch of good-for-nothings wouldn't be as good as one of her fingers.

"Okay..." Yuanyang responded softly, watching the tall figure gradually disappear into the distance, her fingertips clenching her sleeves. "My lord, please take care..."

As for why he didn't wear a mask?

Jia Yi could only sneer inwardly.

King Zhongshun didn't dare utter a single word about what happened tonight.

---

At this moment, the lights flickered inside the Prince Zhongshun's mansion, and people were filled with unease.

Prince Zhongshun and Chen Ze paced back and forth in the room, their faces alternating between pale and flushed.

"Father, it's completely dark, why hasn't the head arrived yet?"

"Could something have gone wrong?"

Chen Ze slumped into a chair, his eyes filled with disappointment.

They sent out over a thousand elite troops to surround and kill Jia Yi, and he still managed to come back alive? Absurd!

"Impossible!" Prince Zhongshun gritted his teeth. "They're the most ruthless desperados in our household! With a thousand men pressing in, they should have been chopped into mincemeat!"

He was still unwilling to give up, muttering to himself, "Maybe... they're on their way back. Let's wait... let's wait..."

Before the words were finished—

boom!

A dozen or so dark figures, like owls flapping their wings, tumbled down from the eaves, landing silently but causing the candlelight to tremble violently.

The newcomer exuded a bloodthirsty aura; even before his sword was drawn, he was already making it difficult for people to breathe.

It was Jia Yi who, with the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun, broke through the gate and entered!

They had already sneaked around the palace, figured out the route, and headed straight for the main hall, where they caught the father and son red-handed.

"Oh," Jia Yi's lips curled into a sinister smile, "I've missed you terribly these past few days."

"Jia Yi!!!"

The King and his son turned around abruptly, terrified, and almost jumped up.

My instinct was to yell at the guards!

"Shout," Jia Yi said slowly, his eyes sharp as knives, "as long as you two can survive before they break in."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eighteen riders drew their swords in unison!

A flash of cold light appeared, the blade aimed straight at the throat.

The air froze instantly.

The father and son immediately hugged each other, trembling like leaves.

"Jia Yi!" Prince Zhongshun forced himself to remain calm, but his voice was weak. "Leave now, and I'll pretend...nothing happened!"

"Hahaha!"

Jia Yi threw his head back and laughed loudly, his laughter full of sarcasm.

"Nothing happened?"

"Then bring my brothers back to life right now!"

"They're all standing in front of me, lively and energetic. I'll turn around and leave without a second thought!"

He approached step by step, his eyes looking at two dying dogs.

"Jia Yi! What nonsense are you spouting! We don't understand!" King Zhongshun rasped in denial, inwardly cursing the ancestors of the assassins he had sent for eighteen generations.

You were sent to kill someone, but instead of killing anyone, you were the ones who got attacked on your doorstep.

"Don't understand?" Jia Yi sneered. "It's alright."

"That's enough for me."

With a wave of his hand, someone immediately handed him a strangely shaped knife—the blade was long and thin with an odd curve, as if it were specially made for some kind of "job".

If there were eunuchs here, they would probably kneel down and weep bitterly.

—This isn't a knife! It's a castration instrument used for eunuchs!

Although King Chungshun and his son did not know its purpose, just looking at its sinister appearance sent chills down their spines.

Jia Yi originally only wanted to kill them with one stroke, to be quick and clean.

But then I thought again—it's too cheap.

For a man, power and wealth mean nothing in life.

What truly destroys a person is to keep them alive, but to make them no longer a man.

"gag."

Jia Yi calmly gave the order, "Then, make your move."

Jia Yi didn't want to be interrupted halfway through his knife-wielding procedure.

"Jia Yi, how dare you touch me? My father will never let you get away with this!"

"Yes! When Grandpa finds out, he'll tear you to pieces!"

The father and son shouted themselves hoarse, their faces contorted with rage. They never expected that this man would actually dare to attack them—a prince and a crown prince, born of noble birth, had been driven to this point!

Before the words were even finished, the eighteen riders of Yanyun approached like ghosts, their mouths stuffed with coarse cloth, their movements swift and decisive. The next instant, their belts were ripped open, their outer robes were ripped off, and the two men instantly turned deathly pale.

The cold wind brushed against my skin, and the small knife, gleaming with a cold light, dangled before my eyes.

Even a fool could see it—this isn't about killing, it's about getting to the root of the problem!

"Waaaaahh ...

They struggled desperately, kicking their legs wildly, but were held down firmly by hands as strong as iron clamps.

The moment the excruciating pain exploded, the faces of Prince Zhongshun and his son turned a deep purplish-red, cold sweat instantly soaked through their inner shirts, tears and snot streamed down their faces, and regret surged up like a tidal wave—if there were an afterlife, they would rather eat mud and dung than provoke Jia Yi, that evil star!

With a single stroke, blood splattered everywhere.

[Ding! The host has abolished the reproductive abilities of King Zhongshun and his son, and is rewarded with 20,000 elite White-Spear soldiers!]

Jia Yi weighed the knife in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips, but the killing intent in his eyes lingered.

"Fall back."

He left without looking back, his silhouette bathed in the morning light, like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath and then returned to its original position.

Behind them, only the father and son remained, curled up on the ground, convulsing in pain, unable to scream, looking like two skinned dogs.

Until the Crown Princess came to call for someone with breakfast—

"ah--!!!"

A scream shattered the morning tranquility of the Prince's Palace.

The entire Chungsun Palace was in chaos, with servants running around frantically. But before the news could spread, King Chungsun mustered his last strength and roared, "No... don't let this get out!!!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and blood was oozing from his throat.

He was the Emperor Emeritus's most beloved prince, a crucial pawn hidden in the struggle for the throne! If people found out he had become a eunuch... forget the throne, he might not even be able to save his life!

The imperial court could not tolerate a eunuch vying for power.

At this moment, Jia Yi had already ridden back to the Rongguo Mansion. His murderous aura had not faded, but he was all smiles, as if he had just finished drinking a cup of tea.

Unbeknownst to him, the Prince Zhongshun's mansion was brightly lit all night, with fast horses galloping everywhere in search of renowned doctors across the land, all in an effort to reattach that severed lifeline.

Deep within the inner courtyard, Princess Chungshun and the Crown Princess embraced and wept bitterly, tears streaming down their faces, but it was of no use in saving them.

The news still leaked out overnight.

The capital city exploded as if it had been thrown into a pot of boiling oil.

"Have you heard? Prince Zhongshun and his son fell into the lake last night, caught a chill, and are now bedridden!"