Stranger Danger

Chapter 464: Can’t Go Back

“Your Highness, please stop! Come back!”

Grandpa Wasp and Granny Ghost turned as pale as a sheet when they saw Chu Qingge walking toward Ye Qing.

Chu Qingge wasn’t deterred, however. She assured them, “It will be fine,” before resuming her walk toward Ye Qing.

Ye Qing smiled. He never attacked her even as she got closer and closer. A moment later, he began, “I didn’t think you would catch up to me first... unless you’re the one who saw through my escape plan?”

“It was me,” Chu Qingge confirmed as she stopped three steps away from Ye Qing. Her expression was calm, and her eyes looked as clear as a mirror.

... No, there was something lurking behind those clear eyes. A hint of an indescribable, indecipherable emotion, like white clouds and invisible wind stirring what was a perfectly blue sky.

A cloud didn’t understand the meaning of sorrow, and the wind was everchanging.

“Why?” Chu Qingge asked.

“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t do it?” Ye Qing didn’t answer immediately.

“I would.” Chu Qingge fell silent for a moment. “So, did you do it?”

I believe you didn’t do it, but did you do it?

Did you betray my trust?

“It wasn’t me,” Ye Qing declared. “Or rather, I did kill your brother, but I wasn’t myself at the time. I was set up.”

“You may not know this, but about two weeks ago, I nearly died inside the Corpse Ship. Someone had purposely led me to the Anomaly so it would kill me, and that person had disguised himself as a waiter of Wine Are Songs Boat. That is why Lord Hong had the place shut down.”

“A few days ago, I almost died again because Zhao Lan somehow consumed the Hanba’s blood essence and temporarily gained the power of a Half-Step Grandmaster. But according to Lord Hong’s investigation, Zhao Lan never had the Hanba’s blood essence until someone gave it to him a day before our match. Clearly, the same person tried to have me killed through Zhao Lan.”

“I survived both assassination attempts only because I was incredibly lucky. This time though... my luck finally ran out.”

Rare shock crept onto Chu Qingge’s face. “Do you know who this killer is?”

Ye Qing shook his head bitterly. “No.”

There were just too many people who wanted to see him dead.

Chu Qingge stayed quiet for a moment. “I trust you, so please come back with me. I promise I will right the wrongs that have been done to you, and give my father and my brother the proper closure they deserve.”

A sardonic smirk crossed his lips. “I’m sorry, Qingge. I can’t go with you.”

Chu Qingge asked slowly, “... You don’t believe me?”

“Not at all. I trust you more than most.” Ye Qing began slowly, “But would Zhou Hengshan believe you? Would the Harmony King believe you? Would the imperial court believe you?”

“Besides, I just killed several hundred people including Duan Zipao to escape. Zhou Hengshan would never let this go, and I doubt that the imperial court could overlook such a challenge to their authority either. More importantly, the mastermind behind all this would never stop until I’m dead.”

“If I go back with you, I will die. I would also be dragging you into my mess.”

“I wish it wouldn’t turn out this way, but... I can’t go back anymore.”

Chu Qingge fell silent. She knew that Ye Qing was speaking the truth, and the truth was often harsh and unchangeable.

“That’s why you must run,” Chu Qingge said.

“Yes,” Ye Qing admitted. “I can neither prove my innocence nor give you the proper answer you seek if I’m dead. So I must run.”

“Will you place your trust in me, Qingge? Will you give me the time I need to give you and your family the answer and closure you deserve?”

Chu Qingge stared at him with a complicated expression on her face. “Is this why you stayed behind when you should be focusing on escaping Tian Yong? To tell me all this?”

Ye Qing nodded. “I believe that both you and the Harmony King deserve to know what’s going on—and when the time comes, receive the answers and closure you deserve.”

“Okay. I believe you,” Chu Qingge replied. “I believe you will give me a proper answer.”

“Thank you... for believing in me.”

It was like an invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders. When Ye Qing smiled again, it was far brighter and carefree than before.

Rumble!

It was at this moment a thunderclap erupted from the distance. The wind howled, and black clouds rolled in with surprising speed and blotted out the clear, sunny sky in just a few breaths.

A giant hand emerged from the dark clouds. It was like a god had decided to descend judgment upon the sinner. Ye Qing felt as tiny and powerless as an ant as the giant hand moved straight toward him.

“General Zhou, stop!”

A shocked and furious cry cut through the air, followed by a sword beam that pierced through the heavens. The sword beam was bright yellow in color and exuded great nobility. It was also overbearing and brimming with power as if the Son of Heaven himself had arrived.

The sword beam struck the giant hand in full force, but it was unable to stop its descent in the slightest. A moment later, it disintegrated into nothing.

All the while, the giant hand continued to fall toward Ye Qing, unstoppable and inescapable.

Despite this, Ye Qing remained calm and collected. It was almost as if he couldn’t perceive the attack.

It was at this moment a draconic roar filled the sky. The world shook as a golden dragon descended from above, crushed the storm of black clouds, and slammed head first into the giant hand.

The sword beam had failed to slow the giant hand a little, but the golden dragon was able to smash it into pieces. The scattering force whipped across the landscape like a gale and returned sunlight back to the world once more.

The next moment, three people appeared at the rivershore at the same time. The first one was a stout and angry man brimming with bloodthirst. He was Zhou Hengshan.

The second person was a man wearing a golden robe and a golden mask. He was Chu Hao.

And the third person was a tall and muscular man whose very presence screamed indomitable power. He was Hong Jianglong.

The second Zhou Hengshan appeared, he immediately pounced toward Ye Qing at top speed. His jump caused the origin qi in the air to quiver, and the earth to shake like an earthquake.

Unfortunately for him, Hong Jianglong moved faster and blocked directly in front of his path. As if on cue, they both took half a step to the side and locked shoulders with each other.

Bang!

The golden dragon swimming around Hong Jianglong’s body disintegrated, and the ground behind him undulated unnaturally like a tidal wave.

Zhou Hengshan stumbled backward three steps before he managed to catch himself, and each time he took a step, his fat would shake like crazy, and the ground beneath his feet would crumble into dust.

“What is the meaning of this, Hong Jianglong? Are you trying to defend the killer?” Zhou Hengshan glared at Hong Jianglong hatefully.

“It is still too early to decide if Ye Qing is the killer.” Hong Jianglong inhaled an insane amount of air into his abdomen and returned to peak strength in an instant. “Also, Her Highness is standing next to Ye Qing. Are you trying to kill her as well?”

“Are you trying to kill our princess, General Zhou?” said Chu Hao in an unfriendly voice while glaring at Zhou Hengshan. Thank the heavens that Hong Jianglong was here, or he could only imagine the consequences that would follow.

“You misunderstand, Commander Chu.”

Zhou Hengshan shifted his glare to Ye Qing. “I simply lost my cool when I saw the bastard who killed my battalion commander and my men right in front of me. It’s my mistake, and I promise that I will pay the Harmony King a visit and apologize to him later. But right now, we should kill this bastard and take revenge for the prince first.”

“You don’t have the power to decide if Ye Qing is the one who killed the prince,” Hong Jianglong said disdainfully. “Also, you seem to be in a little too much hurry to kill Ye Qing. Are you sure you don’t have a confession to make?”

“What the hell are you talking about? First, there are dozens, maybe even a hundred witnesses who saw Ye Qing killing the prince with their own eyes. Second, the bastard killed my men and my battalion commander. To say that his crimes are unforgivable would be an understatement!”

Right now, Zhou Hengshan was so angry that his body fat was quivering non-stop like the tide. It wasn’t an act. He truly hated Ye Qing to the bone.

When he first heard about the incident, he thought it was an opportunity to kick the Pacification Bureau down a notch and regain some of the face he lost to Hong Jianglong earlier. He thought for sure that everything would go smoothly without a hitch. Instead, he lost several hundred soldiers and even his Leopard Commander to Ye Qing.

This was bad enough, but the damage this failure would do to his reputation was worse. He would become the first general ever to lose his battalion commander and hundreds of soldiers to a single jianghu warrior in recent history. Unless he somehow covered up for this failure with a greater achievement—which was nearly impossible to do during peacetime—he would be remembered his whole life as a joke. He might never be able to stand tall in the imperial court or the jianghu again.

As a general, he was naturally thick-skinned. However, there was a difference between ignoring the occasional barbs and having your worst mistake being laughed at your whole life.

So yes, he absolutely wanted to tear Ye Qing from limb to limb. He wanted to scatter his ashes so he might never be reborn. If he could somehow implicate Hong Jianglong for Ye Qing’s crimes and ruin his life as well, then even better.

“Why are you defending this reprehensible criminal, Hong Jianglong? Are you really going to break the law?”