Let them live or die on their own
Wan Qiqing's voice continued: "Many women have done similar things. They went undercover, acting as spies, using people, and being used in return."
“Look at Su Rouhua of the Hidden Moon Clan, and look at Lady Huachi Mo Yi Bishuang.”
“I thought this was a necessary part of growing up, and you will do very well.”
A Qiu numbly recalled the arduous paths these two female predecessors had traversed. Submitting themselves to the enemy, determined to survive, every step was stained with blood and tears, but they ultimately became women who wielded power and were able to influence an era.
Therefore, this is how the master understood the process. He believed that as long as one gets used to it and adjusts oneself, one will eventually wake up and understand the path one is meant to take.
I didn't expect you to be so incompetent.
Using the reflection of the shackles, A-Qiu saw a blurry reflection of himself on the metal mirror. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were lifeless, and there was no trace of his former disciplined, calm, and restrained self.
No moment has made her realize more clearly than this that she has not only failed completely, but has also become a useless weapon.
From the moment she received the expulsion order issued to her by Sikong Zhao on behalf of the Southern Dynasty, she was completely disoriented and her behavior was utterly substandard. Sikong Zhao took her around at will, and Wanqi Qing effortlessly captured her on the spot and brought her back to the hall.
Her will and energy completely collapsed the moment she learned that Gu Yiyi had agreed to remove her.
"No matter what you encountered before, you would never shed a tear. I thought you were a born strong person, naturally possessing extraordinary rationality and composure."
You're wrong. I won't cry, because all the pain and trauma are frozen in the moment when you took me away from Gu Yi when I was six years old.
An infant forced to leave its mother will also experience similar indifference. It knows that the worst has happened, and the warmest embrace has been lost. What follows is a brutal, survival-of-the-fittest world, not to be underestimated. And the environment in which Lanling Hall survives is roughly this kind of environment.
"Look at yourself now, what kind of person are you!"
Wan Qiqing's icy words still lingered in my ears like a venomous snake.
She spoke, her voice hoarse and trembling.
Just because many people have done this doesn't mean I can.
Because I don't have a heart that can lie. I can't even lie to myself.
I don't know how those women, with their wounded hearts, managed to deceive themselves and continue living in this world.
"But some people can't fool themselves, so they give up on life."
Like—Shangguan Yuqi's mother.
Like—the final Mo Yi Bi Shuang.
Like—
The last name that had been swirling in her mind was about to be uttered, but she suddenly swallowed it back down.
All because she saw Wan Qiqing's face suddenly turn deathly pale.
She paused slightly, but finally uttered the name word by word.
"Shangguan Yanxiu".
Master, as Shi Changqing, what role did you play in Shangguan Yanxiu's life?
Do you think she could do it too?
Just like the women you mentioned.
But the result was that she couldn't.
After she softly uttered that name, Wan Qiqing felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and she staggered back, her expression showing an unprecedented shock.
Her master's behavior even frightened her.
This reaction suggests that he personally killed Shangguan Yanxiu. But setting aside whether his master had any reason to kill a weak woman in the deep palace, even if he did kill her, his master has killed countless people in his life, and he shouldn't be so agitated over a woman.
Wan Qiqing's expression first twisted and went out of control, and then he let out a deafening roar:
"You shall live and die here in this great prison of the Punishment Hall!"
In the next instant, he was already gone.
It was less a fit of rage after being contradicted by a traitor and more a hasty escape.
A-Qiu pressed her cheek against the cold stone ground and curled up her whole body.
The prison after the master left was gloomy and eerie, exuding the atmosphere of a living hell.
She felt her heart collapse into a tiny piece, and her whole being shrank back into a tiny dot in the world.
Not everyone can be as gentle as Su Rouhua or as resilient as Mo Yi Bishuang, able to walk the path they came from with such strength.
You might think everyone can be so ruthless and realistic, but in reality, some people can't.
Everything in Jianzhang Palace is now in the past; I have been abandoned and forgotten by everyone.
Shangguan Yuqi, Pei Yu, Fan Liancheng... their origins are clear, their roots are intertwined with the Southern Dynasty. Whether in war or surrender, regardless of any rifts or divisions that may have existed before, they will ultimately stand together with dignity, accepting the fate that binds them to the nation.
Becoming friends with them... was perhaps just a momentary misunderstanding and illusion that made me think I was the same as them.
Gu Yi was someone she could neither touch nor dared to touch in her heart.
By this moment, she knew that Gu Yi meant far too much to her, almost all the weight of her first half of life.
Because of this, she couldn't ask him any questions, dared not probe his feelings, and didn't want to put him in a difficult position.
She was always the one who owed him.
She never knew that if one's feelings for someone were so profound, then the only option would be to accept everything about them.
Accept the fate he brings.
Long tears streamed down A-Qiu's cheeks, turning icy cold.
Those were perhaps tears I didn't have time to shed when I was six.
Gu Yi,
Master.
I finally remembered where I came from.
She closed her eyes, utterly exhausted, and plunged into a darkness of consciousness deeper than the prison itself.
A narrow beam of light appeared dimly ahead, like a door at the end of a long passage.
As the door drew closer, she saw a woman's graceful and beautiful back in the light.
This time, there was no need for repeated comparisons and confirmations; she had already tried to call out.
"Is that you, Ah Xiu?"
The woman trembled slightly upon hearing the sound, but did not turn around; she simply let out a soft, low sigh.
"Is it my fault, A-Chiu?"
She was still confused, yet seemed to understand something, and said, "Blame you? Blame you for what?"
Am I to blame you for staying with me and protecting me in my dreams and the depths of my soul all these years?
Even though the path I came from was completely sealed and buried by your unintentional words, "You will forget all memories related to love," haven't you been faithfully guarding this place all along?
Whenever I waver, feel lonely, or despair, I find your image in my heart.
Even now, when I've lost everyone's favor, lost all value to everyone, and am no longer needed, your presence is such a comfort to me.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ah Xiu's voice was still gentle, yet it seemed both annoyed and amused.
Even if everyone in the world leaves you, I will never abandon you, you know?
A gentle yet strong hand gently took her hand in mine.
A-Qiu felt the warmth coming from her palm and suddenly felt a long-lost sense of peace.
It's the relief of instantly releasing all the pressure and tension in your body. It's as if all your weakness and breakdown have been accepted in this moment.
"Come with me."
She let Ah Xiu hold her hand and bravely walked out.
I walked out of that blindingly bright door.
A massive serpent covered in scales coiled and writhed around her.
Their emerald green eyes were like lanterns suddenly lit in the darkness.
She wanted to speak but couldn't; her body seemed frozen.
But now, A-Qiu no longer felt the fear she had when she first dreamt of this scene. Because now she knew that the Candle Dragon in the ruined palace of Liyang was peaceful and docile by nature and did not eat people.
That incredibly familiar voice from my memory finally rang out:
"Zhulong, step back!"
She was clearly afraid it would frighten her.
Someone picked her up horizontally and carried her in their arms.
The person's embrace was warm, and had a refreshing, bittersweet scent like herbs.
The chains binding him were making her uncomfortable. But now, it seemed she couldn't even change her position.
A handsome, almost otherworldly face appeared before her.
Silver hair, gray eyes, and crystalline pupils.
It was an overlap of two faces from my memory.
Gu Yi.
Lord Liyang.
She could hear the muffled sound in his voice; he seemed unhappy.
"Why did you bring someone back with you?"
But when she looked around, there was no one else there. Only then did she realize that he was actually talking to Zhulong.
Having just been reprimanded and forced to retreat, Zhulong, upon hearing its master's question, swam over again, its body swaying.
It lowered its head and gently touched her face with the single horn that grew on its forehead, then looked up at Gu Yi, or perhaps at the current God of Liyang, with a curious expression.
Then it shook its head, as if to say that it didn't pick it up.
It certainly didn't pick it up. And the Candle Dragon doesn't have hands, Ah Qiu thought. Such an obvious fact.
Gu Yi then understood.
If it didn't pick it up from outside, then someone must have deliberately put it in.
Gu Yi's expression instantly turned serious, and his gray eyes seemed to brighten and become even colder and more ruthless as he looked at her.
In fact, at this moment, A Qiu had already guessed Gu Yi's current situation.
He hid in the abandoned palace of Liyang, naturally not wanting others to discover his existence.
Given his appearance, it was indeed best for him not to be discovered.
But now that someone has placed her here, he can't help but wonder if someone is testing his existence.
In fact, A Qiu didn't know why she was there, but she couldn't bring herself to explain it to Gu Yi.
Gu Yi looked at her expression, which was clearly not pleasant; she seemed undecided.
"Or, you could just eat her."
Considering the later ruthless assassination attempt leader, A Qiu, she could understand it. At this moment, she had no relation to Gu Yi, and judging from Gu Yi's situation, he even had trouble protecting himself. At this moment, he was more concerned with how to eliminate her existence discreetly, and letting the Candle Dragon devour her was not a bad option.
In any case, the legend of a giant snake eating people in the ruined palace of Liyang had already spread throughout the palace.
But at this moment, she could only weep silently.
Zhulong shook its big head, looking like it had nothing to do with it, and planned to sneak away.
Gu Yi was thinking that since someone had already left her here, sending her out again would only expose the fact that someone was living in this abandoned palace.
However, if he leaves her here, firstly, it will be difficult to support her, and secondly, if someone comes to investigate, it will be difficult to avoid revealing his presence.
Although she knew it was something that happened many years ago, A Qiu still couldn't help but worry, wondering how Gu Yi would deal with her.
The simplest solution is for her to stay here; even if she dies of thirst, not a single drop of her blood will touch him.
But of course she didn't want that.
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