At Mount Fuyue, there was a strong wind and heavy snow.

With a sword held horizontally in his hand, Gu Di recalled various previous events.

Those main clues like broken chains were finally connected because of the unexpected appearance of the man in front of him.

"No wonder Kamagawa Zhushui suspected my identity and suddenly took out a jade flute at the banquet to test me. It turned out that you took refuge in Ying State and made trouble behind my back!"

His long and narrow eyes gleamed like blades and swept towards Yue Xilou through the snow.

Yue Xilou stared at Gu Di's bitter face, twitched the corners of his mouth meaningfully, and answered in a leisurely manner, "In Da Yi, I found that you and your brother Huanan He have played the part of the Ninth Prince together, and you have been deceiving Emperor Renxian. It was a pity that that Emperor was too stubborn and stupid to see it and he insulted me in every way. I, Yue Xilou, will never work hard for such a man!"

"Yue Xilou, today I’m going to avenge those who were tortured to death by you!" Gu Di let out a cry, waved the long sword in his hand, and stabbed at Yue Xilou's throat.

The fact that Gu Yunxi hadn’t been dead had been seen through by him. He also saw through the secret of the Ninth Prince's identity.

Since they met, he must get rid of Yue Xilou to prevent future troubles.

Seeing the cold blade light approaching, Yue Xilou turned sharply, causing the opponent's fatal attack to fail. With a flick of his wrist, he blocked the sword with his sword.

On the mountain, a desperate struggle began.

The two equally well-matched men waved their swords, and their moves were ever-changing.

The fierce wind was torn apart by the sword energy soaring to the sky, and only the light of their swords twinkled on the snowy peak densely, and the momentum overwhelmed the flying snow that covered the sky and the ground.

Yue Xilou missed a little and was scratched on the left rib by Gu Di's sword.

He covered his wound with his hand and looked down at blood flowing out of his fingers and dripping to the white ice and snow.

When looking directly at Gu Di, Yue Xilou grinned coldly, "Well, my greatest wish in life was to have a life-and-death confrontation with the real Ninth Prince. Unfortunately, you are not him."

Gu Di's expression was calm, and he suddenly looked up at the sky and laughed, "Ha-ha... If you had said this two years ago, I would have been extremely angry and then you would have seen through my flaws and killed me with one blow. But I’m no longer lost, and I know who I’m, so I will not suffer from your evil plan!"

He sounded calm. Then he threw his long sword and drew a beam of light that approached Yue Xilou.

Blessed by the powerful internal strength of his palm, the long sword trembled in the air just a few inches away from Gu Di's palm. Following Gu Di's control, it flew left and right and fought fiercely with Yue Xilou.

This trick of "unity of man and sword" was really unusual.

Yue Xilou was secretly surprised. He fought back with his sword, shaking his body slightly while taking every move.

Gu Di knew that his opponent's internal strength was far less than his, and he just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, so he was ruthless in his every move.

A sword move was followed by multiple sword shadows, and the dazzling cold light, like the stars in the night, poured all out on Yue Xilou.

Yue Xilou stepped back along the mountain, stepped abandoned knives on some corpses, and slid back down the mountain in the snow.

How could Gu Di let him go?

His toes hooked over another abandoned knife and stepped on it, and he continued to fight with Yue Xilou on the way.

Yue Xilou gradually wore out. After he took a few more moves with his sword, he kicked his legs with force, flew over the top of Gu Di's head, turned, and chopped off his hat with a sword.

Gu Di’s silver hair was dancing in the wind.

Gu Di kicked his foot and flew up along the peak to chase after his opponent.

The two swords collided with each other again, and sparks spattered everywhere. The two streams of sword qi intertwined with each other, forming a fierce vortex that entrenched in the sky above the snowy peak.

A few changes came down from the peak, and the snowy ground shook a few times.

The two men who were fighting completely ignored it, and they waved with the sword in their hands, just wanting to take the other's life immediately.

The change was getting bigger and bigger, and the whole snowy field was shaking.

The two were unsteady on their feet and stopped fighting.

The cold air was approaching, which caused half of Gu Di's face to hurt.

He turned his head to look in amazement and saw a vast white smoke pouring down from the snowy peak.

"No, there's an avalanche!"

Yue Xilou narrowed his eyes, left his opponent, took the lead to make a U-turn, and leapt down the mountain.

Gu Di was close behind.

A storm suddenly rose, and countless ice and snow rushed along the steep rocks on the hillside like ten thousand horses galloping unstoppably. In a blink of an eye, two tiny lives were buried under the snow.

―

In Jing City of Da Yi, at the underground fortifications in the northern suburbs, through the clear outer wall of the long-necked pot, a Snow Toad was found at the bottom of the pot, and Huanan He’s beautiful eyes lit up.

"When the avalanche happened, I was fortunate enough to reach the bottom of Mount Fuyue, so I was not buried by ice and snow. I’ve been instructed again and again by His Highness to hand over this Snow Toad to you in good condition, Your Highness…"

Gu Di's subordinate choked halfway and couldn't continue. The apex of his nose was red and wet.

"Brother... He will be fine." Huanan He was heartbroken and muttered.

He was thirty-two years old. For more than 20 years, he had been living in the ups and downs of life and death, and the people around him had left him one after another.

To this day, he could no longer bear any of his relatives or friends to leave him.

Huanan He staggered and almost fell to the ground in grief. He was supported by a palm behind him in time.

Yu Xuanji looked solemn and determined, "Huanan Xian will be fine. He is wearing the amulet that I drew with my own hands, so he will return safely!"

"Xiu..."

Tears flickered in Huanan He's eyes, and he was ashamed and sad, "My brother went to Ying State for me and got in danger. I’m sorry for implicating you."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Yu Xuanji frowned coldly,

"Let’s use the Snow Toad and ask Jiang Huaian to remove the Qianji poison from Ruo. As long as she's all right, I'll go to Mount Fuyue to find Huanan Xian right away!"

...

In Qinming Hall, the lamp light was faint.

In a long dream, the Emperor Huanan Xin dreamed of many people who had already died.

They were disheveled with different expressions, and he couldn't see their bodies, and only their heads flew around him.

Huanan Xin's face turned pale with fright, and he stopped, screaming and dodging for fear of being contaminated with the blood dripping from their broken necks.

Then the scene changed, and the surrounding was pitch black.

Huanan Xin hurried forward until he was so tired that he was panting and sweating.

He felt as if he had fallen into a long dark tube that would never end.

When he was anxious, his eyes suddenly lit up.

The sound of gongs and drums was deafening, and he saw his Ninth Uncle Huanan He riding on a tall horse and his robe was red as blood.

He was surrounded by fifty ugly naked ghosts and flickering blue phosphorous fires. Holding the rope in his hands, he was getting closer and closer to the Emperor, then dismounted, and bowed with a sly smile.

"I’ve returned to Jing City as scheduled, Your Majesty."

Huanan Xin was too dumbfounded to utter a word.

Suddenly, Huanan He stretched out his iron palm and grabbed the Emperor's throat firmly and hysterically, his eyes widely open.

He shouted hoarsely, "Your Majesty, do you think you can kill me? You can kill me? You can kill me―"

Sitting up abruptly, Huanan Xin woke up from a nightmare.

The pain in his throat because of suffocation was particularly real, and the arrogant roar of Huanan He was still ringing in his ears.

The Eunuch Superintendent, Liang Zhen, hurriedly ran into the hall and almost fell, "Your Majesty, His Highness, the Ninth Prince, has come back to Jing City!"

Huanan Xin immediately froze on the imperial chair. He broke the teacup in anger after a while, waved his sleeve, and shouted angrily, "It's Shi Ling's stupid idea! I think the fifty Imperial Guards are all best of the best, but they failed to get rid of Huanan He? What should I do now? An Emperor’s words are to be taken seriously. Am I going to give him Regent Power?"

Liang Zhen blinked slyly and lowered his head, "Your Majesty, I think it would be beneficial to you if His Highness could get involved in government affairs."

Huanan Xin was taken aback, "Why?"

"Your Majesty, please think about it. The Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot, Leshuang, is recommended by Shi Ling. Yue Xilou has been eliminated. If the cabinet cooperates with the Eastern Depot, it will help Shi Ling’s party. If His Highness is Prince Regent, he could balance the cabinet and the Eastern Depot."

Huanan Xin stroked his chin with his hand, thought for a while, wagged his head, and said happily, "It's really interesting to see three forces at odds. So, tomorrow I'll give my uncle a new surprise. Liang Zhen, what do you think about finding a wife for him?"

Liang Zhen smiled slyly and lowered his eyes, "Your Majesty, you’re truly wise."