Chapter 105: Broken Bones

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too. 

Unlike He Changping’s slightly changed expression, Li Qiubai’s face was calm from beginning to end.

Since she dared to bring He Changping instead of Meng Chang’an, it meant she was already not afraid of the Prince of Yu finding out the truth about the real and fake Prince Consort.

“Imperial Uncle has not stopped asking about the past events of Qingyang Clan these days. Since you already know, then why do you still pretend to be confused?”

Li Qiubai slowly placed a piece on the chessboard, then smiled a little and said, “To be honest, the Prince Consort who came with me today is indeed not the one from that night.”

Seeing her speak so confidently, the Prince of Yu almost laughed from anger.

“Oh? Then is this one today the one who set the fire, or the one who broke into the prison?”

“Imperial Uncle, what you said is not right. How can that be called breaking into the prison? The Prince Consort was holding a decree from the Emperor, this was an open and legitimate interrogation. He only sent the person to His Majesty, that is all.”

The Prince of Yu now understood. What she meant was that the Prince Consort who came today was the one who broke into the prison, and the one who set the fire was someone else.

Since he already knew, he did not ask more about who broke into the prison or who set the fire. He just smiled with interest and said, “Your Highness truly has a sharp tongue. Then if you say so, let it be so. But if I remember correctly, the child who did not stay in Qingyang Clan back then should be a girl, right? So the one I saw that night was that girl?”

Li Qiubai answered openly, “Yes.”

Thinking carefully about that night in the viewing pavilion, the way this person acted close with that girl did not seem fake at all.

The Prince of Yu could not help but put away his smile. He stared closely at Li Qiubai and asked again, “What, do you like women?”

After tasting the meaning, Li Qiubai even sensed a bit of disappointed anger from his words.

But, what right did he have to feel disappointed?

Li Qiubai let out a soft mocking laugh.

“Like? It is just a toy that suits my taste, that is all. I do not hate, but not enough to be called like either. What, Imperial Uncle, you are also someone of the imperial family. Do you still naively believe that there can be real feelings inside the imperial family?”

The Prince of Yu couldn't guess how much of her words were true or false, but He Changping on the side was already laughing secretly in his heart.

The Prince of Yu could not guess how much of her words were true and how much were false, but He Changping, who was standing at the side, had already started laughing secretly in his heart.

He finally understood why the Princess insisted on bringing him as a guard today instead of his sister.

It looked like, even though this person could plan with care and speak with skill, she was still afraid of making his sister angry.

“Mm, even if it is just a toy, it is still a toy that can make you happy. That is truly rare.”

The Prince of Yu’s gaze was deep, and he said with unclear meaning, “Since you are already here, why not bring her too and let Imperial Uncle take a look?”

“Imperial Uncle has already seen her before. There is no need to waste your energy again.”

“How can that be the same? Last time, I did not know she was a girl, and I even more did not know she was a girl you liked. Now that I know, of course I should give her a proper greeting.”

The Prince of Yu slightly tilted his head and directly gave an order to the swordsman who had served beside him for many years, “Go, send someone to bring that girl here, so she does not get lost wandering around inside this Prince’s Manor.”

Seeing that Li Qiubai’s smile was slowly turning stiff, the Prince of Yu finally felt a bit pleased. He casually took back the two pieces she had just placed on the board.

At this moment, on the other side of the Prince’s Manor, Meng Chang’an was moving swiftly and cleverly, not knowing that she had already been discovered from the moment she stepped into the manor.

Following the layout drawn on the map, she smoothly slipped into the small courtyard where Shen Lingyun and Shu Yao were held. Young Master Meng was still feeling strange—why was it so smooth today? She had not even seen a few soldiers from the Prince’s Manor along the way.

“Why are you here?”

Shen Lingyun, who had been leaning by the window reading a book, recognized the sneaky figure outside and quickly opened the window wider, signaling for the Young Master to climb in.

The courtyard was cold and quiet. Today, even the guards were fewer than usual, and they were all standing far outside the courtyard gate.

Shen Lingyun and Shu Yao felt it might be a trap, so they did not dare to act like the past two days, always thinking of sneaking outside and causing trouble.

But they did not expect to run into Young Master Meng.

Noticing that there was no one else behind her, Shu Yao could not help but ask with disappointment, “Why did you come alone? Where is my Imperial Sister?”

“She is still dealing with that rotten old man.”

Meng Chang’an hid the worry in her heart for the Princess and tried hard to put on a calm face. She said to the two of them, “Let us go. I will take you out first.”

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too. 

Was it going to be this direct?

Shen Lingyun frowned. She felt something was not quite right.

But thinking carefully, since the Young Master had been able to find out where they were kept and even sneak in smoothly, Her Highness must have put in a lot of effort on her side too.

With that in mind, Shen Lingyun no longer hesitated. She directly grabbed Shu Yao’s hand and said, “Let us go.”

Just as the three of them stepped out of the courtyard, the ten elite disciples from the Qingyang Clan led by Ye Chi had just finished dealing with the last guard outside the gate.

Bright red blood splattered all over the stone path outside the courtyard.

“Miss, everyone around here has been taken care of.”

Meng Chang’an nodded and lowered her voice as she gave the order, “Just like we agreed earlier, split into pairs and retreat in all directions.”

Ye Chi accepted the order and was about to leave when a sudden killing intent from behind made his scalp go numb.

He quickly dodged the fierce slash to the side. After struggling to steady himself, he finally had the chance to look at the attacker.

He saw a cold-faced swordsman slowly walking toward them with a large sword in hand.

“You must be Miss Meng, right? Apologies. I originally wanted you to keep walking around and playing inside the Prince’s Manor a bit more. But sadly, His Highness suddenly wants to invite you. So now, I have to trouble you to come meet him.”

However, the person speaking was not the swordsman.

Following the voice upward, the group noticed a man standing steadily on a willow branch outside the courtyard. He was still leisurely playing with the black iron claws in his hand.

That voice sounded like a eunuch’s. That figure, too, was somewhat bewitching and graceful. But as for the man himself, he did not seem like the kind of weakling that eunuchs were known to be.

The black iron claw on his right hand looked as though it had already fused with his fingers.

Anyone who could use such a weapon was clearly a ruthless type.

There was no need to guess—he had not come with good intentions. The Qingyang Clan disciples instantly formed a sword formation, guarding the three young women behind them.

Ye Chi stared warily at the two who had appeared without a sound. He could tell their strength was unfathomable, so without even turning his head, he called out behind him to Meng Chang’an.

“Miss, leave this to us. Take them and run!”

The three girls exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, Meng Chang’an and Shu Yao each grabbed one of Shen Lingyun’s shoulders, then swiftly used their qinggong to fly away with her.

“Take care, everyone!”

Seeing them flee, the swordsman was not in a rush. He slowly raised his sword again and spoke in a calm voice.

“Kong Ming, go after them. These little brats are mine to deal with.”

“Umderstood~ But do not play them to death, okay? His Highness still has use for their lives～”

The moment the voice fell, that man had already vanished.

Such exquisite qinggong made Ye Chi’s heart sink.

At this point, he knew there was not much more he could do. He could only give it his all and try to stall one of these powerful foes, to buy even the slightest chance of escape for the others.

“Brothers, kill!”

Outside the courtyard, the place had already turned into a battlefield.

Meng Chang’an and the other two had no time to look back. They could only run without pause.

But unfortunately, they had barely crossed two courtyards when the man with the black iron claw once again leisurely blocked their path.

“Tsk, it is not like I eat people. Why are you running so fast? Making this Young Master chase you until I am all tired out.”

That coquettish pose, especially done with the black iron hand claw, truly made the three of them feel a wave of disgust.

Knowing that this man would not possibly let them off easily today, Young Master Meng simply stopped wasting her strength running, directly drew her sword and charged up, hacking hard at the man’s forehead.

It was just a pity that before Young Master Meng’s blade could touch Kong Ming, it had already been firmly caught by his iron claw.

The surging internal energy coming from the blade had already shocked Young Master Meng’s tiger’s mouth* until it went numb.

*虎口 (Hǔkǒu) - acupuncture term for the webbing between the thumb and index finger

“Tsk tsk tsk, it was you who made the first move, mm? Then do not blame me for being impolite now.”

As soon as the words fell, Young Master Meng, along with her sword, had already been flung straight to the ground by him.

Seeing him dust his sleeve and continue walking toward where Young Master Meng had fallen, Shu Yao quickly drew her sword and spun a sword flower* as she charged at Kong Ming.

*youtube link to a video showing someone doing sword flower 

“Slow, too slow. Ai, little princess, this sword of yours is so slow—it does not seem like a sword that can kill.”

Shu Yao struck out two full sets of sword moves in a row, using up most of her internal energy, yet she still could not even tear a corner of Kong Ming’s clothes.

And he was still moving with ease, even having time to point out the flaws in her sword techniques.

He was simply playing them like fools.

A master of this level, if placed in the jianghu, would already be considered a grandmaster. For youths like them who had only just stepped into the jianghu, even if they had heaven-given talent, how could they possibly be a match for someone like this?

Who knew where the Prince of Yu had found such a master.

Meng Chang’an had no time to think. She merely caught her breath for a moment before climbing back up again, gripping her sword tightly as she charged forward to fight shoulder to shoulder with Shu Yao.

“One on each side!”

Shen Lingyun could not fight. She could only quietly hide behind them.

This battle could not be avoided. Even if the difference in strength was too great, they had no choice but to fight.

Whether it was for their own lives, or for the lives of the ones they cared about, they could not retreat.

There was no way out.

Fortunately, Meng Chang'an and Shu Yao had fought side by side before, so they had a tacit understanding when they work together.

The more Meng Chang'an fought, the more injured she became, yet she grew braver with each setback.

From beginning to end, she still relentlessly targeted Kong Ming's vital points, but she could never bypass his iron claw.

Originally, Kong Ming had been enjoying himself, just toying with the two of them for fun.

But when he noticed that the sword techniques used by Meng Chang'an seemed increasingly familiar, his smile slowly faded from his face.

"Who taught you this sword technique?"

At that moment, Meng Chang'an's sword was pressing tightly against Kong Ming's iron claw, and Shu Yao's sword was just about to stab into his back.

Hearing his question, in order to disrupt his concentration, Meng Chang'an mocked him: "My master taught me the sword technique, of course. What is the matter, are you afraid?"

Upon hearing these words, a deep hatred surfaced in Kong Ming's eyes.

The pain of the severed hand from that day seemed to resurface in his heart.

His internal energy surged, and with a violent force, he shattered the sword that Shu Yao had thrust toward him. The shockwave sent Shu Yao flying, crashing to the ground and causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood once again.

"A'Yao!"

Shen Lingyun rushed over and quickly held Shu Yao in her arms. She fed her an injury pill, then immediately inserted needles to protect her heart meridian.

"Cough... Do not worry... I am fine..."

After forcing Shu Yao back for now, Kong Ming finally turned his gaze back to Young Master Meng.

He no longer held back. After snatching the sword from Meng Chang'an’s hands and tossing it aside, his iron claw grabbed tightly onto her shoulder and slammed her hard onto the stone path.

"If I had known earlier that you were from the Demonic Sect, I would not have played with you for so long."

Meng Chang'an had not yet recovered from the searing pain throughout her body, nor had she regained the strength to rise and fight again. The next moment, Kong Ming's iron claw pierced straight through her shoulder.

"Ah…"

This time, Young Master Meng finally could not hold back from the piercing pain and let out a cry of agony.

At this moment, Kong Ming, who was squatting beside her, still had no intention of letting her go.

His iron claw twisted on her right shoulder and crushed her shoulder blade on the spot.

"Hiss… Ah…"

Meng Chang'an's consciousness gradually blurred. She could only vaguely hear Shen Lingyun and Shu Yao calling out with deep pain in their voices.

"Chang'an!"

"Chang'an!!!"

Looking at the mangled, bloodied half-body on the ground, Kong Ming laughed more and more crazily.

"Back then, your master severed one of my hands. Now, if I can cripple one of yours, it seems like a fair trade!"