Chapter 1033

Release my family's marquis, or else he will die!

Chen Li's left hand was like an eagle's claw, firmly gripping Li Qichen's shoulder, his voice like the icy chill of the Nine Abysses.

The blade rested on Chen Wuji's neck, fully igniting the wrath of this low-key grandmaster of the Chen clan; killing intent and pressure poured down like substance, making the warhorses below tremble in their hind legs, as if about to kneel and pay homage.

As for those ordinary Soldiers, only the word 'tragic' can describe them.

Li Qichen brought along more than twenty subordinates, over eighty percent had eyeballs protruding, blood from mouth and nose, all covered their chests and lay on the ground pretending to be zombies, seemingly planning to give Chen Wuji a dimensional reduction strike.

As for the remaining twenty percent, they already bled from the seven orifices and have eternally slept.

Chen Xingyuan gripped his wrist and pressed the blade tightly against Chen Wuji's neck, saying, "I said, release him, and your marquis will have a way to live; otherwise, let's all die together!"

Chen Wuji raised his hand, signaling Chen Lu and Third Lord Lu above, as well as the surrounding Personal Guard staring like tigers, to first stay calm, then asked Chen Xingyuan: "First, report your family name? I've already become your Prisoner of the Steps; it's not too much to ask for a clear death."

"Gold Pearl! Erjin Gold Pearl!"

Chen Wuji frowned, "I'm not asking for your nickname, but your full name. I'm speaking as Da Yu Marquis Zhenyuan, not your parents or elder brothers; there's no need to tell me such an intimate form of address."

Among the Uyghur, their original ethnic names have become nicknames or pet names; the names actually used for formal address are all imitations of the Da Yu system.

However, this was not demanded by the Zhongyuan Dynasty after conquering the Uyghur; rather, their king, in order to get closer to the Zhongyuan Dynasty, shamelessly changed it himself.

Back then, for this matter, the Uyghur king personally went to the capital to pay homage and meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Former Dynasty, requesting some surnames that could be legitimately used as the surnames of the major Uyghur tribes.

At the time, this matter caused quite a stir; many thought it was a good thing, while many suspected the Uyghur move of having ulterior motives, a wolfish ambition.

The facts proved that the opponents were right.

"Hu Yuyan!" Chen Xingyuan said angrily, bluntly uttering a name.

Chen Wuji's mouth twitched slightly; his guess was correct.

"So you're the Princess of the Qili Tribe; you seem to have misplaced your knife, huh?" Chen Wuji said with a light smile, "The machinations of Officialdom aren't something you can change just by sacrificing your life to save him; the true deadlock won't be undone just because of this bit of affection."

"If you kill me, you won't escape either; and if he leaves alive, your tribe will still not have a good outcome. Although I don't know the specifics of your Uyghur situation, I can't think of any other reason; it must be that your Qili Tribe is blocking the way."

Chen Xingyuan's expression shifted slightly, "Your Excellency Marquis Zhenyuan, there's no need to waste words on me; my only demand is to let him go; as for me… kill or cut, it's up to you."

"What a man!" Chen Wuji praised, then glanced up at Chen Lu.

Chen Lu merely nodded.

"How about this, I'll propose a compromise!" Chen Wuji suddenly said loudly.

That shout came too suddenly; Hu Yuyan's hand gripping the knife jerked, leaving a faint red mark on Chen Wuji's neck, and blood instantly welled up.

"How dare you!" Chen Lu's face turned cold, his right hand formed a blade and he chopped down at Li Qichen's arm.

With that palm strike, Li Qichen's right arm snapped off, falling like a broken kite onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The entire cut was smooth as jade, not a drop of blood spilled.

"Ah…"

Li Qichen's somewhat handsome face instantly turned ferocious like a demon, with veins bulging on his forehead.

"I, I didn't mean to… you… how dare you do this!" Hu Yuyan panicked, her confidence clearly lacking.

She was startled by Chen Wuji's shout, and for a moment her hand wasn't steady.

Who would have thought the knife was so sharp that a mere tremor would slice open a cut; fortunately, only the skin was broken, with no injury elsewhere.

Actually, Chen Wuji was also feeling a bit depressed.

For the first time, he felt that the knives forged by his ancestors were somewhat excessive, and shouldn't have been made so sharp.

"Everyone, calm down first; I'm not in the way, Li Gou'er only broke his arm, he won't die!" Chen Wuji shouted, "Hu Yuyan, I'm someone who reasons, and also very willing to reason; we still have things to discuss."

"What do you want to discuss? My only demand is one!" Hu Yuyan said.

Chen Wuji smiled faintly, "What you can think of is only one, but here I may have more than one solution. You've endured for so many years, secretly studying our Da Yu's cultural wisdom; you should know we've always been good at solving problems."

"What exactly do you want to say?" Hu Yuyan's patience was severely lacking, to the point that Chen Wuji could clearly see the fine sweat on her palms and the bridge of her nose, as well as a slight tremor in her thigh.

Before, I hadn't noticed, but this woman's figure is actually quite good.

Upon seeing Hu Yuyan's thigh, Chen Wuji suddenly froze.

Damn, I was careless!

This woman had disguised her face to look ninety-nine percent like Chen Xingyuan's, but her figure was nothing like his; especially with the deliberate additions, one could still see a hint of a willowy waist.

Earlier, everyone's attention was wholly on chasing Li Qichen; they never imagined someone nearby had been replaced—just based on this physique, a few more glances would surely reveal the abnormality.

Please stay calm; I, a Prisoner of the Steps with your knife at my throat, am not in a hurry, so why are you, a perpetrator, so anxious? With such beautiful scenery, let's chat slowly. Chen Wuji remained as steady as a rock, his composure so calm he didn't seem like a Prisoner of the Steps at all.

First answer my previous question: what did you do to my people…?

Chen Wuji had asked this question before, but this woman didn't answer.

Chen Xingyuan is a very low-key person who never takes the initiative to strive for anything.

But his weight in Chen Wuji's heart has always been extremely heavy, just like Chen Wu Yin and the others.

Initially, Chen Wuji always thought Chen Xingyuan liked investigating and solving cases, promoting him all the way to the prefecture, where he was in charge of criminal litigation and public security.

As it turned out, this fellow later secretly wrote him a letter, wishing to retire and return to the village to help the clan nurture the next generation.

It was only then that Chen Wuji realized this guy fundamentally didn't like solving cases.

He simply wasn't willing to strive.

Afterward, Chen Wuji only then transferred him into the Personal Guard Lìng, where he has remained to this day.

In Chen Wuji's heart, Chen Xingyuan is both kin and friend.

Many of his worries, which even San Niang and Qin Zhanhong never mentioned, he would, if he had the time, share a few drinks with Chen Xingyuan and mutter a few words.

He couldn't accept Chen Xingyuan meeting with trouble in this place in this manner!

These words, though Chen Wuji's question seemed relaxed on the surface, only he himself knew how much force lay behind those few words as they leapt from his tongue.

It was like Shocking Heaven Thunder exploding in his nasal cavity, relentlessly rushing toward his eye sockets and the crown of his head.