Chapter 606: Asking the Heart

Lu Wushuang did not answer.

Thus, Li Miao's knuckles continued to knock on the table, one sound after another, as if knocking on Lu Wushuang's heart.

After a long while, she let out a long breath.

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you, my lord."

"That's right, that's how I planned it."

She said softly.

"I didn't know when you would be able to rush to Kyoto. For me alone, I could neither resist the Shinto sect nor resist those Heaven-Man Sword Saints who were loyal to the Emperor... Actually, Nana-ko was destined to become a discarded pawn from the beginning."

"Neither the Shinto sect nor those Sword Saints would let her go, so... I felt that handing her over to those Sword Saints was at least better than dying worthless in the hands of the Shinto sect."

Speaking of this, Lu Wushuang was silent for a while. After a long time, seeing Li Miao just looking at her without speaking, she continued to speak.

"I know, those Sword Saints must have other plans, and being able to perform Tai Chi doesn't prove anything... To them, whether the Emperor is controlled by the Shinto sect or the Great Shuo court probably makes no difference. They must have other ideas and means."

"But, so what?"

"If their cooperation is sincere, then let the cooperation continue; if their cooperation is fake, there will still be an Emperor for you, my lord, to kill."

"Either way... this is all I can do... this is the best choice I think I can make."

After speaking, Lu Wushuang let out a long breath.

She had actually been avoiding this question all along, until Li Miao put the question in front of her, forcing her not to be able to avoid it anymore.

Rationally, she knew that the choice she made was the correct one, and also the choice with the least sacrifice and the greatest possibility for Nana-ko to survive... but her last sentence sounded lacking in confidence no matter how one listened to it.

Li Miao smiled and shook his head.

"It is indeed the best choice, but it is not the choice you yourself wanted to make."

He pointed at Lu Wushuang's heart from a distance.

"Little Lu, you have developed a heart demon."

"If it weren't for the suppression of the Gu insect placed on you by Sect Leader Ji, you would have already gone into *qigong* deviation."

Before the words fell, a stream of true energy shot out from Li Miao's fingertips, dividing into three in mid-air, hitting Lu Wushuang's upper, middle, and lower *dantian* with extreme precision.

Lu Wushuang only felt a spicy, scorching evil fire suddenly rise from her waist, instantly sweeping through her Foot Yin Liver Meridian, then attacking her heart pulse and *dantian*, igniting her true energy into a vast, churning sea of fire.

"Ugh!"

She suddenly raised her hand to cover her heart.

That feeling suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if the feeling just now was just an illusion.

Then she heard Li Miao say slowly and methodically.

"Liver energy is congested, turning into fire, horizontally invading the spleen, consuming yin blood. This is a sign of the five yin flourishing and seeking but not obtaining."

"I am not saying you did wrong; after all, everything you did was out of consideration for my interests, and you have also done your best."

"However—"

Li Miao stretched out a finger.

"Best does not mean most correct."

"You let Nana-ko walk into a situation where she might very well be sacrificed, but you didn't ask her if she was willing to be sacrificed. You even deliberately concealed these considerations from Sanhao Liangtai, even though he couldn't oppose your decision at all."

"You were afraid."

"You wanted too much to make a choice useful to me, but you couldn't pass your own hurdle, so you didn't dare to ask. You were afraid that if they didn't agree, you wouldn't be able to harden your heart to force them to make a choice."

"So you developed a heart demon."

"Clearly a killer, yet your temperament is like a righteous hero; how did you end up playing with Little Anzi?"

Lu Wushuang's shoulders suddenly slumped.

The string that had been taut from the moment Li Miao left Enryaku-ji until now finally snapped.

She walked slowly to the table and sat down, lowering her head, stroking the sword hilt in her sleeve. After a long while, she let out a long sigh.

"If the self is not controlled by the heart, how can the body be controlled by the self?"

"My lord, will you look down on me because of this? Am I really never going to be able to keep up with you... and Sect Leader Ji?"

Li Miao smiled and picked up the teacup.

"What is there to keep up with us? Just a cold-hearted brute, a mad demoness, two monsters who recognize no relatives."

Lu Wushuang suddenly raised her head. ===== CHAPTER 607 =====