Chapter 1364: Never Regretted

Gu Chengyu coldly snorted, the combat effectiveness of both injured people greatly weakened.

“Eh? Isn’t this the Second Young Master Lu? The one from the former Marquis Zhan’s Mansion, why is he here?” Ming Mo exclaimed in surprise upon seeing an old acquaintance.

“Tsk tsk! But why is he so weak? Did he get injured before?” Knowing the Little Emperor couldn’t see, Ming Mo thoughtfully described the scene below.

“Second Young Master Lu? That completes the group, but Zhao Xian is missing. Did he get wiped out by the army sent by the court? Or was it on the way here?” The Little Emperor pondered for a moment, and if it were the latter, they would be in trouble handling it.

“Reporting to the Emperor, he seems to be in cahoots with Prince Jing, and is currently joining forces to attack our Prince!”

Ming Mo clenched his fists as he watched his master nimbly dodge the sword point slashing in front of him, feeling a bead of sweat on his brow.

“Lu Chen is Zhao Yu’s man? I really didn’t expect that!” The Little Emperor marveled, previously Lu Chen had pledged allegiance to Zhao Xian with his entire clan, but now he’s entangled with Zhao Yu, this Imperial Uncle was truly adept at scheming.

Gu Chengyu turned around with a retaliatory stab, and Lu Chen immediately grunted in pain. Without minding the piercing wound on his shoulder, he took a deep breath, and the strength of his sword wielding increased compared to before.

Only when truly engaged in combat with Gu Chengyu did he realize how much stronger Gu Chengyu was than him. It seemed that during the last time at Hejian Prefecture retrieving the treasure map, Gu Chengyu had at most used only fifty percent of his strength.

Prince Jing glanced around, seeing his side completely suppressed; in just this moment, more than half of the people he brought had either died or were injured, making him flustered.

Seeing Prince Jing distracted, Gu Chengyu immediately attacked him. Although Lu Chen’s martial arts were no match for him, this time he unleashed immense potential, and Gu Chengyu couldn’t take him down quickly. However, it would be good to deal with Prince Jing first as he believed that once Prince Jing was injured, Lu Chen would lose his composure.

Gu Chengyu infused his sword tip with Inner Strength, slightly bent his right elbow, and circled the sword tip to the left, executing a twisting sword move from the bottom up. Not only did it disarm Prince Jing’s sword, but also added a thin, long wound to his body.

Prince Jing winced in pain, and his sword moves slowed down. The wound was too large and it injured his abdomen, causing blood to flow nonstop, forcing Prince Jing to step back a few paces, putting distance between himself and Gu Chengyu.

“Your Highness!” Lu Chen, anxious at heart, became erratic in his sword moves. Seeing this, Gu Chengyu used a Spring Rain. The sword moves were as fine and long-lasting as spring rain, and Lu Chen could no longer parry them, adding numerous small wounds to his body.

“Don’t worry about me, it’s nothing serious!” Prince Jing, face pale with pain, was covered in sweat.

However, seeing him so badly injured, Lu Chen couldn’t help but worry, glancing over several times, which Gu Chengyu naturally wouldn’t let go of this opportunity.

Using his wrist as an axis, he directed force to the sword tip, flicking his wrist downwards a few times, aiming a thrust towards Lu Chen’s arm. Lu Chen immediately snapped back to focus, trying to block the sword tip in front of him, but having been distracted earlier, it was ultimately too late.

Gu Chengyu’s sword moves were always light and sharp. If anyone thought these thrusts lacked lethality, they’d be mistaken. Lu Chen felt as if the small wounds on his body were being gnawed by insects, with blood seeping out through the fine wounds, causing both pain and itchiness.

Gu Chengyu swung a horizontal cut at Lu Chen with his sword, using eighty percent of his Inner Strength. Lu Chen barely raised his hand to block, yet he was already gravely injured, without proper rest, and several days of travel only worsened his condition. If not for a belief sustaining him, he would’ve long collapsed.

Now with so many additional new wounds, Lu Chen truly had no strength left to lift his sword, and when his hand was only halfway up, Gu Chengyu’s sword was already at his chest.

“Lu Chen, be careful!” Prince Jing’s eyes widened, immediately tightening his grip on his sword, striking towards Gu Chengyu’s back.

Gu Chengyu immediately withdrew his sword from Lu Chen’s body and turned around to stab, as Lu Chen slowly fell to the ground behind him.

Prince Jing, with a wounded wrist, found even holding a sword taxing, not to mention the sword wound on his body. After just a few moves, he was defeated.

He glanced at Lu Chen, lying on the ground still breathing faintly, and with eyes half-closed, he kept coughing up blood.

Switching to supporting himself with his left hand on the long sword, he laboriously raised his eyes towards Gu Chengyu. Gu Chengyu killed two soldiers who attempted to ambush him before looking at Prince Jing.

Prince Jing suddenly smiled, his well-groomed hair now disheveled. The bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, coupled with his pale handsome face, made him look much more haggard than before.

“In the end, it’s still a one-move difference! Gu Chengyu, I do somewhat regret. If only I had spared no cost to eliminate you earlier, perhaps I would’ve achieved great success by now!”

Prince Jing forced a bitter smile, looking at Gu Chengyu with a gaze filled with desolation. Gu Chengyu subsequently lowered the long sword in his hand.

Prince Jing had lost the power to fight and was no longer a concern!

“No! Prince Jing, you cannot kill me!” Gu Chengyu shook his head, even if they used swarming tactics, he could not beat them but could still escape. However, he never regarded himself as the most powerful in martial arts in the world. Those martial arts experts wouldn’t meddle in court affairs lightly.

“Gu Chengyu, why bother to be born when there is no use! This Prince thought I had excellent strategy, who knew I’d run into you!” Prince Jing’s words were full of helplessness; he could no longer support himself and fell to the ground.

Seeing he no longer had the strength to even walk, Gu Chengyu didn’t approach him. It was better to capture someone alive than to kill them directly.

But he believed that Prince Jing wouldn’t want to be captured alive. Seeing him suffer such heavy wounds yet still forcing himself to stand showed that this person had some dignity.

“Does the Prince have any regrets?” Gu Chengyu asked out of curiosity; if it were him, he wouldn’t know what choice he’d make. Maybe he would behave just like Prince Jing!

In the end, Prince Jing felt a sense of resentment, Gu Chengyu thought it was not for his own sake but for his mother.

Without thinking much, Prince Jing knew what Gu Chengyu was asking. The person who understood him best in this world would be Gu Chengyu and vice versa.

“Never! You wouldn’t understand. Learning your mother was despised by the Emperor until her death, without even a status, is a feeling hard to describe. Even if it were just a concubine’s rank, at least she bore him a son, which was the palace’s rule. Yet the Emperor detested my mother so much that he wouldn’t even grant her a concubine’s rank.”

Prince Jing’s eyes reddened slightly, suddenly speaking about feelings he had long suppressed in his heart. He knew he wouldn’t survive today and suddenly had the enthusiasm to express his longstanding inner thoughts.

Gu Chengyu’s combat strength was unparalleled, and after swiftly and accurately dealing with a few soldiers, no one came to stop him anymore.