Chapter 94
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In this dreamlike illusion, a dream spanned over a dozen years.
It was time to wake up.
“What’s wrong, host?” The system asked with some concern.
“Nothing.”
Turning back, Chu Xie heard a familiar voice in the silent darkness.
“How is it?”
“I sent Xu Chunmu out of the city; he will find a safe place. As an ordinary person, although his life may not be wealthy, it won’t be full of hardships.” Chu Xie replied truthfully.
The voice in the darkness paused, “Do you think sending Xu Chunmu out of the capital can completely eliminate the threat on him?” The voice approached from the darkness, as if the person was right in front of him.
Chu Xie furrowed his brows, “Then what should I do?”
“I’ll temporarily return your body to you.”
“Temporarily?”
He squinted slightly, looking up into the endless darkness, “You promised me that as long as I saved Xu Chunmu, you would willingly give me my body. You can’t—”
Before he could finish his sentence, he vaguely heard some strange sounds near his ears, like the ticking of a clock. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and realized he was in an unfamiliar room.
Finally feeling relieved, he soon noticed how quiet the room was.
The door and windows were tightly closed.
Not even the slightest sound of wind could be heard.
A faint smell of blood permeated the room.
In that moment, he dropped to his knees, hands supporting the wooden floor as his whole body trembled violently. “You…”
D*mn.
He tried to crawl towards the window using both hands and feet, but his elbows couldn’t support his body. Lifting his hand proved futile, and his body slanted. He could only grip his chest tightly, and faintly, it seemed like he could hear the crackling of a burning fire.
It felt as if his entire body was submerged in ice-cold water, making it almost impossible to breathe.
The white walls in front of him seemed to transform into the porcelain walls from his mother’s suicide, with blood-stained ripples spreading across the floor.
“Ah Xie, Ah Xie…”
“Listen to me, don’t look at the blood, look at me, take a deep breath…”
He covered his mouth and nose tightly, forced it away, but then opened it again, taking a deep breath as if he had used up all his strength, yet it was just one breath, and his mind quickly buzzed.
His heart began to shake violently.
This feeling was empathy.
Rapid scenes began to flash before his eyes.
Through the gap in the door, a woman in a bright yellow dress with beautiful hairpins stood beside a slightly older lady. The two figures intertwined, and in front of them, a very familiar man was standing.
“Madam, killing one person a day is the emperor’s command.”
“Shut up! Chen Lianzhou, how dare you—”
Swoosh.
A very light sound, a cold sword entered the old lady’s chest.
The door creaked open, and the man turned around in surprise, shouting, “Who!”
The woman immediately rushed forward, hugging him tightly. He heard the hoarse sobbing of a child, “Grandmother, grandmother! Mother, mother… Mother killed grandmother…”
The woman only covered their mouth with her hands.
“Where’s Father… Mother, why hasn’t Father come back yet?”
The woman choked, shaking her head.
“Shen Qian has committed the crime of treason, and until he returns to the capital, a member of the Shen family will die each day. Princess, you better send a letter to the general about Madam’s funeral soon, or else, the next one to die might be uncertain.”
In those tearful eyes, Chen Lianzhou’s mocking smile deeply imprinted in his mind.
…
Under the dense shadows of the trees, a golden cage held a yellow oriole, flapping its wings to hide in a corner of the cage. A pair of tender hands touched the hilt of a knife, just pulled out but restrained by another hand.
In the pupils, a cruel scene was reflected.
A venomous snake perched on a tree grabbed the yellow oriole and quickly snuffed out its breath.
“Do you know why that bird died?”
“Because… you didn’t let me save it.”
In opulent dark purple robes with golden patterns, the hand in the sleeve put the dagger back into its sheath. “No, it’s because… that bird had no fangs.”
“Endless struggle, relentless suffering. From now on, you shall be called Chu Xie.”
…
In the prison cell, a hand with distinct knuckles handed a bowl of water to the person covered in stains.
The other hand brushed aside the messy hair, wiping off the dirt on the face, meeting a pair of bright eyes.
It was Xu Chunmu.
“Drink.”
Sensing the person’s cautious gaze, a gentle smile appeared. “Don’t worry; it’s not poisoned.”
“I will save you.”
…
These were the memories of the original owner of that broken plotline.
Indeed, in that crumbling plotline, he recognized Xu Chunmu’s identity, was caught by Su Mingan as a weak point, and died for Xu Chunmu.
Just as he felt the unbearable pain in his chest, he plunged into the profound darkness once again.
Feeling lighter all over, the sweaty sensation disappeared. Chu Xie returned to that pitch-black space and immediately questioned, “You plotted against me; you wanted to kill me!”
“I can only see your recent memories when you empathize.” The voice explained, “I just wanted to see what happened when you claimed to have sent Xu Chunmu out of the city.”
“Well, you’ve confirmed that I did send him away. Now can you return my body to me?”
The person in the darkness remained silent, and Chu Xie instantly became furious.
“What’s going on? Are you going back on your word?!”
“It’s useless. If it’s just this, it won’t save Xu Chunmu.”
Before Chu Xie could say anything, a confident statement came from the depths of the darkness.
“Su Mingan will depose Jiang Yanchi.”
What?
The original Chu Xie was saying what?
Su Mingan would depose Jiang Yanchi, absurd.
The Jiang Yanchi he painstakingly pushed onto the throne, how could he possibly depose him? Jiang Yanchi had half Yue Clan lineage; for him, no one could replace this child.
“He won’t.”
“He will.”
“Why?”
The voice in the darkness fell silent. “Because Su Mingan knows he will definitely kill Zhao Lingqu.”
Chu Xie realized that he seemed to be unable to comprehend the original Chu Xie’s thought process.
Zhao Lingqu was Jiang Yanchi’s uncle, so why would he want to kill his own uncle?
Was it because of the kick on the city wall? That was just self-defense.
“Not only Zhao Lingqu, but when he fully seizes power, even Su Mingan will be killed. He already harbors murderous intent; it’s just that Su Mingan is currently in power, forcing him to temporarily suppress it.”
Chu Xie was stunned.
“What are you talking about? Without Su Mingan, how could Jiang Yanchi possibly ascend to the throne…” There was a pause, and then, “Why would he kill Su Mingan…”
“If you die, he will.”
The voice in the darkness was solemn and dignified. “Don’t you understand the current situation? Let me tell you what will happen next. As soon as you take your last breath, Jiang Yanchi will definitely not let Zhao Lingqu live. The young emperor now has some real power, and in order to protect Zhao Lingqu, Su Mingan will preemptively strike and choose to rebel!”
Rebellion.
What… what exactly is going on here?
Chu Xie listened in confusion, but vaguely felt that the original Chu was so certain, as if it made sense.
He couldn’t help but ponder.
If what the original Chu said was true.
Not long ago, Xu Yi wanted to rebel against Jiang Yanchi, and now Su Mingan also wanted to rebel against Jiang Yanchi.
The young man who was supposed to become a wise emperor, how did he end up with the fate of being plotted against by powerful ministers?
“But what about Jiang Yanchi—”
“He won’t win. Su Mingan, the Grand Tutor for four dynasties, the position of the young emperor is not completely stable yet. When Xu Yi rebelled against him, it was because Su Mingan protected him, allowing him to ascend smoothly. Now, with Su Mingan rebelling against him, he has no chance of winning.”
“Su Mingan will support another powerless royal family member to ascend the throne. At that time, Xu Chunmu will still be found and killed…”
“I still don’t understand. All your deductions are based on the premise that Jiang Yanchi will definitely kill Zhao Lingqu. But what if he doesn’t need to kill Zhao Lingqu? Zhao Lingqu is his uncle! Zhao Lingqu won’t betray him!” Chu Xie shook his head forcefully, seemingly unable to accept the inference that Jiang Yanchi would lose the throne.
“He will kill. Chu Xie, you must go back. Once you take your last breath, Jiang Yanchi will definitely kill Zhao Lingqu! I know Su Mingan. At that time, when faced with two evils, he will definitely choose to sacrifice Jiang and protect Zhao!”
“Why would he kill Zhao Lingqu just because I die?” Chu Xie pondered in frustration, his voice rising, “This doesn’t make any sense!”
“Because he will seek revenge!”
A silence fell around.
Chu Xie’s heart seemed to be entangled once again by a thin thread, slowly tightening, gradually becoming painful.
“He… would he kill his own uncle for revenge against me? Oppose Grand Tutor Su, who has supported him and holds the real power of the dynasty, and shake the throne he has acquired with great difficulty. Is he stupid… how could he possibly do such a thing?”
In the darkness, there seemed to be a sigh.
“He will.”
The words that came from the darkness were like a torch, igniting the impatience that he had barely suppressed in his heart. “If you die, there’s nothing he won’t do.”
It seemed like similar things had indeed happened before.
When he stabbed himself in the heart with a small knife, Jiang Yanchi led the Hu army to chaos in the western border.
Thinking he died in Puyang County, he immediately killed the rebellious Xu Yi and Xu Chengjin. Could it be that this time it’s really…
“But, even if that’s the case, what can I do now?”
Chu Xie felt a bit lost. Gradually, the confusion and panic turned into a bundle of anger. He retorted, “But my body only has an hour of life left. The system can repair fatal injuries, but now this body is like a collapsing dam, not just any injury can be fatal. It’s useless; I can’t survive. If Su Mingan must depose Jiang Yanchi, what can I do? I’m almost dead; I really have no way out. It’s useless; we lost… even Jiang Yanchi is implicated. He could have been the emperor, he originally—”
Jiang Yanchi was originally the emperor.
He was a smart child. How did he end up in this situation?
But the original Chu seemed calm rather than panicked, and instead asked, “Why do you think Su Mingan is so eager to set up a plot to kill you?”
Su Mingan… Why did he suddenly have the intent to kill him, so impatiently wanting to kill him?
This was something he had thought about for a long time but couldn’t figure out.
Could it be that with just a glimpse of that tiny bit of memory, the original Chu could see it clearly?
Chu Xie considered himself not a foolish person. All along, he had been smart enough.
But why, now, many things seemed like a chaotic mess of threads in front of him, making it impossible for him to understand. Every question posed by the original Chu left him speechless, unable to find an answer.
“Do you know that the more dangerous the murderous intent, the more difficult it is to detect hidden ways out?”
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