69: Chapter 69 Guan Heng's Emotional Ups and Downs

"Are you talking about that Sixth Prince of the Great Qian Dynasty and that white-haired old man?" Xia Jin glanced at Guan Heng's trembling fingers, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Naturally, they were slaughtered by this Prince!"

"What!? The Sixth Prince and the others are dead?" Guan Heng's eyes widened, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

His biggest backer was gone... what should he do next?

No, he couldn't just sit and wait for death. Otherwise, he would surely die today!

Guan Heng's eyes darted around, and he made a split-second decision. With a "clang," he threw his large saber far away, his knees buckling as he fell to the ground with a "thud."

"Two lords! Lords, please see clearly! This lowly one... is absolutely not in league with that Sixth Prince! This lowly one was just... just doing a job for money, following orders to escort this Fenglin Emperor over!"

"This lowly one is just an errand boy and knows nothing! I beg the two lords to show mercy and let this lowly one go!"

That's right, Guan Heng was gambling!

He was betting that Xia Jin and the other didn't know his identity because, on the day of the Fenglin Kingdom's surrender ceremony, he had been hiding at the very back. Aside from a few people within the Fenglin Imperial Palace, he believed no one would recognize him.

However, upon hearing this, Xia Jin wore a half-smile.

He walked straight forward, squatted in front of Guan Heng, and reached out to lightly pat the man's awkward face.

"Oh? You say you were just doing a job for money?" Xia Jin's voice carried a hint of playfulness. "Then the clothes you're wearing... are quite interesting."

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the collar of Guan Heng's black outer robe and yanked it downward!

Rip!

Beneath the black clothes, the inner lining of a Great Qian Dynasty imperial guard's uniform was revealed!

Guan Heng's entire body stiffened, and beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Xia Jin slowly stood up and looked down at him from above: "Do you want to continue making excuses, or do you want this Prince to strike you down and turn you into meat paste?"

After saying that, he lightly struck the air toward a bluestone mountain wall not far away.

Boom!!!

With a thunderous roar, the mountain wall, which was several yards thick, instantly shattered. A terrifying hole over ten yards in diameter appeared.

Guan Heng's teeth were chattering with fear. If that palm strike had hit him, wouldn't he...

"Lord! Lord, have mercy! This lowly one will talk! I'll say everything!" He hurriedly kowtowed frantically toward Xia Jin. "I will tell you everything I know without reservation! I only beg you to spare this lowly one's dog life!"

Xia Jin looked at Guan Heng indifferently. "Origin."

Guan Heng did not dare to hesitate and quickly revealed his identity: "This lowly one... no, your subordinate Guan Heng, is a Left Captain of the 'Xuanying Guard' under The Sixth Prince of the Great Qian Dynasty. I was ordered to monitor the Fenglin Imperial Palace. This time, I received a secret order from His Highness to kidnap the Fenglin Emperor, Jiang Qianjue, to force Sect Leader Leng..."

"A Left Captain of the Xuanying Guard?" Xia Jin shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of disdain. "An official as small as a sesame seed likely knows very little. What use is keeping you? Better to kill you and be done with it."

Hearing this, Guan Heng grew anxious and hurriedly shouted: "I am useful! Lord! This lowly one is useful! I have followed The Sixth Prince for many years. I know the locations of the treasuries he manages privately, the distribution of the forces he has cultivated in secret, and the list of spies planted in various countries! Keeping me alive is far more valuable than killing me, Lord!"

He spoke extremely fast, fearing that if he were even a second too slow, he would lose his chance.

"Is that so? A pity... this Prince has no interest in any of that!" Xia Jin sneered and raised his right hand, preparing to strike.

"Wait! Husband!" At this moment, Leng Yuexi, who was standing to the side, suddenly stopped Xia Jin. "Keeping this person might still be useful!"

A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she took out a Medicinal Pill the size of a longan fruit.

"Swallow it." Leng Yuexi threw the Medicinal Pill onto the ground in front of Guan Heng. "Then we will temporarily spare your life."

"However, this Palace can tell you! After taking this pill, you must take an antidote once a month to suppress the cold poison. Otherwise, the cold Qi will attack your heart, and you will die after seven days of agony. Are you willing?"

Guan Heng looked at the Medicinal Pill on the ground, a flash of struggle appearing on his face.

But sensing Xia Jin's fleeting killing intent, he gritted his teeth: If I don't take it, I die; only by living can there be a future!

He grabbed the Medicinal Pill and, without looking, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed. He then kowtowed once more to Leng Yuexi and Xia Jin: "This lowly one is willing! Thank you, Lords, for your mercy! From now on, Guan Heng will be your most loyal dog, at your beck and call!"

Leng Yuexi snorted coldly: "Remember what you said. Since The Sixth Prince destroyed my Xuanyin Sect, I will seize everything he owns."

Xia Jin looked at Guan Heng's surface-level respect while his eyes still flickered with uncertainty, and he sneered in his heart.

With a slight thought, an almost imperceptible wisp of silver lightning slipped into the other man's body, condensing near his heart and lurking there as a tiny lightning seed.

"Talk is cheap," Xia Jin said. "I've left a little 'something' in your body. Within ten days, come to the Great Xia Imperial Palace to see me. Remember, by then, I want to see your sincerity!"

Guan Heng felt a slight numbness in his chest. His whole body trembled, and not daring to raise any objection, he gritted his teeth and kowtowed heavily: "Yes! This lowly one understands! Within ten days, I will surely go to the Great Xia Imperial Palace to report to the Prince! I wouldn't dare delay!"

"Begone." Xia Jin waved his hand.

Guan Heng felt as if he had been granted a massive reprieve. He quickly stood up and, ignoring his disheveled state, fled frantically toward the mountain gate, disappearing into the dense forest in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go!" Xia Jin turned and took Leng Yuexi's hand, saying softly: "Now that the Xuanyin Sect is destroyed, you will return to Great Xia with me! However, before that, let's take Jiang Qianjue back to the Fenglin Imperial Palace to give your disciple an explanation."

Leng Yuexi nodded, taking one last deep look at the former Xuanyin Sect, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes.

Xia Jin shook his head, lifted Jiang Qianjue with one hand, and the three figures turned into streaks of light, heading toward the Fenglin Kingdom.

As they departed, a cluster of flames ignited within the Xuanyin Sect. Before long, the soaring fire completely annihilated what was once a top-tier Sect of the Central Region!

...

On the other side, Guan Heng didn't know how long he had been running until he felt completely exhausted, stopping in a desolate valley.

He slumped against a large rock, gasping for air.

But at this moment, his eyes were filled with unwillingness and resentment.

"Damn it!! I didn't expect The Sixth Prince to be such a useless waste! He was the dignified Sixth Prince of the Great Qian Dynasty! Yet he couldn't even handle a minor Prince of Great Xia!!"

"Fortunately, I was clever enough, or I would have almost died there!!"

Guan Heng clenched his fists tightly and punched the giant rock beside him, smashing it into dozens of small stones.

"Now I've been forced to swallow that pill, and I don't even know what that Prince Jin planted in my body! From now on, I can only be controlled by others!" He finally let out a helpless sigh.

From being a dignified Left Captain of the Great Qian Xuanying Guard to suddenly becoming a controlled servant with his life in someone else's hands, this gap made him nearly go insane.

"However, that Prince Jin is indeed terrifying! Although The Sixth Prince is a waste, his Dao Protector was a genuine top-tier expert! To think he also fell at the hands of Prince Jin!"

The image of The Old Man in White's corpse he had seen at the Xuanyin Sect surfaced in Guan Heng's mind, and he couldn't help but feel a chill.

"A blessing in disguise! If I can latch onto Prince Jin as a backer this time, it might not be a bad thing!"

"Ten days... I have to go to the Great Xia Imperial Palace to report to Prince Jin!"

"I must act quickly. Those things The Sixth Prince left behind... they are now my bargaining chip. But those things... I can't secure them alone in such a short time!" Guan Heng's face darkened.

But soon, an elegant and outstanding figure flashed through his mind.

"Wait... The Sixth Prince's Mother Empress should be in the nearby Wuzhou City right now. If I can kidnap her and present her to Prince Jin, perhaps..."