The wind stopped, the clouds dispersed, the sky and the earth were open; looking across the training ground, it was a mess.
The palace guards who were in formation were all bleeding from all seven orifices, with hideous looks on their faces. They lay in disarray in the field, their deaths looking horrific.
On the parade ground littered with corpses, a general stopped his horse, looking compassionate, with tears and blood in his eyes and inexplicable resentment. He was staring at Master Li opposite him without blinking, his eyes filled with a series of complex emotions including anger, worry, sadness, etc.
That person was none other than Zhu Li, the great general of Heshuo.
All the palace guards who were in charge of the battle formation were killed, and even the town commanders were only a few left in the formation. No matter who told the story, the outcome of the battle was clear at a glance.
It is an obvious fact that Zhu Li single-handedly broke the death formation, which is known as one of the four most dangerous formations.
Staring at Master Li, Zhu Li said coldly, "General Li, are you going to be a traitor?"
"Your Excellency asked me to break into the death array alone, and I did it. Now, the death array has been broken, and it is time for you to fulfill your promise. Please let me, Alang, go immediately." The voice was sad and angry, and those who heard it were depressed and hurt.
In addition, Zhu Li did not lower his voice deliberately, so the local officials who were watching the game naturally heard every word he said, and a look of enlightenment immediately appeared in their eyes.
No wonder Zhu Li had inexplicably taken risks alone and acted like a fool before. It turned out that it was Master Li who had held the man's father hostage and forced him to die, which was why the scene of a general breaking into the formation occurred.
After understanding this, everyone looked at the civil and military officials in Jiangyou, and their faces all turned unfriendly.
Of course, even if there are some powerful figures among these people who do not agree with the practice of threatening others with their relatives, they still have to show indignation, because it is difficult to offend the public anger.
No matter what, threatening someone to have a relationship with you is an immoral, shameless and despicable act.
Facing everyone's gazes, Wang Yueyao was fine. After all, no matter what, she would never do anything to let Zhu Li down. She had no guilt in her heart and was naturally not afraid of everyone's gazes.
But she didn't care, but her generals couldn't help but care. Zhang Xutuo immediately stood up, bowed to everyone, and said sincerely: "Please don't misunderstand me. Li Fazhu kidnapped General Huaihua's father. It was purely his personal behavior. It has nothing to do with my general manager or the entire Jiangyou."
Zhang Xutuo was very decisive. Without even thinking twice, he kicked Li Fazhu onto the moral judgment seat.
Not to mention that Wang Yueyao did not instruct Li Fazhu to do so. Even if Wang Yueyao really instructed the other party to do so, Zhang Xutuo would not allow Li Fazhu to tarnish the reputation of his own steward in front of all the heroes in the world.
But his words were doomed to be in vain. Considering Master Li's viciousness, how could he give up this opportunity to force Wang Yueyao to stand against Zhu Li
This shameless old fellow faced the gazes of the crowd and said clearly, "In troubled times, the winners win and the losers take it all. The kidnapping of Zhu Li's father was indeed Li's plan alone, and naturally had nothing to do with my housekeeper."
His voice was frank and he confessed everything; even the shameless things were described with a sense of righteousness, which really made people admire him.
But the more he said this, the more people would suspect that this was Wang Yueyao's instigation, and that Master Li was merely showing his loyalty and taking the blame.
Before he could finish his words, Master Li turned to look at Zhu Li without waiting for Zhang Xutuo to continue his defense, and said indifferently: "The general asked me to release your father. Is this a joke?"
"It is absolutely impossible to release him now. As for the bad reputation of betrayal, I dare not bear it. I don't think I have ever promised the general that as long as the general breaks the death formation, I will release him."
"If I remember correctly, what I said was, 'If the general is truly an invincible hero and breaks the death formation, I might be able to return your father to the general intact. What do you think? Do you dare to bet?'"
"Isn't that right, General? This is a huge gamble. The general is betting on the one in ten thousand chance that Li will be in a good mood and release your father when the death formation is broken."
"I'm sorry, although the death formation has been broken, I'm in a very bad mood. Even if I don't let your father go, it can't be considered as betrayal, right?"
Master Li's words left Zhu Li speechless.
That’s right, Master Li said exactly that at the beginning; Zhu Li was indeed gambling when he went into the death array alone, betting on whether Master Li would have a change of heart.
But what is the result
But he felt helpless. He hoped that the shameless and black-hearted Master Li would have a change of heart. Zhu Li felt that he was too naive.
But if he doesn't do what the other party says, his father's life will be in danger. This is Zhu Li's helplessness; even if he knows that the other party will not have a change of heart, he has to do it.
To put it bluntly, this is like Zhou Yu fighting Huang Gai, one is willing to fight, the other is willing to be beaten; if there is any difference, it is that the one who is willing to be beaten is because his lifeline has been grasped by the other and he has no choice but to obey.
"Da Lang, don't worry about me. Don't make yourself suffer... Ouch!" When Zhu Chun saw that the general named Li who held him hostage had forced his son into this state, he immediately cried out in pain.
But before he could finish his words, he saw Master Li's right hand move slightly, and a bright red liquid instantly seeped out from Zhu Chun's neck. The intense pain made the honest Zhu Chun cry out in pain immediately.
"Stop!" Seeing this scene, Zhu Li's heart almost broke.
He was about to jump out, so he immediately stopped him with a loud voice, "Master Li, if you have anything to say, just go to Zhu, don't embarrass my A Lang."
"Also, what do you want me to do in order for you to let me, Alang, go?" Zhu Li's eyes were blazing with anger, but he had to speak in a compromising manner.
"What do you want me to do? Hahaha!" Master Li's eyes were vicious as he glanced at Zhu Li coldly. "Given the general's personality, I'm afraid that no matter what you do, you won't be able to make me happy."
"I asked the general to fight his way into the death array, hoping that he would die in it. But you, General, gave me a big surprise instead. This surprise made me feel very bad."
"Li is in a bad mood, so naturally he will not release your father. In other words, Zhu Li, as long as you are alive, Li will not be happy!"
Things had come to this point, and Master Li was unwilling to hide the truth any longer. He directly stated that he would be unhappy as long as Zhu Li was alive, and if he was unhappy, he would naturally not let Zhu Chun go.
As soon as these words were spoken, the heroes naturally understood the hidden meaning of Master Li's words. Although they extremely despised Jiang You's actions, if they could use this opportunity to get rid of Zhu Li, they would naturally be happy to watch the fun.
The development of Heshuo and the existence of Zhu Li not only blocked the way of Li Fazhu, but also posed an extremely huge threat to other vassal states.
In times of chaos, any important official in charge of a region would naturally hope that those who are stronger than himself would meet with misfortune sooner rather than later, so that he can sweep all enemies in his way and finally ascend to the top.
Therefore, everyone was silent as Fazhu Li used all means to force Zhu Li, and everyone just watched with cold eyes.
"Da Lang, don't do anything stupid,... woo woo!" Upon hearing Master Li forcing Zhu Li so blatantly, Zhu Chun immediately panicked. He didn't care about the threat of the long sword on his neck and immediately shouted to Zhu Li.
However, before he could finish shouting, Lai Huer, who was standing next to Li Fazhu, immediately stuffed his mouth with a piece of rag.
"General, uh, no, General Huaihua, don't listen to that old thief. If anything happens to you, who can guarantee that this old thief will fulfill his promise?" Zhou Ran, who was stationed in the Yaozhou camp in place of Guan Yu, immediately reminded loudly after hearing what Li Fazhu said.
At the same time, he also wanted to take his wife and Tan Qiao and ride forward.
"Yes, General, please think twice. Li Fazhu is a man who cannot be trusted." Han Zhi of Xuzhou immediately echoed and also wanted to ride his horse forward.
"You bastard, if I, Alang, lose even a single hair, I, Zhu Ya, swear here that not only will I grind your bones to ashes, but I will also dig out all the ancestors of your Li family from the dirt, whip their corpses and burn their bones, and they will not rest in peace until they die." Zhu Ya was furious. He was about to ride his horse forward while threatening loudly.
However, before they could come forward, Zhu Li waved his hand at them without even turning his head, signaling them not to come forward; at the same time, a look of determination suddenly emerged on his face.
"Brother, don't listen to Li the thief!" Seeing Zhu Li's gesture, everyone didn't dare to move forward, so Zhu Ya had to shout again.
However, Zhu Li turned a deaf ear to the cries of his younger brother. He looked at Li Fazhu calmly and said, "General Li is rarely so honest. How about this? As long as you release my A Lang, I will let you do whatever you want. How do you think?"
“Hahaha, are you kidding, General?” Master Li laughed wildly, then said with a bad face, “Your skills are well-known in the martial arts world. The three fierce generals that no one dared to provoke were all defeated by you. I am just a natural martial artist, how can I do anything to you?”
"I'm afraid that before I can control the general, my life will be gone!"
Although Zhu Li is at the Natural Realm, his combat power is obvious to all. The two fierce generals, both of whom are top masters of Shi Ran, joined forces to besiege him, but still ended up in a miserable defeat. Ordinary people really dare not get close to him.
"Then according to General Li, what should I do so that you will be willing to release my Alang?" Zhu Li still looked at the other party calmly and asked again.
Upon hearing this, Master Li's expression changed, but he still refused to believe in evil: "Whatever Li says, will the general do it?"
"Of course. As long as I can gain General Li's trust and get him to release my Alang, I will do anything." This was a light response, full of unquestionable determination.
"Brother, don't!"
"Brother, don't be stupid!"
"General, think twice!"
... ...
Zhu Ya, Zhou Ran, Han Zhi and others immediately shouted anxiously, fearing that Zhu Li, in his eagerness to save his father, would fall into the enemy's trap; however, Zhu Li seemed to have made up his mind long ago and still turned a deaf ear to their shouts.
Looking at Zhu Li's calm demeanor, Master Li narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Since the general is so sincere, it would be unmanly for me to continue to talk nonsense."
Before he could finish his words, he immediately changed the subject and said, "The general is determined to save my father. He is indeed kind and filial. If we were in another place or under another circumstances, perhaps we could become friends."
"However, since we are destined to be enemies in this life, don't blame me for being cruel and ruthless."
"If the general wants to gain the trust of Li, it is not difficult. You might as well imitate the martial arts world and do some nine swords and eighteen caves. I wonder if the general dares to do it?" Master Li finally made a request, but everyone who heard this request trembled and was frightened.
Nine Knives and Eighteen Caves means cutting your left and right calves, left and right thighs, left and right
The forearm and both arms were pierced with a knife, and the ninth knife was to pierce his lower abdomen. After this set of treatment, even the best man would be ruined.
How could everyone not be shocked when they heard this
"No, big brother, you old thief, I will fight you to the death." Upon hearing Master Li actually make such a vicious request, Zhu Ya immediately got angry. He swung the Overlord Spear in his hand in an instant and rushed towards Master Li on his horse.
"Stop!" However, before he could rush forward, Zhu Li immediately stopped him, turned around and glared at Zhu Ya fiercely, saying: "Don't forget what you promised me."
"Brother!" Upon seeing his elder brother glaring at him, Zhu Ya stopped his actions reflexively, but he was still unwilling in his heart.
"That's enough. Don't let me down." Zhu Li scolded him coldly, then resolutely turned his head and looked at Master Li. He said clearly, "Today, General Li promised me in front of all the heroes in the world that as long as I perform the Nine Knives and Eighteen Caves on him, you will release me, A Lang."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Li, on his horse, bowed to the officials of the surrounding vassal states, and said earnestly: "I hope you can all bear witness for me."
Looking at Zhu Li's posture, it seemed that he was really going to carry out the nine cuts and eighteen caves torture. Although ninety-nine percent of those present were powerful figures, everyone was horrified and moved.
Whether one hopes Zhu Li suffers misfortune or dies a violent death, a man who is willing to endure the punishment of nine cuts and eighteen holes in order to save his father is indeed worthy of respect from everyone present.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Li stopped talking. He drew out the long sword from his waist with a "clang" and jumped off Red Hare's back.
After jumping off the horse, Zhu Li gently patted Chitu's back and comforted him, "Little Red, go back to the rear. I'll come find you after I finish my work!"
"Ang hiss"
Perhaps it was because he smelled an ominous scent, Chi Tu immediately became like a stubborn child, with crystal clear eyes and a glimmer of tears, but he did not listen to Zhu Li's instructions and retreated.
"What's wrong, Xiaohong, are you not behaving well?"
"In life, there are countless things to ask for, but Zhu only asks for four words: 'a clear conscience'. A real man will do what he will not do, and will do what he will not do. Xiaohong doesn't want to see me either, so I guess what I ask for will not be granted!"
"Be good, go back!"
Two streams of clear tears flowed out of Xiaohong's crystal clear eyes, but in the end, it did not go against Zhu Li's wishes, and retreated, looking back every few steps, towards the direction where Zhu Ya was.
After sending the Red Hare away, Zhu Li turned to Master Li calmly and said, "General Li, I have to say that you have really grasped my weakness."
"In this world, there are some people who are worth Zhu protecting with his life."
“Because of them, we have the opportunity to see the world; because of them, we can grow up; and because of them, we can feel the warmth of the world.”
"For such a person, Zhu can do anything. I just hope that General Li will not break his promise. After all, the general made the promise in front of all the stewards and the two princes."
Zhu Li's words made Master Li's face turn red. His face was gloomy and he said coldly: "Don't worry, Li doesn't want to ruin his reputation."
"Okay!" Zhu Li looked at the other party solemnly again, then suddenly raised his right hand. A silver light flashed, and with a "puff", the bright long knife had already pierced into his left calf.
The knife was fierce and merciless. With a "chi" sound, it pierced through his calf. With a splash of cold blood, Zhu Li said proudly: "One knife opened two holes, and the blood will test my heart!"
Before he could finish his words, silver light flashed again, and blood splashed again with a "puff". Zhu Li's proud and resolute voice did not change at all, and he said clearly: "Two knives open four holes, loyalty and filial piety will last forever!"
Along with the sound, Zhu Li's right calf was resolutely pierced through by his knife.
"No!" Seeing this cruel scene in the direction of Youzhou, Yuchi Jin seemed to have used up all his life's strength and shouted a heart-wrenching cry.
The whole person instantly turned into a tearful man. Zhu Li's long knife stabbed into his own body, but it also stabbed into the heart of this woman.
There are many kinds of love. Some people love in a domineering way and do not allow any flaws. Once they fall in love, they are willing to hold the other person's hand and share the joys and sorrows with the other person.
Such people usually care for others far more than themselves, and Yuchi Jin is undoubtedly such a person; Zhu Li was mutilating herself, so of course she was heartbroken.
... ...
"No, it's not like that, General Zhang, how could this happen?" Wang Yueyao in the Jiangyou camp was also completely panicked. She was at a loss, with a look of panic as if the world was coming to an end, and looked at Zhang Xutuo blankly.
One of her hands was still pressing on her abdomen, where was her child; she thought that was also Zhu Li's child.
Zhang Xutuo was speechless when seeing his own prince's grief-stricken expression. This was Zhu Li's choice, and also a man's choice. How could he influence it
"Three swords, six holes opened, my heart remains unchanged!"
... ...
The entire space was filled with Zhu Li's passionate and fearless voice. The long sword in his hand was constantly flashing with silver light, and leaving traces of cold and beautiful blood on his body.
The blood is flying, it is beautiful, but also very tragic.