Futile Devices Scans

“How is it?” Sun Ye looked at Su Ruhan with a half-smile. “I assume this isn’t a difficult choice for you.”

Mu Xueshi tugged at Su Ruhan again from the side and reminded him in a low voice, “Master, stop hesitating. I’ll just go with him, it’s fine. That’s a human life over there. At worst, you can just snatch me back later—or I’ll sneak out again myself. Didn’t I escape on my own this time anyway!”

Su Ruhan turned his head and saw the willing expression on Mu Xueshi’s face. Then he looked at Li Qian. Li Qian said nothing, only stood there—his complexion already dimmer than before, as if the poison was beginning to spread.

“Give me your arm,” Su Ruhan suddenly said to Li Qian.

Li Qian nodded and obediently extended his arm.

Su Ruhan checked his pulse, then looked at him a few more times, his expression somewhat complicated.

From the side, Sun Ye asked unhurriedly, “Guard Su, have you made your decision? My speed in preparing the antidote isn’t as fast as you might think. If you delay any longer, I can’t guarantee whether he’ll live or die…”

Mu Xueshi stepped forward and said to Sun Ye, “I’ll go with you, alright? Why are you rushing so much? Hurry up and prepare the antidote.”

Hearing Mu Xueshi’s deliberately brave tone—and seeing his darkened little face—Sun Ye couldn’t help but feel amused. His tone softened slightly as he said, “Young Master Xue, if I’m not mistaken, your face seems to have been poisoned as well. Why not let me examine it? Perhaps I can cure it for you too.”

“What?!” Mu Xueshi shouted. “You poisoned my face again? This black skin—was it also your doing? What did I ever do to you?! Why are you always targeting me?!”

The lines of Sun Ye’s face tightened, clearly displeased. He had genuinely intended to help, to check what had caused the damage to Mu Xueshi’s face. Yet Mu Xueshi misunderstood him so completely—did he really think of him as such a despicable person?

Just as he was about to explain, Sun Ye suddenly realized what he was thinking and stopped himself. Now was not the time to dwell on such matters. He frowned slightly, no longer paying attention to Mu Xueshi, and instead looked at Su Ruhan.

“I appreciate the State Preceptor’s goodwill,” Su Ruhan said calmly, “but if you are unwilling to cure the poison on Li Qian, I will not force the matter.”

With that, Su Ruhan pulled Mu Xueshi over and helped him onto the horse.

Mu Xueshi struggled a little and shouted at Su Ruhan, “Master, why are you being so foolish? It doesn’t matter whether I leave the palace or not!”

“If I truly believed him, then I’d be the foolish one,” Su Ruhan replied, not allowing Mu Xueshi to resist as he pulled him onto the horse and held him firmly in his arms.

Sun Ye showed no sign of regret. He merely let out a soft laugh and walked over to Su Ruhan’s horse.

“Guard Su is truly loyal to the Third Prince,” he said. “You can even watch someone you love die without lifting a finger.”

Su Ruhan sneered. “If he were truly Li Qian, I might have considered it.”

Mu Xueshi froze, then turned to look at Li Qian before asking Su Ruhan, “Master, he is Li Qian.”

“If you fell into that State Preceptor’s hands, he could turn you into Li Qian as well—perhaps even more convincingly than that one.”

Hearing this, Mu Xueshi recalled how Sun Ye had once disguised himself as Su Ruhan to approach him. Only then did he finally believe that disguise techniques could reach such an astonishing level. People like that were terrifying—weren’t they even more impressive than his silver coins? If they wanted to become someone, they could just smear a bit of pigment on their face and be done. If this were modern times, it would make plastic surgery unnecessary. Thinking back to how dreadful his own face had once looked, Mu Xueshi couldn’t help but lament that he had never encountered such a “benefactor”…

No one noticed that Mu Xueshi had already drifted into wild thoughts. Meanwhile, Su Ruhan looked down at Sun Ye, the disdain in his eyes unmistakable.

Sun Ye didn’t seem angry at all, as if he had already expected Su Ruhan wouldn’t fall for it so easily.

“Guard Su is truly devoted to the one he loves,” Sun Ye said. “I assume you know every detail of his body by heart.”

The one he loves? Mu Xueshi was jolted awake by those words, his scalp tingling.

Su Ruhan let out a cold chuckle. “There’s no need to look closely—I only need to think for a moment to know. Mu Xueshi’s face is now completely unrecognizable. Li Qian met him only once, more than a month ago—his impression of his appearance should already be vague. Yet when that person dismounted earlier and Mu Xueshi greeted him, he showed not the slightest surprise and even responded with a smile. Doesn’t that seem excessive?”

Sun Ye sighed lightly and said, “Indeed, I overlooked that detail. I didn’t expect Mu Xueshi’s face to change so drastically… and that person was rather foolish as well.”

As he spoke, Sun Ye extended his hand backward, and a palm-sized dagger was driven straight into the throat of the fake Li Qian. The man didn’t even have time to lower his head before his body stiffened and collapsed to the ground.

When Mu Xueshi looked at Sun Ye again, his hatred deepened even further. That man had only failed to complete a task—he didn’t deserve to lose his life for it.

Sun Ye sensed Mu Xueshi’s gaze and said softly, “Young Master Xue, why look at me like that? The Third Prince has killed more people than you’ve ever seen. Even the master behind you—when he swings his sword, wiping out half a street would be nothing unusual. Guard Su, am I wrong?”

Su Ruhan had no time to entertain Sun Ye’s provocation. Judging by Xueshi’s state, it was better to get him out of here as soon as possible. Su Ruhan had long anticipated that Sun Ye would use Li Qian as leverage, so he had already sent the real Li Qian to a safe place—no one would be able to find him easily.

But Sun Ye was thinking about something else: why had Hao Lin never mentioned the poison on Mu Xueshi’s face? And ever since Mu Xueshi had gone to Hao Lin’s place, Sun Ye had barely seen Hao Lin again. What had he been doing during that time? Did the poison on Mu Xueshi’s face have anything to do with him?

Seeing that Su Ruhan had already turned his horse around, Sun Ye quickly snapped out of his thoughts and called out behind him, “Guard Su, since you’re so certain that person wasn’t Li Qian, why did you still check his pulse?”

Su Ruhan’s heart tightened—those words struck right at his weakness. Indeed, even after recognizing that the person was not Li Qian, he had still cautiously checked the pulse. Not because he doubted his own judgment, but because he feared—feared that it might truly be Li Qian. That unnecessary action had now given Sun Ye something to use against him.

“What’s the point of mocking me now?” Su Ruhan said coldly.

“Whether it has meaning—you’ll find out soon enough,” Sun Ye replied, his eyes suddenly turning dangerous.

Su Ruhan lashed the reins, and the horse began moving eastward. Just then, from the intersection ahead, nearly a hundred armored soldiers suddenly surged out, sealing the street completely.

As expected—Sun Ye would never come with just a handful of men…

Su Ruhan pulled the horse to a halt. A glance to the side revealed that soldiers had already surrounded them from all directions. Several of them held rectangular iron shields, and within those shields seemed to be concealed tube-like mechanisms. Mu Xueshi only caught a glimpse, but his heart trembled—could those be cannons?

Though the number of soldiers wasn’t large, it was clear they were elite troops, and their equipment was exceptional. Mu Xueshi even spotted war chariots. Though he came from a modern era and found them crude, compared to the heavy spears and blades he was used to seeing here, these massive machines still made him swallow nervously.

Emperor Hao Lin is really going all out… we’re just two people…

Sun Ye soon arrived and made a gesture toward the soldiers. Immediately, the sound of weapons clashing rang out all around them. Mu Xueshi’s eyes widened as the chaotic array of weapons began advancing inward.

“Master… maybe we should surrender…” Mu Xueshi muttered, unsure whether Su Ruhan heard him. He only felt that, faced with such a display, raising a white flag wouldn’t be so shameful.

Su Ruhan’s expression was grave as his eyes swept the surroundings, searching for a way out. Finally, his gaze settled on Sun Ye, who stood at the highest point. If they were to escape, capturing him was the only option.

Suddenly, Su Ruhan struck Mu Xueshi with a palm. Mu Xueshi’s body collapsed forward onto the horse as if pinned in place. His back burned with a sharp chill, and he couldn’t help but think that Su Ruhan had struck too hard—even at a time like this, was there any need to take it out on me? But at the same time, he felt a surge of energy flowing within his body. His chest felt swollen, his body heating up. When he clenched his fist, his bones crackled audibly.

Su Ruhan had left Mu Xueshi alone on the horse, but he had opened his meridians, allowing him to absorb his internal energy. Though Su Ruhan fought at a distance, if anyone approached Mu Xueshi, he could channel his power through him, controlling his movements to counterattack. However, doing so meant Su Ruhan’s strength would be reduced by half.

Sun Ye knew Su Ruhan was aiming for him, yet he stood calmly in place, watching without haste. With so many weapons surrounding him—and now that he was poisoned—how could Su Ruhan possibly resist?

In an instant, hundreds of flaming arrows shot toward Su Ruhan. Dressed only in simple cloth, with nothing to shield him, any arrow that struck would easily set him ablaze. Su Ruhan flipped midair, and his figure seemed to dissolve into mist. Whether due to speed or some other reason, his body appeared hollow—the arrows passed straight through him without stopping, continuing on to strike elsewhere.

For the first time, Sun Ye felt genuine shock. He had never seen such martial arts before. Even those who were immune to blades and arrows shouldn’t possess such a strange technique. As he was still processing what he had seen, Su Ruhan suddenly appeared above the arrows. Drawing his sword, he gathered the flaming arrows into a sphere, forming what looked like a blazing fireball in midair.

Then Su Ruhan pulled his sword free, and the arrows shot back outward, along with the newly fired ones, crashing into the iron shields. The shields rang loudly as sparks scattered across them. Though they didn’t shatter, they were left riddled with damage—some even warped out of shape.

The elite soldiers were stunned by this display and hesitated to attack again. But Su Ruhan knew the situation was worsening. That exchange had already consumed a great deal of his strength. Suddenly, his chest tightened—the energy he had gathered could not circulate through his body. It all accumulated in his chest, unable to be released.

Su Ruhan realized clearly—he had been poisoned. When he had checked the pulse of the fake Li Qian earlier, he had come into contact with Sun Ye’s poison.

Meanwhile, Mu Xueshi was fully engaged in battle, completely unaware of Su Ruhan’s condition. Over a dozen soldiers surrounded him, trying to subdue him. At first, someone attempted to drag him off the horse, but with a single wave of Mu Xueshi’s hand, that person was sent flying several meters away, unable to get back up.

Mu Xueshi was greatly encouraged. He had thought that once Su Ruhan left, he would be helpless, waiting to be captured. Yet somehow, his mediocre skills were actually proving useful. The more he fought, the more excited he became, completely forgetting to break out—he just kept clashing with the soldiers endlessly.

But as Mu Xueshi fought, Su Ruhan’s strength was being further drained. Combined with the poison, he was fully aware of the danger. Turning his head, he shouted at Mu Xueshi:

“Xueshi—run!”

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