Chapter 168: The Four Divine Beasts

"What a coincidence, all of the four Divine Beasts are here!" Rain clapped.

"Four Divine Beasts" Gu Qingyu frowned, seemingly puzzled.

"Do you think that normal average people can survive after taking ten doses worth of Bracken? They would be dead a long time ago!" Yu'er looked at Gu Qingyu, and the corners of her mouth curled up in disdain, seeming to laugh at her ignorance.

"You mean... the Azure Dragon is..." Gu Qingyu lowered her head in disbelief and looked at Qi Wan in her arms.

"Exactly." Seeing Gu Qingyu's expression, Rain smiled with satisfaction, "The great Azure Dragon has been following you around like a puppy this whole time? Isn't it humiliating?"

At this moment, Qi Yichen, who had not spoken for a long time, said, "She's the White Tiger."

"White Tiger? Ha, ha, she's just a replica of me." Rain looked at Gu Qingyu with contempt.

"Really?" Qi Yichen opened his fan and retorted. "Replica? Then why didn't you get rid of her as soon as possible? Are you afraid of something?"

Rain turned slightly green. "Shut up!"

Xuan Wu immediately rushed towards Qi Yichen and Suzaku quickly stood in front of Qi Yichen and confronted Xuan Wu.

"Hong, are you really going to ruin our long friendship for a mere scholar?" Xuan Wu merely laughed at her eagerness.

Suzaku sneered. "Xuan, you should know that you've thrown away our friendship the moment you decided to attack him."

"Heh, really, even though so many years has gone by, you've not changed at all." Xuan Wu sighed and shook his head, "To be honest, Hong, I am also quite curious about your real strength."

"Then try it out for yourself," Suzaku answered cooly.

A gleam of light flashed through Xuan Wu's eyes and he was about to strike Suzaku when someone tugged on his hand. He turned around and saw Rain shaking her head. "Not yet, Xuan."

"Not yet?" Xuan Wu stepped back and he no longer wished to attack Qi Yichen or Suzaku.

"Yes, for this show to be perfect, we need one more person..." She mused.

Xie li paled slightly and she walked briskly to Gu Qingyu with her crystal ball in hand. "Yu, the battle on the surface is about to begin. We're vastly outnumbered..."

"How many of us are defending the city?"

"...Only General Leng." Xie Li hesitated before she finally answered.

That horrible news went off like a bomb in her brain, and she turned as white as a sheet in a instant. "How many are we up against?" Maybe they were not attacked by that many.

"Millions..." Xie Li lowered her head and avoided Gu Qingyu's eyes of abject horror. "He had already evacuated the city. So, he should be the only person left.”

Gu Qingyu staggered backwards in despair while her hands trembled.Qi Wan, who was lying in her arms, obviously felt her shaking. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Boss, let me down."

"No, you..."

"It's okay." Qi Wan shimmied out of her hands before she could protest, and she did not fight him, in worry that she might cause his injuries to reopen.

"I'm going to find Brother Murong." Gu Qingyu raised her hand to throw up her chains, but someone blocked her path.

"What's the rush, Yu? A dance with death is always the most beautiful." She said with a macabre sense of humour.

Qi Yan's only hand stretched out, and his ribbon flew out from his sleeve and towards Rain, who dodged it deftly and backed away. "Oh, you can still use your weapon?"

"Boss, if you want to go up, then I will bring you there. I will take you wherever you want to go. And I will cut down whoever that stands in your way!" He declared as he stood in front of Gu Qingyu, his empty sleeve swaying at his side.

Ye Jin walked in front of Qi Wan, his hand emitting a light blue light, and the cuts and scrapes that covered his skin slowly closed and healed. "Thank you, but I will protect her myself." He smiled at her, then turned to Rain. The blue light in his hand condensed into Ghost Howl.

At Yan Yang City

The full moon hung in the dark night sky, pale moonlight cascaded down onto a single man who stood against the wind. Murong Zuoyu stood outside the city walls, clad in a gleaming silver armour while his ponytail whipped behind him. He tightened his grip on his sword, which glowed in hues of purple and lilac. He closed his eyes slightly as the wind buffeted against his face and stole all warmth from his skin, robbing him of any readable emotion in his features.

Brother Zhu, no matter how strong the opponent is, no matter how many enemies there are, I will definitely defend this city. I will wait for you to come back, to hear the trumpets celebrating my victory.

He could faintly hear the sound of a charging army. He opened his eyes, and in an instant, swiped his fingers over the blade of his sword. Blood splattered onto the metal, and the faint purple glow grew blindingly bright. The enemy army was right before him, they were so numerous that they covered the landscape. Murong Zuoyu smirked at the sight and without hesitation, rushed into battle with his purple cape billowing behind him.

In the Volcano

Gu Qingyu calmed down slowly, and patted Ye Jin on the shoulder lightly. "Xiao Zhezhe, we'll get the Spirit Gem."

She had made up her mind, the moment they get the Spirit Gem, they would return to the surface to support Murong Zuoyu. He had sent everyone else away, so that he could focus on protecting the city, protecting her. He has put his life on the line to buy her time, she cannot let his effort be in vain!

"Okay." Ye Jin nodded as his eyes narrowed dangerously at Rain.

Rain seemed have not noticed, she was absorbed with Yan Ruhuo instead.

"Brother Yan, are you disappointed in Rain?" She asked, though her eyes could not be read.

"Yu'er, what do you mean?" Yan Ruhuo frowned.

"Rain...can't bring Brother Yan back to life." She sighed softly, "Brother Yan, your appearance is a mistake."

Yan Ruhuo stiffened. "W-why?"

"No reason. But if you must know, that would be because you're just too powerful already." Her eyes were filled with pity. "At this rate, no one else could defeat you."

"Really, Rain?" Yan Ruhuo obviously couldn't believe it. "You want to kill me just because I'm too powerful?"

"No, no one can kill you now. As long as you're not willing to die, no one would be able to take your life." She said calmly, "I can only seal you away."

Gu Qingyu listened to their conversation quietly. She finally understood why Yan Zun had been so resentful, why he wanted revenge.

He raised her, he cared for her. And she had cared for him too, by staying with him. He had shared his joys, his sorrows, and his loneliest moments with her. And yet, her care for him was all a lie, a trick. She wanted to kill him. No, she wanted to seal him away, a fate worse than death.

Rain, you're practically heartless.

Gu Qingyu sighed softly. "Xiao Zhezhe, let's not waste any more time with them. I can sense the Spirit Gem, it's about thirty metres from your right."

"Good." Ye Jin moved in the direction she indicated. Ten metres away from him was a wall, but he proceeded nonetheless.

Xuan Wu swallowed and was about to step in when a fan appeared before his eyes and blocked him. "Hey, don't be so hasty! Weren't you going to teach me a lesson just now? Come on!" Qi Yichen taunted him with a grin.

His choice of words reminded Gu Qingyu of a particular, tantalising song.It might not be the time, but how would Xuan Wu react if Qi Yichen actually sang that song? She shoved her badly-timed curiosity to the back ofher mind.

Meanwhile

Swords were raised and swung, crimson arcs coloured the night sky and dyed the pale moon. The light from his sword had become more akin to wine, as blood splattered across his broken silver armour and stained his tattered cape. His muscles burn as his injuries reopened with each strike, but he paid no attention to them, he had already grown numb to the pain. In his mind, he repeated these words like a mantra. "Protect this city, at all cost!"

Xuan Wu glared at Qi Yichen, then struck with his dagger.

The scholar turned his fan, opened it, and blocked the stab with a loud clang of metal.

"Miss, thank you for restoring my powers." He turned to Suzaku with a wide smile.

Suzaku didn't reply. Instead, she stepped forward, conjured her flaming red blade and drove it towards Xuan Wu.

"You deserve it! Hahahaha..." Qi Yichen closed his fan and laughed, "Go, Miss! Beat this damn tortoise to death!"

Gu Qingyu grimaced at his stupidity and lamented Suzaku's fate. Lord knows what she had done in her previous life that she would fell in love with someone like Qi Yichen. But wait, she's the Vermillion Bird! There should be no previous life to speak of. Then how did she fall in love with that scholar? They did not even come from the same time, how could they possibly meet? Maybe it was love at first sight? That would be when Qi Yichen, who just arrived at this time, happened to appear right at her doorstep and she happened to find him, fall in love with him and nurse him back to health. What are the odds of that happening?

Qi Yichen was also quite confused as to why Suzaku liked him, but it was too late for him to ask. They had more important matters at hand. Although, if it were her, she would not have dropped the topic at all. She was still haunted by Suzaku's declaration of love after all.

Qi Yichen's weird method of cheering her on tugged at Suzaku's lips, though she did not know if she should laugh or cry.

Damn tortoise? Xuan Wu blocked Suzaku's long sword with his dagger and fired back at Qi Yichen. "Keep your mouth clean, scholar."

"Was I wrong? My mouth is very clean by the way. If you don't believe me, come and have a sniff!" He continued his taunting.

"You..." Xuan Wu frowned, his calm facade was cracking.

Qi Yichen laughed gleefully. "Haha, I love how frustrated you look right now! You can't stand me, but you can't hit me!"