novelaction Chapter 518 Knife to the Neck! Family Turns Against Each Other, Driving Loyal Son to His Death
Chapter 518 Knife to the Neck! Family Turns Against Each Other, Driving Loyal Son to His Death
Cui Zhihao's hand was still frozen in mid-air, about to break through Shi Wanxia's obstruction, when a crisp "clang" suddenly came from inside the room—
That was the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering on the ground, mixed with Cui's father's suppressed groan of pain, like a needle piercing his heart.
"father!"
He roared and lunged forward, but his knees suddenly buckled, and the wound he had been inflicted by the man in black yesterday reopened. Blood instantly seeped through his coarse cloth clothes, leaving dark stains on his trouser legs.
Shi Wanxia gripped his arm tightly, her fingertips digging into his flesh: "Brother Cui! Don't be impulsive! He wants us. Going in now is just suicide!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the door was suddenly flung open from the inside. This time, it wasn't the masked strategist who emerged, but a man dressed in a dark blue brocade robe—
When Choi Ji-ho saw that face clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his lips trembled, unable to utter a word.
"Cousin-uncle?"
Cui Mingyuan, the most cunning member of the Cui family's collateral branch, used to frequently come to his house for meals a few years ago. Now, however, he has one hand on Cui's father's shoulder, while the steel knife in his other hand is pressed against Cui Yi's carotid artery, the cold light on the blade dazzling.
Cui Yi's hair was a mess, and his face was smeared with blood. When he saw Cui Zhihao, tears welled up in his eyes: "Huai'an! Don't worry about me! He's a madman!"
"madman?"
Cui Mingyuan chuckled and patted Cui Yi's face with the back of his knife, the force so strong that the old man groaned. "I'm leaving the Cui family a way out! His Highness Prince Rongyang said that as long as you two are killed, the Cui family will be forgiven and even receive a title!"
His gaze swept over Cui Zhihao's bleeding wound, his eyes filled with contempt: "Huai'an, your father raised you all these years, you can't just stand by and watch him die, can you?"
Cui Zhihao leaned against the wall, barely managing to stand. The excruciating pain from his wounds made him break out in a cold sweat, but he was even more afraid that Cui Mingyuan would push the knife forward any further: "What do you want? Let my father go, and I'll go with you!"
"Come with me?"
Cui Mingyuan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and suddenly raised his voice.
"Who do you think you are! His Highness wants your life!"
He pushed the knife forward a little more, and a thin line of blood immediately appeared on Cui Yi's neck.
"Now, I'm giving you two choices—either you slit your own throat, or I'll leave your father with a whole corpse;"
"Either I kill your father first, then have the people outside chop you both into mincemeat!"
Cui Zhihao's face turned deathly pale instantly. He subconsciously looked at Shi Wanxia, his eyes filled with guilt and determination.
He knew his martial arts skills were lacking. If Shi Wanxia hadn't risked her life to protect him yesterday, he would have died long ago. How could he possibly implicate her now?
"Late night,"
His voice was hoarse, and every word he spoke sounded like he was swallowing shards of glass.
“Take my father with you and run towards the patrol camp in the east of the city. Lord Shen must be nearby.”
How could Shi Wanxia possibly agree? She drew a short dagger from her waist for self-defense, her eyes as cold as ice: "If we're going to leave, we'll leave together! Cui Mingyuan, do you think you can hold us back?"
"Trapped you?"
Cui Mingyuan shouted into the house, and two more men in black came out with knives and blocked the gate to the courtyard.
"I advise you not to waste your energy. There are more than twenty brothers waiting outside. You won't be able to escape today!"
Cui Zhihao suddenly pushed Shi Wanxia's hand away, staggered forward two steps, and stared intently at Cui Mingyuan: "I'll do it myself, but you have to promise to let them go."
"An'er!"
"Brother Cui!"
Shi Wanxia and Cui's father shouted at the same time. The former's voice was full of anger and anxiety, while the latter was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Cui Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, moved the knife away from his father's neck slightly, and tossed a short knife to Cui Zhihao: "You're smart to know what's good for you."
"Go ahead and do it, I'm watching—if you dare to try anything funny, I'll let your father taste the pain of being slowly sliced to death first."
Choi Ji-ho picked up the short knife from the ground, the icy touch of the hilt traveling from his fingertips to his heart.
He glanced back at Shi Wanxia, his eyes filled with reluctance, regret, and a hint of tenderness he couldn't hide.
It seems that knowing her in this life, investigating cases together, and escaping life-or-death situations together is enough.
"Late night,"
His lips moved, his voice as soft as the wind.
"Take good care of yourself from now on."
After saying that, he closed his eyes, suddenly raised the hand holding the dagger, and stabbed it towards his own chest!
The dagger's cold glint was only inches from Cui Zhihao's chest. Shi Wanxia could even see the bulging veins on his neck. Her heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, and she even forgot to breathe.
"do not want!"
She rushed forward like a madwoman, but when she was still a few steps away from Cui Zhihao, she was stopped by two men in black. A short knife was placed against her shoulder, and the sharp blade instantly cut through her flesh, making her gasp in pain.
Cui Mingyuan's eyes narrowed with laughter as he pressed the knife back against Cui Yi's neck, his tone full of smugness: "That's more like it, a wise man submits to circumstances—"
Before the words were even finished, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the courtyard wall, followed by the crisp sound of metal clashing and the black-clad man's shrill scream!
Cui Mingyuan's smile froze instantly, and he abruptly turned to look at the door: "What's going on?!"
A man covered in blood, dressed in black, stumbled in, barely able to speak: "Boss, boss! There are so many people outside! They're all carrying long guns!"
"A spear?"
Cui Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly remembering something, his face turned deathly pale—it was the patrol battalion! How could Shen Yanzhou have found this place so quickly?
In the instant he was stunned, Cui Yi suddenly burst forth, using all his strength to slam backward!
Caught off guard, Cui Mingyuan staggered a couple of steps from the impact, and the knife in his hand clattered to the ground.
"An'er! Quick!" Father Cui roared and rushed over, trying to snatch the dagger from Cui Zhihao's hand.
Choi Ji-ho also realized what was happening, and his hand holding the short knife suddenly stopped, but before he could throw the knife away...
Cui Mingyuan's eyes were already bloodshot. He bent down, picked up the knife from the ground, and stabbed it viciously into his father's back!
"father!"
Choi Ji-ho's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and he wanted to rush over to stop him, but the intense pain from his wound slowed him down.
Just as the steel knife was about to pierce Cui's father's back, a sharp shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate: "Stop!"
A dark figure flew in from outside the door as fast as an arrow, the long sword in its hand was drawn with a "whoosh" and accurately collided with Cui Mingyuan's knife!
With a loud clang, the knife in Cui Mingyuan's hand was knocked out of his grasp, and he was thrown back three steps, crashing into the door frame and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia looked up at the same time and saw Shen Yanzhou dressed in a black outfit, his bangs fluttering in the wind, with more than a dozen patrol soldiers holding long guns behind him. They immediately surrounded the remaining men in black.
"His Royal Highness!"
Shi Wanxia's tense nerves finally relaxed. The wound on her shoulder made her brows furrow with pain, but she couldn't help but reveal a smile of relief.