Chapter 108 The Story Ends: Don't Believe Your Brother's Lies
Huangfu Li's eyes lit up, but Jin Suiqing panicked.
How did Kim Si-ok find this place?
She tried to climb toward the iron gate, but before she could take two steps, Huangfu Li lifted her up and held her in his arms like a baby, saying to Li Han, "Let him do it."
Jin Suiqing shook her head repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes, "No, don't come!"
Huangfu Li has gone mad; he won't let them get away with this!
She bit and scratched, kicked and stomped, but couldn't budge Huangfu Li an inch. She could only stare blankly at the iron gate, where the figure she least wanted to see gradually became clear. Jin Suiqing's face was filled with tears, and she cried out, "Jin Shiyu, what are you doing here!"
On the other side of the iron gate, Jin Shiyu, who was waiting for Li Han to open the door, stared at her quietly, directly and without any pretense.
Li Han opened the door and led Jin Shiyu into the basement.
He glanced at Huangfu Li sideways, and with Huangfu Li's approval, quietly locked the iron gate.
The sound of the lock clicking shut was so faint that Jin Shiyu's ears twitched slightly.
The moment he entered, Jin Shiyu looked away and turned to Huangfu Li: "You hurt her. Give her to me."
Huangfu Li laughed wildly, not only refusing to let go but pulling even tighter: "Where's the prototype?"
Jin Shiyu raised his hand, and a dark gold hexagonal cube lay in his palm.
Li Han reached out to take it, but Jin Shiyu suddenly closed his hands: "Let go of your sister first."
Huangfu Li laughed: "If we don't loosen our grip, what about the Kui Dragon that has left Kyushu?"
Jin Shiyu took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress his anger: "Release her first, and I'll take you to ride the Kui Dragon."
"You have to make me believe that you won't take Jin Suiqing away, right, Jin Shiyu?"
Huangfu Li gestured to Li Han, who then retrieved a dagger and handed it to Jin Shiyu. Jin Shiyu's expression turned slightly cold, and without hesitation, he grabbed the dagger and stabbed it into his thigh.
Jin Suiqing's eyes widened: "Brother!"
With a "clink," the blood-stained dagger fell to the ground. Jin Shiyu casually kicked the dagger away, letting the blood flow freely from the wound on his thigh. He asked without changing his expression, "How is it?"
Huangfu Li laughed loudly: "Jin Shiyu, what others say is true, you are just an obedient dog by Jin Suiqing's side."
"Give her to me." Faced with the insult, Jin Shiyu remained calm and said coldly, "You let her go, and I will be your hostage. Take the prototype and leave for the outer sea of Kyushu. You will still have a chance to make a comeback."
Huangfu Li sneered. He not only wanted the prototype, but he also wanted both he and his sister to perish here.
He slowly released Jin Suiqing: "Give the prototype to Li Han first."
Jin Shiyu, pale-faced, shook his head: "It was done by someone else. You and I, the man and the original machine, are even."
Huangfu Li hesitated for a moment, thinking that the iron gate was locked and that the two of them were injured, so he figured they would have no chance of escaping. He then simply released Jin Suiqing and pushed her toward Jin Shiyu.
Immediately, Jin Shiyu tossed the sulfur burner to Huangfu Li. Huangfu Li reached out to catch it, but as soon as he grasped it, his hand trembled violently, and he threw the hexagon away.
"It's so hot!"
Huangfu Li whispered, then turned to Li Han and said, "Capture them!"
Li Han bent down to pick up the dagger, but her protruding belly blocked her movement. Just as she picked it up, Jin Shiyu shoved her hard, knocking her to the ground.
Jin Shiyu pressed down on Jin Suiqing's head and led her to the corner furthest away from the sulfur generator. He pinned Jin Suiqing against the wall and shielded her in his arms.
Jin Suiqing stopped sobbing and asked in a trembling voice, "Brother?"
"Be good, little sister, don't look." Jin Shiyu raised her hand and gently covered her eyes.
His voice was as calm as ever, like the brother who had lulled her to sleep for thousands of days and nights: "Close your eyes, we'll be home soon."
In the blink of an eye, Huangfu Li's furious roar and Li Han's sharp scream were swallowed up by the explosion and turned into a scalding hot current.
*
Deep in the woods on the outskirts of the capital, a deafening roar came from afar. The explosion was so violent that the ground trembled.
In an instant, birds took flight from the forest, and beasts scattered and fled. The shockwave from the explosion swept across, stripping the low shrubs bare and bending the lonely wild grass.
All the charging tigers came to a stop, their joints creaking and groaning as they ceased functioning instantly.
Ye Zhufeng felt a chill in his heart, his anxiety as dense as locusts swarming through the land, blotting out the sun.
Gong Xiaoyang's face turned pale: "Exploded...exploded?"
The only thing capable of causing such a violent explosion was the sulfur-burning machine that Kim Shi-ok took with him when he left.
Ye Zhufeng struggled to catch her breath, quickly regaining her composure. She jumped off the tiger-drawn carriage and ran swiftly towards the explosion site. She cleaved through the bushes, which were swirling in the blast wave, with her knife, and finally reached Jin Shiyu's address with great difficulty.
A ruin came into view.
The ruins were in ruins, with exposed wooden beams burning fiercely, black rocks filling the sky, and the fire raging skyward!
In an instant, tears streamed from Ye Zhufeng's eyes.
But she quickly wiped it away, turned around and ordered the people behind her: "Send two people out immediately to notify Wuhoupu and send a fire extinguisher and a waterwheel to put out the fire!"
"Gong Xiaoyang, go find Chai Zixin and get some heavy magical weapons. If the Empress asks, pin all the blame on me!" She quickly rolled up her sleeves and said in a low voice, "The rest of you, come with me to the fire to rescue people!"
Gold fragments, green fragments... Gold fragments, green fragments!
Ye Zhufeng gritted her teeth: "You and your brother are two bastards, causing trouble everywhere. If I don't say anything, even if the King of Hell comes, he won't be able to take you two."
*
Beneath the ruins.
Jin Suiqing slowly opened her eyes, only to find everything in complete darkness.
At the moment of the explosion, the world seemed to be paused. She blinked very slowly. This explosion was different from the one at Zuixianlou; they were extremely close to the blast point.
Yet they also share similarities.
She was not injured.
Even her hearing was fine; she could hear the crisp crackling sound of burning wood clearly.
And there was Jin Shiyu's breathing, hot and scorching, one breath after another, rushing to my ears.
They are still alive.
They were so close they could feel each other's heartbeats, their ribs intertwined, colliding with each other again and again.
Jin Suiqing blinked again, and after a long while, she realized that the darkness in front of her was because Jin Shiyu's hand was still covering her eyes. She whispered, "Brother?"
Kim Shi-ok hummed softly, "Mmm."
Jin Suiqing finally relaxed a little. She reached out to grab Jin Shiyu's hand, trying to pull it away from her eyes, but he tightened his grip on her fingertips: "Don't look, be good."
Jin Suiqing was taken aback: "Why?"
“It’s nothing,” Kim Shi-ok said. “I look so ugly right now, I don’t want you to see me.”
It's more than just ugly.
The heatwave from the explosion singed his hair, and his back bore the brunt of the impact. His clothes were torn to shreds, and the exposed skin on his back was black and red, torn and bleeding.
Perhaps his neck, arms, and cheek were burned.
Jin Shiyu suddenly felt fortunate that he was good at enduring pain.
Unfortunately, they still couldn't learn Jin Suiqing's ability to talk nonsense with her eyes open, so they could only cover her eyes.
"Anyway, sister, don't look," Jin Shiyu said casually.
Because he's leaving.
Fearing that Jin Suiqing would be in pain, he used most of the barrier provided by the system on Jin Suiqing.
*
After being knocked unconscious by Jin Suiqing, he encountered the system.
The system said that he was a person living in the book, an insignificant supporting character who was supposed to die in the final showdown between Huangfu Feng and Huangfu Li, but Jin Suiqing changed the cause and effect and saved his life.
The system also said that Jin Suiqing is a recluse, and the book will not leave any dead ends for recluses. She has completed her mission and is no longer a supporting female character. As long as she waits for the plot to end, she can leave.
But for his sake, she bore the consequences and would take his place to complete the ending.
The system then said there was still a chance to remedy the situation.
"When...did I awaken?"
“Although the process is slow and gradual,” the system pondered, and continued, “the breakthrough point is clearly here.”
System display screen:
In the Eastern Palace, Jin Suiqing kissed his brow.
Her eyes shone brightly as she said firmly, "From now on, I will love you."
The system retrieved the image, looked down at him, and said with great interest, "It's amazing that you've actually learned how to love."
Jin Shiyu asked, puzzled, "Is it strange to love her?"
“It’s quite strange that a data entity that can only hate has learned to love,” the system pondered. “Even the question you asked is very strange.”
The system guided him forward, and the three thousand great worlds unfolded before his eyes.
"The study of human emotions has always been a research topic for us. However, due to the rapid pace of social development and change, emotional samples have been diluted by the fast-paced nature of society. The fast-paced culture has infinitely stretched the threshold of human emotions, while at the same time it is intertwined with interests, making it difficult to distinguish. Some pure emotions that flow gently and steadily are not easy to observe. Gradually, humans are no longer suitable as a research medium. So we have turned to the abstract world constructed with written language as a medium."
The perspective suddenly shifted to the macrocosm. Jin Shiyu only had a vague understanding, but he stopped when he saw a shadow in the Three Thousand Great Worlds.
Jin Shiyu pointed to a girl curled up in the passenger seat like a mouse, munching on potato chips and reading a novel, and asked, "Who is she?"
System: "Do you feel a sense of familiarity?"
Kim Shi-ok nodded.
Jin Shiyu thought to himself, "She really is a person from another world."
Jin Suiqing was so clever and lively, unlike anyone else in every way.
The system's interest in Jin Shiyu grew even stronger. It said, "The Three Thousand Worlds are so vast. Perhaps this Jin Suiqing is just a string of characters, carrying some kind of mission, that came to your world to complete a task?"
Jin Shiyu shook her head decisively: "She is who she is, my sister, the one who taught me how to love."
"Haha, interesting," the system clapped its hands, "You're not even human, yet you dare to define 'human'?"
Who would have thought that in a world that deconstructs what 'enjoyment' means, by introducing a control group, one could actually obtain a data body that has learned 'love'?
What an unexpected bonus!
The system asked, "Are you willing to come with us?"
"Do I have the right to negotiate?" Kim Si-ok retorted.
System: "Of course, you are now our valuable experimental data. We will try our best to meet your requests."
Jin Shiyu said firmly, "I want to go back and save Jin Suiqing."
The system was not surprised; on the contrary, it appreciated Jin Shiyu even more and gave him a fragment that emitted a fluorescent blue light: "This can protect Jin Suiqing from cause and effect, but afterwards, you will have to come with us. Are you willing?"
Jin Shiyu clenched the fragment, watching it slowly melt into her palm, and asked in a low voice, "What about her? Can she go home?"
System: "Of course, this book has reached its end. As long as she is willing, she can go home immediately."
Kim Shi-ok smiled: "That's wonderful."
His heart was completely at peace.
Just like when he held Jin Suiqing in his arms and lulled her to sleep as a child, it was just as peaceful.
*
Jin Suiqing felt something was wrong. She clearly heard the sound of fire burning, but why couldn't she feel any heat at all?
She suddenly panicked, grabbing Jin Shiyu's hand and pulling it down: "Brother, no, let me see you, why won't you let me see you!"
Jin Shiyu held her wrist firmly to her eyes, controlling his strength to avoid making her uncomfortable. The veins on the back of his hand stood out as he whispered, "Be a good girl, little sister. I'm really ugly right now, I... I don't want you to see."
"No matter how ugly you are, you're still my brother, still Jin Shiyu!" Jin Suiqing cried out. Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Did you meet the system and agree to some request?"
Kim Shi-ok remained silent and did not answer her.
Jin Suiqing was even more anxious: "Jin Shiyu, say something! Don't stay silent! Please, brother, you...you mustn't agree to it! Didn't we agree to go back with me..."
Jin Shiyu lowered his head and kissed Jin Suiqing.
He kissed her forcefully and intensely. Jin Suiqing tasted a salty bitterness, as if tears were mixed with blood, and she could no longer tell whether it was hers or his.
Jin Shiyu gently bit Jin Suiqing's lower lip.
He learned to love, to hold back his strength, and never bite so hard that he would hurt her.
Even so, he still licked her lips tenderly, watching as his blood stained them.
He stepped away and, in the blazing firelight, carefully examined Jin Suiqing.
He wanted to remember her, to remember everything about her.
"Your little sister is so pretty."
Urged by the system, Jin Shiyu's consciousness was gradually withdrawing from his body. In the firelight, his honey-like eyes gradually became hazy, yet filled with a deep sweetness.
The sweetest and warmest moments in his life were all given to him by Jin Suiqing.
For twenty years, she talked nonsense, keeping him completely in line.
But she was never stingy; all the nonsense her sister uttered turned into words of truth, and she fulfilled them all for him.
Absolutely perfect.
He has won her love.
Twenty years is such a short time; he could never get enough of it.
I really hate to part with it.
The final kiss landed on Jin Suiqing's forehead.
He apologized, "I'm sorry, my brother was talking nonsense this time."
So don't look at him.
His nonsense seems unlikely to come true.
*
The fire has been extinguished, and the mansion remains a charred ruin.
The fire extinguisher at Wuhoupu stopped to rest, watching Ye Zhufeng and the others searching through the ruins, and sighed repeatedly.
I've already advised the princess that the fire is so big that even a god would be burned to ashes; how could a person possibly survive?
The princess refused to believe it and, with people who had come from Jiangnan, continued to move stones in the fire.
Ye Zhufeng looked at the blisters on his hands, then leaned on his knees and took a breath.
She has repeated this action several times today.
One last time, and one last time, the frequency increased until my back was stiff and my waist ached. Every movement felt like carrying a heavy weight on a sharp stone.
Ye Zhufeng jutted out, looked up at the stone slab in front of him, and thought to himself, "The last one, this is the last one."
She gritted her teeth, straightened her back, and called out into the distance, "Big Dog, Little Sheep, Huihong... this piece is big, let's move it together."
Several people rushed forward, and one of them, silent yet in perfect unison, picked up a corner of the bowl.
Because this action has been repeated hundreds or thousands of times.
Soon, the stone slab shook and fell to one side.
The person behind the stone slab was revealed.
Jin Shiyu's entire back was a horrific sight; his neck and cheek were burned and pitted. His eyes were closed, and he knelt on the ground in a hugging position, protecting Jin Suiqing in his arms.
Hui Hong hurriedly covered her mouth, tears instantly welling up. Ye Zhufeng did the same; with tears in her eyes, she resolutely rushed forward, suppressing her sobs, and shouted, "Xu Qingqing, the person...the person has been found!"
Instantly, everyone present stood up and rushed towards her.
Xu Qingqing, carrying a medicine box half her height, ran the fastest, leaving the group of old doctors behind.
Ye Zhufeng's hands trembled as he checked the pulses of the two men.
After figuring it out, the usually resilient princess collapsed to the ground, suddenly looked up, and burst into tears.
"He's...he's still alive!"
They're all still alive!
Jin Suiqing nestled in Jin Shiyu's arms, as serene as an infant still in its mother's embrace.
It seemed that there was nowhere in the world where she felt more at ease than in Kim Shi-ok's arms.
Author's note: The ending for OE ends here.
Further developments will be discussed later.
I might take a couple of days off; writing this was a bit painful, so please allow me some time to calm down...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
