The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Madmen! You bunch of madmen!"

Shen Xian's voice finally gained some intonation.

The greatest pain in the world is not the inability to obtain what you desire, but the loss of what you could have had.

That was the white moonlight that had captivated him during his youth.

But now, she is no longer here.

"Crazy? Hahaha!"

Shen Yan looked at him with a smile, her laughter echoing in the empty cave, carrying a kind of carefree, reckless joy.

"You only realize how enjoyable it is to be alive when you're crazy."

You don't need to smile for anyone's sake, and you don't need to kneel down and beg anyone for a meal.

I can hate if I want, and I can steal if I want.

This world is mine.

"It must be exhausting to live the life of a noble lady and follow all the rules."

She originally thought that by escaping Baiyujing, she would regret not being able to have him.

All the restraint and hidden joy of those years, the name I repeated countless times at night, will be buried in the dust along with this escape.

But now, he's come to us of his own accord.

Sure enough, even God was on her side.

"You think you can capture us with so few people? You really underestimate the power of the Guixu Palace."

Before meeting Sang Tingke, Shen Yan had no idea that her maternal family was so powerful.

Beneath the Guixu Palace, the two main halls and three pavilions all obey the orders of that mysterious palace master.

Behind her stood such a colossal creature.

She approached Shen Xian, her eyes filled with a twisted joy.

"Brother Xian, you're wearing that official robe so formally. I wonder... is it cold or hot underneath?"

Her fingertips gently brushed against the fabric of his shoulder.

Why reject me? No one in this world is more worthy of you than me.

You don't deserve it.

Shen Xian's voice remained refined, yet it carried a hint of disgust.

How can you compare to her?

"When you cried and said she bullied you, I believed you. When you said she was jealous of you, I believed you too."

"But now I see clearly that the one who was always filled with jealousy and red eyes was you."

Shen Yan's expression froze for a moment.

A crack finally appeared on that carefully maintained mask.

"Jealous? She got you legitimately, why shouldn't I be jealous?"

Her voice had become sharper, more vulnerable.

"Go ahead and curse. Only good people are so irrational; they have no idea how bad people can be."

Shen Yan smiled even more happily.

"But I'm just that bad. I was obedient before, but it was all an act."

She leaned down and looked at him.

"Since you refuse, I'll do it myself. What do I care whether the flowers on this branch like it or not? Once I pick them, they're mine."

She reached out, trying to tear open his robe.

"Insolence! Stop!"

Shen Xian's face turned pale instantly, like snow on a mountaintop.

Sang Tingke leaned to the side, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but watching this scene with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Yin Shi lowered his eyes, but he couldn't suppress the jealousy in them.

He had always carefully protected Shen Yan, shielding her from countless assassination attempts by the Northern Star King's enemies.

But she actually liked Shen Xian, how could he accept that?

"boom--"

A loud bang followed.

The sword light cleaved through the night, illuminating half of the cliff.

The sword light was so bright that it seemed to split the sky in two.

Bei Chenji's figure appeared out of thin air outside the cave like a purple lightning bolt tearing through the night.

The sword was not drawn, but the killing intent was already there.

The group of Heavenly Dao Apostles reacted extremely quickly, dispersing almost instantly, their feet moving in a protective stance, their hands flashing with talismans.

Dark red light surged from their palms, weaving into a massive, all-encompassing net that enveloped Bei Chenji and half a cliff.

"Damn it, Bei Chenji is catching up, and that wretched Hua Rongshi too! His nose is too sensitive, is he a dog?"

"We hid here, and they still managed to find us..."

Yin Shi's expression changed drastically. He rushed in and grabbed Shen Yan, pulling her away.

He glanced back at Shen Xian, his eyes filled with malice.

"This child cannot be allowed to live; he knows too many secrets."

He cannot keep the person Shen Yan loves.

With a flick of his wrist, a deadly throwing knife hurtled towards Shen Xian.

The blade traced a cold arc in the firelight, as fast as lightning, like the scythe of death.

Shen Xian gazed at the flash of the blade and breathed a sigh of relief.

It's cleaner to be dead.

"bite--"

The throwing knife was knocked away by a sword.

The peach blossom fan spun in the air, deflecting the deadly knife.

It pierced into the cave wall, penetrating three-tenths of an inch, and cracks spread across the wall like a spider web.

"Wow, it's really lively here."

Hua Rongshi's voice came from the cave entrance, carrying a lazy smile, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

"Is this...forcing someone to do something they can't?"

The peach blossom fan spun back into his hand, which he caught.

With a "whoosh," the fan unfolds, revealing peach blossoms on its surface that blaze like fire, their beauty enhanced by the flames, creating an indescribable allure.

"Miss Shen, it's one thing that you have a crooked mind and are plain-looking, but you've managed to pull off this scheme quite well."

His words were merciless.

Shen Yan almost lost control of her facial expressions.

"I'd like to live as harshly as Young Master Fuzui."

Who is so good-looking, yet has such a sharp tongue?

"It's my fault, I treated you all like human beings again."

Hua Rongshi glanced at Yin Shi holding Shen Yan's hand and sneered.

His gaze was like a knife, scraping across their faces.

"You two ugly things are a match made in heaven, a rotten tree and decaying grass, a den of snakes and rats."

"The matchmaker has done a wonderful job with the red thread, saving others from getting hurt."

These words could make someone so angry they'd turn to death.

No sooner said than done, Hua Rongshi's peach blossom fan flew out again.

Thousands of petals transformed into deadly blades, fluttering like butterflies.

Each piece could slit a throat and tear through armor, pouring down upon Shen Yan without a shred of pity.

"Watch out, Yunhua! Hide behind me!"

Yin Shi stepped in front of her, pulling out a short black iron blade from his hand and slicing through the oncoming flower blade.

But he had to protect Shen Yan, and was constantly restrained. His body was slashed several times, and blood splattered from the tears in his robes.

"Hua Rongshi, aren't you afraid of angering Prince Beichen for treating me like this?"

Shen Yan was both shocked and furious. She also had a cut on her arm. She hurriedly hid behind Yin Shi, trembling like a frightened bird.

"Ha, Miss Shen, what kind of daydreaming are you still having? Who do you think you are?"

Hua Rongshi sneered and formed a hand seal.

Centered on him, countless peach blossoms transformed into a rain of arrows, covering the sky and the earth, determined to pierce through people.

"Cousin Sang, help!"

Shen Yan screamed in terror, her voice so sharp it almost tore through the night.

With the help of his subordinates, Sang Tingke slowly stood up, clutching his chest wound, his face as pale as paper.

He survived such severe injuries only thanks to the protection of Heaven.

That white-haired madwoman almost killed him with a single sword strike; he had never suffered such a loss before.

"I never expected you to find this place! But if you think you've won, you're sorely mistaken."

He raised his eyes, a cold smile curving his lips.

"The real show is just beginning."

He raised his hand and placed a bone flute to his lips.

The flute suddenly began to play, its sound mournful and piercing.

In an instant, countless bats surged out from the depths of the cave, forming a dark, dense mass.

Overwhelming, like a black torrent, it swallowed up all the peach blossom arrows that fell upon Hua Rongshi.

Their wings shimmered with an eerie, ghostly light, as if they had flown out from the deepest hell, each one carrying an ominous aura.

The next moment, the black mist enveloped the three of them and dissipated into the night.

Only a few peach petals remained, drifting gently down and landing silently in the pool of blood.

"These rats in the gutter are quick on their feet, but what does he mean by that?"

Hua Rongshi was puzzled and looked down at Shen Xian.

"Lord Shen, you were such a good bait, you almost lost your virginity."

"As expected, your Grand Strategist Yan is truly a master strategist. He used you to lure Shen Yan, and he succeeded every time."

"Otherwise, it would be really difficult to find their traces in these vast mountains."

His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.

"What a pity, they have too many tricks up their sleeves, they're really hard to catch."

Shen Xian stood up, dusted off his clothes, and remained calm and composed.

He felt that Yan Ci was using his position to harm him for personal gain.

Knowing full well that he had no fighting skills, they still placed him on the front line, euphemistically calling it "luring the snake out of its hole."

It's not that it was unsuccessful, but rather that it was damnably tempting, almost causing him to lose his innocence on the spot.

"I don't know."

Shen Xian shook his head and stepped out of the cave.

Outside the cave, the corpses of Heavenly Apostles lay scattered on the ground, their bloodstains spreading across the snow.

He looked up and saw the blood-red moon hanging on the mountaintop.

It's like an eye opening from the depths of the sky, coldly looking down upon the human world.

The snow is still falling.

It spread like wildfire, covering the sky and the earth.

"The snow... has turned red."

Hua Rongshi's voice came from behind, tinged with surprise.

"The Guixu Palace has made its move."

Bei Chenji stood on the edge of the cliff, his crimson robe fluttering in the mountain wind.

Qian Su held up a black umbrella, silently shielding him from above.

The umbrella's surface was as black as ink, keeping the blood moon out.

"The wind is picking up."

Bei Chenji's expression was solemn.

"This snow is likely to last a long time."

At first, people thought it was just an ordinary snowfall.

Until the next day...

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"