Xie Lian shouted, “Qi Rong, shut up!”
Lang Qianqiu turned his head abruptly and said, "Why did you tell him to shut up? So what he said was the truth? You and Anle both fought in the Gilded Palace, one killing all my relatives, and the other finishing off my father. You were all lying to me?!"
Xie Lian said, "Don't listen..." Qi Rong interrupted, "Of course they're all lying to you! You're so stupid, who else could they lie to? If they hadn't interfered, the Xianle people would have killed you when you were twelve. How could they have allowed you to live this long and ascend to heaven?"
Lang Qianqiu asked, "Twelve?" A major event that happened when he was twelve was when he was kidnapped by thieves and saved by Xie Lian. Lang Qianqiu asked, "Were the thieves who broke into the palace that year sent by the Xianle people?"
Qi Rong said, "Nonsense! Do you think any ordinary assassin could kidnap their prince in front of hundreds of royal warriors? Wasn't it because I helped Anle?"
Lang Qianqiu nodded and said, "Help? Okay, I understand. So, so our friendship is fake. You Xianle people don't care about our goodwill at all. You, King Anle, have ulterior motives and are here to take our lives."
He turned to Xie Lian again and said, "So, what you said was also a lie."
Qi Rong feigned curiosity and said, "Come on, let me hear what my saintly cousin said to you."
Lang Qianqiu ignored him and simply said to Xie Lian, "You said Yong'an and Xianle were originally one country, and that any conflicts between the royal family have nothing to do with the people. The people on both sides are originally one family, and this generation can change that. As long as the people are well, it doesn't matter what the royal family's name is. You said that the two sides can resolve their grievances and reunite. That's all nonsense. It's all bullshit, bullshit, and lies!"
This was the last thing Xie Lian wanted to hear. He immediately said, "No! It's not fake. Think about it carefully. Hasn't it really changed under your watch?"
Lang Qianqiu paused, his chest stilling. Xie Lian asked, "Didn't you do a great job? Didn't the Xianle survivors later integrate well with the Yong'an people? And the conflicts in later generations have become less and less frequent. How could it be fake?"
After a long silence, Lang Qianqiu tearfully said, "But...but what about my father, the emperor, and my mother? The fusion of Yong'an and Xianle was their greatest wish, which is why they named the last member of your clan the King of Anle. Their wish was fulfilled, but what will be their fate?"
Qi Rong spat, "You're such a sniveling wretch, you're exactly like my saintly cousin back then! You're asking us for your parents, but I haven't even fucking asked your ancestors for them. What do you mean by wishing for both sides to merge, so you gave me the title of Anle? It sounds nice, Anle Anle, Anle, An first, then happiness. Do you think I can't see that this is you Yong'an dogs trying to trample on the heads of the Xianle people for the rest of your lives?"
Xie Lian shouted angrily, “Qi Rong, stop being so sick!”
Lang Qianqiu, tears streaming down his face, stared intently at Qi Rong and asked, "Were you behind the murder of my family? Were you also involved in the Gilded Banquet?"
Qi Rong chuckled and said, "Yes, I have a share, Anle has a share, your master has a share, and the three of us in Xianle all have a share. Hahahahahahaha..."
Unexpectedly, just as he was halfway through his laughter, Lang Qianqiu suddenly swung his heavy sword downwards. Qi Rong cried out as he was cut in two!
The scene was extremely bloody. Qi Rong's two halves rolled on the ground, but his upper body said, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all. Compared to the palm strike from my cousin the Crown Prince, you're far inferior! Hahahahahaha!"
Lang Qianqiu said nothing, but grabbed his head and lifted it up. Qi Rong continued to scoff, but Xie Lian noticed something was amiss with Lang Qianqiu and said, "Qi Rong, if you want to live, stop talking!"
He was always gentle and polite to others, but Qi Rong was someone who defied common sense. He knew this well, so whenever he met him, Xie Lian couldn't be polite and could only be rude. Lang Qianqiu dragged Qi Rong's upper body to the cauldron of boiling water and asked, "Do you usually eat people in this pot?"
Qi Rong was dragged along, leaving a thick bloody trail on the ground. He said, "Yes. What do you want?"
As soon as he finished answering, Lang Qianqiu let go.
“Aaaaaaahahahahahahahaha—”
It was unclear whether Qi Rong was screaming or laughing as he was thrown into the cauldron, his skin instantly scalded to the point of tears. Xie Lian hadn't expected such a scene to actually happen. His pupils suddenly constricted as he blurted out, "Qian Qiu!"
Lang Qianqiu said sternly, "What's wrong? Green Ghost Qi Rong, he's eaten so many people, can't he also have a taste of being cooked? He's the enemy who wiped out my clan, can't I make him suffer too?!"
Of course. Therefore, Xie Lian couldn't say anything; he had no right to speak. However, whether as a mortal prince or the Eastern Martial God in heaven, Lang Qianqiu had never done such a thing. He always killed without hesitation, disdaining such cruel means. This was a stark difference from the Lang Qianqiu Xie Lian knew.
He threw Qi Rong into the boiling water. When he pulled him out a moment later, he was no longer human, reduced to a simmering mass, its flesh melting away. In some places, his bones were exposed, a truly horrifying sight. But he seemed quite pleased, laughing heartily as he said, "Cousin, congratulations! Look at your good disciple! He's grown strong, and now he knows how to torture people!"
Lang Qianqiu loosened his grip once more, and Qi Rong was plunged into the boiling water once more. This time, it felt as if even his skeleton had been dissolved by the broth. Qi Rong never surfaced again, leaving only a few fragments of his green robe floating on the surface. Xie Lian, unable to see him for a long time, couldn't help but exclaim, "Qi Rong!"
His cousin used to always call him the prince, praising him in everything and worshipping him immensely. However, after the fall of Xianle Kingdom, he turned into a complete madman. He took the lead in burning his temples, smashing his palaces, and building kneeling stone statues and thresholds for the prince everywhere. He would do anything to make him suffer at any cost. Xie Lian always tolerated his behavior as much as he could. If it involved others, he would try his best to stop it. In the end, he could no longer tolerate it and could only hope that they would never meet again. Later, the two did not see each other for many years, and he thought Qi Rong had already passed away. Who would have thought that after so long, he would suddenly meet an old friend again in this world, and seeing that face that was three-quarters similar to his, he really couldn't tell whether he had a trace of nostalgia in his heart. After all, they were the only two left in the Xianle royal family. But not long after they met, she suddenly saw him die before her, and it was Lang Qianqiu who refused to use even caning in such a cruel way that killed him. It was such a sudden ups and downs that she didn't know what to feel for a moment, and her heart was in turmoil. Lang Qianqiu stood beside the cauldron, head bowed and silent. At this time, Hua Cheng said, "He's not dead."
Lang Qianqiu looked up at him. Hua Cheng said, "You don't think this is revenge, do you? At most, you killed one of his clones. If you really want to kill him once and for all, you have to find Qi Rong's ashes."
Lang Qianqiu said coldly, "Thank you for your reminder. I will definitely catch him myself and use his ashes to pay tribute to my father, the emperor, and my mother. After that, I will come back to you to settle this. Imperial Master, don't even think about running away again!"
After he finished speaking, he swung his sword, splitting the cauldron in half, and then withdrew. Boiling water gushed out, sending the shards of bone and debris from the cauldron splattering onto the ground. Xie Lian wanted to chase after him, but he knew it was no use.
He stopped and stood there, speechless. Hua Cheng walked up and said, "He just found out the truth. It's best to let him calm down."
Xie Lian was stunned. “Why do you have to let him know? Does the truth really matter?”
Hua Chengdao: "It's very important. He needs to understand what you did and what you didn't do, and why you did it."
Xie Lian turned abruptly and said coldly, "What's the point of knowing so much? Could it be that if I kill fewer people, I'll have more troubles?"
Hua Cheng remained silent. A sudden surge of anger welled up in Xie Lian's chest, and he didn't know who he was angry at. He blurted out, "What kind of bullshit do I have? His father is obsessed with merging the two clans, so did I kill him? Prince Anle is the last of my family's bloodline, so did I kill him? I deserve whatever I've suffered. Wouldn't it be better to blame me alone? What am I afraid of? Even if they all come after me, I won't die! Originally, it was just my good deed, and I was the only one who caused trouble. Now, Prince Anle is also involved, Qi Rong is involved, and all the people in Xianle are involved. Isn't it better to hate one person than a group of people? Do I really have to let him find out that everything I taught him in the past was really fake, empty, worthless, and bullshit?!"
Hua Cheng just stared at him quietly, not arguing. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Xie Lian suddenly covered his face with his hands, saying, "I'm sorry, Sanlang. I'm sorry. I'm afraid I've gone crazy. I'm sorry."
Hua Cheng said, "It's okay. It's my fault."
Xie Lian said, "No, you're not wrong. It's my fault."
He sat down on the ground, held his head, and said, "It's a mess. It's a mess."
After a moment, Hua Cheng also sat down beside him and said, "You are right."
Xie Lian held his head in his hands, remaining silent. Hua Cheng spoke, "Kill Prince Yong'an to protect the remaining Xianle people. Kill Prince Anle to prevent the two clans from strife. Finally, they met their end at the hands of Lang Qianqiu, and the murderer was brought to justice. Three lives in exchange for several generations of peace—it's the perfect deal. I'll do the same. Listen to me."
His tone was firm and unquestionable, and he said, "You are right. No one can do better than you."
After a long silence, Xie Lian said, "I just don't think it's right."
He slowly raised his head and said, "I just feel that a person showed kindness but didn't get a good result. I don't think it should be like this.
"Even if it's fake, I want Qianqiu to remember that if he treats Xianle well, Xianle will treat him well too. Do the right thing and move forward courageously. Instead of thinking like now that everything I told him, everything he believed before, was fake, a lie, a deception. It's all fucking bullshit! I just..."
He raised his right hand, looked at it, and said, "...I've suffered enough, and I don't want others to suffer again."
Huacheng listened quietly. Xie Lian realized he had just uttered another vulgar word and said, "I'm sorry. But look at how ridiculous things are in this world. The previous generations of Yong'an had done evil and yet nothing bad happened to them. But when it came to Lang Qianqiu's parents, they wanted to do good things, to achieve great things, but this is what happened."
The Lord of Yong'an had honored him as his Imperial Preceptor and, for five years, had treated him with unwavering respect. Even in his final moments, he departed with a lingering trust in him. Xie Lian stared straight ahead, whispering, "I truly can't forget... the look on his face when I thrust my sword down upon him."
Hua Cheng said calmly, "Forget it. That was Qi Rong and Prince Anle's fault."
Xie Lian shook his head, buried his head between his knees, and said wearily, “…Originally, everything was fine.”
Lang Qianqiu's father ascended the throne, reversing the previous generation's practice of suppressing the remnants of Xianle. The people of Xianle and Yong'an had finally coexisted peacefully for decades, and just when things seemed to be turning around, with signs of integration and hope of escaping conflict, King Anle chose this moment to massacre the Gilded Banquet.
On the night of his escape, he found Prince Anle, intending to warn him against further trouble. Unexpectedly, upon learning his true identity, this sole descendant of his family enthusiastically grabbed him and demanded he join the cause of revenge and restoration. His eyes were filled with fervor, his voice piercing with chilling intensity. He vowed to first wipe out the Gilded Banquet, then destroy Lang Qianqiu, and turn Yong'an upside down. Even if it meant shattering the goodwill between the two groups of people, even if it meant sacrificing all the remaining Xianle residents, he would not hesitate to do anything to bring the Yong'an royal family and its people to hell.
But killing is killing. No matter how high-sounding the reasons are, no matter how many "compulsive reasons" there are, the fact is that he personally killed a wise ruler who truly wanted to tolerate dissidents, as well as the last remaining bloodline of his family.
So, he deserves it.
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