Lei Yu was slightly stunned.

Shang Ruyi said calmly, "Of course. If I win—"

Before she could finish, Ashina Shali interrupted her with a cold laugh, saying, "If you lose, you must obediently become Zhu Xie’s concubine—"

Saying this, he turned to glance at Ashina Zhuxie. Although everyone had been talking about Shang Ruyi becoming his concubine, after initially refusing the proposal, he remained silent. At this moment, he only frowned slightly, looking at Shang Ruyi, and then gave Lei Yu a deep look.

In his eyes, a flicker of light seemed to shine.

Ashina Shali said, "No, you don’t have the qualifications to become his concubine."

"..."

"A woman like you only deserves to be his slave."

"..."

Shang Ruyi’s eyes also flashed with a cold glint, but she seemed unconcerned, as if such possibilities didn’t even register in her thoughts. She said, "Khan, tell me, what happens if I win?"

Ashina Shali said, "If you win, you won’t have to become Zhu Xie’s concubine."

"Alright."

"But—"

Here, Ashina Shali’s gaze turned sinister, "You’ll have to replace your father. Do you know what that means?"

"..."

"I will drain your blood right here, roast you over this fire, and then use a knife to slice the meat off your body piece by piece, allowing everyone here to take a bite out of your flesh!"

"..."

"And let Shang Ruohong see the consequences of his actions, the fate of his daughter!"

"..."

Not a trace of expression could be seen on Shang Ruyi’s face.

Yet, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath inwardly.

In truth, she had somewhat guessed this outcome after Ashina Shali spoke those words. He would rather use her to replace Shang Ruohong, to endure this torture; perhaps only this would alleviate a little of his hatred. Therefore, she had been mentally prepared from the very beginning.

But even with preparation, hearing it spoken aloud made her heart inevitably tremble.

Especially his gritted teeth appearance, as if the cold torture knife had already pierced through the chilling wind and cut onto Shang Ruyi’s body.

She forcefully clenched her fists and calmed herself down.

Looking up at Ashina Shali, she said word by word, "Agreed!"

Ashina Shali sneered, "Good!"

|

Upon Ashina Shali’s command, those originally gathered around the bonfire began to disperse.

Soon, they had created a wide and long passage, and at the end of the passage was the massive bonfire pile, where someone was erecting a stake and lighting it with a torch.

Instantly, flames blazed fiercely atop the stake.

On the other side, Ashina Shali instructed his men to bring a horse each for Shang Ruyi and Lei Yu. Each horse had a bow and an arrow tube hanging on its back, containing three arrows.

Ashina Shali said, "Starting from here, ending at that stake; whoever hits more arrows on the target wins."

After speaking, he looked at Lei Yu and laughed, "The lives of your old friends are all in your hands!"

"..."

Lei Yu’s face was as pale as almost transparent.

She didn’t utter a word, only turned to look at Shang Ruyi, who had already taken the reins and started walking towards the passage. She quickly nodded to Ashina Shali, took the reins, and followed alongside.

This section went on in silence as both walked.

But as they approached the starting line—once mounted to dash past the line, there was no turning back—Lei Yu eventually couldn’t help but speak, "Ruyi—"

"Lei Yu,"

As if knowing beforehand that she would be compelled to speak, also aware of her inner torment, Shang Ruyi calmly said, "You don’t need to worry about me. Truth is, when captured and brought here, I already knew this outcome."

"Since you knew, why did you infuriate him further?"

Lei Yu probably realized the ’end of the road,’ anxiously sweating, "Yesterday, he clearly let you go, but your words just now—"

Shang Ruyi turned her head: "If someone blinded one of your eyes, divided your territories, destroyed the efforts of half your lifetime; would you spare his wife and daughter simply on account of being an ’old friend,’ and only an ’old friend-in-law’?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"...!"

Lei Yu’s throat choked.

Shang Ruyi said calmly, "He can’t possibly spare me."

"..."

"Last night, he let you take me away because he didn’t know my father’s identity and hadn’t decided how to deal with me. Otherwise, why would he suddenly hold this bonfire tonight?"