“Haonan… what’s wrong with you…”
“Haonan, you… don’t scare me, what exactly happened?”
“Situ Haonan, say something! Answer me!”
Watching Situ Haonan’s expression darken into something venomous, every pore on Yelu Qianqian’s body seemed to open in alarm. In all the time she’d known Situ Haonan, she had never once seen him like this.
Right now he was like some dangerous, mysterious beast — you never knew when he might suddenly strike, or how terrifyingly ferocious that attack might be.
The moment he’d heard Han Ziqing’s name, anyone would have immediately thought of the matter of City Lord Nangong — after all, that was his own flesh and blood.
But Yelu Qianqian, this scatterbrained girl, simply hadn’t made the connection.
“Haonan, what exactly happened…”
Before Yelu Qianqian could even finish her question, Situ Haonan suddenly wrenched himself free of her and stormed out of the tent, roaring furiously as he went, “Han Ziqing, you and I aren’t finished!”
Yelu Qianqian was stunned, only now realizing it must be about City Lord Nangong. She hurried after him, but Situ Haonan had already vanished from sight. Just as she was about to chase toward the east side, General Dugu suddenly stepped out from the side and called out to stop her. “Princess Qianqian, when did you arrive? Please, wait a moment!”
“I’ll come back later, don’t bother me now!”
Yelu Qianqian didn’t even look back, sprinting off at once, with General Dugu naturally chasing after her. He had already learned Han Ziqing’s whereabouts from the Emperor of Xijing — he simply hadn’t said anything.
He had been waiting all this time, trying without success to figure out exactly how Situ Haonan intended to deal with Han Ziqing!
But judging by the current situation, Situ Haonan wasn’t keeping his composure at all!
Neither of them was any match for Han Ziqing — the only way to deal with a woman like her was through covert means. Yet here was Situ Haonan, charging after her in a rage, clearly with no intention of playing it subtle.
Could it be that he truly meant to confront her openly?
But then why had Situ Haonan discussed so much with him beforehand?
General Dugu couldn’t make sense of it. He crept along, staying hidden nearby, careful not to get too close.
By the time Yelu Qianqian reached the forest, she found Situ Haonan already locked in combat with Ziqing.
Every strike from Situ Haonan carried lethal intent, aggressive and relentless, brimming with fury — while Han Ziqing clearly kept retreating, dodging, showing no intention of striking back at all.
“Fight back! Don’t hold back against me! I want to duel you properly!”
“Han Ziqing, you’re a woman, yet your heart is far too cruel! You killed my grandfather — do you know he was the person closest to me in this world? Did you ever consider my feelings? Did you ever ask my opinion? I know this war made protecting the northern desert frontier necessary, but if you were going after Nangong City, the least you could have done was inform me, the commanding general!”
…
Situ Haonan swung his sword, veins bulging on his forehead in fury, every step, every strike pressing hard against Han Ziqing.
“As far as duty is concerned, you never respected me at all. What was the point of naming me commanding general, letting me lead the campaign in person — a joke! You might as well have taken command yourself. And as far as friendship goes — did you ever consider me a friend? Did you ever consider me Jun Beiyue’s brother? You killed my closest kin without so much as a word of warning to me. What do you take me for? An enemy? A stranger? Han Ziqing, I won’t let you off. Draw your sword — I want to duel you!”
“Han Ziqing, I no longer consider you a friend. Heartless, ruthless — you’re the coldest, most selfish woman I’ve ever known!”
…
Every accusation, every rebuke, was relentless and cutting, and Ziqing offered no rebuttal at all.
As far as friendship went, from Situ Haonan’s perspective, regardless of the circumstances, the result was that she had killed his closest kin. That was her fault.
As far as duty went, arrogant as Situ Haonan was, he wasn’t wrong — he was the commanding general, and he had every right to know.
Ziqing had never been one for words, especially not when Situ Haonan was this enraged — she had even less to say now.
If he needed to vent, then let him vent. Better that than bottling it all up inside — this kind of open fury from Situ Haonan actually put Ziqing more at ease.
As for the matter itself — regarding Nangong City, regarding this war — she hadn’t been wrong. She had done exactly the right thing. In killing City Lord Nangong, she had, in effect, already won fifty percent of the northern desert campaign.
But as far as Situ Haonan personally was concerned, she had wronged him.
A wrong was a wrong. Once he’d vented enough, they could talk further.
One in fury, one in guilt. One advancing, one retreating.
Yelu Qianqian watched, her heart burning with anxiety, shouting without pause. “Enough, enough! Can’t this be settled with words? Situ Haonan, at least hear Ziqing out — give her the chance to explain! Can’t you calm down a little!”
“Situ Haonan, weren’t you just telling me a moment ago that the past is the past — calm down first, please!”
“Ziqing didn’t mean to, Situ Haonan — do you even understand the real situation? Ziqing had no choice either!”
“Are you saying Ziqing should have just let herself die instead?”
Just then, Situ Haonan’s longsword suddenly swept sideways, and Ziqing, this time, made no move to dodge — the blade sliced across her right arm, blood spraying out in a burst.
One didn’t even need to look at the wound itself — the sheer amount of blood alone made clear just how vicious Situ Haonan’s strike had been, and how deep Ziqing’s wound was.
Yelu Qianqian went pale with shock, shrieking, “Situ Haonan, are you insane!”
She cried out, immediately rushing in front of Ziqing, spreading her arms to shield her, glaring furiously at the panting Situ Haonan. “Enough! Striking your brother’s woman — what kind of man are you? You keep calling others cold-blooded, but what about yourself?”
Seeing Qianqian like this reminded Ziqing of the time in the Nanzhao beast-hunting grounds, when this same girl had shielded her just like this, telling everyone Ziqing was her sister.
This side of Qianqian warmed Ziqing’s heart.
Before Situ Haonan could even speak, Ziqing pulled Yelu Qianqian aside and said calmly, “Haonan, I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
But to her surprise, Situ Haonan suddenly raised his hand to strike her, roaring furiously, “What good is saying sorry to me now!”
Yelu Qianqian immediately lunged forward, grabbing his raised arm before it could fall. “Don’t you dare! What exactly do you want? Ziqing has already apologized!”
Situ Haonan, nearly mad with rage, bellowed, “How about I kill your father first, and then apologize to you — how’s that sound?”
Yelu Qianqian froze, her eyes instantly reddening. She released his arm, said nothing more, and silently retreated to the side.
Ziqing’s brow furrowed slightly — of all the wounds to reopen, Situ Haonan had picked that one.
Heaven only knew how long it had taken Yelu Qianqian to come to terms with what had happened to Yelu Chenyi.
Situ Haonan, too, froze, looking over at Yelu Qianqian, his heart flooding with guilt, though he had no idea how to say anything.
Yelu Qianqian’s eyes dimmed, her head hanging low in dejection, hands clasped tightly together. After a long moment, she finally murmured, “Actually… we’re all bound by grudges…”