Facing the two youths in black and white, Ji Wu Ye's gaze turned glacial. "Mo Ya, Bai Feng—do you know the price of betrayal?"
"We know," Mo Ya said evenly. "And we chose it anyway."
"Then you must already be prepared to die," Ji Wu Ye replied, voice flat.
"You're mistaken," Mo Ya said, standing tall, utterly calm. "We aren't seeking death. We're seeking to leave you. We're tired of living in your cage."
"Leave me? Ridiculous."
With a clang, an iron cage dropped from above, sealing the four of them inside. Doors and windows slammed shut as heavy bronze plates slid into place. Not even a fly could escape.
"In my hands, even with wings you can't fly. This cage suits you perfectly."
Two ranks of elite soldiers jogged in, nocking arrows and drawing on them. Hidden arrays along the walls clicked open—dozens of mechanical crossbows revealed their cold, glittering tips, all aimed inward. Truly: no way out.
"I must say, Ji Wu Ye, you're awfully cocky," a mild voice cut in. Goku stepped forward, eyes on Ji Wu Ye.
Nongyu now stood safely at his side. She watched his back with quiet wonder. With a single wash of soft white light, he had not only healed her injuries but purged the "incurable" poison from her body—mysterious and effortless.
Goku walked forward and, to everyone's shock, passed through the cage bars as if they weren't there.
"You… are you man… or ghost?" For all his iron nerve, Ji Wu Ye felt a chill. The sight was too Uncanny.
"I only know you are about to become a ghost," Goku said calmly, stopping in front of him.
"Hah! Parlor tricks. You think you can kill me?" Ji Wu Ye snapped, slipping behind two ranks of archers. "Loose!"
The air thrummed as a dense rain of arrows tore across the short gap—too thick and too close for even the greatest lightness skill to evade. Ji Wu Ye's lips curved in a cold smile.
Goku merely swept his right hand. A gale roared to life; the arrow storm reversed mid-flight—
Puff—puff—puff!
Shafts punched through armor and flesh. Screams burst and died. In seconds the two elite ranks lay in their own blood, felled by the arrows they'd loosed.
"…Impressive," Ji Wu Ye admitted, eyes narrowing. "No wonder you swayed Mo Ya and Bai Feng. But if that's all you have… it won't be enough."
He lunged, slashing down with the broken half of his sword. "Die!"
Ding—
Goku caught the blade between two fingers.
"Im… impossible…" Ji Wu Ye stared, aghast. He strained; the steel didn't budge.
"This is what you call 'not enough'?" Goku asked lightly, still pinching the blade. A faint, mocking smile touched his lips.
"Heh. I underestimated you," Ji Wu Ye said, recovering fast—and smiling oddly. "But are you sure you can afford to ignore this?"
Thock-thock-thock!
The wall-arrays fired at once. A hail of heavy quarrels screamed toward those still trapped inside the cage—Mo Ya, Bai Feng, and Nongyu.
Mo Ya barked a sharp cry; black feathers billowed from his cloak. Crows—a whirling storm of them—erupted into the air, weaving a dark cyclone around the trio. Quarrels thudded into feather and flesh. Birds shrieked, fell, piled into a carpet of small, broken bodies.
By Nongyu's side, the bolts struck an invisible barrier and skittered away. She glanced at Goku—of course it was his doing. But… why wasn't he shielding Mo Ya and Bai Feng too?
Soon, the murder was spent; the last crow fell. The mechanisms kept firing. On that cramped floor there was nowhere to run. Even with peerless lightness skill, Bai Feng and Mo Ya were riddled through, then crashed to the ground.
At last the crossbows fell silent.
"Mo Ya. Bai Feng," Ji Wu Ye said from a high window, voice like ice. "I told you before—betrayal ends in death. Do you regret your choice?"
"Regret?" Bai Feng's tone was placid despite the blood blooming across his chest. "Death… is a kind of release."
Mo Ya lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling's bronze plating as his vision dimmed. "First time I gambled in life… and I lost. Are we… destined to die in this cage?"
"What a pair of slackers." Goku sighed. He blurred forward; gentle white light spilled from his hands over both men. Before Ji Wu Ye's disbelieving eyes, the arrow-holes closed, skin knitting whole in seconds.
"W-what…?" Ji Wu Ye choked out, stunned.
Nongyu simply watched, unsurprised now—she'd just lived it herself.
The two "corpses" stayed still. Goku responded with a light kick to each. "Up. Quit playing dead."
"Hss—could you be gentler?" Mo Ya hissed, clutching his waist as he stood. He ran a hand over his formerly perforated chest, eyes wide with wonder. "Unbelievable. I thought I was finished."
Bai Feng rose, checked himself, and looked at Goku with open respect. To pluck the dying back from the brink—astonishing.
Ji Wu Ye's stare turned edged with fear. A man this unfathomable—standing against him—felt like a mountain crushing his chest.
"You have remarkable arts," he said, regaining his composure. "But what grudge do we have, that you want me dead?"
"From the moment you set your eyes on Princess Honglian, your life stopped being yours," Goku answered.
"So it's for the princess." Understanding dawned; Ji Wu Ye snorted. "A beauty brings ruin, as ever. But killing me won't be so easy."
He suddenly hurled himself headfirst at a bronze wall. At the last instant, a hidden panel snapped open; he dove through, laughter echoing back.
Mo Ya flashed to the panel, but it slammed shut at once. "Damn—we're a step late. If we go after him now, we'll be facing an army."
"What now, Goku-daren?" Bai Feng asked.
Goku smiled. "We chopped up Yan's palace once. Looks like it's Han's turn."
---
Que Pavilion loomed resplendent, lacquered red blazing under the sun with a saintly sheen. Beneath the grandeur lay a pressure you could almost taste—halls upon halls, eaves upon eaves, gold and jade arrayed in solemn ranks like imperial might made stone.
From the distance, Han's elite troops marched in step toward the pavilion. In moments they ringed the entire complex—rooftops packed with archers, bows drawn, arrows nocked, every corner of Que Pavilion locked in their sights.
_____
T/N:
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