Chapter 41 Su Muying, have pity on me...

Wu Zizhuo was at his wit's end. Just moments before, he thought he had a chance to turn the tide of the battle, but in the blink of an eye, that chance had vanished.

No... that opportunity never existed from beginning to end.

He was lying.

"Hahaha..." Wu Zizhuo tore the defense map in his palm to shreds, then suddenly burst into laughter twice before abruptly stopping.

He raised his hand, made a gesture, and said, "Miss Su, I originally intended to spare your life and bestow upon you wealth and honor..."

"But now, you shall go to the Yellow Springs with Xie Linyuan..."

Wu Zizhuo pointed at the two of them and gave the order: "Whoever can get the heads of these two today will be richly rewarded!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd surrounding Su Muying and Xie Linyuan pounced on them.

Xie Linyuan's eyes flashed coldly. At this moment, in this night, covered in blood and tattered, his gaze towards the people in front of him resembled that of a starving, ferocious wolf. His bloodthirsty, murderous addiction was completely unleashed in this desperate situation.

If we kill them all, Ying'er can live.

Kill them all!!!

These two sentences kept repeating in his mind, giving his dying body a brief respite as if in a final burst of energy.

He was so badly injured, he should have died long ago.

He has persevered until now; his physical strength and willpower are truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

But no matter what, he is still just a mortal being and cannot last long.

He wanted a quick victory.

"Ying'er, do you believe me or not..."

"Today, I will definitely take you away from here."

"Don't be afraid, stay close to me."

He smiled slightly, then said to Su Muying not to be afraid. With a flash of sword light, he charged forward to kill.

Su Muying was stunned. Before she could reply, swords flashed and blood flew as layers of people surrounded her.

Su Muying understood that this was a matter of life and death. She couldn't kill anyone, but she couldn't be a burden to him. She had to stay close to him and not distract him.

Because of him... he lost too much blood.

He had so many wounds that he was bleeding almost dry.

I don't know when it will completely collapse.

He was on the verge of death, something Su Muying was well aware of.

It must be said that Xie Linyuan's self-harm and self-abuse did indeed elicit a trace of pity and heartache from her, a trace of unbearable sorrow.

Every time Su Muying saw his wounds and his blood, every time she felt sorry for him, the fear and resistance she had for him that was deeply rooted in her heart would waver.

It would confuse her, it would make her wonder... Is this really Xie Linyuan?

Is Xie Linyuan really that kind of person?

But when she looked up and saw his sharp profile in the firelight, the bloodthirsty, excited smile on his thin lips, and his long, drooping peach blossom eyes, she realized that this was indeed Xie Linyuan.

He stood in front of her, covered in wounds and blood, to protect her.

He smiled and told her that he would take her away from here.

Instead of locking her in the dark as in the nightmare, he would always look at her with a pair of cold, dark eyes, watching her laugh and watching her cry. Those eyes were affectionate yet cruel, but without a trace of warmth.

Is that nightmare... about to disappear?

Is Xie Linyuan, like that, also going to disappear...?

Su Muying didn't know.

She didn't have time to think about these things at the moment.

The crowd surged forward like a tide, and then quickly receded like a tide.

Xie Linyuan killed all those who surrounded him.

Xie Linyuan wielded his sword and carved a bloody path through the enemy with each strike.

Su Muying was always protected by him within a safe range.

When Xie Linyuan had suffered countless knife and sword wounds and was barely clinging to life, he finally managed to fight his way out.

Blood flowed like a river, and the remaining people hesitated and dared not step forward when faced with him alone.

The corpses were right at their feet; going up would only mean certain death.

Xie Linyuan was truly bloodthirsty; his eyes seemed to have turned bloodshot. Seeing the crowd showing signs of retreating, he seized the opportunity and broke through.

"Useless trash! All of you, charge at this general's gate!"

"He's at his last gasp! With so many of us, how can we not kill him!"

These people were still hesitant, all trembling, and could barely hold their knives.

The person in front of me is absolutely terrifying; he's practically a demon descended from the heavens!

No one dared to step forward anymore.

"Those who retreat will be court-martialed!"

"Charge!"

"Archers, prepare! Fire!"

Wu Zizhuo immediately beheaded two retreating men, which finally stabilized the demoralized army.

Archers fired arrows from behind, and the arrows rained down like a storm. Xie Linyuan held Su Muying to his side and deflected them with one hand while wielding his sword.

As they approached the camp entrance, Xie Linyuan seized a warhorse. He grabbed Su Muying by the waist with one hand, pulled her onto the horse, and held her in his arms.

"Ying'er, quick! Stick the knife into the horse!"

Upon hearing this, Su Muying pulled out a dagger, gritted her teeth, and plunged it into the horse's belly.

Blood spurted out immediately, the horse let out a long neigh, then raised its front hooves and galloped wildly out of the camp.

"Fire the arrows! Fire them now!"

"We must not let them escape from the camp!"

"Shoot the arrows!"

Wu Zizhuo's frantic shouts rang out behind him, and arrows rained down. Xie Linyuan blocked them with his backhand, but at this moment, his overexerted body had reached its limit.

His hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably, and blood flowed down his arm to his wrist, staining his fingers red.

His movements also slowed down.

But, but...

Xie Linyuan bit his tongue and forced his trembling hand to grip the sword. He raised the sword to block the arrows, but this time, when he was exhausted, he could not defend himself.

Countless arrows rained down upon him, which he barely managed to deflect. He then held Su Muying tightly in his arms, protecting her completely from harm.

But now, all he can do is protect her.

An arrow pierced his shoulder, followed immediately by another.

Xie Linyuan let out a muffled groan, and blood began to seep uncontrollably from the corner of his lips.

Drops of blood fell onto the girl's pure white dress, turning the white into a glaring crimson in the blink of an eye.

It's dirty, he's made it dirty again...

The horse was still galloping. Xie Linyuan looked down and hugged the girl in his arms even tighter.

The horse charged out of the camp, but a large number of soldiers were guarding the direction where Qingshan was leading his troops to meet them. Xie Linyuan was hanging on by a thread, like a taut string that would snap at any moment. He was no longer able to fight.

Xie Linyuan tightened the reins and turned the horse, which galloped towards the deep mountains on the other side, leaving the pursuers behind.

The horse, wounded, galloped wildly forward. Ahead lay a mountainside covered in dense forest. When the horse collapsed from exhaustion, Xie Linyuan grabbed her waist with one hand and placed the other hand behind her head, then jumped off the horse with Su Muying in his arms, rolling onto the fallen leaves.

All around was silent, except for the soft rustling of the wind through the leaves and the sound of the withered leaves rolling to the ground.

Once Xie Linyuan confirmed that Su Muying was safe, the tension in his heart immediately dissipated.

Xie Linyuan lowered his hands and collapsed onto the withered leaves, his limbs outstretched, making him look even more like a withered leaf.

"It should be safe now..."

"It's alright now..."

"Ying'er is alright now..."

He lay on the ground, looking at the half-moon hanging between the branches of the trees, muttering to himself incessantly.

But as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, his chest heaved violently. The next moment, he suddenly and uncontrollably vomited blood, which gushed from his lips like a fountain.

Su Muying knelt beside him, her dress spread out, the white dress completely stained red by his blood, the hem of the dress beneath her like a bright blood-red lotus flower.

She was completely stunned, her pupils dilated, and tears welled up in her eyes, shimmering and gushing out from the corners of her eyes.

She stared blankly at Xie Linyuan before her, frozen in place, seemingly oblivious, but her tears fell like crystal-clear pearls.

Perhaps they were frightened, perhaps they were startled, or perhaps it was something else entirely.

"It's me, I... cough... oh, I scared you..."

Spitting out mouthfuls of blood, Xie Linyuan could sense his consciousness rapidly fading. With his last ounce of strength, he spoke, "Ying'er, just leave me here. You...you find a cave to hide in. No, don't make a sound. Go find Qingshan after dawn..."

After explaining the matter, tears suddenly streamed from his peach blossom eyes, mingling with the specks of blood on his face.

"Ying'er, I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"I did it before, I did something wrong..."

"I'm sorry..."

Xie Linyuan, in a weak, breathy voice, kept apologizing to her.

With each word he spoke, his chest heaved violently, and he coughed up blood.

"I don't want to hurt you, but..."

"You don't need to forgive me, and you don't need to feel like you owe me anything... I did all of this willingly, entirely of my own free will..."

He even felt that seeing her tears for him before he died was a mercy from heaven.

Xie Linyuan cried as he spoke, but in the end, he raised his lips and smiled calmly.

"Ying'er, when you offer incense to my brother in the future, could you offer one stick for me as well?"

"Please, please..."

His voice trembled uncontrollably as he looked at the face before him and couldn't help but raise his hand to touch her.

It's like touching the bright moon in the sky.

Will the bright moon, hanging high in the sky, and its pure light fall upon him?

Just take pity on him.

Have pity on him...

Su Muying, have pity on me...

Xie Linyuan raised his blood-stained hand.

Those were beautiful hands, so beautiful that they didn't seem like the hands of someone who had been through countless battles and killed countless people.

The fingers were distinct, with long, slender bones and thin calluses on the fingertips. The unblemished nails gleamed a cold white in the moonlight.

But at this moment, as he trembled and convulsively reached out his hand to the woman in front of him, his blood-stained hand, with its prominent, distinct knuckles, appeared particularly horrifying under the moonlight.

It looked like a hand reaching out from hell.

Wanting to grasp at that sliver of redemption.

In the moonlight filtering through the trees, Xie Linyuan lay amidst layers of withered leaves, his face deathly pale, more ethereal than the moonlight itself. The blood stained his body, however, strangely transformed into a vibrant hue.

Su Muying looked at him like this, looked at him in horror, and her stiff hand moved uncontrollably, and for some reason she also raised it.

However, in the quiet moonlight, she watched helplessly as the blood-stained hand suddenly stopped just before it was about to touch her.

It was right next to her lips, just inches away.

Su Muying blinked, feeling as if her heart was being squeezed tightly by something, as was her neck; she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe.

Then, when the hand dropped just before it could touch her, Su Muying's heart slammed heavily to the ground.