While one side of the hunting grounds was being infiltrated, on the other side, court officials were still causing a commotion, trying to break in, and a man who had returned from death had appeared.
But Xie Yanfang remained completely unconcerned. He was earnestly asking this question, as if confirming whether Chu Zhao truly wanted to kill him was the most important matter in the world.
“When you meet me, last time you brought poisoned tea, this time a poisoned brush.”
“I warned you earlier about being cautious. How unnecessary—Chu Zhao, you’re already quite cautious with me.”
Saying this, he shook his head.
“No, it’s not caution. You want to kill me.”
He looked at Chu Zhao, his eyes reflecting the night and firelight, dancing and flickering.
“How could you want to kill me?”
Chu Zhao couldn’t bear to listen anymore: “Xie Yanfang, what nonsense are you talking? Why wouldn’t I kill you?”
Xie Yanfang seemed slightly stunned, as if this was a question he had never needed to consider.
“Because,” he said, then stopped after just two words.
Chu Zhao didn’t need his answer; she gave it herself.
“Third Young Master Xie, how can someone as intelligent as you ask such a ridiculous question?”
“Because you’re formidable? Because you’re Emperor Xiao Yu’s uncle? Yes, that’s right. Because you’re formidable, because you’re Xiao Yu’s uncle, of course I was nice to you, respectful to you, admired you—but that doesn’t mean I can’t kill you!”
“I didn’t kill you before because I still needed you to clear the path for Xiao Yu and me, to cut through thorns and hack through mountains, to clear obstacles. Xie Yanfang, now the Western Liang is settled, the Prince of Zhongshan has been eliminated, Deng Yi is dead, and Xiao Yu is about to take personal control of the government. And—you’ve become the obstacle I need to remove. Of course I want to kill you.”
As she said this, Chu Zhao once again pushed the brush toward his neck with all her strength, though it still didn’t budge, clearly demonstrating her intention.
She looked up at Xie Yanfang, gritting her teeth as she cried out.
“I only regret I acted too late!”
Xie Yanfang watched the firelight dancing in the girl’s eyes, her murderous intent completely undisguised. The storm clouds and fog that had filled his heart moments ago were instantly cut through, bringing sudden clarity.
He smiled.
“Yes, that’s right, this is how it should be. This makes sense.”
“People like us, of course we want to kill, of course we need to kill.”
He gripped Chu Zhao’s hand, pulling it away from his neck and turning it toward Chu Zhao herself.
Unlike Chu Zhao’s labored movements, his motion was slow and fluid. With the dancing firelight, the brush tip approached Chu Zhao’s neck.
The pale neck and the dark blue blade tip had the same beauty.
There was no fear in Chu Zhao’s eyes, but she turned her head slightly, looking toward the battle—
“Don’t worry,” Xie Yanfang said, looking at her, not asking who she was looking for. “Everyone will die. If you can’t see them now, you’ll see them soon enough.”
Saying this, he smiled again.
“This is for the best. Die together, and you’ll have companions in the underworld.”
Chu Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment and looked back at him: “How nice. Third Young Master, why don’t you join us in death? Won’t you be lonely living all alone?”
Xie Yanfang was amused; standing so close, she could feel the movement of his chest.
“I think I’ll remain in the world of the living to remember you all,” he said, with a smile in his jade-cold eyes. “Having someone to remember makes life less lonely.”
He looked at the girl’s face again, intently and carefully, as if to engrave her in his heart.
In truth, she was already in his heart.
He had rejoiced at the sudden appearance of a different color in the world, and he had been willing to row a boat with her through any headwind or adverse current. He never expected that she only wanted to sail away alone.
How tragic.
If he couldn’t watch the unique color depart, then he would make it disappear with his hand.
Xie Yanfang lowered his gaze and extended his hand—
But at that moment, he suddenly looked up. At his feet, without him noticing when, a figure had crept up like a snake, winding and crawling, then striking with a crimson tongue.
A long sword brushed past Chu Zhao’s shoulder and thrust toward Xie Yanfang’s heart.
Xie Yanfang twisted his waist and leaned backward while simultaneously using his grip on Chu Zhao’s hand to thrust the brush toward the attacker.
The attacker rolled like a snake, avoiding the brush, but Xie Yanfang had already spun back from his backward lean, his long arm striking like a blade, chopping down on the attacker.
The attacker let out a muffled groan, seemingly broken in half as they fell to the ground.
Chu Zhao, still firmly in Xie Yanfang’s grasp, let out a sharp cry as she looked at the figure on the ground.
Even though the view was unclear and not a word had been spoken, she still recognized them.
“Mother—”
Before she could struggle desperately, another gust came from the side. She felt the world spinning as if she had been thrown by Xie Yanfang, or perhaps pulled away by a strong force.
In the spinning world, she saw blood splatter and a head fly up, and then she fell into someone’s embrace.
Du Qi’s headless body stood between them and Xie Yanfang, then slumped to its knees before collapsing motionless.
Behind him, Xie Yanfang half-knelt on the ground, his clothes covered in blood, slightly raising his head to look over.
Chu Zhao also raised her head and saw Xie Yanlai’s pale face in the firelight, covered in blood, as fierce as a beast.
The next moment her vision blurred, and she was airborne again. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Xie Yanlai’s neck as they sped toward the mountains through the night.
At the same time, Mu Mianhong, who had been knocked down but escaped a fatal blow, also rose and ran.
The two figures were like fire snakes, burning a path through the battle.
Xie Yanfang knelt on the ground, watching as the fire snakes wound their way toward the forest. He pressed his hand against his chest.
An inch above his heart was embedded a long sword, slightly trembling.
……
……
Chu Zhao felt her ears buzzing, filled with the sound of wind and battle, yet it seemed she could hear nothing.
She held Xie Yanlai tightly, looking only at him.
“Xie Yanlai, Xie Yanlai—” she shouted, “How did you come? How did you get here?”
This wasn’t a question, just a cry, one after another, until her voice grew hoarse and tears fell.
She was filled with shock and joy.
How could he have come? From so far away, when she hadn’t sent him any message.
And also…
“Mother—” she cried out again, looking around frantically.
Where was her mother? Her mother had been struck by Xie Yanfang—
A figure flashed by.
“I’m here,” Mu Mianhong called out. Though her voice was hoarse, her movements were no slower than Xie Yanlai’s. She even passed him, rushing ahead, leaving only the words, “Don’t be afraid, A-Zhao.”
She wasn’t afraid, not at all. Chu Zhao held tight to Xie Yanlai’s neck, pressing herself against him.
“How did you come here? How did you know to come?” she asked again.
“I’m here now, why ask so many questions!” Xie Yanlai shouted.
By the time these words were spoken, they had entered the forest, climbing higher, but within the dense woods came the sounds of battle. At the same time, fires sprang up everywhere, spreading like a net from heaven to earth.
“Xie Yanlai, put me down,” Chu Zhao shouted. “You should go, don’t worry about me—”
Xie Yanlai snapped: “Shut up.”
But Chu Zhao wouldn’t be silent: “Xie Yanlai, I was good to you before. You once said I wanted to make you and Xie Yanfang kill each other. Though I denied it then, I did have hidden motives, and it turned out that way—look, when Xie Yanfang tried to kill me, you came to save me—”
Not only did she say all this, but she tightened her arms around his neck, making Xie Yanlai stumble and nearly fall.
“Will you ever stop?” Xie Yanlai said angrily. “How can you talk so much even at a time like this!”
“No, I won’t stop. Listen to me—I don’t think that way anymore. I haven’t thought that way for a long time. I don’t want you to save me,” Chu Zhao said. “You should leave quickly. Take my mother and go, don’t worry about me.”
Xie Yanlai looked down at her with wide eyes: “You—”
“I’ve been poisoned,” Chu Zhao said. “I’m going to die.”
Xie Yanlai’s voice faltered. In the surrounding firelight, he saw the girl’s pale face, a shallow wound on her neck where blood tinged with a dark blue hue seeped out.
“The poisoned blade I meant for Xie Yanfang—he still managed to cut me with it,” Chu Zhao said. She looked up at Xie Yanlai, suddenly pulling herself closer and biting his blood-stained chin. “I’m poisoned. I’m going to die. You should go quickly. You need to live.”
Xie Yanlai’s eyes showed a moment of confusion, whether from her sudden intimacy or from something else. He said nothing more, only held the person in his arms tighter and ran upward even faster.
“Xie Yanlai—” Chu Zhao called.
“Xie Yanlai—” a voice called from behind. “I’m dying—”
Xie Yanlai glanced back slightly and saw Xie Yanfang being carried toward them through the distant forest.
In the torchlight, he was covered in blood, with a sword embedded just above his heart.
“Xie Yanlai,” he looked at the indistinct figures in the dense forest above. “Look at me.”
He gripped the long sword and pushed it down hard. The sword pierced through his body, spraying blood onto the faces of the men carrying him.
“Master—” countless shocked cries rang out.
Xie Yanlai seemed shocked as well and stopped.
“Xie Yanlai, kill Chu Zhao.”
“I am gravely wounded, a useless man now, with not long to live. I entrust the Xie family to you, Emperor Xiao Yu to you, the Great Xia to you.”
“You are the only son of the Xie family who can replace me.”
“You are the Great Xia’s only Imperial Uncle.”
“The Xie family will honor you.”
“The Great Xia will honor you.”
The Xie family, the Great Xia, from now on would honor him? Xie Yanlai looked at the figure below, then at the girl in his arms.
The girl’s consciousness was becoming hazy, but her hands still clung tightly to him.
“Mu Mianhong—” he suddenly shouted, forcefully throwing the girl in his arms. “Catch—”
By now, he had reached the edge of the cliff.
With that throw, Chu Zhao seemed to soar through clouds and mist, falling rapidly toward the cliff bottom. Her mind cleared instantly as she watched Xie Yanlai’s face grow more distant in the firelight.
In her ears was the sound of wind, what seemed to be Xiao Yu’s shout, and the sharp cry of a bird.
Her vision darkened, and everything disappeared, knowing nothing more.
……
……
(End of Volume)