荔枝影院

Editd by: Michyrr

Clang!

At Zhao Fengchen’s dantian, a black and yellow halo once more erupted, rapidly spreading to all the Xuanwu Army soldiers. Duan Zhuyan could only watch in shock as streams of energy came surging in from all sides and gathered in Zhao Fengchen’s body.

“Go!”

With the help of this immense strength, Zhao Fengchen’s pale face suddenly returned to a healthy color, and his fingers exploded with force.

“Not good!”

Duan Zhuyan tried to escape, but it was too late!

Boom!

The awed spectators watched as Zhao Fengchen swung Duan Zhuyan around and then slammed him into the ground with such force that the earth momentarily trembled. At the same time, Zhao Fengchen borrowed the impact of this blow to maneuver himself onto the back of a nearby warhorse.

“!!!”

Shock!

Incomparable shock!

No one had expected such a major reversal at the very end, that Zhao Fengchen would actually win!

“This is impossible!”

The First Prince’s eyes went wide as his body froze in shock. He had never imagined that Duan Zhuyan would still lose under such circumstances.

The First Prince’s heart was ice-cold!

Bang!

But the spectating Imperial Army soldiers, nobles, and great clan members had an entirely different reaction. When they saw the final result, they erupted in mountain-shaking cheers. This had been a fantastic match, and in a solemn and dignified place like the Imperial Palace, an unscrupulous man like Duan Zhuyan could never be allowed to win.

Zhao Fengchen’s victory had the backing of the crowd!

“Milord, we won! We won!”

Amidst the cheers, all the Xuanwu Army soldiers ecstatically gathered around Zhao Fengchen.

But just as Zhao Fengchen smiled and opened his mouth to say something, his vision went dark and he fell unconscious.

With all the Stellar Energy dispersed, Zhao Fengchen’s ruddy complexion became even paler than before.

“Milord!”

“Milord!”

So sudden was this development that all the Xuanwu Army soldiers panicked and began to gather around him.

“Wang Chong, it’s bad!”

Bai Siling’s heart grew nervous as she called out in alarm. She grabbed at Wang Chong so that they could rush over together, but when she turned to look, she realized that Wang Chong was already gone. In truth, he had begun to move through the crowd the moment Zhao Fengchen vomited blood.

Zhao Fengchen’s loss of consciousness threw the drilling ground into chaos, and countless Imperial Army soldiers, nobles, and great clan members rushed over. It was simply unimaginable that this sort of thing would happen on the Imperial Army’s drilling ground.

“Bastard!”

In the distance, the First Prince’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He viciously stared at the distant Duan Zhuyan, his eyes brimming with a desire to kill.

“Useless thing! What are you still standing over there for!? Get him over here right now!”

Meanwhile, Wang Chong appeared next to the fallen Zhao Fengchen.

Ten-some Xuanwu Army soldiers and that niece of the Zhao Clan called Zhao Miqiu were at his side, indignant expressions on their faces. The girl was particularly agitated, constantly calling out ‘Third Uncle’ while tears streaked down her face. But none of them could do anything about Zhao Fengchen’s current situation.

“Stand aside! Let me!”

Wang Chong parted the crowd and squatted next to Zhao Fengchen.

Zhao Fengchen seemed to be in an extremely bad state. His face was ghastly pale and his teeth were locked together. His aura had become faint and flickering, and his lips were already going black, with black trickles of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth that quickly dried up.

The speed at which the blood congealed indicated just how fierce the poison was.

Bang!

With no time to think, Wang Chong pressed a palm against Zhao Fengchen’s chest. A moment later, a surge of Origin Immortal Stellar Energy rushed into his body, protecting Zhao Fengchen’s heart and then spreading to his vital organs. At the same time, the Stellar Energy began to push out the toxin.

What a formidable poison!

A few moments later, Wang Chong couldn’t help but frown, his face turning grim.

The Origin Immortal Art was the supreme art of the realm, and not only did it possess immense might, it also had formidable curative properties. Its prodigious deconstructive power could not only allow one to absorb a foe’s energy but could also counter poisons. But the poison in Zhao Fengchen’s body was so troublesome that even the Origin Immortal Art found it hard to dispel. This was clearly no ordinary poison.

“Bastards! These despicable scoundrels put poison on their weapons!”

The Xuanwu Army soldiers saw Wang Chong’s creased brow and immediately understood what was going on. Gnashing their teeth, they furiously glared at the distant Duan Zhuyan.

They had thought that no matter where Duan Zhuyan had come from, he was still a Marshal of the Imperial Army, so his conduct couldn’t be too shameless. But to their surprise, in his clashes with Zhao Fengchen, he had put poison on his weapon, and his actions after that had just been for the sake of buying time until the poison began to work!

“Wait! There’s no poison on the weapons!” Wang Chong suddenly said, instantly attracting everyone’s attention.

“If you look at the wounds on Zhao Fengchen’s body, you can see that some of the blood is still red, and the blood on his armor is also rather light in color. If there had been poison on the weapons, the blood around his wounds should be much darker.”

Everyone took a second look, and truly, the blood coming from Zhao Fengchen’s wounds was much lighter than the blood coming from his mouth.

“The poison in Zhao Fengchen’s body has nothing to do with Duan Zhuyan. It was buried in him from the very start. What did he eat this morning? Didn’t I say that he needed to personally handle everything he ate or drank before today’s match and was not to take in any outside food?”

Wang Chong continued to press a hand against Zhao Fengchen’s chest, constantly sending in Stellar Energy. As he spoke, his expression grew harsh.

With the precedents of the Setting Sun Villa incident and the Big Dipper City incident, just who could say what trickery was afoot amongst Zhao Fengchen’s loyal subordinates? Wang Chong had even specifically warned him, but in the end, Zhao Fengchen had still fallen prey to the enemy’s plot. The poison in his body was fierce to the extreme, and not even someone as strong as Zhao Fengchen had been able to do anything about it.

“Your Highness, we didn’t!”

“This morning, we ate only the food of the Imperial Army, and Marshal has been extremely cautious these last few days, ordering us not to eat anything from outside!”

“That’s right! We’ve spent the last few days eating and sleeping together, and there was nothing different from usual!”

“But if it has to do with food, we ate whatever the Marshal ate, so why is the Marshal poisoned while the rest of us are fine?!”

This realization made the soldiers look at each other in speechless shock.

“That’s right. If Zhao Fengchen was poisoned, why is it that they’re fine while Zhao Fengchen has fallen unconscious from poison, even though they ate the same things?”

Wang Chong’s brows furrowed even more tightly as he realized this.

There was no question that Zhao Fengchen had consumed poison, but if it really had come in through the food, all the soldiers should have suffered from it, not just Zhao Fengchen.

“I... I know.” At this moment, a timid voice spoke up, and everyone, Wang Chong included, turned to the speaker.

“Third Uncle’s match was today, so I sent Third Uncle a box of his favorite plum flower cakes, and today, Third Uncle ate them.”

Nearby, Zhao Fengchen’s niece Zhao Miqiu was kneeling on the ground, tears running down her face as she uneasily and timidly looked at Wang Chong and the surrounding Xuanwu Army soldiers.

“This competition was extremely important, and if Third Uncle won, he would become a Grand Marshal. Third Uncle has always treated me well, so I brought his favorite snacks to cheer him on. Those cakes, those cakes... could it really be the cakes I gave to Third Uncle?”

The girl began to wail, her eyes both anxious and worried.

Wang Chong’s heart sank upon hearing this, and the Xuanwu Army soldiers understood as well. Everyone had eaten the same things this morning, but Zhao Fengchen had also eaten the cakes from his niece.

If this was really related to food, then it could only be blamed on Zhao Miqiu’s plum flower cakes. But how could Zhao Fengchen’s beloved niece ever betray him?

“Let me ask you, where did you get these plum flower cakes from? Did you make them yourself or buy them?” Wang Chong sternly said. He had planned together with Zhao Fengchen for so long, but their preparations had been ruined by a single Zhao Miqiu. If Zhao Fengchen knew the truth, he would probably find it impossible to accept.

“I... This morning, when I said that I was going to the palace to support Third Uncle, the patriarch suddenly stopped me and gave me a box of plum flower cakes, saying that they were for Third Uncle to eat. Your Highness, it’s not a problem with the cakes, right?”

Zhao Miqiu pulled on Wang Chong’s hand, her expression both worried and ashamed, the tears running even faster.

She had grown up with no mother or father, and her third uncle was the person she respected the most. If her third uncle was poisoned by consuming the cakes, then she would truly never be able to forgive herself.

Wang Chong’s heart sank even further. The truth was now obvious. He had known some time ago that Zhao Fengchen was at odds with his clan, but Wang Chong had never expected that the Zhao Clan would go so far for the sake of the clan’s prosperity.

They had even used Zhao Fengchen’s beloved niece so that he would eat the poisoned plum flower cakes.