High Martial World: I Gain Passive Skills Daily-Chapter 38 - 37: Awaiting Execution?

Although Chen Kuang had only served at the Taichang Temple for three years, he had indeed lived in the Imperial City for nine years before being appointed as a Music Official.

Due to his lowly status, he often did menial work in his daily life, such as going out of the city to procure goods.

To leave the Liang Imperial City, one must pass through three checkpoints.

The first is the inner city gate guards, the second is the outer city moat, and the third is the Huo Character Banner garrison stationed outside the city.

——Emperor Liang, Su Yu, was indeed an extremely fearful person, and the first batch that later defended the Imperial City under Huo Hengxuan were exactly these troops stationed outside the city.

Chen Kuang was quite familiar with this.

But now, the city gates had collapsed, the Huo Character Banner had fallen, and the protective moat had long become mere decoration; it should have been a smooth journey.

Yet, a great chasm lay suddenly before him.

Shen Xingzhu, clad in black, with eyes shimmering like water beneath a blue veil, quietly hovered in mid-air.

In an instant, all was silent, as if the smoke, fire, and clamor behind had been left far behind.

She had been waiting here for a long time.

Like a hunter waiting for a rabbit.

Chen Kuang was that foolish rabbit.

"Hoo..."

Chen Kuang let out a long breath, realizing that this was the last checkpoint tonight and also the most difficult one.

Shen Xingzhu lowered her eyes with a hint of melancholy, and said faintly, "You made a mistake."

Chen Kuang calmly nodded, "Yes, I made a mistake."

In his killing spree, he hadn’t cared whether he was killing mortals or cultivators.

Anything that stood before him was an enemy.

Naturally, he had committed the crime of the inferior defying the superior, thus giving Shen Xingzhu a legitimate reason to kill him.

Chu Wen Ruo had never seen her, but instinctively felt that the visitor was ill-intentioned, showing a nervous expression, and whispered, "She is..."

Chen Kuang replied in a deep voice, "Mystic God Daoist Sect, Shen Xingzhu."

"Mystic God Daoist Sect? Aren’t they known for advocating morality and mediating conflicts everywhere... they shouldn’t be involved in this matter,"

Chu Wen Ruo said in surprise, clutching the Little Princess tighter with unease.

The princess struggled in discomfort, her voice muffled: "Mother... it hurts, I’m uncomfortable, let go a little..."

Chu Wen Ruo was startled, quickly released her grip, and shook her daughter’s shoulders, exclaiming: "Ying’Er, what’s wrong? Don’t scare your mother!"

Her face showed panic, almost on the verge of tears.

Chen Kuang was also startled; amidst the previous danger, he hadn’t paid much attention to the mother and daughter pair.

The battlefield was perilous; could it be that the Little Princess was injured without them knowing?!

It would be tragic if all the effort was in vain in the end...

The Little Princess’s face became increasingly pale, her little face swelling to a purplish tinge, as she clutched Chu Wen Ruo’s arm, her voice as if gasping for air:

"Mother... don’t..."

Chu Wen Ruo almost broke down right there, hugging her daughter and crying, "I won’t leave! I won’t leave! You’re not going to die!"

The Little Princess finally couldn’t bear it, her stomach churning, and she threw up with a "wa" sound.

A large amount of food remnants splattered all over the Profound Celestial Horse’s beautiful mane...

It turned out this Little Garbage Bucket had previously eaten too much sneaked food, and the continuous jolting along the way caused the undigested food to spill up her throat.

Originally, if she had waited a bit, she might have swallowed it back down, but Chu Wen Ruo’s shaking and hugging had squeezed it out like squeezing toothpaste.

Chen Kuang: "..."

Profound Celestial Horse: "..."

Chu Wen Ruo was momentarily stunned, then awkwardly caught the "breathless" Little Princess, hurriedly wiping the stains from her mouth, nonchalantly patting her chest to help her catch her breath.

The intensely tense atmosphere seemed to ease a lot after this interruption.

Chen Kuang cracked a smile, almost laughing out loud.

Shen Xingzhu looked at him, a bit surprised, and said softly, "Still in the mood to laugh, you’re really a strange person."

Chen Kuang, hearing this, smiled even broader, and said aloud:

"Does the Fairy think I should cry since I’m facing death?"

Shen Xingzhu furrowed her brows, then shifted her gaze to the mother and daughter pair of Chu Wen Ruo.

Chu Wen Ruo’s heart tightened, she shouted sternly:

"Your Mystic God Daoist Sect claims to commit to stopping war, yet now you are involved in the Zhou Liang dispute, helping the villain, aren’t you afraid of being despised and mocked by the world?!"

Unfortunately, Lady Liang’s voice, naturally gentle and weak, even when stern, was like a white Persian cat baring its claws.

Shen Xingzhu unexpectedly nodded, said calmly:

"That is true, so today’s matters and grievances relate only to him and have nothing to do with you two."

"I won’t stop you; after I kill him, you can leave on your own."

"Now that Li Hongling and Wei Su are dead, the main force of the Black Armor Army is dispersed; with this horse, a cautious escape from Liang is not hard."

This war was nearing its end; who would win or lose, she never cared.

Whether Chu Wen Ruo died or was saved, it was a matter between Zhou and Liang; she wouldn’t interfere.

Her only purpose here was to kill Chen Kuang.

Chu Wen Ruo was momentarily stunned, then looked at Chen Kuang.

Chen Kuang nodded, and said gently: "She’s right, she’s here for me."

He winked at Chu Wen Ruo: "Later, I’ll slap the horse’s rear, and you hold the reins tightly, keep running forward, and don’t look back."

Chen Kuang pointed to a distant patch of forest.

"Have you been outside the Imperial City? Head toward that forest, another thirty miles is Jishao County."

"The county has many waterways; ask around, and you’ll find where the Wild Crossing is... Remember to cover your face; such a pretty face is easy to attract trouble."

Chen Kuang’s expression was calm, but his words clearly implied...

These were essentially farewell words!

Listening to him, Chu Wen Ruo’s eyes reddened, and she clutched Chen Kuang’s sleeve, choked up:

"I... I won’t go."

"The country is broken, the family destroyed, how can I, a weak woman, live alone with my daughter?"

Chen Kuang was speechless, earlier in prison, when she had no one to rely on, she had clearly shown unyielding spirit and staunch determination as a mother.

Now, seeing him about to die, she was pulling all sorts of unreasonable stunts...

Ha, is this what they call being coquettish?

Shen Xingzhu listened quietly, then in the distance, came a loud boom.

Flowing starlight and a sharp sword arc clashed above, the astral wind swept thousands of miles, blowing down countless plants, in the night sky, stars fell, a spectacular sight.

Above the Imperial City, a faint barrier loomed, blocking most of the force outside.

This was the National Defense Barrier.

But after briefly holding, this barrier, too, shattered.

Fortunately, the remaining impact was not significant.

This made Chen Kuang breathe a sigh of relief.

"Neigh!"

The Profound Celestial Horse was also somewhat startled, shaking its head, steadied by Chen Kuang.

Shen Xingzhu’s expression was slightly shaken, bowing toward the distance.

She looked at Chen Kuang: "Huo Hengxuan has perished alongside Donghuang."

Tonight, three Saints were dead!

No matter the future results, this night was destined to be eternally remembered in history.

Chen Kuang sighed, shrugged: "Well, looks like my last support is gone, I’ll just have to stretch my neck out for the execution."

However, Shen Xingzhu didn’t move, and instead frowned, staring at him.

Chen Kuang asked puzzled, "Fairy, why are you not taking action?"

Shen Xingzhu didn’t reply, so Chen Kuang laughed, answering for her: "Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of ropes in wells; the Fairy thinks that my compliance is deceitful."

Chen Kuang shook his head: "Am I such a person? Would I resort to deceit?"

"Of course..."

"Impossible."

"This time, we’re straightforward."

Chen Kuang raised his right hand, on which was the mark of thirteen Life Tokens gathered.

The lives of thirteen cultivators were linked to him, bound with his own life.

"Does the Fairy know, in this city, there’s Li Hongling’s... yet unexploded Mountain-Breaking Thunder."