Chapter Seventy-One: The Duke of Billis

Chapter 71: The Duke of Bilis

When Ye Feng regained consciousness once more, he found himself lying in his own room. He struggled to turn his neck, and his vision was greeted by a blur. With the slightest movement, a piercing pain shot through his abdomen and lower back, accompanied by a profound sense of weakness that left his entire body limp.

The flickering candlelight in the room told him it was already deep into the night. Even at this hour, the room was crowded with over a dozen people, either standing or seated.

After a moment, his eyesight gradually returned to normal.

Other than being extremely weak and in pain, there was no threat to his life. "Damn it. I nearly got myself killed! Lucky I survived; otherwise, I wouldn’t even have made it as a martyr..."

He looked around the room.

The Sword Demon Garo sat alone in a corner. Xiao Chong and Lie Kuang were at the table, speaking in hushed tones...

A short distance away, the giant ape, now in human form, squatted on the ground with its head in its hands, a look of deep worry etched on its face, muttering under its breath...

Chirping sounds came from the bed. Only then did Ye Feng realize that the monkey had been lying at the foot of his bed all along, its claws tightly gripping his hand.

As soon as there was movement on the bed, everyone in the room turned to look at Ye Feng.

"Roar! He’s finally alive again..." The giant ape, large yet astonishingly nimble, weaved through the crowd and was the first to reach Ye Feng’s bedside.

Seeing the anxious giant ape and the relieved expressions on everyone’s faces, a strong sense of happiness surged in Ye Feng’s heart. This was the friendship and familial bond he had always yearned for. Gazing slowly at each person, a smile appeared on Ye Feng’s lips. "With all of you, my life is more than enough!"

The giant ape waved his hand in front of Ye Feng’s eyes, seeing him grinning foolishly. "Hey… Did you get knocked silly?"

Before Ye Feng could reply, the giant ape quickly grabbed his arm, pressing several fingers to his pulse. "Well, the pulse is steady, the meridians and dantian are intact—how could he be addled?"

Muttering to himself, the giant ape pulled Ye Feng’s arm back, checking him over once more.

Under the ape’s rough handling, Ye Feng could only groan in pain, helpless tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. "Will someone please get this brute off me..."

Seeing Ye Feng’s agony, Xiao Chong and the others wore strange expressions, but none dared intervene, daunted as they were by the giant ape’s strength.

The monkey, indignant at Ye Feng’s distress, scampered atop the giant ape’s head, yanking at its hair and screeching in protest.

"Ah! When it counts, you’re always the bravest—my little darling!" Ye Feng was deeply comforted to see someone finally standing up for him.

"Ahem... Senior Ape, though that strike pierced his abdomen, fortunately it missed the vital organs. With the medicine to stop the bleeding, he’ll be fine—he just needs rest," Xiao Chong ventured, emboldened by the monkey’s intervention, and spoke gently to the giant ape.

"You lumbering oaf, trying to kill me with pain?" Now that the worst had passed, Ye Feng finally managed to speak.

At his words, the giant ape muttered, releasing Ye Feng’s arm with a look that seemed to say he’d been wronged. Then, grabbing the monkey off his head, he roared in annoyance, "You little rascal, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Had me worrying for nothing."

Noticing the way everyone stared at him like he was a monster, the giant ape feigned indifference and strode out without a backward glance.

"Whew! That beast’s finally gone. I thought I’d suffocate," Lie Kuang exhaled deeply, slumping onto the bed, still patting his chest nervously.

Except for the monkey and Ye Feng, no one else dared act up in front of the overwhelmingly powerful giant ape. The scene of the bloodthirsty look in the ape’s eyes and the mangled corpses of the assassins was still fresh in everyone’s mind from when they had rushed to Ye Feng’s aid.

Thinking of this, Xiao Chong shuddered, muttering to himself: "Too violent!"

"Any idea who was behind it?" With everyone’s help, Ye Feng managed to sit up against the headboard.

Everyone shook their heads—this assassination was shrouded in mystery. To outsiders, Ye Feng’s injuries might have seemed like an accident, or perhaps the result of trying to be a hero.

But anyone familiar with the circumstances thought otherwise. The reason was simple: if the assassins’ true target had been Princess Anran, then when Ye Feng was stabbed, the remaining six had every opportunity to kill the powerless princess. Yet, when the seven attackers arrived, two assaulted Ye Feng, while the other five stood aside, ignoring the princess, who was within arm’s reach.

"Perhaps the mastermind finally made a move," said the baby-faced He Tao after a moment’s thought.

At this, Ye Feng frowned, signaling for him to continue.

"When you were attacked, all our men who were watching the slaughterhouse disappeared, not one escaped. I suspect the enemy spotted us long ago—they were just waiting for the right moment."

"It was the Duke of Bilis!" Before He Tao could continue, the usually silent Garo looked up, a rare look of worry crossing his otherwise expressionless face.

"How do you know?" the others asked in confusion.

Garo stood, clutching his iron sword, and drew a map from his shirt. Pointing to a spot, he said, "I’ve been keeping an eye on them here. After dealing with your scouts, those men returned directly to the Duke of Bilis’s residence."

Everyone fell silent—even Ye Feng, unfamiliar with the capital, could sense how thorny this situation was.

The reason was simple: the Duke of Bilis was the emperor’s father-in-law.

Fifteen years ago, during the war between the Sacred Land and the Tianwu Empire, the Duke of Bilis’s household had led the charge, slaying countless masters of the Sacred Land; all three of the Duke’s sons died in that war.

"Impossible! The old duke is the enemy of the Sacred Land—his sons all died fighting them. How could it be him?" Bald-headed Ao Yun shook his head in disbelief.

Garo said nothing more, lapsing into his habitual silence. It was precisely this taciturn nature that made Ye Feng and the others trust his words implicitly.

No matter how much Ao Yun protested, deep down, he too believed Garo’s judgment.

Anyone might lie—but never Garo. If you asked why, there was only one answer: pride.