CHAPTER 1164: CHAPTER 732: HEART

Autumn rain falls, withered leaves rustling.

Feeling the warmth from the woman’s gentle touch, Xu Yuan suddenly smiled, but then gradually fell silent, withdrawing his hand.

Li Qingyan was right.

Rather than confiding, he preferred burying everything inside, or perhaps... even if he wanted to speak, he had no idea where to begin.

Silently following the imperial corridor behind the Golden Throne Hall, listening to the rain, Li Qingyan did not urge him, merely walking quietly by his side, but Xu Yuan’s heart grew restless.

He instinctively wanted to blame this Wrapped Chest Princess for bringing up the matter, yet deep down he knew that the nameless agitation was anger at himself, for he still did not understand what the woman who died for him meant to him...

In every sense.

Li Junwu’s death made him think a lot about past things he had subconsciously ignored.

He was someone who went with the flow and disliked dwelling on philosophical issues, yet these things undeniably existed.

Xu Yuan.

Xu Changtian.

Memories.

Personality.

When he first cultivated the Blood Essence Meteoring Art, the Heavenly Gate Sword Intent cut away all the emotions belonging to Xu Changtian, leaving only memories for Xu Yuan.

The early Xu Yuan always recalled these memories with the mindset of watching a first-person VR movie, and the emotions stirred during the recollection were merely treated as the immersion one feels while watching a movie.

This naturally included the memory of that foolish woman.

Xu Yuan regarded her as an interesting playmate, a close companion who shared his heart, always experiencing a strange sense of forbidden pleasure when teasingly flirting with her.

Beyond this, there was nothing else.

Neither Xu Yuan nor Xu Changtian, nor his current self, ever liked her.

And her passing...

He thought that an excellent movie could make a character’s death poignant and unforgettable, but it could never keep them constantly in one’s mind.

It should be so,

It is supposed to be so,

Given this!

Yet why does that heart-wrenching moment at the dusk in Zhenxi Prefecture City linger like a haunting spirit?!

During his idle times,

During breaks in his cultivation,

During every moment his thoughts drifted back to the Western Desert.

They kept walking for a long way, encountering many hurried eunuchs and palace maids on their way, who upon seeing these two unfamiliar faces, hesitated briefly before kneeling to salute.

It wasn’t until they stepped out of the imperial corridor into the curtain of rain,

that he suddenly stopped, smiling gently.

The old him might have obsessed over this question for a very long time, but now, having comprehended the Life and Death Domain, capable of seeing soul marks, he already knows the answer.

From the moment the Blood Essence Meteoring Art formed, the soul marks were already intertwined, the sacred cutter no longer existed, and not even the Heavenly Gate Sword Intent could sever it.

The rain poured down, the palace structures on both sides blended into a blurred backdrop, without the use of Origin Qi to shield himself, water swiftly soaked his clothes, trickling down his hair.

Li Qingyan watched him with her gentle smile, softly speaking:

"If you really don’t want to talk, how about listening to my story first?"

"...."

"Changtian?"

"Changtian...."

He murmured softly, smiling lightly: "Xu Yuan, Xu Changtian...."

Li Qingyan looked at him with concern, worried about his mental state:

"What’s wrong with you?"

Xu Yuan snapped back to reality at her voice, staring at the woman beside him for a few seconds, softly smiled, shook his head, and stepped forward, saying with a smile:

"Mentioning him suddenly reminded me of many things, that’s all."

"..."

Li Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to follow, without utilizing Energy Mechanism to ward off the rain, walking with him through the grand palace despite the rain, and this time his voice sounded loquacious.

"...There were too many things in the past, mostly about wandering the pleasure districts, bullying men and women...."

"...You know the Four Young Masters of the Capital, right? Initially, we got along because of some shared interests...."

"...Honestly, Qingyan, you might not believe this, but I never liked her, nor did I ever see her as a romantic counterpart...."

"...This time going to the Western Desert was partly official and partly an appointment, Li Junwu had previously written to me, saying he would show me the exotic scenery of the Western Desert...."

"...So I always interacted with her as a friend, and I thought she saw me the same way. After all, women you frequent the pleasure districts with, how could they possibly like men...."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan suddenly fell silent again, gazing at her rain-visible cheek and her heroic eyebrows, his voice low and hoarse:

"Qingyan... do you know?

"That person always mentioned you, always wanting to outmatch you, saying she wanted to be the first Li Junwu, not the second Li Qingyan. Even... until her dying breath, she asked me... asked if she was better than you...."

Unknowingly,

The two of them had arrived before a grand sleeping palace.

The light was dim, the rainwater trickling down his hair.

Li Qingyan remained silent for a while, then sighed softly:

"You... can be so oblivious."

"Yeah...."

Xu Yuan looked up at the sky, taking a deep, trembling breath, bewilderedly laughing and cursing: "Damn, I can really be this oblivious...."

"....." Li Qingyan did not speak.

"Qingyan, Li Junwu died because of me."

"If it weren’t for me, she might have lived a peaceful, carefree life as serenely as her title Qingle suggests, instead of bearing the burdens of commanding at the tattered Zhenxi Prefecture border."

"If it weren’t for my desire to gamble, if it weren’t for my intention to disrupt the decades of planning and establishment of the sects in the Western Desert with empty hands, to stubbornly defend that damned Zhenxi Prefecture City, Li Junwu wouldn’t have died, wouldn’t have died at all."

Xu Yuan unconsciously clenched his fists, emotions surging, the surrounding ground instantly cracking, rainwater pouring in along the crevices:

"Everything was damn because of me! If, at the moment I reached Zhenxi Prefecture City, I had taken her with me...."

"Changtian."

"Shut up!"

"Changtian!!" Li Qingyan frowned and shouted lowly.

"..."

Xu Yuan snapped back instantly, eyes filled with an endless anger at himself, radiating killing intent.

Facing that frightening gaze, Li Qingyan’s gaze remained calm, without any trace of fear or retreat, she said in a soft voice:

"It’s not your fault."

"..."

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered for a moment, apologetically saying:

"Sorry... but such comforting words..."

"I never like to waste words."

Li Qingyan interrupted Xu Yuan’s words, her phoenix eyes meeting his blood-red ones directly, straightforwardly:

"If Li Junwu truly had the heart to compete with me, she would have definitely stayed in Zhenxi Prefecture City."

With that, there was a sudden silence.

After a moment,

Xu Yuan chuckled softly, the blood-red light fading away, raised his hand to ruffle his wet hair forcefully, and uttered two words:

"...Indeed."

Li Qingyan gazed at him for a few seconds, reached out to wipe the strands of water off his cheek, and softly said:

"I’ll wait for you in the sleeping palace..."

Though the words from the heart were spoken, sorting out the mess required time and should not be witnessed by others.

Li Qingyan stepped forward, her steps splashing the water, but just then, Xu Yuan’s voice came from behind:

"Qingyan."

"....."

Her steps paused, Li Qingyan turned back, just about to speak, yet her gaze suddenly looked to the north, and then a smile curved her lips.

The dark clouds churned, heavy with moisture, the misty rain extending to the horizon,

Under her watch,

A Gang Wind roared up from the north,

like a colossal celestial ruler, a bladeless heavy sword.

That’s the direction of the Imperial Dragon Forest,

Also where the Emperor, Prime Minister, and State Preceptor go for the Northern Hunt.

The thick dark clouds split open, slowly pushing towards both sides by the force, the brilliant golden light of dawn streaming down south through the opening.

After a dozen or so breaths,

The opening in the dark clouds reached the peak of Nine Dragon Mountain and stopped.

The magnificent palace towers,

half in misty rain, half in dazzling light.

Bathed in the autumn rain,

Xu Yuan looked at her unblemished profile, and said:

"During the Northern Border battle, you once asked me, if someone like Lou Ji were framed and died because of the sects, what would I do."

"Now, I’ve given you the answer."