Untouchable Lovers-Chapter 155 - 139: Trapped within the Fortified City

Chapter 155 -139: Trapped within the Fortified City

“Why are you here?” After the shock subsided, the man in black’s gaze turned to anger, grief, confusion, and nostalgia—a blend of such intense emotions twisted across his resolute and handsome face, yet there was nothing contradictory about it.

Involuntarily, Chu Yu glanced beside herself… Rong Zhi? Uh, no, wrong direction.

Turning to the other side, Chu Yu finally realized whom the man in black was looking at.

It was Hua Cuo.

Hua Cuo was also looking at the man in black, his expression somewhat complex. After a long while, he finally greeted softly, “Long time no see, He Jue.”

As it seemed, the two had known each other before.

The man called He Jue sneered, “So you still remember my name. I thought you’d have completely forgotten about me by now.”

Hua Cuo gave a bitter smile but didn’t say anything.

He Jue stared at Hua Cuo and continued, “Why are you not speaking? It’s been four years since we’ve seen each other, yet here Hua Shang and He Li stand in silence—this doesn’t seem right.”

Hua Shang and He Li?

With those words, Chu Yu suddenly remembered something Yue Jiefei had once said: In the past, Hua Cuo had been close friends with a young swordsman surnamed He, but later the two had become enemies. Now, it appeared this was He Jue.

Who would have thought that He Jue was also an assassin and that, in the midst of an assassination, he would encounter his former friend turned foe.

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Hua Cuo looked somewhat dazed and said, “It’s been four years and five months.” It had already been that long.

He Jue glanced disdainfully and disgustedly at Chu Yu, then quickly averted his gaze: “When you and I parted ways, you said you were going to look for the World’s First Beauty. Is this the World’s First Beauty you’ve found? Isn’t your taste a bit too poor?”

At this point, Chu Yu’s hair had fallen loose, and though she looked somewhat disheveled, her feminine features were still discernible. Hearing He Jue’s words, she too was astounded: the World’s First Beauty? Wasn’t that Zhong Niannian?

Hua Cuo was still somewhat absent-minded, and after a while, he chuckled and said softly, “Those are matters of many years ago. Now, they are long gone.” His voice carried a deep melancholy, as if a persistent sense of regret was swirling within it.

He Jue snorted, “Don’t think that just because you say so, I’ll let you off.” His wrist lifted, and his longsword pointed directly at Hua Cuo with a chilling tip, and he shouted sternly, “Draw your sword! After four years, I want to see how much progress you’ve made!”

At that moment, he shifted his full attention to Hua Cuo, and his original target, Chu Yu, was disregarded entirely.

Chu Yu was more than happy to be ignored. While He Jue challenged Hua Cuo, she quickly pulled Rong Zhi aside and motioned for Amman to follow; they had just moved away when He Jue made his move.

He Jue’s sword was invariably accompanied by a shriek that seemed capable of tearing through eardrums. Both he and Hua Cuo adopted fast and deadly styles, and soon Chu Yu could no longer make out the details of their clash. She stopped watching for the moment; Yue Jiefei was still lying unconscious near the door. Chu Yu, dragging Rong Zhi along, checked on him—he was alive, thankfully.

Seeing that Yue Jiefei was still breathing, Chu Yu quickly had Rong Zhi attend to his wounds. Just then, she heard Amman call out. Looking up, she saw Amman gripping her longspear, joining the fray.

With Amman joining the fray, the clash came to a halt along with a piercing scream, allowing Chu Yu to clearly see their current state. She observed Hua Cuo with numerous wounds on his face and body—all superficial, but in such abundance they were noteworthy. In contrast, He Jue, aside from his disheveled clothing due to the fight, had not a single injury, making the outcome of their duel obvious.

Amman must have also seen Hua Cuo’s disadvantage before he stepped forward with his spear to provide support.

He Jue looked at Hua Cuo with disdain, “I really don’t know what you’ve done these past four years. Your swordsmanship has not improved at all. We were on par with each other four years ago, but now the gap between us is so vast.”

Hua Cuo sighed but didn’t reveal the truth of his injuries that had lingered for three years; he let He Jue speculate and misunderstand.

He Jue frowned even more dissatisfied, “I’ve told you before that the allure of women leads people astray. We swordsman should all the more stay away from it, yet you ignored my advice and went after that so-called ‘World’s First Beauty.’ Don’t tell me you’ve neglected your swordsmanship over these years trying to please that beauty?”

Chu Yu had sent someone earlier to summon the guards, and they finally arrived in time to see this scene. Nearly a hundred guards encircled the trio, the inner layer brandishing swords while the outer layer pointed their bows and crossbows at He Jue.

He Jue quickly weighed his options. Although he wasn’t afraid of these formations, to kill all these trained guards would still require some effort, and with Hua Cuo looking on eagerly, ready to join forces against him, he feared the situation would not end well for him.

After quickly assessing the pros and cons, He Jue no longer hesitated. He exerted force with his legs and charged in the direction where the encirclement was weakest. Like lightning, he killed several men and escaped amidst the chaos without a trace.

The guard commander was about to order a pursuit, but Chu Yu spoke to stop him, “Wait, everyone stay here. Send orders to strengthen the defenses of the Princess Mansion. In the future, do not let anyone break in so easily again.”

When Chu Yu recalled how He Jue had entered the Princess Mansion as if its defenses were nonexistent, a chill ran down her spine. If it weren’t for Hua Cuo diverting He Jue’s attention today, she might truly have been killed.

Both Hua Cuo and Yue Jiefei were injured. After Rong Zhi had tended to the two men, he left them in the care of the mansion’s physician. These were merely external injuries and didn’t require too much of his personal effort.

Hua Cuo’s body was riddled with shallow cuts. It seemed as if He Jue had deliberately tortured him, cutting him slowly, one stroke at a time. Yue Jiefei’s condition was worse, with a wound on his shoulder and abdomen that Chu Yu had seen earlier, plus another sword wound on his back. Having lost too much blood on the way back to the Princess Mansion, he had nearly not been saved.

Chu Yu ordered someone to sketch He Jue’s face and issued a city-wide wanted notice in Jiankang City, with a large reward for his capture, dead or alive. The last part was specifically added by Chu Yu. He Jue owed her the lives of forty-seven people from Chu Garden and eight from the Princess Mansion—fifty-five in total. To recoup only one life was far too lenient.

In the following days, Chu Yu could only remain within the Princess Mansion, unable to go anywhere else. Whenever she left the mansion before, she needed Yue Jiefei to accompany her in case of emergencies, but now facing an assassin with such terrifying swordsmanship, not only was her safety imperiled, even Yue Jiefei could not guarantee his own. Without any choice, Chu Yu had to stay inside the Princess Mansion, relying on its military force for protection to ensure her safety.

Guarded on all sides with three layers both inside and out, the Princess Mansion was surrounded. This was Chu Yu’s fortress, the only place where she was safe.

The routine daily visits to the palace were naturally impossible now, and her contact with the outside world had also diminished. Chu Yu could only understand the current situation through the bits and pieces of information she gathered.

The three princes were still very much alive, unharmed. This left Chu Yu oscillating between relief and anxiety. Emotionally, she struggled with the thought of killing these three men, but intellectually, she knew it was a fight to the death.

Amidst all the gloom, if there was anything that could slightly cheer up Chu Yu, it was that fortunately, Huan Yuan was not present at Chu Garden on the day He Jue made his intrusion, narrowly escaping disaster.

In August, as autumn’s presence grew stronger and the winds turned brisk, the season seemed as if it was He Jue’s sword—its murderous intent palpable. He Jue’s blade targeted humans, while autumn slayed the verdant life of all things.

After being in seclusion for several days, two pieces of news arrived like lightning strikes, making Chu Yu unable to stay put any longer.