Chapter 17 Last Words

After removing his disguise, his true face is both strange and familiar.

What was familiar were his deep eyes and intimidating aura; what was unfamiliar were his facial features: his eyebrows seemed thicker than before, his nose higher than before, and his cheek contours more profound than before...

But she knew that this was him.

"Ling Tianshui..."

He didn't answer, but rushed her into the dense forest. Only after making sure that no one saw them did he rein in his horse and look down coldly at her in his arms.

"Princess Lingling, do you have any last words?"

The familiar low voice spoke words so coldly and mercilessly.

Qian Deng stared at him intently and murmured, "Last words...?"

"Bai Qiandeng, do you think I can still allow you to live peacefully in this world after you've hurt me, driven me away, insulted me... and learned the biggest secret of my life?" He stared at her, his eyes filled with complex and unspeakable hatred. "I repeatedly refused to meet with you because I was giving you a chance, but unfortunately you didn't understand."

Yes, she knew about his mother's shameful past and had whipped and expelled him with her own hands. As the dignified King of Linhuai, the most shameful thing in his life was in her hands. How could he let her go and allow her to appear in front of people again?

"In my life, no one has ever been able to stop me from doing what I wanted to do. When I was defeated by you, I swore in my heart..."

On his way back to Beiting with injuries, the blood-red sunset in the desert reminded him more than once of the hopelessness of chasing his mother alone.

He reined in his horse and looked back, gazing towards Chang'an countless times, unable to believe that he would suffer such humiliation at the hands of a woman in his life.

The wounds on his palms scabbed over and left scars, and the whip wounds on his back had not healed yet, always gnawing at his bones like ants in the middle of the night, constantly reminding him of the unbearable humiliation he had suffered.

In his hidden pain, he had imagined countless times how to take revenge on her, hurt her, and make the despair and pain she inflicted on him return to her a thousandfold.

Qian Deng knew that he was facing a situation where he was bound to die.

She should not have lost control of herself and should not have impulsively opened his cloak, exposing the Canglong sachet she gave him to the sunlight.

Before the veil of concealment was pierced, she still had a glimmer of hope.

At this point, how could he allow someone like her?

"Okay, Ling... Prince Linhuai, I know my sins are unforgivable." Before this powerful and intimidating Northwest God of War, the only thing she could do was to lower her stance. Her voice trembled slightly as she dared not insist any longer. "But, I want to ask you for one favor. Even if I have to die, I must do this before I die. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest in peace."

"It's hard to close your eyes, what does it have to do with me?" His voice was cold and sneered. "Do you think you are qualified to bargain with me now?"

"I dare not think so, but..." Qian Deng's gaze slowly shifted downward, landing on the Canglong sachet at his waist. "Although my past sins are grave, you and I... have known each other for a year, and we have, after all, developed some affection. I imagine and pray that you will be magnanimous and give me a few days to complete what I must do. Then... I will be able to face death calmly, without complaint."

Hearing the trembling words "know each other" uttered by her, he fixed his gaze on her face for a long time and asked slowly, "What should you do?"

She turned her head and looked towards the Kucha City, and said stubbornly, "Yes, it's more important than my life and our grudge. I must complete it."

He looked at where she came from. He knew her better than anyone else in the world, so he naturally knew her intention: "Do you want to find out the real murderer and clear your name?"

"Yes. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of becoming a sinner in the Changhua Palace and a stain on my ancestors. Even if I, Bai Qiandeng, die with a clear conscience, leaving behind a clean life!"

He grabbed her wrist, as firm as a shackle: "It seems... you really care about the title of Lingling County Princess and can't let go of Changhua Palace."

"Yes, please give me a little more time. I must go back and clear my name and prove my innocence. As descendants of the King of Changhua, we must not, when faced with difficulties and dangers, bear the blame and escape, endure humiliation and live in shame!"

"You can't bear humiliation yourself, yet you inflict it on me." He sneered, "So you have the Changhua Palace, your ancestors, and your own reputation in your heart... There are so many things you've never considered..."

When he said this, he paused.

He wanted to ask if she had him in her heart, and if she had the future they had planned and promised each other, the future they would walk into together.

However, if he asked this question, his pride and self-esteem would be shattered in front of her, so he paused for a moment and abruptly changed the subject -

"No matter what you say, the Princess of Lingling County must disappear from this world. From this moment on, I will never allow her to appear again."

The request was flatly rejected. Qiandeng looked at his cold and terrifying face, feeling only despair and sorrow in his heart.

"Prince Linhuai, I know you are incredibly capable and can accomplish anything. All the mistakes I've made in the past were my own. If you refuse to let me go, I hope you will consider the little friendship we once shared and, after my death, clear my name and let everyone in the world know that I, Bai Qiandeng, have never done anything to offend Kucha or my ancestors!"

She struggled to get up from the horse and threw herself down desperately, trying to break free from his restraints.

"Today, I will die to apologize to you!"

Seeing that she was about to fall off the horse and break bones and tendons, before he could even think, his arms had already subconsciously hugged her to prevent her from jumping off the horse.

But she seemed to be determined to die, and her strength was so fierce that he was in a state of panic and could not hold her back for a moment, and they both fell from above.

But when it landed, Qiandeng was not greatly impacted.

It was just because he stretched out his arms and held her tightly in his arms, blocking the impact of the ground for her, and bearing all the damage silently.

Qiandeng took a deep breath and felt a huge sorrow welling up in his heart.

She pulled her hand from his arms, stroked his back, and asked in a low voice: "Are you okay?"

He gritted his teeth and turned his head away without saying a word.

"Didn't you say you wanted me to disappear from this world forever? But you... you're not sincere after all." Qian Deng stroked his back and sighed softly, "I know you won't harm me. Otherwise, why would you always watch over me from the dark when I was in danger? And why did you appear in time to save me when I was in the most difficult time today? You can't possibly want to save me and then kill me with your own hands to vent your anger, right?"

At this moment, he really hated her for being too smart. She figured out his true identity with just a small test, catching him off guard and making him choose to protect her without hesitation, revealing his true feelings.

His mother's shameful past, his unspeakable life experience, the humiliation he suffered at her hands—

All the hatred that was enough to separate them was no longer something he could use to cover up and deceive himself.

"I will indeed make Lingling County Lady disappear forever. Because I won't let anyone know my secret!"

He tightened his arms, unable to control the blood surging in his heart any longer, and held her tightly in his arms.

"If it were anyone else, I would have killed him myself. After all, as long as a person is breathing, they are likely to reveal anything. But you...you, come with me to Beiting. Making Lingling County Master disappear from this world is my final bottom line. From now on, do not appear in front of anyone again."

Qian Deng breathed hard in his scorching embrace, steadying her breathing. "If Lingling County Master disappears, then what will become of me?"

"There will be another Princess Linhuai in this world. From now on, I will protect you for the rest of your life. You won't have to endure any hardships or storms. You can just be the happiest person in Northwest China, and even in the entire Tang Dynasty, the one that all women in the world envy and look up to. This promise, I will keep for the rest of my life."

Who in this world can resist this tempting promise?

And she may be the person in the world who knows the weight of this promise best.

Since the great change that happened when she was thirteen, all her family members have left her. She lives in a dense haze, haunted by nightmares every night, and longs for a peaceful and stable life more than anyone else.

Now, this man who was as solid as her father and grandfather had spread out the long-desired picture in front of her. From now on, she would never have to face the loneliness and fear in her midnight dreams again, because he really had the ability to do what he said and give her everything she desperately desired.

But what if the path she dreams of and the path she must take are not the same?

"I believe that since you've promised, you'll definitely keep it." Qian Deng's eyes misted, but her gaze remained unwavering. "But Prince Linhuai, I didn't know your identity back then. I truly and sincerely wanted to spend my life with you, but I didn't realize there were so many obstacles between us. Now you have your magnificent Yangguan Road, and I have my own single-plank bridge. Perhaps in your eyes, my life is narrow and insignificant, but I'm a stubborn person. I won't, and cannot, give up my determined goals for anyone, for the sake of a stable future."