Only to Die In

After a short while, the door to the warm pavilion was gently pushed open.

Huang Jing walked out quickly and bowed to Gu Chengyin, saying:

"Marquis Gu, His Majesty summons you. Please enter immediately."

Gu Chengyin's expression turned solemn. He turned to Luo Zhao and bowed once more:

"Your Highness, this subject will go in first."

Luo Zhao nodded in response.

Under Huang Jing's gesture, Gu Chengyin dragged his heavy steps.

Step by step, he walked toward the door of the warm pavilion, which represented the highest authority of Great Luo.

Every step seemed to exhaust his strength, his footing vain and staggering, yet his spine remained perfectly straight.

His tattered robes, soaked in blood, looked exceptionally glaring and desolate against the backdrop of the solemn and magnificent palace.

The scene held a tragic heroism, mixed with a heart-wrenching brutality.

Luo Zhao stood where she was, her gaze drawn as if by an invisible thread.

Firmly locked onto that retreating figure.

She watched as he tripped over the threshold, staggering before being supported by the quick-handed Huang Jing.

Watched him turn his head slightly, seemingly saying something to Huang Jing, before continuing forward.

Finally, she watched him step into the bright light of the warm pavilion, his figure completely swallowed by the radiance symbolizing imperial power, disappearing behind the heavy doors.

Click.

A clear sound of closing rang out as the eunuchs shut the doors of the warm pavilion from the inside.

It severed not only the line of sight but also temporarily sealed away her out-of-control emotions.

It was not until this moment that the turbulent waves in Luo Zhao's heart, which had surged and overwhelmed her reason from the first moment she saw Gu Chengyin, were forcibly held back by an invisible dam.

But the raging tides had not settled; they were merely forced deeper into the abyss of her heart, while the surface gradually settled into a near-deadly calm.

Luo Zhao's straight back relaxed a fraction, and the fingers tightly clenched within her sleeves slowly unfurled.

Yet deep crescent marks remained on her fingertips from the excessive force.

This calm was not true peace.

It was the suffocating, oppressive silence of the sea before a storm.

Beneath the tranquil surface, dark currents surged, and energy continuously gathered.

Waiting only for a catalyst to erupt with an even fiercer, destructive force.

The palace lanterns under the corridor swayed gently in the wind, casting flickering light and shadows across her breathtakingly beautiful yet icy face, making her phoenix eyes appear even more profound and unfathomable.

An unknown amount of time passed, perhaps just a few breaths, or perhaps a long spiritual trek.

"General Chen."

Luo Zhao suddenly spoke, her voice even calmer than usual.

It made the restless Chen Busha instantly tense every nerve in his body.

Chen Busha immediately reigned in his wandering thoughts, took a half-step forward, and bowed solemnly.

With his head lowered, he replied in the most respectful and steady tone:

"This general is here. Please give your orders, Your Highness."

Luo Zhao's lowered gaze fell upon the intricate and delicate dark-gold mythical bird patterns embroidered on the cuffs of her palace dress.

However, the words that left her lips had nothing to do with this peaceful sight.

Every word carried a bone-chilling coldness as it clearly reached Chen Busha's ears:

"Pass down my verbal decree."

She paused. This brief halt was not out of hesitation, but to accumulate a near-tangible, icy killing intent.

This killing intent was so intense that it seemed to drop the surrounding temperature by several degrees.

"Immediately, in the name of the Imperial Household Department."

"Issue a Jianghu kill order."

The moment those words left her mouth, Chen Busha's heart trembled violently!

Although the Internal Affairs Department controlled palace matters, issuing a kill order against the martial world in its name was highly unusual.

This in itself meant that the matter had exceeded the scope of an ordinary manhunt, carrying the strong, undeniable will of the Crown Heir.

And it showed a willingness to use unconventional, far more intimidating, and widespread forces.

Such measures were generally reserved only for desperadoes who severely provoked imperial authority or were involved in highly sensitive incidents.

Furthermore, the bounty would not come from the national treasury, but from the royal private vaults.

Luo Zhao continued speaking, her pace terrifyingly steady, every word crystal clear:

I do not need them alive.

She raised her eyelids, her gaze cast blankly forward:

Nor do I need their corpses.

Chen Busha jerked his head up, unable to conceal the horror in his eyes any longer.

No living captives for interrogation, and no corpses to close the case?

Then... what did she want?

The implication behind this order made even Chen Busha, a man accustomed to life and death, feel a chill creep up his spine.

However, it was Luo Zhao's next words that truly made Chen Busha understand just how brutal this kill order was, and what kind of bloody storm it was about to unleash.

Luo Zhao's gaze seemed to return from the void and refocus as her red lips parted slightly.

She uttered a simple number, yet one sufficient to drive the entire martial world into madness:

One cut.

She paused briefly before adding clearly:

One tael of gold.

One cut, one tael of gold!

Chen Busha gasped, the blood in his veins freezing in that instant.

The scale of this bounty was simply astronomical!

This was not a reward calculated by heads or captures, but by cuts!

It meant that as long as someone could land a blade on any of those four assassins.

Regardless of how deep the wound was, regardless of whether it was fatal.

Every single cut could be exchanged for one tael of gold.

This was enough to drive all the desperadoes, assassin organizations, and even reclusive ruthless masters in the world completely insane.

Greed would drive them like sharks smelling blood, swarming from all directions, relentless until the bitter end.

Understood!

Chen Busha suppressed the churning emotions in his heart, burying all his doubts and concerns deep within.

This general receives your command! I will see to it immediately!

With that said, he did not linger for a moment longer. He spun around, his armor clanking loudly.

Taking long strides, he marched briskly toward the outside of the palace, carrying a fierce gust of wind with him.

As Chen Busha's footsteps quickly faded away, only Luo Zhao's solitary figure remained under the empty corridor outside the hall.

The wind seemed to grow colder, blowing against the wide sleeves and trailing skirt of her palace dress, making a faint rustling sound.

Luo Zhao stood quietly in place, like a peerlessly exquisite yet lifeless jade sculpture.

Only those deep phoenix eyes remained fixedly staring at the spot where Gu Chengyin had just disappeared.

Her gaze seemed to have lost its focus, yet at the same time, it appeared to gather all her concentration.

As if trying to pierce through the heavy doors to see what the figure who had thrown her mind into such turmoil was currently enduring.

Her earlier loss of composure, the uncontrollable shock and bewilderment, the tangled and complex anger she could not sort out.

It was not until Gu Chengyin's figure was swallowed by the doors and she stood alone in this empty corridor.

She finally figured out, emerging from a chaotic vortex of emotions, why she was acting this way.

Her red lips parted slightly, and Luo Zhao murmured in a voice only she could hear:

Gu Chengyin...

She paused for a moment, savoring the complex taste that this name brought.

Then, she slowly raised her right hand.

Her slender, jade-like fingers curled into a loose grip in the empty air before her.

It was as if his fingers had locked around an unseen throat.

His tone shifted abruptly, shedding its former indifference.

In its place crept a paranoid, almost morbid malice:

"You will die by my hand, and mine alone!"