Chapter 31: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Forced? [31]

Chapter 31: Will the Mad Tyrant Also Be Forced? "31"

Soon, a group of people carried in a table and an iron cage.

On the table were placed a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, along with a blank imperial edict. A black cloth was draped over the top of the iron cage.

The freshly cleaned hall was once again filled with the smell of blood.

At that moment, everyone remained silent. Even though they could all see what Yun Fuyue was planning, no one dared to speak.

The table was set in front of Mu Jin, and Yun Fuyue stood across from it. Someone brought him a chair, and he sat down without a care.

"Since Your Majesty wants to rest so badly, why not rest forever? At this point, Your Majesty's health hardly seems fit for handling state affairs. However, I'm more than willing to share Your Majesty's burdens."

Yun Fuyue's eyes curved into a smile, and he made a gesture of invitation toward Mu Jin:

"Your Majesty is a smart man, so I trust I don't need to spell things out too plainly."

Mu Jin looked at Yun Fuyue and let out a cold laugh: "Yun Fuyue, you truly have nerve. You've barely finished dealing with Mu Siyang, and now you dare to stage such a coup?"

Yun Fuyue kept smiling: "Your Majesty always knew Mu Siyang and I are no good. So why put on this show of anger now?"

"All Your Majesty needs to do is issue the decree, and I'll handle the rest."

"Oh, right."

With that, Yun Fuyue paused for a moment, then walked over to the iron cage and yanked off the black cloth.

The person in the cage was none other than Ying Huaifeng, his body covered in wounds.

Yun Fuyue stared at Ying Huaifeng, a flicker of malice flashing through his eyes, yet his tone remained gentle:

"Your Majesty, take a look. This gift I prepared for you—do you like it?"

Mu Jin's pupils constricted sharply, and his heart gave a violent lurch.

When Yun Fuyue turned around, he caught that exact reaction and let out a sneer, speaking with jealousy in his voice:

"Your Majesty truly cares for him, doesn't he? He's nothing but a slave I sent out—a mere plaything—and yet he can move Your Majesty's emotions like this!"

Mu Jin looked at Ying Huaifeng, who was barely breathing, and felt a headache starting to form.

No wonder he hadn't heard anything about Ying Huaifeng all this time—turns out Yun Fuyue had him locked up.

"Enough. Isn't the throne what you want?"

Mu Jin said coldly: "If you want it, then I'll give it to you—provided you can keep it."

With that, he picked up the brush and started writing the abdication edict, but stopped halfway.

Mu Jin could only confirm Ying Huaifeng was still alive because he was the male lead of this world, and the world hadn't collapsed yet.

But Ying Huaifeng looked way too badly injured.

Yun Fuyue looked at Mu Jin with a smile: "Why did Your Majesty stop?"

Mu Jin said flatly: "Release him first."

Yun Fuyue's gaze turned cold. He rested his hand on the table and spoke nonchalantly:

"Your Majesty, what leverage do you think you have left to negotiate with me?"

"However..."

Yun Fuyue curled a strand of Mu Jin's hair around his fingertip, toying with it, "If Your Majesty is willing to marry me, I wouldn't mind letting him live."

Yun Fuyue spoke casually, but only he knew he could barely contain the jealousy surging inside him.

Why?!

Ying Huaifeng was nothing more than a plaything he had given to the little emperor!

He had once looked forward to the little emperor torturing Ying Huaifeng to death, to watching him suffer and die in agony.

But now, the person he wanted was willing to give up his throne for the plaything he had trampled underfoot!

Hah...

Yun Fuyue suppressed the madness and obsession in his eyes. But even if Ying Huaifeng had won the little emperor's heart, what did it matter?

The little emperor's body belonged to him, and would only ever belong to him.

As long as he had the body, he didn't care where the heart was!

"Doesn't Your Majesty care about him?"

Yun Fuyue leaned in close to Mu Jin, almost breathing the words into his ear,

"Since you're willing to give up the throne for him, why not marry me for his sake too?"

Mu Jin remembered what 648 had told him earlier—that Yun Fuyue had kissed his fingertip—and couldn't help but frown in disgust, a wave of nausea rising in his throat.

"Slap—!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he slapped Yun Fuyue right across the face!

Mu Jin put all his strength into it, knocking Yun Fuyue's head to the side and leaving a glaring handprint on his cheek.

"Lord Grand Preceptor!"

The commotion drew startled cries from those who had been playing dead, and they instantly drew their swords.

Yun Fuyue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, swept a cold gaze over them, and barked: "Get the hell out!"

The men exchanged glances before sheathing their weapons.

But Yun Fuyue, completely focused on Mu Jin, failed to notice that only a small fraction of those present had drawn their swords. The majority remained silent, their dull eyes devoid of any light.

Yun Fuyue looked at Mu Jin and chuckled after a long silence: "Your Majesty is quite strong."

Mu Jin said, sounding regretful: "Not really."

If it weren't for this world's Heavenly Dao suppressing him, if he'd put his full strength into that slap, Yun Fuyue would've been dead long ago.

"Yun Fuyue, I'm not interested in you, and I suggest you keep those little schemes in check."

Yun Fuyue was utterly unconcerned: "That's fine. Your Majesty may not be interested in me, but I'm interested in you—that's all that matters."

With that, he stepped aside and flicked his sleeve, making Ying Huaifeng in the cage more visible to Mu Jin.

"If you won't marry me, I don't mind sending him to see Mu Siyang right now."

Mu Jin's eyes went cold, locked onto Yun Fuyue's neck. Just as he was quietly gripping the dagger Su Gantang had handed him, sizing up whether he could take Yun Fuyue out from this distance—

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar little snake.

Mu Jin froze mid-motion. The little snake zipped into the cage and disappeared up Ying Huaifeng's sleeve.

Only then did he notice that Ying Huaifeng—who should've been out cold—had his fingers slightly curled, like he was gritting his teeth through something.

A moment later, the little snake wriggled back out of Ying Huaifeng's sleeve.

Mu Jin took it all in, a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his eye. Looked like today's show was going to be a lot more interesting than he'd figured.

"Had your fill yet, Your Majesty?"

Seeing Mu Jin still staring at Ying Huaifeng, Yun Fuyue's voice dripped with annoyance as he stepped in front of him, cutting off his line of sight.

"Made up your mind yet, Your Majesty?"

"I'm running out of patience."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Mu Jin's mouth as he changed tack: "Fine."

The second the words left his mouth, Ying Huaifeng—who'd been lying there—snapped his eyes open, a flash of blood-red killing intent flashing through them.

Mu Jin couldn't help but let out a low grunt.

Figures. Both villains had their aces up their sleeves—and as the male lead who could take down both of them, how could he not have one too?

Mu Jin had figured it out before—if Mu Siyang had gotten a fake Lifebound Gu, then the real one had to be with Ying Huaifeng.

But Ying Huaifeng's current state was genuinely concerning. Even if he had Yun Fuyue's Lifebound Gu, he'd still need a way to actually use it.

Turns out he'd been worrying for nothing again...

Mu Jin told himself he absolutely had to stop worrying about the male lead's business from now on.

Yun Fuyue had no clue what Mu Jin was thinking, but he was clearly thrilled with the answer, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.

Yun Fuyue reached out, gently ruffling Mu Jin's hair, and chuckled softly:

"Wouldn't it've been easier if you'd just agreed earlier, Your Majesty?"

"You said you were tired earlier, right? Let me take you back to rest now."

The look Yun Fuyue gave Mu Jin was anything but innocent, and his voice was dripping with suggestion.

"You're not taking him anywhere."

Mu Jin froze. He'd figured that by keeping Yun Fuyue's attention on him, he'd give Ying Huaifeng an opening.

But he never expected Zhao Ruoqian to be the one to speak up.

The blade that had been at his throat was now suddenly at Yun Fuyue's.

The sudden twist caught Yun Fuyue off guard too.

He let out a soft chuckle, like he'd just seen something funny:

"You gonna kill me? Don't forget, I still have your antidote. If I die, you're dead too."

Those flippant words hit Zhao Ruoqian like a ton of bricks.

Zhao Ruoqian said flatly, "I told you—today I'm killing him, and nobody's stopping me. Not even you."

Yun Fuyue blinked at the raw hatred in Zhao Ruoqian's eyes, caught off guard for a second.

"You—ah—!"

Yun Fuyue opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden, searing pain in his chest drained the color from his face, and all that came out was a scream of agony.

It was like countless gu worms were boring out of his heart, swarming across his whole body, eating through his flesh, his blood...

"Ah—ahhh—!!!"

Yun Fuyue's face contorted in agony, both hands clawing frantically at his own throat. The gu worms, having gorged on his flesh, were now pushing against his skin from the inside, squirming nonstop.

It was a horrifying, gut-churning sight—and the only sound in the whole hall was Yun Fuyue's screaming.

He thrashed on the ground in agony, but nobody came near.

Well, some did.

But those people—before they could even get close or make a sound—got run through the chest by the swords of the people beside them!

Until Yun Fuyue couldn't even manage a whimper, until the gu worms had consumed his entire body—flesh and skin eaten clean, leaving nothing but a skeleton...

Even Zhao Ruoqian—who'd seen this coming—couldn't help but flinch at the sight.

But she snapped out of it fast and pressed the blade back to Mu Jin's throat.

Mu Jin already had a pretty good idea what was going on. He locked eyes with Ying Huaifeng—blood-soaked and wild-eyed in the cage—and stayed surprisingly calm.

But he hadn't counted on Zhao Ruoqian turning the blade on him instead.

Mu Jin let out a helpless sigh. "...Can you at least tell me what you're trying to do?"

"Or better yet, can you tell me why you hate me this much?"

Mu Jin thought he'd treated Zhao Ruoqian pretty damn well, so why did she hate him enough to want to kill him with her own hands?

Was it because she'd figured out he wasn't the original "Mu Jin"?

Mu Jin quietly racked his brain for why Zhao Ruoqian might hate him.

Ying Huaifeng, though, was nowhere near as calm.

"Your Majesty!"

Ying Huaifeng ground his teeth, the taste of blood flooding his mouth, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Zhao Ruoqian.

He'd gotten his hands on Yun Fuyue's Lifebound Gu a while ago, but he'd planned to use Yun Fuyue to take out Mu Siyang.

Only with both of them dead could his Majesty sleep easy.

But Ying Huaifeng never expected that, to get his people in Yun Fuyue's good graces, he'd willingly walk into the trap himself—and now he'd dragged his Majesty into it too!

Ying Huaifeng was furious and full of regret. Shoving open the iron door, he fixed his gaze on Zhao Ruoqian, forcing the murderous intent out of his eyes and willing himself to stay calm.

He stepped slowly toward them, quickly weighing his options on how to bring Mu Jin back safely, and said in a deep voice:

"Zhao Ruoqian, His Majesty has treated you well and never wronged you in the slightest. Why would you do something like this?"

Zhao Ruoqian thought of all she had endured in her previous life, and her overwhelming hatred nearly spilled out, almost tangible.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she murmured softly, "Why...?"

"It's for... for revenge, of course..."