The 'Fu' in 'Subvert'
Wu wu wu—
The freezing wind whimpered in the snow, and the crowd was dead silent.
Judging from the angle these three flew over, the one suppressed by the Ancient Vault's miracle just now should have been them, but they ended up forcefully shattering it... And that figure wearing the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe was almost certainly the [Thespian Emperor] the Emperors frantically warned about.
Behind the Thespian Emperor, there was also a ruthless character wearing a black leather jacket and a wolf-tail mullet, who looked like someone not to be trifled with at first glance; as well as a smiling tiger wearing a Tang suit, leisurely rolling prayer beads in his hand, looking unfathomable.
Under Chen Ling's oppressive presence, the crowd was already scared silly, swallowing hard with difficulty...
"... Ying Fu?"
Zhu Zhong and the others looked at each other in dismay.
"Among us... is there anyone named Ying Fu?"
Seeing that the crowd had no reaction at all, Jian Changsheng on the side leaned in close to Chen Ling, asking softly:
"Hearts, are you sure the person you're looking for is here?"
Chen Ling didn't respond. An Invisible Heart Python slipped out from his sleeve, crawling over these young people one by one... Its scarlet tongue flicked in and out. Those snake pupils seemed able to discern everyone's emotional changes, searching for something within them.
The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe slowly took steps, walking among the crowd. His figure was as light as a ghost, actually leaving no footprints at all in the snow.
"I'll ask again... Who is Ying Fu?"
"This Lord, there truly isn't anyone among us named Ying Fu..." A slightly braver youth responded softly.
The others also nodded one after another.
The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe walked past them one by one. Their hearts instantly leaped to their throats. Following the sweep of Chen Ling's pupils, the crowd all had the feeling of being completely seen through, a cold sweat breaking out on their backs out of fear!
In front of Chen Ling, even the bravest and most reckless Zhu Zhong didn't dare to make the slightest unnecessary movement. Like a quail, he silently lowered his head. When Chen Ling passed by him, a single glance made his whole body tremble!
Dangerous, eerie, powerful, full of Oppressive Aura...
This is the [Thespian Emperor]?
Between the wide sleeves of the Theatrical Robe, the cold glint of the Bone-Stripping Knife reflected the faces of the crowd one by one...
Ultimately,
Chen Ling slowly stopped his footsteps in front of the Hemp-Clad Youth.
Chen Ling scrutinized this face that was frozen red by the wind and snow in front of him. Frost had already formed on his skin, but his facial features couldn't hide his handsome appearance. Especially those eyes, the corners of the eyes were slightly raised like a phoenix tail, inexplicably giving off a soul-stirring feeling...
This face was quite a few degrees similar to the Ying Fu in Chen Ling's memory...
But some things still didn't match up. First was age. The youth in front of him looked a year or two younger than Chen Ling, without the slightest bit of Ying Fu's steadiness and sharpness; second was temperament. Although the youth looked to have an extraordinary temperament, his gaze was not full of domineering aura and depth like Ying Fu's.
Seeing Chen Ling staring straight at him, sweat had already seeped out of the Hemp-Clad Youth's palms. Like prey being stared at by a lion, his whole body tensed to the extreme!
"Don't bully Brother Xiao Li!" A young girl stubbornly blocked in front of the Hemp-Clad Youth, spreading her arms, trying to use her petite body to protect the youth behind her.
Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze naturally falling on her.
Seeing this, the Hemp-Clad Youth was startled in his heart, and immediately pulled Ah Qian back behind him again!
"This Lord... You must have got the wrong person. I don't recognize you, nor have I had any grudges with you." Under that suffocating gaze, the Hemp-Clad Youth could only bite the bullet and speak.
After a long time, Chen Ling finally shifted his gaze away from Ah Qian and re-focused on the Hemp-Clad Youth.
From the young girl's reaction just now, this young man should indeed be surnamed Li. After all, Chen Ling himself appeared too suddenly, these two basically had no time to collude. The young girl instinctively calling out "Brother Xiao Li" was a habitual form of address.
Chen Ling spoke indifferently:
"Your surname is Li?"
"Yes."
"Li what?"
"Li... Fu."
"Which Fu?"
"The 'Fu' in 'wealth' (富)."
The tongue of the Heart Python on the Hemp-Clad Youth's shoulder flicked slightly.
Chen Ling's eyes narrowed, and the cold glint of the Bone-Stripping Knife in his hand flashed instantly!
Pfft—!
The blade pierced into the Hemp-Clad Youth's ribs, just a fraction away from his heart. Scarlet blood instantly dyed his clothes red, dripping onto the snow.
The Hemp-Clad Youth groaned, his pupils widening in disbelief. His whole body vomited a mouthful of blood, kneeling limply on the scarlet accumulated snow!
Everyone around turned pale with fright!
The few people closest to Chen Ling sat down on the ground in horror. They completely hadn't expected Chen Ling to attack suddenly. The fear in their hearts ate away at their reason, and their whole bodies were trembling!
No one dared to make a sound at this moment. Even Han Dong and the several youths who were won over by the Hemp-Clad Youth just now stood stiffly to the side holding their breath. Han Dong seemed to want to say a few words for the Hemp-Clad Youth, but under Chen Ling's terrifying Oppressive Aura, he could only lower his head, unmoving.
"Brother Xiao Li!!"
Seeing the fresh blood, Ah Qian was also scared silly. She stumbled and was about to run forward, but a single glance from Chen Ling made her limbs go stiff. Her body's most instinctive fear made her unable to take half a step forward.
Chen Ling gripped the hilt of the Bone-Stripping Knife, casually shaking it, pulling it out of the Hemp-Clad Youth's body. The warm fresh blood sprinkled a long trail on the ground.
Then,
Chen Ling calmly rested the blade on the Hemp-Clad Youth's neck.
"I'll ask you one more time." Chen Ling spoke indifferently. "Fu... Which Fu?"
The Hemp-Clad Youth knelt in the scarlet snow, his pupils shrinking slightly.
The Hemp-Clad Youth was very smart, or rather, his intuition was quite terrifying... When Chen Ling first called out Ying Fu, he actually didn't feel anything. After all, his surname wasn't Ying, nor did he know which Fu was Ying Fu's Fu, so it seemed to have nothing to do with him at all.
But when Chen Ling stood in front of him, staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze, the Hemp-Clad Youth panicked...
That kind of gaze was like earnestly comparing, and he could see the hesitation and Killing Intent that occasionally flashed through Chen Ling's eyes. After being stared at for a long time, he inexplicably got the feeling that he was the person he was looking for.
Therefore, when Chen Ling asked him which Fu it was, he followed his subconscious sense of fear, changing "Fu" (覆 - Subvert) to "Fu" (富 - Wealth).
There were thousands upon thousands of people named Li Fu (wealth) in the world. With his common name, plus not being the same surname, it should have been able to clear his suspicion no matter what... But the Hemp-Clad Youth absolutely hadn't expected that the little cleverness he temporarily played, actually became a death-hastening spell!
The Thespian Emperor had actually seen through his lie!!
The blood-stained blade pressed against the skin of the Hemp-Clad Youth's neck. That icy coldness made his whole person feel like falling into an icehouse... Under Chen Ling's sharp gaze, the Hemp-Clad Youth ultimately opened his mouth, speaking truthfully:
"Fu as in... the 'Fu' in 'subvert' (顛覆)."