Chapter 870: The 'Fu' of Subversion

Woooo—

The cold wind wailed across the snow, and the group fell into a deathly silence.

Judging by the angle from which these three had flown in, they were likely the ones suppressed by the ancient miracle of the Gu Treasury, only to shatter it by sheer force... And that figure in the bright red opera robe was almost certainly the [Opera Emperor] whom the emperors had frantically warned about.

Behind the Opera Emperor was a tough-looking character in a black leather jacket with a wolf-tail haircut, and a smiling tiger in a Tang suit, leisurely spinning prayer beads, who looked unfathomable.

Under Chen Ling’s oppressive aura, the group was stunned, swallowing hard with difficulty...

"...Ying Fu?"

Zhu Zhong and the others exchanged glances.

"Is there... anyone named Ying Fu among us?"

The hemp-clad youth gripped A-Qian’s hand tightly, a look of bewilderment flashing in his eyes.

Seeing no reaction from the group, Jian Changsheng leaned over to Chen Ling and whispered:

"Red Heart, are you sure the person you're looking for is here?"

Chen Ling didn't respond. An invisible heart-python slid from his sleeve, crawling over each of these young people one by one... Its scarlet tongue flickered, and those snake eyes seemed to peer into the emotional shifts of everyone, searching for something.

The bright red opera robe slowly began to pace among them, his figure as light as a ghost, leaving not a single footprint in the snow.

"I’ll ask again... who is Ying Fu?"

"My lord, there really is no one named Ying Fu among us..." a slightly bolder youth replied in a low voice.

The others nodded in agreement.

As the bright red opera robe walked past them one by one, their hearts leaped into their throats. With every sweep of Chen Ling’s gaze, they felt as if they were being laid bare, breaking out in a cold sweat!

In front of Chen Ling, even the bravest and most reckless Zhu Zhong dared not make a single unnecessary move, keeping his head down like a quail. When Chen Ling passed by him, a single glance made his entire body shudder!

Dangerous, eerie, powerful, and full of oppression...

Is this the [Opera Emperor]?

Within the wide sleeves of the opera robe, the cold glint of the bone-cleaving knife reflected each of their faces in turn...

Finally,

Chen Ling slowly stopped in front of the hemp-clad youth.

Chen Ling scrutinized the face before him, frozen red by the wind and snow. Frost had formed on the skin, but the features were undeniably handsome, especially the eyes, with corners slightly upturned like a phoenix’s tail, possessing an inexplicably captivating quality...

This face bore quite a resemblance to the Ying Fu in Chen Ling’s memory...

But some things didn't quite match. First was the age; the youth before him looked a year or two younger than Chen Ling, lacking any of Ying Fu’s composure and sharpness. Second was the temperament; while the youth looked extraordinary, his gaze didn't possess the same domineering and profound depth as Ying Fu’s.

Seeing Chen Ling staring straight at him, the hemp-clad youth’s palms began to sweat. Like prey targeted by a lion, his whole body was tensed to the limit!

"Don't bully Brother Xiao Li!" A young girl stubbornly blocked the hemp-clad youth, spreading her arms, trying to protect him with her petite frame.

Chen Ling narrowed his eyes, his gaze naturally falling upon her.

Seeing this, the hemp-clad youth was startled and immediately pulled A-Qian back behind him!

"My lord... you must have the wrong person. I don’t know you, and I’ve never had any grievances with you." Under that suffocating gaze, the hemp-clad youth had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.

After a long while, Chen Ling finally shifted his gaze away from A-Qian and back to the hemp-clad youth.

Judging by the girl’s reaction, this young man was indeed surnamed Li. After all, Chen Ling had appeared too suddenly for them to have had time to collude; the girl’s instinctive cry of "Brother Xiao Li" was a habitual form of address.

Chen Ling said calmly:

"Your surname is Li?"

"Yes."

"Li what?"

"Li... Fu."

"Which 'Fu'?"

"The 'Fu' for wealth and prosperity."

The heart-python on the hemp-clad youth’s shoulder flickered its tongue slightly.

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed, and the bone-cleaving knife in his hand flashed with a cold light!

Pfft—!

The blade plunged into the hemp-clad youth’s ribs, missing his heart by a mere fraction. Scarlet blood instantly stained his clothes, dripping onto the snow.

The hemp-clad youth let out a muffled groan, his pupils dilating in disbelief. He vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed, kneeling limply onto the crimson snow!

Everyone around them was horrified!

Those closest to Chen Ling fell to the ground in terror. They hadn't expected Chen Ling to strike so suddenly. The fear in their hearts gnawed at their reason, and they were all trembling!

No one dared to speak. Even Han Dong and the other youths who had been recruited by the hemp-clad youth stood by, rigid and holding their breath. Han Dong seemed to want to say something for him, but under Chen Ling’s terrifying pressure, he could only hang his head, motionless.

"Brother Xiao Li!!"

Seeing the blood, A-Qian was stunned. She stumbled forward, but a single glance from Chen Ling froze her limbs. The most primal fear prevented her from taking another step.

Chen Ling gripped the handle of the bone-cleaving knife and gave it a casual flick, pulling it from the youth’s body. Warm blood left a long trail on the ground.

Then,

Chen Ling calmly rested the blade against the hemp-clad youth’s neck.

"I’ll ask you one more time," Chen Ling said flatly. "Fu... which 'Fu' is it?"

The hemp-clad youth knelt in the crimson snow, his pupils slightly constricted.

The hemp-clad youth was smart, or rather, his intuition was terrifying... When Chen Ling first shouted "Ying Fu," he hadn't felt anything. After all, his surname wasn't Ying, and he didn't know which "Fu" it referred to; it seemed to have nothing to do with him.

But when Chen Ling stood before him and began staring at him with that scrutinizing gaze, the youth panicked...

That gaze was like a serious comparison, and he could see the hesitation and killing intent that occasionally flashed in Chen Ling’s eyes. Being stared at for so long, he inexplicably felt as if he were the person Chen Ling was looking for.

So, when Chen Ling asked him which "Fu" it was, he followed his subconscious fear and changed "Fu" (subversion) to "Fu" (wealth).

There were thousands of people named Li Fu in the world. With such a common name and a different surname, he thought he could clear his name... But the hemp-clad youth never expected that his spur-of-the-moment cleverness would become his death warrant!

The Opera Emperor had actually seen through his lie!!

The blood-stained blade pressed against the skin of the youth’s neck, the coldness making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar... Under Chen Ling’s sharp gaze, the youth finally opened his mouth and said truthfully:

"Fu is... the 'Fu' for subversion."