Death… and me

Of all the thirty-six martial masters from the Golden Horse Riders Department that went to Iron Cloud, twenty six of them were now dead! The three Command Horse Riders had all been killed. As for the remaining two King level leaders, one was killed and the other one if he was unable to escape, his life would have been in jeopardy as well…

This was the biggest loss in the history of Golden Horse Riders Department's existence! Moreover, they a King level leader had died while on a mission was far more unbelievable. Cheng Yun He could imagine the reaction that Golden Horse Riders Department would have once they would have heard of this news…

When Cheng Yun He thought about the situation that he was currently in, he couldn't help but feel extremely helpless. He had been tasked to go to Iron Cloud Citadel in order to accomplish an important task but ever since he had gotten here, he immediately fell into a terrible situation without even getting a single thing done!

From the first day he arrived till now, he was continually pushed into a quagmire by Kong Shang Xin and his unsupervised actions. At this point, the situation seemed to get more and more complex with no visible means to which he would be able to solve the problem.

He frowned and walked leisurely as he muttered, "Perhaps, I have to… take a risk?"

…

Afternoon came, and Du Shi Qing had arrived. Iron Cloud Citadel was currently in such a chaos thus, Du Shi Qing naturally came with bodyguards.

Fire Saber Great Master Gao Wei Cheng and four of the guards were blocked at the front of Bu Tian Pavilion and were politely led to a hall for tea.

Upon seeing such a situation, Gao Wei Cheng said furiously, "We are acquainted with Minister Chu; did he use us to climb to the position that he currently is at Iron Cloud Citadel and forget what we have done for him? This is the action of an ungrateful and petty person."

Gao Wei Cheng's words made everyone at Bu Tian Pavilion glare at him angrily. The gazes were especially sharp from those who were wearing bandages; they hated the fact that they were not allowed to chop this frail looking, bad manner man into pieces.

"Sir, regardless of who you are, if you say one more bad word about the Minister here, we cannot guarantee that you will walk out of here alive!" Chen Yu Tong said solemnly.

Gao Wei Cheng snorted and gave a condescending face but after which he remained quiet.

At that time, Chu Yang and Du Shi Qing were sitting opposite one another in another room.

"Senior Du, I want to know, what sort of weakness do you have that Diwu Qing Rou has a hold over you?" Chu Yang slowly asked a long time after watching Du Shi Qing patch him up.

"Weakness…" Du Shi Qing's hands trembled.

"Exactly. I found it strange that given your character, you would allow Diwu Qing Rou to take advantage of you…" Chu Yang said casually, "Especially last night, His Majesty's condition coincidentally took a turn for the worse at such an opportune time for the enemies; this left me even more dumbfounded…"

"Ah…" Du Shi Qing looked up at the heavens and let out a sigh. He remained quiet and silent for a long time and finally said, "My mother, wife, and child are all with the Golden Horse Riders Department… My mother is almost eighty this year… The most infuriating thing is that my only son, who is twenty-three this year, has been brainwashed and joined the ranks of Golden Horse Riders Department! He is a Silver Horse Rider! And my daughter-in-law… is also a Silver Horse Rider of Golden Horse Riders Department…"

"My life and my family have all fallen into ruins…" Du Shi Qing sighed loudly and said with frustration, "What ability do I have? Who would be willing to live their life for the rest of the world? Although they might just be a small minority, the rest of them live for their parents and families… Although others might not need this to live, I, Du Shi Qing… cannot be like them."

Chu Yang sighed quietly.

Du Shi Qing was definitely stuck without any way out! If it had been a simple matter of his family being held hostage, it would have been far easier to deal with. All they would have needed to do was to send a few martial experts to rescue his family. While this was difficult it wasn't impossible.

However, the issue was that his son and his daughter-in-law would remain loyal to Golden Horse Riders Department… This was the root cause of the challenge. Even if he was able to rescue them, it would have been no different from rescuing two spies…

"If you don't betray him, but disappear instead… how would that be?" Chu Yang asked cautiously.

"If that is the case, they would be safe…" Du Shi Qing laughed, "But how do I just disappear? This is an issue of considerations… How could Diwu Qing Rou be easily fooled?"

"We don't necessarily not have a way." Chu Yang gently knocked on the edge of his bed and casually said, "What position does Fire Saber Great Master Gao Wei Cheng have in Golden Horse Riders Department?"

Chu Yang's remarks were certain!

Du Shi Qing smiled a bitter smile and said, "Sure enough, the truth could not be hidden from your eyes! Gao Wei Cheng is also a Golden Horse Rider. However, he is an individual who comes and goes as he pleases. While his martial arts skill might not exceptional, his ability to control fire is nothing to look down upon. Even more so, it seems that Gao Wei Cheng comes from a mysterious place and has some sort of massive backing… I am only aware of this much."

"Maybe not! Mysterious place?…" Chu Yang sneered and said, "If Gao Wei Cheng really comes from there, his status would probably very low. How could people from there be so weak? Moreover, if they did come from there, there would have been a lot of support; how would he be able to come here by himself?"

"Do you know about that place?" Du Shi Qing asked.

Chu Yang solemnly nodded and said, "All of Golden Horse Riders Department's missions are conveyed to you by Gao Wei Sheng? How about the other four guards…"

"I am not certain." Du Shi Qing smiled wryly, "I know what you want to do, but you need to be careful. The forces behind Gao Wei Cheng… you are currently not their opponent."

"If we remain careful and timid like that, it would be best if we do nothing." Chu Yang said lightly, "If we do something, even when the sky collapses, we must be able to push it back up!"

"Nothing is impossible!" Chu Yang said.

Du Shi Qing let out a deep sigh.

On the way back, Du Shi Qing sat on the carriage with a worried frown. As he thought back to Chu Yang's words, he was a little apprehensive.

He wasn't just worried about himself but about Chu Yang as well. If everything was successful, there would be nothing to worry about. However, the issue was Chu Yang's plan.. Would it be successful? Would Chu Yang also be implicated as a result of this?

Moreover, Chu Yang said something that gave Du Shi Qing the chills.

"Senior Du, if you don't treat His Majesty's condition… How many more days will he be able to hang on?"

"I am not certain about this… At best it would likely be about ten days."

"Ten days?" Chu Yang mused, "…That should be enough?"

What was Chu Yang up to?

"Senior Du, this Chu Yang is something; who does he think he is? His attitude is simply unforgivable!" Gao Wei Cheng drove the horses and carriage while fuming with anger, "In the beginning, he was so downtrodden that he came to you in the name of repaying a debt. However, in the end, he used you to get fame and advance himself up the ranks within Iron Cloud Nation."

"At that time, he even righteously said he would never join the ranks of the officials; hah! Thinking about it now, it is such a joke." Gao Wei Cheng's saliva sprayed everywhere.

"Don't say anymore…" Du Shi Qing closed his eyes and said faintly.

"Hmm, this bastard, sooner or later…" However, Gao Wei Cheng did not finish his sentence. He just kept quiet and rushed the horses, not bothering to speaking about this again.

Success was close at hand!

The road opened up, and there were soldiers on patrol in all different directions. This should have been the safest place…

"Senior Du, please help to see a sick person for a little bit." A voice softly rang out. It sounded very elegant and polite.

"Who is it?" Gao Wei Cheng turned and asked. These past few days, Du Shi Qing had seen many sick people. As time passed, Gao Wei Cheng grew used to it.

"It's me." The voice faintly responded, "Senior Du still has not said anything yet, what right does a carriage driver like you have to call out?"

Gao Wei Cheng yelled angrily, "You should be more gracious if you're asking for a doctor to see you; what kind of attitude is this?" He then jumped off from the carriage and looked around furiously.

That voice said, "What is graciousness? That I still have not learnt. However, when it comes to people who refuse to listen… killing them, I have learned."

Before those the voice finished speaking, a black saber flashed forward and formed a bolt of lightning in the air, aimed directly at Gao Wei Cheng. The moment the saber flashed, a black shadow suddenly appeared.

After that, another black shadow appeared and a sword rushed forth from the back of the carriage. With a swoosh, the sword had punctured four guards in their throats. Blood and flesh flew out in all directions. Immediately after, this person rushed into the carriage; this person's voice could be faintly heard, "Senior Du, saving a life is as urgent as putting out a fire; please come with me."

Then, boom, the carriage shattered, and a masked man in black flew out of the carriage with Du Shi Qing in one hand. After that, both legs of this masked man pushed off and flew away like a large bird. They then pushed on the roof of a nearby house and disappeared without a trace!

At this time, Gao Wei Cheng had become breathless from all the fighting with the other person in black. If he had not furiously emitted fire, his head would have fallen from his body to the ground already…

Seeing that Du Shi Qing had been taken away, Gao Wei Cheng was extremely alarmed. He flew up wanting to stop them, however, that person in black's saber techniques were extremely agile. His body essentially never touched the ground. This made Gao Wei Cheng really annoyed; he could barely pull out his arms and could only watch as Du Shi Qing was taken away.

"People… Senior Du has been captured!" Under such urgency, Gao Wei Cheng continued to scream out without caring about his own dignity.

"Is this really a Saber Great Master?" That person in black sneered, "He really makes all of the Saber Great Masters lose face!" Of course, that person in black was also a Saber Great Master.

Gao Wei Cheng's cry rang out far and wide. Soldiers began to gather from all directions.

"I originally wanted to play with you a little, but I can't believe you don't even care about your own dignity. In that case, you should not bother with keeping your life." That person in black suddenly yelled out. He pulled his saber away, and, within moments, the saber seemed to have pulled with it the air in the atmosphere, transforming the space that was around it into a vacuum!

The saber then flashed in the night, aiming right for his head!

There was nothing fancy about this move. However, it carried an awe-inspiring momentum and made people feel as if it was capable of cutting down a large mountain! Moreover, there was no hesitation and no matter what was in front of it, it would have cut and split that in two in an instant!

Gao Wei Cheng could feel the saber fiercely locking on to him. At that precise moment, even making a move with his saber was difficult. He was so terrified that his soul practically left his body and he released a sudden roar. The saber in his hands along with the five openings on his face unexpectedly shot out a raging fire!

At that moment, Gao Wei Cheng transformed himself into a flaming human!