Chapter 162: The Truth: Bonfire Night [VIP]
When the sun had completely set, Xiao Yun and his group returned to the temporary residence provided to them by the "Assassin's Order".
Xiao Yun brought Tari and others into the living room and saw Yaris talking to the visiting Alans. Both of them had a dark smile on their faces, which was a result of calculating interests.
"you--"
"We are discussing the North City situation."
Upon seeing Xiao Yun, Yaris's eyes suddenly brightened. "Alans said he had already reached an agreement with him. The North City District will be completely under the jurisdiction of the Assassin's Order. Incidents like last night will not happen again."
"So—you actually received news of what happened in North City last night?"
"Yes."
Alan nodded frankly. "The Order has a deal with you, and with Him as well. He's tired of the fools entrenched in the North City and decided to eliminate them, and at the same time deter any rebel sympathizers hiding in the South City."
"——Those are real lives!"
Xiao Yun emphasized angrily.
Alans smiled. "Things easily obtained without paying a high price, even if they are priceless, will not be cherished as they should be. Struggle requires bloodshed. Only when blood flows like a river can those who come after understand that victory is hard won."
"...I want you to leave the room immediately, because I'm trying to suppress the urge to hit someone!"
"no problem."
Alans stood up, smiled at Yaris, and walked out of the room.
As he passed by Tari, Alans paused, a hint of hidden sarcasm crossing his elegant lips.
…
"elder brother--"
As soon as Alans left, Xiao Yun couldn't help but say, "You know he—"
"Apart from blood ties and family ties, the only thing that remains unchanging among people is their interests."
Yaris smiled bitterly and said, "Before I accept the invitation to enter the Golden City, I must first understand the interests of him and the Star Cult."
"All right……"
Xiao Yun sighed and said with emotion: "Your mind is too delicate and sensitive. No wonder your body is getting thinner and thinner."
"But you like to indulge me."
Yaris looked up and saw Romila and Tari standing at the door. "Romila, is this Mr. Tari, the renowned military master and 'the first brain of the Green Scarf Army'?"
"Yes! It's me! I'm Tari."
Tari, who was named, puffed out his chest and ran to Yaris. His lips trembled, his body stiff, and he looked at Yaris with great excitement.
"I know I'm a talented person, different from ordinary people, but I never thought... that my name would reach your ears... The moment I heard your elegant voice say my name, I felt truly happy."
He stretched out his dark and rough hands and tried to grab Yaris's hand, but Xiao Yun hurriedly stopped him.
Yaris also twitched and said, "Mr. Tari, I'm very sorry, my wrist is badly injured and I can't even pick up a spoon."
“…It’s okay! It’s okay!”
Tari took a deep breath, his bumpy cheeks flushed red, and he knelt on the ground.
"This afternoon, the moment I saw Lord Claude in the square leading to the North City, I felt my heart beating wildly as if it were on fire. Now I see you again - there is no doubt that you brothers are the ones I have been waiting for!"
[…What is this guy talking about? ]
Xiao Yun was extremely unhappy and wished that Tari would shut up immediately.
Yaris leaned on Xiao Yun's shoulder, showing his best polite and polite cold smile which concealed disdain, sarcasm and gloominess.
"Do you really think we're the one you've been waiting for all these years?"
"Of course! If anyone thinks I'm crazy because of this, then they must not understand my true feelings."
Tari looked up, his eyes filled with twisted love at Xiao Yun, who didn't even want to look at him, and Yaris, who didn't seem to reject him. He sighed, "So far, I've met thousands of people, but only you! You are different! I've never felt the existence of fate so clearly as I do now!"
He stared at the two of them intently, as if flattering them and expressing his love.
"Before becoming the military master of the Green Scarf Army, I learned a lot. I could read people, the sky, and the wind. I also knew how to control people's hearts. If I had been born into a noble family, I would have become Prime Minister or even King by now. Unfortunately, I am a commoner, an ugly bastard. Even if I could show all my talents, I can only be the military advisor of an army composed entirely of idiots!"
"...But now, I have found my destiny! I can finally hold my head high and pursue what I truly desire! Ah! The black eyes are the embodiment of the King of Death, and the black hair is crowned with an invisible crown of death... And beside death, burns a blazing, strong, straight flame of light! You were born to move the stars and change the direction of the world... and I am the driving force behind your destiny!"
"Hello! Hello! Hello!"
Xiao Yun couldn't bear to listen any longer and interrupted Tari, who was completely immersed in his own world: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
""
Tari grinned.
"The golden crown that fate has bestowed upon our heads! It's a crown that looks very much like Lord Claude's~"
“That’s enough!”
Xiao Yun, take him out."
"yes."
Kelly stepped forward and asked Tari to leave.
Tari looked at the two of them unwillingly and said breathlessly, "You really don't want the crown? I'm the only one who knows how to let you wear the crown! So, please think about it carefully again! Accept my advice!"
"Romila—"
"clear!"
Romila stepped forward and dragged Tari out of the room.
After Tari left——
Xiao Yun commented helplessly, "This guy seems to be very superstitious about his own talent, and unknowingly let all his desires be aroused by you."
"Like I said, I'm good at dealing with idiots like this who have dirty desires burning in every pore of their bodies."
Yaris curled his lips into a smile and commented disdainfully, "Because they have long lived among people who are far inferior to them in every way, they have developed a false sense of self-esteem. Therefore, they are dissatisfied with the status quo and believe that those around them are unworthy of them. They yearn for a more prestigious position and more refined friends..."
"So you're going to use him?"
"certainly."
Yaris told Xiao Yun with interest: "I deliberately showed kindness to Tari to ignite his inner desires, so as to control him and use his power to improve Johnny's status in the Qingjin Army."
"Once Johnny's position is secure and Luke has completed the necessary training, he can join the Green Scarf Army and gradually seize its leadership."
Yaris added.
"It turns out you were doing this for me from the beginning to the end."
"My health is too poor to achieve victory on the battlefield, so I can only devote all my attention to studying conspiracies and intrigues."
Yaris looked into Xiao Yun's eyes and said word by word: "For your honor and my dream, I will do anything without hesitation!"
…
…
"What beautiful and lively fireworks... We are about to bid farewell to the bustling city and head deep into the mountains and forests..."
A hoarse whisper like a sigh escaped from the carriage.
The young man in black next to the carriage pulled the reins and asked in a low voice, "What are you worried about?"
"Nothing."
In the carriage, Yaris shook his head slightly.
Xiao Yun glanced at the heavily guarded checkpoint, lowered his head, and continued to move forward as planned.
…
“Stop!”
The checkpoint guards stopped the carriage and shouted, "Who are you? Where are you going?"
Upon hearing this, Samit immediately dismounted, holding up his pass and loudly explaining, "My name is Samit, and I'm from Shangling Province on the southwestern border. My family is one of the top three families in Kada, the capital of Shangling Province..."
"That's exactly what it says on the pass."
The guard raised his head and looked at the carriage and Xiao Yun, who was wearing a black cloak beside it. "Who is in the carriage? And who is the man next to the carriage?"
"The people in the carriage are my pregnant wife Lily and her cousin who has limited mobility."
As she spoke, Lily opened the car door and explained, her pregnant belly protruding, "I'm Samit's wife, also from Shangling Province. The other person in the car is my cousin... Five years ago, she and her husband, a businessman, moved to the southern part of the imperial capital... The fire a month ago not only burned down their house and property, but also... also..."
"To escape, my cousin and her husband jumped from the third-floor balcony. Unfortunately, my cousin's husband died from the fall... My cousin survived, but both her legs were broken, and her face... her face was covered in burns. She couldn't face anyone..."
“—That’s too tragic.”
The people waiting in line behind the carriage to cross the checkpoint all shed tears of sympathy as they listened to the tearful story.
The guard was also touched by these words. He looked at the poor woman wrapped in a black headscarf beside Lily with sympathy and said helplessly: "According to the regulations, you must take off your veil for inspection!"
"Um……"
Lily turned around and helped her "cousin" take off the veil, revealing a swollen face covered with burn scars - not only was her entire face covered with scars, but most of the burns had not healed. The surface of the scars was coated with a dark red liquid, and above the liquid was stuck the light yellow tissue fluid that had seeped from the wound.
"My cousin also has burn scars on her hands..."
Lily choked up and grabbed her "cousin's" bandaged left hand. "Do you need to remove the bandage and check it?"
"Need not!"
The guard blurted out, then looked at the man in black beside the carriage: "Who is this person?"
"He's a professional mercenary hired by my wife and me. The journey from the imperial capital to Shangling Province is long, and without the protection of a mercenary..."
"I know!"
The guard interrupted Samit impatiently and squinted at the man in black: "This guy smells... Hey! How long has it been since you took a shower and washed your clothes?"
"Don't talk nonsense! I just took a shower half a month ago! And I bought my clothes a few days ago!"
Xiao Yun deliberately spoke in a rude tone.
"Half a month ago..."
The guard thought for a moment and ordered Xiao Yun to take off his hood.
Xiao Yun nodded, took off his hood, revealing a bronze face with three hideous scars.
"This skin color... these scars... and this sour smell of not having showered..."
The soldier pinched his nose and shouted, "Let them go!"
…
After leaving the checkpoint, the convoy walked along the main road for a while and then turned onto a small road. After several twists and turns, it stopped by a stream next to the forest.
Xiao Yun dismounted first and threw aside the spice bag in his pocket that was used to emit the sour smell. "This smell..."
Then he took the towel handed to him by Samit and wiped off the paint and fake skin on his face, revealing a handsome face that no one would forget after seeing it.
"Huh, finally feeling comfortable."
Xiao Yun sighed and opened the carriage door: "Brother, how do you feel now?"
"good--"
With Lily's help, Yaris took off his scorched wig and the fake skin stuck to his face and said softly, "I'm a burden to everyone. If my health wasn't so bad, we wouldn't have to plan such a complicated evacuation plan..."
"In my opinion, nothing is more important than my brother!"
"His Majesty--"
Samit suddenly spoke up.
"What's up?"
"The agreed time is almost here, why haven't they shown up yet?"
"oh?"
Xiao Yun narrowed his eyes and looked at the dark woods beside the stream.
…
This is the border of Luohe Province, less than a hundred miles away from the imperial capital. A full month has passed since the shocking incident of a golden dragon sleeping under the Grand Palace suddenly waking up, spreading its wings and flying, causing a fire in the imperial capital.
During this month, Xiao Yun and others, with the assistance of the "Assassin's Order" and the Green Turban Army, successfully evaded his multiple rounds of rigorous searches, and left the imperial capital in batches three days ago, agreeing to meet at the Kuda Forest on the border of Luohe Province.
The first people to set off were Johnny and Tari.
According to the plan, they will bring Xiao Yun and others into the secret base of the Qingjin Army hidden deep in the Kuda Forest before dark today. After meeting with the top leaders of the Qingjin Army, the Qingjin Army will escort Xiao Yun and others to the next location to meet with Luke and others and go to the Golden City hidden in the mountains together.
Now, it was almost completely dark, but the Green Scarf Army did not appear.
Xiao Yun couldn't help but start to consider the worst possible scenario -
(Given Tari's greed and caution, even if he betrays us again, he won't betray us so quickly. However—if the "demon spores" are implanted in his body...)
"what's on your mind?"
Yaris's voice rang out.
"I wonder if they had an accident."
Xiao Yun said bluntly: "This is a very likely scenario."
"Of course, we have to acknowledge that this is a very real problem."
Yaris smiled and said, "If our escape fails, we will be imprisoned by Him in a secret cell, awaiting His carefully planned sacrifice of the Holy City. All those who have helped us will be sent to the torture platform, severely tortured, have their limbs cut off, and be torn to pieces."
"I see."
"No, you don't understand."
Yaris said sullenly, "His sacrificial array is faulty. If the sacrifice succeeds, a misfortune even more terrible than the gods' destruction of the Eternal Empire will befall. The entire planet of Ella will instantly become a sea of blood, leaving only flames and death before it ultimately returns to darkness. Everything is just like the dream Alfonso once described to you and me."
"...So what is the truth?"
Xiao Yun asked anxiously.
Yaris lowered his head: "I can't say."
"I've heard this sentence hundreds of times. I'm tired of this hesitant attitude!"
Xiao Yun shouted, "Tell me the truth! Give me enough clues!"
"……All right."
Yaris took a breath and said, "Have you ever played with magnets?"
"certainly."
"Magnets have positive and negative poles. The positive and negative poles attract each other. This is the golden law of the universe. But if..."
Yaris grabbed Xiao Yun's hand.
"If someone tried to combine the positive poles of a magnet with the positive poles, or the negative poles with the negative poles... ignoring the golden rule of the universe and forcing things that absolutely shouldn't combine to combine, what kind of disaster would that bring to the world?"
"meeting……"
Xiao Yun's breathing involuntarily became rapid.
He thought of dark matter weapons and antimatter weapons.
…
…
As night was about to fall, Johnny's support team finally showed up.
Under the leadership of the Green Scarf Army soldiers who were familiar with the dense forest, Xiao Yun and others walked along a temporary path opened up by chopping branches and vines along the way with swords and knives, and came to a military fortress that was almost submerged by trees, shrubs, vines and weeds in the forest.
"This was once the military fortress of the Luoxi Kingdom. Two hundred years ago, He destroyed the Luoxi Kingdom and divided its land into the Luohe Province and the Luxi Province. This castle has been forgotten ever since."
At this time, the moon had risen, and white bones and skulls were vaguely visible in the dense grass.
"Back then, countless soldiers from the Luoxi Kingdom sacrificed their lives here to stop his army... Yet, Luoxi was ultimately destroyed... The soldiers' bodies, denied a proper burial, gradually became nutrients for plants. The people who originally lived on Luoxi's land also fiercely resisted, and after the fall of their kingdom, they suffered the fate of being massacred..."
Johnny said sadly, "I admit He is powerful. He is as high and mighty as a god, practically invincible. But as a remnant of the Losi Nation—even if I know resistance is like an egg hitting a stone—I will never compromise! I cannot forgive Him, and I have no right to forgive Him on behalf of my ancestors!"
"I understand how you feel."
Xiao Yun looked at this simple man with pity.
…
As the night deepened, in the sparsely populated forest, people set up seven or eight tents against an abandoned fortress and lit a huge bonfire in the middle. After removing the fur and internal organs of the hunted animals, they either roasted them on thick sticks or put them into a pot and stewed them with wild vegetables and mushrooms.
Soon, the whole area was filled with the rich aroma of food, and almost everyone was intoxicated by it.
Xiao Yun was worried that Yaris would not be able to eat such rough food, so he specially crushed the stewed meat into minced meat, poured thick soup on it, and brought it to Yaris, who immediately hid in the tent after getting off the carriage because he could not stand the cold wind.
"Kellyll and the others won't be here to meet us until tomorrow noon, so tonight—"
"I'm not as delicate as you think."
Yaris leaned against Xiao Yun, trying hard to open his mouth and eat the food, with tears of reluctance in his eyes.
"Sure enough, this meat is still too rough."
"These foods are very delicate, but—"
Yaris looked up and saw Xiao Yun's beautiful jawline: "My body is gradually losing the desire to eat."
"Why? Your body isn't..."
"Remember the metaphor of the positive and negative poles of a magnet? I'm someone who shouldn't exist in this world. No matter how hard I try to become a part of it, it will strongly reject my existence."
"You're always so pessimistic."
"Because you don't know the truth yet."
Yaris said helplessly.
Outside the tent, the sounds of Green Scarf Army members singing and drinking around the campfire could be heard.
"Will it be too noisy?"
Xiao Yun asked worriedly, "You've always had trouble sleeping. You can't fall asleep if there's even a little noise."
"With you by my side, I can sleep peacefully in any environment..."
Yaris spoke softly, interlocking his fingers with Xiao Yun's: "Your hand is so warm. If I could hold this hand forever, and rely on this warmth forever... how wonderful it would be..."
"Then we'll sleep together tonight."
Xiao Yun said softly, pulling the blanket over Yaris and himself.
…
The noise outside continued until late at night before gradually subsiding.
Yaris kept holding Xiao Yun's hand, leaning in his arms with his eyes closed, his breathing so weak that it seemed non-existent, and his pale cheeks were covered with the shadow of death.
[Xiao... do you regret coming to our world? ]
【I……】
Xiao Yun didn't know how to answer this question.
Compared to the world you came from, this world is both primitive and barbaric, full of ridiculous superstitions and stupid laws. I always lied to you... and refused to tell you the truth...
It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.
[Do you really not care? ]
Yaris sighed softly, and his thick eyelashes swayed slightly along with the flickering campfire outside the tent.
[Have you really never regretted anything and never hated me? ]
【I have no idea……】
Xiao Yun reached out and brushed away the hair that was stuck to Yaris's cheek due to the moisture from his breath.
Before we first met, I was even more confused and uneasy than you. I was afraid that you would kill me after you discovered that the soul in this body was no longer the original Lucien... But after seeing you in person, I was deeply fascinated by you and could not leave you at all...
At the beginning, I thought my love for you was a continuation of the feelings left by the original Lucien in this body... Now I think that the feelings between us actually come from an older, more genuine attraction deep in our hearts... You are the other half of my soul, and I am the other half of your soul. To use the positive and negative poles of a magnet as an analogy - you are the negative pole of the magnet, and I am the positive pole of the magnet. No matter how far apart we are, we will instinctively miss each other. Once we meet, we don't want to part...
[Yes, there is indeed an attraction between us that is purer and more inseparable than that between most brothers who share the same father and mother...]
Yaris buried his head completely in Xiao Yun's arms, listening to his heartbeat.
"Only with you can I truly relax, free from nightmares, afraid of falling asleep and never waking up... Our souls are intertwined twins, forcibly separated by jealous gods... Yet, even across a universe, we still miss each other, longing to hold each other's hands..."
"Yaris..."
A strange and distorted expression suddenly passed across Xiao Yun's face.
The bonfire shone through the tent cloth into the narrow tent. In the dim light, Yaris was pale and transparent like a ghost, except for his black hair that shone.
(In my eyes, Lord Yaris is made entirely of this substance.)
(That substance you see is death.)
(I just came back from the other side of death, and I smell of death.)
"...Luke's feeling is correct. My body is a container that contains the original darkness. I am made entirely of death, and you are the light. You are made of light."
Yaris's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Darkness always loves light, is obsessed with light, and entangles light, even if he knows from the beginning that light has countless better choices besides darkness."
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