To be together in life and death

"What a sophistry!" Tang Qi laughed loudly. "Isn't caring about these things just proof that you're the one who despises us the most? Do you think we're here only because they're women?"

“Forty-nine, fifty…” Cheng Junshi continued counting slowly. Tang Qi glanced at him and quickly added, “You’re wrong. What we’re here to save is a ‘person,’ an independent, living ‘person,’ not a trapped beast bound by any ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ or any identity.”

"Don't you think it's ridiculous? You use the phrase 'their value is far more than that' to elevate them to some inexplicable height. Which of the choices you speak of isn't using them to fulfill your ambitions?" Tang Qi looked into Jiao Niang's eyes and continued earnestly, "Don't try to cover up your crimes. They are not a fig leaf for you. Women should live and grow as they see fit, not be imprisoned here by you. Whether you whip them or encourage them, your cage ultimately restricts them. If they don't strive upwards, they have no way to survive. Is this how you see women as they should be?"

"Seventy-three, seventy-four..."

"You don't allow them to stop, you don't allow them to be weak. Only by striving upwards and becoming stronger can they have the right to live," Tang Qi's voice gradually grew louder. "But what kind of woman is she? Why should you define her? What right do you have to make such rules?"

The beautiful woman stood opposite Tang Qi, her eyes still lowered, coldly staring at him: "Because I am a woman, I understand the plight of women better than you. There are always too few clear-headed people in this world. If I don't help them wake up, am I just going to watch them walk step by step towards a tragic fate?"

"Ninety-five, ninety-six..."

"What is chaos? What is clarity? Only you know best how you want to live your life. You imprison them, you coerce them, how can you guarantee that the clarity you speak of isn't just another pathetic fate? Only you can control your own destiny; your actions can only—"

"Ninety-nine, one hundred!" Along with Cheng Junshi's voice came the rumbling of rocks rolling in from all around.

"Judgment of one's own guilt!"

Fortunately, he and Hu Xingche had previously made a simple trap with rocks as a backup plan, otherwise they would have really been trapped here today.

"kill!"

Standing atop the hill, Hu Xingche, sword in hand, charged down the hill with Jin Beijun beside him. Tang Qi and Wu Shunyi also sprang into action. The latter first seized the sword from the nearest man, protecting Tang Qi as he pulled Cheng Junshi into his arms. The girl holding Lu Juezhen down, seeing the situation was turning against them, attempted to continue threatening him. However, Lu Juezhen suddenly grabbed the sword from her hand and plunged it fiercely into his own neck, shouting towards Tang Qi, "Brother Zhengye, don't worry about me! Take my master and hurry—"

Before Lu Juezhen could even utter the word "escape," he was kicked and fell flat on his face. As soon as he scrambled to his feet, he heard Hu Xingche's mocking voice: "You didn't even resist and just died. You really have guts."

"Here you go!" Hu Xingche tossed him a longsword.

"I...I...I wouldn't dare kill anyone." Lu Juezhen's hands were trembling as he took the bag. Hu Xingche, while dealing with the people around him, glared at him and said, "You dare to kill yourself, why are you afraid to kill them?"

"This is not the same thing at all!" Lu Juezhen nimbly dodged the sword thrusting at him, and under Hu Xingche's resentful gaze, he crept slowly towards him through the crowd, his head in his hands.

Hu Xingche finally kicked down the last thug beside him. At this moment, Lu Juezhen ran to his side for protection. Hu Xingche looked at the thug's harmless starry eyes, sighed angrily, and cursed helplessly: "You can kill someone and still not defend yourself, right? Grip your sword tightly!"

Hu Xingche originally intended to go and help Tang Qi, but now that he was in a bind, he could only prioritize the safety of the two of them. Meanwhile, Wu Shunyi had already joined forces with the Jinbei army to fight their way out. Although Cheng Junshi was wounded by an arrow, he still stood shoulder to shoulder with Tang Qi. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, led the way with their swords and charged straight out of the encirclement.

Just when the group thought they were about to escape, a whistle from the mountainside shattered their hopes. Under the moonlight, a person in a black cloak appeared, surrounded by a multitude of heads that completely blocked out the only light.

"escape!"

Tang Qi immediately turned around and shouted at the crowd.

"Boss! This way!" As soon as Hu Xingche had fought his way through, he immediately waved to Tang Qi. Without any hesitation, Tang Qi immediately led Cheng Junshi to join him. However, at that moment, the opening that had just been made was closed again. Hu Xingche was waving this way when a sharp sword suddenly fell on his head. Tang Qi's eyes widened instantly. He didn't have time to warn him. At the critical moment, Lu Juezhen, who was beside him, suddenly mustered up the courage to grab his sword and thrust it forward. He blocked Hu Xingche's head before the sword could fall. Blood spurted out and covered his face. Lu Juezhen didn't even have time to wipe it away.

"Lu Juezhen!"

His hands were trembling after he killed the man, and his bloodshot eyes looked at Hu Xingche in front of him.

“Sure, didn’t you say you wouldn’t dare kill anyone?” Hu Xingche said with a dazed look in his eyes.

“Of course I’d choose your life over his! If I don’t kill him, you’ll die!” Lu Juezhen’s voice was still trembling.

Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi arrived one after the other, protecting Lu Juezhen and Hu Xingche in the middle, and the four of them formed a circle and slowly moved outwards.

"General Wu! Come this way!" Cheng Junshi shouted at Wu Shunyi after killing the man in front of him.

Wu Shunyi glanced back; the throng of heads hadn't decreased. There was no escape. That was his only thought.

Wu Shunyi ripped off the token from his waist and, steeling his resolve, ordered the remaining soldiers, "Everyone, listen to my command! Escort County Magistrate Cheng and the others out of the mountains at all costs!"

"yes!"

Almost without hesitation, the scattered soldiers suddenly seemed to be twisted together and moved in one direction. Tang Qi and the others were stunned. He turned around and stared blankly at Wu Shunyi. His eye, which had been injured by the explosion, could no longer be opened and was bleeding continuously. But he was still smiling as he looked at Tang Qi: "Everything before was a mistake, but I don't regret it."

Tang Qi steadily took the token that Wu Shunyi had thrown at him from afar. Before he could even react, Wu Shunyi continued, "After you get out, keep heading west. There's a large army stationed there. You know the secret code!"

"kill!"

After saying that word, Wu Shunyi seemed to be in a bloodthirsty rage. His arms and legs were slashed in countless ways, but he still stood guard at the gap that allowed Tang Qi and the others to escape. He didn't look back, and he didn't regret it. He just sneered, "I won't apologize to you. Today, I'll give you my life."

General Wu!

"roll!"

They didn't dare look back and ran forward at breakneck speed, with the sounds of fighting behind them. The four of them finally managed to escape the encirclement and had barely settled down when Cheng Junshi, who was walking in front, suddenly knelt down, his sword falling limply to the side. Tang Qi immediately rushed over and shouted, "Cheng Wang!"

"Master...Master!"

Tang Qi was startled by the coldness of Cheng Junshi's hand as she grasped it. When she turned her gaze to Cheng Junshi's face, she froze on the spot, almost blurting out, "Are you crazy?! Do you know you've been poisoned?!"

Cheng Junshi's lips turned purplish-black, his hand supporting him on Tang Qi's palm trembled violently, and his whole body was covered in cold sweat. He tried to force a smile to tell them that he was fine, but the words that came out of his mouth turned into a pool of black blood. He almost instantly went weak in the legs and fell forward uncontrollably.

"Boss! It's that arrow from before, it's poisoned!"

Hu Xingche pointed to the wound on Cheng Junshi's back that had begun to turn black and shouted.

"You're injured like this and you still dare to use a sword to attack people? You're really something, Cheng Wang." Tang Qi gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger, lifting his arm and putting it on his shoulder to help him walk forward. But Lu Juezhen's expression suddenly changed: "Oh no, Brother Zhengye, someone is catching up with us!"

Tang Qi cursed under his breath, "They're like a persistent ghost."

He turned to look at Hu Xingche, his gaze shifting back and forth between Cheng Junshi and him. Just before Tang Qi finally made up his mind to speak, Cheng Junshi suddenly said with great effort, "I'm not going with them."

He knew that Tang Qi wanted to lure the pursuers away by himself.

Tang Qi turned her head, about to scold him for being so stubborn, when she suddenly met Cheng Junshi's eyes. Cheng Junshi's mind was no longer rational due to the poison, but his eyes were unusually clear. Tang Qi stared at him for a long time, and finally realized that she could not persuade Cheng Junshi, so she simply looked at Hu Xingche and immediately gave a strict order: "Split up, you know where to go."

"Don't worry, boss. You and Shaoqing will definitely, definitely hold on until we come back!"

After Hu Xingche and Lu Juezhen ran away, Tang Qi picked up Cheng Junshi with one hand and carried him on his back. The leaves rustled underfoot as Tang Qi ran fast and steadily. Cheng Junshi's head was close to his ear, his breathing shallow, and his voice so soft that Tang Qi was always afraid there wouldn't be a next time: "Cheng Wang, don't sleep, do you hear me! Say something, talk to me!"

Tang Qi was terrified and uncertain, but Cheng Junshi remained completely still. Tang Qi ran and called out to him, his voice gradually changing from calm to panic and then to fear. Tang Qi's hand holding Cheng Junshi trembled uncontrollably. Just as he was about to put Cheng Junshi down to check if he was dead, Cheng Junshi suddenly laughed in his ear.

It was a very soft laugh, and Tang Qi almost thought he was hallucinating, but the next moment Cheng Junshi's voice came straight into Tang Qi's ears: "Fortunately."

"Luckily?" Hearing his relieved tone, Tang Qi couldn't help but turn around and look at him, saying irritably, "Luckily what? Lucky that you didn't do something stupid?"

"Fortunately, I managed to protect you this time."

Tang Qi suddenly stopped, and Cheng Junshi, still on his back, said with a smile, "Fortunately, this time it wasn't you who got hurt."

Tang Qi's heart skipped a beat. She sniffed and then tightened her grip on his back, laughing, "Yes, you protected me. You're amazing."

He continued to carry Cheng Junshi on his back, the person on his back still speaking softly, but perhaps afraid that Tang Qi would worry, Cheng Junshi actually started talking non-stop the whole way.

"Don't be so impulsive in the future. It's not good."

"Don't be too bad-tempered, but don't be too good-tempered either. Take good care of yourself; your life is precious too."

"Remember to eat, remember not to get hurt, remember..." Cheng Junshi could no longer speak. He mustered his strength and forced a smile, saying, "Remember... you must live."

"The snow this year is too cold; you must go to see the flowers bloom next year."

The footsteps behind him hadn't actually stopped. Tang Qi carried Cheng Junshi and ran for a very long time. In the end, his injured leg was trembling, and he knew he was about to run out of energy.

"Put me down...you can escape on your own," Cheng Junshi said.

Tang Qi, you must live, you absolutely must live.

"What are you doing, trying to put on a self-sacrificing act to fulfill your heroic dream?" Tang Qi panted, but her voice was stubborn: "I won't let you have your way."

Cheng Junshi seemed to be trying to break free from Tang Qi's grasp, using a bit more force, but Tang Qi just stubbornly held him tighter. His eyes were fixed on the front, and he finally said, "If you insist on leaving, I won't stop you. But wherever you go, I'll go. If you die like this, I'll die beside you. We'll either live together or die together. Cheng Junshi, I'm not lying."

Tang Qi's voice was flat, with almost no inflection, but Cheng Junshi knew he was serious.

He indeed stopped moving.

“I’ve seen the flowers bloom this year,” Tang Qi suddenly said.

He held Cheng Junshi tightly on his back, looked ahead, and smiled, saying, "I have no regrets."

I don't regret it.