Chapter 146 Hero Saves the Beauty (Part 2)
In the pouring rain, I couldn't hear his voice, but I knew he was saying, "Hurry up..."
"Rouge, take Baozi and Yuanzhi and leave first," I said through gritted teeth.
“Madam Pei…” Rouge’s eyes reddened.
Zhou Buyi, supporting Baozi, also looked at me, "Madam... if the young master wakes up and can't see you..."
"You all go back to Danyang Chunfeng Deyilou first and wait for me there." I jumped off the carriage without looking back. "Take care of Baozi for me."
As I watched the carriage disappear into the distance, I turned back to look at Hua Yingxiong, who was hanging from the city gate.
He had already slumped his head in despair.
I scrambled up the city wall using both my hands and feet. The heavy rain soaked me to the bone, and I could barely open my eyes. With tremendous effort, I finally reached Hua Yingxiong's side and stood precariously on the city wall. I approached him and tried to untie the rope that was suspending him.
"Idiot, run..." He moved his lips, his voice barely audible.
"What kind of time is this to be acting like a hero!" I forcefully pulled him up to the city wall, took out my Swiss Army knife and cut the rope binding him.
“You stupid pig, I am the bait… the bait to lure you, you stupid pig…” Hua Yingxiong said weakly, but through gritted teeth.
"I know." I cut the rope forcefully, wiped the rain off my face, and tried to help him up.
"Then why did you come?" He gave me a helpless glare.
"And what about you? Knowing full well what your fate would be, you gave up being a perfectly good monk and instead waited here for your miserable death?"
Hua Yingxiong coughed and chuckled, "I'm a hero... I've never had such a satisfying time being a hero... It's a pity you're not a beauty, otherwise what a wonderful scene of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress would have been..."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Save your breath. Use your energy to run away." I helped him stand up with great difficulty, but he slipped and fell back to the ground.
"Fool, look at me, half-dead. Even if you save me, I'll be useless. Just leave."
"No way, do you think I, Pei Xiao, am such a disloyal person?" I retorted casually. "You're like Hua Tuo, with such high medical skills, you can save yourself without any problem."
"It's too late for you to leave now..." Hua Yingxiong snorted.
I instinctively looked up and saw a young man in a blue robe wearing a straw hat standing in front of me, his eyes cold. Behind him were more than twenty guards with swords.
"Lady Huan," Cao Pi raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes icy cold, "What a coincidence to see you here."
"Stop pretending! Hua Yingxiong has done nothing to you, why are you treating him like this!" I jumped up and shouted.
"As the wife of the Prime Minister, you are here being intimate with another man. For this reason alone, I can send you both to the Yellow Springs to become a pair of ill-fated lovers," Cao Pi sneered.
"Stop slandering me... My aesthetic sense is very high..." Hua Yingxiong struggled to stand up, soaked to the bone, looking like a drowned rat, his face pale as a ghost. He staggered and forced a smile.
My lips twitched slightly. What kind of time is this to be talking nonsense?
“I am quite interested in your wife,” Hua Yingxiong grinned and laughed. “Everyone says that there are two Qiao sisters in Jiangnan and Zhen Mi in Hebei. I’m really curious about what kind of alluring charm your wife has that made you willing to marry a woman from the Yuan family?”
I was startled and quickly covered his mouth. A true man can bend and stretch; he's courting death by trying to provoke Cao Pi like this.
Cao Pi laughed instead of getting angry, "You want to provoke me into killing you? You seem to have deep feelings for Lady Huan." After saying that, he turned away from me and said, "Throw this adulterous couple into the dungeon."
"Cao Pi! Let us leave, and I promise I will never appear in Xuchang again, never appear before Cao Cao again!" I shouted at his retreating figure.
After shouting, I felt a sense of loss and bewilderment. What if I could never see Cao Cao again...? Habit is truly a terrifying thing...
"I only believe that the dead can't speak." Cao Pi's laughter, carried by the wind and rain, reached my ears. Then he turned to look at me. "I really don't know what's so good about you. You're not good-looking, your manners are crude, your origins are unknown, and you're promiscuous. How could your father value you so much?"
My lips started to twitch. Am I really that worthless?
“Yes, your father has rather unique taste…” Hua Yingxiong grinned.
Cao Pi snorted coldly and turned away.
Hua Yingxiong collapsed to the ground.
"Hua Yingxiong! Hua Yingxiong..." I shouted.
The dark and damp dungeon, with its dim candlelight, remained eerie and cold even in July.
Hua Yingxiong leaned against the wall, his face pale and trembling slightly.
I took off my coat, wrung it out, and wiped the rainwater off his body and face. His body was covered in wounds and bloodstains, clearly indicating that he had been tortured. His already tattered clothes were soaked by the rain and clung to his body. I simply took them off for him and draped my wrung-out coat over his shoulders.
"What do you want to do while I'm unconscious?" Hua Yingxiong's first words upon waking were as irritating as ever.
I glared at him, but I didn't talk back.
"Don't bother, I'm going to heaven soon anyway." Hua Yingxiong grabbed my hand and smiled.
"Are you putting on a show of being fearless in the face of death?" I scoffed.
"Yes, was it a good performance?" Hua Yingxiong grinned, but the movement touched the wound on his lip, and he gasped again.
"With such terrible acting skills, I really don't know how you became famous." I rolled my eyes at him, feeling a pang of pain in my heart.
"Because I'm handsome," Hua Yingxiong blinked and said seriously.
"Even on the verge of death, you're still spouting nonsense." My voice choked slightly.
"No, no... please don't cry... I'm most afraid of women crying..." Hua Yingxiong said fearfully.
"I won't cry for you." I turned my head away.
"That's good, that's good," Hua Yingxiong smiled.
"The injuries on your body..."
"That brat Cao Pi did it," Hua Yingxiong grinned. "That kid even dares to hit a god. When I return to heaven and regain my celestial status, I'll make sure he pays the price..."
"Does he want you to tell me where the steamed buns are?"
“Well, Cao Cao isn’t here, so he’s in charge of the Prime Minister’s residence. He threatened Baozi, saying that if Baozi died, he would let you leave. Baozi was afraid he would kill you, so he had no choice but to drink poison…” Hua Yingxiong gasped for breath. “But Baozi can’t die in the residence, otherwise he won’t be able to explain to Cao Cao. He might deliberately spread the news that he wants to kill you and Baozi, and then let you leave. That brat Cao Pi knew you would come looking for me, so he first captured me and brought me into the residence, cutting off Baozi’s way out…”
I shuddered slightly. If this was such a ruthless and vicious scheme, he had truly inherited Cao Cao's cruelty to the fullest extent.
“Alas,” he sighed dramatically, “it’s truly a tragedy… Alas, if I had known there was no way to avoid it today, I should have relied on Hua Tuo’s reputation to freeload and live a carefree life for a few years. I’ve been a coward for so many years. If the real Hua Tuo were alive, knowing that I’ve taken over his body but dared not reveal my name, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood… But history is history, that’s the ending of fate. No matter what name it is, the ending is the same…”
"If you didn't care about my life or death, and just stayed a good monk, you'd already saved two hundred and ninety-nine lives. You're just one step away from enlightenment..." I looked at him, my eyes brimming with tears. "Tell me, you haven't fallen in love with me, have you?"
Hua Yingxiong coughed exaggeratedly, shook his head and sighed, "Don't slander me, I'd rather die than fall in love with you... I'd rather love Baozi than love you... Hehe..."
"Go to hell!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide with rage.
"Hehe, it's almost time, I'll be dead soon..." Hua Yingxiong chuckled.
I was stunned for a moment, and then tears streamed down my face.
"What are you crying for, what are you crying for..." Hua Yingxiong shook his head, his face full of righteous indignation, "Look at me, even when I'm about to die, I remain calm and composed, how great I am..."
I looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Hey, hey, please don't cry, I'm most afraid of women's tears!" Hua Yingxiong put on a scared look again.
I looked at him, without saying a word.
"Hehe, don't I look like a hero?" Hua Yingxiong winked at me and smiled.
I snorted through my nose, trying to hold back my tears.
“Actually…” Hua Yingxiong said, grimacing, “Actually… I’m in so much pain… Ahh… It hurts so much…”
"Where does it hurt? Where does it hurt?" I quickly scrambled forward on all fours to check his wound.
"Ugh, my whole body aches..." Hua Yingxiong's face was horribly pale. "I was so heroic just now, wasn't I? I acted so well, didn't I... Back in the day, I was VL's leading man. Any show I acted in was guaranteed to have skyrocketing ratings, haha... My portrayal of a hero was the envy of countless young women... You are incredibly lucky to have seen my final performance..."
Seeing his breathing grow weaker and weaker, I panicked. I scrambled to my feet, kicked and pounded on the cell door, and yelled, "Help! Help! He's dying! Please..."
A few jailers outside glanced at me and spat, "What are you yelling about? You're locked up here to die!"
One of the jailers, a man with large buck teeth, suddenly stared at me and said to the jailer beside him, "Look at that woman, she's quite pretty... It's such a waste for her to die like this... Why don't we let a few of us have some fun with her first..."
I took a step back in disbelief.
"Hehe, you guys... you've got some nerve..." Hua Yingxiong, who was lying on the ground unable to move, suddenly laughed behind him.
"You're about to die, and you still want to stand up for others?" The jailers laughed and stepped forward.
"I...cough...I'm doing this for your own good...I'm in such a terrible state today because I slept with this woman...She's the Prime Minister's favorite concubine...Anyone who dares to touch her...cough...just wait to suffer the same fate as me..." Hua Yingxiong said with a panting laugh.
The jailers looked at each other, then ignored us and went back to drinking.
I turned to look at Hua Yingxiong lying on the ground.
He looked at me, his pale, chapped lips trembling slightly, "Could you hold me... I'm a little cold..."
"Didn't you say that you only reserved your embrace for your lover..." I grinned, but my smile was somewhat pathetic.
“In these extraordinary times… I… cough cough… I have no choice but to compromise…” Hua Yingxiong also laughed.
I stepped forward, leaned against him, and silently hugged him tightly.
"Hehe, in my next life, I'll definitely find a good-looking body again..." Hua Yingxiong muttered, "Why is it so cold... so cold..."
I lowered my head slightly and hugged him even tighter.
"cold……"
Locked in a dungeon, unable to distinguish between day and night, oblivious to the passage of time, with nothing to eat or drink, nothing at all...
Hua Yingxiong developed a high fever, and all I could do was hold him, helpless.
I'm at my wit's end...
"Xiaoxiao...you shouldn't have come back...you shouldn't have come back..."
"When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajnaparamita, he perceived that the five aggregates are empty, and thus transcended all suffering and distress... His mind was without hindrance, and because there was no hindrance, he had no fear, and was far removed from distorted dreams..."
When he was lucid, he murmured to himself.
I don't know how much time passed, but a pair of cool, large hands gently stroked my hair.
I paused, then looked at Hua Yingxiong.
He was looking at me too, his eyes filled with an unprecedented peace.
"If there truly are gods and Buddhas in heaven, may they take my place, protect you, and stay with you..." Hua Yingxiong gently stroked my long hair, touched my cheek, his hand wet with tears, "They don't know how good you are, heaven has wronged you... You are the child who deserves happiness the most..."
I burst out laughing, but tears fell even faster. "What is this? Is it true that a dying person's words are always kind?"
"If only I had met you 1,800 years ago..." He smiled at me, "I would have bought you the most beautiful dresses, taken you to see the movies I starred in, bought you delicious food, and then held your hand while we went shopping... I would have given you so much love, and I would never have left you alone..."
"You're lying, you're a big star, I'm a thief, how could we possibly meet..."
His hand slowly fell to his sides...
I buried myself deep in his arms until I felt his heartbeat gradually stop...
I didn't want to cry, but tears just kept sliding down my cheeks, bitter and astringent...
"You look so ugly when you cry..."
I heard his last murmur.
I want to laugh, but I can't bring myself to smile.
I held Hua Yingxiong in my arms, nestled in his cold embrace, and held him there forever.
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of things, especially in this era... You have to learn to face everything on your own. I can't be with you forever, and being sad and upset won't help."
His words of advice echoed in my ears, the words he spoke to me when Guo Jia died. At the time, I hadn't given them much thought, but I never imagined this day would come...
How could Hua Yingxiong be Hua Tuo...?
I held him, leaned against him, my mind completely blank.
All around was darkness, utter darkness, overwhelming darkness, endless darkness...
I feel dizzy and have alternating chills and fever...
Just when I thought I was going to die, a series of slightly hurried footsteps suddenly sounded.
The footsteps grew more hurried and closer, calling out, "Madam Huan! Madam Huan!"
The cell door was suddenly opened, and standing in the doorway was Zhen Mi, panting heavily and pale-faced.
I slowly raised my head and looked at her.
"Let's go quickly." She stepped forward and helped me up. "Madam Huan, I'll take you away."
I gripped Hua Yingxiong's sleeve tightly with one hand, as if it were rooted to the spot, unwilling to let go.
“Madam Huan, Zhou Buyi came to me, begging me to take you out. Chong’er is seriously ill on the way to Danyang…” Zhen Mi said urgently.
"What...did you say?" I stared blankly at her, finally managing to find my voice.
“Zhou Buyi came to see me and said that Chong’er is seriously ill,” Zhen Mi said, holding my cold hand.
I looked back at Hua Yingxiong, whose eyes were closed and who was lifeless, and cold tears slowly streamed down my face.
"Madam Huan, he's already gone... Let's go, I stole Zihuan's warrant, he'll find out soon..." Zhen Mi hurriedly pulled me, "Hurry, it'll be too late if we're late!"
Hua Yingxiong...
Hua Yingxiong...
Hua Yingxiong...
I don't want to leave him alone... in this cold, damp place...
But Baozi got sick...
What is a dilemma...?
Slowly loosening her grip on his sleeve, Zhen Mi pulled me outside. I looked back at Hua Yingxiong, who lay quietly in the same spot... motionless.
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