Decisive Battle, Severing the Road of Life

These past few days, Vincent Su was awake less and less. Even when he was conscious, he couldn’t move or speak; most of the time, all he could do was worry helplessly and stew in his own frustration.

Yesterday, Lady Min was brought into the dungeon. She quickly became familiar with Bella Qin and easily won her trust. The two of them spent hours talking about all sorts of things.

Vincent Su couldn’t remember most of what they said. The only thing that stuck was Lady Min telling Bella Qin that she was Ninth Royal Uncle’s mother, that Lance was Ninth Royal Uncle, and that today Ninth Royal Uncle would come to save her.

When he heard that, Vincent grew anxious. He forced his eyes open, wanting to warn Bella Qin, but the moment he did, all he saw was her smiling in blissful happiness. In that instant, he wished he could kill both Bella Qin and Lady Min.

These two women—other than dragging Lance down and causing him trouble, what else could they possibly do?

Bella Qin only knew that Ninth Royal Uncle would come to save them, but she never once considered how dangerous that would be. Lady Min cared only about taking Ninth Royal Uncle’s life. But…

He couldn’t do it. Right now, he didn’t even have the strength to lift his hand, let alone kill anyone. All he could do was watch—watch as Bella Qin was lured in by Lady Min.

Lance, I’m sorry. I dragged you into this. If I hadn’t been captured, just Bella Qin and Lady Min alone would never be enough to make Ninth Royal Uncle risk himself.

Vincent Su hated it. He slowly closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind…

Right now, there was nothing he could do. All he could do was pray—pray that Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena Feng wouldn’t come. But heaven didn’t hear his prayers.

"Prince Nolan, Serena Feng, and Sean Xuan are at the foot of the mountain." Vincent Su, groggy as he was, snapped to full alert when he heard this. He struggled to open his eyes and see what was happening outside, but it was useless. All he could hear was a cold male voice: "Bring them up here and strip them of all their weapons. Remember, Prince Nolan’s weapon is a long flexible sword; Serena Feng is skilled with hidden weapons, especially a seven-pronged one—make sure she doesn’t bring it up."

"Lance, Serena, don’t come!" Vincent Su screamed in his heart. Right now, he wished he’d died back at the Su estate—then Prince Nolan and Serena wouldn’t be risking themselves for him.

In stark contrast to Vincent Su’s despair, Bella Qin and Lady Min were overjoyed. Both women eagerly hoped Prince Nolan and Serena Feng would show up soon—especially Lady Min, who had been preparing for this moment for far too long.

Finally, at the appointed time, Prince Nolan, Serena Feng, and Sean Xuan walked up Destiny Cliff. In the center sat a man in a ghost mask, dressed as the Ghost King. Prince Nolan looked at him with a hint of mockery and called out, "Ghost King?"

They weren’t at all like Lady Min had imagined—disheveled and exhausted. The three of them were spotless, refreshed, and full of energy, showing no sign of fatigue. As for the three people hanging on the edge of the cliff, neither Serena nor Prince Nolan spared them a single glance.

Seeing Serena Feng and her companions standing there, completely ignoring the ring of experts around them, the man dressed as the Ghost King was momentarily stunned. To cover his lapse, he flicked his sleeve and lowered his voice: "Eastlyn’s Ninth Royal Uncle, I’ve been waiting for you a long time."

"I’ve come as promised. Ghost King, will you release them?" Prince Nolan’s eyelids lifted slightly. Even standing below, he wasn’t intimidated at all.

"Release them? Where’s the Heaven-Son Sword?" The fake Ghost King snorted coldly, "You came up here empty-handed, Prince Nolan. You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. Do you really think I wouldn’t dare kill?"

That’s right—the searchers hadn’t found any weapons or hidden blades on Prince Nolan, Serena Feng, or Sean Xuan. The three of them really had come empty-handed, as if they were just out for a stroll.

Not everyone has that kind of nerve.

"Heaven-Son Sword? I’ve never heard of it, much less seen it. If you want it, release the hostages and I’ll have my people search all Four Kingdoms and Nine Cities for you. My word is gold—you can count on it." Prince Nolan’s words subtly flaunted his own power and status.

Just as Lady Min had predicted, Prince Nolan suspected this was all Liancastle’s doing, with Lady Min involved—but he had no proof. He still needed to confirm whether these people were really from Ghost Hall.

If these were truly Ghost Hall’s people, there was no reason for them to risk everything over a sword he didn’t even have. After all, the Ghost King didn’t really know him.

"Don’t have it? Looks like you won’t cry until you see the coffin." The fake Ghost King had no idea what Prince Nolan was thinking and just stuck to his own script.

"Someone, take the black cloth off that woman’s head." The fake Ghost King pointed his sword at Lady Min.

Soon enough, someone removed Lady Min’s hood and the cloth stuffed in her mouth.

"Do you know this woman?" As soon as the fake Ghost King spoke, Lady Min burst into tears, shaking her head over and over: "No, I don’t know them, you’ve got the wrong person."

"Go, just go! Don’t worry about me, get out of here…"

Her face was pale and dirty, eyes sunken, hair disheveled—every detail showed Lady Min had suffered. Prince Nolan glanced at her once, then looked away.

"I don’t have the Heaven-Son Sword." He repeated the same line, seemingly indifferent to Lady Min’s safety.

"No Heaven-Son Sword? Then why are you here?" The fake Ghost King’s voice suddenly rose, sharp and full of killing intent—his displeasure was obvious.

"Go, go! Don’t worry about me..." Lady Min kept begging, hanging off the edge of the cliff, looking utterly pitiful. But Prince Nolan and Serena Feng didn’t even glance her way. The fake Ghost King sneered at Lady Min, "Shut up."

Lady Min seemed truly frightened now, silent and trembling as if terrified.

Prince Nolan and Serena Feng didn’t say a word either. They simply stood their ground, locked in a silent standoff with the fake Ghost King. After a long moment, the fake Ghost King suddenly let out a sinister laugh.

"No Heaven-Son Sword? Then you’ll pay with your lives. I’ve captured three people, and you’ve brought three—how about a life for a life?"

"Absolutely not," Prince Nolan replied coldly. "All you want is power, wealth, and fame. I don’t have the Heaven-Son Sword, but I can still grant your wishes. Ghost Hall drifts overseas, with no foothold in the Nine Provinces. I’ll grant Ghost Hall a place to live—how about that?"

He posed it as a question, but didn’t give the fake Ghost King a chance to answer. With a mocking glance, his eyes finally landed on Lady Min, contemptuous and dismissive: "Liancastle’s location is excellent. In three days, I’ll take Liancastle and present it to Ghost Hall as a gift. What do you say, Ghost King?"

The fake Ghost King was about to explode, but just then, Lady Min—who’d been acting pitiful—suddenly looked up and spoke calmly: "How did you figure it out?"