Xu Zhuohua finally had to admit that she was probably going to lose this tug-of-war with fate.
Her fate and Cheng Muyun's fate were like that of puppets tightly bound by red threads.
Like twin flowers under an ancient curse, everything reminds her that the deadline is approaching.
Xu Zhuohua realized with a sense of helplessness that she didn't seem to have much time left.
Now she is completely bound to Cheng Muyun, like a ghost who has signed a life-or-death pact, and at the appointed time, Ox-Head and Horse-Face will come to take her soul.
"I want to go back to Xinhai City," Xu Zhuohua murmured.
Chen Hede was puzzled. "Cheng Muyun is already struggling to take care of himself. If you go back, won't you just be asking for trouble?"
Xu Zhuohua looked at Chen Hede with teary eyes, "It is precisely at this time that I must stay by Cheng Muyun's side. I cannot let him face this alone. We are husband and wife."
With that, Xu Zhuohua walked toward the gate of the old house without hesitation. Since she didn't have much time left to spend with Cheng Muyun, she might as well go back and be with him.
At least, being able to enjoy the last moments is a blessing in disguise.
The carved bronze lock gleamed coldly in the twilight. Xu Zhuohua's fingertips had just touched the door knocker when a sudden chill ran down her neck, making her shiver.
Chen Hede's well-defined knuckles gripped her wrist like an iron clamp, causing her to stagger backward, her back slamming heavily against the mottled vermilion door.
"Chen Hede! Let me go!" Xu Zhuohua turned around abruptly. She saw the raging storm in the man's eyes, his pupils shrinking to dangerous pinpoints. It was the first time she had ever seen him so out of control.
Chen Hede slammed his other hand on the door, trapping her in his arms.
His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice hoarse as if grinding sandpaper: "What do you think Xinhai City is now? A battlefield surrounded by jackals and tigers! And you, you just have to walk right into the line of fire?"
His breathing was rapid, filled with anger and helplessness: "You think you're going to help? There are plenty of people waiting to use you to blackmail him!"
Xu Zhuohua's fingernails dug deeply into her palm, the stinging pain briefly bringing her back to her senses.
The wind in the corridor blew up the remaining petals of the kapok flowers, passing through her thin clothes, and the contract lines on her collarbone suddenly burned.
“But he needs me…” Her voice trailed off, like a nightingale being choked.
Chen Hede suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with unspeakable bitterness: "Need you? What do you think you could do there? Be a burden to him, or a death warrant for him?"
These words struck me like a heavy hammer blow.
Xu Zhuohua's knees went weak, and she slowly slid down the door panel.
Chen Hede knelt down, took her icy hand in his, and finally softened his voice: "Trust him, Cheng Muyun will arrange everything..."
Xu Zhuohua looked at her thin silhouette reflected on the wall and suddenly felt that the shadow was just like a flickering candle flame—and Cheng Muyun was the wick that had burned to the end, who, despite being in dire need of protection himself, still gave light to protect her.
Her fingertips trembled slightly in Chen Hede's palm. The calluses on the man's palm brushed against her skin, and the rough touch reminded her of Cheng Muyun's hands, which were also covered with scars.
"He sent you, didn't he?" Xu Zhuohua looked up, her eyes uncomfortably turning away from Chen Hede, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows beneath her eyes.
Chen Hede's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he finally released his arms from her grasp. "His current approach is simply to 'wait.' He can neither accept the Si family's overtures nor take the initiative to step forward; he can only wait."
“Wait? Wait until how long?” She suddenly laughed, her laughter tinged with broken sobs. “Wait until he is driven to the brink by his opponents, Chen Hede, do you know? More than death, I fear him facing the darkness alone.”
Chen Hede suddenly grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently, his eyes bloodshot: "I won't let you go to your death."
The wind swirled withered leaves against the carved window frames, creating a mournful rustling sound.
Looking at Chen Hede's flushed face, Xu Zhuohua suddenly remembered what Cheng Muyun had said: "Once a move is made, there is no going back, but you must calculate the cost of each step."
What is the background of the organization that commits indiscriminate killings?
Chen Hede frowned slightly, "Before we could find anything, Cheng Muyun raided our hideout, so we can't find anything either."
"Isn't he an extremist? A reactionary or something?"
Xu Zhuohua's implication was quite clear: it was likely that some of the people Xiao Wuxin had met in Xinhai City were radical individuals who, initially, would demonstrate in front of the government building or even "act on behalf of Heaven" to kill corrupt officials.
Chen Hede paused, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. "No, if that were the case, I would have found out long ago. Besides, these people are killing indiscriminately, which is completely contrary to the organization's ideology."
Xu Zhuohua racked her brains, but she still couldn't figure out what kind of indiscriminate killing organization had appeared in Xinhai City during this period.
However, the fact that it can stir up public opinion shows that the people behind it are not to be underestimated.
In fact, the people who came and went during the Republic of China era were just the same few people, and Xu Zhuohua knew them all too well. He really couldn't imagine who would want to do such a thing.
"Who could it be?"
Chen Hede sighed, "I really don't know, but now not only is Cheng Muyun in a difficult situation, Liang Shaozun is also in a difficult situation because he is suspected of being the person behind that murder organization due to his close relationship with the Japanese."
The copper bells on the eaves rang out automatically without wind, producing a clear and melodious sound, but to Xu Zhuohua, it sounded like a deafening gong.
The sound struck her heart like a heavy hammer, connecting all the details she didn't want to face and the clues she deliberately ignored into a suffocating truth.
"So...everything was destined." She murmured to herself, her voice so soft it seemed it would vanish in the wind at any moment.
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