Venerable Demon King & The Doting Immortal (QT)
Chapter 126: "And you… Do you like him?”

Chapter 126: "And you... Do you like him?”

"Who is average?" Xiang Yu exclaimed while swatting his hand away. "He is tall and handsome with the most dazzling eyes. He has countless pursuers each more beautiful than the next. The ladies would kill to be his queen," says the Demon King refusing to be labelled as average.

Han Xin’s breath caught for just a moment. The jealousy he had barely suppressed flared within him like an unquenchable flame. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to calm down. He took a step closer to Peng Xiu again, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as he reached for her hand once more.

"And you... Do you like him?" he asked, his voice low and steady but laced with an undercurrent of something volatile.

Xiang Yu chuckled lightly at first finding the question stupid. "Of course, I—" he said before hesitating mid-sentence. The words almost slipped out before he caught himself. It wouldn’t do to profess self-love while masquerading as Peng Xiu.

"I mean," he corrected swiftly, "of course I don’t like him! I am just saying he is quite good-looking, and the portraits you saw were probably exaggerated."

Han Xin wanted to say that he didn’t like it when she praised others and that it hurt, but before he could utter a single word, there was a sudden rustle from the shadows that shattered their moment. In one swift motion, he unsheathed his sword with a metallic whisper that echoed through the trees. The sound startled Xiang Yu.

He ducked instinctively while screaming internally thinking that Han Xin had lost his mind. He thought the annoying immortal was going to kill him for praising himself. Just when he was about to call the Divine Emperor to rescue him, two sharp needles whizzed past them and embedded themselves into the trunk behind him.

Without thinking twice, Han Xin pulled him into his arms just as another wave of danger surged toward them. His body collided against Han Xin’s chest, and a warmth hard to ignore, even under their current circumstance enveloped him. They spun out of harm’s way together and Xiang Yu suddenly felt like a damsel rescued by a handsome knight.

"What was that?" he gasped scanning around for the culprit. He hadn’t fought anyone in a while and his hands were itching to put someone in their place.

"Stay close!" Han Xin commanded fiercely before releasing her for only a heartbeat to assess their surroundings.

’Got you,’ said Xiang Yu to himself having spotted the figure hidden in the trees. With bloodthirst etched across his face, he reached beneath his skirt and unsheathed a dagger adorned with intricate carvings. It wasn’t as dazzling as the dagger Han Xin confiscated from him but it would do the job excellently.

He had bought it when he bought Baihe one. Smiling wickedly at the figure in the shadows, he dashed into the depths of the forest without any knowledge of how many people awaited him.

"Peng Xiu!" Han Xin called after her instinctively about to follow when suddenly a shadow materialised before him. A figure clad entirely in black clothes appeared out of nowhere, silent yet deadly.

The two men faced each other under the moonlight their breaths shallow yet charged with adrenaline as they prepared for battle. The man moved first, striking swiftly with precision honed through years of training but he was no match for Han Xin’s skill or ferocity.

With every swing and parry exchanged between them the clash resonated like thunder through the stillness. It soon became quite clear who would emerge victorious. With one final slash aimed at his opponent’s chest, followed by an elegant twist of the wrist that sent blood cascading onto fallen leaves below. The cloaked figure crumpled lifelessly onto the ground at last.

Han Xin knelt beside him quickly, not wasting any time. He had to go after Peng Xiu; thus, he was in a hurry. He clutched the man’s collar tightly lifting him off the ground slightly while meeting those dark eyes filled only with fear now rather than confidence or malice. "Who sent you?" His voice was dripping menace like honey mixed with venom, but there came no response except silence thick enough to choke on.

Frustration welled inside him as he noticed something glimmering within reach. The man’s mouth opened slightly revealing a white capsule. He was going to bite down and kill himself. Just then recognition dawned upon the general. He couldn’t allow this man to die without giving him answers.

As if reading Han Xin’s thoughts, the man tried to crush the pill in between his teeth, but Han Xin’s hand was faster. With a swift, precise strike, he knocked the man out with the hilt of his sword. He then used a handkerchief to carefully extract the pill. Just then, Han Zhan arrived, panting heavily after hearing commotion nearby. "What happened?" he asked, eyes wide with concern etched deeply across his features.

"Watch him closely," instructed Han Xin sharply while pointing toward the man sprawled on the ground lifeless. Soon after, he ran into the forest, leaving Han Zhan and the other soldiers behind.

Han Zhan nodded solemnly as he crouched down to remove the man’s mask. When he saw the face hidden underneath, he swore under his breath having recognised him as one of the soldiers in their party. This must have been the spy they were looking for, but did he act alone, or were there others in cohorts with him?

Meanwhile, Xiang Yu was moving with practised stealth, his heart racing not from fear but from exhilaration. He wasn’t in his original body, but his demon half was surging, thirsting for blood. He felt like he was back in the past doing night hunts for demons terrorising the poor villages.

His silk dress fluttered like shadows around him but he still felt like he was back in his playground. His grip tightened around the hilt of his blade as he felt someone’s presence in the shadows. With a malicious grin plastered on his face, he pretended to trip on a rock, making him appear weak and helpless.

Like an idiot, the assassin fell for it. It was just a weak and helpless woman, what was his fellow comrade warning him about earlier? One strike and she would be dead. They had gone ahead and executed this plan without the real Peng Xiu’s knowledge. It was so that they could bring the imposter’s head to her and receive accolades for their achievement and please her highness.

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