The hunting grounds had been raided on one side, while on the other side court officials were still making noise and demanding to rush in, and even more, people who had died and come back to life had appeared.

But Xie Yanfang paid no attention at all. He was seriously asking this question, as if confirming whether Chu Zhao truly wanted to kill him was the most important matter under heaven.

“When you met me, last time you held poisoned tea, this time you hold a poisoned brush.”

“I previously reminded you to be cautious toward people—it was truly unnecessary. Chu Zhao, you’ve been very cautious toward me indeed.”

Having said this, he shook his head again.

“No, you’re not being cautious. You want to kill me.”

He looked at Chu Zhao. In his eyes were darkness and firelight, leaping and churning.

“How could you think of killing me?”

Chu Zhao couldn’t listen anymore. “Xie Yanfang, what nonsense are you talking about? Why wouldn’t I kill you?”

Xie Yanfang seemed slightly stunned, as if this was a question that never needed thinking about.

“Because,” he said. After two words, he stopped again.

Chu Zhao didn’t need his answer. She gave him the answer herself.

“Third Young Master Xie, you’re such a clever person—how can you ask such a ridiculous question?”

“Because you’re formidable? Because you’re Xiao Yu’s uncle? Yes, that’s right. Because you’re formidable, because you’re Xiao Yu’s uncle, of course I treated you well, respected you, admired you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t kill you, does it?”

“I didn’t kill you before because I still needed you to clear the way for Xiao Yu and me, to split mountains and cut through seas, to clear roads and remove obstacles. Xie Yanfang, now Xi Liang is settled, Prince Zhongshan has been eliminated, Deng Yi is dead, and Xiao Yu is about to assume personal control of the government. And you—you’ve become the obstacle I need to remove. Of course I want to kill you.”

Having said this, Chu Zhao again exerted force to push the brush toward his neck. Though it still didn’t move at all, this also demonstrated her intent.

She raised her head to look at Xie Yanfang, shouting through gritted teeth.

“I only regret I acted too late.”

Xie Yanfang looked at the leaping firelight in the girl’s eyes, the undisguised savagery. The wind, rain, fog, and vast emptiness in his heart were all cut open in an instant, returning to clarity.

He smiled.

“Yes, that’s right. This is correct. This is how it should be.”

“People like us—of course we want to kill, of course we must kill.”

He gripped Chu Zhao’s hand and pulled it from his own neck, turning it toward Chu Zhao.

Unlike Chu Zhao’s strenuous movements, his motion was slow and smooth. Accompanied by leaping firelight, the brush tip approached Chu Zhao’s neck.

Pale neck, dark blue blade tip—possessing the same beauty.

There was no fear in Chu Zhao’s eyes, but she tilted her head slightly, looking toward the slaughter—

“Don’t worry,” Xie Yanfang looked at her, not asking whom she wanted to see. “They’ll all die. If you can’t see them now, you’ll see them soon enough.”

At this point he smiled again.

“This is quite good. Dying together, you’ll have company in the underworld.”

Chu Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment and withdrew her gaze to look at him. “If that’s so good, Third Young Master should die with us. How lonely you’d be living alone.”

Xie Yanfang was amused, and being so close, she could feel his chest rising and falling.

“I’ll stay in the mortal realm to remember you all,” he said, his cold jade-like eyes carrying a smile. “Having people to remember—that’s not lonely either.”

He looked at the girl’s face again, seriously and carefully, as if wanting to carve her into his heart.

Actually, she had long been in his heart already.

He had been delighted when an unusual color suddenly appeared in the mortal world. He was willing to row the boat to share it with her, regardless of contrary winds or waters. He hadn’t expected she only wanted to depart alone in her boat.

This was truly sorrowful.

Unable to watch the unusual color depart, he would personally make it disappear.

Xie Yanfang lowered his gaze and extended his hand—

But at this very moment, he suddenly looked up. At his feet, when had it happened—a figure coiled up like a long snake crawling, then spitting out a crimson tongue.

A longsword grazed Chu Zhao’s shoulder, stabbing toward Xie Yanfang’s heart.

Xie Yanfang twisted his waist and leaned back. At the same time, the brush in Chu Zhao’s hand that he was gripping was thrust out, stabbing toward the attacker.

The attacker rolled like a snake, avoiding the brush, but Xie Yanfang had already spun from his backward lean, his long hand like a blade, striking the attacker with one blow.

The attacker let out a muffled grunt, as if broken in half and falling to the ground.

Chu Zhao was still firmly gripped in Xie Yanfang’s hand. She let out a piercing scream, looking at the figure on the ground.

Even though it was blurry and unclear, even though not a word had been said, she still recognized her.

“Mother—”

Before she could struggle desperately, a fierce wind attacked from the side. She only felt the world spinning. It seemed she was thrown by Xie Yanfang, or perhaps swept away by the force of the wind.

Spinning and whirling, she saw blood spray, a head fly up, and she also fell into an embrace.

Du Qi’s headless corpse blocked Xie Yanfang’s front. With a thud it knelt, then toppled over motionless.

Behind him, Xie Yanfang half-knelt on the ground, his clothes covered in blood, raising his head slightly to look over.

Chu Zhao also raised her head, seeing Xie Yanlai’s pale face in the firelight, covered with blood, fierce as a beast.

In the next moment her vision blurred. Her body took flight again. She couldn’t help but reach out to embrace Xie Yanlai’s neck as they ran swiftly up the mountain in the darkness.

At the same time, Mu Mianhong, who had been broken and fallen to the ground escaping one strike, also rose and ran swiftly.

Two figures like fire snakes burned open a path through the slaughter.

Xie Yanfang half-knelt on the ground, watching the fire snakes wind their way toward the mountain forest. He reached up to press his chest.

One inch above his heart, a longsword was embedded, trembling slightly.

—

Chu Zhao only felt her ears buzzing. The sounds of wind and slaughter filled them, yet also seemed to hear nothing.

She held Xie Yanlai tightly, only looking at Xie Yanlai.

“Xie Yanlai, Xie Yanlai—” she shouted loudly. “How did you come? How did you come?”

This wasn’t actually a question, just shouting, one cry after another, shouting until her throat was hoarse and choked, with tears falling.

Her chest was full of shock and full of joy.

How could he have come? So far away, and she hadn’t sent him any news at all.

And also…

“Mother—” she shouted hoarsely again, looking around forcefully.

Where was Mother? Mother was struck by Xie Yanfang—

A figure swept past from the side.

“I’m here,” Mu Mianhong called out. Though her voice was somewhat hoarse, her movements were no slower than Xie Yanlai’s—she even passed him, going ahead first, leaving only one sentence: “Zhao, don’t be afraid.”

She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t afraid at all. Chu Zhao held Xie Yanlai’s neck tight, pressing herself firmly against him.

“How did you come? How did you come?” she asked again.

“If we came, we came! What’s with all the questions!” Xie Yanlai shouted.

As these words were spoken, they had already rushed into the mountain forest, heading upward. But sounds of slaughter also rang out in the dense forest, and simultaneously fires blazed up everywhere, overwhelming like a net from heaven and earth.

“Xie Yanlai, put me down,” Chu Zhao shouted. “You all go. Don’t worry about me—”

Xie Yanlai shouted, “Shut up.”

But Chu Zhao didn’t shut up. “Xie Yanlai, I treated you well before. You said it was to make you and Xie Yanfang fight each other. Though I didn’t admit it at the time, actually I did harbor selfish intentions, and the result has indeed turned out like this. Look—when Xie Yanfang wanted to kill me, you came to save me—”

Not only did she say all this, she also forcefully choked his neck, making Xie Yanlai’s steps stumble and nearly fall.

“Are you ever going to stop?” Xie Yanlai said angrily. “Why do you talk so much at every moment!”

“I won’t stop. Listen to me. I don’t think like that anymore. I haven’t thought like that for a long time. I don’t want you to save me,” Chu Zhao said. “Go quickly. Take my mother and go quickly. Don’t worry about me.”

Xie Yanlai lowered his head to glare. “You—”

“I’m poisoned,” Chu Zhao said. “I’m going to die.”

Xie Yanlai’s voice paused. By the surrounding firelight, he saw the girl in his arms had a deathly pale face. On her neck was a blood mark—not deep, just a shallow line, with seeping blood beads glinting dark blue.

“The poisoned blade I was going to use to kill Xie Yanfang—just now he still managed to cut me,” Chu Zhao said. Looking up at Xie Yanlai, she suddenly exerted force with both arms to press close to him, biting his blood-stained chin. “I’m poisoned. I’ll die. You all go quickly. You must live.”

Xie Yanlai’s gaze became confused for an instant—whether because of being taken advantage of, or because of something else. He didn’t speak again, only held the person in his arms tighter, his steps even faster running upward.

“Xie Yanlai—” Chu Zhao shouted.

“Xie Yanlai—” a voice also shouted from behind. “I’m going to die—”

Xie Yanlai glanced back slightly, seeing in the distant mountain forest Xie Yanfang being carried forward by several people.

Under the torchlight, he was covered in blood, a sword embedded above his heart.

“Xie Yanlai,” he looked at the shadowy figures in the high dense forest. “Look at me.”

He reached out to grip the longsword and suddenly pressed down. The longsword pierced through his body. The people carrying him on both sides and behind were instantly splattered with blood on their faces.

“Young Master—” countless exclamations.

Xie Yanlai also seemed shocked, his steps stopping.

“Xie Yanlai, kill Chu Zhao.”

“I’m already severely wounded and crippled, my life near its end. I entrust the Xie clan to you, Xiao Yu to you, Da Xia to you.”

“You are the only young master of the Xie clan who can replace me.”

“You are Da Xia’s only national uncle.”

“The Xie clan honors you as supreme.”

“Da Xia honors you as supreme.”

The Xie clan, Da Xia—from now on honoring him as supreme? Xie Yanlai looked at the figure down the mountain, then at the girl in his arms.

The girl’s consciousness was already somewhat hazy, but her hands still held him tightly.

“Mu Mianhong—” he suddenly shouted, forcefully hurling the girl in his hands. “Catch—”

By this time he had already reached the cliff’s edge.

With this throw, Chu Zhao seemed to ride clouds and mist, rapidly falling down the cliff. Her consciousness cleared in an instant, watching Xie Yanlai’s face in the firelight grow more and more distant.

By her ears was the sound of wind, seemingly also Xiao Yu’s shouts, and sharp bird cries.

Her vision went black. Everything disappeared. She knew nothing more.

—

(End of this volume)