46: Chapter 46 Feigned Departure, the Coldness and Warmth of Human Hearts

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving right now."

Yun Song quickly spoke up to concede, his tone carrying a hint of deliberately feigned panic and compromise. As he finished speaking, he turned around with a feigned appearance of wretchedness, making a show of quickly walking away from this death trap.

The big man's hand, which had been reaching into his robes to trigger his lethal trump card, suddenly paused.

He was slightly taken aback at first, then a sneer of utter mockery pulled at the corners of his mouth. The killing intent in his eyes faded away completely, leaving only overflowing contempt and disdain.

"Consider yourself sensible."

In his eyes, the youth who had dared to fight him to the death for a hundred Moves was, in the end, just an ordinary person who cherished his life and feared death.

Not far away, Ye Hua and his sister, who were trapped in a tight encirclement, witnessed this scene. Their hearts were instantly filled with a complex mixture of emotions.

Rationally, they knew clearly that Yun Song was a complete stranger to them, merely a chance acquaintance met in the wind and snow.

The fact that he was willing to risk his life for them—people he barely knew—and fight the group of bandits alone was already a massive favor. They had absolutely no right to demand that he throw his life away to accompany them to their graves. Yun Song being able to leave safely was the best outcome.

Yet emotionally, that slender figure who had just fought against the odds to carve out a sliver of survival for them had been their only hope in this desperate situation.

Now that this only hope was turning away to leave, a wave of indescribable loneliness and bitterness inevitably surged in their hearts.

Ye Hua's brows were tightly furrowed, his thin lips moving slightly as if he wanted to say something—perhaps a word of thanks or a farewell—but in the end, he swallowed it all down, leaving only a heart full of helplessness and desolation.

Ye Rong's nose grew sore, her eyes quietly reddening, and she bit her lower lip tightly, hiding all her disappointment and helplessness deep within her gaze.

As the wind and snow howled, watching Yun Song's receding figure, the last glimmer of light pressing down on the siblings' hearts completely dimmed and vanished.

Confirming that Yun Song had completely conceded and was walking further away, with no intention of intervening again, the grave and guarded expression on the big man's face faded, replaced by a wild and triumphant grin.

"Hahahaha!"

He planted his hands on his hips and threw his head back in wild laughter. His coarse laughter pierced through the rustling wind and snow, echoing wantonly in the empty, freezing mountain forest, filled with mockery and arrogance.

"I told you, there are no truly fearless tough guys in this world! Kid, count yourself lucky you ran fast. If you had insisted on acting tough, I would have made sure you ended up a corpse on this snowy plain today, without even a bone left!"

Seeing this, the surrounding black-clad lackeys also burst into boisterous laughter, with mocking and ridiculing words following one after another.

One lackey winked and gestured, pointing at Yun Song's receding back with a face full of disdain: "Look at that! Just a moment ago he was putting on an act of being righteous and heroic, but in the end, wasn't he scared into fleeing by our boss? So-called Jianghu righteousness is simply worthless in the face of one's own life!"

Another person turned to look at the bloodied and struggling Ye Hua and his sister, his tone extremely mocking and cruel: "You two shouldn't daydream about waiting for a savior either. See that? The backer you were counting on is just a coward who values his own life!"

The ear-piercing taunts rose and fell, like countless thin needles stabbing fiercely into the hearts of Ye Hua and his sister.

The big man swept a contemptuous gaze over the two, who were in a wretched state and defending themselves while covered in blood, his words vicious to the extreme: "Still thinking of finding someone to get medicine and save your dying old man? I think the three of you can just gather in the underworld today and have a family reunion!"

The vicious mockery intertwined like a ghostly curse, clinging tightly to the siblings' ears, crushing their final remnants of spirit.

After the mockery, a fierce light flashed in the big man's eyes. Having completely lost patience, he waved his hand fiercely at his subordinates and ordered sternly:

"Do it! Kill the man on the spot! Keep the woman alive, bring her back, and let the brothers have some fun!"

"Hurrah!"

The lackeys roared in excitement, their eyes gleaming like starving wolves that had caught the scent of flesh, pouncing fiercely toward the two.

A sword-wielding lackey, his face full of malice, charged toward Ye Hua with big strides. His steel blade, wrapped in a cold glint, slashed down fiercely as he roared grimly: "Kid, die! Today will be the day you are buried!"

Although Ye Hua was covered in blood and severely wounded, having long since exhausted his strength, his proud spirit remained unbroken, and he did not retreat a single step.

He forced his battered body to Move, barely dodging the fatal blade, and seizing the gap where the opponent's Move had missed, he gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and smashed it hard into the lackey's chest.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, this action completely enraged the rest of the bandits. The remaining lackeys swarmed forward, blades and staves all drawn, surrounding Ye Hua tightly in the center. The gleam and shadows of weapons locked him in layer upon layer, their attacks dense and without a single gap.

Relying on his hard-body training and exquisite swordplay, Ye Hua fought to the death to parry and slash, but in the end, he was outnumbered and severely wounded. In just a few breaths, he fell completely into a disadvantage, retreating step by step, with no strength left to counterattack.

On the other side, several lackeys with lewd smiles on their faces approached the slender Ye Rong step by step, their filthy hands reaching out wantonly, intending to capture her alive.

Ye Rong was both terrified and furious, her eyes filled with humiliation and determination. She struggled desperately, retreating, and lifted her foot to kick fiercely at the nearest bandit in front of her, her voice laced with tears yet still fierce: "You animals! Let me go!"

The big man stood by with his hands behind his back, coldly overlooking this one-sided slaughter, a cruel and lewd smile hanging on his face as he spoke lazily and mockingly: "Little girl, don't waste your energy struggling. Submit obediently, and you might suffer less later on!"

After saying this, he impatiently urged the lackeys engaged in the fight: "Hurry up and finish off this troublesome brat! Don't delay the brothers' good time!"

As his voice fell, the surrounding attacks became even more fierce and relentless.

Amidst the rain of blades and staves, the wounds on Ye Hua's body continued to increase. Scarlet blood soaked his entire garment, dripping down his limbs and staining the pristine white snow beneath his feet.

Excruciating pain swept through his entire body, and his strength was rapidly being exhausted, yet a fire of unyielding rage still burned in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and roared angrily: "You villains, slaughtering the innocent and acting lawlessly! Even if I, Ye Hua, turn into a vengeful ghost, I will never let you go!"