Chapter 706: His Highness Duke of Qin’s reward 3

Lady Leng Yue wanted to kill herself, but Long Feiye never gave her the chance. Even if her sword was pressed right next to her body, Long Feiye’s blade was quicker and slashed across her throat in the sight of all spectators!

Lady Leng Yue couldn’t believe it. Even her last moments of dignity were stolen away. But more than that, she couldn’t fathom why Bai Yanqing really hadn’t shown up to save her. She crumpled to the ground with wide eyes that refused to shut from the injustice. She had always considered herself the most clear-minded person in the City of Daughters, but perhaps she had never been truly sober until this moment. Now she regretted bringing such disaster to her city.

Long Feiye allowed her to fall before turning to face the crowd. In a cold voice, he declared, “Anyone who dares to kidnap people from my Duke of Qin’s estate will face this fate!”

Silence greeted his words. Who could believe the sight? Within three moves, Long Feiye had killed Lady Leng Yue, who hadn’t done more than attack once. Everyone had assumed that it would be a large, chaotic battle between the two that lasted for days, but here were the results. Lady Leng Yue, the city lord of an entire city and the iron maiden of the assassination world, had died within the time it took to brew a cup of tea by the blade of a member from the junior generation.

How could anyone accept that?

Leaving aside the City of Daughters, even the outsiders were flabbergasted. They refused to believe that Lady Leng Yue had died just like that, much less that Long Feiye’s internal energy reserves were so vast! All of them had one question on their minds: when did Long Feiye get so strong?

That’s right!

When did Long Feiye get so strong? Everyone had been paying attention to his movements in the political sphere that no one had bothered monitoring his martial arts. Most of them had even forgotten that he was the sword sect master’s closed door disciple! And yet, he’d grown in strength all the same. If Long Feiye were to show his true strength one day, where would he place in that list of high-level elders?

Would Carefree City’s Qi Zonglin, the Tang Clan’s Tang Zijin, or even Celestial Mountains’ Cang Qiuzi be a match for him?

As the silence stretched on, no one dared to move. Despite this, Long Feiye paid them no mind. He pointed his sword at the City of Daughters’ gates and declared coldly, “People in the city, listen well! Those who submit before your lordship’s blade, stay! Those who object, die!”

The stunned faces of the assassins atop the wall instantly recovered their wits. In the next second, there was an uproar. The various sisters of the Leng Clan broke out into wails and charged, Leng Bingling leading the pack. Leng Shuangshuang and the rest were close in her wake, all of them flying down the city walls to avenge their mother.

“Long Feiye, I’ll kill you!”

“Long Feiye, you dared to kill my mother. I’ll tear you to pieces!”

“Long Feiye, the City of Daughters will never forgive you!”

Long Feiye used move to stop the first, Leng Bingling, with his blade against her neck. Seeing this, the rest of her sisters froze. Even the wildest emotions found reason in the face of reality. Even the saddest sorrows found calm in the face of death.

The victor was a king over bandits who earned the right to live while they died. This too, was the destiny of all assassins. Since they’d lost, they could only bow their heads without complaints.

“Someone come, detain them all for your lordship!” With Long Feiye’s orders, a few shadow guards came forward to apprehend the Leng Clan sisters.

But suddenly, Leng Shuangshuang called out, “Long Feiye! I have words to say to you!”

What was wrong with her? What did she want to say? As everyone looked over, Long Feiye did as well.

Leng Shuangshuang laughed. Perhaps this was the only time he’d look her straight in the face after she called his name. “Long Feiye, I only hope I never see you again in my next life!”

So speaking, she took her sword and slit her throat before crumpling to the ground. As the fragrance scattered, as the jade stone broke, so too did she die.

Revenge for a murdered mother could never be erased, just as her love for him could never be extinguished. Only by never meeting him again could she destroy the aching bitterness of a love that would never be fulfilled.

“Fourth sister!” Leng Bingling cried out. She was about to throw herself at the body when the shadow guards blocked her way. The rest of the Leng sisters were cool and detached, standing indifferently with heads lowered. They knew that they would meet the same end–it was only a question of time. Even now, they didn’t know who hired their mother to kidnap Grand Concubine Yi. Long Feiye would be detaining them to ask for the details. Since they couldn’t offer any answers, their only path laid in death.

Various gasps and exclamations rose from the surrounding figures as they realized Leng Shuangshuang had loved Long Feiye, but the man in question didn’t spare her a glance. He was still looking up at the city as he strode towards its gates.

Long Feiye, ah, Long Feiye. Do you know how many women in this world love you?

In the carriage, Han Yunxi watched his tall, proud form with a touch of unreality. A man as cold as this was actually her own husband.

Abruptly, Long Feiye shouted, “And the rest of you?”

At his words, two old women flew off the walls to land on the ground and kneel on one knee.

“The Liu Clan from the City of Daughters agrees to work in the service of Your Highness Duke of Qin!”

“The Jiang Clan from the City of Daughters agrees to work in the service of Your Highness Duke of Qin!”

“Good!” Long Feiye said loudly.

The rest of the clan heads exchanged glances atop the wall. But soon enough, they all descended as well to open the gates and kneel in a line in front of Long Feiye. As the saying went, a wise man understands and submits to circumstances. In any case, mercenaries were the most heartless of the lot. None of them could best Long Feiye in a fight, while facing him as a group would only risk massacre of the city’s inhabitants. Surrender was the best choice.

Of course, there were a few who still objected, but they didn’t dare to fight Long Feiye outright. Those had secretly fled out of the city while Lady Leng Yue fell at Long Feiye’s hands. With the city gates open and most of the people declaring their allegiance, Long Feiye’s eyes flashed in satisfaction. Then he turned to walk towards Han Yunxi. She looked at him quietly. They weren’t very far apart, but she felt as if he was coming to her from the other end of destiny, crossing their two worlds to meet.

Finally, he stopped in front of her. Raising the curtains of the carriage, he smiled and said, “Let’s go, your lordship will take you to see your reward.”

Han Yunxi grinned as her heart filled with inexplicable feelings. Such a grand gesture to stun the world! If he was going to reward her again someday, could she remain calm next time? Under the eyes of everyone present, she remained sitting in the carriage while Long Feiye personally led the horse towards the City of Daughters—his prize to her. Han Yunxi loved this feeling, as if she was travelling the world with him. But it wasn’t long before someone disturbed them both.

“Your Highness Duke of Qin got his revenge, so it should be our turn next! Brothers, let’s go into the city as well!”

“Heheh, Leng Yue’s death isn’t enough to pay back the debts. The Wang Clan from the City of Daughters still owe three lives to Clear Sky Sect!”

“Every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor! Brothers, here’s our chance for revenge! Let’s go!”

The jianghu faction raised their shining weapons and headed for the gates. There were at least ten different assassin clans within the City of Daughters, but they would be hard pressed to match their forces without the Leng Clan’s protection. In a flash, all of the kneeling clan heads stood up to block the gates.

“Taking advantage of our difficulties? What kind of righteous heroes are you?” someone cursed.

“Heheh, why should we speak of ‘righteous heroes’ with assassin folk? We should be killing a life for a life, hm?” someone else asked with a laugh.

“And you call yourselves upright sects? Hypocrites!” another shouted.

The jianghu faction broke into uproarious laughter at the claim. “As if killers who don’t pay for their deeds are any more righteous!”

“If you have the skills to take money and accept talented fighters, then you better have the skills to spend them afterwards!”

“Upright sects? Very well, today this old man will destroy the City of Daughter and right wrongs in accordance with Heaven’s decree!”

Han Yunxi’s good mood evaporated. The longer she looked at that group of “righteous” heroes, the more disgusted she felt. If Lady Leng Yue was still alive, would they dare to be so brash? She was about to speak when Long Feiye suddenly threw his sword at the ground between the two factions.

All of the noise ceased.

The various clan heads of the City of Daughters looked towards Long Feiye, wanting to speak but keeping silent. The jianghu group looked over as well.

“Your Highness Duke of Qin, it’ll be the great fortune of the jianghu if you continue to stand forward for our sake!”

“The City of Daughters is stepped iniquity. They’ve killed countless lives over the past few years. It’s all thanks to Your Highness Duke of Qin that the Leng Clan’s been destroyed today.”

“Your Highness Duke of Qin, please keep acting as our judge!”

After witnessing Long Feiye’s strength firsthand, they were nothing but respectful and flattering. Long Feiye’s eyes swept over them coldly. As he prepared to speak, Han Yunxi stood up instead with a cold tone. “His Highness Duke of Qin just said that the City of Daughters now belongs to him in the wake of Lady Leng Yue’s death. Don’t you all...understand what that means?”

The jianghu members exchanged glances before one tactless man asked, “Qin Wangfei, what do you mean by this?”

“His Highness Duke of Qin said that he’s awarded the City of Daughters to this wangfei. From this day forward, the City of Daughters belongs to me. If anyone dares to touch a single person, blade of grass, or piece of wood within its domain, you’ll have to ask this wangfei’s poisons first! Do you agree to that?!”

“This...”

“Qin Wangfei...”

“Your Highness Duke of Qin, you...then our revenge...”

All of the martial artists were stunned, while the defeated members of the City of Daughters grew equally surprised. They assumed that Long Feiye and Han Yunxi would seize this chance to get in the righteous sects’ good graces and deliver their various clan heads to them for punishment. But Han Yunxi was defending them with such an aggressive air.

One of the older members of the jianghu faction stood out next, his voice incensed. “Your Highness Duke of Qin, this...how could... You have to give us a proper explanation!”

“Qin Wangfei’s already explained it clearly. From this day all, anyone who makes an enemy out of the City of Daughters is making an enemy out of your lordship as well,” Long Feiye said, before demanding coldly, “Whether you all decide to enter the city or leave this place is your choice!”

“Duke of Qin, we can give you the City of Daughters, but we have to settle their debts with us. Otherwise...”

Before the old man could finish, Long Feiye waved a hand, dislodging his sword from where it had wedged itself into the dirt until the weapon flew back into his grip. “Or else what?”

The old man sucked in a cold breath in alarm. “What strong internal energy!”

Or else what? What else could the old man do? He could only toss his sleeves resentfully and stalk off. Was he supposed to fight Long Feiye himself if he hung around any longer? Seeing this, the rest of the crowd could only follow in his wake despite their grumbled complaints.

From beginning to end, no one from Carefree City had said a word. They were much more intelligent than the denizens of the jianghu. After all, her was a place where strength did most of the talking. Before Long Feiye, they had nothing they could say.

“Your Highness Duke of Qin, Carefree City didn’t exert any efforts in this matter. Will you be asking for a refund?” Third Elder Qi teased.