Chapter 124: Temptation

Fire arrows!

With a roar, the arrows whistled through the air, accompanied by a shrill cry, the sharp arrows shot toward Feng Yan's face!

The icy arrowheads glowed silver, reflecting Feng Yan's calm expression; amid the terrified expressions of the crowd, the arrows before him fell like raindrops before his own face, and the people despairingly closed their eyes.

They believed they had no chance of survival; all they could do was wait for death to come.

Unfortunately, the Grim Reaper had taken the day off; all that was heard was a clang as the arrows struck a black longsword, and immediately that red longsword attacked at a speed too fast for the eye to follow, leaving a trail of red afterimages.

The only thing that could prove this wasn't a dream was the sound of the arrow shafts hitting the ground.

Immediately, Feng Yan retracted his longsword, stood before the crowd, and the outside sunlight stretched his shadow long and long.

The sun began to set westward; as the golden sun slowly sank from the east, the sun itself seemed flushed with blood, gazing at the blood-like setting sun emitting a final faint golden light, the clouds around the sun had been burned red, like a blood-stained white general's armor.

Under the setting sun, the black arrow shafts received a final coat of gold lacquer; the arrow shaft fell to the ground, making its last sound, and as that sound faded, the arrow shafts that continued to fall one after another also made sounds as they hit the ground.

The sounds of arrow shafts hitting the ground rang like popping beans, slowly assaulting the prince's eardrums; although his arrowheads had long been tampered with, his back was still soaked with sweat, and large beads of sweat fell from his forehead to the ground, producing a pattering sound.

The king and his ministers watched Feng Yan; now, under the setting sun, he held his longsword, accompanied by the sunset's afterglow, like an immortal war god!

Everyone's faces turned pale, still shaken; the prince also slipped away quietly; the only proof that all this had happened was the breathing of the king and ministers below.

Finally, Feng Yan spoke.

"How is that girl now?" Just as they thought Feng Yan was about to agree to the king's request, he instead said these words.

The ministers were collectively dumbfounded; only the king felt an unprecedented insult, his face alternating between green and white, his teeth trembling with rage.

"Answer my question!" Feng Yan said softly; everyone saw his demeanor, though he pretended not to care, they could not hide from everyone that his eyes held concern, as if that girl was someone very important to him.

Everyone looked at Feng Yan and lowered their heads in silence; the king gazed at Feng Yan and silently lowered his head without speaking.

"Are you not going to speak?" Feng Yan suppressed his anger, lowered his voice, and tried to keep his tone gentle as he spoke.

Everyone still remained silent; it was utter stillness.

A deathly stillness spread around the ministers and the king; they clearly knew in their hearts that the girl was already unconscious, on the brink of death, sustained only by a breath clinging to life.

But they had lied, telling Feng Yan that the girl had already been cured.

Now trouble had come; Feng Yan was demanding the person, and if he didn't see her, who knew what he might do—just the skill he had just shown had already made the ministers break out in a sweat.

That was an arrow storm; in just an instant, all the arrow shafts were split into two!

And this was still without Feng Yan lifting a hand—the sword did it on its own; earlier, some folk said there was a great river in the sky! Whether true or not, what we saw before us was indeed real!

A true master, bearing the title of adventurer, the most exalted honor in the world, plus this incredible skill—who would dare deceive him, who could still deceive him? Isn't that just asking for death?

This was exactly when the ministers were anxious; the prince's appearance gave them hope.

Only see the prince slowly walking toward Feng Yan, displaying proper royal dignity, he answered Feng Yan with a gentle yet unquestionable tone: "Please rest assured, honored guest, the person you brought has been settled; given time, they will surely awaken."

"Given time?" Upon hearing that, Feng Yan snorted coldly, looked scornfully at the ministers and the prince, then mocked: "I don't know what you mean by 'given time'; it turns out this country, from top to bottom, is just a kind of animal—nothing but dogs that bully with power!"

Feng Yan felt his words were already light as could be, but to those ministers, this was an insult to their entire nation!

We treated you as an honored guest, yet you turn against us over a mere girl? Although just now there was an arrow storm, we ourselves almost came to grief as well!

Then one minister could not take it anymore; he stepped forward and loudly retorted Feng Yan: "We are power‑bullying dogs, so what are you? You treat us as dogs—what are you yourself?"

The ministers' gazes toward that official immediately changed; if it were anyone else, they would surely have given a thumbs‑up right away, but facing this person, they truly could not do that.

Just as everyone wanted to see Feng Yan's joke, he turned his head and prepared to leave; all the ministers who wanted to watch the spectacle instantly turned panicked, rushing ahead of him in a scramble.

Accompanied by the dust rising from the ground, the ministers let out light coughs before they could even catch their breath, and all of them bent their waists to a ninety‑degree angle.

Feng Yan's mouth curled into a strange smile, which he hid the next second, then calmly asked: "How about it, will a few meat‑eaters still apologize to me, a lowly adventurer?"

The ministers dared not breathe, merely bent at the waist, their suspended hearts nearly leaping to their throats, as if they would jump out the next second.

"Sorry, I'm done playing; I want to leave this place, which to me is nothing but a gathering of sin and filth." Feng Yan said, preparing to depart with the children.

"Wait!" the king shouted, immediately ordering the soldiers to block Feng Yan's path.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Feng Yan looked at the soldiers blocking his front, his right hand already resting on the black sword at his back.

"Please, give us one chance; we will surely be able to save her!" The king maintained his dignity, assuring Feng Yan with an unquestionable tone.

"Really?"

"Really."

Having received an affirmative answer, Feng Yan nodded, then bowed to the king with a smile and said: "Actually, Your Majesty, I also have a matter; please help me."

"Please relinquish your precious son and let him assume office immediately!"

Feng Yan's single sentence instantly stunned all the ministers; if any of them had said it, the result would surely be certain death, but the person before them truly had no recourse.

You say you can kill him? No, you still have to coax him well, serving him like a grand elder.

Leaving aside whether you could defeat him, even if you did, our own side would suffer heavy losses; thus these people think simply: we might as well tempt them with the power we hold.

Give them power, let them experience the feeling power brings—the sensation of dominating others' lives, of feeling they have reached the pinnacle of life.

Perhaps everyone enjoys this feeling? The ministers think so; even the most exalted adventurer would be gradually eroded by this chronic poison, losing their mind.

But, for the person before us, can this tactic work? Everyone wants to grasp power, no one wants to watch their own power gradually slip away, becoming a marginalized person.

It is obvious that Feng Yan's remark has already changed the king's view of him greatly; he no longer regards him as an honored guest.

The king no longer spoke; he merely looked at his incompetent crown prince, and thinking of someday handing over the nation he holds to his son, he still felt some reluctance.

Just as the king was pondering, the children shouted together: "Your Majesty, Big Brother says that within three days he must see that girl come back to life; you all, please cheer on!"

As the children slowly departed, night fell; the last glimmer of light in the sky also left this place, leaving only the candle stand on the ground emitting a faint candlelight.

The candle slowly dripped its gradually drying tears; as it grew shorter, the servants fetched candles and pulled out the last wick.

The final light of that candlewick gradually faded, extinguishing instantly in the last breath of breeze.

Feng Yan, cloaked in night, slowly vanished from the sight of all the ministers; as Feng Yan disappeared, the children followed him as well.

Only the ministers and the king remained in the darkness, under the dim candlelight, silent.

Until the king said: "Retreat, everyone, go rest."

With the king's order issued, the ministers left the palace one after another, heading home.

The Prince was unwilling to watch the assembled ministers leave just like that. After Feng Yan spoke those words, his heart jolted, and he was filled with gratitude toward Feng Yan, but the next second, upon grasping the meaning, it was as though he had plunged into an icy cellar.

The Prince felt a lingering fear, and then returned to his own bedchamber.

At this very moment, Yang Xin and Wang Tingwan arrived beneath the city gates of Quan State. The boundless night stretched endlessly outward, and the ink-black sky was so dark it looked almost blue-green.

"Look, we're here — will we still run into anyone we know?" Yang Xin lifted his head to look at the sky and asked Wang Tingwan beside him.

Wang Tingwan lowered her head and said nothing, her heart worrying about him — would Feng Yan, carried off by the winged dragon, truly be here? If he was, upon meeting him and herself again in such circumstances, what words would he use?

Yes, I have come — is this really the only way you and I can meet again?