Chapter 227: Chapter 219 Don’t Be Afraid
This place, in fact, is very spacious.
However, in a world this wide, when the heart becomes narrow, it turns into a chaotic scene.
Moreover, they were not plotting at this moment, nor were they arguing, but were engaged in a brutal fight. Blades and swords swung indiscriminately amidst the chaos, slashing and thrusting without regard for friend or foe. As the cold glints flashed, blood and torn flesh sprayed out continuously, splattering on the pristine white snow.
Soon, the snow was stained red.
Then, the originally thick snow was melted by the scorching hot blood, turning into streams of blood water. With every angry roar and scream of agony, the pooled blood on the ground began to ripple, reflecting the faces—fallen, cold, and stiff.
This scene, surprisingly, was hundreds of times more terrifying than the legends of Hell.
Shang Ruyi kept retreating, dodging. Remarkably, she miraculously evaded every attack approaching her, sidestepping every gleam of blade and flash of sword.
Finally, she backed up to the entrance.
When her back touched the thick door panel, she suddenly shivered. Even though it had snowed all day, even though the place was long since sealed by heavy snows, and the severe cold was unbearable, the substantial door was frozen like a block of ice. Even a slight touch caused a biting pain in her fingertips. Yet, when she touched the door panel, she inexplicably felt a hint of warmth.
It seemed as though a familiar aura seeped through the door panel, infiltrating her entire being.
At this time, the people involved in the battle gradually came to their senses.
When Xiao Yuansui cleaved an attacker in two with a sword, the foul-smelling blood splattered all over him. Panting and staggering, he surveyed everything around him. His eyes, soaked with blood, gradually turned cold.
More and more people lay dead, but the bodies strewn about weren’t just his men, or Lu Yong’s men.
They were the people of Wanggang Village!
This was the last scene he wanted to see. The reason he feared it was because he knew full well that once he went to war with the people of Wanggang Village, at this moment, this place would be precisely what someone else would be most glad to see happen!
Upon realizing this, he turned pale and shouted angrily, "Stop! Everyone stop!"
Finally, some stopped.
Finally, the slaughter came to an end.
However, the ground was already a river of blood. Corpses piled up at the feet of those still standing. These faces had only moments ago been alive, some possibly having exchanged greetings at the mountain gate. Yet now, they were separated by life and death. More horrifyingly, the blood of those people stained everyone alive both outwardly and inwardly.
Xiao Yuansui finally walked out from the crowd, bloodied all over, with even his eyes stained red. He shouted, "We can’t fight anymore, we’ve been deceived!"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding people were startled.
Meanwhile, Lu Yong, who was already injured and nearly had an arm disabled, used a knife to prop himself up, panting, "What are you saying?"
Xiao Yuansui said, "Someone’s been plotting against us, we’ve been duped!"
"..."
"Everyone knows that after Yu Wenye suffered three defeats, I indeed sent grain to the village, and yet those people have not returned even now, as all of you have seen!"
After the fierce battle, Lu Yong began to calm down slightly, yet his eyes remained red as he said, "But Mr. Hu clearly said—"
"That’s exactly where we’ve been tricked!"
Xiao Yuansui, panting heavily, seemed about to collapse. The brawl had drained too much of his strength, but more so, the truth almost about to be revealed was suffocating him.
He said, "I sent the grain, but the village didn’t receive it, which leaves only one possibility!"
At this, Lu Yong shuddered abruptly.
He appeared to realize something, his bloodied face displaying disbelief. Xiao Yuansui solemnly said, "The grain was robbed halfway!"
"..."
"Not just once, but three times, our grains were ambushed three times!"
"..."
"Thus, not a single one of those people returned!"
At this moment, everyone around displayed shock, as if they couldn’t believe their ears. Xiao Yuansui continued, "Furthermore, the village fire—if I’m not mistaken—was not a natural disaster, but rather a manmade one."
Lu Yong staggered a few steps forward, staring at him, "Why?"
Xiao Yuansui said, "Because burning the village’s grain would force Wanggang Village to send people here for provisions. When this truth was hidden, misunderstandings emerged, making this slaughter inevitable!"
Lu Yong’s panic grew, especially seeing the surroundings full of corpses, including Hu Jinfeng, previously felled by an arrow, whose body lay trampled and unrecognizable nearby. He was even more distressed, lacking the strength to speak again.
After a while, someone in the crowd asked, "Then, who?"
"..."
"Who robbed our grain? And who set fire to Wanggang Village?"
"..."
"Who made us kill each other?!"
These repeated questions echoed throughout the immense Xingluo Warehouse City, with resonances like booming echoes, almost deafening the ears, while Xiao Yuansui stood amidst the field of corpses, his gaze rising from the blood and flesh at his feet, lifting slowly until it settled on the large warehouse ahead.
He raised his hand, pointing there, "It’s—"
Everyone’s gaze followed his finger’s direction, where they saw a slender figure standing at the warehouse entrance.
Shang Ruyi.
Her face was pale, seemingly long intoxicated by the heavy scent of blood, robbing her of the strength to think. At this moment, meeting Xiao Yuansui’s gaze, hundreds of others’ gazes began converging on her, intense hatred threatening to pin her onto the door panel.
Her body went weak, nearly collapsing.
But in that instant, a hand emerged from behind, sturdily supporting her.
That hand was warm, firm, like iron!
Shang Ruyi shuddered violently, wanting to turn around, yet dared not. She remained frozen there. Then, she heard the door slowly open, creaking with a long and hoarse sound, like a lament for the scene before her.
A breath blew gently past her ear.
And with it came that familiar voice—
"Do not fear."
"...!"
At this moment, Shang Ruyi could no longer not turn around. Although that warm hand and familiar scent had already told her the answer, when she genuinely turned around, her tear-filled eyes reflected a cool and stern face, and she felt her heart, unexpectedly, rebound with a strength it should not have, pounding fiercely once again.
Standing behind her was Yu Wenye!