by Mars Gravity
The snow colored silk sleeve covering his left arm was fine, but over his right arm… there wasn’t a sleeve present. Indeed, there was only a fresh tear.
“！@#￥%…” Countless curses ran through Yun Che’s mind.
As soon as he saw the sleeve, he had realized that it was indeed his… however, it had absolutely not been torn off by Mu Hanyi. It became clear that someone else had managed to tear it off from his body… and they had done it whilst remaining completely undetected!
This was hundreds of times harder than silently killing him!
Yun Che’s heartbeat began to beat faster as he sucked in a breath of cold air through his teeth.
It was clear that the person who had managed to silently whisk away Mu Hanyi’s corpse from right beneath his nose was the same person who tore off the silk sleeve over his right arm… who was this terrifying person who was hiding within the shadows, and why were they doing what they were doing?
To have Mu Hanyi’s corpse be discovered so quickly so that everyone’s suspicion was directed towards him, and to then use the sleeve as irrefutable evidence, it was clear that the person wished to “frame” him. However, if the person had truly wanted to harm him, then they would have already taken his life with their terrifying power which caused him to shudder. He would have been deader than dead without the slightest trace left behind… so why would they go to so much trouble!?
The sleeve held within Mu Hanyi’s hand and the tear on Yun Che’s snow colored clothes caused the entire courtyard to abruptly become silent as everyone made the clear connection. No one dared to speak. As for Situ Xiongyang, who had been so full of joy, his face immediately stiffened. Mu Xiaolan’s pupils expanded as she stared onwards and fell into shock and panic.
“Young Yun…” Feng Huita retrieved the piece of cloth from Elder Yan, his hands and voice both violently trembling as he said, “You are the direct disciple of a Great Realm King. Your status is extremely revered and unparalleled. My Ice Wind views you as a guest of honor, and didn’t dare to even slightly neglect you in your treatment. Hanyi treated you even more respectfully, and when spoke of you, it was always full of praise…
“Where did my Ice Wind offend you!! What kind of unforgivable mistake did my Hanyi make!? For you to kill him so decisively!!”
At first, Feng Huita’s voice was still quite restrained, but towards the end, he couldn’t help as he began to hoarsely scream.
When he was calm, he naturally didn’t dare act so disrespectfully towards Yun Che… but faced with the death of his most cherished son and the disappearance of his country’s halidom from right under his nose, he had completely lost his reason.
In fact, it was not completely impossible that he, in his current state of fury, grief, and depression, would directly attempt to kill Yun Che. Although the consequences of such an action would be incredibly tragic and likely to result in the complete destruction of the Ice Wind Empire, he would still be able to die a happy father.
If Feng Huita were to truly lose control out of anger and choose the latter option, then it was likely that the guests present in the courtyard would also be implicated. This caused many of the people present to feel fear. Situ Xiongyang hurriedly stepped forward as he said, “Ice Wind Emperor, please calm down first! There are a lot of flaws in this storyline. Don’t forget that it is impossible of Young Yun to kill Prince Hanyi with his current strength. As for the sleeve, if it was torn off, how could Young Yun himself not be aware of it? Furthermore, if Prince Hanyi had the strength to tear off the sleeve, why didn’t he try and shout for help? Also, it is only the sleeve of the right arm, and…”
“Shut up!!”
Situ Xiongyang’s voice was interrupted by an extremely hoarse roar as an incredibly terrifying and fierce-looking expression emerged on Feng Huita face. “Just because he is the Great Realm King’s direct disciple, he can kill whoever he wants!? Just because of his status, you all are willing to forgo the most basic morals and laws!?”
Feng Huita’s current terrifying state caused Situ Xiongyang to quickly withdraw and not dare to speak another word.
“It’s ok, you need not defend me anymore.” Now that the matter had reached this point, Yun Che had actually calmed down as he indifferently said, “I shall generously confess. Mu Hanyi was indeed killed by me!”
His words shocked everyone as stunned expressions emerged on everyone’s faces. Even with the irrefutable evidence, it was still a completely different matter for him to personally confess by himself.
“Yun Che…” Feng Huita took a step forward as he reached out with shaking fingers, “We are no fool. From the very start, we felt like something was wrong… it was only a minor matter of this one’s birthday, how could it qualify to have the Great Realm King send her congratulations. So… so originally… so originally it was to take my Ice Wind’s halidom!”
“Ha, hahahaha…” Feng Huita cackled manically, but his laughs were not ones of joy, but ones of misery. “If the Great Realm King had just said it, or if even you had just said it, then, even though it is our halidom, our country would not dare to not give it to you. We wouldn’t have the qualification to deny the request. Hanyi secretly brought you into the treasury because he knew that we would have the same thoughts and was afraid of us being embarrassed. That is why he did it himself… but you! You received the halidom, but why did you have to go and kill Hanyi! Why!”
“Give this one a reason!”
“A reason!”
“Royal Father!” Feng Hange hurriedly moved to hold up his father. Feng Huita was currently breathing extremely heavily, his body on the brink of collapsing, The aura surrounding his body had become unbelievably chaotic. If he suddenly attacked Yun Che, no one would have been surprised.
“Yun Che… wha… what’s going on?” Mu Xiaolan terrifiedly stood next to Yun Che. With Yun Che’s status, he was indeed able to go wherever he wanted in the Snow Song Realm. But right now, they were isolated and powerless in the home base of the enemy. Moreover, Feng Huita had already completely lost control of his emotions.
In comparison to the completely crazed Feng Huita, Yun Che was calm as he sneered, “Since you want to know so badly, then I shall tell you! I just hope that once you know… you won’t regret it!”
Chapter 1031: Returning to the Sect
Yun Che casually picked up a tiny, delicate-looking jadestone between his fingers upon saying this. Profound light seemed to be swimming across the jadestone’s surface.
“A Profound Imagery Stone!?” The surrounding people immediately recognized the item in his hand, “It can’t be…”
“Hmph. Take a look with your own eyes, Feng Huita!”
Yun Che let out a cold snort and moved his fingers. The Profound Imagery Stone was tossed to the ground in the blink of an eye, activating its internal profound formation the second it hit the ground. Crystal clear profound light and sound appeared above the stone.
The first image displayed by the Profound Image Stone was Mu Hanyi. However, the sinister expression on his face was so foreign to everyone present, except Yun Che, that it was bordering on impossible. His voice in particular was brimming with unheard of savagery.
“…I’ll personally offer the Qilin horn to Master. But you won’t be there to see that moment, because you… will be dying here very soon!”
The image displayed by the Profound Imagery Stone couldn’t be faked. Feng Huita didn’t dare to believe his eyes and ears as coldness flushed through his entire body.
“What did you say? You… you want to kill me? You dare kill me!?”
“No, no, no, how could I dare do such a thing?! Senior Brother Yun Che is a direct disciple of the sect master after all. I wouldn’t dare harm a hair of yours, even if I had guts big as heaven. Naturally, you won’t be killed by me but… by unfortunately triggering a mechanism here while vainly attempting to steal the Qilin horn!”
“Don’t be nervous, Senior Brother Yun Che… I’ll cover up the whole incident very w
ell. Even if the sect master were to personally come here, it’d be definitely impossible to figure out anything wrong with my story. You can wholeheartedly trust me on that.”
……………………
The atmosphere of the scene changed yet again. Enormous shock filled everyone’s face this time. Mu Hanyi’s appearance, Mu Hanyi’s words… everyone could see and hear that Mu Hanyi had purposely lured Yun Che into the treasury to scheme for an opportunity to kill him!
The sin and gall that were Mu Hanyi’s attempt to murder the direct disciple of a Great Realm King were literally indescribable.
Feng Huita’s anger and sadness had vanished completely. Every inch of his skin and flesh were trembling with fear and only fear. He wobbled and landed heavily on the ground, eyes trembling so palpably that they threatened to jump out of his sockets, “No… no… no… impossible… this can’t be true… this can’t be true…”
Just a moment ago, he was screaming at Yun Che with righteous fury… but now? If Mu Hanyi really did conspire to kill Yun Che first, then forget a violent death, he could die thousands or tens of thousands times and still not atone for his crimes.
Feng Hange knelt on his knees with perfectly blank pupils. He looked like he was frozen in ice. He actually fared better than Feng Huita in face of this revelation. After all, he could still remember what Mu Hanyi told him before nightfall. He remembered that line that nearly made his heart jump out of his chest clearly even now.
The image playing on the Profound Imagery Stone hadn’t ended yet.
“You… have you gone crazy!?” This was Yun Che’s voice, “I-I’m in your Ice Wind Empire at present. Even if Master truly believed that I was killed by some mechanism, given her temper… she would put an end to the lives of you all in anger.”
“Oh! You’re right, extremely right.” Mu Hanyi was nodding and smiling nonchalantly, “Even if you died in the process of trying to steal the halidom of our Ice Wind Empire, it’d be completely normal if Sect Master razed the entire imperial city to the ground in anger… But even if Ice Wind Empire were to be eradicated, Sect Master wouldn’t kill me for sure!!”
………………
“So long as I can succeed, what does it matter even if the entire Ice Wind Empire is drowned in the flames of wrath and exterminated?”
………………
“…You, yourself, threw off your guards and no one knows where you have gone or who are with. As for me, I exited through a secret passage within the palace. This means that no one knows I have left the palace. Thus, everyone will believe that during the critical moments of your death after ‘breaking into’ the treasury, I was sleeping calmly in the palace.”
“I have even helped you think of how you entered. Only… I will need to sacrifice my poor royal sister.”
“Enough… enough!!”
Feng Huita finally lost all sense of composure entirely and screamed as he pounced towards the Profound Imagery Stone. He gathered an utterly chaotic ball of aura and smashed it against the stone, causing it to shatter and vanish instantly in a wink of profound light.
Dead silence sat heavily atop everyone’s heads. Feng Huita’s heavy panting was the only sound that could be heard in the scene. Beside Yun Che, Mu Xiaolan had fallen into a state of absolute shock as she stood there feeling like she was floating inside a dream. On the other side, Feng Hanjin had turned deathly pale a long time ago. The final, lingering voice, that came out of the Profound Imagery Stone caused her to sink weakly to her knees. She hugged her shoulders and and shuddered non stop.
To Mu Xiaolan, Mu Hanyi was the senior brother she respected the most out of all others.
To Feng Hanjin, Mu Hanyi was the elder brother she admired the most.
To Feng Huita, Mu Hanyi was his proudest son…
No one present at the scene would have thought less of him even if he failed to become the Great Realm King’s direct disciple. He still would’ve been the unparalleled proud son of heaven in the Snow Song Realm…
Who could’ve imagined that this exceptional noble son, who was damn near perfect in every aspect, would be such a treacherous, vicious and ruthless character? Who would’ve known that he was a person who would conspire to murder Yun Che, sacrifice his mother country and murder his own sister for the mere possibility of becoming the direct disciple of a Great Realm King?
Yun Che didn’t stop Feng Huita from destroying the Profound Imagery Stone. With lowered brows, he said in a cold tone, “You insisted on knowing my reason, did you not? Are you satisfied with the answer I gave you?”
The paralyzed Feng Huita actually didn’t respond to Yun Che’s words at all. He looked like he had lost his soul.
“He wanted to kill me but I was the one who killed him instead. That is all,” Yun Che frowned deeply, “If my master were to learn that Mu Hanyi tried to kill me, she may very well unleash her fury on the entire Ice Wind Empire, considering her kind of temper. At the very least, the imperial family wouldn’t escape unscathed.”
This time Yun Che’s words caused Feng Huita to tremble once like a leaf. In fact, great shock and fear erupted in the pupils of every royal member present at the scene… they knew all too well that Yun Che’s words were no idle threats.
“That is why I was prepared to keep all this under wraps. After all, it was Mu Hanyi and Mu Hanyi only who tried to kill me for his ambition. There was no reason for everyone else to be ruined alongside him.” Yun Che’s eyes turned chilly, “But you just had to be forceful, don’t you? Hmph! Well, your wish is granted now!”
Feng Huita abruptly returned to himself and crawled his way to Yun Che while covered in tears, “This little king is a blind man and a fool. This little king had no idea that he raised such a treacherous animal… It was this little king who misjudged your kindly favor, it is this little king who deserve to be dead… I beg… I beg you, Young Yun, I beg that you don’t tell this to the Great Realm King. This… This little king will forever remember the great kindness you showed us…”
The loss of his son, dread, shock, regret, hatred, and terror… Feng Huita felt like he was submerged in hell right now. Regret filled his mind and pain made him wish that he was dead. If the Profound Imagery Stone hadn’t displayed his son’s true form before his eyes, he would have rather died than believe that his proudest son was a person of such monstrous ambition and heart…
Everyone says that nobody understands one’s son better than his own father, much less a father who was the emperor of a nation. But it was only now, in pain and grief that he realized he never understood his son at all.
Worse, the price of this revelation might be the lives of the entire Ice Wind Imperial Family.
“It’s too late,” Yun Che swept a cold glance across everyone’s faces, “Do you really think it’s possible to be keep this under wraps at this point?”
Feng Huita froze for a second before his head sank like a rock. His face looked as dead as ash. They were not the only ones who were present at the great hall. There were also many guests of great status who had came to offer their birthday congratulations. Even if they managed to get everyone to swear an oath of death to keep this revelation a secret, the news that Mu Hanyi had tried to murder the Great Realm King’s direct disciple would still spread throughout the country in no time at all.
After all, the only people in the world who could truly hold a secret are the dead.
“There is no need to look so pessimistic, king of Ice Wind,” Yun Che said indifferently with a side glance. “Eliminating your royal household may take nothing more than a flick of the finger for my master but she is not a cruel or unreasonable person who commits careless atrocities. I will report everything to my master and explain that Mu Hanyi was the only person who was at fault here. In any case, I am wholly uninjured, am I not? Since I am fine, maybe my master would think it too troublesome to punish you lot. Also… I shall gift that halidom of yours to my master. She may feel even less inclined to look into this matter if she can feel y
our sincerity.”
Feng Huita abruptly looked up from the ground. His pale white face finally regained some color as he nodded in a hurry, “Young Yun, your great favor… t-t-this little king can never repay it… beg… I beg that you speak in our favor before the Great Realm King. With the sun and moon as witness, this little king swears that his loyalty to the Great Realm King is absolutely impeccable… The Ice Wind Empire shall die ten thousand times if you demand it, Young Yun…”
Feng Huita’s speech was utterly incoherent under the makings of fear, agitation, and shock at this point.
“In that case, the halidom…”
Feng Huita immediately kowtowed before Yun Che, “Please… please gift the halidom to the Great Realm King, Young Yun. If the halidom manages to appease the Great Realm King, then it is its fortune to make. This little king will only be infinitely cheered by this outcome.”
“That is for the best.”
Yun Che nodded and turned around immediately, “If there is nothing else, it is time I head back to my room and get some rest. I will return to the sect immediately, tomorrow morning. You don’t need to send me off.”
Yun Che leaped into the air and flew straight towards the Ice Maiden Palace before anyone could say anything.
The Ice Wind Palace was destined to be tumultuous tonight. Yun Che didn’t care how the Ice Wind Imperial Family was going to deal with the aftermath at all because he had already achieved the goal of his trip. Despite some difficulties, the speed at which he fulfilled his objective was far faster than he initially imagined.
After he was far away from the Ice Wind Great Hall, Yun Che’s face slowly relaxed. He then let out a sigh, “Master is correct; fairness doesn’t exist in this world. There is only the law of the jungle. Sigh.”
“Even now, I am just borrowing my master’s might,” Yun Che smiled self derisively before vanishing into the night.