Chapter 48 I Want to Give Up the Mission
"Impossible!" Ning Xuanzhou increased the force of his struggle. "Help! Help!"
“No one will come,” Xiao Sui said. “I have already used an array to isolate this place, so the people outside cannot hear your voice.”
Ning Xuanzhou didn't believe it and shouted desperately until his throat was hoarse before finally stopping. He glared at them angrily and finally believed Xiao Sui's words.
But then, as if suddenly remembering something, he forced a smile, curving his eyes and lips into a gentle expression, which looked incredibly strange.
"Xiaoqi, I was confused for a moment. I made a mistake. Please forgive me this time, okay? Think about our past. I truly loved you. Can you just erase that love because of this man?"
He softened his tone, “Have you forgotten that you were sickly when you were little and your father wouldn’t let you leave the palace? Whatever new things or food you wanted, I would secretly bring them back for you. You would eat them under the covers when your father wasn’t looking. Later, when your father found out about this, he didn’t punish you, but he beat me up. You were still crying and begging your father not to hit me.”
As he spoke, those images truly surfaced in her mind, and a feeling of nostalgia welled up from the depths of her heart.
"And that time you were kidnapped at the hunting grounds, I was the first to lead people to find you, and you hugged me and cried your heart out, refusing to let go no matter what."
That memory quickly resurfaced in her mind; it was a truly embarrassing recollection of the past.
Looking at Ning Xuanzhou's current state, she felt a surge of more complex and varied emotions than she had anticipated.
She was caught off guard. Why were Princess He Xi's memories clearer, more vivid, and more touching than her own?
Is it because of the influence of this body? Or is there another reason?
Ning Xi didn't have time to think about it. She interrupted Ning Xuanzhou's memories, her voice cold and hard, "Those are all in the past. You are no longer the same person you were before. Half a month ago, you really wanted to kill me."
"Xiaoqi, I was just momentarily blinded by greed, please let me go," Ning Xuanzhou pleaded.
Ning Qi did feel a pang of pity, but she quickly hardened her heart. "It's too late."
Ning Xuanzhou's voice turned pained, his breathing became heavy, and he soon began to roar, making low and rapid sounds in his throat. He had begun to mutate.
“Princess, please stand further away,” Xiao Sui said.
Ning Qi and Qian Yu retreated to the doorway, and in the cold moonlight, Xiao Sui raised his sword.
Before Ning Xuanzhou's roar had even stopped, he had already sheathed his sword.
The next instant, a line of blood appeared on Ning Xuanzhou's neck, and a large amount of blood gushed out, forming a blood mist.
Qianyu covered Ningxi's eyes, and once she could no longer hear the Corpse Demon's deep, urgent voice, she asked, "Shall we leave?"
Ning Qi nodded, her emotions a jumbled mess that lingered until she returned to her room.
Xiao Sui washed away the bloodstains, changed into clean clothes, and returned to the room. He came to her, took her hand, and asked, "Princess, are you sad?"
Ning Qi squeezed his fingers. "Mmm."
She didn't know why he stirred up such strong emotions in her. He was a stranger to her, and those memories were just images implanted in her mind; they shouldn't still evoke emotions.
"I'm sorry." Xiao Sui squatted down and apologized, "It was my presumption to torture him with the demonic insects."
Ning Qi shook his head. "He indirectly harmed Gu Xinxue and Aunt Zheng by using the demonic insects. Now he has died from the infection of the demonic insects. He deserves to die."
"Then why are you so sad?" Xiao Sui asked.
“I was just…” Ning Qi was silent for a long time, “...touched by the past he mentioned.”
The system said in her mind: "Host, what you are feeling is the original owner's emotions. You have been affected by her. Once the mission is over, you can have your memories cleaned."
"Really?" Ning Qi was skeptical. She felt that there was something wrong with her memory, and coupled with the system's previous concealment, her trust in the system had dropped significantly, and she dared not fully believe what it said.
The system seemed to sense her emotions and continued, "We've fought side by side for a long time, and we can only complete missions by trusting each other. It was wrong of me to hide things from you before, and I won't do it again."
Before Ning Qi could speak, she was pulled into a warm embrace filled with the scent of grass and trees.
Xiao Sui gently cupped her head and said, "If you're sad, you can vent on me."
Ning Qi immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and buried herself completely in his embrace.
The "wall" made of black cloth isolated him from everything outside. It was completely dark, and apart from the sound of his heartbeat, there was no other sound.
It's so comforting that you become completely absorbed in it and never want to leave.
"System, can I abandon the mission?" Ning Qi asked in her mind after a long time.
The system remained silent for an even longer time. "Are you giving up on waiting for your family and deciding to stay in this fictional world? I remind you, the villain will eventually be killed by the protagonist; this is an ending he cannot change. Since you want to stay with him, can you face the final outcome?"
"Can't it be changed?" Ning Xi asked. "I don't think Xiao Sui is the kind of person you described at all. Maybe she won't go against the male lead in the future, and then he won't kill her, right?"
"Without a villain opposing the protagonist, he won't become a god, the entire storyline will collapse, and the small world will crumble," the system's cold voice said.
"So I have no choice but to continue the mission following the storyline?"
“Yes,” the system said. “If you choose to abandon the mission, you will definitely pay a heavy price. I never recommend that the host make such a choice.”
Ning Qi tightened her arms, getting even closer to Xiao Sui.
Even so, she didn't want to let him go at all.
That's what her intuition told her. She didn't know whether she should trust her intuition.
They did not linger in Shuofang City. After a short rest, they used the teleportation array under the cover of night to return to the Huaguang Sect's courtyard.
Ning Qi was unable to sleep because of her thoughts. When she closed her eyes, she could still see Ning Xuanzhou's image, sometimes kind and friendly, sometimes ferocious and terrifying.
She simply opened her eyes and sat up.
Xiao Sui, who was lying on the chaise lounge, immediately asked, "Can't you sleep?"
Ning Qi nodded, "Come and keep me company."
After the rustling of fabric, steady footsteps approached her, and Xiao Sui lay down beside her, bringing with him the cool night breeze.
Ning Qi immediately pulled back the covers and covered him, finding a comfortable position in his arms.
Xiao Sui gently patted her back to lull her to sleep.
Ning Qi stayed still for a while, then asked in a muffled voice, "Xiao Sui, what will you do if I leave?"
"I'll follow you wherever you go," Xiao Sui replied without hesitation.
“What if I go somewhere I don’t need you to come with me?” She lifted her head from his chest.
Xiao Sui looked confused. "Then I'll wait for you to come back."
"What if I don't come back?" she pressed.
Xiao Sui thought for a moment, "I will come to you. If you don't want to see me, I will watch you from afar and not appear in front of you."
"What if I'm somewhere you can't find me?"
Xiao Sui lowered his head, his expression blank. After a moment, he said, "I will keep looking for you. If I can't find you, I probably won't live..."
Just by asking, his face had already turned ashen, and even his lips were pale.
Ningxi leaned closer and silenced his ominous words with a kiss on the corner of his lips. "Okay, it was just a hypothetical."
Xiao Sui's hand gripped her lower back, the burning heat soothing her. The two pressed tightly together, as if afraid she would disappear.
I really can't live without her.
While being kissed until she was dizzy, Ning Qi wondered how she could help her complete her mission.
Maybe I should just follow my heart.
——
The news of Ning Xuanzhou's death did not reach the palace until three days later. The emperor paused slightly in his writing, and the ink quickly spread.
He asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
The eunuch said tremblingly, "It is said that he died from illness caused by the change in environment."
The emperor threw away the ink-stained paper, paused for a moment, and said, "I understand. You may leave."
The eunuch quickly left the room, saying that the second prince was truly unlucky. First, he was blinded by a villain and lost his chance to inherit the throne. Then, he was denounced, lost his title, and was exiled to the northern desert. Now, he died far from home before even arriving. It was truly pitiful and lamentable.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire palace, finally reaching the ears of Consort Qin, who was confined to the Cold Palace.
Upon hearing the news, she swayed violently several times; had it not been for her maid supporting her, she would have surely fallen.
"Is the news true? Is it Xuanzhou? Could they have sent it to the wrong person?" she asked, clinging to her last hope.
The maid shook her head. "The news is accurate. The emperor has ordered a grand funeral for His Highness, which has at least preserved His Highness's dignity in the end."
Consort Qin seemed to lose her support, collapsing into a chair and weeping, covering her face, "What's the use? My son is gone!"
She suddenly grabbed the maid with tremendous force, asking, "How did he die?"
The maid told her what she had heard. Consort Qin was in a daze for a long time, and hatred gradually appeared in her eyes. Her long, red fingernails dug into her flesh. "If it weren't for that bitch Ning Qi's meddling, my child wouldn't have been sent to the Northern Desert and lost his life in vain! Please help me send a message to my father and tell him to find someone to kill her!"
"Your Majesty, the princess is the Emperor's favorite, and we are afraid we cannot touch her. If something happens to her, and the Emperor investigates thoroughly, it will inevitably implicate the Qin family," the maid advised.
"We can't worry about that now," Consort Qin said. "I've lost my future and my support. Sooner or later, our Qin family will become a thorn in the emperor's side. Do you think he'll let us go if he doesn't kill Ning Qi?"
"Your Majesty, we must not act impulsively and ruin the entire Qin family."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
The maid opened her mouth, then hesitated before saying, "Actually, I once heard a rumor from my fellow villager."
Consort Qin glanced at her, "What rumor?"
“My fellow villager said… this Princess Hexi might not be the real Princess Hexi.”
"What did you say?!" Consort Qin stood up in shock.
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