Chapter 659: Dilemma
[V6C189 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
Within the airship, Zhao Yuying and Song Zining sat down in a secluded room. The smile on her face disappeared as soon as the doors were closed. Her expression was gloomy, and there was inconcealable killing intent in her voice. “When did it happen? Who did it?”
Song Zining sighed softly. “I guess it can be considered an accident. As for the cause of this mishap, no one really knows, not even Qianye himself. Of course, at the very root of it all is what the Zhao clan did to him.”
Zhao Yuying snorted. “The matters of his childhood have already been solved, but what’s with that accident you mentioned?”
Song Zining quickly recounted how Red Scorpion had been ambushed and wiped out. Zhao Yuying had no idea what to say after listening—all she could do was heave a long sigh. As an imperial soldier, it was only right and proper to fight on the battlefield. Even someone of noble birth like Zhao Yuying, who was only inferior to the princes and princesses, had to risk life and limb in war.
Since the founding of the empire, the noble scions had always been on the first line of the bloodbaths. If not for the foundations built upon the bones of previous ancestors, how could humans have risen amidst the beleaguerment of the dark races? How could they have founded an empire on Evernight Continent and walked forward step by step until today?
Since Qianye had joined the Red Scorpion, it was only natural that he would go into battle. The two factions had been fighting for well over a thousand years, and no tactic was excessive between them. Cases of people falling into traps and being surrounded were as common as there were stars in the skies. Zhao Yuying had also heard about that battle, but that was too long ago. It was no longer possible for her to perform an in-depth analysis as to the reason. Even if she could, it was quite possibly just a case of being ensnared and losing the battle.
The stifling sensation in Zhao Yuying’s heart didn’t disappear even after knowing the reason. On the contrary, it felt worse. Qianye had been using some secret art to conceal his vampire bloodline, but accidents were bound to happen in the long run. It was fortunate that she and Song Zining were around this time. What would he do if it were any other person? People of the empire knew of only one approach against vampires...
The more she thought, the more vexed she became. She suddenly glared at Song Zining and said, “When you were saving Lil’ Five just now, were you thinking of killing me if I get in the way?”
Song Zining was shocked out of his wits as a gust of malice rushed into his face. He quickly made to explain, “Everything is for Qianye.”
But Zhao Yuying clearly hadn’t grasped the focus of this conversation. Her eyes lit up brighter and brighter as she stared at him. “You think you can finish off this mommy here?”
Only then did Song Zining feel something wrong. “Of course not! Sister Yuying, listen to my explanation. Don’t be violent!”
How could Zhao Yuying be willing to listen? She had already pounced over at that point. Song Zining’s wretched cries reverberated in the room, and then spread far and wide.
The highspeed airship flew rapidly and soon arrived at the third-line fortress. There, it hovered about momentarily and unloaded hundreds of soldiers before flying back toward the Zhao clan.
In the fortress below, Zhao Fenglei rushed out of the main building and gazed at the receding airship with a gloomy expression. He grabbed a nearby soldier and shouted, “Where’s Yuying? Wasn’t she on the airship?”
That soldier who had just come down from the warship replied, “Miss Yuying has been injured and can no longer fight. She’s gone back with the airship.”
Zhao Fenglei was startled. “Injured? How can she be injured?”
According to their original plan, Zhao Yuying was supposed to support the second-line fortress and come back to defend the last fortress. It could be said that she was quite safe before the defensive battle. Zhao Fenglei had pulled a lot of strings behind the scenes in order to make this happen. The other reason was for the opportunity to fight side by side with her.
How could that soldier have an answer to this question? Zhao Fenglei felt frustrated and couldn’t resist venting his anger. “Useless!”
That soldier’s face turned red and his tightened fists trembled ever so slightly.
This was a warrior who had taken part in the entirety of the second defensive battle. It could be said that he had gone through hell and back. Now that they had arrived at the third fortress, they were about to go through yet another perilous battle. These soldiers, from any perspective, could be considered iron-blooded loyalists. Yet, they were being insulted like so for no good reason. How was he to endure it? However, Zhao Fenglei was Duke Yan’s descendant, and as such, it wasn’t appropriate for him to retort. For a moment, all the Zhao clan soldiers nearby became restless; everyone felt deeply for the soldier.
Zhao Fenglei woke up after seeing the reactions of the nearby soldiers. He clearly understood that he had gone too far just now. But he had always been obstinate and proud—he simply couldn’t bring himself to apologize to a soldier in front of so many people. As such, he turned around and went back into the main building with a snort.
At this moment, Qianye, Song Zining, and Zhao Yuying were cultivating on the airship. Qianye had activated a state of blood boil and repaired his body, but his blood energy and origin power had hit rock bottom. Zhao Yuying and Song Zining were both in an injured state due to an excessive loss of blood. They needed to grasp this time to recover. The former looked fine, but because the blood used to treat Qianye was instilled with origin power, she was more or less drained at the moment. She was in no state to fight and had no choice but to retreat with the airship.
Moments later, Qianye completed his cultivation and walked out of the cabin room. There was no essence blood for him on board, and the Profound Combatant Formula was so forceful that it would surely interfere with the airship’s flight. Hence, he had nothing much to do after recovering some origin power.
Qianye saw Song Zining waiting outside when he opened the doors. “Zining? Why aren’t you recovering?”
Song Zining replied, “They’re just minor injuries, it’s not urgent. I have something to say to you.”
Qianye frowned. “What’s so important you would have to put off your healing? Do you think I don’t know how bad our injuries are?”
Song Zining had already been injured during the fortress defense battle. Now that he had lost large amounts of blood and origin power, his condition could only be worse than Qianye's. However, he said with a serious expression, “Let’s go in first.”
After Qianye had locked the door, Song Zining sat down on his own with sweat on his forehead. Qianye was deeply surprised. “This is?”
“Due to fright.” Song Zining smiled wryly. He calmed himself down and continued, “Fortunately, it’s Yuying who’s nearby. If it were anyone else, I would have no choice but to attack. As for what would happen afterward, even I have no idea.
“Yuying knows now?”
“How can she not after giving you half her blood? It’s fortunate that her feelings for you are special, and she didn’t even hesitate one bit. Even a real sister can’t be any better.”
Qianye sighed lightly. If not for the sincerity of Zhao Yuying, Jundu, Junhong, and Ruoxi, how could he be willing to forget the past and return to the Zhao clan?
Song Zining was somewhat restless in his seat, so he simply sat up and paced about in the room. “I’ve been thinking back and forth just now. The more I think, the more I get the feeling that the two battles you’ve fought were completely abnormal. That’s not the way a human fights at all!”
Qianye sighed. “That’s the most efficient and sustainable fighting method. If I kill a couple more enemies, some of my brothers won’t have to die.”
Song Zining raised his voice all of a sudden. “Nonsense! Do you think there are no other knowledgeable people? Those champions who have been fighting with the vampires since a young age will surely recognize that classical combat style frequently used by high-ranking vampires. What if there are people with bad intentions among them? What do we do if someone happens to figure you out?”
Qianye could only smile wryly. “How can I think so much at the juncture of life and death? Besides, if I hadn’t used my vampire powers, you would’ve died long ago. That shot would’ve torn you into two if it had connected.”
“You!” This formed a knot of anger in Song Zining’s heart. Moments later, he was still helpless and could only say, “In any case, you have to minimize your use of vampiric powers in the future, just in case.”
“I’ve killed so many dark races. Will anyone suspect me just from my style? There are only Zhao clan soldiers around in these few battles.”
Qianye hadn’t even finished speaking when he was interrupted by Song Zining. “Zhao clan soldiers? Let me tell you the truth. Regarding your case, I never even trusted Zhao Yuying until just now, let alone other people!”
Qianye opened his mouth but had nothing to retort.
Song Zining’s expression was solemn. “Qianye, don’t blame me for being wordy. I know from my experience throughout the years that anything bad can and will happen. There’s no such thing as being too cautious regarding your case.”
Qianye frowned. “Don’t tell me I have to sit by and watch my brother fall in battle?”
Song Zining pointed at himself and said loudly, “You’re also my brother! What do I do after your identity is compromised? How about Nighteye? How about Yuying? Have you thought about them at all? If you are being hunted by the empire, should we stop them?”
Qianye was dumbfounded once more.
“Think hard on this!” Song Zining left with these words.
...
Blackflow City was bustling with activity. Everyone was moving about outside during this rare sunny afternoon, filling the city with considerable liveliness.
The small courtyard in a corner of the Dark Flame headquarters was a rare haven of serenity. Nighteye was sitting in the yard, seemingly engrossed in the book she was holding. The sun’s rays almost seemed to produce a faint halo as they fell upon a corner of her forehead.
At this moment, a knock on the gates disrupted the silence therein.
Nighteye got up to open the gates and was quite surprised to see the visitor. “Nanhua? Didn’t you leave with Song Zining?”
It was Song Zining’s main female companion for the recent period. She said with a smile, “I heard he’s going to fight a huge battle this time. I’ll only be causing trouble for him if I go. It’s better to just wait for him here since he’ll surely return.”
Nanhua’s words revealed a bit of bitterness. Who in this big city didn’t know how much of a playboy the seventh young master was? He was surrounded by ladies wherever he went. Her current status brought her more pity than admiration.
Nighteye chuckled. “I was so surprised that I forgot to invite you in. Come in and have a seat. It just so happened that we have some good tea.”
With that, Nighteye picked up an exquisite teapot and poured a cup for the guest. The jade-green beverage drew a green arc from the spout and into the cup. Nighteye’s steady hands kept the stream connected between the two containers.
Nanhua suddenly exclaimed while watching Nighteye, “You’re so beautiful!”
“Eh?” Nighteye looked up, somewhat puzzled. She had been wearing the mask all this time. In terms of beauty, it could only be said that she was in the upper-middle range, a far cry from the superior level.
Nanhua stared at Nighteye with a mesmerized expression and mumbled, “The feeling you give me, is so, so beautiful.”
Nighteye observed herself and confirmed that she hadn’t activated any ability for charming humans. In fact, she had never used such skills before and was rather surprised at why Nanhua would say so.
What she didn’t know was that—during this period in which she was pretty much just reading in peace—this feeling of serenity and her own imperious aura had merged into the elegance of a true supreme vampire.
She had no need to rely on appearances because her every little action was naturally magnificent.