Li Ru struggled to get up, but with his tendons severed, it was impossible. He could only curse incessantly, "Ye Feng, may you die a horrible death, and one day you will die at the Emperor's hands!"
The Emperor mentally cursed a thousand times, thinking that Li Ru's bragging was bad enough without dragging him into it.
"You don't need to worry about what will happen to His Majesty, but if you don't tell the truth today, I'll make sure you have no burial place!" Ye Feng said as he leisurely entered, supported by two attendants.
Suddenly, Diao Chan's nose tingled, and she rushed over, "My King, I thought I would never see you again!"
Ye Feng gently patted Diao Chan's shoulder to comfort her, "Rest assured, my beauty. From now on, wherever this King goes, I will bring you along, how about that?"
"Why does my King keep staring at me?" Diao Chan asked, looking at Ye Feng's dazed eyes, "Is there something dirty on my face!"
Ye Feng casually wiped away the last trace of blood from Diao Chan's face and whispered, "Nothing, I just think you look even more beautiful in armor."
"Rebellious minister and traitor, spit!" Li Ru, still on the ground, cursed angrily, "I wish I could eat your flesh raw and drink your blood!"
"But from the moment you pledged allegiance to His Majesty, you lost any chance of doing so!" Ye Feng released the hands of his supporters and sat down in a chair, "Have you ever thought of regretting it, or perhaps I..."
"Spit!" Li Ru spat fiercely at Ye Feng's face, "You dog, you won't get anything out of me. Even if I'm gone, there are thousands, millions, who want your life!"
Lu Bu lunged forward and slapped Li Ru twice without a word. Blood gushed from Li Ru's mouth, and several teeth were knocked out.
"Slandering the King of Chu will cost you your life next time!" Lu Bu threatened fiercely, "Do you really think you're still in the days when you could do as you pleased in the King of Chu's mansion!"
Li Ru was stunned, then let out a self-deprecating laugh. He had to admit, the days in the King of Chu's mansion were the most exhilarating he had ever experienced!
"Ye Feng, Ye Feng, how can you possibly have so many people willing to shed blood and sacrifice their lives for you? If not for Diao Chan, you would still be dreaming of coming back," Li Ru raved like a madman, "You could come back, you actually managed to come back."
Not long after, blood mixed with saliva smeared the ground heavily. Lu Bu was about to strike again, but Ye Feng stopped him, "Wait, this King wants to know why he hates this King so much?"
"Speak," Lu Bu roared with rage and stomped on Li Ru's head, "or I'll kill you right now!"
Li Ru chuckled and waved his hand, signaling Ye Feng to come closer. Lu Bu quickly blocked Ye Feng, "My Lord, you have just recovered from a serious illness. Let Lu Bu handle this. What if he tries some trickery!"
Lu Bu slowly approached Li Ru's mouth. Li Ru smiled sinisterly and slowly began, "If you want to know why, you'll have to wait for your next life!"
"Hahahahaha, King of Chu, I'll be waiting for you below, and then we can settle our scores!" Li Ru sneered and bit down hard, "King of Chu, I guess I've won against you this time!"
"You want to die? It's not that easy!" Ye Feng sneered. Hua Tuo emerged from behind and fed a pill into Li Ru's mouth, "A Ten-Full Revitalizing Pill, with plenty of lingzhi. Even if there's only a breath left, it can bring him back!"
"Who dares to die without the King of Chu's command!" Hua Tuo glanced meaningfully at the Emperor. The Emperor trembled violently and hesitantly asked, "King of Chu, there's nothing for me here, perhaps I..."
"Hmm?" Diao Chan raised an eyebrow. It was the perfect time to make an example. If the monkey left, who would the chicken be shown to?
"Your Majesty, please wait. After all, it's up to the beauty. If she doesn't speak, I can't force him. Besides," Ye Feng said with a smile, "it's not a bad thing for His Majesty to watch and listen for a while."
When one is under someone else's roof, one must bow their head. "Yes, King of Chu!"
The Emperor's demeanor was like a wronged young woman. Ye Feng was not surprised. He looked at the slowly reviving Li Ru and said leisurely, "How does this taste? Don't worry, there are even more wonderful tastes waiting for you later!"
"You, what did you do?" Li Ru exclaimed in shock. He wasn't afraid of death, but he feared humiliation.
"So the dignified楼主 (Louzhu - Master of a building/organization) is also afraid? Aren't these the very tactics you used to play with others? Let them play with you too!" Ye Feng said coldly, "Guards, take good care of Mr. here. He is a great contributor!"
Yu Huatian stepped silently from the shadows to the front, his face grim, "How dare he lay hands on my Lord. This subordinate guarantees he will suffer endlessly while remaining alive. My Lord, rest assured."
"Foolish!" Ye Feng feigned anger, "This is a former scholar of the King of Chu's mansion. Do you think ordinary methods would impress him? You're dreaming! Tell all brothers to put in some effort, and I will reward you handsomely!"
"The Great King's command is one thing, and besides..." Yu Huatian gritted his teeth and glared at Li Ru, "To dare lay hands on my Lord, naturally, we will make him wish he were dead, yet unable to die!"
Li Ru, who was once a楼主, naturally knew the methods of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. His veins bulged, and he roared, "Kill me! Ye Feng, if you are a real man, then kill me!"
Ye Feng supported himself and walked a few steps to Li Ru's side, grabbed his hair, and said coldly, "I could have decided your fate, but now you are beyond my control. Even if I wanted to save you, I am powerless."
Li Ru's gaze shifted from hatred to pleading. The Emperor watched clearly and suddenly slumped onto a chair, breathing more than exhaling.
"In the past, this King was too soft-hearted, which led you to believe I could be easily manipulated. It's time for a change!" Ye Feng said angrily, his eyes suddenly catching sight of the Emperor slumped in the chair. He smiled and said, "Since His Majesty is unwell, take him away for a good rest. Remember to take good care of him!"
Ye Feng emphasized the last few words, confident that Song Jingang would understand his meaning. Even if he didn't, it was fine, he could be replaced!
"Ye Feng, you rebellious minister and traitor, may you die a horrible death!" Li Ru tried to provoke Lu Bu into killing him, but Ye Feng saw through his intentions long ago.
"What, Feng Xian, do you want to take action?" Ye Feng said coldly, "He cannot die, but don't worry, Mr. Hua Tuo is here. Work together, and if he can endure ten years of torment, this King will not interfere with how you deal with him!"
Ten years of torment! Li Ru looked at Yu Huatian, who was approaching step by step like a harbinger of death, his face changing drastically. He frantically shook his head.
"Mr., do you see how Feng Xian should act to ensure this man suffers no harm!" Lu Bu pretended to ask, "Peel off his entire skin."
"That would be fine. Please General, find a dog's skin. When it's still warm, wrap it around him. Over time, it will become one with the skin!" Hua Tuo said coldly.
Miraculous medical skill is for ordinary people. But for an evildoer like Li Ru, who used his glib tongue to sow discord, causing countless deaths among the populace, killing him a hundred times over would still be insufficient.
"Good, let's do as the先生 says!" Lu Bu clapped his hands and gave the order. Soon, a personal guard arrived with the bloody skin of a mangy dog.
Hua Tuo carefully found a powder and whispered, "General, you may proceed!"
"I never thought the esteemed Mr. would end up as a mangy dog. Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable!" Yu Huatian mocked, "This makes it difficult for us to act!"
"Don't worry, Mr. has plenty of methods!" Lu Bu pretended to persuade and slowly approached Li Ru with a small knife.
"I'll say it, I'll say everything!" Li Ru bowed his head in resignation, now only wishing for a quick death.
"You want to talk, but this King might not want to listen. Regretting it at the end is too late!" Ye Feng sneered, "Wasn't it all for your plan to succeed? You wanted us to perish together, so you could seize the Third Legion, and Liangzhou would be under your control."
"You, you, you!" Li Ru's eyes widened as he stared at Ye Feng. After a long pause, he let out a long cry to the heavens, "Since heaven gave birth to me, Li Ru, why give birth to Ye Feng? Do it!"
"However, this King is indeed interested in something about you. If you confess honestly, it's not impossible for this King to give you a quick death." Ye Feng gave a look, and Lu Bu, Hua Tuo, and the others temporarily stopped.
"I never thought there would be something King of Chu doesn't know," Li Ru mocked, "It seems my subordinate still needs to enlighten my Lord!"
"Your true identity!" Ye Feng pondered repeatedly. Li Ru's actions had no apparent reason, "Why are you doing so much?"
"Why?" Li Ru sneered, as if questioning Ye Feng, "How dare you, King of Chu, ask me?"
"When you lived in luxury and sought pleasure, did you ever consider what the common people were doing?"
"Have you ever witnessed people eating their own children? On plains stretching for a thousand miles, there wasn't even a blade of grass left, let alone tree bark, which was also eaten clean!"
"No, you don't know. You only know how to satisfy your own selfish desires. All of this is utterly disgusting to me!"
Li Ru spat out several shocking reasons, or perhaps not reasons at all, because Ye Feng had always been thinking of the common people.
"But you don't know, King of Chu, his true..." Lu Bu hesitated, then defended, "What crime have the common people committed!"
"A hypocrite. I gave him opportunities time and time again, but he insisted on opposing me for the sake of those lowly people. Otherwise, I would have succeeded," Li Ru ranted uncontrollably.
"Lowly people?" Li Ru's words stunned Ye Feng. He claimed to be acting for the people, yet he called them "lowly people." Who was right and who was wrong?
"The common people!" Li Ru cursed, "Give them a little benefit and they become fickle. What use are they if we keep them? It's people like us who can truly make the Great Han prosperous and strong!"
Hearing this, Ye Feng felt his scalp tingle. This kind of person would never change his mind. He gave Lu Bu a look that conveyed his understanding.
After the Fangtian Huaji left Li Ru's body, Li Ru uttered his last words, "While I was alive, King of Chu had no prestige. Now that I am dead, King of Chu can blame everything on me!"