Chapter 260: I Still Have One Last Move

"Let's go!"

Casting a look of disdain at Mo Cheng, the woman boarded a carriage without hesitation; it was a carriage from the Lu family.

Vaguely, Mo Cheng even saw the young master of the Lu family on this carriage; so they had been together long ago, and he was nothing more than a joke.

At this moment, a torrential downpour began in the sky. Beneath the gloomy sky, Mo Cheng stood forlornly on the street corner, and was soon drenched into a drowned rat by the heavy rain.

Yet he just stood there, watching the carriage gradually disappear from his sight, watching the woman he loved dearly depart forever.

"Are you really not going to take one last look at him?" On the carriage, as the cold wind suddenly picked up outside, the young master of the Lu family draped an outer garment over the woman, his manner appearing extremely caring.

"Thank you!" Offering a word of thanks to the young master of the Lu family, the woman did not look back, only letting out a miserable, wretched laugh.

"No need, this is for the best for both him and me, *cough cough*!" Her handkerchief was stained with bright red blood; she was already terminally ill, with little time left to live.

"Are you alright?" Looking at the woman with a face full of concern, the young master of the Lu family had an indescribable heartache in his eyes. Why was such a delicate and beautiful woman terminally ill?

This woman was merely pretty, far from being a beauty who could topple cities, yet the young master of the Lu family could never tire of looking at her.

Some women, even if their looks are average, can make you decide on them for a lifetime with just a single glance. It was a pity that he was, after all, one step behind that scholar.

But in the end, he was the one who could give her a title, and he had no regrets in this life.

Seeing this, even Shen Yu could not help but sigh: a veteran bootlicker.

This constantly shifting illusion before his eyes should be Mo Cheng's past experience, and also the pain of his entire life.

Others condense their World based on the Dao they have learned, but Mo Cheng turned the most tragic pain carved into his heart into his own World, and he had actually succeeded.

The realm of this old monster was so high and his strength so terrifying that it was absolutely unimaginable, and his World was even more solid than that of ordinary experts.

It was constructed from the pain in his heart; the deeper the pain, the stronger the World.

It was just a pity that this old monster was stranded on a shallow beach, restricted by the power of heaven and earth. Even with ten thousand methods, what could he do?

"Thank you for being willing to play this scene with me, but I'm sorry, I might..."

Within the illusion, the woman on the carriage thanked the young master of the Lu family gratefully, her voice soft and sweet yet carrying a hint of strength.

"I know, it was all my own choice, and I will respect your decision. But why must you do this!"

"I just don't want him to fall into depravity because of this. Mo Cheng is a man of great talent and should not be buried in this world; he should have a broader sky!"

The woman gave a miserable smile, but then, as if thinking of something, she suddenly began to laugh foolishly.

In her hand, she clutched a not-so-exquisite pearl hairpin; this was what he had given her back then, bought with money he had saved for a long time, and it was the favorite gift she had ever received.

Carefully placing the pearl hairpin against her chest, the woman sat in the carriage and gradually disappeared into the misty rain.

At this time, Mo Cheng stood in the rain for a whole day, refusing to leave even after the rain stopped, and finally fell into a serious illness, only gradually recovering after a long time.

Until he received the news of his beloved woman's marriage, his heart died.

He left, departing from this heartbreaking place, fleeing in a sorry state like a loser.

Whenever the night was deep and quiet, he would think of that figure who once brought him warmth, only now this figure had become cold and heartless.

The once gentle scholar had completely blackened, turning into a ruthless, heartless, and deeply calculating strategist, a presence that made the whole world fear him.

With a wave of his hand, he could overcome thousands of troops. A single plan could break ten thousand soldiers, and a single fit of anger could make the world tremble in fear.

He had once read ten thousand scrolls, and had once worked like an ox or a horse for someone just for the sake of a book. The world said that for those of humble origins, reading was useless; those who mocked him and ridiculed him were everywhere.

Back then, it was when he was desperately begging for books that that figure appeared, giving him a chance—a chance to enter their family's library. She had always encouraged him and believed in him.

Unfortunately, there was no going back; everything could not go back.

Now he wanted to tell the people of the world that reading more was useful. With ten thousand volumes of books hidden in his heart, he could understand the principles of heaven, know the changes, and reading could even cause the heaven and earth to resonate.

But later, he, who thought he had calculated everything, fell into someone else's scheme and was ruthlessly slaughtered.

To be able to make him fall into a trap without a sound, it must have been the person he trusted most; this person was only one, the one who promoted him when he was at his lowest.

At that moment he understood: when the birds are gone, the bow is put away; when the rabbits are dead, the hound is cooked. There were people who did not want him to live.

What was the point of him painstakingly planning for others for so many years? Was it just to repay the kindness of being recognized back then, or was it because of her remark about admiring power?

Love had left him, his career was a total failure; what exactly was he?

As the death soldiers protecting him died one by one, and as the last loyal subordinate left him, Mo Cheng was exposed to countless blades.

At this moment he looked helpless and pitiful; he was just a scholar with no strength to truss a chicken, and a single soldier was enough to kill him.

Perhaps because he felt everything was under control, his lord, to whom he had originally been loyal, appeared, appearing before him so openly, without the slightest bit of embarrassment.

"Why can't sincerity be exchanged for sincerity? Why?"

"Because you're stupid!"

"I'm stupid?" A trace of a disappointed smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and Mo Cheng still couldn't quite believe it. "Yes, I am stupid. Even knowing you were unworthy of support, I never thought of betraying you, but why..."

"Because of a woman!" Pushing aside the people in front of him, the other party walked up; he was not afraid of what Mo Cheng might do to him.

He was just a scholar; in terms of strategy, he might be peerless in the world. But in terms of one-on-one combat, he could only compare wrist strength with those maidservants.

"I don't want to kill you either, but you are too smart. There are some things you will always find out. The smarter you are, the more wary I am. The more terrifying you are, the more worried I become!"

"A woman? I have never been entangled with any woman!"

"Then the name Xia Nanqing shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?"

"Nanqing!" This name had haunted him for countless days and nights, and even now it made his heart ache. Whenever the night was deep and quiet, he would toss and turn, his mind filled with this name.

That was extreme love, and also boundless hatred!

"Do you know, Xia Nanqing actually rejected me back then too."

Standing beside Mo Cheng, his former lord Ye Qianhe spoke as if he were talking about an insignificant matter, but it did indeed pique his interest.

"Although she looked average, that temperament of hers was truly peerless. It made people unable to forget her at a glance, made people feel she was out of reach!"

"When I met you back then, I was actually prepared to kill you directly; after all, you were her lover, but she begged me."

"Begged me to spare you, begged me not to hurt you!"

"I am a businessman, and in business, one certainly cannot catch a wolf with empty hands. I could spare you, but the price was for her to spend a night with me, otherwise I would kill you immediately. As it turned out, she actually agreed."

"Sure enough, in her heart, you are always the first priority!"

"Beast!" He gritted his teeth as he looked at the other person; the woman who had been pure and flawless in his heart, though she had later become vain, was still the final sanctuary in his heart.

"Go ahead and curse, curse to your heart's content. I've never thought of myself as a good person anyway."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ye Qianhe looked completely indifferent. What could someone who was helpless and could only shout in anger possibly do to him?

He just loved watching this expression of wanting to kill him yet being powerless to do so, especially since this person was the usually expressionless Mo Cheng.