Chapter 9: Dropping the Pretense and Coming to Blows

Hearing the beast’s roar, Ye Zhenghuang remained completely unperturbed, continuing to walk forward with Chu Jinchen as they followed Li Hao.

It was not until they reached the edge of a cliff on the mountain path that Li Hao finally stopped.

Here, the tall weeds grew well above a person’s head. If he were to kill Ye Zhenghuang and Chu Jinchen here, no one would see it. Once finished, he could simply dispose of their bodies by throwing them over the cliff.

The calculations in Li Hao’s mind were very clear.

Turning around, Li Hao slowly drew his broadsword right in front of them.

"General Li, what are you doing drawing your sword? You can leave now; just go stand guard in the distance," Ye Zhenghuang said, staring at Li Hao as she issued the command.

Li Hao turned a deaf ear to her instructions.

Not only did he not leave, but he also raised a hand to wipe the sharp blade. The respectful attitude he had feigned earlier was completely discarded, replaced by a grim and ferocious expression.

At this moment, he looked at Ye Zhenghuang as coldly as if he were looking at a corpse.

Seeing him like this, Ye Zhenghuang frowned and rebuked him, "General Li, what exactly are you trying to do!"

"What am I doing? Hmph, today I am acting on behalf of heaven to eliminate you two pampered little pieces of trash, so that the world will have two fewer useless things!" Li Hao’s words were spoken with a veneer of righteousness.

"Trash? Who are you calling trash? Say that again!" Ye Zhenghuang’s expression turned completely cold.

She despised these hypocritical villains who spoke of acting on behalf of heaven while actually serving as someone else’s lackey.

"Li Hao, you had better think this through. If you dare to raise your blade against this Prince, I guarantee you will die without a burial ground!" Beside her, Chu Jinchen’s expression also shifted. To think someone actually dared to call him trash?

Hearing this, Li Hao gave a sinister laugh and said with a hateful look, "Oh, I’m so scared! But it won't be me who dies without a burial ground—it will be you! Prince Jing, Princess Jing, since you are already dead, why did you have to come back to life? No matter, I will send you on your way shortly. I will throw your bodies to the bottom of this cliff to be smashed to pieces! Tsk tsk tsk, you didn't want to lie peacefully in the Imperial Mausoleum, but chose to be buried at the bottom of a cliff instead. How truly stupid and pathetic!"

With that, Li Hao swung his broadsword forward!

As the blade swung out, a clear, cold, and fierce light traced an arc through the air, slicing toward the spot where Chu Jinchen stood.

Li Hao was already at the peak of the ninth level of the Earth Martial Artist stage and was on the verge of breaking through to the first level of the Heaven Martial Artist stage.

Neither the physically weak Chu Jinchen nor Ye Zhenghuang, who was only at the third level of the Earth Martial Artist stage, were his match.

Ye Zhenghuang grabbed Chu Jinchen and flashed away quickly, pulling him to the other side and narrowly dodging the strike.

The blade’s light missed its intended target and slammed heavily into a boulder weighing over a hundred pounds. Instantly, gravel flew everywhere, debris scattered across the ground, and dust filled the air, stinging their eyes.

Seeing this, Li Hao was slightly stunned, then pointed his blade viciously at Ye Zhenghuang: "Ye Zhenghuang, you little piece of trash, you actually dare to move and dodge my attack?"

His tone suggested that if he wanted to kill someone, they should just stand there obediently and let him hack them to death, which was utterly ridiculous.

Ye Zhenghuang let go of Chu Jinchen’s hand, calmly brushed the dust off her clothes, and lazily looked up at Li Hao.

"You want to kill my husband, and you expect me not to move? Should I help you instead? Li Hao, how can you say such things? It’s as if your brain is diseased," Ye Zhenghuang mocked.

Beside her, Chu Jinchen was slightly startled by the word "husband" that had slipped out of Ye Zhenghuang’s mouth.

But soon, he remembered that this physical body had previously entered into a ghost marriage with Ye Zhenghuang’s corpse; they could indeed be called husband and wife.

Today, Ye Zhenghuang had first fetched medicine to treat him, and just now, she had protected this body from harm.

Chu Jinchen felt increasingly satisfied with Ye Zhenghuang.

Of course, it was merely a simple satisfaction.

Hearing Ye Zhenghuang dare to call him diseased, Li Hao immediately began to curse and swear: "Ye Zhenghuang, you useless piece of trash, how dare you order me around and act so arrogant? Just wait until I..."

Facing Li Hao’s ugly insults, Ye Zhenghuang simply picked at her ear, bored, and ignored him entirely.

"General Li, we have no grudges against you, so why do you want to kill me and Huang'er? Are you not afraid that Master Jing will come looking for you later?" Chu Jinchen also watched Li Hao coldly from the side.

Thinking that this Li Hao intended to smash his brand-new body—which he hadn't even used for a full day—to pieces, Chu Jinchen wanted nothing more than to snap his neck!

Unfortunately, this body was far too weak; without spending some time, he couldn't crush others.

Both of them carried a strong aura, but it was clear that this posturing could no longer intimidate Li Hao.

"Master Jing? That alchemist? Heh, with that Rune Beast Master around, are you afraid of dealing with a mere alchemist?" Thinking of the beast roar he had just heard and the idea that the alchemist had already been bitten full of holes, Li Hao couldn't help but laugh sinisterly with great confidence.

Hearing this, Ye Zhenghuang’s suspicions were confirmed.

She had felt something was wrong when she saw Li Hao accompanied by a strange attendant earlier today. Now it seemed they had indeed been sent to deal with Gui Jing.

After all, if someone wanted to eliminate her and Chu Jinchen, they wouldn't need to go to such great lengths to send others. Given everyone’s impression of them as two pieces of trash, Li Hao alone would have been enough.

"Ye Zhenghuang, just thinking about the way you treated me this morning makes my blood boil! Heh, you piece of trash, not only do you refuse to grovel before the strong with a humble attitude, but you even dared to ask me for money?!" Li Hao continued to rant and rave.

Before this, Li Hao wouldn't have dared to say these things to Ye Zhenghuang’s face.

Although Ye Zhenghuang was a piece of trash, her background was far more noble than Li Hao’s. Her social status was enough to suppress the stronger Li Hao. That alone made Li Hao dare to be angry but not speak, feeling jealous yet helpless.

But now that the facade had been torn away, and he had orders from Fenglan City, he could stand tall. Naturally, Li Hao had no more reservations and wanted to say everything to vent his frustrations.

In any case, these two would soon die under his blade.

As for Ye Zhenghuang, listening to Li Hao’s words, she couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

She felt a visceral sense of the treatment the original owner of this body had endured.

Friendly to the face but cold at heart, stabbing in the back.

"It seems that if I don't teach you a lesson, you really will think you're something special." Ye Zhenghuang gritted her teeth slightly, a cold sneer curling onto her clear, fair face.