Chapter Ninety-Five: Siblings United in Heart

Thick smoke billowed in the west, flames and sparks soaring high into the sky. Black chunks of sulfurous rock were blasted outward, and the acrid stench of sulfur spread at once.

“Look, the volcano’s erupting!” Xiang Cunze cried in alarm.

Yu Shiyu’s face turned livid. The teleportation array was still some distance away, and the young members of the Yu clan were already at the end of their strength. If they could not recover their power, then even with hostages in hand, the Xiang clan would not dare act rashly, and the phantom insects alone could annihilate the Yu clan completely.

“Yu Shiyu, you are a man of consequence. If you had not been arrogant enough to try to seize power from Ling Yanfeng, he would not have made things so difficult for you for the sake of Yufu Shuang. The royal house might even have had to allow the Yu clan to rise, though it would still be far short of your expectations.” Xiang Bingfeng smiled gracefully, pressing her lips lightly, then said generously, “Release my elder brother. Swear a heart-demon oath to serve me, and I can spare your lives.”

The Xiang clan youths watched with interest, none of them stepping forward to stop her. Among the geniuses of the Great Qian Dynasty, Ning Baixia ranked first and Yu Shiyu second. Though the gap between them was vast, Yu Shiyu still firmly outmatched the imperial descendants. If Xiang Bingfeng could compel Yu Shiyu’s loyalty, it would count as a welcome release of their pent-up resentment.

The eyes of the Yu clan youths reddened. A fierce, despairing roar erupted from one of them like that of a wounded beast: “Fight it out! We’ll never let Brother Shiyu be used against us!” The others roared in unison.

“Let’s go down fighting together. Even in death, we’ll drag a few with us!”

“The Xiang clan is merciless; why should we be righteous? Fight them!”

The Xiang clan youths assumed fighting stances, and battle was about to break out when Yu Shiyu suddenly barked, “Stop!”

The blazing tension fell into an eerie stillness. Both sides thought he was about to yield.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Xiang Cunze’s pale face, and he said, “As an older brother, you’ve failed miserably. Your own sister ignores whether you live or die, yet she’s convinced that for the sake of my clan brothers I’ll choose to serve a piece of trash like her. Is she stupid, or just stupid? A true man knows no mercy. You use my people to threaten me? Are you saying she thinks your death is not quick enough?”

Xiang Cunze remained silent, but the hatred on his face could not be concealed.

“Yu Shiyu, there’s no need to sow discord. My elder brother won’t fall for it.”

“He won’t lose his life?” Yu Shiyu licked his lips, and a sinister expression crept across his ashen face. “Xiang Bingfeng, you may kill my clansmen if you wish, but I will not kill your brother as you desire. I’ll castrate him instead. Anyway, he already has legitimate and illegitimate children. Whether or not he has that last little thing won’t make him childless, and it won’t stop him from wielding power. What I’m more interested in is seeing how, once he gains authority, he will cherish you, his precious younger sister.”

“Yu Shiyu, you’re despicable!” Xiang Bingfeng snapped, though now she was clearly hesitating to act rashly.

“Yu Shiyu, just how despicable do you have to be to come up with such a vicious scheme?”

A woman’s voice suddenly rang out beyond the encirclement. Even Yu Shiyu, whose schemes usually ran deep, could not help showing delight. “Ninth Sister, you’re finally here!”

Yu Youwei emerged slowly from the volcanic ash. A blue frost sword circled around her body, forming a shield of blue light. In a lazy tone that made people grind their teeth, she said, “I’ve been here a while. I originally didn’t want to interrupt you while you were swearing loyalty to a beauty, but unfortunately your wooden head just wouldn’t catch on and wasted a chance to enjoy her fragrance up close. Are you really that stupid? This Miss Xiang over here doesn’t even care about her own elder brother’s life. As long as she can win your heart, why not reluctantly agree?”

“Yu Youwei, you’re still alive!” Xiang Bingfeng said savagely, as though she had seen a vengeful ghost.

Seeing the Ning clan youths following behind his ninth sister, Yu Shiyu’s cold gaze immediately fixed on Ning Jinchun. “Not only is Ling Yanfeng colluding with the Xiang clan, he’s also colluding with Ning Jinchun. A two-pronged move to take both your life and mine.”

Ning Jinchun shouted in panic, “Yu Shiyu, you’re slandering me!”

Yu Youwei looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, until he grew uneasy beneath her stare, then said to Ning Yixuan, “Can you help me with something?”

“Please speak, Sister-in-law,” Ning Yixuan said with clasped hands.

“Ning Jinchun and I need to stay here and discuss something with these Xiang clan people. Take your men and escort the Yu clan youths ahead of us.” Seeing the difficult look on Ning Yixuan’s face, Yu Youwei smiled and said, “Don’t worry. As long as he cooperates, I’ll let him leave with all his limbs intact.”

“All right. Then catch up with us quickly.” Ning Yixuan agreed at once, calling on the Ning clan youths to help support the Yu clan members as they left. Even those who had usually been close to Ning Jinchun walked away without the slightest hesitation.

For Ning Jinchun, “leaving with all his limbs intact” was no comfort at all. Ruining his dantian or destroying his mind would still count as leaving with all his limbs intact. Escape? Not in front of Yu Youwei. He did not dare harbor even the slightest hope, and stood rigidly like a wooden post. With him like that, the Xiang clan youths were even less likely to make a move.

“Except for Ning Jinchun, kill them all,” Yu Shiyu said with a smile. Yet there was something mad in that smile that made hearts tremble.

Xiang Bingfeng lost some control and shouted, “If you dare kill us, Grandfather Emperor will wipe out your Yu clan to the last soul! Yu Shiyu, there has to be a limit to your madness. Even Ning Baixia would not dare. Do you think that because this bitch married Ning Baixia’s foolish younger brother, the Ning clan would let her do as she pleases just because she might still have some sordid affair with Ning Baixia?”

Slap.

The tall, thin Xiang clan youth standing beside Xiang Bingfeng struck her across the face, then cupped his fists and said, “Enmities are easier to resolve than to create. Today, we were the ones in the wrong to begin with. But if the Xiang clan youths are wiped out in the phantom-demon realm, it will certainly alarm the Xiang clan ancestors. Even the Ning clan would not be able to bear the wrath of those ancestors on your behalf. Release Brother Cunze, and we are willing to compensate for this matter. You may name your price, and we are also willing to swear a heart-demon oath that we will absolutely not take revenge afterward.”

Xiang Cunze also hurriedly said, “Yu Shiyu, I’m willing to swear a heart-demon oath.”

“Sounds a little reasonable,” Yu Shiyu said with an even deeper smile. Then he suddenly looked up, a strange expression crossing his face. When Yu Youwei was about to ask, he struck Xiang Cunze unconscious with a palm and tossed him to the ground at his feet, then pointed toward the place where the volcano had erupted. “Fall back a hundred meters. I’ll discuss it with Ninth Sister.”

“He wants to drive us into the phantom-fire realm. Why are you still not attacking!” Xiang Bingfeng shouted venomously.

“Are you so desperate to kill your elder brother? Oh, right, your second brother is dead, and the illegitimate brothers in the family are all useless. Once your eldest brother dies, it’ll be your turn to take charge sooner or later, won’t it?” After sowing discord with malicious intent, Yu Shiyu said leisurely, “If you don’t want to step back for the moment, I don’t mind. We can all just keep wasting time here. After all, even without Xiang Cunze as a hostage, with Ninth Sister and me working together, none of you will escape. Don’t believe it? Try.”

The Xiang clan youths took Xiang Cunze as their leader, and his strength was only slightly superior to Ning Jinchun’s. Seeing how wary Ning Jinchun was of Yu Youwei, they understood that Yu Shiyu was not boasting, and obediently withdrew a hundred meters.