123. Kill Each Other

In another carriage, light and shadow flickered across Mo Geyi's dignified face. His brows were furrowed deep as he stared intensely at a blood-red, feather-shaped ink pellet in his hand. The pellet was the length of a finger and incredibly thin, appearing as if it would shatter at the slightest breath.

Yet, it caused Mo Geyi’s expression to turn grim.

Outside, Ada, the driver, occasionally glanced into the carriage. He did not slow his hands, urging the carriage forward at a rapid pace until it vanished along the wide imperial road.

At midday, with the sun hanging directly overhead, Ada spoke tentatively, "Young Master Mo, there is a tea stall ahead. Would you like to rest for a while?"

Mo Geyi tucked the ink pellet away into his robes and replied coldly, "Very well, we shall rest briefly."

The tea stall was situated at a fork in the road, one path of which led directly toward Dajing. Once Mo Geyi stepped down, Ada drove the carriage into the shade of a dense forest to tether the horses.

Mo Geyi was naturally unaccustomed to the coarse tea served at the stall. He gave it a single glance before looking away. Ada then asked the waiter for a pot of clear water, pouring a cup for Mo Geyi to make do.

Ada sipped some water and asked, "Young Master Mo, are you truly returning just like this?"

Mo Geyi cast a light, dismissive glance at him. "Do not think I am unaware of your schemes. You wish to kill Gu Fei behind your own young master's back, yet you intend to use my hand to do it—a fine example of using someone else’s blade to commit murder!"

Upon hearing this, Ada did not deny it. He remained silent for a moment before replying, "I have never hidden my intentions from the start. Gu Fei must die; only then can my young master return to Yunli in peace."

Mo Geyi was well-versed in the intricate machinations of great families, so he was not in the least surprised that there were those in the Le household, far away in Yunli, who sought Gu Fei's life.

If there was any blame to be cast, it was only that she had managed to capture Le Qingbo’s heart. In the world of aristocratic families, that single fact alone was an unforgivable offense.

After finishing the cup of water, Mo Geyi seemed to recall something. He stood up, smoothed his robes, and said to Ada, "Let us move. We must return early..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, his peripheral vision caught a flash of lake-green moving past his sight like a shooting star.

He turned his head and saw, in the nearby forest, Gu Fei sitting in a wheelchair. She looked at him with a piercing, shallow smile, gazing down from above as if he were nothing more than an ant.

Ada followed his gaze and also spotted Gu Fei. His pupils constricted suddenly, and he immediately said, "Young Master Mo, wait a moment. I shall return shortly."

His words were filled with undisguised killing intent.

Mo Geyi curled his lips slowly, an intrigued light dancing in his eyes. He suddenly asked, "What is the skill level of the people by her side? Are you certain you can protect yourself even if you are outmatched?"

Ada thought of the burly man who looked like an iron tower. "It is manageable. As far as I know, the old nursemaid by her side is still suffering from severe, unhealed wounds. The young girl is not worth fearing, and the other man is no match for me."

Mo Geyi narrowed his eyes, a cruel, mercurial coldness flashing across his face. "Go. Follow her. I wish to see what kind of tricks she intends to play!"

Before the words had even faded, he strode toward her.

Seeing Mo Geyi take the bait, Gu Fei waved her hand slightly. The Nightingale behind her carefully pulled the wheelchair to a flat, stable patch of ground.

Gu Fei folded her hands and placed them on her lap. She lowered her head slightly to look at the patterns on her skirt. The faint, upturned corners of her mouth and the shadows cast upon her pale, sunless face made her look as peaceful and beautiful as an ink wash painting.

However—

"Hmph, you certainly are quick to rush to your death," Mo Geyi said as he approached, his words devoid of any kindness.

A twilight-like hue flickered through Gu Fei’s dark pupils. When she raised her eyes again, she was all smiles. "Naturally, I am quick. If I were not, how could I have sent you on your way, Brother Mo?"

A sense of foreboding rose in Mo Geyi’s heart. He scanned the area, noting that besides the burly man and the young girl he had expected, and the maidservant who had been pushing her wheelchair, there was no one else in the entire forest.

He could not tell if Gu Fei was being audacious or if there was something strange afoot.

Guessing what Mo Geyi was thinking, the smile on Gu Fei’s lips grew even brighter, but in the blink of an eye, her gaze became as sharp as a blade. "Driven by the letter from Dajing, running back like a stray dog—how does it feel? My ever-clever Brother Geyi, have you still not figured out what is going on?"

Mo Geyi’s expression stiffened. He instinctively touched the blood-red ink pellet in his robe while his mind raced, attempting to glean more information from Gu Fei’s cryptic remarks.

"Oh?" Gu Fei arched her delicate brows. "Could it be that the clan has sent you the Feathered Blood Ink?"

She let out a laugh, her almond eyes curving like crescent moons. "The Feathered Blood Ink... I wonder, Brother Geyi, if you will still be able to hold onto your position as the first-born son when you return this time. After all, the Mo family of Dajing has no shortage of talented individuals."

Mo Geyi’s face turned even uglier. He had not expected Gu Fei to know about the Feathered Blood Ink.

The Mo family of Dajing had a history spanning over two hundred years, and they had always adhered to a set of rules left by their ancestors. Among these, the most severe form of punishment was the Blood Ink within the Feathered Ink.

The last time the Feathered Blood Ink had appeared was fifty years ago. The recipient of that ink not only fell from their high position as a genius but was eventually expelled from the family, forced to live as a beggar until they could no longer bear the poverty and took their own life.

He did not know what he had done wrong to suddenly receive the family's Feathered Blood Ink.

Clearly, Gu Fei knew.

"Was this all your doing?" he asked, word by word.

Gu Fei retracted her smile, her expression filled with malice and hatred. "Collusion with the enemy and treason—I wonder if such a charge is enough for the Dajing Mo family to sacrifice a pawn to save the rook."

She spoke with effortless nonchalance, but to Mo Geyi, it sounded like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

Countless flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder echoed in his mind. In an instant, the darkness was shattered, and he realized that the barbarian woman he had failed to capture several times in Yizhou had become the key to the entire affair.

Though he did not know the specifics, he understood that he was truly in grave danger this time.

"Good, good, good," he repeated the word three times. His face was ashen, twisted into a hideous grimace. "This strategy of pulling the firewood from under the cauldron is truly ingenious. One strike is enough to ensure I can never recover. Mo Fei, you are truly a natural-born viper. I should let Le Qingbo see your viciousness with his own eyes."

"Hmph," Gu Fei gave a cold snort. "I am flattered, but I believe I am still not a match for the two of you. For the hatred of insulting my brother and the pain of having my legs crippled, I will ensure that you pay a price you can never settle in this lifetime!"

Mo Geyi was trembling with rage. All traces of the refined young master had vanished; he looked like a beast trapped in a desperate corner. With a roar of near-despair, he pointed at Gu Fei and commanded, "At any cost, kill her! Kill her! Kill her!"

Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

The endless echoes reverberated through the forest. A wind blew past, accompanied by the rustling of leaves. Ada stomped his foot, the brass knuckles on his fingers clattering, and he charged toward Gu Fei.

"Well-timed!" You Er shouted, his burly frame shaking. He kicked off the ground and, like an arrow released from a bow, blocked Gu Fei, raising his palms to meet the attack.

Bai Lu was not to be outdone. She swung her long spear in a circle, let out a sharp cry, and flanked Ada on the left and right alongside You Er.

The three were locked in combat instantly, evenly matched.

Mo Geyi walked slowly toward Gu Fei. His graphite-colored robes rippled like water. He looked at her without blinking, his gaze as deep as a pool of blue water, as if he intended to drown her. "You brought this upon yourself. If you hadn't, I might have let you live a while longer..."

"What are you doing?" Nightingale stepped forward, arms spread wide, blocking Gu Fei like a mother hen shielding her chicks.

Gu Fei’s eyes flickered. She remained silent, her fingertips habitually rubbing against the armrest, her rhythm unbroken.

Mo Geyi did not even glance at Nightingale. As he reached them, he swung his hand with force, knocking Nightingale aside. She slammed into a nearby tree and immediately lost consciousness.

At that moment, Gu Fei’s expression turned slightly colder. She reached up to touch the hairpin in her dark hair.

The black gold obsidian fox hairpin shone brilliantly in her hair, and the two narrow, red eyes of the little fox appeared exceptionally eerie.

She smiled. "Why? Are you truly going to kill me?"

Mo Geyi was half a step away from Gu Fei. He reached out slowly, gripping both armrests of the wheelchair, casting his shadow over her. He leaned in, staring into her eyes, and said, "Yes. I can no longer tolerate you. It was a grave mistake that Qing Ge did not kill you that day. I wanted to kill you the moment I arrived in Yizhou, but that barbarian interfered. There was no good opportunity afterward, but now that you have delivered yourself to my doorstep, there is no reason to let you escape again."

He paused, then applied pressure, actually lifting the entire wheelchair slightly. "I want to see who can save you this time!"

Gu Fei smiled lightly. She glanced to the side; Bai Lu had seen her situation but was tied up and had even been struck by a punch, unable to rise from the ground for a long time. You Er was also unable to come to her rescue.

Yet, she was not afraid in the slightest, as if life and death were no different than opening and closing one's eyes. She also reached out, her slender, delicate fingers—though seemingly fragile—gripping Mo Geyi’s arms with equal intensity.

"Death? I have long been a person of no consequence. If I can take a first-born son of a century-old family like you with me to the grave, it would be a bargain." Even as she said this, she was still smiling, her eyes cool and collected, devoid of any panic.

Mo Geyi felt a surge of uncertainty. At this moment, he suddenly felt that the woman before him was a madwoman—a madwoman who did not even fear death.

"No, how could I die with you? You were born a lowly maid, how can you compare to me!" he shouted, using all his strength to shove the wheelchair over, intending to slam Gu Fei into the large tree and kill her.

Gu Fei laughed like a silver bell. The moment she felt Mo Geyi move, she leaned forward, swiftly and ruthlessly throwing herself into his arms, her rounded nails digging into the flesh of his arms through his clothes.

With a loud "thud," the wheelchair was smashed into pieces.

Gu Fei hung onto Mo Geyi, and as he lost his footing, she pressed her weight downward. In that instant, her small, frail body erupted with strength comparable to a man’s, dragging him down to the ground with her.

She had calculated the move, and even as they fell, she ensured Mo Geyi acted as her cushion. "Neither you nor your sister has died yet, so how could I dare to die first!"

She spoke with hatred, the resentment that had been burning like molten lava in her chest finally erupting. Since fleeing Dajing, she had suppressed her ferocity, but it now burst forth.

The humiliation of her brother, the pain of her severed legs, the tragic death of her parents, the deception and betrayal...

The injustice and hatred brought by all these hardships made her almond eyes red as blood. She pressed down hard on Mo Geyi, pulling the black gold obsidian fox hairpin from her hair. Her tresses cascaded down like lush waterweeds; she transformed into a vengeful spirit crawling out from the abyss of hell.

"No! You deserve to die!" The pain of his spine hitting the ground brought Mo Geyi to his senses. He broke free from Gu Fei’s grip, his hands lunging forward to clamp down on her porcelain-white, delicate neck. "You are the one who deserves to die! Lowly bloodline, yet possessing the talent of a genius—for that alone, you should have died long ago!"

He roared with all his might, his hands tightening further, making it impossible for Gu Fei to breathe as her face began to flush with red.