Yi Shangyun raised his head, looking up into the deep eyes of Xuan Yuanhan, who was struggling under Tuoba Ze's painful stomp, and shouted at him, "Your Highness, let go! Let go now! If you don't let go, His Highness will fall off the cliff and die! The Western Qin Kingdom can do without Yi Shangyun, but it absolutely cannot do without His Highness, the King of Qin!"
At this moment, he lay alone in a thicket of thorns, his wounds throbbing; one hand was being stomped hard by Tuoba Ze, who used almost all his strength to crush it; the other hand had to desperately grip the tree trunk and the woman he loved most at the other end of it. Xuan Yuanhan gritted his teeth and silently endured it all.
Seeing the almost pleading look in Yi Shangyun's eyes, he tried his best to comfort her, saying, "Calm down and don't speak. Conserve your strength and hold on tight. No matter what, don't let go. No matter what happens later, I will not let go, and I will not allow you to let go."
No sooner had they finished speaking than a sudden "bang" was heard. Several cracks appeared in the rocks near the tree root that connected the two of them, and the two of them looked at the tree root at the same time.
That's right, this was just a small tree that couldn't support the weight of an adult, and now it was about to be completely uprooted by Yi Shangyun.
In an instant, many rocks of all sizes broke apart, then formed a line and slid down into the cliff.
Yi Shangyun was stunned by what was happening before her eyes, which was exactly what she had been most worried about.
As if by instinct, she quickly pulled her legs back, curled up, closed her eyes, and gripped the thin tree trunk in her hand with all her might—her only lifeline. She screamed repeatedly, "Ah, ah, ah..."
Just then, the tree roots, which were shallowly buried in the cracks of the rocks, seemed to be awakened by her sudden scream and immediately broke free from the rocks completely.
Xuanyuan Han immediately reacted quickly, increasing his strength and gripping the slippery tree root tightly, saying hurriedly, "It's alright, it's alright, I'm here, I'm here..."
After a long while, Yi Shangyun slowly opened her eyes, looked in horror at the lifeline that was still safely and tightly held in her hand, and then looked up at Xuan Yuanhan's worried face.
Then, still shaken, she glanced down timidly.
Below the almost sheer cliff, the deep valley was shrouded in mist, stretching endlessly into the distance. As she gazed at it, she couldn't help but gasp, and her teeth began to chatter involuntarily.
A moment later, she closed her eyes again, her mind seemingly blank, buzzing.
She kept asking herself, "How could this happen? What should I do?"
Just as she was pondering this, Tuoba Ze, standing on the cliff edge, sneered, pulled the short sword stuck in Xuan Yuanhan's hand with a hiss, and twirled it in his other hand, saying, "You're about to die, yet you two, this lovesick fool, are still so reluctant to part, so bound together in life and death, so inseparable. It's truly touching! But don't even think about it, stop making these futile struggles."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to do?"
Tuoba Ze said, "Hasn't the King of Qin noticed that I haven't made a move yet? If I were to use this short sword in my hand to sever the arm of the King of Qin, the War God renowned throughout the entire Spirit Realm, I wonder what the outcome would be?"
"Why don't you give it a try?" Xuan Yuanhan said coldly.
As Tuoba Ze spoke, he squatted down beside Xuan Yuanhan's supporting arm, brandishing his sword and arrogantly saying, "Prince Qin, don't be in such a hurry. I'm not joking with you. I just haven't decided whether to sever your left or right arm. If you leave it, you can live; you'll only lose the other arm that gripped the tree trunk. But that would mean that ugly girl's death. If I don't leave it, you'll immediately lose the strength supporting your entire weight, and then you and that girl will fall off the cliff together, becoming a pair of truly ghostly lovers! Tsk tsk tsk, this is really a headache. What should I choose?"
"Tuoba Ze, how dare you?" Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun finally stopped thinking, came to his senses, raised his head, and shouted angrily at him.
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze immediately stood up, looked down at Yi Shangyun, his eyes darting around, and said, "Whether I dare or not, you'll find out in a moment. However... for your sake, I might as well give you another path to choose from. To live or to die, it's up to you to choose."
Yi Shangyun frowned, and asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Tuoba Ze sighed softly and said seriously, "I admit that I have truly taken a liking to you, girl. Therefore, I intend to give you one last chance, Yi Shangyun... If you agree to become my concubine, I will immediately spare both of you. Otherwise... don't blame me for being ruthless."
Yi Shangyun sneered and said, "Hmph, you've taken a liking to me? You're probably not interested in me as a person, but rather in me helping you make poison, and... helping you find the whereabouts of that mysterious power in the Western Qin Kingdom, aren't you?!"
Tuoba Ze said indifferently, "Think or say whatever you want. In short, I, the prince, am willing to accept you regardless of your past with this Prince of Qin. So, what are your plans?"
"Tuoba Ze, with me here, girl, you can forget about her. Whether she lives or dies, she can only belong to me." While Yi Shangyun was still hesitating and thinking, Xuan Yuanhan didn't even think about it and stared firmly into Yi Shangyun's eyes before blurting out the words.
"Your Highness!" Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun looked up at Xuan Yuanhan's eyes with deep affection and murmured.
Tuoba Ze instantly flew into a rage, holding his sword to Xuan Yuanhan's ear with one hand and pressing his head down with the other, roaring at him with a ferocious expression, "Xuan Yuanhan, you really won't listen to reason! Even on the verge of death, you're still so arrogant. It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Fine, this prince will grant your wish and let you become a pair of ghostly lovers in the underworld. If you have any last words, speak them quickly. After you've finished, this prince will personally send you on your way."
At this moment, however, Xuan Yuanhan seemed to have nothing to say. Rather than saying he had nothing to say, it would be more accurate to say that everything was understood without words.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun looked at the crazy Tuoba Ze's every move towards Xuan Yuanhan, and then looked at the gentle look in Xuan Yuanhan's eyes as he was firmly imprisoned by him.
The King of Western Qin, the God of War of the Spirit Realm, was once a person as revered as a deity, but now, because of her, he has fallen to such a state, trampled underfoot, his noble head held down, being hurt. Her heart suddenly ached terribly.
She seemed to have never been so heartbroken for a man, not even for Wei Mingxuan.
So, Yi Shangyun took a deep breath, her lips twitched slightly, and then she smiled faintly at Xuan Yuanhan, but tears had already involuntarily slid down her cheeks and been blown away by the wind.
After a moment, she said to Tuoba Ze, "Tuoba Ze, no one in this world is immortal. At most, you will live a few more years. What is there to be happy about? Perhaps, in a few years, it will be your turn."
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze curled his lip in utter disdain.
Then, she turned her gaze back, looking at Xuan Yuanhan with deep affection for a long time, and slowly said, "Your Highness, I'm sorry. All of this is because Yun'er has dragged you down. Yun'er was so foolish. I only wanted to push that villain Tuoba Ze off the cliff by myself. Yun'er did this not because I was overestimating myself, but simply to help Your Highness get rid of the knot in your heart that has been buried for many years. I never expected that I would fall down myself, and I never thought that it would implicate Your Highness and cause you to suffer this humiliation."
"Remove the knot in my heart?" Xuan Yuanhan suddenly murmured, puzzled.
Yi Shangyun pursed her lips, nodded slightly, and continued, "In the days to come, Your Highness, could you please not be sad anymore, and not close your heart again? That way, Your Highness won't be so lonely. Your Highness should smile more often; Your Highness's smile is truly beautiful. Yun'er thinks that the woman who fell off the cliff to save Your Highness, who was about to give birth, if she were still alive, she wouldn't want to see Your Highness in this mad state today..."
"You..." Before Yi Shangyun could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanhan seemed to suddenly remember something and interrupted her, stunned.
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun continued, "If that woman from back then were given another chance to choose, I think she would still choose to fall off this cliff without hesitation to protect Your Highness. Just as Your Highness is willingly and steadfastly protecting me today. Therefore, this is not Your Highness's fault, Your Highness must let go. That woman simply chose the person she willingly wanted to protect, which is Your Highness. And Your Highness, you have to protect this vast Western Qin Kingdom, and even the entire Lingkong Continent in the future. This is all a mission and destiny that Heaven has already arranged for each of us, and no one owes anyone anything."
"Yi Shangyun, you remember everything that happened on New Year's Eve, every single word I said to you. You actually remember it all, don't you?" Xuan Yuanhan asked in surprise.
Yi Shangyun smiled and said, "Yun'er remembers, Yun'er will remember for the rest of her life, for all eternity. Yun'er will remember Your Highness, remember everything Your Highness gave Yun'er that night. Remember all the past between Yun'er and Your Highness in this time and space. Thank you, Your Highness, thank you for all the kindness Your Highness has shown Yun'er."
“Little liar, so you remember everything, you’ve always remembered everything, you actually remember everything, I thought…” Xuan Yuanhan said, weeping with joy.
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