Chapter 72: Embracing Each Other

  Although she had a hundred and a thousand unwillingness in her heart, Qing Xia still had to follow Chu Li on the road the next day under the threat of a large number of iron-blooded soldiers, heading towards the direction of Huichuan County.

  When the fine horse was about to gallop out of the western wilderness, she couldn't help but turn her head back. Far away, the majestic Dragon Spine Mountain stood like a ferocious beast, with heavy snow swirling down from the sky, and the world was filled with a vast expanse of pure white. She once again thought of the man in green clothes who was standing under the bamboo forest and the flower tree, his smile warm and gentle. Those memories of life and death, as warm as the sun, floated away with the swirling snow, falling silently onto the entire wilderness, freezing and melting at the withered grass roots, slowly seeping into the soil, and being buried by the majestic mountains.

  They rushed overnight for a day and night, and finally arrived at the still nest county. Along the way, Chu Li's face was gloomy and he rarely spoke, as if he was sulking with someone. Fortunately, he didn't come to trouble Qing Xia, and Qing Xia was happy to be quiet, so she wouldn't provoke him either. She quietly followed the black-clothed guards on the road, looking obedient and well-behaved, but secretly searching for an opportunity to escape.

  When she arrived at the North Camp of South Chu, it was already evening. Qing Xia saw many familiar faces, including Hong Da Yuan and others whom she had met in the Central Army's large camp. Unfortunately, she was now dressed as a woman and couldn't go forward to greet them.

  It seems that all the people and horses of the entire Central Army Camp have been moved to Hestia.

  Qing Xia couldn't help but think to himself, the central army camp is the strongest military force guarding the capital, although there are also rumors that if the emperor personally leads the troops, they will follow and protect him. However, this would also expose the empty gates of the capital. At this time, Chu Li was far away in the northern border of South Chu, if someone were to rebel in the capital, it would be too late to respond, and a great mistake might occur. Chu Li is wise and capable, he couldn't have missed this fatal weakness. Therefore, there are only two possible explanations: one is that Xing Du has another trusted person hiding strong troops to stabilize the imperial court, or the other explanation is that Chu Li himself is in extreme danger and can no longer worry about the stability of Xing Du.

  Qing Xia was more inclined towards the first explanation at first, but when it came to Nan Chu Bei Ying, she began to waver, and Chu Li's situation really wasn't optimistic.

  Chu Li, although now the Grand Duke of South Chu, enjoys great prestige among civilians and soldiers. However, having returned to his country for less than two years and being young in age, he doesn't have as much power as imagined in a military camp that has always placed emphasis on seniority.

  These days in the folk, let Qing Xia have a general understanding of the world she is in. Especially the regime of South Chu, in her eyes, there is also a considerable degree of instability, the imperial power of South Chu does not have such strong rights as later generations, just like the Southern Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the rights here are mainly held in the hands of various large families. There are seven major families in South Chu, like vassal states, dividing and garrisoning the seven directions, plus the southern border that is currently at odds with Chu, just right to divide into eight directions, iron bucket-like protection around Shengdu Jingji.

  The major families controlled the financial and economic rights of their respective regions, even maintaining their own armies. Each year, they only needed to pay a portion of taxes to Shengdu, and they would be completely independent. Even the appointment of officials was not subject to imperial interference. Seeing this situation, Qing Xia couldn't help but shake her head. Chu Li was indeed an empty shell, and the current Southern Chu was typical of the Zhou royal court in its heyday. If the system wasn't changed, fragmentation and war would be inevitable. The rebellion of Nan Meng was just a small beginning. If things continued like this, Chu Li would face even more intense national disintegration.

  Fortunately, Chu Li seemed to have keenly realized this point and had been vigorously cultivating officials from humble backgrounds when he was still the crown prince, and had also taken great pains to encroach upon the land of the nobility, reducing the number of scholar-officials and weakening the power of the aristocratic families. However, the bureaucratic system that had been in place for thousands of years could not possibly be eradicated by Chu Li in just a short year's time, so when Qing Xia stood inside the great tent of the Northern Camp, he was not particularly surprised to see only the army from the Military Machinery Department coming out to welcome Chu Li.

  Xu Quan stood outside the main camp, and came up to hold Chu Li's horse. Chu Li's face was as calm as water, and he hadn't spoken yet. A general wearing a yellow robe suddenly walked forward and knelt down in front of Chu Li. After a simple salute, he said in a clear tone: "I report to Your Majesty, the lady of the Lan Manor in the South City has invited Your Majesty to come to the South City camp for an important discussion."

  As soon as the words fell, Qing Xia suddenly felt that all the soldiers in the military camp and the black-clad guards turned their heads in unison, coldly staring at the yellow-armored general. If looks could kill, they would have pierced thousands of holes in his body by now. A thread of icy hostility spread quietly among the crowd, but Qing Xia secretly cheered in her heart, thinking that it would be best if they started fighting, so she could take advantage of the opportunity to escape.

  "Has Mrs. Zhuo Lan arrived at Beiyuan?" Chu Li asked in a deep voice, his face unchanged.

  That yellow-armored general seemed to ignore the murderous gaze of the crowd, smiling and answering: "Yes, I heard that the Grand Emperor personally led the troops to rush to the front line. The lady brought 50,000 soldiers from the South Mansion to hurry to the North Camp overnight, arriving only last night. Unfortunately, the Grand Emperor went to Baili Mountain to supervise the army, missing the opportunity to meet. That's why I came to invite Your Highness at this time."

  Chu Li's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, and he slowly raised his head to gaze at the commander's respectful smile, which only made him feel even more annoyed. Just then, a pair of icy clear eyes suddenly appeared, filled with curiosity, and shot over towards him. He slightly turned his head, and saw Qing Xia staring at him with wide eyes. A warm feeling quietly rose up from the bottom of his heart, and Chu Li took a deep breath before speaking: "It's already too late now, so let's not disturb Madame's rest. Tomorrow, when all the clan leaders meet at the main camp, we can discuss whatever needs to be said then."

  The yellow-armored general's face changed instantly, and he hesitated for a moment before saying slowly: "Madam has traveled day and night from the Li Institute for over ten days to see the Emperor. If she can't meet with him at the first opportunity, she will surely be very disappointed."

  This statement is extremely strange, no matter how great the power of the Southern Palace. There is no reason for the emperor to condescend to see her, let alone a major military position, how can it be commanded by a woman? Qing Xia raised an eyebrow and carefully scrutinized Chu Li and others, thinking that there must be something fishy going on here.

  Noticing the inquiring gaze of Qing Xia, Chu Li's anger suddenly surged up, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, and he said in a deep voice: "Don't you understand what I'm saying? I said it was too late, it's indeed too late, do I need to say it again?"

  With a swish, the black-clad guard's gleaming knife was simultaneously unsheathed. If that person said one more word, they would use their sharp blade to defend the dignity of the Great Emperor of Southern Chu.

  Chu Li's anger rose, and the low air pressure suddenly spread out. The general was also a clever person, seeing this scene, hastily made a courtesy and smiled: "It was the young general who was rude, the young general just passed on the message from the lady, in the past when he saw the great emperor, there were not so many troubles, it must be that the young general was neglectful, after all, the great emperor is already the great emperor, and as a minister of the Li Institute, one should follow the rules of being a subject. The young general will now go to report to the lady and take his leave."

  This remark was extremely rude, obviously pointing out that Chu Li had become arrogant after becoming the Grand Emperor and didn't put Nan Fu in his eyes. As a small participant, he dared to say such rebellious words, it's unbelievable. But looking at Chu Li's expressionless face and the black-clad guards suppressing their anger, Qing Xia couldn't help but deeply suspect the true strength of this so-called Lei Yin Nan Fu.

  Just as the man was about to leave, Qing Xia's heart suddenly became anxious. It had been so hard to get him here and cause trouble, if he let him go, wouldn't it fail to achieve the effect of chaos? Her own plan to find an opportunity to escape would also be a fleeting illusion.

  As he thought so, the man didn't kneel down either, but simply bowed and turned around to leave.

  "Halt!" A shrill and stern shout suddenly rang out.

  Everyone including Chu Li was shocked, turned their heads around and saw Qing Xia slowly walking to the front from behind the crowd, coldly staring at the yellow armored general and said in a low voice: "Are you leaving just like that?"

  That general was obviously in the habit of being arrogant under Mrs. Lan's hands, and when he saw a woman walking out from behind Chu, he didn't care, but smiled blandly and said: "I don't know what saint this girl is, a woman, why would she be in the army? What instructions do you have for stopping the young general?"

  Qing Xia sneered: "So you also understand that women cannot stay in the military camp, people from Nan Fu are indeed knowledgeable and clear-headed. I just don't know whether your wife is male or female, why would she still be staying in the army?"

  "Qing Xia, don't be reckless!" Chu Li coldly snorted and was about to step forward to grab Qing Xia.

  "As a noble lady, she naturally cannot be mentioned in the same breath as ordinary women, and this is something that Da Huang also understands."

  "How dare you!" With a crisp crack, Qing Xia's hand shot out like lightning and slapped the man's face with a loud smack. In a shrill voice, she exclaimed: "You keep saying 'great emperor' this and 'great emperor' that, don't you know there's a distinction between ruler and subject? A lowly Southern Prefecture General like you disrespects the imperial authority, doesn't understand etiquette, and has wasted the sage's teachings!"

  "Who are you?" The commander's eyebrows rose in anger as he shouted: "What kind of person are you? How dare you lay hands on me?"

  "I'll teach you a lesson today, you arrogant and ill-mannered fool!" Qing Xia snorted coldly, suddenly kicking his knee with one foot. A cracking sound of bones breaking was heard immediately, and the man let out a pained cry as he fell to his knees. Qing Xia grasped his collar, her voice icy: "Didn't your parents teach you that when you see the great emperor, you should pay respects and kneel? You look so refined, but it turns out you're just an ignorant fool who can't even remember such a simple principle. Well, today I'll take the place of your parents and teach you properly."

  He then fiercely grabbed the man's hair and slammed him to the ground with a loud crash.

  "Ah!" A mournful cry pierced the sky, and the ground was uneven with mud and sand. He fell three times, and his forehead was already a mess of blood and flesh, unbearable to look at. The soldiers behind him saw that things were not going well and hurriedly ran to the Nanfu barracks to call for reinforcements. Chu Li's face was gloomy, and he didn't show any expression, but quietly watched as the general was brutally trampled under Qing Xia's feet.

  Instead, the black-clad guards were all rubbing their fists and palms, excitedly eager to cheer loudly, everyone's face was filled with excitement as they watched Qing Xia beat people up, their expressions revealing a sense of satisfaction.

  With a loud crash, Qing Xia pushed away the general and saw him fall to the ground in disarray. She couldn't help but sneer and say: "So you're just a mere ornament, is this all the Southern Manor has to offer?"

  "Who said that we people from Nanjing are all embroidered pillows?"

  A stern and majestic voice suddenly rang out, the fragrance wafted, and everyone looked sideways to see a brocade-clad noblewoman walking quickly in this direction under the escort of several yellow-robed guards.

  She was dressed in a hundred bird auspicious phoenix gold thread clothes, with a white satin cloak draped over her, a string of pearls hanging around her neck, and a flowing silk tassel on her head. The whole person looked radiant and resplendent, more noble and aristocratic than the true Southern Chu Emperor, Chulidi.

  "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to intrude, please forgive me for my rudeness." Tingting curtsied elegantly and smiled at Chu Lixia, her smile almost enough to suffocate an elephant. Qing Xia's eyes widened as she nearly saw the thick layer of foundation on Tingting's face crumbling and falling off in chunks.

  "I don't know who just taught my family a lesson about not knowing when to advance or retreat, and even dared to criticize the people of Leyuan Nanfu for being uncultured?" Madame Chulan's neck was raised high, her eyes scanning fiercely towards Qing Xia, who stood out in the crowd wearing white clothes.

  Qing Xia's eyes sparkled as she stepped forward and smiled: "Auntie, those words just now were mine."

  "What did you just call me?" Mrs. Zhuolan's eyes widened in an instant, her voice rising several pitches as she shouted angrily. The others, especially the black-clad guards, who had heard Qing Xia's words, all wore a smile on their faces, without any attempt to conceal it.

  "Call you Auntie," Qing Xia innocently blinked her eyes, sweetly forcing out a smile: "This is my hometown dialect, a uniform respectful title for middle-aged and elderly women who are over 40 years old and have a plump figure."

  Mrs. Luolan was furious, her full chest heaving up and down, her eyes fixed tightly on Qing Xia with a cold voice: "You dare to call me that again."

  "Huh?" Qing Xia furrowed her brow, seemingly perplexed, and sniffled, saying uncertainly: "Should I call you 'grandma'? You don't look that old, at most in your fifties. My age is about the same as the Emperor's, at most just a generation younger than yours."

  "What a sharp-tongued little demon!" Madame Chuluan turned her head in great anger and said to Chu Li, "Your Majesty, this woman has offended me so greatly, I think Your Highness needs to give me a satisfactory explanation."

  "Madam, rest assured that I will give you a satisfactory explanation." Chu Li said in a deep voice, then turned around and walked towards Qing Xia. Qing Xia was startled and cautiously took a step back, thinking to herself that she was helping him save face, he wouldn't be ungrateful, would he?

  "Xia Er," Chu Li suddenly reached out and pulled Qing Xia's shoulder, covering her delicate face with one hand, saying softly: "This is the Zhulan lady of the Lei Yin Nan Fu, you can't be rude to her."

  Qing Xia and Zhuo Lan's wife were both shocked at the same time. Qing Xia hurriedly smiled and said to Zhuo Lan's wife, "Auntie Zhuo Lan, Xiao Xia knows her mistake. You people from Nan Fu are all very disciplined, please don't treat me as an equal."

  She loudly called out "Auntie" to the younger generation, almost making Madame Truelove's seven orifices emit smoke with rage. Her plump body slightly trembled in this cold weather, and a layer of red appeared on her skin that was exposed to the outside. She spoke in a low, measured tone: "Your Majesty, is this the explanation you gave me?"

  "What else does the lady want to settle?" Chu Li raised an eyebrow, pulling Qing Xia's hand, and gazed coldly over.

  "Good!" Zhūlán Fūrén coldly snorted and said in a gloomy tone: "Then I, Zhūlán, will only wish Your Majesty a prosperous reign for thousands of years, with flourishing prosperity! This humble servant takes her leave!"

  "Not sending!"

  Mrs. Luolan left with a nose-piercing fragrance, and Qing Xia secretly felt that it was not interesting at all. She didn't expect that the woman would really settle for this. If she were to get angry and drag herself into her tent, wouldn't she still be able to do whatever she wanted? Sighing softly for a while, she suddenly discovered that someone was staring at her. Hurriedly lifting her head, she saw that Chu Li's eyes were bright and shining, firmly fixed on her, with an inexplicable heat in his gaze.

  "Don't worry." Chu Li gently stroked Qing Xia's hair.

  As he spoke, he pulled Qing Xia's hand and walked towards the direction of the central military tent.

  However, before he reached the gate of the main tent, Xu Quan stepped forward and said to Chu Li in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the 300,000 dan of grain and fodder brought by Concubine Lan this time are still on the way. Now that she has left in such a rage, I'm afraid there will be trouble."

  Chu Li furrowed her brow, just about to speak. At this time, a black-clad guard rushed forward and said to Chu Li: "Your Majesty, Concubine Zhuolan is packing her bags and wants to return to the Li Mansion. Moreover, she has sent someone to deliver a message to Your Majesty."

  "What did she say?"

  "She said she is not Usulmher."

  Chu's eyebrows furrowed tightly, the events with Wu Si had occurred just last night, and he had left the camp under the pretext of going to Baile Mountain to supervise the troops. He hadn't expected her to find out so soon, and thinking about this made his expression even more somber.

  "Chu Li," Qing Xia also sensed the severity of the situation, grasped Chu Li's sleeve and asked in a low voice: "Have I caused you trouble?"

  "No," Chu Li shook his head firmly and patted Qing Xia's shoulder comfortingly, saying: "It has nothing to do with you."

  "Follow me to the Nanfu Grand Camp." Chu Li said in a low voice to the black-clad guards, then glanced at Qing Xia, who looked somewhat uneasy, and said to Xu Quan: "Find someone reliable to protect her well. If anything happens, you know what the consequences will be."

  "I understand!" Xu Quan replied loudly.

  "Chu Li!" Qing Xia called out anxiously, a small sense of guilt rising from the bottom of her heart. To be honest, she and Chu Li had never really had any major conflicts, just that she was dissatisfied with him always restricting her life. However, after all, this body was now inextricably linked to Chu Li's wife, so from his perspective, what he did was not unreasonable. At this moment, seeing how her own actions had caused such a huge mess for him, she couldn't help but feel a bit remorseful.

  "Be careful," he said in a rare gentle tone to Chu Li, whose footsteps paused slightly, and his eyes suddenly became warm.

  "I'll be back," he said and walked towards the large camp with bright lights.

  "Xu Canling," seeing Chu Li walk far away, Qing Xia said to Xu Quan beside him: "Did I cause trouble for Chu Li?"

  Xu Quan naturally didn't dare to call Chu Li's name directly like Qing Xia, and hastily said with respect: "Miss did nothing wrong, His Majesty said it has nothing to do with Miss, then it really has nothing to do with Miss, no need to worry."

  Since Chu Li had never been willing to reveal Qing Xia's identity in front of Lady Zhuolan before, Xu Quan also referred to Qing Xia as "young lady".

  Qing Xia saw that he couldn't get anything out of him, so he walked into Chu Li's main tent.

  The warm air swirled around, and she sat down on the bed in the back room. She didn't think about escaping anymore. Running was something that had to be done, but it couldn't be done at this moment. Qing Xia suddenly felt a bit regretful, sitting quietly on the bed.

  In fact, Chu Li has always been quite good to her, but he was beaten by himself so many times, every day saying that he wanted to kill himself and wouldn't forgive himself, yet in the end he didn't do anything to himself.

  Qing Xia took off the thick and heavy fur coat, the soldiers outside had already sent in steaming hot water, she washed her face absent-mindedly, then leaned against the bed, waiting for Chu Li to return.

  Time passed bit by bit, the candle in the corner of the wall dripped into a long wax tear, the night grew darker and thicker, but Chuli still didn't come back.

  After running wildly in the wilderness for a day and night, Qing Xia was already exhausted and couldn't go on. After waiting for a while, she dozed off to sleep in a daze.

  She didn't know how long she had slept, but suddenly felt someone gently stroking her cheek. She opened her blurry eyes to find herself staring into a pair of deep, ocean-like eyes. Chu Li was half-kneeling in front of the bed, his face soft and gentle, with eyes that shone like warm, moist seawater. His handsome face was slightly flushed, as if he had drunk a lot of wine. When he saw Qing Xia wake up, he smiled happily, revealing a set of white teeth.

  Tonight's Chu Li is seemingly different from usual days.

  No gloom, no calculation, no loud shouting. Qing Xia saw him smile with a childlike air, and also felt a warmth in his heart, really couldn't think that he would have such a side. He hurriedly sat up, seeing him staring straight at himself, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. In a flurry, he tidied up his disheveled hair, and said softly: "You're back, what happened?"

  "It's nothing." Chu Li smiled and shook his head, suddenly opening his arms and gently embracing Qing Xia in his embrace. "As long as you're by my side, there's nothing to worry about."

  Qing Xia's body stiffened, feeling Chu Li's warmth and his faint happiness. For a moment, she felt a little dazed. This time they met, something seemed to have changed between them. Chu Li was no longer as sensitive and suspicious as before, nor did he guard against her everywhere like before. The distance between them seemed to be shortened, although they still bickered and fought, but it was no longer with the same guardedness as before.

  "Chu Li, that old woman, hasn't left yet?" he asked with some concern.

  "En," Chu Li seemed unwilling to talk more, and only responded with a low grunt. He had indeed drunk a lot of wine, and Qing Xia could clearly smell the strong alcohol on him. His skin was hot under his clothes. It seemed like he had just taken a bath, as his hair was still wet, and his body emitted a pleasant fragrance. In a daze, he hugged Qing Xia tightly, and even swaying slightly as if he might fall over at any moment.

  Qing Xia hastily got up and tried to put Chu Li on the bed, but as soon as he moved, Chu Li fell backwards with a thud, lying stiffly on the ground.

  Qing Xia was taken aback and hastily went forward to pull Chu Li's hand, calling out: "Chu Li, get up, go sleep on the bed."

  "Qīng Xià," Chǔ Lí Zuì's voice was a jumbled mess, his eyes already unable to open. He lay on the ground, and suddenly a hint of pain flashed across his face. He tightly grasped Qīng Xià's wrist, his brow furrowed in discomfort, and murmured: "Qīng Xià, don't go..."

  Qing Xia's heart felt as if it had been fiercely pricked, she let Chu Li pull her hand without immediately pulling it back like usual. In a gentle voice, he said: "I'll help you to the bed to rest."

  It took a lot of effort to finally move Chu Li onto the bed, Qing Xia panted as she covered him with the quilt. Just as she was about to turn and leave, her sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of a faint red mark on Chu Li's neck.

  Qing Xia's body suddenly tensed up, and a wave of inexplicable emotions suddenly attacked her heart. She couldn't describe what she felt, it was as if a thousand-ton boulder had heavily smashed onto her back. Qing Xia's hand almost trembled as she slowly reached out to pull open Chu Li's collar.

  Wu Si Mei's words echoed in his ears for a moment, like a series of thunderclaps exploding beside him.

  "Has that old woman from Chu Palace drained you dry? Don't you even miss me?"

  "Even Empress Xiao would be refused by you, how could I, Wu Sulan, possibly enter your eyes?"

  There was also the ambiguous words of the Nanfu Canjiang who had been repaired by her and the angry eyes of the black-clothed guards.

  Deep purple hickeys covered Chu Li's neck and extended down to her chest. Those hickeys suddenly seemed like a raging fire burning to the fingertips, Qing Xia abruptly backed away, and in one stumble, she fell to the ground.

  Qing Xia's eyes were disordered, and she suddenly thought of the plump figure of Zhuo Lan's wife and her face full of wrinkles that couldn't be hidden by the thick layer of powder. She felt as if a huge tornado had swept her whole person away.

  "Do you think it's dirty?" A low voice suddenly sounded in her ear. Qing Xia abruptly lifted her head, and saw that Chu Li had woken up, his eyes deep and dark, with a hint of pain and despair that he couldn't hide. He lay on the bed, his hair disheveled, turned his head to look at Qing Xia who was staring blankly, and said: "Scared you."

  "Why... why is it like this?" Qing Xia asked with difficulty, he was already the Great Emperor of Nan Chu, what else was there to be afraid of, why did he have to humiliate himself like this?

  "Qing Xia," Chu Li suddenly smiled wryly, as if in Qing Xia's memory, he had never seen Chu Li with such a weak smile. He was the kind of person who could laugh recklessly, smile slyly, and laugh loudly, but had never shown such a helpless smile before. His voice was very soft, with deep sarcasm, and he said quietly: "My empire, all of it was obtained through my pretending to be stupid and relying on others, and selling my body. Now, you must look down on me even more."

  Chu Li's face was pale and her eyes were coldly staring at Qing Xia, as if she was looking at her, but her gaze seemed to be gazing into the distance.

  Qing Xia suddenly felt a pang of sadness, she felt as if her chest had been stabbed by a sharp knife. This man, who appeared so radiant and resplendent on the surface, was actually enduring unimaginable hardships. Abandoned by his mother in childhood, he was sent to a foreign land as a hostage, with almost everyone in the world against him. As he struggled through his lonely and arduous journey, desperately trying to stand up again, was there anyone by his side that he could trust?

  "Chu Li," Qing Xia called out softly, and a single tear suddenly fell.

  Chu Li was already a bit flustered when he got up, and before he could steady himself, he thudded to the ground in front of Qing Xia. He touched Qing Xia's cheek timidly and said anxiously: "Qing Xia, are you crying for me?"

  Qing Xia pursed the corner of her mouth, unable to make a sound, as if she had suffered a great injustice, and tears fell like broken pearls.

  "Qing Xia," Chu Li hastily grabbed Qing Xia's hand, trying to wipe away the tears on her face.

  "Don't cry." He finally tightly hugged Qing Xia in his arms.

  "Qing Xia, you won't like me even more, right?" Chu Li said with a bitter tone: "You're going to leave again, right?"

  "Qing Xia, don't stop you anymore, go ahead, but don't look for Qi An, he's just using you and won't treat you well."

  Qing Xia was being held in Chu Li's arms, listening to his nonsensical words. She suddenly remembered many things, including the first time she sold her body for a mission. The high-ranking official of N country was a thorough warmonger who had been pushing for hostile policies against our country and brutally killing secretly hidden intelligence personnel from our country in N country. Under the guidance of the state, she seduced him for more than three months and finally inserted the defensive master into his carotid artery at the last moment.

  She still remembers the stout body of that man in his fifties and the nauseating feeling when he pressed himself against her.

  A surge of uncontrollable anger suddenly flared up, Qing Xia shook off Chu Li's arm, stood up, pulled out the dagger from her boot and said in a cold voice: "I'm going to kill her!"

  "Qing Xia!" Chu Li suddenly stood up, embracing Qing Xia's warm and soft body, burying his face in the hollow of her thin collarbone, and said in a low voice: "Qing Xia, are you crying for me?"

  "Chu Li," Qing Xia's eyes grew hot again, and another teardrop fell. The dagger clattered to the ground.

  She suddenly stretched out her hand to encircle Chu Li's back, and Chu Li was stunned for a moment, as if a thunderbolt had exploded on his head, leaving him unable to move. This was the first time Qing Xia had taken the initiative to hug him. Her small, slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist, like a small cat, yet with such great strength. Overwhelming joy and happiness surged up in his heart.

  "Chu Li, I'll get rid of her sooner or later." The girl's voice was muffled, like a small beast. But to Chu Li's ears, it sounded like celestial music.

  "Don't worry, I won't let any of those people go."

  Chu Li slowly tightened his arms and asked softly: "Qing Xia, are you willing to stay with me?"

  "Good," Qing Xia nodded in his arms: "They are all scum."

  A warm breath rose in the air, Chu Li's heart was overjoyed, feeling like a traveler who had been trekking for thousands of years suddenly returned home, smiled faintly and closed his eyes, slowly falling asleep.