Chapter 99: with translation of chapter title

I rushed out of the envoy's residence, walking dazedly down the street; the guards that Qiran had arranged to stay by my side still followed me step for step.

I shook my head, following the original plan, and walked toward the outside of the city gate.

After returning, I never saw Xinluo, nor Xiaochi; I and... Qiran had been busy treating Budao's wounds, while Xinhui went off with Wen Ruobin, and I also didn't know whether Qiran knew the reason for their disappearance. But I always felt uneasy in my heart.

My mind was filled with many thoughts—Budao's injury, the safety of Qi State, Xinluo's whereabouts—and I desperately tried to push aside the scene that had just been imprinted in my mind. In no time, I had already arrived at the city gate.

The guard captain's face showed difficulty as he stepped forward to block me: "Miss Xiaoruo, the young master ordered that you not be put in danger. But going out of the city like this..."

I nodded. Indeed, right now Bingling are mostly the people hunting me; once I leave Cangxue State, I fear I won't even have time to see Xinhui before I'm either captured or killed.

So I made a detour, heading along the moat toward the northern barracks. Following the troops to Wen Ruobin's place should be somewhat safer. Just after leaving the bustling district and arriving at the open wilderness, I silently lamented in my heart why I hadn't found a horse to ride.

A sense of alarm suddenly arose in my heart, but it always came too late. By the time I reacted, we few were already completely surrounded.

I looked in surprise at the dozen or so black-clad people and said, "Lord Aotian, how did you manage to enter Yi State's territory?"

Lord Aotian's face was icy, not even glancing at me, he waved his hand and ordered: "Kill—no—mercy!"

I startled, blurted out: "Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng sent you to kill me?"

Lord Aotian's assault didn't cease; already one guard had died, and all I heard was his cold laugh: "If the sect leader were willing to order your death, I wouldn't have to worry!" As he spoke, the guards beside me had dwindled to only seven.

I drew my Juesi without hesitation, cleanly beheading one of the black-clad men, not even noticing the intense pain in my chest. Facing many with few, the Carefree Wanderer Sword Technique is naturally ineffective against experts like Qiran, but for a novice like me it requires a natural mindset, intention following the heart. Yet my current self, my mood, simply cannot bring it forth no matter what.

As the guards beside me dwindled, I resolved to draw my gun and use the only two bullets left. A familiar icy chill surged down from the air, enveloping me and the guards securely.

My heart leapt with joy, and I blurted: "Budao, you're alright?!"

Clad in black, with black hair, a broad figure stood before me, possessing the courage to withstand ten thousand. Lord Aotian's expression shifted repeatedly; after a moment he said: "I never expected your martial arts to recover on their own. Withdraw—"

The black-clad people withdrew in an instant, cleanly. I stepped forward happily, grabbing Budao's sleeve, about to speak, but saw his complexion suddenly shift from normal to deathly pale, his whole body trembling, barely able to stand.

My heart panicked, I supported him and asked: "Budao, is your injury still not healed?"

Budao straightened his body, gave a faint shake of his head: "My internal energy has recovered about half, but my meridians are still very weak. For now there's no danger to my life."

I let out a sudden breath of relief and said: "Hurry to the west city near the envoy's residence and wait for Qiran; he should bring Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's blood out."

Budao's eyes flashed with an odd color as he looked at me: "Qiran... how did he obtain it?"

I blinked slightly, a scene of the room full of spring flashing in my mind. I shook my head hard, forcing out a smile: "No matter how he got it, anyway..." Qiran, he acted that play with Yin Tianxue just for Budao's sake; Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng is surely inside the room, I believe all of this, only...

"Boom—" a burst of muffled thunder came rumbling, cutting off my words.

I composed myself, slowly exhaled the foul air from my chest, looked at the gradually darkening sky, and remarked strangely: "Truly, the June sky changes like a child's face—changeable at a moment's notice."

Suddenly, a fierce bolt of lightning streaked across, the ground beneath my feet seeming to tremble slightly; I couldn't help but stagger, and Budao steadied me firmly.

A strange feeling flashed through my mind; I looked up at the sky, and just then, after a clap of thunder, another bolt of lightning split the heavens. Then I was shocked to see that the sky seemed to have truly ripped open a gap.

A luminous object fell straight from the center of that lightning, plummeting rapidly toward our direction.

"What is that?!" I pointed at the sky and loudly asked Budao beside me. At that moment, a gale rose, the weather grew increasingly gloomy, accompanied by thunder; I could see hardly anyone besides Budao, and could hear no other voices.

"What?" Budao's voice sounded somewhat surprised, then he raised his voice: "I can't see."

"Boom—" another burst of muffled thunder struck near us. The luminous object, along with that lightning strike, fell to my feet, seeming like a stone; at this point even Budao could clearly see it, his eyes showing astonishment.

I supported Budao's hand, steadied my swaying body, and bent to pick it up.

The moment I grasped the luminous stone, my whole body jolted violently, as if an electric current surged along the stone into my body. The cross necklace on my chest suddenly grew scorching hot, emitting a blinding white light.

I stood there dazed, half-crouched, eyes wide open, gazing at the empty, gray-black void, while my mind flashed with one astonishingly familiar scene after another.

"Xiaoyu!!" I reached out to grab Xiaoyu, who had been wounded by a bullet, but I slumped and grasped only air.

"Bingyi! What's wrong?" Budao desperately hugged me, who was nearly going mad, urgently calling, "Bingyi! Wake up!" He tried to take the luminous stone from my hand, but was shoved back several steps by the seven-colored light.

The panic on my face slowly turned to horror as I watched—watched—my older brother lunged forward to shield Xiaoyu's body; two bullets, one after another, mercilessly pierced through him.

"No! Older brother!!" I clutched the luminous stone and screamed shrilly, wanting to rush forward, to rush into that shadowy curtain, but Budao held me tight, immobilizing me completely.

"Bingyi, that's a cliff ahead! You can't go any further, you can't go any further!"

"Older brother... older brother..." I murmured, tears streaming down my face like a soul lost. Suddenly a voice sounded in my mind, a panicked, helpless voice laced with fear.

He... he has Bombay blood type, and the blood bank has none to transfuse!

All... all of everything, like mist soaked in icy water, suddenly became clear. Those dreams, those that seemed to foretell the future, those that had long been sealed in my mind, surged through my whole body like a cold current.

I suddenly leaned on Budao and burst out laughing, tears streaming from my eyes, and I couldn't help but cry sorrowfully. I lifted my head to look at Budao, full of worry, and said: "Budao, fate really is playing a huge joke on me."

The gale lifted my disheveled hair, scattering my wavering, sorrowful voice: "The dream has awakened. I must return."

Budao released my swaying form, widened his black eyes that could barely be seen in the night curtain, and said hoarsely: "Return..."

I knew he wanted to say "where" but couldn't get the words out. Just like me, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't say "my world" either.

I pushed out my hand to stop Budao's steps toward the cliff with me, trembling as I said: "Budao, don't watch me walk away. You... you hurry to find Qiran, please, don't watch me walk away!"

I gritted my teeth, steadied my faltering voice: "Please, take a message for me to Qiran—definitely, definitely, be sure to deliver it to him."

Tear droplets scattered in the wind, the gale grew ever fiercer, swirling, thunder rolled on and on, lightning cleaved the sky, yet there was still no rain.

Qiran raced madly through the dark streets where the gale howled and lightning flashed, people constantly darting past him—familiar and unfamiliar—yet he saw none and paid no heed.

He didn't know why he was running in that direction, nor did he know what lay unseen in the distant darkness; he only knew that if he didn't hurry, he would truly lose Bingyi.

"Boom—" a bolt of lightning cracked across the heavens, flashing before Qiran's eyes.

His heart leapt with joy as he saw that familiar figure standing alone ahead.

Another flash of lightning, white as day, struck; Qiran's joy turned to terror as he summoned all his inner energy, surging forward like the wind. Bingyi actually stood at the cliff's edge—what was she about to do?!

Thunder rumbled on, drowning out his cries of exertion as he expended all his inner energy; he watched helplessly as her resolute figure leapt off beneath the lightning.

Must I lose the one I love again? Must I endure that lonely despair once more? No! Not this time!

Qiran, like an eagle soaring through the heavens, plunged straight down toward the falling figure, his hands grasping desperately. Finally, his hand seized the memory of that slender wrist, yet he could not arrest the descent.

Lightning flashed and split; the girl below lifted her head, her astonished expression turning to delight as she mouthed two words: "Qiran!"

After the lightning passed, the world returned to darkness; Qiran produced the cold blood from his bosom, scraping it against the cliff wall to spark showers of sparks, and when his hands grew sore to the point of near helplessness, he finally managed to stabilize their falling forms.

Qiran lowered his head, looking downward, about to speak. A flash of lightning crossed, and his eyes showed horror: beneath Bingyi yawned a massive, murky vortex, seeming to hover in midair, waiting only for her to fall and vanish.

"Bingyi!!" Qiran bellowed with all his remaining inner energy in the gale, but his inner energy had mostly been exhausted just moments before, and the wind weakened his voice amidst the rolling thunder. All that remained in the air was the fragmented echo drifting about.

He jerked his arm upward, his voice hoarse as he shouted, "Didn't you say you wouldn't go back?! Didn't you say you would never leave me again?! Didn't you say you would love only me alone?!"

The person beneath him swayed, saying something incomprehensible; the sword tip wavered, and the two fell a few more meters.

"Bingyi! Yin Tianxue and I were just acting!" Qiran shouted madly, staring intently at the bottomless darkness below; a flash of lightning streaked, and he saw the girl's amber eyes brimming with tears.

Faintly, he seemed to hear the girl's clear voice: "…freedom…abandon…".

"If you don't like it, I will never touch another woman again. Bingyi… Bingyi…" Qiran lowered his head, his voice hoarse from prolonged shouting or perhaps choked with grief, "Bingyi… please, don't leave me!"

His heart was filled with an all‑consuming terror; all his reason and talent vanished, and he didn't know what else he could do besides beg, what other way could keep the one he loved most.

He yanked sharply at the wrist that was slipping away; his hand had already gone limp, yet he would not let go, not even in death.

A sticky wetness suddenly coated his hand, as if blood, flowing from the girl's hand onto his. It dripped again, falling into the endless darkness.

Suddenly, a dazzling white light ignited from below, gradually surrounding the girl beneath him like daylight.

Qiran stared wide‑eyed in panic, watching the light emanating from the blood‑stained cruciform necklace, eventually filling the entire valley.

His heart sank, sinking heavily to the edge of the world. Bingyi ultimately chose to return, chose to return. Though he clutched that wrist, he felt she could vanish from his sight at any moment.

"Qiran—" the girl's hoarse, shattered cry rang in his ears; at that moment thunder rolled down, as if he heard it, or perhaps not, the gale whipping his cold clothes and long hair.

Then the girl's other hand reached up. Icy, delicate fingertips met his, prying his five fingers apart, one by one…

Boom—

A black vortex, within the daylight‑bright glow, slowly devoured the girl's figure. Qiran stared dumbfounded, watching the silhouette vanish completely in the darkness, then suddenly released his grip on his sword.

His body plunged straight down.

"Bingyi… did she really disappear?" Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng looked at the bottom of the endless cliff with a complex expression, a flash of pain in his eyes. All the thunder and lightning in the sky vanished, the gale ceased.

He turned his head, looking at Xiao Qiran, whose expression had been blank since he rescued her, blue eyes cold to the point of no warmth, brow slightly furrowed, stepping a few paces forward, "You…"

"Slash—" Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng retreated in terror, glancing at the fresh wound on his arm, quickly gathering Qi to dispel the cold, then angrily said, "I saved you up here; don't repay kindness with hatred!"

Qiran ignored him, standing silently at the cliff edge, watching the bottom motionless.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng watched him for a while, then let out a long sigh. In his heart he thought: when it comes to love for Bingyi, he is far inferior to the man before him. He turned and left.

The next day, when he returned to the cliff edge, ready to investigate the bottom, he couldn't help but startle.

Xiao Qiran still stood at the cliff edge, still wearing that light‑blue long robe, still with that icy expression, as if not even his movements had changed. Only his complexion was a few shades paler than yesterday.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng was about to step forward when a thought flashed in his mind. He was startled by the plan suddenly brewing within him, but the shock turned into delight. He hadn't realized that Xiao Qiran at this moment was the perfect target to activate the Tomb Pest Eradication.

He turned and walked away, determined to fulfill the plan; he must draw a blade, kill a person. A cruel smile curled his lips, his heart, aching from Bingyi's disappearance, finally went numb.

Thus, the waiting scene was all too familiar. Qiran quietly watched the cliff below, the scorching sun beating overhead, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, yet he felt nothing.

No! He still felt something. Qiran slightly lifted the corner of his mouth; he could feel his stomach cramping, throbbing intermittently. He clenched his left fist against his abdomen, repeatedly thinking in his mind: perhaps she knows my stomach hurts, and will rush back, an eager face returning to me. Then, she would call me a fool…

Night fell, a light summer shower grew heavier, washing over Qiran's pallid face and drenched clothes. Yet the valley remained silent, without her, without that eager face.

On the third day, the scorching sun after the shower grew even hotter, illuminating the precarious figure on the cliff edge. Qiran's vision was slightly blurred, his lips chapped and pale; he repeatedly asked himself: Bingyi, seeing me like this, you still refuse to return? You've never truly trusted me, loved me?

Then… hate her! Qiran crouched, clenching his pale hands tightly. Since she is so heartless, since she cannot love, he'd rather hate—hate her with a world‑shattering, all‑consuming hatred!

Though he clearly had no internal energy left, a terrifying killing intent erupted throughout his body, grass blades fluttered, sandstorms rose, and moments later the green grass beneath him withered completely, not a stalk remaining.

Suddenly, his killing intent snapped back, his fists pounding the ground, his head bowed low, hidden by his long hair so his expression was unseen. Why, why even now could he not hate her!!

Why, she abandoned him like this. Thinking of those bright eyes, his heart still held only love, no hatred!

Xiao Qiran, have you become so cowardly and sorrowful?

He staggered to his feet, a cruel, mournful sneer flashing across his face, took a few steps forward to the cliff edge, murmuring, "Since I cannot hate you, I'll let you… hate yourself!"

After speaking, he suddenly leaned forward, plunging down the cliff.

A dark‑cloaked figure followed him straight down, intercepting him halfway.

"Xiao Qiran! Listen to me first!" Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's eyes widened in shock as he clumsily dodged Xiao Qiran's attack, unable to understand why, despite being exhausted, he was so powerless to retaliate.

Today was a day of endless misfortunes; I intended to kill Bu Sha and seize Ji Xue, but a mysterious man in black blocked me. Though Ji Xue was in my grasp, the surviving Bu Sha remained a lingering threat.

Qiran's expression was icy, murderous intent fully displayed, his hand gripping a long sword as he stepped toward Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng. He said coldly, "I almost forgot—if you hadn't forced me to act out that scene, Bingyi might never have left!"

A cold glint flashed; Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng produced a condensed talisman and fumbled to block, quickly saying, "That shows Bingyi doesn't truly love you! Otherwise why wouldn't she trust you?!"

Pain flared fiercely in Qiran's eyes; his killing intent only grew stronger, and a crimson flame began to blaze in his blue pupils.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's heart tightened, realizing that if he didn't devise a plan, the out‑of‑control Xiao Qiran would kill him. He shouted, "What good is killing me? If your heart is truly filled with unvented hatred, why not drag this world down with you as a sacrifice!"

Qiran's movements paused briefly, but the crimson flame did not extinguish, still roiling as he stared at Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng suddenly recalled, deep in his memory, a weathered face, a blood‑stained hand; he couldn't even imagine touching its head. A sharp pain struck his heart, and he abruptly lifted his gaze—gold‑and‑silver eyes gleaming, flashing with a blood‑thirsty ferocity.

His voice was icy, like a messenger from hell, each word deliberate as he brought inferno to the mortal realm: "Since Bingyi doesn't love this world, why not destroy it together? Since hatred has reached its peak, why not annihilate ourselves and this world as well!"

Qiran slowly retracted his long sword, his fiery eyes and pallid lips forming an extremely cruel, cold‑blooded yet unparalleled smile. At that moment, the two nations of Yin and Yao, aided by an unknown mysterious force, managed to breach Mist City in a single night, then, like a breaking bamboo, seized Yinchuan Jingnan, Yesheng, and Gongwu—three cities. The flames of war seemed poised to reach the borders of Qi Kingdom, and the world descended into chaos.

The Yi nation, which had intended to send aid, was ambushed en route, and its southern branch, Yueyang, was also fiercely attacked by Yao Nation. Forced to act, Wen Ruobin had to withdraw the reinforcements and rush to Yueyang for rescue.

At that time, the people of Tianhe Continent all worried about the sparks of war, all discussed the outcome of victory or defeat. Yet they did not know that a truly world‑shattering disaster was slowly drawing nearer to them.

(End of Chapter)