Chapter 1294 I Should Have Saved Him
"Brother Hua!"
Although they had been enemies on the battlefield in Luoyang, Shan Tong'er was so overjoyed to realize that the most crucial arrow had been shot by him that she couldn't care less about anything else and immediately tried to rush over. However, she stopped abruptly when she was only a few steps away from him.
Not only Hua Ziying, but he also quietly took a step back, almost blending into the pitch-black night. It was because Shan Tong'er saw that his shoulders were hanging down at his sides in an almost twisted position. Although he was still holding a bow in his hand, the posture was not like holding a bow, but more like his fingertips were weakly hooking the bow.
Sure enough, when his fingers lost their last bit of strength, the longbow immediately fell to the ground.
Shan Tong'er stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the scene, then slowly raised her head to look at him: "Brother Hua, your hand..."
At this moment, Yuwen Ye, protecting Shang Ruyi, also walked over and stopped some distance away from him. He looked at Shang Ruyi's face, which appeared exceptionally pale in the night, and then said, "You... shouldn't have..."
"..."
Hua Ziying didn't speak, but lowered his head and lowered his eyelids.
Shan Tong'er then said, "Brother Hua, didn't you already leave?"
Since Hua Ziying was captured after being shot by an arrow on the battlefield in Luoyang, he was originally imprisoned with Xiao Yuansui and others. However, because Yuwen Cheng took Xiao Yuansui away in advance, he stayed with Yuwen Ye and others and was taken back to Chang'an by them.
Afterwards, although his external wounds healed, the arrow that pierced his body had damaged his tendons and bones, and the doctor told him that he would probably never be able to use a bow again.
Yuwen Ye never intended to kill him, and now he can no longer use him.
Especially after he learned that Xiao Yuansui had sided with the Crown Prince again, he completely lost faith in Chang'an, or rather, in the court, and decided to retire alone. Yuwen Ye did not force him to stay and actually let him leave.
I thought that with mountains and rivers separating us, we would never meet again.
But unexpectedly, he was here to see him fire another amazing arrow, and it was to save Shang Ruyi.
The most shocked person at this moment was Shang Ruyi. Not only had the fear of being cornered by his arrows outside Xingluo Warehouse completely disappeared, but what surprised her even more was that, compared to Yuwen Ye's strength, Hua Ziying's archery skills were known for their lightness and speed, but she never expected that he could also shoot such a domineering arrow.
Shang Ruyi slowly took two steps forward, looking at his hands hanging limply at his sides: "Thank you."
"..."
Hua Ziying glanced at her, hesitated, and after a long while, said in a dry voice, "I did it for him."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly but said nothing. Shan Tong'er, however, understood what was happening. She glanced back at the blood-stained body of Shang Ruyi and wondered how much of it belonged to Xiao Yuansui.
Shan Tong'er suddenly said, "Brother Hua, you've been here all this time?"
"..."
"Were you there when we were on the Imperial Horse Road?"
"..."
"Then why didn't you—"
At this point, he regretted his slip of the tongue and immediately shut his mouth. But Hua Ziying's eyes flickered, and he said to himself, "Actually, I could have saved him just now."
"..."
"I should have saved him."
"..."
“But I didn’t.”
Shang Ruyi asked, "Why?"
Hua Ziying's eyes were empty as he said in a deep voice, "I just feel that if he continues to live, he will not stop. He will keep rebelling, keep starting uprisings, keep rebelling... It seems that his life has always been like this, never at ease, never able to stop."
"..."
“I just don’t want to see him continue like this.”
"..."
"As for saving you—it was out of gratitude for His Highness the King of Qin's mercy in sparing your life, and also because I didn't want him to die in vain."
At this point, he said to Shang Ruyi, "So Your Highness, there's no need to thank me. I saved you, but not for the sake of saving you."
Shang Ruyi nodded, her eyes no longer filled with gratitude, but with tenderness: "His life was not free, but yours can; he took the wrong path, but after you leave, you can walk a path that belongs to you."
"..."
"Hua Ziying, who can't lift a bow, may be able to lift much more."
Hua Ziying's eyes flickered for a moment, then he glanced down at the bow lying at his feet, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He then gave Shang Ruyi, Yuwen Ye, and the others a laborious bow: "Thank you. Goodbye."
After speaking, he turned around, and his agile yet lonely figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long while, gazing into the dark night, before turning to Yuwen Ye: "Are you really not going to keep him here?"
Yuwen Ye shook his head slightly: "He's no longer of any use to me."
"..."
"But he may still have a bright future for himself."
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Yuwen Ye then turned around and glanced at Yuwen Cheng, who was lying on the ground, lifeless. He waved his hand and said, "Take Prince Qi away and give him a proper burial."
Several soldiers immediately obeyed the order and went forward to lift Yuwen Cheng's body.
No one dared to linger here, as the Xuanwu Gate was still brightly lit not far away. Hearing the sounds of horses' hooves and shouts coming from there, they immediately mounted their horses and galloped back to the Xuanwu Gate.
Here, the outcome is already decided.
With Yuwen Ye killing Yuwen Qian and Shen Tu Tai killing Yu Dingxing, the two pillars of the enemy's defense were almost completely destroyed. In addition, Yuwen Cheng escaped with Shang Ruyi, and the remaining Xiaowei Army became a disorganized mess. Some deserted, some surrendered their weapons, and the rest who refused to surrender were all slaughtered after a bloody battle led by Shen Tu Tai, leaving no trace of trouble.
Even Shi Yuxin has returned.
She led her troop of men and galloped to the front of Xuanwu Gate. As soon as they got close, everyone saw a bloody head hanging on the side of her horse. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Su Changjing's head!
Shang Ruyi was startled: "What's going on?"
Shi Yuxin bowed to the two of them first, and then said, "After leaving Mingde Gate, I originally planned to come to the palace to meet the Princess Consort immediately. However, halfway there, I found that although Prince Qi's men had also come, Su Changjing was nowhere to be seen. Fearing that they might have an ambush, I waited for a while outside Buzhengfang. Sure enough, I saw Su Changjing leading his men back from Prince Qin's residence in defeat. They planned to detour to the other side of the Imperial Horse Road to meet up with Prince Qi's troops, so I took his life."
As soon as Shi Yutao saw her, he immediately came up to her and said with great joy, "Sister, you are really amazing."
Shi Yuxin looked him up and down, then nodded slightly: "You're not bad either."
Shi Yutao immediately smiled with delight.
Just as they were talking, a tall figure ran over from the front. It was Shen Tu Tai. As soon as he saw Yuwen Ye returning with Shang Ruyi, he immediately stepped forward, bowed to Shang Ruyi, and then said to Yuwen Ye, "Your Highness, you should go and take a look."
Yuwen Ye asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Tu Tai said, "Crown Prince..."
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