Huo Fenglie’s instinctive reaction seemed to somewhat interest Li Jinshu.
“It seems you really do care for him.” Li Jinshu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Back then, he had informed Huo Fenglie of the truth and told him to go collect Liu Zhenqing’s body. The brat’s expression at that time was vivid in his mind, as if his world had shattered in an instant. He had stumbled and crawled back regardless of the sharp blade still lodged in his chest.
Li Jinshu knew how Huo Fenglie felt about Liu Zhenqing. For years after that, he always looked like he had one foot in the grave, and fighting him became boring. Unexpectedly, not only did he now have a fiance, but he was also able to unleash a murderous aura full of vitality. This very much caught Li Jinshu’s attention.
Huo Fenglie seemed to have trouble maintaining the superficial harmony when facing Li Jinshu. With fangs and sharp claws bared, this current Er-gou was perhaps in his most volatile state.
The tense atmosphere caused everyone present to tremble, and they couldn’t help but clench the weapons in their hands. At this moment, Liu Zhenqing suddenly turned around in Huo Fenglie’s arms and said: “Fenglie, have you misunderstood something? It was Prince Li who saved me just now.”
Having said this, Liu Zhenqing stiffened and cupped his hands in thanks: “Many thanks for your help, Your Highness.”
Li Jinshu regarded him with a half-smile.
The Eight Princess was not to be outdone, and hurried over at this time to ask Huo Fenglie: “Do you really intend to marry this good-for-nothing fellow? Have you forgotten that his surname is Liu? That he’s a relative of your greatest enemy? Have you forgotten your brother’s death?”
Liu Zhenqing shuddered from head to foot. If this had been said at a normal time, he wouldn’t have been so affected. But now, in front of Li Jinshu, Liu Zhenqing suddenly felt short of breath, and it seemed as if someone had gripped his heart tightly. A great number of scenes flooded his mind, bringing sweat to his forehead.
Huo Fenglie hugged him tighter. He glanced at the Eighth Princess and the blade in her hand with cold eyes and said sharply: “Scram!”
The Eighth Princess was given a sudden shock. She was so frightened by Huo Fenglie’s murderous intent that she nearly lost her balance.
In all her life, Huo Fenglie had never been so cruel to her. Even though he had always avoided her emotionlessly, he had never directed such murderous intent at her.
“Zhanyuan-gege, you…..” The Eighth Princess’s eyes reddened with aggrieved tears.
But in the next second, the yet-to-be-unsheathed Chunjun Sword was pointed directly at her.
The Eighth Princess’s people immediately stepped forward in alarm to shield her.
“General Huo, this is Her Royal Highness the Princess.”
“General Huo, what do you intend to do?”
“General Huo, speak well if you have something to say!”
Huo Fenglie held the Chunjun sword in his hand, but his eyes didn’t fall on the Eighth Princess. He just spoke a cold warning word by word:
“If you dare attack him again, I’ll kill you. There will be no next time. Scram!”
Not to mention the Eighth Princess, even Liu Zhenqing was startled by this Huo Fenglie from his illusory memories. Although Huo Fenglie was actually only second to Yuan Jue in terms of status, his renown was very unpleasant to the royal family. Even Yuan Jue had little affection for the royal family, and gave them somewhat less face.
But Liu Zhenqing actually hadn’t realized that since they’d met, Huo Fenglie never showed mercy toward anyone who had murderous intentions toward Liu Zhenqing. It wasn’t like him to be so severe. And even if the other person had a distinguished status, he treated them the same.
Even though the Eighth Princess hadn’t succeeded, she had still intended to kill Liu Zhenqing, so Huo Fenglie’s warning to her was sincere.
The Eighth Princess stared blankly at Huo Fenglie, her beautiful face completely unseeing. Before he was the God of Death, who was rumored to have the lives of tens of thousands on his hands. This was a person of high merit whom the emperor relied on, and he could kill her at any time.
In her frozen sight, there was no longer affection, and only terror struck her heart.
But the trellis of the princess’s dress prevented her from running away, so she could only stomp her foot and leave in tears.
Liu Zhenqing gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down. He tugged at Huo Fenglie, who seemed to be shrouded in fury as he looked at Li Jinshu.
Li Jinshu waved his hand and said: “I’m his savior. You can’t drive me away.”
“What are you doing, Prince Li?” Huo Fenglie said coldly.
“I’m here to reminisce about old times.”
“Reminisce about old times?”
“Of course it’s to lure you out alone. Naturally, there are some things that cannot be spoken of in public. I’m still a very considerate person.”
“I have nothing to speak to you about. Leave, Your Highness,” Huo Fenglie was unrelenting.
Li Jinshu smiled and said: “You really don’t? Or are you afraid to say it in front of your new love, ah? You’re afraid it will cause a conflict? Indeed, it’s incredible that you two are together. After all, don’t you all say that person killed your elder brother?”
“Are you seeking death?” Huo Fenglie said sharply.
Li Jinshu smiled and raised his eyebrows at Liu Zhenqing, who was frozen in shock: “I just want to say that the Eighth Princess’s words were correct. It was indeed your distant relative who killed your fiance’s brother, so it’s truly a miracle that you can be together.”
Huo Fenglie abruptly shot toward Li Jinshu, who stepped back and quickly dodged.
“What are you doing? This is your Great Zhou’s Imperial Palace. By attacking an envoy, do you intend to start a war on behalf of the Great Zhou Dynasty?” Li Jinshu said with a teasing smile.
Liu Zhenqing quickly grabbed Huo Fenglie.
Huo Fenglie looked down. Liu Zhenqing’s face was pale, but even so, he had a death grip on Huo Fenglie to prevent him from impulsively causing trouble.
But how could Huo Fenglie tolerate such harm to Liu Zhenqing? Li Jinshu was one of the parties involved, and his words carried a hurtfulness that was completely different from the gossip of others.
“You want to reminisce about old times? Then let’s go!” All Huo Fenglie could do was take this man away.
It was all the same to Li Jinshu. He made a gesture of invitation and walked out.
Huo Fenglie released Liu Zhenqing, but just as he was about to turn around, Liu Zhenqing grabbed his arms.
Huo Fenglie said: “Don’t go anywhere, leave it to me. Just stay here and wait for me to come back.”
Unexpectedly, Liu Zhenqing’s face looked even worse after he said this. He grasped Huo Fenglie with both hands and looked up at him as if seeing the figure of a different person in Huo Fenglie’s body.
Huo Fenglie froze. The expression on Liu Zhenqing’s face was one he had never seen before. He seemed at a loss, and also like he was begging for something.
Huo Fenglie immediately embraced him and whispered in his ear: “Qing-ge, don’t take those words to heart. Sister-in-law and I understand you, and so did my brother. You know this. It’s okay. Wait until I come back, all right?”
Huo Fenglie didn’t know if he had heard him entirely, but Li Jinshu was outside urging him impatiently. He let go of Liu Zhenqing, kissed him on the forehead, then turned and left.
In a daze, Liu Zhenqing raised a hand to hold onto that person. He failed.
The voices of two people filled his mind. One was Huo Fenglie’s. The other was Huo Feihan’s.
. . . . . .
“You care so deeply for this person, I have to wonder if you’ve been hypnotized into thinking that this Young Master Liu is Liu Zhenqing,” Li Jinshu said with a smile. “After all, I saw how obsessed you were with Liu Zhenqing back then.”
Huo Fenglie paused, on the alert as he regarded Li Jinshu with suspicion. “What is it you intend to do?”
“Considering my friendship with Liu Zhenqing, I intend to visit his grave and pay homage. I know you dug it up, but it’s impossible to completely destroy the bones and ashes. The grave must have been secretly moved. I want to worship there.”
“Why should I tell you? We’re enemies, and he wouldn’t want your worship,” Huo Fenglie said directly.
Li Jinshu touched his chin, somewhat helpless. In the end, he could only say: “I don’t really want to worship either.”
Huo Fenglie scowled at him.
Li Jinshu said with a treacherous smile: “After all, according to my relationship with him, I should have been the one to take away his bones. It would have been good to have a ghost marriage.”
Huo Fenglie’s hand instantly clenched around the Chunjun Sword, and his murderous intent nearly overflowed.
“Yo, don’t you have a lover? Why are you still jealous of me?” Li Jinshu expressed his amusement. “I’m not wrong, ah. I’m more qualified to possess his bones than a brat like you. Not only because your late emperor nearly gave him to me in marriage, but even more importantly because we had a covenant. It was left unfulfilled when he died, otherwise he’d be my princess now. After all these years, I still believe he is the only one qualified to be buried with me, so I came to ask for his bones.”
It took everything Huo Fenglie had to hold back and not make a move: “You’re dreaming! Stop talking nonsense!”
“Really? Don’t you all know my name is carved on his back? Doesn’t that prove he belongs to me?” Li Jianshu provoked.
Huo Fenglie really couldn’t help it now. He attacked instantaneously, but Lin Jinshu was proficient at martial arts, and also wasn’t weak.
However, after a few moves, Li Jinshu couldn’t handle it and directly retreated. He hadn’t expected Huo Fenglie to have become even stronger.
Huo Fenglie couldn’t actually kill him here. The guards watching from a distance were all in a tizzy, afraid their general would be unable to hold back and cause the two countries to go to war. Although they all wanted this Li Jinshu to die, for the sake of world peace, it couldn’t be done.
“All right, it’s fine if you don’t hand them over. You don’t believe me, but if I go to your emperor and make a deal, will he be unwilling to give me the bones of a traitor?” Li Jinshu asked.
Huo Fenglie’s face was livid. He said directly: “There are no bones, only ashes.”
“What?” Li Jinshu’s eyes lost their smile. “You’re joking.”
“There is no tomb or monument. Even with Prince Li’s information network, you couldn’t find it. Do I still need to lie to you?”
Li Jinshu had come to ask for them in person, because he didn’t believe it.
“Don’t tell me you really hate him as much as the rumors say?” Li Jinshu said with a terrible expression: “You’re so ruthless!”
Li Jinshu’s attitude of care toward Liu Zhenqing put Huo Fenglie out of sorts, but if it made Li Jinshi stop getting involved, he didn’t mind being misunderstood.
But in the next second, Li Jinshu scoffed: “You really think it was Liu Zhenqing who killed Huo Feihan?”
Huo Fenglie had never thought such a thing, but he looked at Li Jinshu and said: “Prince Li has such a bad memory. He just said…..”
“Hahaha, indeed, from a certain perspective, he was the one to kill him.”
Huo Fenglie’s expression didn’t waver at all. Even though Li Jinshu had been there at the time, he wouldn’t believe it!
“Then let me tell you what really happened back then, and you can decide for yourself who was to blame for his death. I’m also curious if you’ll regret your actions after hearing it,” Li Jinshu said with great interest.
. . . . . .
Twelve years ago, the western battlefield was in trouble.
The Kingdom of Xiheng saw that the new emperor’s succession to the throne was unstable and that Great Zhou’s internal situation was in chaos, so together with some other countries, they mustered all of their strength to besiege them.
At that time, for their own selfish desires, the Three Kings intended to bring down the Huo family who supported the new emperor. Each found an excuse to fight against minor bandits, pretending that all the troops in their hands were urgently needed so as not to assist the Huo Family Army on the western battlefield.
The majority of the pressure was on Huo Feihan’s side, which led to hard conditions during the hostilities. Even grain and fodder were difficult to transport.
The situation was so critical that even Liu Zhenqing, far away in the capital, had to run to the battlefield himself.
After rushing all the way there, Liu Zhenqing discovered that the war was much more precarious than what was shown in the battle reports. Because the Kingdom of Xiheng had discovered Great Zhou’s discrepancies, and attacked even more fiercely.
During the final battle, it was basically a fight to the death.
But the Huo Family Army and Huo Feihan couldn’t retreat. Once they did, Great Zhou would be lost. Even though Liu Zhenqing wrote dozens of letters to the Three Kings and tried to unite them against a foreign enemy, there was no response. Liu Zhenqing even told Liu Qiao to mobilize local troops farther away, but in Huo Feihan’s analysis, it was already too late.
Inside the military camp, Liu Zhenqing stood in despair as he looked at Huo Feihan, who was covered in injuries. When he saw Huo Feihan don his armor and prepare to leave, he grabbed his arm.
His face was practically bloodless due to the cold northwest wind. Liu Zhenqing clutched a secret letter in his hand and whispered: “I have another idea.”
Huo Feihan snatched the secret letter and tore it to pieces. He was angry with Liu Zhenqing for the first time and grabbed his arm in a fury, saying: “If we’re afraid to die in battle, if we hand over land in compensation or give women away to buy peace, then where is our dignity? Then what use are we soldiers? I won’t allow you to accept the offer. You believe me, even if I die, I will defend Great Zhou!”
Liu Zhenqing gritted his teeth and said with reddened eyes: “What do you mean, die? What about Junior Sister? What about Yunci and Yunqian? And your little brother, aren’t you reluctant to make him lead the army alone at such a young age? Do you want to take him with you? There is clearly a better way…..”
“What better way? Sacrificing you?!” Huo Feihan said furiously.
Liu Zhenqing’s face grew even paler: “I don’t consider it a sacrifice.”
Looking at Liu Zhenqing’s expression, Huo Feihan seemed to be too angry to speak. He directly issued an order: “Come over here and guard Prime Minister Liu. He’s not allowed to step foot outside of the military camp!”
“Huo Feihan!”
Huo Feihan grabbed Liu Zhenqing hard and said: “Don’t go, leave it to me. Just stay here and wait for me to return.”
Liu Zhenqing tried to hold him back again, but could only watch as he mounted his horse, holding a red-tasseled spear as he led the army away.
The Huo Family Army had no fear of war. Even though it was a life-and-death battle, they must survive as long as possible to drag the enemy down with them and leave behind the best possible advantage for future battles.
But as the battle reports continued to come in, Liu Zhenqing really couldn’t bear it any longer.
Regardless of the obstruction of those around him, he mounted his horse and sped toward an enemy camp in the distance.
That was Li Jinshu’s camp. A portion of those fighting against Huo Feihan were forces from the Kingdom of Xiheng. Li Jinshu had come to watch the show and give Liu Zhenqing a choice on the way, so he’d sent someone with a secret letter when Liu Zhenqing arrived in the northwest.]
Liu Zhenqing rushed into the camp unimpeded. Li Jinshu seemed to have been expecting him, and waved everyone out.
Only the two of them were left in the tent. It was silent aside from the occasional small crackle from the stove.
Li Jinshu looked at his visitor with a slight smile: “You’ve made a decision?”
“You’re truly capable,” Liu Zhenqing said with a dark expression:
Li Jinshu reclined leisurely on a couch: “My words carry weight. Just as I said in the letter, stay with me for one night and I’ll help you.”
Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flashed with decisiveness: “I want you to find a way to make them retreat, and to not attack Great Zhou again until our emperor takes charge.”
Li Jinshu raised an eyebrow: “Hm…..one night isn’t enough for that.”
“Speak.”
“Then I want you to stay in this camp for a month, which is about enough time to complete the withdrawal and peace talks. You must cooperate with whatever I want, Prime Minister Liu. Do you agree?”
There were no extraneous emotions on Liu Zhenqing’s face: “I agree. The war can’t wait. Give the orders first!”
“Prime Minister Liu has always been cunning. I can’t just give orders casually.” Li Jinshu said playfully: “Later. I’ll give the orders while I’m fucking you.”
Shame and anger flooded Liu Zhenqing’s face after all.
Li Jinshu smiled and looked him up and down: “Take it off.”
Liu Zhenqing went silent, trembling all over.
Inside the enemy’s tent, his robes slipped from his waist. His shaking fingers struggled to untie his belt, his eyes already scarlet. He was about to remove his clothing in disgrace and crawl into the enemy’s bed. Huo-dage would go mad with anger when he found out.
But he had to protect them, ah. He had no choice.
When Li Jinshu circled behind him and softly traced his back with his fingers, Liu Zhenqing felt sick almost to the point of vomiting.
“What a beautiful back. White and translucent, like fine jade.” Li Jinshu said with a smile.
“Do what you want to do. Stop talking nonsense.” Liu Zhenqing’s hoarse voice was full of humiliation.
But Li Jinshu withdrew his hand: “Forget it. It’s not good to be in a hurry when enjoying something. I have a tender heart for beauties, so I’ll collect some insurance first.”
As he spoke, Li Jinshu unsheathed a dagger. Liu Zhenqing heard it but didn’t look back. Perhaps being stabbed would be better than that touch just now.
But the stinging pain on his back brought him to his senses, and his spirit was instantly drenched in shame. There was a crack in Liu Zhenqing’s blank stare, but he didn’t move.
When Li Jinshu finished carving his name, he smiled and said: “I’ve left a mark to prove that you’re mine. Okay, put your clothes on. I’ll keep my promise first, then wait for you to come back and play slowly.”
Liu Zhenqing numbly put on his robes and waited for Li Jinshu to give his orders.
However…..
When he did, a battle report came in that Great Zhou’s general had died in battle.
Liu Zhenqing lost his composure. He rushed out of the tent, mounted his horse, and raced to the battlefield. Aside from the retreating Xiheng army, there were only corpses all over the canyon. He found Huo Feihan among them.
When Li Jinshu rushed there, he found Liu Zhenqing walking step by step, carrying Huo Feihan’s body with difficulty.
Support also arrived. But it was too late.
Li Jinshu never saw Liu Zhenqing again, but still took away the Xiheng army as part of their agreement.
. . . . . .
“That’s it. What do you think? He was the one responsible for your brother’s death. After all, if he had submitted to me earlier, your brother wouldn’t have had to die.”
Li Jinshu looked at the pale-faced, confounded man before him with interest. He had been filled with killing intent just before, but now he was fragile and vulnerable.
“Still don’t think he was responsible for his death? Do you regret burning his bones now?” Li Jinshu asked curiously. “You two brothers are really interesting. Each of you wanted to protect him, but failed to protect him well.”
Like a lightning strike, Li Jinshu was grabbed by the throat.
The people around him immediately cried out. They didn’t know what was happening, and began drawing forward to rescue him, but Li Jinshu waved them away.
“Do you want the past to repeat itself? You don’t have another Liu Zhenqing left to negotiate with me at a disadvantage.”
Huo Fenglie’s face was rigid. He slowly retracted his hand, but the killing intent in his eyes was as potent as ever, endlessly ruthless. Li Jinshu felt that he would always be on the lookout for an opportunity to kill him.
And he found that even more entertaining. Seeing him turn around to leave, he stopped Huo Fenglie in puzzlement: “I haven’t finished speaking yet. Whether it’s bones or ashes, I want them. At any rate, I fulfilled my half of the contract back then, but he broke his promise. Do you really want me to ask the emperor for them? There are many things that would be inconvenient to say if it comes to that.”
Huo Fenglie looked at Li Jinshu with frigid eyes: “He said before that he didn’t want a tombstone. He didn’t want to be tied down. So there aren’t any ashes either. He was never yours and will never be yours.”
Li Jinshu was stunned. He felt that this statement was ridiculous, that Huo Fenglie had to be lying. But when a gust of wind blew up, scattering countless petals and fallen leaves across the garden, he was suddenly reminded of the first time he met Liu Zhenqing.
At that time, he saw Liu Zhenqing at a competition. Although his outstanding appearance was worthy of praise, he was even more outstanding within.
The aura of a proud son of heaven seemed to seep from every inch of skin. So radiant, so wild and intractable that one couldn’t look straight at him. Upon winning the game, he sent him a provocative glance. Those peach blossom eyes should have been seductive, but instead carried a seductive aggressiveness.
Just that one look caused all the blood in his body to boil. This could be considered the first time since his birth that he felt pleasant surprise.
Everything inside him told him that he must possess that person.
And such an amazingly talented person should indeed be free of restraints in order to live a brilliant life. It seemed justified that he should belong to him.
Li Jinshu had immediately accepted this, and felt that it was something he could accomplish.
“A beauty’s bones, a heroic life, treading atop thousands of corpses with loyalty and integrity, with only a handful of ashes left in the end,” Li Jinshu said slowly.
But Huo Fenglie was no longer listening to his nonsense. Instead, he rushed directly to the palace. He needed to go back. He needed to find Qing-ge.
He recalled every time Qing-ge spoke of his elder brother since his rebirth. Those words, full of self-blame and guilt, now turned into countless blades stabbing into his chest. He was an ignorant fool. He’d thought it was enough just to know that Qing-ge would have never harmed his elder brother.
But it wasn’t enough.
Huo Fenglie deserved to die!
But when he rushed through the palace doors, his entire body froze.
Qing-ge…..hadn’t moved at all. He was standing in the courtyard in the same position as before he left.
Huo Fenglie felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing backwards.
He hurried over and embraced that frozen figure, stuffing him tightly into his arms.
“Qing-ge…..I’m back.”
Only then did Liu Zhenqing wake up. His stiff body gradually softened, and he said in a daze: “Back?”
Huo Fenglie looked down at the person in his arms, and his heart ached to see that he was still in a trance. He instantly lifted Liu Zhenqing’s face and kissed him almost bitingly.
The ache of his mouth made Liu Zhenqing whimper, slowly bringing him back to himself.
When Liu Zhenqing regained his senses, he saw the guards outside the door snickering and tilting their heads. It was embarrassing even for someone who had thick skin. They didn’t usually do this in public.
Liu Zhenqing couldn’t bear Huo Fenglie’s behavior, and patted him as he pushed him away: “What are you doing? People are watching…..”
But Huo Fenglie no longer had any scruples. Hauling Liu Zhenqing into his arms, he rushed to the inner hall like a gust of wind and took him to bed.
He pressed this person down and leaned in to kiss him.
Only when he ran out of breath did Liu Zhenqing see through his muddled senses the look of anguish on Huo Fenglie’s face.
It was difficult to conceal that kind of expression. Even if Huo Fenglie covered it up with passion, its essence couldn’t be changed.
Liu Zhenqing was startled when he felt Huo Fenglie’s hand unconsciously touch his back again.
“Do…..do you know something?” Liu Zhenqing asked.
Huo Fenglie pressed their foreheads together, gazing at the person beneath him with love and distress.
Looking into those clear black and white eyes, Liu Zhenqing could no longer deceive himself.
He panicked for a moment as all the memories came flooding back, forcing him to face them. He said hoarsely: “I’m sorry, Fenglie. If I had gotten there earlier…..”
“It’s not your fault.”
A voice sounded simultaneously in Liu Zhenqing’s mind and ears.
He stared blankly at Huo Fenglie.
The other’s eyes were full of self-blame.
“It’s not Qing-ge’s fault. Qing-ge isn’t to blame. It was my brother’s responsibility. It was our failure to protect you. It’s all our fault that Qing-ge has such painful memories. It’s our fault. Qing-ge, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of my brother, I’m sorry, Qing-ge.”
He knew that if his brother had seen what Qing-ge did, he would hate and blame himself.
In the dim bed tent, Huo Fenglie’s tears slowly dripped onto Liu Zhenqing’s pale face.
Liu Zhenqing seemed to hear the voices of two people.
He closed his eyes. In the quietness of their bed, there was the sound of suppressed weeping when Liu Zhenqing fell into Huo Fenglie’s arms, as if he could at last vent his years of grievances.
Sobbing, he let the tears fall. The unwillingness and tears of that year had accumulated for two lifetimes without release. Today, they couldn’t be held in any longer.
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Chapter 135 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 137
Neon Dragonfly Translations 