349 Siblings (2/2)

His voice diminished until it almost disappeared. He was extremely clear that in the Stone Castle, nothing was forever, other than the stones.

”What should we do now?” Shangguan Fei asked. It was like when they were young, and he would blurt out the question to his sister without thinking.

”Escape,” Shangguan Ru replied. She was composed in front of her brother; it was pointless to be grieving or angry. He was of the same blood as her, and even if he was a scheming brother, she had to save him.

”How can we escape? Father's killers are lying in wait outside,” he replied. He regretted coming back to the camp, but knew that it was equally unsafe to remain in the capital; after all, it had already become the territory of the Dragon King.

Someone outside the tent said softly, ”We can make a move now, Tenth Young Master.”

Shangguan Ru turned and left the tent. Shangguan Fei hesitated for a while before following suit, and he turned to look at the trembling servant still lying on the floor when he reached the entrance of the tent. ”You can leave with me,” he said.

The servant remained trembling and did not reply. He seemed to have been shocked out of his senses and did not even lift his head up. Shangguan Fei did not pay any heed to him again.

The chilly wind blowing outside the tent was starting to turn warm, and the endless night sky was filled with countless stars. Shangguan Fei could not help but shiver a little and followed closely behind his sister. He disliked darkness, especially when it was pitch black.

The three masked figures bowed to Shangguan Ru as a show of respect and retreated backward. Soon, they had disappeared amongst the tents.

”Why have they left?”, Shangguan Fei asked in a trembling voice. He wished to have as many people with him as possible at this juncture.

”They're killers, and cannot leave with traitors against the lord.”

”I still have killers, they...”

Shangguan Fei suddenly remembered that he had sent his killers to assassinate his sister, but they had never returned.

”They could not find their target and have decided to not get involved any further in this matter. They're never coming back to see you,” she replied.

Shangguan Fei had spent much effort in stirring up some courage within himself, but it was gone with the wind now. He had thought that his sister had some cunning plan up her sleeve, but it turned out to be just for the two of them to bash their way out of the camp. He wanted to return to his tent, where there was light. At least, if he was there, he could temporarily distance himself from the darkness outside.

”Let's go, follow my lead,” Shangguan Ru said as she drew her weapon from its scabbard. It turned out to be a wooden saber.

Shangguan Fei's faith in his sister was diminishing by the seconds; she could not even bring herself to kill. However, his feet moved of their own accord, and they gradually brought him further away from the brightly lit tent.

”Rather than feeling afraid myself, why not entrust my life to someone stronger,” he thought. It was this thought that made him cast away all his doubts and follow closely behind his sister.

Shangguan Ru was not sneaking out, but walking boldly and openly out of the camp.

No one came to stop them; it was as if everyone in the camp had gone missing all of a sudden.

Despite that, Shangguan Fei did not feel secure at all. He knew that many murderous killers were waiting for him in the dark.

When they were a few dozen steps away from the gate of the camp, his nightmare came true.

A few black figures dashed out from behind their tents and came rushing at the siblings from various directions.

Shangguan Ru struck her saber at her opponents. She made a sudden change of direction just as she began moving, and her saber hit the shoulder of the opponent on her left. Even though it did not have much killing power, it still knocked her opponent away.

Her feet did not stop moving, as she leaped around the tents. It was as if she was playing in the Stone Castle when she was young. Her lightness skills were top notch and she made frequent changes in direction, but Shangguan Fei managed to keep up. In a bid to ensure his own survival, he had stimulated all of his hidden potential in lightness skills.

Shangguan Ru did not seem to have a well-defined escape route and seemed to be probing different spots of the camp. Shangguan Fei soon caught on to her; she wanted to flush out all of the hidden killers.

Not everyone in the camp had received orders to kill the twins; less than 20 killers were trying to hem them in. The others remained hidden in their tents, contented to watch how things would unfold.

The killers chased closely after the twins, and after circling twice around the camp, there was finally a breach in their ranks. The siblings took their chance and rushed out of the camp.

Shangguan Ru had already prepared two good horses beforehand, and the twins leaped onto their mount and spurred them into a gallop.

The killers behind them were still chasing after them but did not seem to be putting too much effort into it. Shangguan Fei suddenly realized that they were riding towards the capital of the Stone Kingdom.

”We cannot enter the city,” shouted Shangguan Fei. He dared not reduce speed for fear of losing his sister. ”It's exactly what Father wants; for us to die near the Dragon King.”

Shangguan Ru did not reply, but she knew very clearly that under such circumstances, the Dragon King was very possibly the only person who did not want the twins dead.

As they neared the capital, its gate was suddenly flung open, but it was not to welcome the twins.

A column of people came riding quickly out of the gate, and its leader was the Dragon King himself.

Neither of the siblings knew that their Third Brother had already become the prince consort of the Xiaowan Kingdom and that in reality, a war had already begun between the Golden Roc Fort and the Great Snowmountain.