Eternal Night - Chapter 73
"No!" Yongye smiled, lay down naturally, rested her head on Yuepo's legs, and closed her eyes.
Li Tianyou knew, but Yuepo still didn't? Did she need to tell him? No! She couldn't let him worry about her. After all, she had martial arts skills for self-defense, while he had nothing left after leaving Youli Valley. He was an orphan, without family, and had come to Youli Valley at a young age. Originally, Youli Valley was his home, and Huihun resembled his father. Now, he was all alone.
Yongye felt only pity for Yuepo. How lonely a person is in this world; he had only her, yet he couldn't stay by her side. A tear welled up from the corner of her eye, and Yongye tilted her head, letting the cloth absorb the moisture. She had shed tears for him twice already; this was the third time she had cried since her reincarnation. In this life, she was too easily moved. An instinctive reaction made her quickly brace herself, suppressing the fluctuations of her emotions.
"If the princess sees this, she'll chop me into ten or eight pieces," Yuepo said teasingly. Yongye's natural way of resting his head on his lap brought back memories of the intimacy between the two of them when they were children.
"She discovered you and should have died. Now that she's still alive, I've already committed a grave offense. Roses may be lovely, but there are plenty of good people in this world, and I can't take care of everyone," Yongye said calmly, instantly returning to her usual self.
Moon Soul fell silent. Star Soul had changed a lot. As a child, she was mischievous and adorable. Now, she could be ruthless and cold-blooded. And him? Apart from his treatment of Eternal Night, wasn't he just as cruel? When dealing with enemies, being soft-hearted is the fatal mistake.
He and she were alike, assassins from the Valley of Wandering, knowing from a young age that their lives were bought with the lives of others. To be as merciful as Xinghun was already quite remarkable.
What about the future? Will there ever be a day when Star Soul becomes his enemy? Moon Soul shook his head. That day will never come.
"Where are you going?" Yongye asked softly with his eyes closed.
"After leaving Sanyu Pass, head north to the State of Qi. That's where my hometown is. I wonder if Butcher Zhang from the street corner is still there. If you ever have the chance to come to the State of Qi and see Ping'an Clinic, that must be mine. If you want a peaceful life, I can take you in." Yuepo smiled as he thought of Butcher Zhang.
Yongye raised an eyebrow and asked suspiciously, "Does the Qi Kingdom not have the influence of Youli Valley, and does the Qi Kingdom's capital not have the Peony Academy?"
"You've forgotten, I'm no longer a member of the Wandering Valley. As long as you break free from their control, they will never bother you again; that's the rule of the Wandering Valley. I know you definitely won't take the resurrection potion; your trouble now lies with Feng Yangxi. Only if you destroy the Wandering Valley might Feng Yangxi let you off the hook."
"Perhaps, I should leave with you now? Let's open a peaceful clinic and live a quiet life?"
Yuepo looked down at her, a wave of sadness washing over her. Did Yongye really think he didn't know she was a woman? She truly didn't understand his medical skills. He knew it the moment he held her and saw Princess Duan.
She remained silent, yet wholeheartedly assisted Prince Duan in destroying Youli Valley, secretly entering Li Tianyou's study at night, and even going to Chen Kingdom to marry a princess. All her meticulous planning revolved around the succession of the An Kingdom's imperial power and the stability of the nation. Given Yongye's deeply affectionate nature, this only proved one thing: she was Prince Duan's biological daughter; Youli Valley had misjudged her, exchanging a genuine woman for a false one. Even if he agreed, would she truly leave with him?
"If I take you away, I'm afraid I'll die without a burial place. As a brother, don't hold others back," Yuepo laughed.
Yongye's eyelashes trembled. If she left without a second thought, the entire Qiong'an Kingdom and the entire Qiongyouli Valley would search for the two of them, and Yuepo would only suffer because of her. Moreover, she had promised Prince Duan that she would send him away and have nothing more to do with him. She couldn't be sure what other arrangements her cunning father might have that she didn't know about.
She sat up abruptly, stared at him, and said, "I will never have brothers in this life, and I will never believe in brothers!"
Yuepo nodded: "If we can't be brothers, then we can't be brothers! You helped me escape from Youli Valley and Anguo, and I will definitely repay this kindness."
"Who asked you to repay a debt of gratitude! We're even! Nobody owes anyone anything!" Yongye felt a bit annoyed for some reason.
“Okay! I don’t owe you anything!” Yuepo agreed readily and as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
A wave of bittersweet sadness welled up in Yongye's heart. She couldn't quite explain it, but she felt a deep sense of reluctance. It seemed that once she left Sanyu Pass, she would never see that handsome and familiar face again, nor feel his care.
She was very attached to him, wasn't she? But she couldn't show it like ordinary young lovers; even the potential danger had to be avoided. Yongye somewhat hated her reality, yet she had no choice but to face the problem realistically.
Concealing her emotions, she got off the carriage and said without turning her head, "It's still half a month's journey to Sanyuguan. I'm sure I'll be able to get out of Sanyuguan safely."
Yuepo followed her back to her room, and Yongye handed him a bundle: "Clothes, silver notes, and all the poisons I can find. It's better to be prepared. Change your clothes and come eat. I'll go check on Qiangwei first. Um... you put these on, don't hold me back!"
After Yongye left, Yuepo opened the bundle, and the dark, black armor gleamed eerily in the lamplight. Remembering Yongye's parting words, he gently stroked the armor and murmured, "Is this the last thing you left me?"
Last night's stars, last night's wind
In the east wing, Qiangwei leaned against the couch, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Yihong carefully applied a towel to her eyes and coaxed her softly, "Princess, the young master is on a mission to the Chen Kingdom. You are the future Crown Princess. How can you expect him to take you away from the An Kingdom?"
"Brother Yongye, I'd rather die than marry the Crown Prince! You... how can you be so heartless as to marry the Princess of Chen?! I... I'm going to Chen to kill her!"
Yongye stood before the bed with his hands behind his back, looking down at her disdainfully: "Fine, why bother going all the way to Chen? Once I marry her, you'll be the Crown Princess, I can make her stand or kneel, do whatever I want with her, and she won't dare utter a single word of dissent. Even if you can't beat her, it doesn't matter, does she dare fight back? Isn't that more fun than killing her?"
Rose froze, clutching the thin silk quilt, unsure how to answer. After a moment, she cried again, "I don't care, I don't want you to marry another woman!"
“Why don’t you go back to the capital and ask the Emperor for help? I’ll just wait for the imperial decree in Dingzhou City. I’m too lazy to travel thousands of miles again.” Yongye sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it leisurely. Suddenly feeling hungry, he ordered, “Yihong, bring in the food.”
"How could this be?!" Rose's dreams were shattered by Yongye's words. Knowing that not only was marrying Yongye hopeless, she might even end up marrying the Crown Prince. She burst into tears again. After a moment, seeing Yongye still leisurely drinking tea, showing no intention of comforting her, her heart ached with a bittersweet feeling, a mixture of disappointment and sorrow. Just then, seeing Yuepo enter in a clean robe, she vented her anger on him, leaping up and punching him: "How dare you bully Brother Yongye!"
“If you hit me, the poison in her body will flare up once. If I feel half a bit of pain, she will feel ten times the pain!”
Rose abruptly pulled her fist back just before it touched Moon's nose, staring at Yongye in astonishment. When she first saw Yongye in the palace years ago, his skin, though pale, had a radiant glow. Now, Yongye's face was dull, radiating a deathly pallor under the lamplight. Remembering how she had seen Yongye lying listlessly in a chair in Wanyu Courtyard that day, Rose felt as if her heart was being pierced by needles.
It turned out that Yongye was also suffering from a severe poison, which was why she had brought this scourge to force him to hand over the antidote. Her initial distress quickly turned into worry for Yongye, and she cautiously asked, "Brother Yongye, are you alright?"
“It’s alright. He said the antidote was hidden in his hometown, but I was worried, so I took him to the State of Chen. After the King of Chen’s birthday banquet, I took him to retrieve the antidote.” Yongye said it casually, but Rose felt even more upset, and her eyes reddened again.
Seeing Yihong bring out the food box and set out the dishes, Yongye smiled and said, "Let's eat first! Yihong, sit down and join us."
All four of them were hungry, and Yuepo ate with particular relish. Yongye noticed this and knew that Yuepo had suffered a lot and hadn't been eating well these past few days, so he picked up a chicken leg with his chopsticks and put it in Yuepo's bowl.
Rose glared at Yue Po, who, while biting into a chicken leg, laughed and said, "I'd rather die than live in dishonor. Maybe if you treat me well, I'll remember the antidote formula and won't have to travel thousands of miles to get it."
The second chicken leg was immediately placed in his bowl, and Rose smiled sweetly: "Brother Yue, eat more. Your external injury hasn't healed yet, so you need to nourish yourself."
Yuepo hummed in agreement and buried her head in her food.
Yongye and Yihong quickly lowered their heads, forcibly suppressing their laughter.
Rose's eyes still held traces of her earlier tears, but she smiled sweetly and kept feeding food into Moon's bowl. She was still wearing the soft red dress that Yongye had insisted on buying for her at the silk shop. Yongye felt a little guilty, so he picked up some food and put it in Rose's bowl, coaxing, "Rose, you've been lying in the carriage all day, you must be exhausted. Eat more and go to bed early tonight. I'll take you out of Anguo."
Rose stared blankly at the food for a moment, then suddenly put down her chopsticks, buried her head, and started crying.
Yongye had no idea what was wrong with her again and kept giving Yihong meaningful glances. Yihong patted Qiangwei's shoulder and said, "Princess, this is a post station. If others find out and it gets to the Crown Prince's residence, my young master will be in big trouble."
Upon hearing this, Rose raised her head, a few tears glistening on her snow-white skin, making her appear even more pitiful, yet a smile graced her lips: "So, Brother Yongye cares for me this much. I... I thought you really didn't like me!"
Her good appetite vanished instantly after she started crying. Chen had a princess and a rival in love, and there were two more here. An had one more. Yongye was still somewhat clueless about women's feelings. Seeing Qiangwei's deep affection, he felt a headache coming on. He put down his chopsticks, stood up, and said, "I don't want to eat anymore. I'm tired today. Don't bother me!"
She stood up and left decisively. Rose felt another wave of disappointment. She stared blankly at Yongye, bewildered by his sudden change in attitude. She opened her mouth but couldn't utter a sound. Seeing Yongye push the door open and leave, tears welled up in her eyes. She turned back and glared fiercely at Yuepo, whispering, "Yihong, get out!"
"Princess! We can't act recklessly. What if word gets out..."