Lin Wanwan's words, "I'll shield you from that poisoned arrow," were like a spell, instantly dispelling all the relaxed and joyful atmosphere on the mountaintop.
The air suddenly became heavy.
Even the night wind seemed to carry a chill unique to the hunting grounds of yesteryear, a chilling mix of blood and the scent of vegetation.
The smile on Xiao Che's face slowly faded. His complexion darkened and turned somewhat pale in the cold moonlight. In his deep eyes, an emotion that Lin Wanwan was extremely familiar with, called "lingering fear," surged.
Decades later, even though he now has a large family and has retired from his career, the memory of that royal hunt and the brush with death remains a nightmare that he can never completely shake off.
He knew better than anyone that the hunt back then was not a royal pleasure at all, but a meticulously planned series of assassinations targeting him and the woman beside him.
The virtuous concubine's luring the tiger away from the mountain, Wei Xiao's deadly poisoned arrow... every step was filled with chilling killing intent.
Slowly, very slowly, he raised his hand, a hand etched with the wrinkles of time. Those hands had once reviewed countless memorials, held the power of life and death, and dominated the chessboard. But now, that hand trembled slightly, almost uncontrollably.
He stepped between the two of them, trembling, and touched Lin Wanwan's still well-maintained, smooth and delicate shoulder.
Beneath his fingertips, through the soft fabric, one could clearly feel a scar that had long since faded but could never be erased...
That was a scar left by an arrow wound.
A scar left for him.
Xiao Che's fingertips gently and repeatedly caressed that eternal scar. His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably, as if a thousand words were stuck in his throat, yet he couldn't utter a single one.
After a long while, his "artificial voice pack," which always carried a hint of arrogance and composure, finally rang out again.
This time, however, the voice was no longer clear; instead, it became unusually hoarse, filled with profound sorrow and regret.
"Wanwan..."
His voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps to her.
"This scar...it only hurt you for a while."
He paused, each word seeming to be squeezed out with difficulty from the deepest part of his chest:
"Yet... it caused me pain for the rest of my life."
...
lifetime.
Lin Wanwan's heart was struck hard by those three words.
She raised her head and looked at Xiao Che.
Under the moonlight, his full head of silver hair was like frost and snow. His face, etched with wrinkles by time, no longer held the majesty of an emperor, nor the banter of an old married couple; only a deep, unyielding fear and heartache remained.
At that moment, Lin Wanwan once again "read" his heart.
She doesn't need any cheat codes or memes.
She clearly "saw" the turbulent waves surging within his deep eyes, which reflected her own image.
Those were two animated emojis that she used to know very well, but were now playing out in her mind again.
One image is a pixelated heart that is constantly breaking and bleeding – [Heartbreak.gif].
The other image shows a little child clutching their head, trembling with fear, and sweat pouring down their back – [Fearful.gif].
These two emojis, representing extreme pain and fear, were constantly and repeatedly flashing in the depths of his heart.
The passage of time did not truly "cure" him.
The fear of watching his beloved shield him from a poisoned arrow, the lingering dread of almost losing her forever, had long since transformed into an indelible "inner demon" deep within his heart.
It hurt him for the rest of his life.
Lin Wanwan's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
She always thought that scar was the price she paid and a badge of honor for their love. Little did she know that while the scar on her body had long since healed, it left an unhealable wound in his heart.
That fool.
This fool, who was stubborn and arrogant his whole life, buried all his softness and fear deep in his heart.
She turned around and tightly grasped his hand, which was resting on her shoulder and was still trembling slightly.
Her voice, tinged with a sob, was filled with both firmness and tenderness:
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
She looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "Xiao Che, it doesn't hurt anymore. Besides, I should thank that arrow."
A hint of confusion and self-reproach appeared in Xiao Che's eyes. He thought she was trying to comfort him because she was afraid he would be upset.
Lin Wanwan shook her head, a sly glint in her eyes, cleverly defusing the heavy atmosphere:
"Think about it, if it weren't for that arrow, which gave me the opportunity to see Your Majesty's face with 'the blood of an emperor boiling because of you'; if it weren't for that arrow, which gave you the opportunity to tear off all your pretenses..."
She paused, her tone carrying a hint of nostalgia and pride—a sentiment only they could understand—that belonged to that glorious era.
"How could I possibly have the honor of seeing, on the night of the palace coup in Volume Four, with my own eyes... that [God of War.gif] burning with raging flames above Your Majesty's head?"
[God of War.gif]!
This powerful and glorious emoji, like a lightning bolt piercing the darkness, instantly illuminated Xiao Che's eyes, which were still filled with lingering fear!
yes.
That palace coup.
That blood-red night.
That version of myself, who was no longer the weak and gentle person I once was, became ruthless with my swordsmanship, always taking the lead and carving a path to survival through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
That... the real me that she saw.
If the poisoned arrow in the hunting grounds was the greatest "lingering fear" of his life, then...
Therefore, the bloody battle on the night of the palace coup was his greatest "pride" in life.
One reason was his fear of almost losing her.
One is the most powerful force he unleashed in order to protect her.
These two memories, like the two most important poles in his life, were miraculously connected at this moment because of her words.
Xiao Che stared at her blankly.
Looking into the gentle yet firm light in her eyes, I saw a complete and unadulterated trust and adoration.
The deep sorrow and lingering fear in his heart seemed to be slowly and gently dispelled by this light.
yes.
Without that arrow as the "cause," how could there have been the "effect" of the subsequent palace coup?
Without that life-or-death ordeal, how could he have completely let down his guard and shown her his truest and strongest side without reservation?
What he saw as a "demon's wound" was, in her eyes, a key to the deepest part of his heart.
Xiao Che's heart, which had been clenched with lingering fear, slowly began to relax at this moment.
He held the woman beside him tightly, so tightly, into his arms.
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