It is said that when people face someone who has hurt them, they will feel anger and sadness that is difficult to suppress.
In the past few months, whenever it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Xiao Nanhui would think of the scene on Douchen Ridge.
But now that he was truly standing before her, she wasn't as troubled as she had been when she couldn't see him. Perhaps it was because many of her questions had been answered, or perhaps her accusations had lost their meaning, or perhaps just standing there had brought back so many memories for her.
He was wearing the most ordinary indigo-blue clothes he had ever worn when he returned home. The spear in his hand had a golden tip and a wooden handle. The shaft was a piece of ash, but the tip was the familiar white steel with a coppery background and dark markings. This was the same spear he had used when he first taught her spearmanship, long ago. Even the back-and-forth attack he had just used was his most proud move, the one he had taught her the longest.
But the richer the memories of the past are, the more desolate everything in front of us is.
She wanted to move her fingers, only to find that the blood on the nail had solidified and was sticking tightly to her skin, gluing her fingers to the hilt of the sword.
"Where is he?"
The commoner general stood with his spear across his shoulders, and spoke after a long while.
"I taught you martial arts myself. You can't possibly defeat me."
"My spear skills were indeed taught by my adoptive father, but my sword skills were not."
After she finished speaking, she took off the armor in her hand and let out a clear sound, which turned into white light and went straight to the opponent's vital point.
Facing Xiao Zhun, she was determined not to underestimate him. Besides exerting all her strength, she also had to focus on every breath, every block, and every subsequent move to gain a chance of victory. However, her emotions had already overwhelmed her, and her rationality had long since burned out. Every swing of her sword left no room for maneuver.
She knew she had something to prove.
She wanted to prove him wrong, to prove that he was a thing of the past, to prove that she had become a better version of herself.
But she just couldn't swing the sword that would prove it all.
"To fight the long with the short, to fight the essence with the shallow. You are not ready yet."
She wasn't ready, but by the time she was, it was too late.
"Tell me where he is?!"
He parried her attack and put her in danger with his backhand.
"Today's events are a foregone conclusion. A hidden dragon, unused, is a recipe for defeat. Don't you understand the principles I taught you in the past?"
"Military laws and regulations, victory and defeat, aren't they all more important than human life?" She succeeded in one move, then launched another, swinging her sword, leaving a trail of afterimages. "Even if you're no longer a Tiancheng general, they're still Tiancheng soldiers, soldiers you personally brought up. How can you bear to watch them die like this?!"
The sword tip was shaken away, and she held her numb wrist and looked at the other person.
In the chaos of black and white, a general in cloth stood in the fog, like a ghost.
"There's no Marquis Qinghuai or General Subei here, only the widow of the Xiao family. After all, you're also a member of the Xiao family. So, what's your identity and position in bringing such a sword against us?"
"From the moment you abandoned me at Douchen Ridge, I'm no longer a member of the Xiao family." She tried to sound cold and stern, but her voice couldn't help but choke up a bit. "Even though I no longer have my own family, Tiancheng is still here. You taught me the principles of family, country, and the world. Now that you've betrayed me first, what qualifications do you have to question my position?!"
After she finished speaking, the air was frozen for a moment. After a long moment, the person standing opposite her spoke solemnly.
"Back then, I prioritized the safety of my family and country, while Xiao Dai prioritized the survival of the empire. But what ultimately ended up happening to us?! Families torn apart, loved ones torn apart. And all this was simply a small suspicion born of the Su family's desire to protect their own legacy! Tiancheng was the one who betrayed the Xiao family first, so how could he have the nerve to accuse me of betrayal!"
She knew she couldn't refute it, but she was still upset and couldn't control herself.
She wanted to say, "But you not only betrayed Tiancheng, you also betrayed me." But in the end, looking at that face full of pain and sorrow, she couldn't say it.
She clenched the sword in her hand, blood and sweat stuck together, twisting her palms so tightly that they hurt.
"He was not aware of what you said at the time. He did not do any of this. He did nothing wrong."
"Then what did the Xiao family do wrong?!" Xiao Zhun's voice suddenly dropped after saying this. "He has the blood of the Su family flowing in his veins. The imperial family is the most ruthless. If yesterday's scene were to happen again, how do you know he wouldn't make the same choice?"
He won't.
He was always ruthless in his actions, and she could never fathom his thoughts. But she subconsciously came up with this answer.
But before she could answer, Xiao Zhun came again with a gun.
This time, the opponent obviously did not hold back and wanted to end the duel quickly.
She was incredibly familiar with the Xiao family's spearmanship, but there was one move she hadn't mastered: the sniper move. She had already been defeated by it once, breaking the string. The psychological fear of this killing move far outweighed the technical disadvantage.
The spear is a very strong and rigid weapon. It can be used in all directions, facing the enemy without retreating. Water cannot penetrate it, and stones and arrows cannot destroy it.
The sword in her hand was only two feet and seven inches long, and she had only learned sword techniques for a few days. The more she attacked, the more she was defeated, and the more anxious she was to break the spear technique, the more she was hindered.
Three more attacks, both real and fake, were launched at her, leaving her unable to cope and forcing her to block one blow with her sword. She met the attack head-on with the thin blade of her armor, relying on her willpower to withstand the blow.
The creaking sound of copper and iron rubbing against each other was transmitted from the hilt of the sword to her wrist bones, upper arms, and upper body with vibrations, reminding her of the feeling when the flat string was cut off.
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