KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

Yan Yue moved with agility, returning to the music performance venue at lightning speed. At that moment, the other musicians in the venue were immersed in their performances, passionately wielding their instruments, and beautiful notes intertwined in the air.

However, Yan Yue keenly sensed everything around him in the bustling venue. After a moment, he silently bypassed the crowd, weaved through the gaps, and finally succeeded in sneaking into the backstage area.

Upon entering the backstage area, Yan Yue immediately spotted Mai Zhuo and the others. Yan Yue had already wiped the bloodstains from her mouth, and her clothes were still clean and tidy, without any wrinkles or tears. To an ordinary person, it would be impossible to believe that she had just been fighting and killing.

Just then, Gu Jian'e saw Yan Yue return, and a hint of doubt appeared on her face. She quickly walked up to Yan Yue and asked softly, "Mr. Yan Yue, where did you go just now?"

Faced with Konoe's questioning, Engetsu remained completely calm. He lied without batting an eye: "Oh, I just happened to see Iori Yagami outside, so I chatted with him for a while." As he said this, Engetsu's tone was as calm as still water, not at all like someone who had just killed a group of people.

"What?!" The two sisters in the valley both showed a look of shock, while Sang Yuan, standing to the side, secretly smiled bitterly.

Kikuto Tani quickly asked, "Did Mr. Naan say anything?"

Looking at Kikuri Tani, who seemed weak yet possessed a gentle and kind nature, Yan Yue smiled and said, "He didn't say anything, but he resolved the matter with Himegami. You won't be threatened anymore."

Yan Yue was still thinking about the battle scene, and felt somewhat angry.

Anyway, since Iori Yagami claimed to have stolen his prey and actually used Azure Flame to scatter the ashes, Engetsu simply did him a favor and let Himegami be the one who killed him, thus shifting the blame onto Iori Yagami.

"Oh, I see!" Konoe and Kiku exchanged a glance, then their faces lit up with sudden realization, and they both laughed at the same time.

The previously disappointed look on Kikuri Tani's face quickly brightened. She smiled slightly and sighed softly, saying, "So it was Mr. Ian who took this opportunity to help us."

“Yes, it seems that’s the case…” Konoe Tani said, gently placing his hands on his sister’s shoulders, a hint of joy in his eyes. He then continued slowly, “That guy has always been like this in his dealings with people.”

Hearing her sister say this, Kikuri Tanima nodded and then said softly, "Sister, Mr. Iori is indeed a kind person..."

After thinking for a moment, Konoe Tanima replied, "Well, Yagami can be quite warm and kind at times; but other times he can seem cold and unapproachable..."

After saying this, the two sisters fell into a brief silence, each seemingly reflecting on the matter of Mr. An.

Uncle Sangyuan suddenly realized that Iori Yagami's apparent refusal to help was actually an attempt to distance himself from the situation so he could take the opportunity to deal with Princess Himegami.

He couldn't help but feel happy, laughing as he looked at the two sisters: "Kikuri, it seems that Yagami guy is really good, isn't he... Hahaha..."

Looking at everyone's happy expressions, Yan Yue also began to ponder. She went through the motivations behind Iori Yagami's appearance from the beginning.

Yan Yue deduced that although Iori Yagami appeared to have left the Taniguchi sisters with a strong stance, perhaps due to his complex personality, he hadn't truly left. Instead, he secretly came to listen to Taniguchi Konoe's performance. And he was waiting for Himegami to emerge so he could secretly eliminate Himegami's forces on his own.

It's possible that Iori Yagami didn't initially intend to kill Himegami, and neither did Engetsu. However, they didn't expect Himegami to be so cruel and devoid of moral principles. Therefore, Engetsu couldn't bear it any longer and killed everyone to eliminate any future trouble.

It's possible that Iori Yagami couldn't stand it after learning about it from Engetsu, which led to the incident where he burned the corpse with blue flames and inexplicably got angry and beat up Engetsu.

Recalling Iori Yagami's truly awful personality, Yan Yue's "fan filter" shattered instantly, and she couldn't help but curse inwardly:

"What do you mean, 'steal your prey'? You ungrateful bastard, Yagami! I'll definitely get my revenge someday!"

Mai Zhuo, however, did not say a word throughout the entire process. She simply stood next to Yan Yue, looking meaningfully at the people in front of her, and also revealed a slight smile.

……

Late at night, as the performance ended, everyone left the live house venue one after another.

Night fell quietly. Yan Yue and Mai Zhuo quickly returned to the villa by the sea.

As soon as I entered, Mai Zhuo's alluring voice rang out: "Oh my, little Yan Yue, how about I reward you tonight?"

As she spoke, she reached out and gently hooked Yan Yue's chin with her finger, a hint of teasing in her eyes. As usual, this teasing made Yan Yue's cheeks flush slightly.

Yan Yue, still feigning composure, replied, "Sister Mai Zhuo, it's getting late today..."

"Hmm, looks like Little Flame Moon is tired too~"

However, Mai Zhuo seemed to know that Yan Yue was injured, so she didn't make any provocative moves. She just teased him with some old-fashioned words before turning around and leaving.

Watching Mai Zhuo turn and walk into his room, closing the door behind him, Yan Yue took a deep breath, hurriedly ran to his own room, and quickly took off his coat. Bare-chested, he walked to the mirror and carefully examined his body.

Yan Yue could clearly see a large bruise on the back of her left shoulder, its dark color shockingly dark – this was the injury left from her fierce battle with Iori Yagami.

Yan Yue frowned and carefully reached out to touch the bruise, a sharp pain immediately shooting through her.

Yan Yue deftly retrieved some medicine and bandages from a nearby cabinet. Skillfully, he poured the medicine onto a cotton ball and gently wiped the bruise, hoping to alleviate the pain and promote healing. Next, he wrapped the injured area with bandages and used his spiritual energy to unblock the meridians. After quite some time, he finally completed the initial treatment.

After doing all that, Yan Yue felt utterly exhausted. He dragged his heavy steps to the bedside and collapsed onto the soft mattress.

Almost the instant he lay down, a wave of sleepiness washed over him, his eyes gradually closed, and his consciousness began to fade.

Before long, even breathing filled the quiet room, and Yan Yue fell into a deep sleep.

……

Two more days passed. Mai Zhuo didn't bother Yan Yue as usual. Yan Yue was still recuperating from her injuries, while also keeping a close eye on Ji Gong's mysterious disappearance.

The news of Princess Himegami and the high-ranking government official's disappearance hadn't spread in the past two days, but the truth would eventually come out, and the police would investigate. Fortunately, Iori Yagami had already destroyed the evidence; the hall only showed signs of a struggle and ashes left from the fire.

At the same time, Yan Yue also received a letter of recommendation from X Music Company. As soon as Yan Yue got the envelope, she immediately ran to the residence of the Gu Jian sisters and handed it over to Gu Jian Konoe.

“Mr. Yan Yue, could this be…” Gu Jian Konoe sat in the living room, his eyes wide, staring incredulously at the letter in front of him that exuded a faint scent of ink. He seemed to be in a beautiful dream, unable to believe that what he was seeing was real.

Her hands trembled as she reached out and carefully picked up the letter, afraid that she might accidentally shatter this beautiful, dreamlike object. The moment her fingertips touched the envelope, an indescribable joy welled up in her heart, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Yes, I've given you the letter of recommendation. It should also include your travel expenses to Nanzhen," Mr. Yan Yue said with a gentle smile.

Standing to the side, Kikumi Tanima watched her sister's unusual behavior with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, and couldn't help but ask, "Sister, what is this? Why do you look so happy?"

Konoe Tanima burst into tears of joy, hugging her younger sister tightly, her body trembling slightly with excitement. "This is a recommendation letter from X Music Company, Kikuri! We've finally started a new life!"

"A new life?" Kikuto Tanima still didn't quite understand what this meant, but she could sense the importance of this surprise from her sister's excited expression.

"Yes, little sister, you won't have to suffer with me anymore... Your illness can be cured..."

"elder sister……"

Gu Jianju blinked her bright, large eyes, as if she had suddenly realized something important. A thoughtful smile appeared on her lips. Then, she gently turned her head and cast her gaze towards Yan Yue, who was not far away.

Just then, Yan Yue noticed the gaze directed at him by Gu Jianju. When he saw the confusion and bewilderment in her eyes, a thought struck him. He stepped forward, stood before Gu Jianju, and said with a smile:

“Ms. Kiku, I’m from X Music Company. After evaluation by our professional team, your sister, Ms. Konoe, has shown great musical talent and potential. Therefore, we would like to invite you and Ms. Konoe to travel to South Town in the next few days to complete the relevant cooperation procedures.”

After all, Princess Ji had passed away, and if the Valley Sisters were not arranged to leave this place in time, it would likely cause a lot of unnecessary trouble in the future. Thinking of this, Yan Yue felt even more strongly that he should speed up the process so that the sisters could embark on their new journey as soon as possible.

After hearing Yan Yue's words, Gu Jianju instantly understood why Yan Yue had been so eager to help them. Undoubtedly, she was incredibly excited and thrilled by this unexpected good news.

Kikumi Tanima's face was flushed, her hands clenched together unconsciously, and her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Mr. Engetsu, I... I really don't know how to express my gratitude... This kindness is far too heavy!"

Engetsu suddenly noticed that Kikusato was breathing rapidly, which seemed to be a symptom of illness caused by emotional distress. He quickly went forward and began to support Kikusato with Konoe.

……

That day, the Valley Sisters began packing their luggage, preparing to travel to Southtown, USA the next day.

Yan Yue returned to her residence and flew to the top of the lighthouse. Unfazed by the strong sea winds that were blowing, she sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, cultivating her inner energy.

Since Yan Yue had confirmed with Mature that Rugal was indeed alive, and considering that Rugal was a pure villain who would definitely seek revenge on her and Kyo Kusanagi in the future, Yan Yue needed to improve her strength as soon as possible to deal with the impending crisis.