Zhuang Dianru was stunned. Qing Xia’s words were like sharp knives piercing into his heart, making his head ache immediately. But he had been obsessed with this for too many years. Soon he immediately dismissed those words, which he considered all fallacies, shaking his head and saying: “You won’t understand. Only we ourselves know that we are correct.”
Qing Xia looked at this man in despair, knowing he had already become so obsessed that he was beyond salvation. Her gaze ice-cold, she asked in a deep voice: “Are there many more people like you?”
Zhuang Dianru suddenly puffed out his chest, his aged face showing blazing radiance. “Wherever the heavens cover, there are traces of heaven-defiers.”
“Then what is your dream? What is your short-term goal? To overthrow the rule of the four kingdoms and gather all lands under one person’s rule? This time, the person you’ve chosen is Chu Li?”
Zhuang Dianru shook his head, saying solemnly: “We didn’t choose him. The heavenly gods placed the scepter of unification in the Great Emperor’s hands. We are merely fate’s executors.”
“Hmph!” Qing Xia sneered coldly, saying in a deep voice: “What bullshit heavenly gods and fate. Eastern Qi borders the sea and has Japanese pirates harassing its borders. Xichuan’s Great Emperor is brutal and the nation’s power is weak. Northern Qin has too much internal strife, and several princes are incompetent without kingly bearing. Zhiyan’s body is frail and cannot shoulder the great cause of unification. So you set your sights on Chu Li. Now, having lured me here, what do you plan? Do you want to kill me? To complete that nonsensical iron-hearted sovereign who abandons emotion and severs love, letting him slaughter without any concerns in this world? You overestimate me. His heart has long been as hard as steel.”
“No…” Zhuang Dianru shook his head, saying approvingly: “You really are very clever. I like you very much. But the Great Emperor’s heart is still not hard enough, still insufficient to shoulder this heavy responsibility. Only with heaven-destroying, earth-annihilating hatred in one’s chest can one be reborn from ruins and establish new order from ashes. Only by casting away all entanglements and burdens can one be qualified to take up the world-destroying blade, destroy this sinful world, and kill this generation of greedy people, giving pure souls a chance at rebirth. Only those completely fallen into darkness have the tenacity and determination to stand at the world’s pinnacle. And now, you are the final ray of sunlight hindering his path. We’ve watched over his journey for more than twenty years and absolutely won’t allow him to fall because of you!”
“More than twenty years?” Qing Xia suddenly frowned. Chu Li went to Qi as a hostage at age nine—where were there twenty years until now? Could these conscience-less people have already chosen him when he was still in Nanchu?
Forever walking in darkness… casting away all entanglements and burdens… completely fallen into the night… Abandoning emotion and severing love, cold-hearted and cold-blooded, no longer possessing human nature, the determination and tenacity to destroy everything…
A terrifying thought she had pondered for a long time without understanding suddenly rose in her heart. She suddenly raised her head, her face deathly pale, saying almost word by word in a deep voice: “Chu Li’s mother, Noble Consort Xiao He, was also one of your people?”
“Hehe,” Zhuang Dianru suddenly laughed, looking at Qing Xia approvingly and saying loudly: “You’re really so clever. Not only was she one, even the Thirteenth Prince was one of our people. He was my teacher, the one who led me onto this bright path. I was present the day he was executed. I heard him shout before dying that we would return! Others thought he was just clinging to life, still hoping for revenge to overthrow the dynasty. But only I knew he was speaking to me. I’m not afraid of death—I only fear not being able to die like him. He abandoned his entire clan and taught the Great Emperor the principles of being human with everything bloody. He was the true warrior.”
Qing Xia trembled all over, almost unable to control her emotions. She looked at that old man in disbelief, feeling everything sounded so absurd and unrealistic. What had happened to this world? What had happened to these people? Why had they gone mad to such an extent? She pressed her chest tightly, filled with enormous, irrepressible terror, even carrying traces of unstoppable nausea.
Chu Li, Chu Li, what has your life been like? You’re at the very center of conspiracies and power, thinking you’ve finally broken free from all contempt, all humiliation, all suffering and torment. Yet you don’t know this is just a giant web, a profound trap. You’re caught within it with no chance of escape, and all of this—your dark, despairing life—has just begun.
Qing Xia’s expression was cold, filled with enormous hatred and disgust as she looked coldly at that already-mad old man, saying in a deep voice: “So now you plan to kill me? Do you think you have that ability?”
“No,” Zhuang Dianru smiled elegantly, saying: “Killing you would only leave the Great Emperor’s heart with a forever soft spot. What we need is for you to personally deliver the knife to the Great Emperor’s heart, severing his last thread of hope!”
“Dream on!” Qing Xia suddenly roared fiercely, saying coldly: “I will expose your conspiracy. I won’t let you succeed!”
“Is that so?” Zhuang Dianru slowly stood up, suddenly gripping the chair’s armrest hard. With a whoosh, the mobile prison’s iron door burst open with a bang. Bright torches from outside suddenly shone in. Zhuang Dianru’s aged body instantly sprang up, racing toward the doorway!
“Stop!” How could she let him escape at this moment? Qing Xia shouted fiercely, immediately pouncing forward swift as a leopard.
The doorway, only ten steps away, was reached in an instant. The blazing torches immediately pierced Qing Xia’s eyes. Her heart tightened as if an alarm bell was roaring in her mind. But in that flash of lightning and spark of flint, there was no time to look. She grabbed Zhuang Dianru’s collar, shouting fiercely: “Where are you running!”
The old man’s body suddenly turned around, his aged face showing frenzied excitement. His withered palm gripped Qing Xia’s shoulder tightly, his eyes burning with heat sufficient to destroy heaven and earth. He suddenly glanced toward the pile of rubble behind the prison where he had already stepped out, shrieking: “Remnant of the Xi Lin family!”
Wind howled up as Xi Linchen’s figure, gripping a war blade, immediately flashed out from behind the rubble, rushing out with a fierce expression!
“Xi Lin! Be careful!” Two fully-armored soldiers suddenly charged at Xi Linchen. Qing Xia was gripped tightly by Zhuang Dianru and couldn’t fly to his rescue in her shock. Her gaze turned cold as she flung the two willow-leaf throwing knives from her hands. Two streaks of blood rose up—the two soldiers ran a few more steps before falling to the ground, becoming two corpses.
“Assassin!” Chaotic voices rang throughout heaven and earth. Bright torches like fresh blood filled all directions. Qing Xia held Zhuang Dianru in her grasp, having no choice but to continuously use throwing knives to assist, hitting enemies rushing toward Xi Linchen.
“History will someday vindicate me! Prove that I was right!”
A deep voice suddenly spoke beside her. Qing Xia suddenly turned to look and saw Zhuang Dianru’s eyes completely blood-red, as if blazing fires were burning in them. He suddenly gripped Qing Xia’s hand fiercely, thrust his body forward, and drove his chest hard onto Qing Xia’s dagger!
“Ah!” Qing Xia cried out in shock, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at this withered old man. Fresh blood flowed from his chest all over her hands. He revealed a nightmare-like smile, like a ghost from hell, speaking one sentence in a low, frenzied voice before spitting a great mouthful of blood all over Qing Xia’s face with a “puff”!
“Assassin! Master Zhuang! Master Zhuang!”
Enormous chaotic sounds rang like rolling thunder beside her ears. Qing Xia seemed struck by great thunder, standing dazedly in place, letting that old man’s aged, thin body slowly fall at her feet. Fresh red blood stained her entire body, even her face was splattered with blood drops, winding and hideous, making her look like a midnight asura.
“Xia’er, Prince Li is brilliantly talented and remarkable. Nanchu is far from warfare’s ravages and is truly a peaceful paradise. Father doesn’t ask you to be empress of the world, only that you live peacefully—that would be father’s greatest wish.”
“To establish oneself in this world, one must have capital for survival. Only by standing at the highest point can one have the right to freedom, and I want to give you exactly this kind of freedom.”
“Child, how wonderful it would be if you were truly my child.”
“Assassin!” “Protect the Great Emperor!” “Great Emperor! Ah! Kill him!”
Piercing screams shot skyward. Qing Xia slowly raised her head and saw among the bustling crowd Chu Li wearing a bright yellow great fur coat, his eyebrows like sharp swords, his eyes like morning stars, lips pressed tightly together, with a foot-long short sword piercing his chest, fresh blood gushing out continuously!
Beside him, countless Nanchu soldiers surrounded him in tight formation. That clear, bright child lay softly on the ground with wide-open eyes, countless wounds on his body seeping blood outward. Just like his sister, he died from arrows piercing his heart, like a sieve.
Enormous despair and darkness swept over her like an overwhelming tide. Reality gripped her heart cruelly—every breath caused intense stabbing pain.
Everything was so mysteriously unpredictable, so bone-chillingly cold. She was instantly cast by reality into a ten-thousand-zhang abyss. Everything was desperate and shattered. Though heaven and earth were vast, she suddenly had no escape route. Zhuang Dianru’s final words before death echoed repeatedly in her mind: “Do you know where you failed? You failed because you worry about too much.”
Yes, when a person worries about too much, they cannot avoid defeat. In this turbulent, chaotic world, indeed only those who abandon emotion and sever love can tenaciously survive. She always wanted to protect others, wanted to gather all those people under her protection. But in the end, she finally realized she was nothing—her abilities were so limited. How could she protect so many people? Now those people died one by one before her eyes. Finally, faced with cold reality, she recognized her own naivety.