Everything happened so fast that no one had time to react.
The next second, Shen Zhengyu twisted around and pressed his weapon against Quan Heng’s throat.
Wen Zheng nearly lost his mind. “Shen Zhengyu! Let her go! Don’t hurt her!”
Shen Zhengyu sneered, pushing the blade closer. “What, can’t take it? Now that Heng’er is in my hands, I have a thousand ways to break you.”
Quan Heng felt a stinging pain on her neck—there was blood.
She looked up and saw Wen Zheng, eyes bloodshot, drawing his sword and charging at Shen Zhengyu in a frenzy.
During their fight, Quan Heng ignored the pain in her neck. Seizing the moment, she bit down hard on Shen Zhengyu’s wrist.
She bit with all her might, refusing to let go.
Only when the pain stunned Shen Zhengyu and Wen Zheng knocked the sword from his hand did she finally release her grip.
She tasted blood in her mouth—warm and salty. She glanced at the wound and saw his wrist was mangled, flesh torn and bleeding heavily.
She had hoped to escape in the chaos, but in the next second, Shen Zhengyu grabbed her collar again.
His eyes were blood-red, filled with unreadable emotions. “Don’t think a little trick like that will get rid of me. Heng’er, you’re mine. You’ll be mine for life.”
“Even if you die, you’ll die by my hand!”
Wen Zheng tried to strike again, but Shen Zhengyu pulled out a hidden dagger and pressed it to Quan Heng’s chest.
“Don’t come closer! One more step, and I swear I’ll stab her!”
Terrified that he might really hurt her, Wen Zheng was forced to halt.
Just then, the sound of hoofbeats echoed in the distance. A sense of dread welled up in Wen Zheng’s heart.
But when he glanced at Shen Zhengyu, he realized the man looked surprised too.
Moments later, a large army arrived—and Wen Zheng recognized the leader immediately.
It was Yan Kong, the general of Dongyang.
Over the years, they had clashed many times at the border—he was well familiar with that face.
Now, Yan Kong rode forward and stopped in front of them, mocking: “Looks like I came at just the right moment. Didn’t expect to walk in on a pair of brothers fighting over the same woman.”
His gaze moved to Quan Heng, scanning her from head to toe. A hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. “Not bad. This woman is indeed quite the beauty.”
He stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes at Shen Zhengyu. “How about this—you hand her over to me, and you two can stop fighting. Once Dongyang crushes Jin and takes your land, I’ll reward you with a general’s title.”
Shen Zhengyu glared. “Yan Kong, what’s the meaning of this? I only asked to borrow your troops—are you going back on our deal?”
Yan Kong laughed like he’d heard the greatest joke. “Brother Shen, you’re still too naïve compared to your brother. Dongyang and Jin have never been allies. Over the years, your people have killed so many of mine. You think there wouldn’t be a reckoning?”
He dismounted and raised his bow, drawing it to full tension.
And aimed it—at Quan Heng.
“Today, I’ll make you all pay the price!”
With that, he loosed the arrow. It flew with a sharp, whistling sound, aiming straight for Quan Heng’s heart.
Wen Zheng shouted in horror, “No!!”
In the next second, Shen Zhengyu pulled Quan Heng into his arms, turned, and took the arrow in his back.
Everything went dark for Quan Heng. Shen Zhengyu covered her eyes with one hand: “Don’t look.”
Then came the sickening sound of flesh being pierced. He gritted his teeth to endure, but a muffled groan still escaped.
Quan Heng was stunned and pushed his hand away. “Why? Didn’t you want me dead? Why take the arrow for me?”
Shen Zhengyu didn’t answer her. He turned to Wen Zheng and said, “What are you waiting for? Most of Dongyang’s troops are here, and they’re low on supplies. This is your best chance to wipe them out.”
Wen Zheng stared at him in disbelief. “You…”
Shen Zhengyu’s lips bled. “What do you mean ‘you’? We’re twins. How much worse could I really be than you?”
“To my knowledge, aside from General Zhenbei’s Yu Family Army, Heng’er’s father also brought troops from the frontier. They should be here by now, right?”
Wen Zheng looked at him—for the first time, he saw him in a new light.
All these years, because of this younger brother, the Emperor and Empress often blamed and punished him.
Because of his existence, Wen Zheng had suffered greatly since childhood. He never had a good impression of him to begin with.
Later, he returned to fight Wen Zheng over Quan Heng, and their struggle had long since reached a fever pitch—it was a life-or-death standoff.
Now, the general of Dongyang had already given the order. Their soldiers were charging forward with long spears, the air thunderous with shouting. War was already on the brink of eruption.
Shen Zhengyu coughed, broke off the long arrow in his body with his bare hands, and said through gritted teeth, “Go now and lead the troops—you must not let the Dongyang army succeed. As for Heng’er, I’ll protect her. Don’t worry.”
Hearing this, Wen Zheng finally made up his mind. He gave Quan Heng one last deep look, then gripped the long sword in his hand and charged forward into battle with the Dongyang army.
At that moment, Quan Heng looked around in terror—there was blood everywhere.
Since childhood, she had fainted at the sight of blood. She had never witnessed such a bloody, brutal scene as this battlefield. She trembled uncontrollably with fear.
Seeing this, Shen Zhengyu said softly, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
With those words, he grabbed a sword from a nearby fallen soldier and defended her, fending off the oncoming enemies stroke by stroke.
Though he was injured, there weren’t too many chasing after them yet—he could still barely manage.
But then, when Quan Minghao arrived with additional border troops, Yan Kong finally realized: he’d been played by Shen Zhengyu.
At that moment, he glared venomously at Shen Zhengyu and said to the bodyguard beside him, “Find a few men—go after him directly. Daring to trick me? He’ll pay the price.”
The bodyguard obeyed and quickly gathered over twenty men, surrounding Shen Zhengyu completely.
By the time he realized what was happening, Shen Zhengyu was already covered in wounds, his breathing unsteady.
“Ah Zheng, we’re surrounded… Are we… going to be okay?” Quan Heng asked.
Shen Zhengyu, enduring the pain as he struck down another enemy, replied, “We’ll be fine. I’ll protect you!”
At that, Yan Kong’s guards burst out laughing. “What a delusional brat—still putting on airs at a time like this! Kill them!”
At the command, the surrounding soldiers raised their spears and thrust at the two of them.
In the next moment, Shen Zhengyu threw himself over Quan Heng, shielding her with his own body.
Countless spears pierced into him all at once.
Blood sprayed like a fountain. Flesh and bone flew.
Shen Zhengyu’s stifled groan rang in her ear.
Quan Heng’s eyes widened in horror. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. “Shen Zhengyu! Why would you protect me like this? Doesn’t it hurt?!”
Finally, reinforcements arrived. The Dongyang soldiers had to turn their attention to them and could no longer focus on the two of them.
Quan Heng struggled to crawl out from beneath him. When she saw his body riddled with holes, she trembled as she reached out—but fear made her pull her hand back.
“Heng’er, don’t be afraid. Look, your father is here to save us. Everything will be alright now.”
Quan Heng turned her head in shock—and sure enough, she saw Quan Minghao’s face. She felt a rush of both joy and disbelief. But when she looked back at Shen Zhengyu’s broken body, grief surged through her heart.
Even if Shen Zhengyu had been overbearing this past month, they had still spent nearly a decade together. How could she bear to watch him die right in front of her?
“Ah Zheng, hang in there. I’ll ask Father to take us back to the palace. The imperial physicians will treat you. You’ll be okay, you must be okay!”
At her words, Shen Zhengyu actually smiled, his expression relaxing. “Heng’er… have you forgiven me?”
Quan Heng froze, then said with a pout, “No! I’ll only forgive you if you stay alive! If you die, I’ll never forgive you in this life!”
Shen Zhengyu smiled gently and reached out to stroke her head. “Then don’t forgive me.”
“I know my body. I won’t make it.”
Quan Heng’s tears fell harder. “No! Don’t say that!”
Shen Zhengyu reached to wipe the blood from his lips, but the more he wiped, the more there was. It couldn’t be cleaned away.
“Heng’er, I have one more thing to tell you.”
His vision was going black—he couldn’t hold on much longer. But if he didn’t say this, he couldn’t die in peace.
“If there’s a next life, no matter what happens, I swear—I’ll never leave you again. I’ll stay by your side, love you, and never let anyone else have the chance to take you away…”
With his last ounce of strength, he asked, “If that’s the case… would you choose me, just once?”
Quan Heng was stunned.
Seeing she didn’t reply, Shen Zhengyu gave a peaceful smile. “It’s alright… Even if you don’t choose me, it’s fine. As long as you live well and you’re happy, that’s enough for me.”
As he finished speaking, he finally could no longer hold on. His head slumped to the side, and he fell back—lifeless.
Quan Heng watched him die with her own eyes. An overwhelming sorrow filled her heart.
She clutched his body and, for the first time, cried her heart out for him. “Shen Zhengyu…”
But she was still on the battlefield. There was barely even time to grieve.
A nearby soldier saw that Shen Zhengyu was dead and recognized Quan Heng as the one the Dongyang general wanted. He decided to capture her alive to claim credit.
He raised his spear and lunged toward her.
The next moment, Wen Zheng directly knocked the weapon from the soldier’s hand and drove his sword straight through the man’s heart.
He then looked toward Quan Heng in alarm and pulled her into his arms. “Ah Heng, are you okay?”
Thankfully, he had seen what happened just in time. If that soldier had harmed her, Wen Zheng felt he might have torn the man limb from limb.
Falling once again into that familiar warm embrace, Quan Heng sobbed so hard she could barely breathe.
Shen Zhengyu would never exist in this world again.
With his death, her childhood and youth were sealed away as well.
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