Chapter 109 The man doesn't know, "There's no going back..."

The old year and the new year alternate in a series of letters.

Spring has arrived when the weeping willows by the pond sprout new buds.

Xue Chan spent a Lantern Festival without Jiang Ce, yet she was extremely happy.

Yu Lang sent out invitations, and Xue Chan and Cheng Huaizhu accompanied her outside all night, only returning at dawn.

As soon as I entered the door, I collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

She slept until the afternoon before getting up, when a letter was handed to her from outside. Xue Chan thought it was from Jiang Ce, but when she opened it, she found it was from Deng Run.

This happened almost half a year after Cheng Qingpei overturned the Tongzhou case.

Deng Run's letter was very brief; it simply told her that everything was settled and that he was leaving.

Xue Chan decided to see her off, to bid farewell to this woman she had only met a few times.

When she arrived at the Wei River, she saw someone walking towards Deng Run, who was standing on the wooden bridge. The figure looked very familiar.

Yun Sheng said, "Miss, it is Young Master Cheng."

Deng Run smiled at her from the other end of the line: "Please wait for me for a moment."

Xue Chan then retreated to the pavilion to wait.

Cheng Qingpei stood beneath the white plum blossoms by the water. Deng Run said, "I never expected you would come to see me off."

Cheng Qingpei smiled and said, "I think it's my duty to see you off."

Deng Run exhaled, his eyes filled with tears, and said, "Thank you, thank you so much."

Two thanks, two things.

Cheng Qingpei: "I thought you had forgotten me."

“I’ve always remembered you…” she laughed heartily, teasing him, “After all, what a dashing sight it was to see a third-ranked scholar riding through the streets on horseback.”

Xue Chan didn't hear what the two said next, because Cheng Qingpei soon left by boat.

Xue Chan walked to her side, thought for a moment, and asked, "Will you regret it?"

Deng Run shook his head: "I don't know."

Xue Chan was taken aback, not expecting her to say that.

She believed that she was prepared for this departure and had a firm resolve.

Deng Run chuckled: "You're surprised, aren't you?"

Xue Chan nodded.

Deng Run continued, "I really don't know if I'll regret it. Maybe I will regret it many years from now, or maybe I won't regret it at all in this lifetime. But the future is just too hard to predict. Just like you told me back then, things change in an instant, and no one can have a clear grasp on them."

Xue Chan said, "However, you still want to leave, even after giving up everything."

"I just feel that maybe if I leave, I'll figure things out one day."

Deng Run lowered his head and gently touched the plum blossom in his arms.

I don’t know if I will regret it later. I only know that if I don’t fulfill my parents’ last wishes, I will regret it immediately.

The plum petals were scattered by her fingertips, drifting down and then being swept up by the wind.

The wind carried plum blossoms across the Wei River, passing them along the willow banks, and finally landing them before the young man.

Cheng Qingpei stretched out his hand, and a plum blossom fell into his palm.

He remembered a spring.

In a spring that seemed so long ago, he attended a spring banquet.

I was walking past a building when a pen fell and hit me.

The third-ranked scholar looked up, and the young woman, holding a wine cup, drank and smiled as she leaned against the railing.

"My lord, may I have my pen returned to me?"

That spring banquet, with its joyous singing and revelry in the high-rise buildings, and the verses composed while drunk, was so stunning that no one could compare.

During the gathering, someone sighed and said, "If she were a man, she would surely be a pillar of society."

Laughter erupted from behind them.

Deng Run came towards the sunlight, leaped up the stone steps, and turned back with a radiant smile.

"I don't need to wait until I become a man to be a pillar of society!"

Cheng Qingpei looked at it carefully for a long time, then reached out her hand.

The plum blossom in my palm drifts with the wind, towards the towering mountains and the long, winding rivers.

It twirls lightly and freely.

Drifting aimlessly, its destination unknown. White flowers swirled and landed on Youyu's face.

He had no intention of brushing it away; he only looked down at the collapsed area beneath him.

Yu gritted her teeth and slid down with all her might. The long knife in her hand sliced ​​through the stone wall, leaving a trail of orange-red sparks, and was finally stopped by a protrusion.

He thus hung on the cliff with only a knife stuck in the stone.

Looking down again, he saw that he was still some distance from the ground, so even if he fell, he shouldn't die. He then forcefully pressed the knife down, and he plummeted down again.

Even the finely crafted knife couldn't withstand such pain and broke in two.

Yu was thus smashed onto a small hill made of rubble, snow, and corpses.

He shoved aside the rubble and blood, and through the layers of corpses, he pulled Jiang Ce out.

If it weren't for his faint breathing, Youyu would have almost thought he had dug out a dead man. However, Jiang Ce had been shot in the chest with an arrow, his right leg was broken by falling rocks, and his arms and body were covered in open wounds.

He's not dead, but he's only a hair's breadth away from being dead.

He's dying soon too.

Driven by his thirst for revenge, he was lured to Baizhang Cliff by the enemy and surrounded. Jiang Ce led a small squad to his rescue, and together they killed over five hundred Western Rong soldiers. However, the enemy general whom Jiang Ce had stabbed to death fired two arrows in quick succession, one piercing Jiang Ce's chest and the other striking his horse.

The warhorse panicked, and Jiang Ce, who was riding it, was thrown off the cliff. No one could catch him then, except for You Yu, who jumped off the cliff alone to chase after him. Fortunately, he managed to grab Jiang Ce in time, but he was already unconscious.

Yu grabbed his hand while forcefully driving her long sword into the stone wall.

The long sword slid along, sparks flying off the cliff face.

"Jiang Bozhou!"

"Jiang Ce!"

Yu dodged the arrows that were lodged in her body, carefully protected her nearly bloodied leg, and dragged Jiang Ce out, pinching his face and calling out to him.

But Jiang Ce was almost unconscious, showing no reaction whatsoever. He frantically reached out to touch his neck, but couldn't feel a pulse.

He checked his heartbeat and pulse, but there was still no response.

Only then did Youyu choke back tears and weep bitterly with her head bowed.

"Don't you understand the importance of respecting elders?" Jiang Ce slightly opened his eyes, his voice barely audible, "Who gave you permission... to call me by my name?"

"I thought you were dead," Youyu cursed angrily.

Jiang Ce's blood-stained face revealed his teeth, otherwise Yu Yu would never have been able to tell that he was smiling.

"If I stay here any longer, I'm really going to die."

Yu wanted to carry him on her back, but with an arrow stuck in Jiang Ce's chest, it was impossible. She tried to support him, but Jiang Ce's right leg bone had been broken, making it difficult for him to walk.

But staying here is not a long-term solution; we need to find a place to remove the arrow and treat the wound.

Using the last bit of sunlight, Youyu quickly scanned the area below the cliff, found a temporarily open and sheltered spot, and then helped Jiang Ce walk towards it.

Jiang Ce was too badly injured. Even though Yu Zai was exerting 80% of his strength, he still felt tired and powerless.

By the time they moved there, it was already completely dark.

Yu laid him sideways in front of the stone wall and quickly found some dry firewood to start a fire.

At this point, Jiang Ce was already breathing more air than he was exhaling.

There were no painkillers, so they had to pull it out by hand. But Jiang Ce was barely conscious, and they were at the foot of Changping Mountain, with the way back blocked by boulders.

They never received any help from anyone who came looking for them.

Yu could only try her best to treat Jiang Ce's leg to prevent it from becoming disabled or even crippled.

I didn't have much medicine on me, and I also had to take care of the arrow wound. First, I stopped the bleeding, then applied medicine, and then immobilized it.

Even though Youyu had handled it quickly and efficiently, Jiang Ce still felt such pain that his pupils contracted and his whole body trembled.

After he had done his best to treat his leg, he looked at the arrow wound by the firelight.

Yu carefully removed his armor and examined the arrow wound.

The arrow entered from behind, passed through the body, and was lodged inside.

This situation is really terrible.

"Just bear with it."

Yu was tending to the wound and trying to remove the arrow, but before she could even move, Jiang Ce's body stiffened and he cried out in pain.

He immediately stopped and examined the wound carefully.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the arrowhead was specially made, with tiny hooks on it. Pulling it out would absolutely tear flesh and shred bone.

The arrow was too deep; pulling it out would only be unbearable for Jiang Ce, who was already on the verge of death, and he might even die from the pain.

Even if he miraculously survives the excruciating pain after the tubes are pulled out, how long can he live in these deep, remote mountains? The weather is cold, there are no doctors, and not even medicine.

But I won't pull it out...

In the end, he still met his death.

"Speak it out..."

"What?" Youyu snapped out of her daze and leaned closer to listen to Jiang Ce speak.

Jiang Ce was breathing heavily, each breath draining his life force. He struggled to raise his hand, grasped You Yu's hand, and said weakly but firmly, "Thrust the arrow out from the front..."

You will die!

He smiled and said, "Do we have any other choice? Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble."

Yu had considered it, but how could Jiang Ce bear it? How could he be so heartless?

Yu then burst into tears, realizing that Jiang Ce's life was in Yu's hands.

What will he do if Jiang Ce dies?

She was an orphan, but thanks to the pity of her elders and friends, she was taken back to the Jiang family and raised as their own child.

For more than ten years, he has been inseparable from Jiang Ce. Although they are not related by blood, they are like brothers.

Jiang Ce and Jiang Ji often jokingly called him "Sanlang".

"If you don't expose me, I'll either bleed to death before I die from the pain, or freeze to death in this wilderness..." He hesitated, unable to bear it, but Jiang Ce urged him again with a joking tone, "I don't want to die such a gruesome death..."

Yu suppressed her sobs, hastily wiped away her tears, and took two deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

He raised his hand to move the arrow, but Jiang Ce groaned as soon as he did. It was almost impossible to know where to begin, and he gave up after several attempts.

Yu grabbed her hair tightly, regretting that she had only learned a superficial understanding of medicine on a whim and had not refined it further.

Jiang Ce's voice grew weaker.

"If you hesitate any longer, I really... am going to die..."

Yu gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and resolutely thrust the arrow out.

The pain of blood splattering from the wound as the arrow was pulled out made Jiang Ce's soul tremble and separate from his body. Jiang Ce collapsed onto him, his eyes already numb and unfocused from the pain. Besides the arrow wound, he also had knife wounds and broken bones.

In that instant, he involuntarily tilted his head back, his mouth trembling as he opened it. However, not a single sound came out; it was all trapped in his chest, causing him to suffocate.

His pupils constricted, his mind went blank, and he felt as if a hammer was constantly clanging and hammering into his brain.

"bite"

"bite"

"bite"

He felt dizzy and could barely see. But he was afraid that if he fainted, he would never wake up again, so he could only try to stay awake by holding on tightly.

The fingertips were already worn raw and bloody, with bone faintly visible.

'Ding!'

Yu took the opportunity to pull out the arrow and throw it on the ground before breathing heavily.

Jiang Ce was about to fall, but You Yu caught him immediately.

He collapsed onto Youyu, exhausted, slowly accepting the lingering waves of pain.

After a long while, Jiang Ce took another heavy breath, and a series of rapid short sounds burst from his chest and throat.

Then came a long, labored breathing session.

Yu bandaged his wounds and dressed him.

This place is too empty; there's no way to rest and recover. He needs to take Jiang Ce to find a place where they can temporarily hide.

Yu immediately made several torches, which they used alternately, and then carried Jiang Ce on her back.

Jiang Ce was unable to speak, his mind was unclear, and he had no strength left. You Yu tore her clothes into strips and tied Jiang Ce tightly to her back, then slowly walked away.

Yu carried him on her back and searched for him as she walked.

Jiang Ce leaned on his shoulder, still half asleep, and joked, "You've really grown up... you can even carry me on your back..."

Yu wanted to scold him for saying such things at a time like this. But before she could say it, she was afraid that Jiang Ce would die silently on her back.

The usually taciturn boy suddenly started talking a lot.

"Don't die! If you die, I'll definitely dump you in the mountains and wild animals, where you'll be eaten by wild beasts until there's nothing left but your bones."

"I don't want to. Besides, I haven't even found you a wife yet... how can I die so easily..."

"With your taste, even your own wife was chosen by His Majesty."

"I don't care, I have to personally handle your wedding. Who told you... to be the kid who grew up following me around all the time..."

Yu tried to argue back, but the person on her back didn't respond.

His tears stung as the wind blew them down, and his mind began to race wildly again.

Jiang Ce looked up and saw the moon shining through the narrow crevice in the valley.

Round and shiny.

The moonlight, like a ribbon, streamed down from the valley crevice, shining upon them.

In this world, in this heaven and earth, it seems that only the moon is something they can share, even though they are thousands of miles apart.

Are they gazing at the same moon at this moment?

Is he going to die?

Is this how his life is going to end?

But we didn't even have a chance to say goodbye properly. I wonder if she received the flower I sent in the letter before the New Year.

He also thought of his mother, that he, as her child, would be causing her worry one last time.

He wrote many letters before this battle.

Unfortunately, none of them were mailed out, and many were even lost.

Jiang Ce's breathing weakened, and he raised his hand, struggling to pull out the unsent letter from his clothes.

"You... don't worry about me anymore. Leave me behind, this burden, and get out of here alive. But if you can go home, please deliver this letter to me..."

Youyu refused outright: "You have to give it to me yourself, I won't do such a thing!"

The crevice in the valley, like a giant pair of iron shears, silently opened and then pressed down heavily.

"Crack!"

Jiang Ce felt the originally solid lifeline suddenly loosen.

The pain in my body first lessened, then lessened until it was completely gone. All that energy, all that essence, flowed away from my body like water. When it had silently drained away, only an almost empty shell remained.

Yu felt the hand suddenly drop to her shoulder, the letter slipping from Jiang Ce's hand, followed by a sigh.

"There's no going back..."