353 Killing Begins
Red Prince Residence backyard.
There was a house that looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. No one from the Residence came near it, but sometimes, some people accidentally entered the house by mistake but they never came out again. The house appeared lifeless and the trees planted inside were all withered. Not even weeds grew in the courtyard.
Xiao Yu entered the yard, walking silently in front and with him was the mysterious black-robed man. The man’s figure was hidden by the hooded black robe, and it was difficult to make out his expression. Only Su Changhe, who exchanged a palm with him earlier, knew his identity. Su Changhe was following them now, and he had been frowning the entire time, stealing looks at the black-robed man.
"I have a distinguished guest who has lived here for more than ten years." Xiao Yu smiled and said, "Maybe the Patriarch has figured out who he is."
Su Changhe could detect a faint scent of rot in the air and he looked down at the dark-coloured soil under his feet. "Medicine King Xin Baicao had a shidi who used all his medical knowledge in unorthodox ways. He’s known as the Ghost Doctor Ye Ya. He’s disappeared for many years, but he’s now living in your Residence?"
"Patriarch is really smart." Xiao Yu pushed open the door and walked in. That rotten smell hit him in the face, but he didn’t react to it and merely let out a short laugh.
Su Changhe was accustomed to the smell of blood, but he could barely tolerate that awful smell. His frown deepened.
"Your Highness is here." A hoarse voice sounded and a man in a blue robe walked out. Perhaps he had been living in darkness for a long time, so his complexion was pallid but he was dressed meticulously, not a hair out of place. His posture was upright and at first glance, he could be mistaken for a teacher from an academy for learning. However, the corner of his mouth curled in a slight leer, causing anyone who saw him to shudder involuntarily. The man in the blue robe looked behind Xiao Yu and bowed his head politely. "This must be the Patriarch of Hidden River, Mister Su Changhe."
Su Changhe nodded. "Mister Ye Ya."
"You don’t need to address me as mister. Please come in." Ye Ya turned around and walked in.
Xiao Yu took the lead and walked in with the rest. Inside the house was pitch black, with only the flickering light of a few candles. Ye Ya pinched a candle flame with his fingers, flicked it lightly and lit up a whole row of candles in an instant. "What I’m doing here cannot be considered above board. It wouldn’t be proper to light too many candles, please forgive me. "
As the candles lit up, Su Changhe could finally see the true appearance of this house. There were men being held in captivity all about, some with their eyes closed looking like they were asleep. They were all stripped naked and chained to the wall, appearing at first glance to be clean and uninjured, but a closer look revealed a number of small cuts on their skin. The rest of the room was filled with all sorts of strange-looking herbs as well as a collection of oddly-shaped knives, all neatly arranged. With the exception of that strange smell in the air, the entire house looked neat and tidy.
"Back then, I liked to experiment on people with my medicine, but my fellow disciples of Medicine King Valley did not appreciate it. Over the years, I wandered aimlessly through the martial world, until fortunately, His Highness Red Prince took me in and gave me this house. I’ve been living here for over ten years. Luckily, I’ve finally made some progress in the last few years. Patriarch, you’ve already seen my most perfect work, right?" Ye Ya laughed.
Su Changhe turned his head and looked at the black-robed man. "Him?"
"Yes. If he loses his mind and is refined into a medicine man, he is the perfect killing machine." Ye Ya stood up, walked towards the black-robed man, and reached out to caress his face. "This is my most perfect work. From here on out, I will have more and more of such works."
Su Changhe frowned. "I’ve seen him before and he’s indeed very powerful, but he wasn’t this powerful."
"My drugs will make him stronger, and more and more powerful." Ye Ya withdrew his face. "Because once you wipe out the mind, he no longer has any scruples. An unshackled beast is the strongest. But Your Highness, I haven't managed to solve what you asked me to. Yue Ji."
Under Ye Ya’s summon, a lithe and graceful woman walked out of the darkness, her skin white as jade. She was Yue Ji, the world-renowned assassin. Yue Ji raised her head and looked at Ye Ya, her eyes hollow.
Xiao Yu looked at Yue Ji and sighed. "It’s fine. I can wait. Please try your best, Mister Ye Ya."
"I will definitely do my best." Ye Ya nodded. Then, he snapped his fingers and a medicinal pill appeared in his hand. "Patriarch, give this pill to your men. One pill a day for three days. Then, bring them here to see me and I will give Patriarch a Hidden River at its strongest."
"Then they will all become like him." Su Changhe glanced at the black-robed man. "A living dead?"
"Patriarch wants to be the most powerful person in the martial world. Isn’t that worth the sacrifice of these dozen or so people?" Xiao Yu spoke up then. "What's more, in the future, these people will also become the sharpest knives in the Patriarch’s hands. Because they will never betray you."
Su Changhe frowned, clasped his hands behind him, and tapped his fingers against his hand.
"The three Heads of Houses and the Patriarch are already very powerful. Naturally, they will not need my help." Ye Ya smiled. "But, what about the others? They need to be stronger to face the upcoming battlefield in Heavenly Revelations."
Su Changhe raised his eyebrows and said, "Mister looks very excited about this."
Ye Ya licked his upper lip. "Indeed, I’m really looking forward to it."
Yong'an Prince Residence.
Ye Ruoyi finished reading the letter sent by Hua Jin. Then she turned to Xiao Se and said, "Three days. In three days, Hua Jin will perform the surgery for the White Prince’s eyes."
Xiao Se nodded. "So fast. Looks like Er-ge is really getting impatient."
"The more impatient he gets, the more likely the Red Prince will do something terrible. The last time, he attempted an assassination of Grand Preceptor Dong to deepen our emnity. This time, he will strike Hua Jin directly." Ye Ruoyi turned around and glanced at him. "Where’s Lei Wujie?"
"He’ll be protecting Hua Jin secretly for the next few days," Xiao Se said.
"The genius doctor Hua Jin is being protected by the Eunuch of Sword. Mu Chunfeng is also with her. Is that not safe enough?" Ye Ruoyi frowned.
"No, even with Lei Wujie there, she’s not safe enough. In fact, she’s the most unsafe person in the entire Heavenly Revelations. Initially, everyone needed her because they needed her to keep my imperial father alive. They were not yet prepared to create chaos under Heaven. But now, they’re probably ready and it’s almost time for my imperial father to die. The White Prince’s eyes are secondary. My imperial father’s life is the key." Xiao Se said in a deep voice, "In three days, the White Prince Residence. We must all be there that night. They will definitely make their move then."
"Why must it be that day?"
"Because on that day, Er-ge will taste the hope of seeing light again, and will soon be able to fulfill his long-cherished wish. But, if at the same time, the only person who can save him is dead, he will fall apart and lose all hope. Xiao Yu wants to completely destroy Er-ge’s will at a time like this. For a person like Xiao Yu, this is an opportunity he will never miss!"