With a loud bang, Xu Jixin slammed his hand on the low table beside him, making the empty teacup on the table jump.
His voice suddenly rose several decibels: "How infuriating! So annoying! Does Lan Qingyi think you'll obey him without the Dongzhou Army? He's dreaming! The entire Dongzhou Army has always only ever recognized Cheng Muyun!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Hede, who was in the corner, suddenly opened his eyes wide and his sharp gaze shot towards Cheng Muyun, as if he had suddenly grasped some crucial thread.
Cheng Muyun remained calm, still slowly fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. The breeze from the fan brushed against his cheeks with an almost deliberate calmness, as if he hadn't heard Xu Jixin's words at all.
But Chen Hede clearly thought of something, his brows furrowed, and his fingertips unconsciously tapped on his knees.
Xu Zhuohua's heart sank suddenly, and a thought flashed through her mind like lightning—she instantly understood what Chen Hede's gaze meant.
She suddenly reached out and tightly grasped Cheng Muyun's hand that was holding the palm-leaf fan. The warmth of her palm seeped through the thin fabric, carrying an undeniable force that forced him to stop what he was doing.
Cheng Muyun's face showed a hint of doubt, but his eyes remained gentle. He took her hand in his own and asked softly, "What's wrong? Zhuohua?"
Xu Zhuohua stared at him intently, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, as if it would burst out of her ribs.
The thought that had just popped into her head was so terrifying that it sent chills down her spine, as if she had already foreseen a disintegrating ending.
She opened her mouth, wanting to express her worries, but her throat felt like it was being tightly blocked by something, and she couldn't make a sound. She could only let her anxiety and fear surge in her eyes as she stared intently at Cheng Muyun.
Seeing her like this, Cheng Muyun's calm was instantly shattered, and a sense of unease welled up inside him. He tightened his grip on her hand and pressed, "What's wrong?"
Xu Jixin was also puzzled by the sudden silence, and scratched his head: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
Chen Hede and Xu Zhuohua exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing the same mixture of fear and understanding—they had clearly thought of the same thing.
“She’s worried about you.” Chen Hede broke the silence first, his voice tinged with seriousness. Cheng Muyun immediately turned to him with a questioning look. He paused, then slowly said, “Since the Dongzhou Army only listens to you, and you’ve clearly made it clear that you’re unwilling to submit to Lan Qingyi, what exactly is he trying to achieve by going to such lengths to deal with you?”
Cheng Muyun frowned slightly and subconsciously replied, "Perhaps it's just... the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows?"
Chen Hede shook his head heavily, his tone resolute: "It's definitely not that simple."
The wind on the rooftop seemed to cool down suddenly, carrying the dampness unique to summer nights, enveloping everyone's hearts. The sticky heat was replaced by a deeper unease, pressing down heavily and making it hard to breathe.
Cheng Muyun's gaze gently fell on Xu Zhuohua's face, carrying a hint of barely perceptible inquiry.
He could see clearly that her tightly furrowed brows were filled with an unyielding worry, as if some heavy secret was weighing on her heart, making even her breathing difficult.
Xu Zhuohua felt a throbbing sensation between his brows as those deliberately suppressed fragments of memory surged forth.
The pursuers from Nanjing were like a persistent leech, relentlessly chasing after Xiao Wuxin. At that time, they couldn't even put up a decent fight back and could only flee like stray dogs, in a sorry state.
After Cheng Muyun's death, the Dongzhou Army fell into Xiao Wuxin's hands. If it weren't for the remnants of the old Dongzhou Army fighting to the death to protect him, Xiao Wuxin would probably have been killed long ago.
The trajectory of history is like an invisible shackle; major milestones are never altered by anyone.
Cheng Muyun's fate was almost predetermined; it was a dead end that he could not avoid no matter what.
Lan Qingyi's ruthless attack on Cheng Muyun at this moment was probably because he feared that Cheng Muyun would defect to Xiao Wuxin in a desperate situation. The things Cheng Muyun said to Lan Qingyi today had inadvertently confirmed the other party's test, completely igniting his killing intent.
It turns out that Lan Qing's target was never Cheng Muyun himself.
What he wanted was the complete annihilation of the Dongzhou army, to cut off Xiao Wuxin's last reliance.
Xu Zhuohua's body trembled uncontrollably, her fingertips were icy cold, and the fear in her eyes was almost overflowing.
She opened her mouth, her voice dry as if it had been sanded, each word slow and clear: "He...he wants the Dongzhou Army to disappear. What Lan Qingyi really wants is for the Dongzhou Army to disappear completely; his target has never been you."
A clear look of confusion crossed Cheng Muyun's face. He frowned in puzzlement: "What do you mean? The Dongzhou Army's combat strength and foundation should be far more valuable to Lan Qingyi than to me."
“No.” Xu Zhuohua shook her head forcefully, her voice sharp with a hint of despair. “He knows he can’t mobilize the Dongzhou Army at all. This army only recognizes you to the core. So he will never leave this hidden danger. He will… he will wipe them out completely, leaving not even a spark.”
Cheng Muyun gently took her cold hand in his palm, the warmth of his hand gradually transferring to her. His patience was like a bottomless lake as he softly comforted her, "It's alright, don't worry. I've already figured out how to settle the Dongzhou army."
"Boom—" These words exploded in Xu Zhuohua's mind like a thunderclap, and she understood instantly.
The "placement" he spoke of never had anything to do with "preserving himself." In the end, he still chose the path she feared most, the path that led to death.
Just then, a series of urgent knocks suddenly sounded, the "bang bang bang" sound particularly jarring in the quiet night, like the beat of a death knell.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
