Chapter 432 No Regrets
Two sudden shrill howls, full of despair, heartbreak, grievance, and resentment.
The birds in the forest were startled and began to flap their wings and cry sharply, which also made the soldiers look back in surprise.
Who is it?
The soldiers were curious and did not recognize the voice.
Only Yun Chen, who had just escaped from Rong Yi and Luo Dongdong, could recognize that it was Ye Yan's voice.
The sound was so terrifying that her face changed and she rushed back.
From a distance, she saw Ye Yan leaning against a tree, with his shoulders drooping and his head hanging.
She had only been away for a short while when Ye Yan suddenly became a different person. It was as if all his vitality had been drained away by some terrifying invisible force, and he became dry and fragile.
His hair, which had been gray to begin with, turned almost completely white in the blink of an eye!
Yun Chen ran over while rubbing his eyes, thinking that he had seen it wrong or heard it wrong.
There are no enemies around, how could Ye Yan suddenly become like this?
Several soldiers surrounded Ye Yan with concern, but no matter what they asked, Ye Yan kept his head down and did not answer. The soldiers could only helplessly look at Yun Chen who was running towards them.
"Brother Ye! Brother Ye!" Yun Chen ran too fast and was a little out of breath after just a few steps.
Facing Yun Chen, Ye Yan finally showed some reaction.
He raised his tear-stained, pale face, forced a smile uglier than a ghost's cry, stared blankly at Yun Chen for a long time, and said something incoherent:
"Achen, what are you going to do..."
It was a simple sentence, but the tone was extremely sad and helpless.
The few soldiers who were watching knew the friendship between Ye Yan and Yun Chen, and guessed that the two had something to say, so they left one after another.
Yun Chen also gestured to Huo Gannian and Fu Lin who were not far away and came to check:
"It's okay, there are no ambushes around, everything is safe!"
Ye Yan kept looking at Yun Chen and knew who she was talking to.
But he no longer had the courage to turn his head and look. He just stared at Yun Chen with eyes full of tears, his voice hoarse and choked with sorrow over and over again:
"Achen...Achen...what should you do..."
In the future, if you knew the truth like me, what would you do?
Ye Yan couldn't say this.
Yun Chen didn't understand what Ye Yan was saying, but he intuitively felt that Ye Yan seemed to have encountered something insurmountable and had collapsed to the point of losing all hope.
He didn't act like this when his wife and children died tragically. What happened to him now?
"Brother Ye, were you the one who was screaming just now? What's wrong? Don't scare me! Tell me what's wrong quickly." Yun Chen kept using her sleeves to wipe Ye Yan's tears, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wipe them away.
Even after wiping them dry, there is still endless loneliness and moisture in the eyes.
"Achen, do you remember the first time we met?"
Ye Yan suddenly asked this question with a hoarse voice.
Yun Chen nodded quickly, "I remember, how could I not remember!"
Ye Yan rarely reached out and touched Yun Chen's face.
Ever since he knew that Yun Chen was a girl, Ye Yan had never done anything that could be considered "overstepping the boundaries" like he had done as a brother before.
At this moment, he broke the rules of etiquette for the first time, touched Yun Chen's face, and then touched her eyes.
"Achen, you always ask me why I dared to give you such an important Huo Gang token when we first met in the bamboo forest... I never told you... Now I'm telling you..."
Yun Chen listened carefully, and Ye Yan smiled sadly:
"Because your eyes are so clear, Achen, your eyes show what kind of person you are."
Yun Chen didn't know how to respond, and for a moment he didn't fully understand what was said. However, Ye Yan suddenly suppressed all his emotions and smiled gently as usual:
"Achen, is there any water? I'm thirsty."
"Yes!" Yun Chen quickly took off the water bottle from his waist and handed it to Ye Yan's mouth, but he shook his head slightly:
"I want to drink something hot. Achen, please get me some hot water."
"Okay!" Yun Chen nodded and ran quickly towards Rong Yi.
During the entire march, all the soldiers carried water bottles with them, but they were all cold. Only Rong Yi kept his kettle filled with hot water in order to pursue Xixi.
When Yun Chen hurriedly grabbed Rong Yi's water bottle and ran back, he saw Ye Yan still leaning against the tree.
His shoulders were tilted and his head was lowered. His expression and facial features could not be seen. One could only see his dry white hair trembling slightly in the wind.
Many soldiers passed by him.
Everyone was full of vigor and joy, except Ye Yan, who was like a dilapidated image, sitting motionless in the shadows, seemingly asleep.
This scene made Yun Chen's heart skip a beat, and he felt inexplicably frightened and panicked.
She rushed over and gently pushed Ye Yan's shoulder, but received no response.
She had no choice but to kneel down and tilt her head to look -
Ye Yan half-closed his eyes and did not move.
His face was covered with a layer of frost, the color of death.
"Brother Ye?"
Yun Chen cried out tremblingly, and the warm kettle in his hand fell to the ground.
She shook Ye Yan hard, but could only see his body slowly tilting and falling.
The sunlight that penetrated the leaves shone on his face, clearly showing that his pupils were dilated, and there was no light anymore.
…
…
Ye Yan is dead.
He did not die in the countless battles of swords and life and death, but died on the eve of the army's return to the capital, when everyone was about to receive rewards for their contributions to peace.
He left forever with wishes and hatred that would never be fulfilled.
Forced by Yun Chen, the military doctor was forced to examine Ye Yan's body seven or eight times, but ultimately came to the same conclusion:
"Guardian Ye showed no signs of wounds or poisoning. He must have died suddenly from a broken heart. General Yun, life is unpredictable. Please accept my condolences..."
"Heartstrings...broken? Died suddenly?" Yun Chen didn't understand why this happened. A perfectly healthy person! How could he suddenly disappear?
She hugged Ye Yan's gradually stiffening body tightly, shaking her head continuously, tears falling on Ye Yan like beads from a broken string:
"Why is this happening? You were talking to me nicely just now, why did it happen in the blink of an eye? I just went to get some water! I just went to get some water..."
Looking at Rong Yi and Luo Dongdong, and the people around them who looked distressed and kept wiping away tears, Yun Chen seemed to finally realize something and stared at Ye Yan's body in disbelief:
"So...Brother Ye...did you deliberately send me away?"
He had sensed that his own life was coming to an end, and he was afraid that she would witness his death, afraid that she would never forget it, so he deliberately sent her away...
The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached. Yun Chen was heartbroken and kept calling Ye Yan's name. Finally, he buried his head in his cold chest and burst into tears.
The heartbreaking cry made everyone around stand still and bow their heads in silence.
Not far away, Huo Gannian was also standing silently in the open space.
The sun above his head was bright, but it seemed as if it couldn't reach him at all. He exuded an indescribable gloom and coldness.
Thirteen years.
Even stones need to be warmed up.
Fu Lin sighed softly and held Huo Gannian's shoulders.
Duan Jie was walking back and forth, seemingly pacing, but actually preventing anyone from suddenly approaching.
Fu Lin whispered:
"Don't be too sad. Life is full of old age, sickness and death. Sudden death is also common."
Huo Gannian shook his head and said nothing.
Fu Lin continued, "I know what you mean. With Ye Yan's personality, he wouldn't be easily defeated like this. He must have discovered the three of us from some subtle clue... Alas, if it weren't for the tragic deaths of his wife and children, we would have told him everything long ago. We were afraid he wouldn't be able to accept it, so we didn't dare to say it..."
Sighing, Fu Lin continued:
"From the day we embarked on this path, you and I knew that countless people would be unjustly implicated... A general's success is built on the sacrifice of countless others... Did we instigate this chaos? Are we the culprits? But when the nest is destroyed, no one will remain unharmed..."
"That's right." Duan Jie tilted his head slightly, his expression as firm as ever. "If you feel bad, then you can blame Fu Lin and me for the deaths of Ye Yan, his wife and children, and countless innocent lives! When we reach Hades in the future, Fu Lin and I will be punished in the eighteen levels of hell!"
"Back then, we were the ones who forced you to turn the world upside down! Now, it's the world that's forcing us to turn the world upside down! You've thought about being a loyal and honest minister to Lord Nanli, but the imperial power won't tolerate you! And Yan Xing won't let you go either!"
"Everyone says that you and I pulled out tiger fangs to cure Madam Huo, offended the divine tiger, and were sentenced to death! Who knows the truth?! The corrupt imperial power silenced you and me! They intended to kill us as soon as possible! They forced us to rebel!"
"At this point, we have no choice. Do you want Yun Chen to be treated the same as Ye Yan?"
"Never forget our true purpose. For it, we are not afraid to sacrifice anything!"
"Since you're going to lie, then lie to the whole world! Lie to Yun Chen! Lie to the end!"
“I will never regret it!”
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