Volume One, Chapter 24: The Complete Extermination

His young concubine was also startled awake. Thinking he needed to relieve himself, she rubbed her eyes and said, "My lord, let me go get the chamber pot for you!"

"Enemies are raiding in the night! Get up quickly, take Little Hu, and go to the cellar. Lock the lid from the inside, and do not come out until I call for you!" Li Chen said in a rapid, hushed tone.

"Ah?" The young concubine was shocked. She clutched Little Hu and sat up in a daze.

Li Chen quickly settled her, then grabbed his hunting bow and short blade. He strapped on his quiver, seized his heavy crossbow, and leaped lightly out of the courtyard gate, vanishing into the tall grass thirty paces away.

...

At that moment, in the darkness beneath the mountain, a group of men had just dismounted. One of the horses carried a girl dressed in pink, bound tightly.

Those men...

As long as Long Yan answered, Lin Feng would immediately know whether he was genuine; if Long Yan chose not to answer, he would undoubtedly be an impostor.

"Sigh." Lin Feng sighed, deciding to let it be. Perhaps it was better for him to handle this matter himself.

"Brother Lin, when you saw that shooting star, did you have a sense of foreboding?" Luo Tian asked again.

Two more eerie bovine bellows echoed, followed by a golden and a silver Kui dragon bursting into the air. They entwined and let out a roar toward the heavens.

Xi, who followed behind her, glanced at the hyena trying to flee. She walked over, lifted him up, and murmured, "What does the soul of a hyena taste like?"

"Since you believe you are innocent, I trust you will not fear being brought before a military tribunal." Having said this, Qing Lian did not linger and walked away.

Xiang Nianran stood motionless, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears. Her lips moved incessantly, yet she could not utter a sound. The two stood staring at each other in silence, as if time had frozen in that moment.

"At that time, something must have happened." Shen Nianyi deduced slightly. If Old Master Zhu had already discovered Liangzhao Mountain years ago and met Xu Huachu, he would have known the locations of all three treasures. Yet, before the late Emperor, he had only revealed two, and even then, he had stalled the plans for one of them.

After Yan Aotian channeled his inner energy for a while, Yan Xiu's eyes slowly fluttered open.

Writing to Quan Feitong was an expression of gratitude, but writing to Wu Qing was to ask her brother to do two favors for her. After the incident with Lian Xin, she believed Wu Qing was somewhat moved and would not rashly harm the Lian family.

"It's true, it really is. Take now, for instance. Ji Ping is wondering, why did the Young Mistress leave the Mo residence for no reason? Why suffer such hardships in this desolate place? Why draw water from the well herself? With only one maidservant to wait on her, and not even anyone to help her put on her shoes or wash her feet?" The expression on Ji Ping's face grew serious.

Huo Chang'an's foot, which had been about to step forward, stopped dead in its tracks. Only now did his sword wounds—both physical and emotional—begin to flare up, causing him to slowly crouch down in agony.

With one leap, he covered dozens of meters, landing precisely on a pile of massive, stacked iron plates.

"Handle it however you see fit!" he shouted. With lightning speed, he grabbed the protective gear from the table and, in a fluid motion, equipped it, turning himself into a giant tortoise.

The students below wore bitter expressions; Zhao Wuji's display of strength had truly rattled them, and their hearts were still turbulent.

"Fine, fine... I was just talking, wasn't I?" Zhao Yongxin realized he had said the wrong thing and smiled apologetically.

Mo Ming smiled, his lips curling upward as he reached out toward Nuanyang. His warm, broad palm cupped the back of her neck perfectly.

Beneath the central peak, there appeared to be a staircase leading up the mountain. Its surface was covered in ice and snow, yet through the frost, one could see the sturdy, unhewn rock beneath—ancient and timeless.

His gaze was heavy and silent. He did not embrace her, nor did he push her away, letting her tuck her feet between his legs and cling to him like an octopus until she drifted off to sleep.

Yet the dog emperor remained completely unresponsive, seemingly unmoved by the smell of garlic on her breath.

She bent down to pick up her phone from the floor. The screen was shattered like a spiderweb, but it was barely functional.

Yu Fuyao’s mouth hung slightly open; the refusal was stuck in her throat, nearly slipping out.

The Imperial Seal in her palm loosened, sliding to the ground with a soft, dull thud.

Throughout the meal, Cheng Baojian's brother kept asking about the management of Cheng Baojian's company.

The naval forces of Luochuan and Hejian moved toward the Gao Shan Kingdom's fleet. Zhang Gui's three core warships on the left flank were neatly arranged, surrounded by vanguard vessels. Every soldier was valiant, looking upon death as a homecoming.

The Goblin Elder looked at the goblins behind him and spoke. To him, whether Yu Qing remained the village chief or not mattered little. With his top-tier talent for deception and trickery, he had enough status among the goblins regardless.

Cheng Simiao went to buy water, and Grandma Xiang Zhen sat on a stone bench to rest. Just then, a soccer ball rolled to her feet.

Isn't this internet-famous "reverse matchmaker" supposed to be miraculous? How has he not finished the job after all these days?

Returning to the Room of Requirement, even if other students discovered the secret, they kept it hidden away.

Ye Nanshan paused, but said nothing more. He took the kitchen knife and walked toward the edge of the pond.

The smile on Yan Sha's face was like a frozen flower; it only began to fade once she watched Can Yang exit the Hantian Palace.

The chess piece hit the board with a crisp sound. Suddenly, a powerful force rippled through the osmanthus grove, spreading continuously. At a glance, it felt as if the entire world within a grain of sand had been shaken.

The Wen family was in trouble, and even the Qin family was implicated. It was only natural that the Lu family was powerless to intervene.

The thunderous sound of a whip brought Zhu Siyun's thoughts back to reality. Seeing the whip lash against the iron cage, the man inside trembled in terror. Before she could stop it, a basin of powdery substance was flung from high above.

Countless times, she had assumed that, given her temper, she would never take the initiative to speak to him—yet every time, she did the unexpected, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

After discovering her feelings for Yun Sanqi, Zhu Siyun felt that Cheng Xuege had never truly been happy. Too many people lived lives of suppression and confusion, not knowing how to control their futures, simply drifting with the tide and muddling through.

Luo Ye’s explanation was incredibly concise, yet with his intelligence, he could easily imagine the peril behind her brief words.

He truly could not swim, and he did not struggle. He simply held his breath and let himself sink, and sink again.

Deciding to take a few people to the Cultivation World, only Situ Jialan held a high official post; the others were free for a spontaneous journey. The group boarded a flying ship and departed in a grand procession.