Chapter 109

  If high above the heavens, there really is a god with wise eyes gazing down at the multitude below, then does my arrival also form an important link in the chain of fate?

  If every person's existence is shouldering a mission bestowed by the heavens, then my arrival, isn't it to completely push you into the abyss, thoroughly destroying you?

  If everything were to happen again, I wonder if I would still choose this life of twists and turns, or if I'd rather die on the streets of Tokyo, with cold snow covering my headless corpse.

  "Chu Li," Qing Xia's voice was almost trembling, she couldn't suppress the enormous feeling of powerlessness inside her, her eyes filled with helplessness and sadness. "I know, no matter what I say, you won't believe me, but can I have a chance to explain? This isn't my intention, I didn't kill Zhuang Qing Xia, I'm not a treacherous spy plotting against Great Chu, I'm a soul from another world who has borrowed a corpse to return to life...Zhuang Dian Ru is not a good person, he has ulterior motives and will harm you...Chu Li, please believe me, they will ruin you..."

  Chu Li's eyes were like a vast, dark ocean, gradually losing their luster. Even the anger, despair, and pain had slowly disappeared. What remained was only an overwhelming sadness, a deep indifference, and a profound sense of isolation. Qing Xia stared blankly at Chu Li, watching as the dark, murderous aura around him gradually dissipated, replaced by an icy coldness that seemed to freeze everything in its path, like the glaciers atop the northern snow-capped mountains, devoid of all warmth. Qing Xia's lips trembled as she tried to speak, but her voice was barely audible, like a desperate, wounded beast. She slowly reached out her hand, trying to grasp Chu Li's sleeve, as if grasping for the last shred of hope.

  Suddenly, a white and shiny arrow shot out with a whooshing sound, grazing Qing Xia's hand and leaving a trail of bright red blood, freezing her movement in mid-air. The silver arrow was deeply embedded in the ground, its tail trembling slightly, like a leaf in a storm.

  "What else do you want to say?"

  A cold voice suddenly sounded above her head, Qing Xia abruptly lifted her head up, staring at Chu Li's face that had completely turned icy and devoid of any warmth. The last shred of hope in her heart finally sank deeply down, down!

  "Are you still going to tell me that you don't know this person?" The sound of his voice, as hard as iron, chipped away at the dense night air, fresh blood continuously gushing out from his body. His face was deathly pale, but his eyes grew colder and colder, a faint, cold smile, it was unclear whether he was mocking himself or others. "Are you still going to tell me that in the dead of night, you show up here dressed like this just because you felt like taking a stroll? How foolish am I, to be infatuated with you time and time again?"

  Chu Li suddenly stepped forward, step by step, with a dark and destructive aura, his face twisted in a fierce scowl. The flames that filled the sky illuminated his pale cheeks and black armor, which seemed to be as sharp as a knife's edge. He gritted his teeth and said in a painful voice: "Do you know? I really want to strangle that weak self of mine from back then to death!"

  Her eyes turned bright red in an instant, but the slender woman stood there, tightly biting her trembling lips, refusing to let a single tear fall. She took deep breaths, her chest heaving violently, slowly, slowly, she straightened her back, and slightly raised her head. Her pale face was like a white lotus in bloodstains, with patches of dark red blood on her colorless complexion. She stood tall, gradually calming herself down, then turned to look at the cold man, smiled bitterly, shook her head slightly, and said: "The only one who can save you is yourself. If you refuse to escape, then you will sink. Chu Li, Zhuang Qingxia is already dead, now, kill me too."

  Slowly closing her eyes, she slightly lifted her head. A strong gust of wind suddenly blew away the black scarf on Qing Xia's head, and thousands of green silk strands scattered in the wild wind, flying wildly like broken butterfly wings. Qing Xia closed her eyes, her face pale and thin, her slender neck a patch of snow white, the dark night sky painted behind her. A line of tears suddenly flowed from her tightly closed eyes, tracing down her sunken cheeks and pointed chin, dripping into the dark night sky, drifting in the vast wind and snow.

  Chu Li's eyes narrowed slightly, coldly staring at the woman who had appeared countless times in his dreams over the past two years. He looked at her raven-black long hair, sunken cheeks, straight back, and tightly pursed lips. It was a nightmare he could never escape, destined to torment him for life. Where did things go wrong, leading them step by step to where they were today?

  He slowly turned around, step by step, moving away from what he considered his perfect haven.

  She stood in the grand hall of Lan Ting, her eyes no longer as weak as they once were, but filled with confident radiance. She held her head high, gazing coldly at herself, and said in a clear tone: "What conditions? What purpose? Which power is behind you? State your terms clearly, and I'll consider whether it's necessary for us to continue talking."

  That day, her face was filled with a confident glow that he had never seen on anyone else. It was vibrant, passionate and full of hope and enthusiasm.

  Everything started from that day, and all the subsequent events seemed to be entwined by a thread of fate, with countless silk threads tightly wrapping them together, unable to escape or cut off, only to be trapped inside, with no place to hide.

  He stumbled forward step by step, his footsteps staggering, surrounded by the panicked Southern Chu officials. The blood from his chest dripped onto every step of the way. Memories were like a giant axe, cutting off all connections between him and her with each strike. Those hand-in-hand years, embracing nights, and shoulder-to-shoulder battle scenes collapsed in his heart like a burning prairie, devouring all hope of rebirth.

  Until this moment, he desperately realized that he had fallen so deeply in love with her. Those desperate and unattainable loves had been devouring his flesh and blood day and night, like a swarm of bloodthirsty insects screaming in his veins, piercing his bone marrow with their sharp teeth, slowly drilling into his heart. It turned out that long, long ago, even at the first meeting in the Lan Ting Hall, he had already realized that this woman was not that shy and timid child, not that girl he felt guilty about and couldn't look straight at. She was confident, calm, full of vitality. So when he was with her, he could confirm that he too was alive, had flesh and blood, and wasn't just crawling alone in the dark like a dog.

  His love was so deep and profound that even he himself was blinded by it, stubbornly refusing to carefully examine the problems on her body, as if not looking would make everything continue perfectly intact. He had been deceiving himself all along, until finally, the day arrived when his wound was ripped open, flesh and blood exposed, pain piercing through his bones.

  Do you know? I really want to strangle that weak self of mine to death!

  Strangle him to death!

  Strangle him to death!!!

  The lonely back finally stopped there, in front of the fully alert South Chu Black Armor Guard. The original fraternal bond was also deeply erased by the solemn and murderous scene before them. All the sharp blades and arrows were fiercely aimed at Qing Xia's slender body, waiting for a gesture from Chu to shoot out countless sharp edges that would slowly torture the weak woman to death. However, the silent man remained silent, his back turned to Qing Xia, wanting to open his mouth to say something, but ultimately swallowed it down, dragging his heavy footsteps, gradually disappearing into the South Chu army, the fragmented words in his chest gradually gathering into a voice, frantically shouting in his mind, but unable to break through that last bit of dignity.

  How I want to ask you, have you ever loved me? Have you ever cared about me? Those bygone days, were they all just a pretence? Your risking life and death to save me, was it all just an act?

  But in the end, I don't want to say anything else, and just leave step by step.

  All the Southern Chu soldiers widened their eyes in unbelief, staring at their great emperor who quietly left without giving any orders, not saying whether to capture, release or kill.

  At this moment, a sharp and piercing whistle suddenly sounded, cutting through the air to form a sonic boom that shattered the clouds. The black wood birds in the sky flapped their dark wings wildly, letting out startled cries as they took flight. Their glossy black wings swept over the camp of Southern Chu, leaving behind a trail of ominous marks.

  Accompanied by the indistinct bird calls, with the shocking and blood-boiling war drums that stirred people's hearts, suddenly in the military camp a loud and clear whistle sounded, it was the pre-war assistant drum and warning whistle!

  On this stormy and bloody night, the first war of the White Deer Plain's siege, finally thundered to life!

  "Your Majesty!" a sentinel on the high platform suddenly shouted loudly: "Bei Qin Xuan Wang, with 30,000 Yanzi Camp troops, is openly challenging us in front of our camp!"

  A deafening explosion erupted in the hearts of everyone, and all eyes were fixed on the northern exit of the camp. Behind that wooden gate, the Flame Character Camp, which had won a hundred battles and never been defeated, finally aimed its icy blade at the Southern Chu Camp!

  "Chu Li! Let Yima go!"

  A clear and crisp sound suddenly rose, echoing in the sky above the Nan Chu Great Camp, shouting with fierce gusts of wind, with a sharp breath and an overbearing manner!

  "Chu Li!!!! Release the people!!!!" The 30,000 Qin soldiers shouted in unison, their voices surging and pounding against the sky, breaking through the thick clouds, tearing apart the dark heavens, gathering into a massive torrent, thundering and churning across the entire horizon!

  Her face turned pale in an instant, she stumbled and almost fell, as if the person who had just been stabbed was her. Her eyes stared blankly into the dark night, feeling like all reason had escaped from her mind. She frantically looked around, but couldn't find a pair of eyes to tell her it was just a nightmare. Finally, amidst the crowd, she still saw Chu Li's cold and mocking gaze, looking at her with disdain, his mouth curling up into a cold smile filled with icy indifference and mockery.

  It was as if a thunderbolt had struck her heart in an instant! The desperate river finally burst forth with a fierce torrent.

  What to do? What should she do? Is this a cycle of fate, or an inescapable nightmare? The river of blood beneath the earth has begun its withering and decaying course. Those rumbling war drums will ultimately shatter all worldly barriers, establishing a new order on the flesh and blood of women and children, and the white bones of warriors. And she is the starting point of it all, the source of calamity in the world, stirring up a monstrous fetus that fills the land with bloody chaos. She finally believes.

  Is it over when she's dead? Isn't everything going back to normal as long as she's gone?

  She drew out a flying dagger from her waist and was about to cut her throat, but in an instant, the cold steel fell to the ground, and her hand, like a puppet that had lost its strings, went limp. It wasn't until then that she realized with terror that her entire body was soft and weak, without any strength. The cold, maniacal smile of Zhuang Dianru's face before he died appeared in front of her eyes again, and looking at the dark red blood on her hands, she felt like she had been burned by fire, and stumbled backwards in despair for two steps before finally falling to the ground, unable to hold on any longer.

  Mu Lian's words echoed in his mind again, Qin Zhiyan was different from the other three, there were no factions in the country, and he dominated alone. If this time, disregarding his life, he went to war with Nan Chu during the siege, what would be the consequences when he returned home? Zhuang Dianru had already calculated all of this, so using his death, he eliminated the last bit of hesitation in Chu Li's heart, and also gave his arch-nemesis a severe blow.

  "No..."

  A weak voice finally burst out, accompanied by desperate tears, and flowed freely in the urgent atmosphere of the Nan Chu Da Ying.

  Qing Xia's hands were immediately tied up by the soldiers of Nan Chu, those black-clad guards who had once received Qing Xia's wholehearted teachings now had cold faces, no one showed her any sympathy or pity, not even a little bit. After being tightly bound, Chu Li had already been given medicine and done simple bandaging.

  He didn't even glance at Qing Xia, and in a deep voice, he said to the black-clad guards: "Deploy the troops, form the array, let me go meet this undefeated hero of the world, Yan - Zhi - Camp!"