Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

Li Chengze nodded in satisfaction. He walked to the widest open space in the central courtyard and stopped.

Night gradually fell.

Over Xinzheng, dark clouds obscured the crescent moon, making it impossible to see even a single star, as if foreshadowing an impending massive storm.

Li Chengze took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

The mysterious system interface instantly lit up in his mind.

"System, open dimensional portal. Target: Daqing World. Personnel: Elite Bad Guys, Royal Guard Battalion!"

As Li Chengze issued the command in his mind.

"Buzz—!"

The air in the courtyard suddenly vibrated violently, producing a ringing sound that was painful to the eardrums.

Immediately afterwards, a visible spatial rift appeared out of thin air directly in front of Li Chengze. The rift rapidly expanded, its edges shimmering with an eerie light that intertwined with dark blue and purplish-black, like a giant eye of the abyss opening its eyes.

An extremely large, ancient, and chilling energy surged out from the light gate, instantly engulfing the entire abandoned mansion.

Yuan Tiangang's gaze sharpened, he knelt on one knee, his right hand resting on the Tang sword at his waist, his eyes behind the mask fixed on the door of light.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The sound of perfectly synchronized, extremely heavy footsteps came from the other end of the light gate.

The first to step out of the portal were thirty ghost-like figures.

They were all dressed in black, close-fitting outfits, wearing wide-brimmed hats, their faces covered with various demonic masks, and long, narrow Tang-style swords hanging at their waists. Their aura was extremely restrained, but the occasional glimpse of killing intent they revealed sent chills down one's spine.

Bad Guys!

Following closely behind were fifty assassins clad in dark silver light armor, their faces as cold and stern as iron.

Their eyes were empty and indifferent, like emotionless killing machines, and they held crossbows and longswords coated with deadly poison.

Royal Guards of Daqing!

Eighty top experts appeared silently in this abandoned courtyard.

There was no chaos whatsoever, not a single sound.

As the last guard stepped out of the portal, the dark blue portal closed instantly, turning into starlight and dissipating into the air.

Eighty people, moving in perfect unison as if they had rehearsed a thousand times, knelt on one knee before Li Chengze, their right hands on their chests, and lowered their proud heads.

"The Bad Guys (Secret Guards) greet Your Majesty!"

A suppressed yet fervent voice echoed through the empty courtyard.

"Get up, everyone."

"General."

"Your subject is here!" Yuan Tiangang responded with a resounding roar.

"I'm handing these people over to you. Break them down into smaller groups and integrate them into the diverse community of Xinzheng City. Oh, and send someone to secretly follow Han Fei. He's at the center of this vortex right now. If he dies, this whole thing will lose its meaning."

"My lord, I obey your order!"

Yuan Tiangang suddenly stood up and waved his hand.

Eighty elite soldiers, like drops of ink dissolving in water, instantly transformed into streaks of black, scaled the high walls, and disappeared into the boundless night of Xinzheng City.

……

The night was darker.

Outside Xinzheng City lies the Valley of Broken Souls.

This is the place where the 100,000 taels of military pay were stolen by the "ghost soldiers".

Thick fog filled the valley, and the air still carried the pungent smell of burning and a faint stench of blood.

Several crows perched on the dead branches, cawing eerily.

Han Fei walked alone on the muddy mountain path, carrying a dim lantern.

He had no guards, only a seemingly worn-out, cracked ancient sword—Reverse Scale—hanging at his waist. (Important! Major plot twist! Watch now!)

"Ten thousand taels of gold—such a massive amount couldn't just vanish into thin air. Even a ghost would need a horse-drawn carriage to transport it, right?"

Han Fei muttered to himself as he carefully examined the ground around him.

He walked over to the charred corpses of several escort soldiers, squatted down, and used the wooden stick in his hand to stir the ashes on the ground.

Searching for clues.

"Shhh..."

Suddenly, a very faint sound, like countless feathers rubbing against leaves, came from the surrounding mist.

Han Fei suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He slowly raised his head and looked around.

The crows that had been perched on the withered tree had all vanished. In their place lay a deathly silence.

The temperature in the air suddenly dropped, and an extremely strong and undisguised killing intent locked onto Han Fei like a venomous snake!

"What was bound to happen has finally happened."

Han Fei sighed, casually tossed the lantern in his hand to the ground, and slowly gripped the hilt of the sword "Reverse Scale" at his waist with his right hand.

"Whoosh—!"

Almost at the same time, a black afterimage flashed through the thick fog.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of jet-black feathers with sharp, knife-like edges shot out from all directions toward Han Fei's vital points with a piercing whistling sound!

Han Fei's eyes narrowed, and he was about to draw his sword.

However, at this critical moment!

"Ding!"

A crisp metallic clang rang out in the silent valley.

Han Fei's pupils contracted slightly. He saw a black feather less than three inches from his throat, which had been forcefully knocked off by an invisible force and stuck obliquely in the soil.

Ten steps away from him, in the shadow of an ancient tree, a figure appeared out of nowhere.

The man wore a straw hat and had a mask covering his face that looked like a demon with a half-smile. He was toying with a copper coin that he had just used to knock down the feather.

He didn't look at the assassin in the thick fog, nor at Han Fei; he simply tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something.

In the thick fog, the black raven hidden in the shadows was clearly taken aback; he hadn't even noticed how the masked person had appeared!

"Who are you? This is a nighttime operation; idlers should stay away!" A cold and hoarse voice came from the thick fog.

The villain wearing the demon mask slowly turned his head, his eyes beneath the mask revealing an indifference as if he were looking at a dead man.

He did not answer, but simply placed his right hand lightly on the hilt of the Tang Heng sword at his waist.

"Click".

A very faint clicking sound of a mechanism being ejected.

The gleaming blade, half an inch long, flashed a chilling glint in the night.

"Playing tricks!"

Mo Ya snorted coldly, his hoarse voice drifting uncertainly in the thick fog, making it impossible to pinpoint his location. He knew his primary mission was to assassinate Han Fei, and he absolutely could not allow himself to be held back by a stranger of unknown origin.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh-!"

The sound of air being torn apart suddenly turned shrill! This time, it was no longer a few tentative feathers, but a torrent of black feathers pouring down like a storm! Each feather was infused with domineering internal force, as hard as iron and as sharp as a knife. They wove together in the air to form an impenetrable net of death, not only enveloping the mysterious masked man, but also sealing off all of Han Fei's escape routes!

Faced with this overwhelming attack, Han Fei's grip on the hilt of the "Reverse Scale" sword tightened slightly, and his eyes became incredibly deep.

He didn't draw his sword immediately because he wanted to see just how capable this suddenly appearing "protector" really was.

The next instant, Han Fei's pupils reflected an unforgettable scene.

"Zheng—!"

A dragon-like roar of blades tore through the night!

Chapter 209, "Deadly Intent in the Valley," is now available! Read it now!