Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Inside the dark and damp prison, the few candles flickered with faint light, illuminating the mottled walls and making them look distorted like ghosts.

The damp air was filled with the smell of decay and blood, and the occasional painful groans of prisoners in the distance added a touch of eeriness.

Jia Yu stood in the middle of the cell, his dark brocade robe glowing coldly in the dim light.

His face was gloomy, and his narrow eyes flashed with dangerous light, like a poisonous snake ready to strike.

He stared intently at Gongsun Yi across from him, his voice low and cold, "General Gongsun, what did the assassin mean by that? He said you were acting on purpose?"

Gongsun Yi was tall and strong, and although his military uniform was stained with dust, it could not conceal his majesty.

Hearing this, his bronze face instantly turned red and veins popped out on his forehead.

"absurd!"

He shouted angrily, his voice booming like thunder in the small cell.

"Those were just the assassin's last words of slander, meant to sow discord between your Chu State and my Scorpion Clan!"

"Master Jia, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, can't you even see through such a clumsy trick?"

Jia Yu remained unmoved, he just narrowed his eyes slightly and gently stroked the jade pendant around his waist with his fingers.

"Oh? Then why didn't these assassins commit suicide during the escort, but instead bit their tongues to death when they met the general? This is too much of a coincidence."

"This is exactly their conspiracy!"

Gongsun Yi took a step forward, his iron boots making a dull sound as they stepped on the stone slabs.

"They just want you to doubt me so that the Chu and Xie dynasties can go to war! Lord Jia, are you really going to fall into the enemy's trap?"

A sneer appeared on Jia Yu's lips, and he looked very gloomy under the candlelight.

"General, what you said does have some truth to it, but since the assassin has already identified you, according to the laws of our Great Chu, you are a suspect. Until you are cleared of suspicion, I'm afraid you can't go anywhere."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Yi looked up to the sky and laughed wildly, his laughter full of disdain and anger.

"With just you Jinyiwei, you think you can stop me?"

He suddenly ripped open his clothes, revealing his strong chest with a hideous scar that had not yet healed.

"If Zhao Yu hadn't ambushed me that day at the city gate, who among you would have been able to hurt me in the slightest?"

At this moment, a cold voice came from the shadows of the cell: "You defeated general, how dare you be so arrogant here?"

Gongsun Yi's face suddenly changed and he froze in place as if he had been struck by lightning.

He slowly turned around and saw a general in silver armor walking out of the darkness.

The man had a stern face and a murderous look between his brows. It was Zhao Yu who defeated him at the city gate half a month ago.

"It's you!" Gongsun Yi gritted his teeth, and the scar on his chest seemed to ache again.

The humiliation of that day was still vivid in his mind - he led the Scorpion Clan delegation into the capital of Chu, but was defeated publicly by Zhao Yu at the city gate. Not only did he lose face for the Scorpion Clan, but he almost lost his life.

Zhao Yu walked forward slowly, his silver armor gleaming coldly in the candlelight.

"Gongsun Yi, you colluded with assassins to kill our important officials. The evidence is irrefutable, yet you still refuse to be executed?"

Gongsun Yi suddenly realized what was happening and turned to glare at Jia Yu. "What a Jinyiwei commander! It turns out you were in cahoots with Zhao Yu and deliberately set up a trap to lure me into it!"

Jia Yu took a step back expressionlessly and waved his hand gently. Dozens of Jinyiwei immediately rushed out from all directions and surrounded the cell.

"General Gongsun, I am only following orders. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too arrogant. You actually dared to break into the Great Chu Prison alone."

Gongsun Yi looked around and knew that today would not end well.

He took a deep breath and suddenly pulled out a scimitar from his waist. The blade was glowing with a strange blue light - it was the "Scorpion Tail Blade", a highly poisonous weapon secretly made by the Scorpion Clan.

"In that case, let me see if you can keep me here!"

He roared, and the knife flashed like lightning, going straight for Zhao Yu's throat.

Zhao Yu was prepared and swung his silver spear horizontally, accurately blocking the fatal blow.

The sparks from the collision of metal were particularly dazzling in the darkness.

"I was able to defeat you half a month ago, and I can do the same today!"

Zhao Yu shouted coldly, and his spear was as powerful as a dragon, heading straight for Gongsun Yi's vital point.

The two men fought fiercely in the narrow cell, with new scars constantly appearing on the wall amid the flashes of swords and sabers.

Jia Yu stepped aside and watched coldly, but his fingers never left the hilt of the knife.

Suddenly, Gongsun Yi made a feint, and the scorpion tail blade changed direction strangely and pierced Zhao Yu's left shoulder.

Zhao Yu was unable to dodge and a cut was made on his silver armor, with blood immediately oozing out.

But what was surprising was that the blood was black!

"Poison?" Zhao Yu's face changed and his body swayed slightly.

Gongsun Yi sneered, "Indeed, this poison is called Ten Thousand Scorpions Gnawing the Heart. Without an antidote, you'll be dead within three hours. General Zhao, if you let me go now, perhaps I can still spare your life!"

Seeing this, Jia Yu finally couldn't hold back any longer, and drew out his embroidered spring sword, with a flash of cold light, pointing it directly at Gongsun Yi's back.

"You despicable villain, you actually used such despicable means!"

Gongsun Yi was prepared and dodged the fatal blow by moving sideways, then forced Jia Yu back with a backhanded strike of his sword.

"Hahaha, the victors are the kings and the losers are the bandits, how can you be so despicable? Today, no one of you can stop me!"

At this moment, Zhao Yu suddenly jumped up, and his silver spear shot straight into Gongsun Yi's chest like a dragon emerging from the sea.

Gongsun Yi was shocked and could only block with his sword in a hurry, but he was shocked by the force of the shot and took several steps back, and his back hit the stone wall heavily.

"Impossible! You were poisoned by a scorpion, how could you..." Gongsun Yi widened his eyes in disbelief.

Zhao Yu sneered and took out a bottle of pills from his arms: "Thanks to Lord Jia for anticipating this and letting me take the detoxification pill in advance, Gongsun Yi, your tricks have ended here!"

Gongsun Yi's face was ashen as death, and he finally realized that he had fallen completely into the trap carefully designed by the other party.

He looked around and saw that dozens of Jinyiwei had surrounded him, leaving him with no way to retreat.

"Good...good Jia Yu, good Zhao Yu!"

He laughed bitterly and said, "But do you think this is the end? The Scorpion Clan army has already assembled at the border. If anything unexpected happens to me, a hundred thousand cavalrymen will surely enter the Chu territory!"

When Jia Yu heard this, his expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

"That's perfect. It saves us from having to look for them. Gongsun Yi, do you really think that the Great Chu doesn't know about your Scorpion Clan's conspiracy?"

Gongsun Yi's pupils suddenly contracted: "You...you have already..."

"good."

Zhao Yu said coldly, "The battle at the city gate half a month ago was intended to lure you into the fight, and what you did today only confirmed our suspicions—you came here with ill intentions!"

Jia Yu stepped forward slowly and said coldly: "Now, you have two choices."

"One is to die here, and then trigger a war between the two countries."

"Secondly, cooperate with us, and perhaps you can still have a chance of survival."

Cold sweat broke out on Gongsun Yi's forehead. He stared at Jia Yu's eyes, trying to find any flaws in them.

But those eyes were unfathomable, like a bottomless cold pool.

The cell fell into dead silence, with only the occasional soft crackle of the candlelight.

In the distance, one of the prisoners began to groan again, the sound as shrill as the cry of a ghost.

After a long time, Gongsun Yi finally lowered his head, and the scorpion tail blade in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

"What... do you want?"

Jia Yu and Zhao Yu looked at each other, and meaningful smiles appeared on the corners of their mouths at the same time.

"Please come in, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Jia Yu ordered the Jinyiwei behind him.

They came prepared today, and all this was just a big plan set up by Chu Ning in advance.

Gongsun Yi's face changed drastically when he heard this. It was not until this moment that he realized that he had been fooled by the Crown Prince of Chu.