It was a frigid winter night. As darkness deepened, every breath in the air came out cold.
But even so, the entire imperial palace was filled with slaughter and the stench of blood everywhere, as if the scent alone could drive away the cold.
Red blood is always warm—like flowers blooming in the winter night, seductive and confusing.
Now, even with General Connor Tong bringing the remaining soldiers to help, they were no match for the palace elites. These elite troops had always been personally raised by Song Zhijue, so Connor's authority meant absolutely nothing to them.
Curses and wails echoed endlessly throughout the palace.
Seeing these stubborn soldiers refuse to listen, Connor Tong simply let loose and started killing left and right, as if washing away his own stupidity and ignorance with their blood.
"Ah..."
"Ah..."
More screams rang out. No one knew where Cao Wan’er or Song Zhijue were hiding, so they searched the palace—but nobody expected that, in just two months, the palace’s traps had all been changed and were now insanely deadly.
All around, Connor Tong’s soldiers and Shadow Guard agents had died—far, far too many.
Right now, Nina Xu was covered in wounds, her face streaked with blood. After a whole day of fighting, she was exhausted—but until Song Zhijue was dead, she refused to give up.
But her body was already starting to sway. That’s what comes from pushing yourself so hard to kill.
Yvonne Li wasn’t doing much better. Her hair—once neatly tied up—was now a total mess, her face looked wild, but her mind was all on Ivy Shen. After cutting down a few elite guards, she hurried deeper inside.
It was her first time in the palace. She’d never imagined it was so huge—dozens of layers inside and out. Now, she had no idea which layer she was in; all she knew was, the deeper she went, the more dangerous it got.
Because every layer had different kinds of soldiers.
"Ahhh—" Just then, one of Connor Tong’s men walking ahead of Yvonne was suddenly run through the chest by a sword that came out of nowhere.
Seven or eight died in an instant.
It all happened so fast—she didn’t even see what happened, let alone save anyone. Before she could react, they were already dead.
Seeing this, Yvonne’s heart started to panic. She instinctively stepped back—and just then, the ground made a loud ‘creak,’ as if she’d stepped on something.
"Mistress, watch out!" Before Yvonne could react, she was slammed aside—Lanny had thrown himself at her, taking her place. In the next instant, he was nailed to the wall by a sharp spear.
Suddenly, countless blades flew from the grass, all aimed at the wall. In a blink, Lanny’s body was riddled with holes—a horrifying sight.
This whole setup was designed to keep anyone not pinned down from escaping.
Yvonne, knocked to the ground, was completely stunned.
"Be... careful!" Lanny mouthed the words, his eyes wide open. Blood kept pouring from his chest—he was gone.
"No—!" Yvonne, sprawled on the ground, suddenly snapped back to herself. She saw Lanny, who’d always followed her, now nailed to the wall, dead. Tears burst out as she staggered forward, desperate to reach him.
"Mistress, don’t! Don’t go!" Pinkie was sobbing too, hugging Yvonne tightly. He couldn’t bear to look at his companion, whose eyes were still wide, clearly worried about them. Pinkie understood what he was thinking—don’t worry, Pinkie would risk his life to protect Mistress too.
"No—Lanny! Lanny—!" Yvonne knelt on the ground, crying loudly. No, no, not like this...
"Mistress, mistress..." Pinkie hugged Yvonne and sobbed even harder. "Lanny did this just to keep you safe! If anything happened to you, Lanny would never rest in peace."
"Wuwu..." Yvonne might be in her thirties, but she was always genuine—cry when she needed to, laugh when she wanted. Now, she was truly heartbroken, and didn’t hold back, bawling loudly.
"What happened?" Colin Kerr had fought his way over and, in the next second, saw Lanny nailed to the wall. He instantly understood.
"The dead are gone. The living have to keep going—only if you live can you take revenge on those who hurt him," Colin Kerr said quickly.
"Mistress..." Pinkie nodded through tears. "Young Mistress is still fighting. We can’t lose. Everyone dies someday, right?" He sniffled. "Lanny died for a reason—he was happy."
Hearing that, Yvonne quickly stood up and wiped her tears. Right—everyone dies eventually. Since she’d come this far, she’d already put her life on the line. Now wasn’t the time for mourning; every enemy she took down was a win. Even if she died, she wouldn’t be alone on the road to the underworld.
"All right, let’s charge!" Sword in hand, she glanced at Lanny, then pushed forward, pain in her heart.
"Protect your mistress," Colin Kerr said, knowing Yvonne was barely holding it together. As Ivy Shen’s older sister, he felt responsible for her.
"Got it. You be careful too!" Pinkie didn’t linger and dashed ahead.
But the palace was even deadlier than any of them expected—so many traps, elite guards, hidden weapons. People kept dying all around them, for no reason at all.
*****
With a loud bang, Ivy Shen kicked a huge hole in the roof of Shou’an Palace.
"Empress Dowager!" Hearing the noise, Luna rushed in. She saw the gaping hole in the roof—there was Ivy, standing above them, looking down from on high.
Cao Wan’er froze for a moment—she’d completely underestimated Ivy’s abilities. But she quickly regained her composure.
"Not bad, witch," Cao Wan’er said coldly, raising her eyes.
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"Same to you!"
"Empress..." Luna called out worriedly.
"Since you’re here, I’ll send you to the afterlife early," Cao Wan’er said. She leapt onto the roof, then dashed forward without pausing. Ivy immediately chased after her—she had to get Cao Wan’er out of here, she couldn’t let her hurt Jue’er.
Watching them leave, Luna felt uneasy and rushed to the secret chamber. She couldn’t let the Empress be hurt. Aunt Silver—that’s it! If she brought Aunt Silver to the Empress, and the Empress absorbed Aunt Silver’s power, her inner strength would soar.
Cao Wan’er kept leaping until she reached a wide spot, far from Song Zhijue, and finally stopped.
"I really underestimated you," Cao Wan’er said, standing in the moonlight with a cold smile, looking at Ivy Shen.
"That’s because you’ve got crap for eyes."
At that, Cao Wan’er clenched her fingers and snorted. "Such a sharp tongue—let’s see how you like it when it gets ripped out!"
"You really think you can do that?" Ivy Shen shot back, full of disdain. Rip out her tongue? Ha, she’d like to see who rips out whose!
"Hey, listen..." Cao Wan’er made a strange gesture, pointing at the night sky. "Do you hear that?"
Ivy frowned, not sure what this old witch was getting at.
"What, don’t get it? Haven’t you heard your husbands screaming one by one?" Cao Wan’er smiled, her grin positively sinister.
Ivy’s face grew darker and darker.
"Did anyone ever tell you about the Blood Clan? They survive by drinking blood. Pure-blooded Blood Clan women are born with demonic powers—they kill without spilling blood, because they drain it as they fight." Cao Wan’er smiled, but her smile was ice-cold.
Hearing that, Ivy’s heart started to panic. She’d heard of the Blood Clan from her master—definitely an evil tribe. Because they couldn’t marry close relatives (or their kids would die young), there were hardly any left—fewer than fifty. Weren’t they all hunted down ages ago?
The next moment, Ivy’s eyes widened as she looked at Cao Wan’er—a thought flashed through her mind. Cao Wan’er wouldn’t bring this up for no reason. Could it be...
"Your face says you’ve figured it out. Heh, that’s right—there’s still one Blood Clan member in the palace. She has the purest blood, and her demonic powers are off the charts. You lost to Aunt Silver before, right? Well, this one’s ten times stronger than Aunt Silver. You really think your husbands can stand up to her?"
"Bastard!" Ivy shouted, spinning around to go after them—but Cao Wan’er leapt in front of her.
"What’s the rush? You want to save them? Ha, don’t bother—because you won’t survive either. Why not die together? That way you’ll have company on the road to hell!" Cao Wan’er laughed, her voice twisted.
Enraged, Ivy snapped, "Then you can go to hell first!" Without hesitation, she charged—she had to take this old witch down fast, or she’d never get a chance to save them.
But Cao Wan’er’s strength was far beyond what Ivy had imagined.
******* Section Break *******
PS: Tomorrow will be even more exciting! Don’t think the storm is over—the real hurricane is just beginning. What will happen to the husbands? Will they live or die? Tomorrow will be heart-stopping, so don’t miss it!~~