CHAPTER 1432: CHAPTER 1516: HATE WITHOUT SELF-AWARENESS

They had been with the young master for many years, observing as outsiders what the immersed party could not see clearly. The young master believed he hadn’t fallen deeply, thought of love as merely a pastime. Yet they saw the changes in him.

He had long lost his heart unconsciously, yet still mockingly believed that he was the winner and that he laughed last.

He did not cherish what he had when he possessed it, and later, when Marshal Baowei left the Capital, upon hearing the news, Ah Lian still remembers that day vividly. The young master locked himself in the study, didn’t eat for the entire day, and when he emerged the next day, he looked noticeably haggard.

Yet he still refused to admit defeat, refused to surrender. He kept holding on until he could hold no longer, until the Mind-Bewitching Child Gu planted by the Eighth Princess inside him started to attack him. He could no longer feign indifference, could no longer deceive himself, for the Mind-Bewitching Child Gu inside him was far more honest than he appeared to be.

If not for love, why would he suffer the backlash of the Child Gu? He clearly had already fallen deeply, loved intensely, yet remained unaware, allowing the most important person in his life to leave him in despair.

After Ah Lian stepped out, Qinghe took out an object from his pocket. It turned out to be a pocket watch, imported from the Western Regions.

Opening the pocket watch, inside was a tiny portrait; it was of the person he remembered, the likeness etched in his memory.

"Baobao..."

His eyes brimmed with red, his lips trembled, his body shook. The familiar heartache came rushing back; he took deep breaths, striving to calm the surging tide within. Otherwise, if the Mind-Bewitching Gu continued to attack, his already short life might be further diminished.

He let out a hoarse laugh.

"I was wrong..."

Yet, the beauty is gone, leaving only regret.

"I truly realize my mistake..."

His voice was raspy.

He paid a enormous price for this mistake. Years of heartache, multiple retaliations, even his right to miss her had been stripped away. Before, his heart always held a longing, but now that longing had been ruthlessly shattered.

He lovingly rubbed the small portrait, pressing it against his heart, as if trying to merge it into his chest. But truly, it was unnecessary, for she was always in his heart, always in the deepest part of it.

"Ha..."

"The Ji family destroyed my parents, exterminated my kin, forced my three brothers to hide their identities and live precariously, and now even took the person I love most away... Devouring God Gu, if not for Ji Jiuhuang, why would she be so foolish..."

"The Ji family, what a Ji family!!"

When his once deep and serene eyes reopened, it seemed as if they were ablaze with endless black fire. It was the anger in his heart, also the fire of revenge!

He gathered himself together as quickly as possible, though his complexion remained pale, his face bloodless, cold like a jade statue, yet he moved with swift, thundering speed.

"Young master?"

Ah Lian, guarding outside the door, was momentarily stunned. "Why did you come out?" Why didn’t the young master rest? She thought he needed sleep.

Qinghe swallowed, then casually dropped a sentence, "You stay here," before stepping out to the next room.

Dong Huiying was waiting for the acupuncture point to naturally unlock. Acupuncture points have a lifespan; as blood circulates in the body, blocked points will gradually loosen until they eventually naturally unlock.

She thought in her heart that once the points were unlocked, she must quickly return to avoid worrying her men. But that ’young master’ and the death soldier named Ah Lian were not easy to deal with.