Chapter 1926: Things Are Not as They Seem (Part 1)

Xue Lingjun knelt opposite Li Chen Zhou, she noticed Li Chen Zhou's gaze was so indifferent, he didn't even want to glance at her, tears slid down her pure face, she trembled and said: "Chen Zhou, could you look at me just once?"

Li Chen Zhou still gripped the dagger, his lips already turned purple-black, pressed tightly, his voice as cold as the weather: "I can no longer see."

Xue Lingjun's trembling hand reached out, swaying in front of Li Chen Zhou's eyes, but she saw no reaction; tears burst forth. She cupped his face with both hands: "Chen Zhou..."

The dagger in Li Chen Zhou's hand pressed against her chest; its blade easily pierced her outer garment, then her delicate skin, yet Xue Lingjun felt no fear, instead wishing the dagger would go deeper, pierce her heart, take her life, let her die like this. But the dagger stopped within her flesh, with no intention to go further.

Li Chen Zhou's Adam's apple moved up and down, he whispered: "I've come to this point, you're satisfied, go!"

Xue Lingjun shook her head, softly said: "Your defeat isn't due to lacking wisdom or ability compared to them, but because you're not as ruthless."

Li Chen Zhou said: "My mistake was trusting the wrong person!" Xue Lingjun's betrayal struck him deeply; this betrayal left him utterly defeated, with no chance to recover.

Xue Lingjun said: "I am an impure woman; I should have died long ago, otherwise I wouldn't have harmed so many."

Li Chen Zhou coldly said: "You don't need to say these things to me."

Xue Lingjun said: "Do you know who ends up sitting on the throne?"

Li Chen Zhou's heart jolted, why would she say that? Could it be that the one on the throne isn't Xue Daoming? He then bitterly smiled to himself, having come to this pass, who sits on the throne matters nothing to him; next year today should be his memorial day.

Xue Lingjun said: "My second brother, do you know what they've done?" She lowered her voice, leaned to Li Chen Zhou's ear, quietly told him the reason; Li Chen Zhou's heart was shaken to the extreme, he never imagined the royal family's vileness could reach such depths, his inner turmoil immense, he didn't know what to say; her confiding this in him proves her trust, yet what meaning does her saying it now hold?

As Li Chen Zhou's mind tangled in turmoil, Xue Lingjun took his right hand, softly said: "Chen Zhou, do you blame me?"

Li Chen Zhou gave no answer; having fallen to this state, what's the point of blaming or not? His limbs were numb, his spirit no different.

Xue Lingjun gazed at the numb Li Chen Zhou like a statue, tears blurring her vision; no matter how sorrowful or desperate she felt, he could no longer see. She nodded, gripped his hand, then lunged forward, the dagger piercing her chest, driving deep into her heart.

Li Chen Zhou didn't realize what had happened at first, nor did he make any evasive motion, until Xue Lingjun's blood stained his palm, until its warmth restored slight feeling to his already numb skin, only then did he understand what occurred; he wanted to release the dagger, but his fingers had stiffened, unable to move from it, his indifferent wooden face twisted with pain in spasms. Xue Lingjun's body went limp in his arms; Li Chen Zhou held her delicate form, he wanted to shout but could utter no sound, only clinging to her, his empty eyes holding no tear, no sorrow, yet his heart was already shattered.

Snowflakes fell one by one on Li Chen Zhou, melted by his body heat, sliding from his eye corners and cheeks, glittering like crystal in the night, like tears of grief. Xue Lingjun's body had already cooled, her long skirt like fire, her skin paler than the surrounding snow; the shocking blood on the snow had congealed, and so had Li Chen Zhou's heart; he merely clung tightly to Xue Lingjun, feeling none of her warmth, nor any warmth from this world.

His vision seemed to recover; he saw himself and Xue Lingjun hand in hand rowing on the lake, saw the lakeside banks lush with green grass, saw peach blossoms covering the hills. If life could truly be relived, he would wish time to freeze forever at that moment.

He saw a boy playing among the flowers, the boy seemed to have lost his way in the flowerbed, his sunny smile gradually fading, he called out anxiously: "Uncle, uncle..."

Behind the boy, a ferocious-faced man slowly approached; Li Chen Zhou opened his mouth wide, wanting to warn him to flee, but he could make no sound; Li Chen Zhou seized the dagger still deeply embedded in Xue Lingjun's chest and yanked it out.

Xue Lingjun's delicate body had already stiffened in the snow; even such motion would cause her no pain.

The boy's terrified cries for help kept ringing in his ears, yet his vision fell back into darkness.

Li Chen Zhou embraced Xue Lingjun with one hand, pressed the dagger to his throat with the other, silently thinking: "Lingjun, I'm coming..."

Just as he gathered all his strength to complete the act, someone seized his wrist; the poison in his body made resistance impossible, he couldn't fathom why anyone would come to save him at such a moment, but he quickly realized the interloper's obstruction was certainly not to save him.

Because the opponent grabbed his wrist and forcibly broke his arm, excruciating pain made the veins in Li Chen Zhou's neck bulge, yet he clenched his lips, uttering no sound.

Unable to see the opponent's appearance, after enduring that most unbearable moment, he whispered: "Who are you?"

"You killed my father!"

Li Chen Zhou's heart filled with bewilderment, he had slain too many in his life: "Who?"

"Your father-in-law, Jian Xihe!"

Li Chen Zhou nodded, showing no fear of death, a faint smile touched his lips: "For Rongxin's sake, give me a swift end..." He heard the blade's sound, the sharp hiss of blood spurting from severed vessels, then he held Xue Lingjun's corpse and slowly fell to the ground.

A drop of blood flowed along the sharp edge of the long blade in Rong Shi's hand, quickly reaching the tip, lingering there until a gust of wind blew, when the bead fell with the wind onto the snow, blooming like a plum blossom.

Xue Shengjing heard the subordinate's report, showing no joy, he frowned and sighed softly: "Bury them!" After saying that, he immediately added: "Bury them together."

"Yes!"

Xue Shengjing waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to retreat quickly.

Just as that person left, a black shadow glided in like a wandering spirit—none other than Xuantian Guan's chief, Ren Tianqing, his right sleeve empty, that arm lost when he ambushed Hu Xiaotian inside the Dakang Imperial Palace's Long Ling Shengjing; today's palace coup, Xue Shengjing had united Ren Tianqing, the Sword Palace, Shi Kuan and various forces, finally succeeding in one stroke.

Ren Tianqing's face lacked the awe and respect others showed toward Xue Shengjing; he said calmly: "Congratulations, you've eradicated all major internal threats in one sweep; now Da Yong has no one who can rival you."

Xue Shengjing sighed: "What's there to celebrate? Bei Jiang is in crisis, Weichi Chong publicly committed suicide, Commander Dong Tian fled in defeat, the false emperor's identity heading to **** has been exposed, and now the nearly 300,000 troops of Bei Jiang have all declared they will follow Huo Shengnan."

Ren Tianqing evidently had little interest in state affairs, he scoffed: "300,000 lacking clothes and grain, what waves could they raise? Let them fend for themselves."

Xue Shengjing shook his head: "You don't understand these matters."

Ren Tianqing chuckled, stepped forward two paces then stopped: "I truly don't understand or care about these affairs, but I know one thing: if we can't find the Heaven-Man Myriad Appearances Diagram again, you probably won't be able to stay on that throne much longer."

Xue Shengjing's expression instantly stiffened; Ren Tianqing had hit his pain point—his life wasn't expected to be long, unless he could obtain the Heaven-Man Myriad Appearances Diagram to change everything, but the diagram he possessed was only half a volume.

Ren Tianqing said: "I've discovered that the other half of the Heaven-Man Myriad Appearances Diagram is in Hu Xiaotian's hands."

Xue Shengjing's gaze brightened at once, then quickly dimmed; even having located that half's whereabouts, would Hu Xiaotian willingly hand it over?

Ren Tianqing said: "It's not that there's no chance!"

Xue Shengjing rose somewhat excitedly, approached Ren Tianqing, lowered his voice: "Please tell me the details!"

Ren Tianqing said: "Someone sought Shi Kuan's cooperation, asking him to help kill Li Chen Zhou; Shi Kuan handed Li Chen Zhou over to him, though the fellow was ultimately still too inexperienced." That person he referred to was Rong Shi.

Xue Shengjing said: "How could you know Hu Xiaotian would surrender the Heaven-Man Myriad Appearances Diagram to us for his sake?"

Ren Tianqing chuckled: "Rong Shi is the biological son of Jian Xihe; Jian Rongxin is now Hu Xiaotian's woman, he would certainly not stand by while his brother-in-law's life is at stake."

Xue Shengjing narrowed his small eyes, pondered a moment, still shook his head: "Rong Shi isn't important enough for this, and choosing him as an enemy now would be unwise." Present Da Yong differs from the past; although Xue Shengjing had eradicated all major internal threats, the war-torn Da Yong is now precarious; if he wishes to reign stably for several more years, he must handle relations with neighboring powers prudently—coercing Hu Xiaotian is clearly foolish.

Although Ren Tianqing is versed in Heaven-Man knowledge and highly skilled in martial arts, in state affairs he falls far short of me; after consideration, Xue Shengjing said: "I will handle this matter."

Ren Tianqing said: "I hope you can settle it properly."