◇ Chapter 110 (107) The End of Arus
The setting sun is like blood, and under the setting sun, the rushing river is dyed blood red.
The river roared behind him, corpses and broken spears drifting on its surface. After days of fierce fighting, the new emperor realized he had no way back. The clatter of warhorses approached from afar; the enemy had surrounded their last hiding place.
Helian Zhulan, Arus… He chewed those two names over and over again. His situation was hopeless, and it was clear he couldn't recover. If it weren't for those two people encouraging him to secretly recruit soldiers and giving him advice, how could he have committed such a treasonous act and usurped the throne?
If it weren't for those two people, I would still be safely guarding Longxi. Although the border environment is harsh, at least I wouldn't have fallen to this point!
"Your Majesty!" The guards, their armor and hair stained with blood, still fought to protect him. The river water crashed against the shore, splashing on the soldiers' armor, and even the wind carried the smell of blood. Hearing the voices not far away, the guards said, "Your Majesty, it's too late! Hurry and leave!"
"Will I also die at the hands of the rebels like Emperor Jianguang?" the new emperor muttered to himself, cradling the hilt of his sword. "Do you think he will be such an emperor?"
The guards couldn't understand what he was saying. These trusted aides were all from Liang Province, barely speaking the official language of the Central Plains. Suddenly, he seemed to see cavalrymen in the distance, the two men who had flattered him, saying, "Your Highness is wise and valiant, but it's a shame to be confined to a small area. If you ascend the throne, everyone in Mobei and Beihai will bow down to you." Astride their majestic horses.
If Helian Zhulan ascends the throne as he is today, she will surely suffer the same fate as him.
The new emperor committed suicide by jumping into the river. The river was turbulent, and by the time the princess's army arrived, the emperor was nowhere to be seen. Only his armor and sword lay on the shore. Knowing they were powerless to stop him, his personal guards followed him, slashing their own throats and slashing their throats, leaving a vast expanse of the river red with blood.
Fearing the new emperor might still be alive, the princess quickly dispatched a search. Meanwhile, she and her men set up camp by the river to prevent a surprise attack from any surviving guards. Lianzhi sat under a tree, holding her water bag.
The wind was a bit chilly, and Lianzhi couldn't help shivering. Just as he was about to complain, he remembered that Bo Kang had gone with the eldest princess and her husband to look for someone. He turned his head nonchalantly and found Arus sitting close to him.
"Don't you make any sound when you walk?" Lianzhi scolded.
"Are you disappointed to see it's me?" Arus knelt down and sat up. "Why are you shaking?"
"Nothing." Lianzhi gathered her cloak inconspicuously. "It seems like someone is cursing me."
He seemed to hear the new emperor accusing him of using him, cursing that he would also be killed by the sword. But he had already experienced that ending once.
"He's stupid." Lianzhi whispered, as if trying to find an excuse for herself. "If he didn't have that thought, he wouldn't be persuaded by me at all. He's stupid himself, not me."
"What about me and Bo Kang?" Arus said calmly, "Are he and I stupid too?"
Lianzhi turned her head and looked at him, her brows gradually furrowed: "What do you mean?"
Arus said nothing, but held out his hand. While they were fleeing and hiding in Liang Province, Lianzhi had kept their money and food. At the time, Arus barely spoke Daning Mandarin, and exhausted and hungry, he gestured to him for water. Lianzhi handed him the water pouch, and Arus took two swigs before saying, "Dinner's time. The princess and the others aren't in the tent, so Lao Wu asked me to come and get you."
Is that all? Lianzhi stood up speechlessly: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
He followed Arus downstream, where their camp was. It was already getting late, and they were still several miles from the village. The wind whistled in the forest, and they could almost hear crows cawing.
As he walked, Lianzhi stopped.
"Where are you taking me?" Lianzhi asked impatiently.
"Let's go back to the North Sea." Arus said.
……What?
Lianzhi didn't know how Arus could say such crazy things with such a calm tone and expression, "Are you sane? Going back to the North Sea from here?"
"While Bai Kang is away, let's go back to the North Sea Territory," Arus said seriously. Lianzhi checked several times before she was sure Arus was not joking. "You are from Mobei, Arus. Do you want to go to the North Sea Territory? Mother and sister will kill you."
Arus didn't answer, but stared at him silently. Lianzhi's expression grew solemn. After a long pause, Arus said, "Is it because of them, or because of Bai Kang? You don't want to be emperor. It's because of Bai Kang, right?"
What does this have to do with him? Lianzhi didn't want to argue with him any further and turned to leave. Suddenly, Arus strode forward, grabbed Lianzhi's arm and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Let go! You're crazy!" Lianzhi shook his hand away.
"You said before that I would only go with you if you became emperor and went to the North Sea. But now, because of Bo Kang, you don't want to be emperor anymore, and you don't even want to go back to the North Sea." Arus's speech became faster and faster, and finally he almost roared, "You broke both promises!"
Lianzhi just looked at him with pity. Arus took a deep breath: "You can stay here, but you must leave Baikang."
"You can't influence my decision." Lianzhi said.
He walked back, leaving Arus behind. It was getting late, and they had to return to the tent early. Arus quickly caught up with him: "I can replace Bo Kang."
Lianzhi looked at him in astonishment. Arus's throat moved slightly: "I like you. Really."
Then he saw Lianzhi's face turn cold in an instant.
It was too dark, so the princess left only a few guards to continue the search, and sent Bo Kang back to the camp with the others. There was no sign of Lianzhi near the camp, and Lao Wu and the others also said they hadn't seen her. Bo Kang, feeling uneasy, hurried to look for someone nearby.
The candlelight was dim, and he could only faintly hear the sound of Lianzhi. The dense forests around him and the sound of flowing water drowned out the human voices, but he could still make out the general location of Lianzhi. After walking for a long time, he suddenly saw a light flickering not far away. He walked over with the lantern and saw a scene that made him tear his eyes out: "Lianzhi——"
Lianzhi, covered in wounds and scars, even had scars on her face. She was choking Arus's neck with a long hairband. Arus's eyes bulged from the strangulation, his face turning purple. The dagger in his hand was clamped around Lianzhi's neck. Bo Kang dropped the lantern, stepped forward, and stabbed Arus in the stomach.
"Baby, I'm coming." He hugged Lianzhi and wiped the blood from her face. Lianzhi trembled, not in pain, but out of anger, and angrily said to Arus: "You are disgusting. You deserve to die."
"I'm disgusting, but what about him? Without him... you wouldn't have ignored me." Arus pointed at Bo Kang and sneered.
If he can't do it, why can Bo Kang?
He couldn't figure it out.
"You took me to Mobei and brought me here. How could I not hate you?" Lianzhi's grip didn't loosen. Arus's throat made a hoarse sound, and he laughed non-stop. "Without me... who would take you... away from Mobei?"
"So I spared your life, otherwise you wouldn't be able to beat me." Lianzhi said.
Just as the Queen of the Helan tribe hated Mobei and sent troops to attack it, he also hated Mobei.
Lianzhi valued his family the most in his life. Excluding his father and his siblings, with whom he had little affection, and his mother, Helian Zhulan was one of his few relatives. But their first meeting was a matter of life and death.
Since Arus had indeed taken Helian Zhulan away from Mobei and had taken care of him, he could spare Arus's life. But he could not tolerate Arus having other feelings for him.
Not killing Arus was already the result of his extreme patience, let alone liking him. Even if it was Helian Zhulan who came, he believed that she would never have the slightest affection for Arus.
"Are you going to kill him?" Bo Kang asked, hugging Lianzhi tightly and letting him lean on his shoulder. Lianzhi nodded, and Bo Kang stood up, holding Lianzhi horizontally and wrapping the cloak around him more tightly. Arus's abdomen was still bleeding. If he wasn't bandaged in time, he would die from excessive blood loss soon.
They had been away from the camp for so long that the princess had noticed something was amiss and had sent someone to look for them. When the guards arrived, they took one look at the scene before them and then bowed their heads. Bo Kang drew his sword and suddenly changed his mind.
"Take Guard Arus back and get him treated as soon as possible." Bai Kang said in a deep voice.
Lianzhi buried her head in his arms. Arus was even more shocked. He had never expected that Bai Kang, who had always been at odds with him, would spare him. After the guards took the people away, Bai Kang, holding the lantern and Lianzhi, slowly walked back behind several guards.
"Why did you let him live?" Lianzhi's voice was still hoarse. "You felt soft-hearted towards him, didn't you? He said he liked me and wanted to take me away."
"There are still a few Mobei envoys left in the capital," Bai Kang said slowly. "Didn't you say before that Arus was a Mobei deserter and even killed many Mobei people for you? After all, he's not from Daning, so it's difficult for us to deal with him. Let the Mobei people make the decision."
Lianzhi suddenly realized: "Brother Kang, you are also quite bad."
Bo Kang hummed.
【Author’s words】
There's still the final chapter to go! (Excited (★ω★)/)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
