Chapter 97
“If you really think that way, then I’ll be at ease.” His voice trembled slightly. “I’ve taken on many missions this year and saved up a lot of money, all of which I’m leaving for you.”
Mu Yulu's heart trembled at the sound of his voice.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, word by word, "After I leave, you should live freely and naturally. You can forget me, and in the future you can be with someone who truly loves you, but that person cannot be Qi Zhizhi."
Mu Yulu blinked, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Why?"
Sanzhou Jinse's tone softened unconsciously, carrying a hint of coaxing: "I know he is deeply in love with you, but he can never escape Madam Qi's control over him. He has already given up on you once before, and I will never allow him to get close to you again."
Mu Yulu gave a soft snort, deliberately provoking him: "But if you die, can you still care about me? Once you're dead, I'll go find Qi Zhizhi, or go back to the Vermilion Bird Kingdom to find Mu Qinhan, or there's always Feng Wentang."
Sanzhou Jinse suddenly laughed, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes: "Are you trying to annoy me?"
"Why would I deliberately upset a dying person? Anyway, you can't control me anymore..." Before she could finish speaking, she hissed in pain, "You're hurting me!"
Sanzhou Jinse then realized how tightly he was gripping her shoulders. Seeing her eyes redden with pain, his heart clenched, and he released his grip. "I'm sorry, I..."
At that moment, he didn't even know what to say.
She was right. He was a dying man and had no right or standing to stop her from being with anyone. He also knew that she was just saying things in anger, but when he heard those words, his heart still ached unbearably.
Mu Yulu rubbed her shoulders, her eyes red as she continued to vent her anger, "If you won't let me be with someone, I'll just be with him anyway, and then we'll have seventeen or eighteen kids..."
Before she could finish speaking, he finally couldn't bear it any longer and leaned down to kiss her, crushing her unfinished words between their tightly pressed lips.
She opened her eyes wide in shock, her hands instinctively pushing against his chest, trying to push him away. But Sanzhou Jinse held her head firmly with one hand, not allowing her any chance to back down, while his other hand tightly gripped her waist, pressing her firmly against him.
The kiss was filled with intense possessiveness, and his surging jealousy seemed to push him to the brink of losing control. He embraced her, forcefully conquering her, almost suffocating her.
She initially struggled fiercely, pounding his shoulders with her fists, but he didn't budge, instead pulling her even tighter into his arms.
Gradually, her resistance lessened, and his kisses became gentler and more tender.
Mu Yulu's consciousness became somewhat blurred, and the hand that was pressing against his chest had somehow changed from pushing away to welcoming him. She gently gripped his collar and closed her eyes, trembling.
Sensing her subtle response, his body stiffened abruptly, and the strength in his arms around her lessened considerably, transforming into a cautious embrace.
Only when both of them were out of breath did Sanzhou Jinse loosen his grip slightly, his forehead touching hers, their hot breaths mingling together.
Mu Yulu leaned against him, breathing slightly. After a while, she raised her hand to hug him and buried her head in his chest as before.
Her voice was muffled, tinged with tenderness and a hint of a sob: "Don't die, don't leave me, okay?"
Sanzhou Jinse sighed softly, quietly holding her, lost in thought.
After a long while, he called her name softly, lowered his head again, and placed a kiss on her lips, lingering gently.
The candlelight illuminated their embracing figures, casting two tender silhouettes on the wall.
...
Xin Yun and the others couldn't understand it at all. Just the night before, they were racking their brains about how to trick San Zhou Jinse into undergoing a blood transfusion, and the next day Mu Yulu told them that San Zhou Jinse had agreed.
You don't need to think of any methods or use any means.
He agreed so easily?
Even Xu Zaiye was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected Sanzhou Jinse to come to her senses so quickly and agree to perform the blood transfusion as soon as possible.
Now that the matter has been settled, it's better to act sooner rather than later. After all, the Three States Pavilion is not to be trifled with. If they find out that Xu Zaiye is going to detoxify the Three States Pavilion's assassins like her master, they will definitely send people to cause trouble. The longer it drags on, the more likely something unexpected will happen.
Therefore, after learning that Sanzhou Jinse had made a decision, Xu Zaiye only spent two days making preparations before taking Mu Yulu and Sanzhou Jinse into the secret room of Qiye Academy.
The mechanism of this secret chamber was personally built by her master. It can be said that the entire academy expands out from this secret chamber, making it the best place to perform the blood exchange technique without worrying about anyone intruding or disturbing it.
Before drawing blood, Xu Zaiye reiterated the risks of the procedure to Mu Yulu one last time. Then she asked her, "If Sanzhou Jinse doesn't make it and dies during the blood transfusion, will you blame yourself?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Mu Yulu resolutely shook her head: "Our lives are already intertwined. If he dies, I will never marry and will live a good life on my own. I will become the person I have always wanted to be, and I will also help him accomplish what he wanted to do."
She smiled at Xu Zaiye: "Master, don't worry. Even if I fail, I won't give up on myself. I will take good care of my health and carry on with his legacy."
Xu Zaiye didn't speak. She just stared intently into Mu Yulu's eyes and listened carefully to what she was saying. After Mu Yulu finished speaking, she smiled calmly and handed her a bowl of black medicine.
Mu Yulu took the medicine and drank it all in one gulp. She lay down on the bed arranged by Xu Zaiye, gently exhaled, and then closed her eyes.
Whether it was the effect of the medicine or not, as soon as she closed her eyes, she felt her consciousness become hazy, and the next second she lost all perception of the outside world and fell into a state of complete darkness.
The feeling of falling in the darkness was so familiar; it wasn't the first time she'd experienced it. She quickly realized that she might have returned to that strange dream she'd had before.
In the boundless darkness of the dream, the figure of a woman gradually emerged, with a glowing chain sword wrapped around her waist, which became the only source of light in the darkness.
She seemed to be watching Mu Yulu from across a void, and after a moment she revealed a blurry smile. That hazy smile made Mu Yulu even more certain that she was in a dreamlike void.
The woman's voice was also somewhat ethereal and didn't sound very real. She said to Mu Yulu, "It's a pleasure to see you again. You've been completely transformed."
Mu Yulu stared at her in a daze, then raised her hand to her burning chest. "Is it you? Are you the one who gave me a second chance at life?"
The woman slowly shook her head: "You are the one who gave me a second chance at life."
She also pointed to her heart, saying, "Everyone has a fire in their heart, it's just a matter of whether it's burning brightly or not. Right now, the fire in your heart is burning brightly, and it's what has led you out of difficulties time and time again."
Mu Yulu thoughtfully felt the burning heat emanating from her heart, and nodded as if she understood: "It was myself... who allowed myself to be reborn?"
The woman walked slowly toward her, just as before, each step she took creating a wisp of ripples, it was hard to tell whether it was dust or mist.
“I’m also glad that you’ve finally learned how to love yourself. You no longer give up on yourself and have saved yourself from danger time and time again.” She raised her hand and gently stroked Mu Yulu’s cheek, but it didn’t bring any real touch. “Good girl, you have kept your promise and have not wasted the chance to start over.”
Mu Yulu looked into her eyes and asked the question she hadn't had a chance to ask last time.
She asked her who she was, where she came from, and why she had been chosen. Finally, she asked if her lover could survive the blood transfusion.
As she asked her question, the woman's figure gradually disappeared before her eyes like smoke.
Before disappearing completely, she only repeated what she had said before to Mu Yulu: "Everyone has a fire in their heart, it's just a matter of whether it's burning or dying."
The moment the words left her lips, the darkness before her receded like a tide, and Mu Yulu's consciousness returned from the dream to reality. She lay on the bed and calmly opened her eyes.
...
Time flies, and six or seven years have passed in the blink of an eye.
When the blood transfusion was completed, Mu Yulu was in very bad condition. She lay in bed for half a year with a pale face before gradually recovering her health.
After recovering her health, she took over the shop that Xinyun had helped her rent. In just three to five years, she turned that small shop into a grand restaurant second only to the world's number one restaurant.
Her business flourished in Xuanwu Kingdom, and she herself gained a foothold in the kingdom, establishing her own network and influence, no longer having to rely solely on her master and senior sister for protection as she had when she first arrived.
After that, she began to fulfill her promise to Sanzhou Jinse and expanded her business to other countries. In just two or three years, she had established a presence in all three major countries except for Zhuque Kingdom.
Of course, the fact that she was able to run her business to this extent in such a short time and have had such a smooth journey is not only due to her own talent and hard work, but also inseparable from Xu Zaiye's guidance, Jiang Wangshu's occasional favors, and the help from external forces like Qi Zhizhi.
After learning that she had also started running her own shop, Qi Zhizhi would often take the initiative to visit her, bringing Qi Zhiqi and Xu Xingzhi to take care of her business. Sometimes, he would also subtly introduce her to some of the Qi family's resources in the business world.
Mu Yulu wasn't shy about it. Seeing that he was willing to help her, she would sometimes take the initiative to seek him out when she encountered business problems, and listen to his experience.
As time went by, their interactions became more natural, especially after they weathered some storms in the business world together. Their relationship progressed further, and they seemed even more familiar with each other than when they were in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.
However, no matter how close their relationship was, Mu Yulu only regarded him as a close friend. Qi Zhizhi never dared to cross the line. He knew that he could only stay by her side as a friend. But for him, being able to stay by her side at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, and to take in her every smile and frown, was enough.
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