Chapter 111 End
How long does it take for a fire to start?
Spilled oil stains, dried wooden eaves—all it took was a spark and the right breeze for the flames to erupt, twisting and engulfing everything. And a flame mingled with venomous hatred and longing had burned within Hao Chunhe for far too long. Even Chunyanzi, a spineless, muddleheaded woman who had spent over a decade wandering the city streets, hadn't been able to extinguish it.
When no one was around at night, Hao Chunhe lay on a narrow wooden bed in the Liuzhou restaurant in the ghost market of Bianliang and described the fire over and over again for more than ten years.
Today, the once famous Fei Ye Ke finally crossed thousands of miles to Xingqing. He spread oil and set fire to the palace, broke through layers of protection and once again approached his former enemy.
The other party had not changed much, still living a life of extravagance and debauchery, with a naked woman lying beside him. When the woman saw Hao Chunhe, she screamed and hid under the bed, covering her body. Hao Chunhe ignored her and reached out to grab the emperor's hair.
His hands were covered in blood, and thick blood dripped down in strings, hitting the emperor's terrified face and eyes, and flowing through the emperor's left ear, leaving a strange and flat surface.
There should have been an ear there. Unfortunately, Zuo Fengjiang had arrived just as he swung the dagger. His blow could have severed the emperor's head, but in the end, it only severing an ear, a painless loss. But it didn't matter; this time, Zuo Fengjiang had been captured by Wen Yao, gravely injured, and couldn't make it.
This time, no one could stop him from avenging his dead wife and daughter.
The pot-bellied Western Emperor had his hair disheveled, and looked like any other fat-headed fool in the world. He could not see the majesty of His Majesty the Emperor at all, and looked at the bloody man standing in front of the window with horror.
Hao Chunhe was covered in blood. Running low on Gu worms, he'd rushed straight ahead, suffering severe injuries. He'd been running too fast, and someone, trying to stop him, had shot arrows at his calves. One arrow had actually struck him, the shaft halfway behind his calf, the tip half protruding outward. He'd also been slashed in the abdomen, which was now burning hot and radiating a heaviness from within, as if something was eager to burst out from the wound that ripped through his body.
Outside, rain poured down, thunder and lightning roared, and the Western Emperor was terrified by the ghostly scene before him. Miraculously, he recognized Hao Chunhe, the assassin who had tried to kill him years ago. The shadow of two near-death experiences had left a deep mark on his heart, and shock and fear surged through the emperor's heart.
He never expected that Hao Chunhe was still alive and standing in front of him again.
The emperor's eyes widened, he screamed at the top of his lungs, and he struggled. But he was too fat and too old, and his struggle was very weak. He could only reach out to grab Hao Chunhe's dagger. The sharp dagger cut through his pampered fingers, causing unbearable pain. The emperor had never suffered such torture before, and he shouted: "Come! Red Guards! Zuo Fengjiang! Protect me!"
No one saved him.
Xin Man's poisonous insects are truly effective, and without Wang Fu in the Western Dynasty, there's no way to remove them. If the insects weren't limited in quantity, they could have been released into the entire palace without anyone noticing. But now, it's enough. Most of the palace maids and eunuchs have fainted, and the few who remain dare not approach. They can only shout "Your Majesty" from afar, hoping that the Red Guards will come to their rescue.
But who could come? Some of the Red Guards outside the palace had been diverted by Hao Chunhe's early warning, and the rest were already dead under his dagger.
Of course, reinforcements would arrive soon, and Hao Chunhe would never be able to leave the Western Dynasty Palace alone. But it didn't matter. Fei Yeke and his wife and daughter were already buried in the ground. Hao Chunhe lived to this day only to avenge them and put an end to the hatred that had spread for ten years.
He clenched his teeth tightly and raised the dagger high. The fire outside was extinguished by the rain, but the fire in his pupils still burned, burning his blood and making his heart swell. Without thinking, he raised his hand and cut the throat of the Western Emperor!
The screams of terror stopped abruptly.
Air filled the emperor's throat, and after it was cut, colorful blood foam immediately emerged from his throat like a pretty flower.
Hao Chunhe took a look and thought the flower was beautiful, much better than the one Zhao Xuanxu had planted in the courtyard. He increased his strength and, amid the screams of several palace maids and eunuchs, completely pulled off the emperor's head!
Just a door away, the wind and rain are blowing.
Wen Yao's eyes suddenly turned cold and fierce. He turned and drew his sword. The sword light bloomed like a galaxy, and with one move, he slit the throats of many Red Guards. The bloodstains were deep, but not fatal, just a warning.
Xue Shen reacted quickly, drawing his sword in time to block himself. He opened his eyes and looked at the Xingyi Sword in Wen Yao's hand. He was stunned for a moment, his brows filled with disbelief. He raised his head and tried to meet Wen Yao's eyes: "You——"
"His Majesty!"
A miserable scream came from the tightly closed bedroom door, interrupting Xue Shen's words.
He closed his mouth, and suddenly a bad premonition arose in his heart. He turned around and saw a figure appear on the door, holding a round object in his hand, which looked a bit like a human head.
He didn't need to guess, because the next moment, the door was opened from the inside, and the strong smell of blood hit him. Hao Chunhe's face was splattered with blood, and he held a heavy head in his hands.
Hao Chunhe lifted his head high, his arms raised, and stood in the night breeze, feeling as if all the freedom and joy in the world were being drawn into his lungs, like a drowning man being pulled out of the water. He had never felt so clearly alive before. He laughed heartily at the sky and shouted, "Wan Niang! I have avenged you! You and the child can rest in peace!"
A thunderclap split the sky and earth apart.
Wen Yao's clothes, soaked by the rain, clung to her arms. She didn't even look at the emperor's head, her gaze fixed on the wounds, large and small, covering Hao Chunhe's body. Hao Chunhe had bled profusely; Wen Yao could barely make out his features. But she knew it was Old Hao, that was Chun Yanzi. Chun Yanzi had taken her revenge, and now she was going to take him home.
Zhao Xuanxu had already prepared the Burning Heart Technique, and Zuo Fengjiang was waiting at the city gate with his horse. He only needed to get rid of the Red Guards and take Hao Chunhe out.
Wen Yao turned his finger, and the Xingyi Sword silently changed direction, ready to go forward to rescue the person.
The next moment, Hao Chunhe moved.
He suddenly threw the emperor's head to the ground. The round head rolled down along the ground with a gurgling sound. The surrounding red guards couldn't help but take a step forward. Then Hao Chunhe looked at Wen Yao, raised his hand to press his abdomen, and spurted out a large mouthful of thick black blood!
Wen Yao was startled, his pupils suddenly narrowing. He turned, exposing an opening behind him, and soared towards Hao Chunhe on tiptoe. The red guards beside Xue Shen seized the opportunity, raising their crossbows and unleashing a barrage of arrows! With a piercing sound, Wen Yao, without even turning back, swung his sword down, reaching down to one knee and firmly catching Hao Chunhe's body as it spun downwards, carrying him backward into the hall.
Something was wrong. Wen Yao felt Hao Chunhe's body temperature was a bit low. Perhaps it was from the injury and the rain, but it wasn't much warmer than the bricks beneath her knees. Wen Yao quickly calmed down, reached out to seal Hao Chunhe's acupoints, and took out the detoxification pill Bai Rang had given her and fed it to Hao Chunhe.
Hao Chunhe was still awake, coughing up blood intermittently. The ferocious, ferocious look between his brows vanished upon seeing Wen Yao. His brows relaxed completely, and he became the earnest old man again, looking at Wen Yao with a mixture of reproach and relief: "...you finally came."
"Shut up." Wen Yao placed his fingertips on his pulse, feeling with fear that the fluctuation there was rapidly weakening. The detoxification pill that Bai Rang gave him, which was said to be able to detoxify many poisons, had no effect at all.
"It's no use." Hao Chunhe coughed up all the blood, and the anger that had been pent up in his heart for a long time was finally released. He spoke more fluently: "I ate the best heartbroken dew, and I'm going to die soon."
Wen Yao gritted his teeth, lowered his voice and scolded fiercely: "I told you to shut up!"
The detoxification pill was useless, so she simply stood up, holding the Xingyi Sword in one hand and supporting Hao Chunhe with the other, letting him lie on her back and preparing to carry him to escape.
At that moment, the Red Guards, both near and far, had already arrived. Drawing their swords, bows, and crossbows, they aimed at the half-open palace gate, approaching cautiously step by step.
After Zuo Fengjiang disappeared, Xue Shen became the leader of the Red Guards. He grabbed some clothes and wrapped them around the emperor's head. Thinking of the Xingyi Sword he had just seen, he felt a dull pain in his head.
The master is missing, the emperor died, and Wen Yao is actually in Xingqing... What a mess!
The flashes of swords and sabers enveloped them, and Wen Yao and Hao Chunhe felt as if they were back on the night they'd fled ten years before. Aside from the rain and the absence of Zuo Fengjiang, everything else was exactly the same. And the sword that Hao Chunhe hadn't been able to strike that night finally fell today.
"I'll take you out to cure the poison." The wind grew stronger, and raindrops drifted in. Wen Yao's face was stained with raindrops, and the dripping water droplets hung on her eyebrows and eyelashes, forming several winding lines of water trails along her cheeks. "Don't use your power, don't talk!"
But Hao Chunhe kept nagging in her ear.
Ever since Wanniang and Xier left, he'd been alone for a long time. With no one to talk to, he drifted through Tianshui like a ghost from the underworld. Only Wen Yao cared about him, often writing to inquire about his whereabouts. That's why Hao Chunhe tended to be talkative around Wen Yao.
He felt that he had taught Wen Yao Qinggong, and could be considered Wen Yao's half-master. He treated Wen Yao as his own child, Xier's sister.
"You shouldn't have come," Hao Chunhe said. The hot smell of blood kept wafting from him, crawling over Wen Yao's ears and filling her nose. "I killed the Emperor of the Western Dynasty. I should die here. This way, everything will be over."
But he knew Wen Yao would definitely follow him. Wen Yao was too soft-hearted and too warm-hearted to easily abandon those close to him. He knew he couldn't stop Wen Yao, so he went all out in this assassination attempt, hoping to move quickly, kill the emperor and then commit suicide by poison before Wen Yao could reveal his identity. That way, the murderer would be identified and an explanation given.
Zuo Fengjiang hadn't revealed the Xingyi Sword back then, fearing the impact it would have on his standing with the Emperor. Ten years later, he certainly wouldn't have. Wen Yao hadn't been exposed, and the only person dead in the palace today was Fei Ye Ke, who had been plotting revenge for years.
This was the most perfect and appropriate ending that Hao Chunhe had thought about for a long time.
What a crappy idea!
Wen Yao fell silent, a breath stuck in her throat. She was now a little irritated, and with one hand she grasped the Xingyi Sword and backhanded it, forcing the advancing Red Guards to retreat several steps.
Reinforcements from the Red Guards arrived.
The walls and eaves surrounding the bedroom were suddenly covered in archers. In the distance, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard continuously. Wen Yao could hear a large group of people rushing towards them. Meanwhile, Hao Chunhe, who was on her back, had fallen silent. His breath gradually grew weak and cold. He slowly closed his eyes, seeming sleepy, his weathered face a peaceful expression.
Hao Chunhe is dead.
Wen Yao suddenly moved his hand away from Hao Chunhe's wrist.
She was stunned for a moment, then her lips trembled twice, and her chest rose and fell. Suddenly, Wen Yao raised his hand and quickly took off his outer robe and tied Hao Chunhe to his back. He stood up with the tip of his sword on the ground and looked outside.
The reinforcements seemed to consist of two groups. One was the Capture Life Army, a group Wen Yao had seen before, and she immediately recognized the leader, Li Youqi, the Second Prince of the Western Dynasty. The other group should be the renowned Crossbow Army, and the gray-robed figure standing beside them was probably Li Fubai, the Crown Prince of the Western Dynasty.
"Chun Yanzi, you've really made it." Raindrops clung to Wen Yao's hair, and her eyes became more distinct, fierce and dazzling. "You're the first person in history to kill an emperor in another country's palace... Just wait, I'll take you out."
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