Chapter 167: Capturing the Enemy

Mu Yulin drew the Hundred-Slaying Battle Saber, a weapon habitually used by the patriarch of the Wu family. The blade's surface gleamed with a blood-red intensity, as if dripping with fresh gore.

Yu Youwei's Qingshuang Sword was of an excessively high grade; apart from this saber, none of the magical artifacts in his storage bracelet could withstand its power.

The moment the blade cleared its sheath, a fierce and murderous aura surged forth, laden with a thick, cloying stench of blood. Anyone with a lesser cultivation realm would have been crushed flat beneath this overwhelming pressure. Had they not been at the bottom of the First Line Cliff, protected by a formation barrier, he would never have dared to expose this weapon. The noses of those old monsters in the imperial capital were sharper than hounds'; once they sensed the abnormal blade-aura, he would find it impossible to escape.

Once the Hundred-Slaying Battle Saber was unsheathed, his offensive rolled on like torrential rivers, continuous and unending. Before one strike had finished, the next arrived. The saber momentum accumulated, doubling its power—it was a simplified version of the Wu family's saber technique, the "Thousand-Fold Slaughter."

Relying on medicinal pills to boost his strength, Mu Yulin needed to end the battle quickly, putting his absolute all into every single slash. The compounding momentum made each strike fiercer than the last, as if he were being replenished by an inexhaustible reservoir of power, filling him with a mounting, manic excitement.

Fearing that this short-tempered fellow might genuinely destroy her cousin's physical body, Yu Youwei had continuously suppressed the Crimson Flame Sword Spirit and refrained from deploying the Crimson Flame Sword, relying solely on the Qingshuang Sword to parry.

Amidst the clashing of metal, sparks burst in dazzling clusters across the blade and sword edges. Mu Yulin grew genuinely anxious that the Hundred-Slaying Battle Saber might be ruined, and coupled with his inability to sustain a prolonged fight, he let out a roar and spewed a mouthful of vital essence blood. Resorting to a blood-sacrificial rite, he forcefully elevated the saber's might once more.

"Idiot! If you don't use the Crimson Flame Sword now, the Qingshuang Sword is going to be destroyed!"

The white bear's sarcastic and shrill cry rang in her ears. Subconsciously, Yu Youwei revoked her suppression of the Crimson Flame Sword Spirit. The bracelet-like Crimson Flame Sword on her wrist sprang up, transforming into a streak of sword light that shot forward.

Within the span of a single breath, thousands of rays of light erupted from the Crimson Flame Sword, striking the Hundred-Slaying Battle Saber like a torrential storm and driving rain. With a crisp snap, the treasure-grade Hundred-Slaying Battle Saber broke, losing a section half a foot long.

The sword movement was so blindingly swift that the thousands of sword rays seemed to merge into a single strike. In Mu Yulin's eyes, Yu Youwei had severed the Hundred-Slaying Battle Saber with one simple slash. This was utterly unbelievable! He forgot even to dodge as the Crimson Flame Sword pierced his right chest and burst out from his back.

"This is impossible!" Roaring aloud and vomiting a mouthful of fresh blood, Mu Yulin was kicked flying by Yu Youwei. He slammed into the rock wall, rebounded, and crashed heavily to the ground.

With the battle concluded, the white bear leaped out from its hiding place, scurried over to Yu Youwei, and unceremoniously lectured her, "I truly have no idea what is packed inside your head! How could you commit such a low-level error? The Qingshuang Sword is primarily defensive, while the Crimson Flame Sword is primarily offensive. Yet you insisted on saving the Crimson Flame Sword and used the Qingshuang Sword to go head-to-head with that chopping knife. Even if you wanted to court death, this is no way to do it!"

The Crimson Flame Sword Spirit also complained, "The Qingshuang was already severely damaged. A few more clashes like that, and it would have been completely ruined!"

"I felt like it!" Yu Youwei was in no mood to listen to the complaints of these two creatures. Three words roared out of her mouth, rendering them utterly speechless. After feeding her cousin the Thousand-Day Drunk pill, she hoisted him up and headed back.

Mu Yulin had previously claimed to have captured Baili Feiyan. Upon reaching the withered vines at the exit, she was just about to have the white bear scout the situation outside when she heard Baili Feiyan shouting, "I don't care, I'm going down!" Her heart relaxed; she guessed that Mu Yulin's subordinates must have captured Baili Feiyan. Little did she know that while the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole was behind—Baili Yang had arrived subsequently, subduing them and rescuing Baili Feiyan.

Her guess diverged slightly from reality. Baili Feiyan had been caught off guard and captured, forcing her into plotting her own rescue. This woman, who never played by conventional rules, resorted to seduction. She cajoled several lecherous fellows into chatting with her so congenially that they addressed each other as "good brother" and "good sister"—a performance so convincing that Baili Yang, sneaking up close in secret, blushed on her behalf.

Just as Baili Yang's men finished dealing with Mu Yulin's subordinates, Yu Youwei emerged.

"It's so good that you're unharmed!" Baili Feiyan said with a delighted smile.

Baili Yang could not help but scold, "You still know how to worry about Youwei? Look at how chummy you were with them just now, calling them brothers and sisters! Feiyan, if this reached Father's ears, wouldn't he fly into a three-corpse rage?"

"He hates me anyway, one more thing won't make a difference." Shrugging indifferently, Baili Feiyan turned the tables and shifted the blame: "You have the nerve to lecture me? Who told you to arrive so late? If I hadn't been quick-witted enough to sweet-talk those idiots into releasing me, you'd be looking at a corpse right now."

Baili Yang was so exasperated he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Stop messing around!" Glaring at Baili Feiyan to force back whatever else she was about to say, Yu Youwei checked to ensure the others were keeping watch at a distance before lowering her voice to tell Baili Feiyan, "Help me take my cousin away, and make sure she doesn't regain consciousness." As she spoke, she traced the characters for "Seven Poisons" into Baili Feiyan's palm.

Without asking for reasons, Baili Feiyan patted her heaving bosom and made a vow, "If there is the slightest mistake, I'll bring you my head."

"This isn't a game, please take it seriously." Finished with her exasperated remark, Yu Youwei bowed to Baili Yang to express her gratitude, earnestly begged him to keep the matter a secret, and then returned alone to the imperial capital.

Heading straight into the Yu residence, Mu Yuyan was still fast asleep. Yu Youwei sat quietly on the edge of the bed, keeping vigil. In the incense burner, aloeswood incense spiraled upward, and the hanging bed curtains were permeated with the scent of the incense, yet she felt not the slightest trace of sleepiness, her eyes wide open until dawn.

The Fourth Madame Yu entered and said, "Youwei, you must return to the Ning residence. When Yuyan wakes up, I will notify you."

Slowly turning her head, Yu Youwei's eyes flashed with a fragile vulnerability. "Yuyan was implicated because of me; I want to stay and watch over her until she wakes!"

"Nonsense! This is her tribulation, she will be fine once she passes through it. What does it have to do with you? If we must speak of being implicated, the Yu family is what dragged her down. The imperial family has truly stopped at nothing in their efforts to deal with the Yu family. The Ninth Prince... very well, I will make him pay the price." Fourth Madame Yu's face was likewise contorted with rage, culminating in a flash of fierce, murderous intent.

"Even if he pays the price, it won't hold much meaning for Yuyan. Yuyan..." The normally strong Yu Youwei burst into tears, weeping uncontrollably. She failed to notice the single tear that slipped from the corner of her sleeping cousin's eye.

"Yuyan... is pregnant," Fourth Madame Yu said hesitantly.

Halting her sobs, Yu Youwei stared blankly at her stepmother.

"After you left, she complained of a stomachache, and I sent for a physician. It was discovered that she is already three months pregnant, showing signs of a miscarriage." Sighing, Fourth Madame Yu continued, "The child is over three months along, yet it has not aborted despite this. Although it would be best to terminate this pregnancy, the physician says her current condition makes an abortion risky, and if this child is lost, she will never again have the chance to be a mother. Therefore, I dared not make the decision alone."

Yu Youwei was equally at a loss and could only remain silent.

For seven days and seven nights, Mu Yuyan did not open her eyes or utter a single word. She was awake, however, cooperating fully whenever they fed her meals or medicine. Yu Youwei did not dare ask whether she knew of her own pregnancy.

When Yu Shiyu rushed back on the eighth day, his slender figure appearing at the doorway, Mu Yuyan finally opened her eyes. Gazing at him with a dazed, infatuated expression, she uttered a single sentence: "I want to keep the child."

Shiyu squeezed a single word from between his clenched teeth, followed by a long, profound silence.