Heaven is the shore of mortal dust

Chapter 64

The sudden closeness of their faces froze the air; the two stared at each other blankly, momentarily forgetting to react.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and He Lu walked in. When he saw the scene before him, his feet were rooted to the ground.

[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 56, Severing Ties]

Upon seeing the newcomer, the two woke up with a start and got off the bed. Li Tianqi also grabbed his outer robe and put it on.

"It's true what they say, old habits die hard. No matter where you go, you can't forget to do these seductive things." A hint of anger seemed to rise in He Lu's cold eyes, instantly melting away the thin layer of ice.

"You—stop talking nonsense!" Li Tianqi slowly fastened his clothes and looked coldly at He Lu.

"Ha! So you two are truly in love? You're protecting him, but do you even know who he is? The way he fawns over you today is the same way he fawned over other people before." He Lu's face was full of contempt and disdain.

"You...you're talking nonsense!" Wei Zijun was shocked and incredulous.

"Get out—" Li Tianqi reached out and put his arm around Wei Zijun. He didn't want to hear any words that slandered or defamed her.

"Nonsense? Ha—ha—ha—" He Lu laughed loudly, looking up at the sky. He sighed, "You pathetic men!" Then, changing the subject, he said, "Since we've come this far, I might as well tell you—his background. I suppose you've been deceived and misled by him, haven't you? I might as well do a good deed and save you, this lovelorn fool caught in a love triangle. Do you want to hear it?"

"I don't want to hear it, please leave!" Li Tianqi's face was already filled with icy anger, and a chilling glint flashed in his eyes.

"Even if you don't listen, I'll still say it!" He Lu roared excitedly, his expression suddenly changing from disdain to coldness.

Pointing at Wei Zijun, she said sternly, "He—is none other than the infamous Left Wise King of the Western Turks—Wei Feng! The most notorious traitor of the Great Yu!" Then, her tone was full of ambiguity, "Of course, he is also the favorite of the Western Turk Khan, the Western Turk Khan's bed partner, and the most famous male concubine of the Western Turks!"

Wei Zijun and Li Tianqi were stunned on the spot.

Is she really like that? Could she really have such a shameful identity? There must be a mistake, they've made a mistake, but are they really wrong? Based on her role on the battlefield, she was indeed a general of a foreign tribe. And according to what she later learned, that battle was indeed between the Dayu and the Western Turks. And the Left Wise King was indeed assassinated in that battle, and she did indeed escape. Could she be anyone else? Can there really be so many coincidences in the world?

He Lu turned to Wei Zijun and said contemptuously, "Geshufa said you've lost your memory? I think you're quite the actor! You don't even recognize your own trusted subordinates! You're hiding back in Dayu as your carefree manager! But our Khan misses you terribly. He can't bear the loneliness of not having you by his bedside for a day!"

"If that's the case, how can you prove you're not lying? What evidence do you have?" Li Tianqi concealed his inner turmoil. This identity shocked him. He didn't want to believe it, nor could he believe it, but he needed to know the truth.

"Hahaha—how could I make things up without evidence! Why don't you ask her how she ended up in Lucheng? Was it because of the Battle of Luling Mountain? Why don't you ask her again if she was seriously wounded and nearly died, and then miraculously survived? Why don't you ask her again if she was on Luling Mountain when she was wounded? Was she wearing a silver-white Turkic battle uniform?"

"Enough! Shut up!" His long-suppressed emotions finally erupted. Something surged within him, and he looked at Wei Zijun in disbelief. "What he said isn't true, is it? Tell me he's not telling the truth."

Wei Zijun silently gazed at Li Tianqi, closed her eyes, took two deep breaths, and slowly opened them. She really was the Left Wise Prince Wei Feng. So it really was. But was she really that despicable? A traitor? A male concubine? How could she explain herself to him? No matter how she explained, she could never clear her name of past mistakes.

Seeing her expression, Li Tianqi felt a chill run through him. Was it really true? Wei Feng?

Something suddenly shattered in her heart, waves of dull pain surged forth, her serene face suddenly blurred, and something gripped her throat tightly.

He lied to him in the end, he lied to him.

He lied to him...

"Zijun? He's lying, isn't he?" Li Tianqi stared intently at her with his deep, dark eyes, afraid of missing even the slightest expression on her face.

"I don't know, Second Brother, I don't know what I was like before, I really don't know." Wei Zijun shook his head painfully.

"Then tell me, you are not Wei Feng, and you did not appear in Luling Mountain! Remember, you told me you fainted in the wasteland, right?" The voice gradually lost its warmth, like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, rustling and drifting down.

"Second Brother—you, don't ask." What should she say? Tell him that she was right, that she did indeed appear at Deer Ridge Mountain? That she is Wei Feng? How could she say that?

"So that's who you are? But you said you fainted in the wilderness! Not at Deer Ridge Mountain! Right?" Li Tianqi's voice was icy cold, his dark eyes piercing her face as if they wanted to pierce her through.

"I'm sorry, Second Brother, I didn't mean to lie to you. I just didn't want to reveal Master's residence." Wei Zijun looked up at him, her eyes clear and bright, like a pool of water, yet still without a ripple.

"You lied to me! Why did you lie to me! I am your second brother!" Li Tianqi sighed, covering his face with his large hand, obscuring his dark eyes. It was as if a breeze was blowing through his sleeves, causing his clothes to tremble slightly.

It really is him! Is it really him? No wonder, when his elder brother led his troops to surround him after he was shot with an arrow, he couldn't bring himself to strike him when he raised his sword in front of his handsome face. When he recalled the description of him by his elder brother, who else could have such a dashing appearance but him?

He was his enemy, an unforgivable enemy. An enemy who invaded his homeland and murdered his beloved generals and closest brothers.

He would never forget the arrow that pierced Zhen You's brow. He had held his cold corpse and swore to avenge him, and killed Wei Feng with his own hands to avenge him. Now, his enemy was right in front of him, but why him? Why him?

He had lied to him in the end.

After a long silence, he lowered his hands, his eyes red-rimmed, and said coldly, "You said it was your master who gave you this name! But you still have the surname Wei? You still know your surname is Wei, haha—yet you made up a name to deceive me!"

"I didn't lie to you, I didn't make up a name, my real name is Wei Zijun!" If anything really happens, let her take the blame, since she's the one who bears this identity.

"Hahahaha—good, you finally admitted it yourself! Your name was originally Wei Zijun, but you lied to me and said you didn't remember it." The voice seemed to come from a shattered chest: "You remember, you remember everything, but you lied to me, why did you lie to me!?"

Hearing the sound of his shattering, Wei Zijun felt a pang of pain in her heart, and a bittersweet feeling slid down her cheeks. "I'm sorry! Second Brother! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Haha—Left Wise King Wei Feng—is it really you? The Left Wise King Wei Feng who personally killed my beloved general? The traitorous General Wei Feng? The Left Wise King Wei Feng who single-handedly slaughtered thousands of my Great Yu's valiant men? The murderer who killed my closest brother? The male favorite of the Turkic Khan? But why did you lie to me—amnesia? The massacre of your entire family? You really know how to make up stories. Amnesia? Haha—maybe! But how were your past actions any different from those of a beast? Wei Zijun—from this day forward, we are strangers. Go back to your Western Turkic Khaganate! Don't let me see you again!"

The cold eyes were devoid of any warmth; all the former heat had been sealed away. In that instant, the cold wind howled outside the window, swirling up thousands of withered leaves, wailing and sobbing, sweeping across the horizon.

With a ripping sound, Li Tianqi tore off a corner of his robe and threw it at Wei Zijun. It twirled in the air before landing on her shoulder. "From this day forward, we are like this robe, our ties severed. I am no longer your second brother! In my eyes, you are nothing but an enemy, a shameful traitor, a despicable liar! A shameless male concubine, ha—ha—male concubine! I thought you were ignorant of matters of the heart! Male concubine—hahahaha—"

That mournful laughter revealed a broken heart.

"Second Brother—" Wei Zijun suppressed the pain in her heart, a thin mist rising in her eyes. "Don't say that about me, Second Brother—I'm not like that."

Li Tianqi gave Wei Zijun one last, intense look before turning and resolutely walking out of the room. He didn't look back, his expression cold and resolute. The cold wind blew open the corner of his robe, swirling up tiny, withered leaves. The mist in his dark eyes was blown by the wind, spreading out and then instantly evaporating.

From this day forward, we will no longer know each other.

We no longer recognize each other...

He reached out and brushed the shards off his shoulder, the smooth satin fluttering from his hand. A breeze blew in through the wide-open door, cooling the burning sensation in his eyes.