"Hmm." Xiao Yuan smiled at Yi Chunjun, signaling him to let go.
"Be careful!" Yi Chunjun glared at her. "Protect yourself, and protect my child even more!" He reluctantly let go of her hand.
Xiao Ji sneered, "What a disgrace!"
Yi Chunjun glared at her angrily again.
"Too late!" Her master's encouragement, Yi Chunjun's love, and Xiao Ji's indifference all deeply wounded Xiao Juyuan's heart! All of this... was what she wanted by risking everything! "Since he asked for death himself, how can I not grant his wish?" She gritted her teeth and swung her longsword even more wildly as if she were in a frenzy.
"Ah!" Everyone was startled.
In just a few months, she has managed to reach this level!
Lan Yanfeng felt a pang of regret. If this young girl had chosen the right path, her potential would have been limitless. Perhaps... she had been blindly pursuing things that were impossible to obtain, which was why she was drifting further and further away from the right goal and losing more and more.
He couldn't help but glance at Xiao Ji, who was watching the fight with a tense expression. This woman... loved him very much, for many years.
Wasn't he stubbornly pursuing something he could never have? He'd already missed the one he loved; did he have to miss the one who loved him too? Loved him? For so many years, he seemed to have grown accustomed to her persistent pursuit. Unable to bear seeing her dejected expression, he deliberately let her "win" a few times. Was it really just that she loved him?
Xiao Juyuan's sword pierced Hang Yisu's abdomen with venom and cruelty, and Yan Minyu's scream was even more shrill than when she herself was injured.
Yan Minyu's pain seemed to alleviate her resentment, and Xiao Juyuan felt as if she had discovered a new world. She drew her sword with lightning speed and stabbed again with lightning speed.
"Stop! Stop!" Xiao Yuan rushed over, extremely angry.
"Stand there!" Xiao Juyuan sneered, twisting the sword in his hand horizontally. Hang Yisu's expression tightened, and although he didn't cry out in pain, cold sweat poured down his face.
Xiao Yuan stopped angrily, "How many more sins are you going to commit?"
"Since I'm going to hell anyway, what difference does it make how many sins I commit?" she laughed, actually quite smug.
"Let him go, and you and I will have a proper showdown."
"Hmm." He agreed verbally, but pushed even harder with his hand, the hilt of the sword hitting Hang Yisu's trembling body, the sword completely protruding from his body.
Yan Minyu's eyes were bloodshot. She didn't know where the strength came from, but she got up and rushed over, trying to grab the sword that was protruding from his body. Amidst the splattering of blood, she actually broke the longsword in two.
"Watch out!" everyone exclaimed. The incident happened so suddenly that it was too late to help.
Xiao Juyuan's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he slapped Yan Minyu on the head.
Only the soft rustling of the autumn wind through the bamboo grove...
Hang Yisu grabbed the broken sword in Yan Minyu's hand and stabbed it into Xiao Juyuan's heart with all his might.
Xiao Juyuan stared wide-eyed at the sword in her chest… Blood gushed out. No! She didn't want to die like this! She fiercely raised her eyes, glaring at Li Yuan'er. If she was going to die, she'd take her with her!
With a determined look, she pulled the broken sword from her chest and lunged at Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan glared at her with equal resentment! The sword that Yi Chunjun had given her jolted in her hand, and the scabbard slammed heavily into Xiao Juyuan's abdomen, sending her staggering backward until she finally fell to the ground.
"How much more do you want me to hate you! How much more do you want me to hate you!!" Xiao Yuan's screams echoed throughout the heavens and earth!
Yi Chunjun leaped over and grabbed Xiao Yuan's sword. He coldly glanced at Xiao Juyuan, who was sitting on the ground, and said, "Don't dirty this sword."
He didn't want her hands to be stained with Xiao Juyuan's blood.
Xiao Juyuan looked at them and laughed. Did they not even deign to kill her? She plunged the broken sword in her hand into herself, and finally, her hand was stained with her own blood.
“Miss Xiao…you’ll never know how tired and hungry I was, hiding by the wall watching you being carried by your father, laughing as you walked by…I was so…so envious.” She smiled, looking at Zhu Liancheng and Pei Junwu, “For the past ten years, the thing I’ve wanted most is for you to call my name. I…am not Xiao Juyuan! My name is…Huang Xiaohe.”
Tears, blood, sighs, and a gentle breeze flowing through the bamboo grove.
Chapter 71 of "The Smile of the Flower": Her Smile
Hang Yisu pulled the sword hilt from his abdomen and tossed it aside without even looking at it. Pressing his wound, he crawled toward Yan Minyu, who was lying on the ground with a smile.
Finally... he saw her smile again.
He held her body, laying her down beside him. He gazed deeply into her smile, perhaps unaware of how perfectly she suited it.
He didn't like her at first because she always smiled. Feeling helpless and resentful of his fate, he felt a mix of jealousy and envy when he saw a girl who always smiled. Fearing that this feeling would disturb him, he deliberately distanced himself from her.
But she didn't mind. She took care of him, cared for him, and offered him her whole heart, insisting on sharing her happiness with him. He couldn't hide from her, he couldn't avoid her, so he had no choice but to reluctantly accept everything she brought him.
Unexpectedly... in the end, the one who got into the deepest trouble was himself.
Knowing full well he could give her nothing, knowing full well her feelings would ultimately be in vain, he lied to himself, saying he couldn't tell her the truth because he was afraid of hurting her. The truth? What is the truth? The truth is his selfish fear of losing her and living a lonely life like before!
He knew he was destined to live a lonely life... but he was captivated by her warm smile; when she smiled, he felt the sunshine entering his heart.
When he loved her most deeply—he understood that even in his loneliness, he should let her go…
Tell her how you feel as a former convict...
He gave a bitter smile, and as she stared at him, speechless for a long time, she had no idea how bitter, how painful, and how resentful his heart was. That moment was the one in his life when he felt the most resentment towards fate!
But she still said she didn't want to leave, she still said she wouldn't leave him!
He was furious!
How could she not understand his good intentions and his sacrifices?
From that day on, he never saw her smile again.