Dance Of The Phoenix
41. Sudden Attack

Time passes so fast. The conversation regarding soul force two months ago seemed to have never been spoken. Gu Yuena went through the day as usual and cultivated without any worries.

He often met Gu Yihan and Gu Yesha in the inner courtyard of Yinyang Academy. Gu Yihan was still as cold and distant as he used to be, sometimes throwing cold gazes at him. As for Gu Yesha, the boy became Gu Yuena's playmate when Gu Yuan and Luo Yi were busy.

Gu Yesha's attractive attitude spurred Gu Yuena's spirit so that the two of them were already like peers. Although they had different mothers, there was no rejection of Gu Yuena's self towards Gu Yesha, different when dealing with Gu Yihan.

Perhaps it was because of Gu Yuena's hatred towards Gu Yueli who was Gu Yihan's younger brother.

Ah, by the way how is Gu Yueli in the Ye Clan? Sometimes he will take the time to visit the 'enliven' party.

Since two months had passed, it was time for Gu Yuena to return to Yuansu Academy.

Gu Yuan took the time to escort Gu Yuena on the way to Yuansu Academy. Because it was only the two of them, Gu Yuena did not use a horse carriage, but instead rode a horse directly.

Along the way the forestry was filled with conversations between brothers who sometimes satirized and mocked each other. Most Gu Yuan relented, letting Gu Yuena win the debate so as not to get angry.

Gu Yuena sang all the way after that insignificant debate. If there was a music player in this world, it would have been a long time ago. Unfortunately, he could only sing by himself, whereas Gu Yuan only listened.

When the scorching sun was overhead, Gu Yuena suddenly pulled her horse to a stop and raised one of her hands signalling a stop at Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuena's gaze turned towards her brother. "Who goes faster to the next city, he wins."

Gu Yuena did an impromptu race.

Not yet Gu Yuan responded, Gu Yuena had already spurred on his horse quickly and cheerfully. Inevitably Gu Yuan had to agree and race the horses faster. His sister was too excited.

Two horses ran quickly around the forest in the same lane. The two preceded each other alternately at the same speed, with no one left behind.

Gu Yuena was too excited. For him, coming out of the Yinyang Palace region was so refreshing that his entire miridian was smooth. Despite the pressure he felt for two whole months, it brought about many surprising changes. He was too excited because he felt his body and soul were so light as to experience total freedom.

It feels awesome!

Amidst the pleasure, Gu Yuena was barely aware, that there were several arrows darting towards her at lightning speed.

Gu Yuan regained consciousness first. He was surprised and spontaneously called out to Gu Yuena.

"Nana, lookout!"

Gu Yuena turned her head back, an arrow passed just like that right beside her face until it pierced through the strands of hair beside her.

Gu Yuea was silent for a while. Almost the arrow pierced his head.

Gu Yuena swiftly put up a position. He saw some arrows coming out of nowhere. Quickly he raised his hand, putting away all those arrows with spiritual power.

Gu Yuena's counter-attack hit right at target—though there were some misses. Several men dressed in all black fell from the top of the tree in a state of being stuck with arrows that attacked back.

Because of Gu Yuena's position at the very front, some of the arrows pierced through the legs and body of the horse he was riding until it neighed. Gu Yuena would inevitably jump off the horse, letting the horse collapse with a punching arrow.

Gu Yuan had already pulled out his sword and was preparing for an ambush. He went towards Gu Yuena while being on standby for the next attack.

"We're ambushed."

"What is a robber?" Gu Yuena had only been robbed for the first time in her life. Usually they rob people.

Gu Yuan watched around for a while. His eyes narrowed sharply. "Not."

At the same time, several all-black figures emerged from the trees. They were all fully masked, as if the mask had been attached to their skin and became part of their face. Even their two hands were equipped with two long swords as well as several archers who were on standby behind the bushes.

Gu Yuena did not know who they were. But looking at Gu Yuan's reaction, it seemed like the man knew. He did not ask much more when a group of ambushers came forward to brutally finish the weapon.

Their movements are very coordinated. It was impossible if they were ordinary robbers or assassins. In Gu Yuena's experience, the group of assassins who could move in an organized manner had to come from an expert and dangerous community. It was because he had once joined such a community.

The movement in killing Gu Yuena was extremely fast. The magic in his hands was used periodically and targeted the vital points in each attack to finish them quickly. When the several assassins charged in unison, Gu Yuena used a large enough fire boost to burn them simultaneously.

In addition, Gu Yuan also protected him using a shield to attack the rear while killing many of them. Because their average strength was at level 4, the fight of two against a group was short.

Gu Yuan with his strength wiped out many of them using the terrain of his that was passed down by the Yinyang Academy. They are sucked into a vortex of yin and yang patterns and die just like that.

As soon as the group died, the thing that made Gu Yuena shocked was the unnatural way of death. They all just disappeared into ashes and evaporated without leaving a trace. As if what happened before was just an illusion. Not only did the one Gu Yuan killed, the one killed by him also disappeared.

Gu Yuena frowned. What the fuck?

"They ...."

"Not a human." Gu Yuan continued Gu Yuena's conjecture with complete confidence, as if he was used to seeing it.

Gu Yuena was still not in a state of mind. There could be such a strange creature in this world.

Then they heard the sound of a fierce fight not far from where he was. They looked at each other for a moment, then went to see what happened.

And sure enough, those strange creatures also attacked a group in armor in the middle of the forest and killed them easily.

Most of the people in armor had the strength of tier 2 and 3, thus losing when facing a stronger group of opponents. The ground was moistened by blood right then and there.

One thing Gu Yuena could deduce, the figure that fought against her earlier was only an additional part or guard of the creature that attacked those in armor. He could see the flag of the Yi Empire on display in a chariot.

Which the creatures were after were nobles in the chariot.

"Wait here." Gu Yuan looked hurriedly joined in and cleared them with his sword.

Gu Yuena was forbidden from participating in the battle. He simply stayed on the spot, watching and observing the unfair battle.

His gaze was shifted to another part that he had previously ignored. He felt the familiar breath of a man who was using his sword to finish off the enemy cunningly. The power of light in his sword was so dazzling and made the strange creature crumble instantly.

Huang Jingtian, that's him.

"It could be the savior of the Crown Prince," muttered Gu Yuena. When he turned his head to the side, the strange creature turned out to have attacked him just like that.

He raised his hand to get rid of the annoying creature, but suddenly Xiao Hei appeared in the form of a huge black creature and brutally tore them apart.

"I don't think I'm needed." Gu Yuena kept her hands back.

Huang Jingtian and Gu Yuan worked together to defeat the ambush that suddenly pounced on them. Lights and flames lit up in the attack area within the forest until it was filled with explosions.

A few minutes later, the battle was finally over. The mysterious makhkuk was spent and simply disappeared. Not only were the strange creatures, the corpses of the soldiers Huang Jingtian had brought along also disappeared in the darkness as if they were being carried by something. This forest became so desolate as if nothing had happened.

Seeing that strange sight, Gu Yuena grew even more curious. No wonder those strange creatures disappeared, but why did the imperial soldiers also disappear?

There are too many strange things in this world that cannot be explained logically.

Gu Yuan's rout looked quite serious, as did Huang Jingtian when he saw the battle marks disappear carried away by the dark wind. However, when their gazes found Gu Yuena standing firmly beside the large Xiao Hei who was confused, their look changed completely.

"Gu Yuena, long time no see." Huang Jingtian greeted Gu Yuena familiarly. Gu Yuan glanced at him at a glance, then immediately went to his sister's side.

"You okay?" Gu Yuan was still worried about his poor sister.

Gu Yuena became pouted. "You told me to shut up, so I didn't fight. Even Xiao Hei replaced me."

Gu Yuan glanced at Xiao Hei who turned small once again and jumped into Gu Yuena's embrace. He smiled thinly. "Your maintenance is quite helpful."

"Of course, I raised him." Gu Yuena said proudly.

Lately Xiao Hei's strength increased after eating a lot of monsters and fighting on Mount Huo. He did not know, Xiao Hei would become so strong against many strange creatures just by eating monsters.

"It turns out that the little cat you often carry is the black creature. It's totally unexpected." Huang Jingtian chuckled.

"Alright, don't talk about my cute Xiao Hei. As Crown Prince, you must know why those people attacked you." Actually Gu Yuena wanted to ask directly who and why they could act like that, but she was prestigious.

"They are not people, but evil souls who are controlled ...." Huang Jingtian stopped his explanation when he saw Gu Yuan who was staring at him flatly. It seems like a certain brother doesn't want his sister to know this.

Gu Yuena was sensitive to this situation. He directly turned Gu Yuan's face the other way forcefully, then urged Huang Jingtian. "Don't look at him, look at me!"

"Miss Gu, I haven't previously thanked you for saving me and my people. If there are no you, there will be more casualties. I might not survive either."

"What is watching also called saving?" Gu Yuena was irritated. "Don't switch topics."

"They are only the dead whose souls are raised, nothing special. Basically, they are no longer human. The rest, I don't know." Huang Jingtian explained it briefly.

Gu Yuena finally let go of Gu Yuan whose head had been held tight since earlier. Instead of asking, Gu Yuena actually began to think and relate to everything Gu Yuan meant did not allow him to know this.

It seemed like this had to do with the soul power of Linghun Palace. But why would Linghun Palace attack the Crown Prince without cause and open up like this? Like not his style.

Gu Yuan guessed what his sister was thinking and sighed. "They are not from Linghun Palace, but Linghun Hall."

"What difference?" Gu Yuena wondered. By the way, how could Gu Yuan know what he was thinking? Never mind.

Gu Yuan explained resignedly. "Linghun Hall is part of Linghun Palace, but they are also different. Both in terms of leaders and workings, the two act separately. During this time the Linghun Hall often appeared, there were even some of their headquarters in some places blatantly. Clearly, this was different again to Linghun Palace even though the two of them had an indirect relationship."

"Ah, one more. Their members are not just witches. There are so many of their members, these days they are creating dead souls to come back to life and be used as frontline troops. They cultivated using soul power, and controlled those souls using soul power. They named those souls as Death Troops." Huang Jingtian continued with a more detailed explanation.

"Aula Linghun .. is the leader not a witch either?" Gu Yuena was fishing Huang Jingtian spoke.

"Of course not. I heard that the leader of the Linghun Hall is the direct disciple of the Queen of Linghun Palace. He was extremely powerful and mysterious, as well as potentially becoming the next King of Linghun Palace." Huang Jingtian seemed to be exaggerating in storytelling making him get a flat look from Gu Yuan. He swallowed the saliva, and fell silent.

Who would have thought a Crown Prince would be rendered speechless by the eldest son of a Duke?

"So, you guys are going to Yuansu Academy? We have the same goal, it is better to go together than to have to split up and be attacked again. Incidentally, the carriage was not damaged, Miss Gu could wear it." Huang Jingtian instantly changed the topic and offered him a ride.

"Crown Blind, sorry for the trouble." Gu Yuan was feeling uneasy. Taking Gu Yuena using the imperial carriage? Although he was not worried, but did this Crown Prince not over-treat Gu Yuena?

Huang Jingtian chuckled and patted Gu Yuan's shoulder familiarly. "Gu Yuan, there's no need to hesitate. We've been friends for a long time, what's wrong with giving a little help? Besides, you guys have helped me before. Think of it as returning the favor if it's not good."

"Crown Prince, bring another woman into your chariot, fearing it will cause misunderstandings. Let me be with my brother." Gu Yuena obviously refused. Although he wanted to sit in the carriage comfortably, but he did not want to be in the same carriage as Huang Jingtian!

"Miss Gu, you are my junior, will there be any misunderstandings? Although there are, who would dare to question you?" Huang Jingtian looked at Gu Yuena meaningfully.

Gu Yuena looked at Huang Jingtian, feeling somewhat annoyed. What the fuck is that look? Was the man saying that no one would question a 'friend of the man' sitting in the same horse carriage as the Crown Prince? He said about his disguise as a man?

Was he threatened in front of his brother?

Ah, Gu Yuena's tongue is itching to curse.

"Son." Finally he spoke in Japanese.

"What?" Huang Jingtian did not understand what Gu Yuena was saying. From the way Gu Yuena spoke, it did not seem to have a good meaning.

Gu Yuena smiled forcefully. "No, that's a sign I'm grateful for the attention. Then I take your advice."

While Gu Yuan only looked at his sister's behavior with a resigned look. Whatever Gu Yuena said, it was better for Huang Jingtian not to know the meaning.

"Since Gu Yuena has already accepted my offer, then Gu Yuan, do you want to join or return to Yinyang Academy?" Huang Jingtian looked at Gu Yuan, hoping that the man would just return to Yinyang Academy so that he could be with the natural version of Gu Yuena.

Gu Yuan looked at Gu Yuena, then looked at Huang Jingtian again. Had he not rushed over the affairs of the Academy that his teacher had assigned, he would not have been willing to leave Gu Yuena with this rancid Crown Prince.

But since Huang Jingtian was quite reliable, he better give up. "I will return to Yinyang Academy to take care of the trip to Yuansu Palace in a few days. Originally wanting to go directly to Yuansu Palace, but I still have some things to report."

"Ah, what a pity." Huang Jingtian pretended to regret it. "Then, be careful on the road."

"Sister, aren't you afraid those creatures will target you?" Gu Yuena suddenly stopped Gu Yuan. He had been pensively thinking of something, suddenly hearing that Gu Yuan was leaving.

Gu Yuan chuckled. "Can some death creature bully me? You take it easy, I'm very strong and reliable." He rubbed Gu Yuena's head in anxiety.

Gu Yuena let out a long breath. "Then be careful." He could not hold Gu Yuan.

There was actually a good chance of Gu Yuan returning to Yinyang Academy. He could disguise himself as a man in the middle of the road without making Gu Yuan surprised.

Gu Yuan left after several conversations with Huang Jingtian. Gu Yuena was unwilling to listen to the man's talk, choosing to enter the horse carriage faster and rest with Xiao Hei in his arms.

Seeing Gu Yuan's departure, Gu Yuena just quietly sat in front of the horse carriage after waving her hands for quite a while. Looking at her brother's back away, it felt like only yesterday they had met after such a long time. He missed that guy again.

Gu Yuena sighed. Never mind, they'll meet again later.

For now, focus on strengthening yourself first. Within two years, he would return home to see Gu Yuan for the last time.

The journey continued without any obstacles.