Chapter 128: End of the Darkness
"Hmm." Xihe responded softly, her heart, which had been hanging for many days, finally felt real. "I will cure my aunt. I brought a lot of medicine with me. I can heal all her injuries. Since she can't speak, I will talk more, tell her and make her laugh. Since she can't remember the past, I will tell her over and over again. One day, everything will return to the way it was before."
Xihe looked forward to the future, with tenderness in her brows.
The sun dipped low in the sky, smearing it with a crimson hue that burned the entire sky. People on the streets hurried home, their homes a place of destination for everything and everyone in the world. Occasionally, a few lights would be lit, a tiny glow in the dim night, adding a touch of warmth to the still, cold night.
"I suddenly remembered that when you left, the sky was like this too."
That year, Xihe and Liu Yuan sat on the city wall until it was completely dark.
Xiao Mingxuan was silent for two moments, then said hoarsely, "I'm sorry, I was wronged by you back then."
Xihe suddenly chuckled softly, "You can say it now, but why didn't you say it back then? Fifth uncle did stop you, but it took two full days from the time Dad issued the decree until you left. No one restricted you, but... you didn't come to see me, didn't say a word to me, even though I was not far away in the Vanity Palace."
Then he said, "Xiao Mingxuan, you actually wanted to leave at the beginning, right?"
Xiao Mingxuan remained silent, which was considered as his agreement.
Emperor Jingyuan's conditions were very tempting, even generous. If he wanted to return to Beili to seize power, he had to obey Emperor Jingyuan.
He didn't dare to look for Xihe, let alone hear her voice. If he looked at her for just one more moment, he would probably be reluctant to leave. Xihe looked up at Xiao Mingxuan's face. He was obviously even more handsome than when he was young, but Xihe felt a little strange. She knew that the man in front of her was her little brother, but this face looked out of place no matter how she looked at it. It looked like a fake human skin mask. She could hardly see the truth hidden under this mask, or rather, she didn't dare to uncover it.
"Xiao Mingxuan, you don't have to feel guilty. You did nothing wrong." Xihe did feel some resentment at first, but after thinking it through, she let it go. "Just like the decision you made me make back then, I also... gave up on you."
That winter, when Xiao Mingxuan asked the question with his young mind exposed, Xihe also denied it.
The two looked at each other and saw the deepest things in each other's eyes, which were also the things they had been trying to ignore.
With so many parties involved, the other party is never the first choice.
Perhaps on a rainy night, or in a secret room, thousands of butterflies fluttered their wings around our hearts and we fell in love with each other.
Xiao Mingxuan once gave in because of Xihe's kindness, and Xihe once tolerated Xiao Mingxuan's paranoia.
Family, faith, aspirations, ambitions, love.
No matter how they are ranked, they are always the last of each other.
Xihe is, and so is Xiao Mingxuan.
They are... the same kind of people.
The tension in Xiao Mingxuan's expression faded, replaced by a calm look. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly laughed out loud.
"why are you laughing?"
Xiao Mingxuan bent down, and Xihe moved to the side to make some space, so he sat down. The two of them leaned back to back, just like when they were children.
"I just suddenly realized that you and I are both gamblers."
Xiao Mingxuan once naively thought that he was the only one who had opened a chess game with his life at stake, but today he found out that his silly little girl had already overturned the chessboard.
"You want me to listen to you, I want you to become what I want, but in the end, no one can do that." Maybe it was because he was too sad in his heart, but his face was calm, and there was a hint of joking in his tone.
"Xihe, you know me. I will never let go."
If people are always greedy, Xiao Mingxuan is the best among them.
He wants both people and rights!
Xihe curved her eyebrows and smiled, "Do you think I'm just going to sit there and wait for death? I'm already sixteen. If I'm determined to get married, what can you do to me?"
"Get married?" Compared to the brat who would explode at the mere mention of the word when he was little, Xiao Mingxuan now seemed much more normal, but his words were still filled with madness. "If you dare to marry, I will kill him. You choose one, and I will kill him. When no one in the entire Imperial City dares to marry you, you will be mine."
The smile on Xihe's lips faded slightly, and she suddenly said, "I want to ask you something. Tell me the truth, okay?"
"you say."
Xihe took a deep breath and asked the question that had been weighing on her heart for the past ten years, "Those two years of studying swords by lamplight and traveling with me to the south of the Yangtze River, were we doing this to protect ourselves or because of my status?"
For ten years, she tossed and turned, asking herself this question countless times, feeling itchy but unable to come up with an answer.
"No!" Xiao Mingxuan said sternly, "Xihe, if I were the kind of person who would flatter others just to survive, I wouldn't have stayed in Mingyue Palace for several years without leaving."
Although he was a hostage, as long as he humbled himself and tried to please the royal relatives, his life would not be so difficult.
If it weren't for Xihe, he would probably have continued to live such a lonely life.
There is no glory, no hope, and every day I just look at the sky in all directions and spend my days in vain.
"It's only because of you, and only because of you, that I'm willing to leave Mingyue Palace. Everything that happens after this is done willingly, without the slightest intention of compromise."
Perhaps it was the night that softened the madness of the crowd. Xihe slowly approached the mask, and as if possessed, pecked Xiao Mingxuan on the lips.
Xiao Mingxuan suddenly froze in place.
When the other party wanted to take another step forward, Xihe flashed back and just looked at him with a smile. The fiery sunset spread behind her, and the last ray of sunlight shone obliquely on her cheek, making her seem out of reach.
"Xiao Mingxuan, don't try to play tricks on me. I'm not the powerless little princess I used to be."
Xiao Mingxuan pursed his lips, savoring what had just happened, and asked foolishly, "So?"
"So...it all depends on your ability."
*
As the night grew deeper, Zhao Jinyuan and Nangong Yan walked around and around, but not only did they fail to find out the whereabouts of Zhao Wanyu, they also lost Xiao Mingxuan and Xihe.
"Could they have already returned to the inn?" After walking for an entire afternoon, Nangong Yan felt a little tired.
"Maybe, go back and take a look."
It was completely dark and it was not easy to find someone.
"Okay, let's go."
Nangong Yan stood up, patted the dirt off his body, and just took two steps when he suddenly saw a ray of fire in the distance, rising into the sky.
"Is there a fire?"
Zhao Jinyuan looked over and frowned, "I don't know, should I go take a look?"
Nangong Yan suddenly felt a pain in his chest, as if he was pricked by a needle. The pain surged into his heart, but disappeared in an instant.
"What's wrong with you?" Although Zhao Jinyuan knew that the person in front of him was a former betrayer, because of the other party's relationship with his aunt, he rarely showed concern.
Nangong Yan rubbed his chest, as if the pain just now was just an illusion, "It's okay, it might be the residual poison that's acting up, it will be fine in a while."
There was residual poison from the Qianji Powder in his body, so Nangong Yan would occasionally feel pain in his chest, but he got used to it over time.
"Are you still going to see it?" Zhao Jinyuan pointed at the fire.
A passerby heard them discussing the fire and said, "You two are from out of town, so I guess you don't know much about it. It's not a fire, it's just a burning of useless straw."
Mass burnings are not uncommon in remote towns and are indeed not unusual.
"There's nothing to see, let's go." Nangong Yan waved his hand, showing little interest. "We should go back and see if those two have returned and if they've brought back any news about Ah Wan."
As long as he couldn't find Zhao Wanyu, he would feel uneasy.
"Let's go back."
The two men walked towards the inn, with flames rising into the sky behind them, forming a black cloud. It seemed as if some sparks floated over on the breeze and landed on the back of Nangong Yan's black robe. A bit of starlight sank into the darkness and could no longer be found.
Nangong Yan finally felt relieved when he learned that Zhao Wanyu had just gone to the mountains and would be back the next day.
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