Der Mond scheint hell über den leeren Bergen, und Blumen füllen den Himmel

Kapitel 52

“No one will save you, and I regret to say I am about to kill you.” Li Lingyan did not hide in the distance; he stood behind the tree that Shengxiang had been bounced back from. It was not intentional; it was indeed a coincidence. “I really wanted to kill you. You just escaped death once, and you must be very tired.” He slowly raised the ordinary bow and arrow in his hand, the small arrowhead aimed at Shengxiang’s back.

"Help!" Shengxiang screamed at the top of her lungs, "Murder! Help!"

Li Lingyan smiled slightly and slowly drew his bow—his fingers felt no pain, so he could draw the bow more forcefully than the average person. "No one will save you."

"Why do you want to kill me? Are you jealous of my dashing good looks?" Shengxiang shouted halfway, then suddenly changed his mind and asked.

“You, ‘White Hair,’ ‘Heavenly Eye,’ Jiang Nanfeng, Daoist Qingjing… and Wan Yumoru and Wan Yuyuedan of Biluo Palace, are all people I’m eager to kill.” Li Lingyan smiled. “Besides—I heard you’re the son of the murderer who killed my father.” He finished speaking, his bowstring taut. “I promised Shuangli I wouldn’t kill Bi Qiuhan. He died by your side—did he find out some secret about you and get killed to cover it up? If so, I’ll kill you to avenge Bi Qiuhan.”

"You love your family very much, you are filial to your parents, dote on your sister, and are also very good to your useless older brother," Shengxiang said with a smile.

"I'm just like a dog guarding a bone, desperately protecting the little thing that belongs to me," Li Lingyan said softly. "Whoever hurts what belongs to me, I will bite them." His eyes were exceptionally clear. He wasn't lying. When he spoke each word, it was as gentle and clear as a whisper to a lover. "I only have this little bit of ambition. How can you not grant me that wish?"

Shengxiang gazed into his eyes. Li Lingyan's eyes were clear and beautiful, while Shengxiang's eyes held a serene, glass-like brilliance. When their eyes met, it was as if gems touched gems, sparkling with even more dazzling light.

"Is it because you don't want them to be sad for you?" Shengxiang suddenly said.

Li Lingyan's hand, which was strumming the strings, trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. "You've always been clever. From the moment you instigated Yu Cuiwei's rebellion, I knew you were adept at seeing through people's hearts," he said softly. "But do you really think you can persuade me to rebel against myself?"

Sheng Xiang stuck out his tongue. "I really want to, but if I can even persuade Li Lingyan, then I can simply set up a stall and go out on the street to plead for people. I guarantee my business will be booming, and I can even hang a sign that says 'The Golden Mouth That Can Make Li Lingyan Regret His Suicide'." He gestured as he spoke, his expression so realistic that it was as if he had actually opened a stall.

Li Lingyan laughed, "You're quite interesting." As he said the word "interesting," he loosened his fingers, and a long arrow was released from its bowstring with a soft "whoosh," shooting swiftly from below into Shengxiang's back.

Saint Xiang was completely exhausted and could only watch helplessly as the arrow came hurtling towards him. "Help—" he cried out for help, seemingly having no other recourse.

With a "snap," a pale hand came down from the sky and caught the deadly arrow. A person sighed, "Why didn't you dodge?"

Li Lingyan smiled and said, "After all, you care about him." He put away his bow, gathered his arrows, and stood up slowly.

The newcomer wore a straw raincoat and a grass headband woven from twigs, making him look like a wild man. But looking at the glistening, beautiful skin peeking out from beneath the raincoat and the pearl pendant hanging like a teardrop from his chest, it was clear that his appearance was still languidly beautiful—it was Yu Cuiwei.

It was as if he had been watching from the sidelines for a long time.

He only came out when Shengxiang was truly in dire straits.

"It hurts so much here, I have no strength left in my body." Shengxiang raised his badly injured left hand with a pained expression. "I'm going to die."

Li Lingyan tilted his head to look at his left hand, "But it's stopped bleeding."

"Huh?" Sheng Xiang thought he was seriously injured. He opened his eyes a crack and peeked at his left hand. Although the injury on his hand was serious, it had already closed up and scabbed over, and it was no longer bleeding. "Ah? It's healed? I thought I was going to bleed to death, but it still hurts so much, it hurts so much." He clutched his left hand and howled, "I'm going to die from the pain."

“That little injury won’t kill you.” Yu Cuiwei stood beside Shengxiang and said softly, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t care even if Li Lingyan killed a thousand or ten thousand people in front of me.” The tenderness in his words made Shengxiang’s scalp tingle. Without thinking, she waved her hand like she was shooing away a fly, “Go away, I don’t want your kindness. I’m more afraid of being torn apart by those men and women who admire you.”

Yu Cuiwei smiled and turned to look at Li Lingyan. He didn't show any anger or murderous intent, but said softly, "It's been a long time. How have you been lately?" Hearing his words, anyone who didn't know better would think they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years. The affection in his words was exactly the same as when he spoke to Shengxiang. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was talking to an old lover.

Li Lingyan's sleeves fluttered in the wind. "Not too good, but not too bad either."

"So wicked you want me to kill you?" Yu Cuiwei smiled sweetly. "Ling Yan, you're good in every way, except you're too soft-hearted. It's really strange that someone like you can become a powerful figure. Since I came up the mountain, I've had six opportunities to kill you, but I didn't do it. Do you know why?"

Li Lingyan sighed, "Why did I give you six chances to make a move?"

“Because I’ve discovered that you really enjoy dying,” Yu Cuiwei said softly. “Why should I let you die so easily and comfortably? That wouldn’t make me happy.” He said, word by word, “I want to watch you die here on Daming Mountain. Even if someone else wants to kill you, I will save you.”

“That’s right, that’s right.” Shengxiang clapped his hands and laughed from the side. “I think so too. Xiao Yan likes to die.” He looked at Li Lingyan with a smile. “Someone once told me that if you want to die, no one will be sad. A good way is to make yourself a bad person. Xiao Yan, you are a very good liar, but you can’t fool us.”

Yu Cuiwei said softly, "You're just a very generous and deceitful man." He added, "I like that."

Li Lingyan glanced at Shengxiang for a while, then at Yu Cuiwei. "Is that so?" He cunningly denied it. "I don't know," he said softly. "I told you I'm just a dog desperately protecting meat bones..."

“Xiao Yan,” Sheng Xiang’s bad habit of giving people nicknames hadn’t changed. He said, “You wanted to take all their sins and die. Was you the one who wanted revenge? Was you the one who wanted to dominate the martial arts world? Was you the one who wanted to rip out people’s hearts? Even after Xiao Bi died, was you the one who truly wanted revenge? Because you knew you would die in great pain, so you… indulged their desires, you killed for them, you dominated the martial arts world for them, you ripped out people’s hearts for them, you even wanted to kill me for your sister to avenge Bi Qiuhan!” He slowly exhaled a long breath, “Xiao Yan, because it was so short-lived, you indulged. You used this to become a bad person, so you could die without any regrets or sorrow—you were a good person, but you did the things of a great villain.”

Li Lingyan remained silent for a while, then smiled. "Shengxiang really understands people's hearts... but a big bad guy is a big bad guy." He said softly, in a very kind and gentle tone, "You can sympathize with me."

“I have always sympathized with you.” Saint Xiang’s eyes shone with a crystal-like light. “If the desires of the people you love were simpler and more ordinary, perhaps you would be a saint praised by everyone.”

“Nothing in this world can be said to be ‘regrettable’ after it has happened,” Li Lingyan smiled. “You may not understand… people always do strange things when they know when they will die.”

“I understand.” Shengxiang gazed at him. “And… many of my friends understand. Knowing when they will die… I have a friend who loved the most elegant woman in the world. When he knew when he would die, he chose to die serving the court. I don’t think he was great, but when people are about to die, they do what they think is most important, what they most want to accomplish… When making choices, it is undoubtedly the most painful time. I also—made a choice—” He looked at Li Lingyan, “I went to Mount Daming not to kill you or capture you, but just to let you know that you are not the only one in this world… I—can understand.”

“I understand,” Yu Cuiwei said with a smile. “Lingyan and I are both selfish; we only care about our own feelings.”

Shengxiang smiled, her eyebrows curving upwards. "If the people Xiaoyan values also care about the common people, he will care about them just as much." He sighed regretfully. "That's why I say I sympathize with Xiaoyan."

"So what?" Li Lingyan smiled. "A big bad guy is a big bad guy."

“Someone once said something to me,” Shengxiang said slowly, “I’ve always wanted to tell you this… because I feel we are the same kind of people…”

"What did he say?" Li Lingyan blinked intrigued.

“He said—don’t let others decide the course of your life,” Saint Xiang said softly.

Li Lingyan's body trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"One can choose not to live for the dead, but one cannot avoid living for the living," Sheng Xiang said slowly. "This is a shackle that no one can escape. But... don't think that indulging others, working hard for them, and doing what's best for them is the means to bring them happiness. The entanglement between people isn't about giving and receiving... people like being together... because being together brings joy and happiness... it's about loving and being loved... If you're not happy, if you only give and don't receive, if you suffer too much for others..." He slowly raised his head to look at Li Lingyan, "then you two are not happy together. Happiness is something for everyone. If only you give, only you are unhappy, do you think they will be happy? You've given so much for the Li family, killed so many people, are you... happy?"

"You're very good with words," Li Lingyan said with a smile.

Shengxiang smiled slightly. "Your face is so pale." He continued, "I just want to ask you if you can be yourself again... People's lifespans vary, and to truly die without regrets or fear—only when you can live peacefully and without regrets, like Xiao Bi. Although he died suddenly, I believe he didn't die sadly. He followed his heart his whole life, doing what he wanted to do; he was a true gentleman. To die peacefully doesn't require everyone to hate you... right?"

"Are you envious of Bi Qiuhan?" Li Lingyan quickly retorted.

“Yes.” Saint Xiang gazed at him. “Because I am not an honest person, just like you.”

Li Lingyan did not answer, nor did Yu Cuiwei speak.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the three-person room was eerily quiet.

After a full quarter of an hour, Li Lingyan slowly raised the small bow in his hand, nocked a short wooden arrow, and aimed it at Shengxiang's heart—and drew the bow.