Trigger Warning: Dismemberment (secondary character)
As long as Xiao Lu desired it, of all the people he'd spoken to, they all couldn't help but take him for their confidant.
Even Cui Buqu was not an exception.
But Xiao Lu knew that Cui Buqu was proud at heart.
He would not permit any form of imperfection on himself.
The most preposterous thing from all of this was that the first half of his life, from start to finish, was riddled with imperfections.
He was born from a prestigious clan, but his clan had already declined.
He was intelligent and knowledgeable, but he'd been cursed by an incompetent Emperor and was not highly valued.
He was incredibly talented and had a photographic memory. His martial levels would show up only once or twice in ten to a hundred years, and yet he was born with a toxin in his body. Even if he has a strong martial foundation on him, it could only be used to suppress his toxin at most.
His original plans began forming since he was among the court in the Southern Dynasty, because that was, after all, his place. The Chens' powers were weak. The Southern Dynasty's strength was complicated and there were enough opportunities for him to make use of them.
But, what felt like a thousand years ago, Yuwen Yihuan's appearance changed his thoughts.
Back then, the Northern Zhou was still in reign. As the daughter of the Crown Prince of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yihuan was the daughter of the future Emperor.
At birth, she was mistaken to be dead and forgotten, but since she was an identical twin of the Crown Prince of Northern Zhou, her identity was extremely useful. Xiao Lu formed ties in secrecy and went on many secret campaigns to finally get himself this chance that would have otherwise been hard to come by.
The Lantern Festival that lasted for three days. The deaths of Zheng Yi and Liu Fang. The massive change of events at the manor of Prince Qin. The festival of the Buddha's Birthday at Daxingshan Temple. As all these conditions gather together, what could have originally been a plan of perfection had changed within an abrupt spin of events.
If not for Cui Buqu and the others standing in the way, if not for Kuhezhen's betrayal of their alliance, if not for him chasing after perfection and assassinating the Sui Emperor first, perhaps the world outside would have already begun to change.
Even then, there are not so many 'what ifs' in this world.
From the beginning, Xiao Lu knew that the path he had chosen was like a precipice a thousand feet high, like a sheer and steep cliff. He had no choice.
Even if he exhausted all of his strength, scheming and plotting for many years, he could not escape his fate.
To go against the mandate of the Heavens, in the end, was only but a joke.
Xiao Lu closed his eyes and, as he briefly recalled all the events in his life, a somewhat comical feeling filled his heart.
He heard Cui Buqu say, "I won't take the risk."
Xiao Lu smiled, "You're afraid."
"Yes, I am afraid." Cui Buqu replied calmly, avoiding explaining further.
But Xiao Lu saw through his thoughts.
"Cui Buqu, I thought you knew better than others about seizing opportunities or cutting off all means of retreat. But right now, you know that you have no means of retreat left, and yet you still refuse to take the chance given to you. Why is that?"
Silence.
Cui Buqu said nothing.
Xiao Lu smiled, "You have something weighing in your heart. You're afraid that if you took my suggestion, you'll never make it out of this place. There is someone out there that you want to see again, am I right?"
Cui Buqu behaved as though he hadn't heard it. "Xiao Lu, you said that we are alike. While it is true that both of us had experienced unfavourable turns in life, were born talented and were even taught by Fan Yun before, still, I have no interest in toiling storms under the Heavens, nor do I have interest in usurping a throne. I have no interest in risking my life on something that was near hopeless to begin with."
After he'd finished speaking, he coldly stated, "If you have the strength to say such words, why don't you get to your feet and examine the way."
Xiao Lu sighed, "If there was hope, why does it matter that it's only a slight possibility of success? The more you try to leave this place now, the more you need to exhaust your strength and your thoughts. Even if you refuse to take a gamble, you won't make it very far."
Cui Buqu wasn't in a very favourable condition from where he stood now.
Although he looked calm and his breaths weren't laborious, that was only because he was quietly suppressing his pain.
At this moment, if he didn't support his body with the help of the stone walls, he might not even be able to stand.
Every breath he exhaled was like a breath of seething fire brewing in his lungs, practically setting it aflame.
The icy-cold dampness in the cavern mixing with his breaths not only failed to lighten his pain, but it had instead conflicted with it, tossing him into such agonizing state that it was difficult to describe.
Cui Buqu stomped it down, but he finally couldn't hold it in much longer and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Xiao Lu squinted his eyes.
He was no longer capable of having an excellent vision in the dark like he used to, but by lending the light from Cui Buqu's fire, he could vaguely see the pool of blood on the ground having a colour that almost made it seem black.
Still, Xiao Lu joked, "I couldn't have guessed that after fighting for so long, the two of us would be dying on the same year, month, day, and place. Perhaps we might even get to know each other again in the next life."
Cui Buqu, however, coldly snorted, "But I no longer want to see Pavillion Lord Xiao again. Please die a little further away from me so that I can have peace."
The fire in his hands began to die out and his surrounding fell into darkness once again.
But before the light completely died out, Cui Buqu saw a scenery of light behind the stone door.
That was a tunnel with two candelabra chiselled into the walls of both its sides.
If he wasn't wrong, they must be located on the first floor of the underground maze. With the existence of candelabrum, it could only mean that this was a path people could use. If they were to follow this tunnel forward, they might find the exit.
But the point was whether or not there would be trap mechanisms waiting for them.
Cui Buqu exhaled a foul breath. He laboriously pushed himself up with his arm and slowly stood straight.
Even if Xiao Lu refused to move forward, Cui Buqu insisted until he was out of this place.
"Don't leave now. Stay behind with me…"
Xiao Lu taunted him from the back.
His voice was like a shapeless shackle locking up Cui Buqu's ankles, refusing to let him advance.
It was true that Cui Buqu was truly tired.
This broken body of his could no longer endure any more hardships, and yet it was being dragged by him, crawling out from the gates of the dead, again and again, year after year.
He needed extremely rigid determination in order to command his every movement, his every thought.
But he was still slower than he was before. He felt heavy and sluggish.
"Cui Buqu, look at how hard you're trying to leave this place. If the person you wanted to see again doesn't want to see you, then whatever will you do?"
"You've been living such a hard life for so many years. Day by day you immerse yourself in aches and pain, and yet you aren't seeking the highest places of power for yourself, so what meaning is there in your life?"
"Why don't you die with me in this place, so that at the very least, I will not feel lonely when I reach the Yellow Spring!"
Behind him, Xiao Lu coughed uncontrollably in between speaking and laughing.
Cui Buqu didn't bother himself with him. He didn't look back.
He took step by step with great difficulty as he moved forward.
He passed through the stone gate, entering the tunnel. He couldn't see his five fingers if he reached out with his hand, it was like he's fallen into an abyss of a thousand zhang, like he's fallen into the darkest corners of hell.
Only the pain radiating from his limbs clearly reminded him that he was still alive.
Suddenly, a gentle wind swooped from behind his back.
Cui Buqu could feel it, but he could not avoid it. His nape was quickly seized by an ice-cold hand.
"You don't want to die with me, but I want to drag you down with me."
Xiao Lu gently said. He sealed all his meridians and his hands slipped down his nape, supporting his back.
"Cui Buqu, even if you refuse to take the gamble, I want you to take it."
Cui Buqu could not speak, nor move or struggle.
The damp, sinister air from a place underground that hasn't seen the light for ten thousand years clung onto him, but Xiao Lu's hand on his back abruptly sent a strong bundle of light into his body. All of a sudden, dozens of his bones burned as if they were turning to ash. Pain bouncing between a state of coldness and warmness repetitively twisted in him and he was unable to free himself.
His flesh and skin seemed to be tugged by invisible hooks as if they intended to tear his entire person apart. Hot waves toiled against his entire body, yet they were unable to melt down the sinister cold in his bones. Both parties could no longer hold on to it as the battle took place in Cui Buqu's body, trying their hardest to overwhelm the other and refusing to back down unless there was a victor.
But how could the body of an ordinary person sustain such turmoil? Moreover, this body was originally fragile to begin with. It didn't need such a searing change to take place in the first place; a light push was all it needed to crumble into ashes and dust.
He slowly blinked, aimlessly looking towards the void of nothingness in front. His pale lips involuntarily parted, wanting to let out a groan, but couldn't in the end.
When the pain had reached its peak, his consciousness and soul could not stand it, shaking free of his body and going ahead on their own.
Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more and he could finally be free;, free from this pain of being forever ill.
Of his birth mother's undeserved death, he has already avenged her.
The Zuoyue Bureau has Zhangsun and Song Liangchen present in them, he didn't need to worry too much.
There are plenty of intelligent people in this world. The Imperial Court could certainly find a new Zuoyue Commander and succeed him immediately.
As for this case; Xiao Lu was about to die with him here in this underground maze. Their bones and bodies would rot in this place for eternity and in a few month's time, they would already be unrecognizable, their faces unable to match their names.
All the love and hatred, all past grievances will slowly drift away, disappearing into nothingness.
All his insistence will be reduced into fabricated thoughts.
Look, isn't it nice to quietly remain here? You have a nemesis like me. Even if we went to the Yellow Spring, you wouldn't be alone.
The voice of someone he didn't know floated into his ears, sounding persistent and gentle, yet poisonous.
In the midst of the indiscernible and chaotic darkness, Cui Buqu allowed himself to be guided as he passed through the stone door, through the long and piercing tunnel as time ceased to spin. The pain of having a battle of ice and fire in him had faded away. His body felt light, so much so that even his stride was almost surreal.
It's been such a long time since walking felt so light and easy for him. Those wishful thoughts he harboured in the past resurfaced, even though Cui Buqu never dared to think that there would be a day where he could experience how it felt like to be a normal person again.
No, this felt even more comfortable compared to normal people. If he were to continue walking in such a way, he would be able to walk to freedom not long later…
Then he could—
Even though a shapeless force seemed to be pulling him forward, he stomped down the urge to give in and forced himself to stop.
As he stood in the darkness, there was something he seemed to have forgotten.
Something extremely important.
He hesitantly lifted his gaze to look around himself, then lowered his head, but regardless of how hard he thought, he couldn't recall it.
Then that force came again from behind him, pushing him forward.
What in the world had he forgotten?
Panic was born in his heart as he pressed onto it, hoping for an answer in mild despair.
An object slipped out from his robes and fell onto the ground. As the jade stone hit the ground, it resounded clearly in the empty space.
The clear resound of its ringing allowed his consciousness to briefly clear.
It seemed to be a jade pendant.
He vaguely recalled a certain night after he returned to the capital. Perhaps, it was the night of the Lantern Festival. As he was making his way to the Eastern City to meet Feng Xiao, he had passed by a stall and saw a piece of jade, which he ended up buying.
On that jade was engraved the picture of a—
He frowned as he thought hard on it, searching every detail from his memory.
It seemed to be… the picture of a phoenix.
That phoenix had looked as vivid as life itself, proud with its head held high as it flew through the layers of clouds. At a single look, he knew that it reminded him of someone.
Cui Buqu was somewhat taken aback. His steps abruptly stopped. Even if that force continued to lure him forward, he refused to take another step.
There was something he needed to do.
There was someone he wanted to see.
He couldn't die.
He didn't want to die.
He wanted to live.
With these thoughts in mind, pain once again flowed back into his body from all perceivable angles, toiling like raging waves as if there were no limits to them.
Cui Buqu bounced in and out of consciousness. He was not even aware that blood was continuously pouring from the corner of his lips, and that his body was trembling nonstop.
He couldn't see that Xiao Lu, who was lying behind him, had already turned into a wilted corpse with a head full of graceful hair.
The hand Xiao Lu had placed on his back had already shrivelled from its originally smooth and slender fingers. They now looked as terrible as wilted bones.
A mouthful of blood fell onto Cui Buqu's shoulder. Xiao Lu finally let go, limping to one side.
He didn't even have the strength to open his eyes to take a look at this turbid realm of mortals.
Once, he thought that he would refuse to resign to such fate, but when it really did come, he had instead felt an unexpected calmness, like the snowflakes falling from the sky had frozen in place.
This was not a bad place to serve as his grave. At the very least, an underground maze that was prayed to by a Buddhist temple would not be as filthy as other places.
It's a pity that in the end, he couldn't fight back against fate.
The corner of Xiao Lu's lips curled; his wrinkled skin stretched, no longer as beautiful as before. Even the people closest to him might not be able to recognize him now.
His gaze retracted from the distance and fell upon Cui Buqu.
Cui Buqu, I wish you luck.
If you can't make it, then accompany me. Perhaps in the Yellow Springs of hell, we could fight to our heart's content.
In his muddled memory, someone had vaguely said the same words to him.
Cui Buqu could no longer tell illusion from reality, the same way he could no longer tell whether his soul had left his body, or that he was still in the living realm.
A sinister force seemed insistent on pulling his soul out of his body as his soul fought a battle with his body restlessly with both sides refusing to let go.
He strayed in the boundless darkness aimlessly in an unknown place, refusing to be tempted by that external force simply because of the sheer piece of consciousness he had left, going so far as to drag himself back.
It was unknown how long it had been since Cui Buqu felt himself slowly waking up from his body.
The pain intensified not only in his body, it even spread to his brain, like someone was disturbing the calm waters of his mind.
Without realizing it, he had lightly sighed.
That sigh of his reached far into the distance, then bounced back from the walls, resounding in the empty space.
He laboriously opened his eyes.
Naturally, what greeted him was still a sight full of darkness.
But he could sensitively feel that the other presence was no longer there.
"Xiao… Lu?"
Cui Buqu didn't get his answer.
Quickly, the staggering sound of footsteps came from the distance.
It seemed like someone who was moving unevenly, stumbling, their footsteps sometimes heavy and sometimes light.
Who could it be?
Maybe the Sui Emperor, Zhangsun, or the gu human that Kuhezhen was breeding.
It could be Feng Xiao, or Tuan Qinghe.
But regardless whether it was a friend or a foe, he had no strength left to move.
Those footsteps drew nearer.
They had also brought a bundle of light. As the owner of those footsteps drew close, the light formed a vague silhouette.
It looked like… a girl.
Cui Buqu frowned.
His mind now found it difficult to spin its wheels. At first, he thought that it was Qiao Xian, but after a while, he recalled that he'd sent Qiao Xian to another place a long time ago. She would not be showing up here anymore.
It was not Qiao Xian, neither could it be Qin Miaoyu.
He quickly got his answer.
The other person's footsteps stopped, panting, as the light illuminated her face.
There was a crazed look that did not fit in with a face that was originally beautiful and proper.
There was also a vertical shaped scar between her brows, as if slit open by a knife. The skin around it was twisted outwards, a trail left behind by blood streamed down the bridge of her nose. There were little bumps moving in her forehead as if something alive was wriggling in it.
Yuwen Yihuan dazedly stared at him, then moved her gaze onto Xiao Lu next to him who was no longer breathing.
"Xiao-lang1!"
Tears burst out of her eyes. Yuwen Yihuan frantically dropped to the ground and brought Xiao Lu to her arms, not even a little bit afraid of how cold and withered the other person's body was.
Why didn't you wait for me?
The young girl gave a soundless cry, the despair she'd experienced for half her living years all seemed to gather in both her eyes.
To her, Xiao Lu was her world. He was her everything in the first half of her life.
While she was born in a family of royalty, she had never lived a single day as a princess.
Princess Leping, Yuwen Eying, Yuwen Yun, the Sui Emperor, the Empress Dugu; these people who were her blood relatives were far too distant to her.
Even if it were Xiao Lu's orders for her to get close to the princess and her daughter, Yuwen Yihuan had never taken them for family.
Xiao Lu was the only one who could render her completely unguarded.
Because from as far back as she could remember, this man taught her how to read and write, he taught her to fight, to scheme and plot. Even though the two of them passed off as siblings, if Xiao Lu wanted her to shed her clothes and offer herself to him, she wouldn't have hesitated to do so.
But Xiao Lu had never made such a request. He never lacked beautiful women by his side, but all his efforts have been used in his quest to conquer all under heavens.
So much that the focus Xiao Lu placed on his nemesis, Cui Buqu, was far more than the focus he'd placed on her.
Yuwen Yihuan's tears have run dry.
As for Xiao Lu's body, it would never warm up again.
She slowly raised her head and glowered at Cui Buqu.
The latter looked back at her, fearless.
"Xiao-lang is already dead, but why aren't you?"
Yuwen Yihuan placed Xiao Lu down, then gorged a very long gu worm from between her brows, and with her other hand, she reached out towards Cui Buqu, slitting the clothes below his neck in a sensual manner.
"You've caused Xiao-lang such misery, I cannot allow you an easy death. You should die more horribly than him to pacify the pain he will be going through in the realm of the afterlife!"
She slit open the skin below his collarbone, cutting open a bloody wound. Yuwen Yihuan approached closer with the gu worm in her hand. The latter couldn't wait to latch itself onto Cui Buqu and suck his blood dry.
As she released it, the gu worm pounced into his flesh, relieving only half an inch of its tail.
Very quickly, its tail vanished under his skin. Yuwen Yihuan ripped his clothes open and watched as the gu worm wriggled down his chest and couldn't help snickering a little.
"Next, I want to dig your heart out. But relax, with the gu worm present, you won't die so quickly even if you lose your heart. Perhaps you can feel how it's like to have your heart dug out."
Her voice was flattering and light as she pried open Cui Buqu's clothes, a pious look over her face.
Cui Buqu felt like his body was dissected into three parts.
One part was being ripped by the illnesses that originally existed within his body.
One part was being ripped by the martial abilities that Xiao Lu transferred to him a while ago.
The one part that remained was being ripped apart by gu poison.
All three sides were taking his body for a warfield with the intention to conquer it. In such a heated battle, no side was willing to take a step back and the result that came from this was the black blood that continuously foamed at the corner of Cui Buqu's lips. It was obvious that his body had reached its limit, incapable of enduring any more forms of hardship.
But Yuwen Yihuan didn't care.
She didn't care about how much pain Cui Buqu was in. The more pain he was in, the happier she was. If Cui Buqu could describe the pain he was in at this moment, Yuwen Yihuan would only happily clap in joyous celebration.
She was focusing on fumbling around his chest, searching for the best spot to dig his heart out.
Finally, a satisfied smile spread across Yuwen Yihuan's face.
She decided to silt open his chest vertically, then reach in to gorge his heart out.
However, all of a sudden, a sword pierced through her back.
Yuwen Yihuan seemed to have felt it, as the death bell toiled in her chest.
The other person had come from the tunnel, and she hadn't noticed him until it was too late. One could tell how profound his martial abilities were. He was definitely not below Xiao Lu's level of ability from before.
The moment that thought passed through her mind, the tip of the sword had already pierced her back.
There was a look of despair and confusion on Yuwen Yihuan's face.
From the time she climbed up from the ground to stuff the gu worm into her own body, she was already prepared to be its vessel and die a painful death.
She knew that her martial abilities were weak, so she had no choice but to rely on this item to help Xiao Lu, even if it meant that she would meet a very painful end.
It's a pity that when she finally found Xiao Lu, he was already dead.
All her efforts, all her sacrifices, were in vain, just like that.
The tip of the sword was dyed in blood, and after a moment, it was swiftly withdrawn. She aimed at him with her foot and the sword brushed across her shoulders. The young maiden's head left her body on the spot and a splutter of blood sprayed across the stone walls as her head rolled into a distance.
An arm, on the other hand, wrapped itself around Cui Buqu's waist.
He could vaguely hear someone calling his name. The other person repeated his name, again and again, stricken with panic and fear.
Cui Buqu forced himself to open his eyes. He wanted to say something, but instead, he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Then he saw it. Feng Xiao's entire expression had changed.
How could the proud and arrogant Second Commander Feng ever wear an expression like this in the past?
All of a sudden, Cui Buqu wanted to laugh. He parted his lips to say, "Help me gorge the gu worm out…"
Feng Xiao couldn't tear his eyes off the object swimming beneath the skin in his chest. He clenched his teeth. "I don't dare to do it."
To think there came a day when he'd say he didn't dare.
Cui Buqu felt an even stronger urge to laugh.
"There are only two paths to choose: To die or to live." Cui Buqu closed his eyes and calmly said, "To place my life in your hands, even if my end is death, it is something I'll never regret."
There was a brief ripple on Feng Xiao's expression, as if he wanted to say something, but he'd swallowed it down.
He lit the firestarter in his hand, and lending its light, he drew a dagger from inside his sleeve. After heating it up on the fire for a while, he pointed the dagger at Cui Buqu's chest, but then he hesitated.
"Quick…"
The gu worm seemed to wiggle even deeper. Cui Buqu could feel all his muscles cram, his consciousness fading.
Feng Xiao didn't dare to hesitate anymore. He fixed his gaze onto a spot where the gu worm was wriggling, raised his hand, and down the knife went. A black worm was wriggling in a pool of blood, trying its best to hide, but Feng Xiao caught it with both his fingers, then pulled it out.
"Hnn…"
Cui Buqu was in so much pain that his eyelids unfurled, his pale face oozing with cold sweat, his eyes losing their focus.
After Feng Xiao gorged the gu worm out, he instantly burned it to death with fire. Then he wrapped his arms around Cui Buqu's waist and helped him up, leaving Yuwen Yihuan's corpse behind.
Cui Buqu felt himself being taken away in a blur. Those arms holding him were very steady, trying their best not to let him feel bumpy as they moved.
Had it been a year ago, when he first met Feng-er in the City of Six Crafts, Feng-er would have never been so thoughtful towards him. Cui Buqu suddenly caught himself missing it.
The other person seemed to think that the poison in him was taking effect. He stopped and lowered his head to nervously ask, "Is something wrong?"
Cui Buqu, "I'm fine."
As long as he could still withstand the pain, he deemed all to be fine.
Feng Xiao placed him down.
Cui Buqu asked, "How did you find me?"
Feng Xiao, "I followed Yuwen Yihuan along the way. Without her gone, she will fester into a threat. I didn't expect to run into you."
After he and Tuan Qinghe leapt into the underground maze, the two of them fought for a while, but quickly lost each other after a brief collapse of the maze. Feng Xiao turned and waddled his way around, managing to escape death a few times. It was owed to his exemplary martial prowess that his dangers only resulted in fear.
At this moment, it was instead Zhangsun who was being pursued by the human gu and ran into Tuan Qinghe.
The human gu could no longer tell who his enemies were, hence he wouldn't let Tuan Qinghe go simply because he was a friend of Kuhezhen. Zhangsun and the Sui Emperor had instead taken the opportunity to escape after being pursued for so long.
"I met them at the front. Zhangsun has found a way out. I allowed him to deliver His Majesty into safety first, then I continued looking for you, running into Yuwen Yihuan in the end."
He spoke swiftly, describing these things without going into detail, and speaking of his danger as if it was merely small talk.
Because Feng Xiao knew that Cui Buqu would make up his mind to ask, and Feng Xiao would have no choice but to answer them. However, these were not the things he wanted to spend his energy on.
Cui Buqu has seen Feng Xiao's many faces, but he has never seen him in such a nervous state.
"That means that Tuan Qinghe is still in here, and he isn't dead yet." Cui Buqu said.
"I hope he's entangled with the human gu and has killed each other. Best not let him show up in front of me ever again." Feng Xiao answered.
Cui Buqu faintly smiled. "It seems like this wish of yours won't be able to come true."
At the end of the tunnel, a person appeared.
He was holding a lantern, as he slowly walked up to them from afar.
If he was killed by the human gu, then Tuan Qinghe didn't live up to his name.
Feng Xiao sighed, "That persistent geezer!"
But he wasn't in a hurry to fight with the other person. He instead took out a jade pendant that he'd picked up somewhere, and passed it to Cui Buqu.
"Just now, you dropped this."
Cui Buqu eyed the phoenix on the jade pendant and shook his head.
"Not mine."
Feng Xiao, "Then whose is it?"
Cui Buqu expressionlessly said, "Perhaps it's Yuwen Yihuan's?"
Feng Xiao was driven into furious laughter. "Would it kill you to speak the truth?"
Cui Buqu, "I really am going to die soon."
Feng Xiao's expression abruptly turned aghast.
Cui Buqu instantly changed the subject. "However, if you win against Tuan Qinghe, perhaps I might speak the truth that you always wanted to hear."
Feng Xiao, "I hope that when I come back, I will get to see you alive and well, speaking to me."
Cui Buqu nodded in seriousness. "I will try my best."
Feng Xiao lowered his head to kiss him. This time, Cui Buqu didn't pull away, perhaps due to having no strength left in him at all. Leaning against the stone walls, he lifted his head slightly to meet the other's demand.
After a while, both of them separated. Feng Xiao kept the jade pendant into his lapels and walked up to Tuan Qinghe.
Cui Buqu watched his rear as he slowly closed his eyes.
Tuan Qinghe stood in his place. He knelt to place the lantern aside.
"If it was possible, I'd hope that this battle between us could take place above ground."
Feng Xiao rolled his eyes. "Do you think this old man wants to fight you here at all?"
Tuan Qinghe seriously nodded his head. "Since this is inevitable, then, we could also strive to win with our own capabilities."
Feng Xiao snorted, and without saying another word, he moved like lightning, lunging himself at his enemy.
Both of them engaged in a ferocious fight.
One of them used pure strength, and the other was using zither strings.
With his dazzling sword glares that far outweighed the enemy's aura, Feng Xiao leapt in a flutter of sleeves, creating the image of a lonesome figure in the midst of toiling waves and crumbling mountains.
But from inside his sleeve, a zither string shot out, breaking through the screen created by the enemy's sword. Tuan Qinghe was forced to change his approach. He leapt into the air as well, the weight of his sword clashing down like a gathering of raven-black clouds.
Feng Xiao drew a soft sword from his waist, and with a flicker of his wrist, the sword straightened from the qi that flowed into it with a freezing aura.
The heavy glare of a knife hammered down like a tiger pouncing out of its mountain in a hungry attempt to seize its prey. The force was unstoppable. All of a sudden, it resembled the thundering clouds in the sky, churning in preparation for an impending storm to make all walking lives on earth kneel before it.
Even Cui Buqu, who was sitting far away, could feel its killing intent surging wave after wave, enough to make one dumbstruck with astonishment.
Cui Buqu had never seen Hulugu, who lived in fame for a decade, but he has once heard Fan Yun mentioning Hulugu's martial approach.
Back then, Fan Yun had even demonstrated it himself. Although he wasn't like the original and neither could he flawlessly mimic him, Cui Buqu could tell from just a few moves that this was truly the swift and fierce ways of the number one fighter under the Heavens.
As for Tuan Qinghe; this person was a young man who has never once stepped into the Central Plains. Although his martial arts were formerly taught by Hulugu, there were differences.
Tuan Qinghe was someone who spent most of his years training atop snowy mountains. Other than the path of martial arts, his heart harboured nothing else. A heart purely devoted to martial arts was clearly reflected in his martial abilities. Although his manner of fighting wasn't showy, they had instead made him appear ethereal and otherworldly.
In future days to come, this person would most certainly surpass his master and turn into the grandmaster of his generation.
However, this wouldn't happen at any time soon.
The enemy in front of him did not look even a little bit inferior.
Although Feng Xiao seldom meddled in affairs of the Jianghu, his talents were not beneath him. Not long ago, he had just managed a breakthrough and alleviated his martial arts to attain a new degree.
As the two of them engaged in a toiling battle of storms, other than Cui Buqu, it was a pity that there was no audience.
Feng Xiao could not guarantee that he would win.
He clearly knew that Tuan Qinghe and he had around the same strength. This also meant that his chance of success was fifty-fifty.
Any small amount of misjudgement or the faintest mistake could turn this fight into a loss.
He couldn't lose.
There was still someone behind him.
As the sword slowly descended from above, Feng Xiao remained unmoving.
He wasn't in a hurry to avoid the enemy's attack.
Because he couldn't find where the enemy was.
When the sword glare filled his gaze, in reality, they were only distractions. If he failed to discern reality and illusion, then the next stab would likely strike on him.
Feng Xiao suddenly leapt into the air.
He thrust his sword into a certain direction.
From where his sword struck, it became one with his body.
His body and the glare of his sword had merged into one, piercing through the screen of the enemy's knife.
Within an instant, a sphere of light suddenly burst into sight. The two bodies entangled with each other and then separated, landing onto a platform that stuck out from the stone walls.
There was a long bloody wound stretching from Tuan Qinghe's right shoulder to the left side of his stomach, as blood dripped down.
Feng Xiao sustained a bloody scar across his arm, spreading across his clothes.
Both of their faces were pale. It was obvious their wounds weren't the only external wounds they endured.
If they were to continue fighting, there wouldn't be a second ending other than a pyrrhic victory.
Feng Xiao didn't want to die in this place. He still wanted to bring someone out.
But he would never say these words aloud. Instead, he told Tuan Qinghe. "Something is weighing in your heart. Your spirit is not in this fight."
Tuan Qinghe's expression faintly changed, obviously proving Feng Xiao right.
Feng Xiao, "Why don't we fight again another day."
After a moment, Tuan Qinghe said, "When?"
Feng Xiao, "In three years. Three years later on this day, I will meet you at the golden peak of Mount Emei."
Tuan Qinghe said nothing, as he turned and left. He was incredibly quick, vanishing into the darkness within a blink.
Feng Xiao could tell that he was in a hurry since the other person didn't even care to hide his urgency. He had even refrained from stopping his bleeding wound first.
Feng Xiao observed where Tuan Qinghe stood just now, then saw Yuwen Yihuan's corpse, and then he seemed to have understood something.
But he didn't want to spend time thinking about others. He didn't stop as he limped to Cui Buqu's side, then abruptly paused as he bent down and picked up the other person in his arms in the most gentle gesture he had ever done in his life.
He couldn't help himself from placing his hand on the other person's chest, and after feeling a faint warmth radiating from it, he relaxed.
Feng Xiao softly asked, "I'll carry you out. Alright?"
Cui Buqu stirred and eyed him, then closed his eyes and nodded his head.
Feng Xiao carried him and slowly walked step by step, although he was also in a bit of a hurry.
"Promise me that when we leave the maze, you'll still be awake."
A moment passed.
Perhaps, a long moment had passed.
Only then did Feng Xiao hear a sigh coming from his back.
"I promise you."
Cui Buqu never made empty promises, but once he did, he would keep his word.
However, Feng Xiao not only refused to relax just because of this promise, but he had also become even more worried instead.
No one knew better than him how determined Cui Buqu was about living, but no one knew better than him how gravely wounded Cui Buqu was as well.
Even if he could survive, how much did his body endure to sustain wounds such as these?
Even if he had to beg all the physicians under the Heavens, it was something that can only be done if they left this place.
"If you keep your promise, I will tell you something."
"…Hm?"
"Cui Buqu, I like you. If you live, then I can deign myself to spend the rest of my life with you. If you die, then even if the members of the Zuoyue Bureau bury you, I will unroot your grave so that your soul will never be reincarnated."
Feng Xiao's voice was cold, so cold that it could freeze anyone in place.
Cui Buqu, however, faintly smiled.
He didn't know whether it was the Jade of Heaven's Lake from Xiao Lu's martial arts that was taking effect, or perhaps it was poison combating with poison. After he'd lived through the most painful moments of his life, he didn't feel so bad right now.
But he had no intention to confess so quickly.
If he could enjoy watching the Second Commander Feng confess and bend his knee, why not enjoy it a moment longer?
At the very least… Once they got out, he'll pit him one time less and call it a day.
Author's Notes -
The main story is finished!
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[1] 郎: lang with a romantic connotation.
Translator's Note -
But with how MXS left the ending, we know it's only our journey with Fengcui has ended, but they will continue to live the rest of their lives together.
Editor's note -
I'm very happy to have taken part in presenting everyone with this novel, I hope you liked it as much as we did! I tried my best to clear out any errors but if you find anything while reading please do comment! Cya ya'll!