Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 70
“No, no, Long Chen, the situation is definitely not as simple as you think! As long as you promise to let me go, I’ll tell you something extremely urgent. It definitely won’t disappoint you!” said Zhou Weiqing hastily.
Long Chen coldly said, “Speak. If it really is helpful to me, I won’t mind leaving you alive.”
Zhou Weiqing celebrated and hastily said, “Your household has already been captured and placed into prison. They’re currently waiting to be executed.”
“What?!”
Long Chen’s expression changed and he harshly shouted, “Bastard, you dare try to trick me?”
“No! I definitely wouldn’t dare try to trick you!”
“Once Wilde returned to the capital, he should have immediately gone to protect my family. How could they possibly be captured? Furthermore, even if Wilde didn’t inform him, how could grandmaster Yun Qi just watch without lifting a finger?” Long Chen raged.
“Wilde truly did rush to your family as soon as possible, but he wasn’t able to protect your household.”
“Why not?” Even with Long Chen’s calm, he was still panicking now.
“Cough, cough… I…” Zhou Weiqing wanted to speak but an intense bout of coughing overcame him.
Long Chen coldly snorted. Zhou Weiqing was getting smart and resorting to petty tricks. He threw down a medicinal pill. “Take it, it’ll heal your wounds.”
“Thank you, young master.”
Zhou Weiqing hastily swallowed. He had always kept an eye on Long Chen for years, and he knew that he was just like his father and would take his promises seriously.
But so far he had only agreed to let him go and hadn’t promised to heal his wounds. If Long Chen left, he wouldn’t even be able to support himself for more than a couple of hours before the spiritual qi in his blood was exhausted.
And within those few hours, he would be completely unable to walk out of this forest to find help, so he would definitely die. For him to be able to force Long Chen into giving him a medicinal pill in his state, there was no choice but to admit that Zhou Weiqing truly did have a cunning side.
“If I tell you everything, you have to keep your promise and not make things hard for me.” After taking that medicinal pill, Zhou Weiqing was surprised to see that his damaged organs were slowly healing back, meaning Long Chen’s medicinal pill truly was very effective.
But he once more repeated himself in order to be cautious. If Long Chen were to go back on his promise, it would be impossible for him to survive.
“Don’t worry, I will use the Long family’s reputation to guarantee it,” snorted Long Chen coldly.
Hearing that, Zhou Weiqing was relieved. With Long Chen’s pride, the chance of him reneging on his promise was low.
“Once Wilde returned to your home, he immediately alerted your mother. But they were unable to leave the Long household.”
“Why not?”
“Because they had all been poisoned,” answered Zhou Weiqing.
Long Chen’s expression became incredibly unsightly. “Who did that?!”
“You mother’s family did it. They’re actually spies of the fourth prince. They had always been secretly controlling the Long household. When Wilde returned, he was too weak and too hungry to fight back. As soon as he warned the Long household, they were all poisoned with an extremely undetectable poison. Normally it will conceal itself in the body. With your experience, you should also have heard of the Soul-Scattering Powder?” probed Zhou Weiqing carefully.
Long Chen’s expression became even gloomier. The fact that Zhou Weiqing had said the Soul-Scattering Powder meant that he was telling the truth.
Soul-Scattering Powder was an extremely rarely seen medicinal ingredient. Its poisonous nature wasn’t actually strong, but it could confuse a person’s spirit, causing them to enter a suspended animation state of fake death. Other than some people with strong Spiritual Strength, there were few that could block it.
And this kind of medicinal ingredient was colorless and odorless. Ordinary people were unable to recognize it. As soon as they smelled the Soul-Scattering Powder, they would immediately sink into a deep sleep.
Long Chen had never thought that the fourth prince’s schemes would be so profound. His hatred of his mother’s family also grew as he recalled their hypocritical faces. At this time, they had landed a fatal blow against his family.
Thinking of his mother, who had been captured, a burning urgency filled him. He needed to rush back to the capital immediately to save his mother.
“What happened with grandmaster Yun Qi?” Long Chen suddenly felt that something was strange. Was grandmaster Yun Qi being obstructed?
“At that time, grandmaster Yun Qi was in seclusion to refine pills. Furthermore, this matter was done extremely covertly. Grandmaster Yun Qi didn’t know of it, and once he knew, your family had already been imprisoned. At that time, he personally went to the imperial palace to demand that they release them, but the Empress Dowager showed him the photographic jade evidence of you killing the Grand Xia’s prince, and thus, grandmaster Yun Qi was also helpless,” explained Zhou Weiqing.
He had truly been too careless. Long Chen regretted his own stupidity. Obviously, that photographic jade had been brought back by Marquis Ying.
Him killing Xia Changfeng had absolutely been part of the fourth prince’s plans. Despite grandmaster Yun Qi’s illustrious status, his position was not one that could directly participate in the matters of the empire. And so he could only watch powerlessly.
“Chu Xia!” Long Chen ground his teeth angrily. It was as though he could see the fourth prince’s mocking face, and killing intent overflowed from him.
“What else is there?” Long Chen took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
“Well, furthermore, they plan on executing them,” said Zhou Weiqing carefully. Seeing Long Chen’s frighteningly sinister expression, he was afraid he might forget himself in his anger and kill him.
“Since they haven’t captured me, they’re using my household to make up for it?” Long Chen tightly clenched his fists. The flames of fury within his eyes almost took physical shape.
“That’s most likely correct.”
“Hmph, then their goal is to draw out my father, correct?” Long Chen snorted. Although he was incredibly angry, Long Chen was still able to figure out the fourth prince’s intentions.
To the fourth prince, Long Chen was just a single chess piece. All the circumstances he had forced him into were just to draw out Long Tianxiao.
He naturally also knew that the capital was filled with crouching dragons and hidden tigers waiting for Long Tianxiao to take the bait.
Being treated as a chess piece by others was definitely a dislikable feeling. But for Chu Yao, Long Chen had been willing to play his part as a chess piece.
He hadn’t expected the fourth prince to be so ruthless. Not only had his plans involved Long Chen, but he had also implicated Long Chen’s entire household. That was something which no one would be able to endure.
“Chu Xia, wait for me! If I don’t chop off your head this time, then I won’t be Long Chen!”
Long Chen suddenly thought of something and he asked, “What’s the date of the execution?”
Zhou Weiqing was startled and replied, “Counting the days, it should the day after tomorrow.”
Hearing that, Long Chen no longer bothered with Zhou Weiqing. He called over Little Snow and started to wildly rush over to the capital.
“Ao!” Little Snow suddenly howled as they rushed.
Long Chen was slightly startled. “You want me to ride you?”
Little Snow let out a quiet roar. Not caring whether or not Long Chen wanted to, he flipped Long Chen up with his head, and Long Chen immediately felt his body become light as he was lifted up onto Little Snow’s back.
Now that the forest god had awakened Little Snow’s spirit, he was even larger than a horse. His body was over three meters long. He was no longer that adorable lit
tle fellow anymore.
“Roar!”
Long Chen smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, once I’m steadied, I won’t fall… aiya!”
Little Snow had already charged forward before he had finished speaking. Being caught by surprise, Long Chen was almost thrown off. He hurriedly grabbed onto Little Snow’s fur.
Only now did Long Chen experience just how terrifying the speed of a second rank Magical Beast was. The trees to either side blew by. The wild wind that whistled around made it difficult for him to even keep his eyes open.
“Good job Little Snow!” Long Chen praised Little Snow. Originally, he had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to rush back to the capital in time. But with Little Snow’s current speed, that didn’t seem to be much of a problem anymore.
His worries also dissipated slightly. Looking at the quickly retreating trees, Long Chen’s eyes flashed with a harsh intent. I’m coming.
…
Zhou Weiqing watched as Long Chen left. He was relieved that he had managed to keep his life. At the same time though, he was also filled with hatred.
When he was young, he had been struck by Long Tianxiao’s palm and his Dantian had been shaken, causing his cultivation base to forever stop at the early stage of Blood Condensation.
Over ten years had passed, and now he had been suppressed by his son. Furthermore, he had been suppressed even more miserably. If he hadn’t begged for mercy, even his life would have been lost.
Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but grind his teeth. But then a sinister smile appeared on his mouth. Long Chen should just give up any thoughts of surviving now that he had gone to the capital.
But before he followed Long Chen back to the capital, he still had one thing he had to do. That was to completely slaughter those villagers. Long Chen had definitely left behind some medicinal pills for them.
“AH!” Zhou Weiqing screamed suddenly. An intense pain came from his arm. He looked over and saw that without realizing it, a red-colored ant had crawled up his arm and was now biting down on him.
“Heart Devouring Ant?!”
Zhou Weiqing was terrified. As soon as he recognized that small ant, it was as though he had seen a demon. That was a terrifying poisonous ant.
It was said that this kind of ant wasn’t that strong. It only had a slight poisonous nature that wasn’t life-threatening. But when they bit you, it would be incomparably painful, as if your heart and insides were being devoured.
Zhou Weiqing swatted that ant, killing it in a single blow. Just as he was about to move, his eyes were suddenly filled with terror. He didn’t know at what time, but now all the surrounding trees were covered with Heart Devouring Ants.
He suddenly thought of the medicinal pill Long Chen had thrown to him. He remembered seeing a twinkle of ridicule in his eyes when he had given that to him.
“AHHHH!!!”
Just at this moment, thousands upon thousands of Heart Devouring Ants smelled a special smell coming from Zhou Weiqing’s body and charged over. They went all-out to devour as much of him as they could. In their eyes, his body was a huge delicacy.
His miserable screams continued endlessly. The Heart Devouring Ants’ poison wasn’t strong and wouldn’t kill him. But the intense pain would wrack his body so much that he would be unable to move.
In this world, the most painful way to die was to clearly sense endless pain and want to faint, only to have losing consciousness become a luxury that wasn’t given to you, and to have that pain continue until you were nothing more than a pile of bones.
Chapter 95 Execution Ground
The Phoenix Cry imperial capital stood there as majestic as ever, emitting an ancient air. That was something that could not be concealed despite the several wars it had experienced in the past thousand years.
But today, the imperial capital was no longer as bustling and filled with traffic as it normally was. It was filled with a foreboding air, and not a single shop opened its doors.
In just a single month’s time, the capital had completely changed. First the news of Xia Changfeng being murdered shook the entire Phoenix Cry Empire.
But even more shocking was that the person who had killed the Grand Xia’s prince was the most famous person in the capital, the junior generation’s strongest member who had risen like a shooting star, Long Chen!
When the photographic jade’s images had spread throughout the capital, everyone had been completely shocked. The image of Long Chen killing Xia Changfeng was forever stuck in their minds.
Long Chen, who was originally high-spirited and full of endless prospects, had now become the entire empire’s number one wanted criminal.
The Long household’s people had all been imprisoned in just one night. After another few days, large quantities of soldiers began to flow towards the capital.
Before anyone could even understand what was happening, four hundred thousand elite troops from the Grand Xia had encircled the city.
Everyone had been incomparably nervous, waiting for the spark of a huge war to ignite the capital in flames. That thought caused all these people, who were used to living in peace and security, to be filled with fright.
But the lucky thing was that the battle never occurred. The fourth prince had appeared to mediate both parties. Saying that he had already captured the killer and had investigated the whole matter, he gave the Grand Xia an acceptable account.
Only then did the elite troops withdraw their siege of the capital. But they didn’t go far. They pitched camp forty miles away from the capital. If the Phoenix Cry Empire didn’t hand over acceptable terms, they definitely wouldn’t mind starting a huge war.
That foreboding air enveloped the entire capital. Although the capital had Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu leading the majority of the strongest troops in the empire, this situation had arisen so suddenly that they had been unable to collect the rest of their forces. If a battle really did start, whether they could win or not, the capital itself would definitely become a scene of disaster.
At the same time, there were also people who secretly wondered what was going on. Weren’t the Phoenix Cry Empire and the Grand Xia Empire supposed to be allies? How did they suddenly end up on opposite sides of the battlefield now?
What kind of satirical situation was this? It was always the enemies you never thought about who did the most damage. Otherwise, there was no way they would have been able to encircle their capital so easily.
Following the Long household’s capture, huge waves erupted in the empire. The first thing people thought of was the Border Suppression Marquis, who was defending the border against the barbarian tribes.
The Border Suppression Marquis had guarded the border for over ten years. He had control of fifty thousand elite troops that had fought with the barbarian tribes over and over. It could be said that his army was a true elite force.
As for the ‘elite troops’ currently residing in the capital who lived peaceful, satisfied lives the entire time and had only completed some drilling, the difference was immense, completely incomparable.
The Border Suppression Marquis’s elite troops would definitely be able to fight enemies ten times their number. After the Empress Dowager had imperially arrested the Long household, everyone wondered just how Long Tianxiao would react.
Ten days ago, sudden news had leaked that Long Chen’s murder of Xia Changfeng had been incited by the crown prince, and so even the crown prince had been arrested.
There had also been several ‘henchmen’ that had been taken in with him. Today was the day for all these ‘murderers’ to face their executions.
Outside the city walls, the martial stage that had often been used for fights, had been torn down to be replaced with a huge execution stage.
On one side of the execution stage were the Phoenix Cry Empire’s elite troops, while on the other side were the Grand Xia’s elite troops. They both watched each other from a distance with the atmosphere being incredibly tense.
The commoners
of the Phoenix Cry Empire were also watching from far away. This was the most controversial and shocking matter that had occurred in the Phoenix Cry Empire in the several dozen
years.
Not only was a noble family about to be eradicated, but the crown prince was also to be executed. There were also dozens of members of the imperial court who had been implicated.
There were two lines of people on the execution grounds, one lined up in the back and one lined up in the front. There were dozens of people in the front row, all wearing imperial robes. They were completely bound, lying there on the ground.
Although everyone had already been prepared to see that, they were still greatly shaken. Those were the most senior ministers of the empire. Normally, just getting a glance of them was almost impossible, but today they had become prisoners.
However, the most shocking thing for everyone was the sight of the person who was bound front at the execution platform. It was crown prince Chu Yang! The current Chu Yang had long since lost his majestic and graceful poise. His hair was a mess and his eyes darted around. He was mumbling something that couldn’t be heard as he incessantly fidgeted.
Behind this group of people was another group of over twenty people. This group included maids and servants. They were actually the Long household’s people.
Mrs. Long was shackled by iron fetters. Her expression was haggard as she looked into the distance. Who knew what she was thinking.
Other than Mrs. Long, the rest of the Long household’s members couldn’t help but weep. They knew that today would be the last day of their lives. Looking at the executioners beside them, they were filled with despair.
“Ah, my Long family has truly let you down. If there is a next life, my Long family will definitely make it up to you.”
Looking at the weeping people surrounding her, Mrs. Long couldn’t help but sigh. They were all innocent, but they had been implicated by being part of the Long household.
“Madam, don’t say that. We are members of the Long household, and we will be part of the Long household even in death. We don’t regret anything,” said Bao-er firmly.